#I come from a non-religious background in the south of England

[tangledinredstring]

My reaction to FHJY episode 13

Ah cool, lore and info dumping. I love it, give it to me, I NEED to know more about everything. And all the dads, a whole pantheon of Dad-hood going on here, excellent work, fabulous art, 10/10 no notes.

*final 30 seconds of the episode* Oh wait, ooh no, oh nooOOOoo, oh, I don't like this guy, his voice is doing unpleasant things to my brain, it's as if a sound could feel slimy.

*stinger* NOOOOOOOOO!

My only hope for Bobby Dawn is that he is still around when Aguefort comes back from the Time Quangle, so we can see what insane thing is done as punishment for existing.

[rotationalsymmetry]

A brief history of Unitarian Universalism (casual, with swears, have not fact checked as such but I think it’s correct): In New England back before US independence, there was Calvinism -- you know, that predestination thing, you’re already going to go to heaven or hell, but you should be good anyways so people will think you’re going to heaven, or something like that. Then there wasn’t. Then there was Congregationalism. Which was a lot more chill, but still very “fuck Catholicism”. And around this time, deism was on the rise: the idea that maybe God created the universe, then fucked off, and hasn’t been actively involved with anything since. Then, some people who were actually reading the Bible, because you can’t look down on Catholicism unless you actually read the Bible, were like... wait, maybe Jesus isn’t all that. You know -- the Savior, the Son of God, one third of the Trinity, all that. Maybe he was just, like... a prophet, or some guy who said some interesting things. A teacher. And other congregationalists were like: uh, what, no, Jesus has to be all that. If you don’t think Jesus is all that, how can you even call yourself a Christian? And they decided they couldn’t really be around each other any more. So the first group, which was mostly in Boston, started calling themselves Unitarians (because they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and instead believed in a one part God), and incidentally at some point also stopped calling themselves Christians because the other guys had a point, and the others called themselves the United Church of Christ (UCC.) Emerson and Thorough -- sorry, Thoreau -- were both Unitarians, as were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and pretty much everyone else from Boston in early US history. (We like to claim Jefferson, because his beliefs were kindasorta similar to Unitarian beliefs at the time, but as I understand it he was never actually part of a Unitarian congregation.) (Btw: if you’re lgbtq+ and Christian, they’re a pretty friendly denomination. If you’re lgbtq+ and Christian and you think the UCC is too liberal (in the religious sense) or you want a majority-lgbtq+ congregation, consider MCC, which is otherwise unconnected to all this. If you’re not Christian and are lgbtq+ -- atheist/agnostic, or maybe something else if you’re down with worshipping with people that aren’t specifically your thing -- Unitarian Universalism tends to be pretty good. As in: we have a bunch of gay/lesbian ministers and other religious leaders, and a few transgender ones. (Knowledge of less mainstream lgbtq+ identities can vary a lot between congregations and generations -- the younger generations tend to be more aware than the gen x’ers.) I’ve been involved with Church of the Larger Fellowship for most of the past year, which did zoom worship before it got cool and serves people around the world, and people like me who live a mile from a UU brick and mortar congregation but still can’t get their disabled ass over there anyways. Anyways, CLF has more POC on the worship team than most UU congregations (the denomination does tend to run pretty white), is very social justice oriented even by UU standards, and is somewhat more cool about general weirdness than most congregations, which again for UU congregations is saying something.) Then, at some point (sadly, I’m significantly more familiar with the history of the first U than the second) there was this other protestant denomination in the South (as in, the US South) where people decided that God was too nice to send people to hell for all eternity, so they started calling themselves the Universalists, as in Universal Salvation. All dogs go to heaven. Well, time passed, each denomination evolved in its own way. (In particular, Unitarianism caught humanism pretty hard -- the joke was the Unitarians believe in one God at most.) In the -- ok, I’ll look this one up -- in 1961, there was a big old merger, creating Unitarian Universalism, and in the process, everyone got together and was all...wait, so what are our official beliefs about God and stuff? Should we even have official beliefs about God? Maybe we can unify around some ideas around how people should treat each other instead. So they did: they drafted a set of Principles (broad-strokes guidelines on how people should act -- peace is good, truth is good, people have value, stuff like that) and a set of Sources (where UU’s get their ideas about God and morality and so on from, starting with direct experience) and left everything else up to the individual. And then a little while later, the tree-huggers got a seventh Principle and a sixth Source added in -- respect for the environment and Earth-centered religions, respectively -- so now the joke is that UU’s believe in one God, more or less. Currently there’s a movement on to add an 8th Principal that explicitly names racial equality and fighting oppression as something we value, since while the current Principles mention justice and equality, they don’t specifically name race, and the people of color who have stuck with the predominantly white denomination figure Unitarian Universalism can and should be doing better on that front. Unitarian Universalism runs religiously liberal (ie, decentralized, individualistic, non-authoritarian, non-dogmatic, inclined to believe science over the Bible) and politically progressive. Unitarian Universalist congregations tend to be very politically active and concerned with social justice, mostly in a well-educated middle class kind of way: committees, Robert’s Rules of Order, donating to non-profits, Get Out the Vote, inviting in speakers and asking “questions” that aren’t really questions, forming partnerships with other congregations and community organizations, etc. Many UU congregations have put a Black Lives Matter sign out (and when necessary keep putting it out when it gets torn down or vandalized), shown up for the protests, opposed the weird immigration BS that’s been going on in the US recently, etc. In addition to more charity style work, like food pantries and homeless shelters.

Point is: yeah it’s got flaws (don’t even get me started on Unitarian Universalism’s flaws) but if you’re a social justice person and want to meet other social justice people who are doing things, Unitarian Universalism can be a good place to look for that. You get more done in groups.

You’re less likely to burn out, too. With marginalization, it’s complicated, right? Again, for LGBTQ+ people, it’s going to be better than most religious organizations. For people a little bit on the autism spectrum, you probably won’t be the only one. (If you’re unmistakeably autistic, people might be weird/ableist; it might depend on the congregation.) If you’re from a working class background or are currently kinda broke, you might run into some frustrations or feel like you don’t fit in; if you’re a poc or if you’re disabled (or your kid is) or you want a lot of personal support, you might struggle more -- this really might vary a lot, but at least the congregations I’m used to tend to assume congregants can mostly stand on their own feet, metaphorically speaking, and have some extra time/money/skills/whatever that can be directed out into the wider world. It can be a good place for pagans and Buddhists and other people who don’t want a church but are having trouble finding a church-like religious community where you can hang out with people on the same spiritual path. (Uh, for a while UU congregations were emphatically not churches and some officially still aren’t; others gave up and were all “eh, it looks like a church, whatever, we’re just a weird church.) Some congregations are more atheist-dominated than others -- many avoid Jesus language most of the time, some avoid God language most of the time (UU’s who believe in God tend to believe in God in a relatively abstract/metaphorical way), some I hear are pagan-heavy, others do use Christian language a lot more. In all honesty you don’t have to go to Sunday worship if you don’t want to, and really a lot of UU’s don’t; if you want to be heavily involved in the congregation but don’t want to go to Sunday worship and don’t want to deal with pressure to, one way out is to teach RE (religious education -- basically “Sunday school”) the RE curricula are amazing, just absolutely astounding, and if you’re teaching it you get a ton of leeway with adjusting anything you don’t like. (Which could happen -- a lot of this stuff was developed before the idea that cultural appropriation is a big problem became mainstream in social justice circles.) What adult worship is like has basically zero correlation (perhaps negative correlation) to what RE is like. (Which sucks for young adults coming of age in a UU congregation, like I said don’t get me started on UU’s flaws.) Finally: for people who care about sex positivity and sex ed, Unitarian Universalists (in partnership with UCC) developed Our Whole Lives, a sex ed curriculum that, well, it’s not abstinence based education. You wouldn’t expect sex ed coming from a religious org to be better than the sex ed in schools, would you? And yet. Comprehensive sex ed that acknowledges gay bi and trans people and that disabled people have sex too and teaches about birth control and masturbation and abuse and consent and boundaries and bullying and internet safety and abortion. It’s good stuff. The course aimed at teens is most popular of course, but there’s actually (age-appropriate) OWL curricula for all stages of life: young kids, adults, older adults, everyone. And it’s versatile enough to be taught in secular contexts (after school programs etc). Given the direction that unfortunately a lot of school districts in the US have been going in in terms of sex ed, it’s a really important program.

[dweemeister]

Diego Maradona (2019, United Kingdom)

You may know Asif Kapadia as the director of the biographical documentaries Senna (2010; Brazilian Formula 1 racer Ayrton Senna) and Amy (2015; English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse). Both Senna and Winehouse died in tragic circumstances, their legends remaining incomplete for many. For his third film in an informal trilogy of documentaries on early fame, its corrosiveness, and the public’s role in celebrity culture, Kapadia decided to challenge himself by profiling a living figure. Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona is often considered one of the greatest to have ever played the Beautiful Game. Though it has been more than twenty years since Maradona kicked a ball in a competitive match, his legend and personality have loomed over his fellow countryman – and my personal choice for the best active footballer – Lionel Messi. Kapadia’s documentary does not cover the entirety of Maradona’s career. Instead, it focuses on Maradona’s time at S.S.C. Napoli (“Napoli” will be used to refer to the club and the city interchangeably and, sometimes, simultaneously) and his participation at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups. These are the years, Kapadia posits, that formed the myth of Maradona, and the role of Neapolitans and Italians in creating and later rejecting that myth.

Glossed over are Maradona’s early career in Argentina (boyhood club Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors) and his turbulent time at F.C. Barcelona (plagued with injuries and ended when he instigated a brawl against victorious Athletic Bilbao after the 1984 Copa del Rey final). Already established as one of the best players in the world, Maradona’s dribbling ability, unpredictable acceleration, and goalscoring prowess attracted renown and stoked fear in any defender with their back towards the goalmouth. Though unquestionably dedicated to the sport and assiduous in training, Maradona could not shake off questions about his personal life. His reputation as a hard partier followed him from Catalonia to Napoli. Napoli, after surviving a relegation scrap in Serie A during the 1983-84 season, was a club desperate to escape its trappings as a perennial middling club with infrequent success. With Maradona, then-club President Corrado Ferlaino saw an opportunity to challenge the “Northern Giants”: Juventus, A.C. Milan, and Inter Milan.

What makes Diego Maradona intriguing to soccer fans and people who do not know the difference between a corner kick and a goal kick is twofold. First is its take on how the Maradona came to be an embodiment of Neapolitans and, more broadly, southern Italy. Second – and this extends beyond Maradona’s playing career – is the relationship between a celebrity and their adoring or loathing public. More on the latter shortly, as Maradona’s connection to Neapolitans sociologically leads to celebrity.

Since Italy’s unification in 1861, northern and southern Italy have been culturally and socioeconomically divided. The breadth and source of those divisions are numerous and cannot be sufficiently listed in this simple film review. In short, northern Italy is wealthy, cosmopolitan, industrial, a tech hub, capitalist, attractive to internal and external immigrants, trusting of regional and national government. Southern Italy is poorer, provincial, agrarian, suffering from high rates of emigration, more religious, more family-oriented, less trusting of regional and national government (for legitimate reasons), and is the operational center of the nation’s mafia organizations. The images and testimonies in this documentary are colored by this divide. With his father’s partial Native American descent and impoverished background, what made Maradona a folk hero to Neapolitans were his ruggedness, sheer force of hardscrabble will, and rebelliousness against the footballing establishment. It is also what made him despised among Ultras of the Northern Giants, that a player of his caliber dare sign for a southern upstart. When Maradona joined Serie A, hooliganism in European soccer was a blight on the sport. An excerpt of a chant sung by Juventus’ Ultras would be banned in today’s Serie A, but the hatred is evident:

Even the dogs run too, the Neapolitans are coming. Sick with cholera. Victims of the earthquake. You never washed with soap. Napoli shit! Napoli cholera! You are the shame of the whole of Italy.

Using Maradona’s words – there are no contemporary talking heads in Kapadia’s film, only archival or audio-only interviews are used – he noticed, every time Napoli traveled to northern away games, that the team and their supporters were subject to racist behavior by the home fans. Perhaps playing with a chip on one’s shoulders is not the best way for an athlete to perform at their best, but Kapadia’s film argues that this propelled Maradona to be as great a player as he became. The public pressure and spectacle placed upon Maradona was immense. Think Beatlemania, but more localized and foisted upon one person, and that may be a merely adequate description of how Neapolitans viewed their sporting hero. Kapadia and editor Chris King (Kapadia’s two prior documentaries, 2010’s Exit Through the Gift Shop) splice together images of Maradona’s playing career, off-field shenanigans, and heartwarming moments with his family with astounding purpose. It might have been easy to start from the beginning, describing Maradona’s simple beginnings and the family that raised him. That Kapadia and King decide to begin with Maradona’s introduction to Napoli fans and the inconsistent first season – still better than a relegation scrap – provides a shot of adrenaline to start the film. Yes, this momentum is somewhat lost when they then resort to describing Maradona’s upbringing after completing the first season. Nevertheless, Maradona’s background is followed immediately by images and accounts of northern hostility – this structure provides a rawer illustration of the north-south divide through sport. And given southern Italy’s mafia presence, it makes the perfect transition into the elements that led to Maradona’s downfall in Napoli.

That downfall, of course, would not occur for another several years and well after Maradona led Argentina to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico – a victory that, characteristically for Maradona, attracted controversy and solidified his reputation, internationally, as one of the sport’s magicians and as a shameless cheater. My apologies to readers from England and Germany for whatever unwanted memories you have been reminded of. The prelude to the troubles that would follow come from one of Maradona’s most trusted confidants, personal trainer Fernando Signorini (also served as fitness coach for the Argentinian national team when Maradona served as head coach at the 2010 FIFA World Cup), who sees the past – and probably the present, too – Maradona as someone who had to adopt separate personas to become the greatest footballer of his era:

Diego was a kid who had insecurities, a wonderful boy. Maradona was the character he had to come up with in order to face the demands of the football business and the media. Maradona couldn’t show any weakness. One day I told him that with Diego I would go to the end of the world, but with Maradona I wouldn’t take a step.

Maradona himself admits this reality. The film agrees with Signorini and Maradona’s beliefs that the latter would not be as legendary a footballer as he was without “Maradona.” In becoming the savior of Napoli, Neapolitans clamored for Maradona’s attention – from those unable to afford tickets to attend matches to his friendship with Carmine Giuliano of the Giuliano clan of the Nuova Famiglia. With fans and the media’s excessive demands for on-the-field performance and availability, near-religious fervor for the club’s messiah, and rumors (and realities) of Maradona’s infidelity, the Giulianos provided an outlet from the cameras and microphones being shoved in his personal space. That outlet was cocaine. Maradona became dependent on the mafia for his fix, to help him escape the emotional and psychological pain life in Napoli had brought.

His addiction would not be the sole reason for his fall from grace but, by the end of his time there, the Neapolitan fans had discarded him as quickly as they anointed them his savior. Shunned, ostracized, and regarded as having turned his back on what made him so popular, the place where he had become one of the best soccer players ever wanted nothing more to do with him, let alone help him conquer the personal demons that had infected his soul. One moment at a Christmas party, only a few months before his departure from Napoli, captures Maradona staring emptily at nothing, as people carouse around him. The camera fixates on his blank face; Kapadia has the sound decrescendo to nothing. It is unsettling filmmaking. Maradona knows the end is near, and that he will have to answer for his decisions sooner than when he will be ready.

Kapadia’s penchant for messy, dramatic public figures made him well-suited to tackle Diego Maradona. The documentary’s non-match footage is pieced together from passages of an aborted behind-the-scenes documentary that began production in 1981 – half of the film stock was lying in Napoli; the rest gathering dust in the Buenos Aires home of Maradona’s ex-wife. Diego Maradona might not be revelatory to any Italian or Argentinian who has memories watching the diminutive superstar terrorize defenses live or on grainy ‘80s television sets. Some details – including Maradona’s demands for a transfer away from Napoli in the summer of 1990, the traumas of Maradona’s self-declared lack of responsibility to his illegitimate son, and how a single-minded desire to provide for his parents and siblings – surface at select times in the film, only to be mentioned fleetingly near the conclusion. But noting that is based on a life still not withdrawn from the spotlight, that may be excused.

In an interview with Roger Bennett, Kapadia describes his subject as the bridge between the black-and-white television era of Pelé and the online-fueled (but, when compared to Maradona, tightly guarded) present of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Maradona, who consented to a wide-ranging in-person interview with Kapadia, is as introspective in his commentaries as he has ever been. Here, he can be Diego, fully cognizant of his vices and the suffering he has caused to his family and friends. But in public, such as his brazen display in the stands during Argentina’s Round of 16 World Cup match versus Nigeria in 2018, he must be Maradona the character.

No matter the era, Maradona has always been an entertaining subject – modern footballers are more sanitized due to the now-constant scrutiny of social media and 24/7 sporting news networks (those like Zlatan Ibrahimović are endangered exceptions) – even in quieter moments. Perhaps, noting the psychological wreckage Maradona reckons with even today, this Argentinian’s story, by way of Spain and Italy, is a warning to fans and professional footballers alike. Do sporting fans understand the consequences when they declare their heroes as living gods? And why can it be so easy to dispose of these allegedly infallible celebrities? The answers, if there are any in this film, are not easy to find. Even Kapadia himself will not draw simple conclusions, knowing that the myth of Maradona persists, evangelized by no less than the soccer superstar himself.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

[sussex-nature-lover]

Thursday 28th January 2021

Fossils. Ammonite and a woman named Mary Anning

Firstly a reminder that it’s a big day tomorrow and all weekend what with the Big Garden Birdwatch running and the film ‘The Dig’ being released on Netflix. I wrote about the film Here and the BTO’s Big Garden Birdwatch too.

Nuthatch in our garden

So that’s the reminders done.

Last night on BBC’s Winterwatch they were talking about the Isle of Skye and Dinosaur hunting - evidence of not real life Jurassic Park and last Autumn there was another film about a 19th Century historical, little known, woman who make a huge difference to the study of the natural world. I read about her in a BBC article.

Kate Winslet starred, but I haven’t really heard much about it. Apparently it wasn’t styled as a biopic and contained a largely fictional account of Mary’s romantic inclinations, despite her impact being to change our understanding of life in prehistoric times

"Mary Anning was three things you didn't want to be in 19th-century Britain - she was female, working class and poor" says Anya Pearson, who is campaigning for a statue in her honour.

"This was a time when even educated women weren't allowed to own property or vote, but despite this horrendous upbringing she was able to do all these incredible things."

Lyme Regis: location shown by the red pin in the map

Lyme Regis, Dorset, in the south west of England, where Mary lived, was submerged 200 million years ago. This is why there are so many pre-historic fossils from underwater creatures found there. Mary often went fossil hunting after a storm because this usually caused bits of cliff to fall and for rocks to break open which made the fossil hunting easier. On the flip side of that it actually meant where the family lived was quite a dangerous location.

We’ve visited, many many years ago and had a lovely break. It’s very picturesque countryside and is also famous for the Meryl Streep film French Lieutenant’s Woman. I’ve walked along the famous Cobb, but not with such dramatic effect.

Original film poster

As you would gather from the ‘poor’ comment, Mary Anning's life was scarred by hardship and tragedy, but also quite incredibly triumphant scientific firsts. Born on 21 May 1799 she had been one of 10 children: eight of her nine siblings died before reaching adulthood.

Her father was a cabinet maker but used to scour the beach for fossils to sell and supplement his income. Mary would go out to help him and this is where he interest grew. She was only 11 when he died of TB after a serious fall. Mary carried on the sales to try and help the family survive. Although she had little formal education she could read and so schooled herself in subjects like geology and anatomy and would even dissect modern animals like fish and cuttlefish so that she could better understand the fossils she was finding.

Only a year after her father's death Mary and her brother discovered a skeleton - now known to be an Ichthyosaur -  this was the event for which she’s most remembered today. This complete skeleton was around 17′ long.  She regularly risked her life in her hunt for fossils, making discoveries that captured the attention of the scientific elite, even though her social status and gender meant she never received the credit she deserved.

Twelve years later, she found the first complete skeleton of a Plesiosaur, a marine reptile so bizarre that scientists thought it was a fake. 

The ‘four flipper swimmer’ who ‘flew’ through the ocean. 

The most fantastic find was a Plesiosaur uncovered in 1987. Its abdomen contained bones of an embryo, which proves the animal gave birth to live young.

We’re still learning.    

We’ve also got to remember that at the time Mary’s family were non-conformist, t living in a very religious community. The Creation was the subject of society’s beliefs and the notion of extinction was a relatively new idea to science. 

Lyme Regis Museum geologist Paddy Howe, who was a technical adviser for Ammonite (the film) describes Anning as a "very poor child who was making fantastic scientific discoveries".

"At this time, geology and palaeontology were burgeoning sciences - just coming into their own, he says. "We know about Ichthyosaur bones from the 1600s but it was the first one to be studied by scientists. It was very important."

The marine reptile was bought from Anning for £23 and later purchased by the British Museum at auction in 1819. It can still be seen at the Natural History Museum. I imagine the value today is priceless.

Make a Virtual Visit to the Museum

Despite Mary Anning's growing reputation, societal norms meant she would never be accepted into the elite scientific community. In fact, when the Geological Society met to discuss whether the plesiosaur was genuine, she was even not invited along - women were not admitted there until the 20th Century.

"If she was born in 1970, she'd be heading up a palaeontology department at Imperial or Cambridge," says David Tucker, director of Lyme Regis museum.

"But she was a commercial fossil hunter; she had to sell what she found. Therefore, the fossils tended to be credited to museums in the name of the rich man that paid for them, rather than the poor woman who found them.

"This isn't just around gender - the history of science is littered with the neglected contributions of working-class scientists."

Mary Anning: image credit the Natural History Museum

Despite her lifetime of groundbreaking work, Mary remained in hardship and died of breast cancer in 1847, aged 47. She is buried at St Michael the Archangel Church in Lyme Regis.

Following her death, Henry De la Beche, President of the Geological Society and a friend of hers, broke with the Society's members-only tradition to read a eulogy at a meeting, paying homage to her achievements.

He wrote: "I cannot close this notice of our losses by death without adverting to that of one, who though not placed among even the easier classes of society, but one who had to earn her daily bread by her labour, yet contributed by her talents and untiring researches in no small degree to our knowledge."

Three years later, a stained-glass window in her memory, paid for by members of the Geological Society, was installed in the church where she was buried. Her legacy is also marked at Lyme Regis Museum, where there is a gallery dedicated to Anning's life. In a pleasing coincidence, the museum stands on the site of her birthplace and family home.

"The fact that the museum is on the site of Mary's house was not in any way planned," Mr Tucker says. "Her family rented a part of the house which stood where we are, right on the edge of the sea.

"They were living in a house that was on the way down and prone to being hit by the huge waves and it was eventually destroyed by a storm."

The design includes Mary’s beloved dog, Tray

More than 170 years after her death, Mary Anning's story is now taught in schools, and a campaign, supported by Sir David Attenborough and Prof Alice Roberts, is under way to erect a statue in her honour.

Evie Swire an 11 year old local schoolgirl, began campaigning for the statue, claiming there were more statues in the UK of men called John than there were of all women.

"She's done all these amazing things and sadly has been lost in history," Evie says.

"There have been a lot of forgotten women in history but all of them were educated and came from a wealthy background, but she was poor and working class," says Evie's mother and campaign trustee Anya Pearson.

"I get angry when people refer to her as 'just a fossil collector' because she had great men of learning travel across Europe to learn from her.

Two years later and the campaign is beginning to bear fruit, reaching the £70,000 stage target that means the statue can be commissioned. 

I can’t say I’ve ever had a big interest in dinosaurs or fossils really. It wasn’t something the girls were ever keen on when they were small and so I didn’t get lead down that path like so many parents do these days. The closest I’ve come was finding the rabbit skull in our garden last year - and that’s not going to set the scientific community on fire now is it. Never the less, reading about some women who did have an interest and have worked on important discoveries has whetted my interest and I’ve enjoyed looking at the topics.

NOTES FROM THE KITCHEN:

I found a slightly over-looked roll of ready made puff pastry in the fridge and so with the aid of my trusty lattice roller, I shall be making a leftover-chicken and leek pie.

FUN FACT OF THE DAY:

Mary Anning is said to have been the inspiration for the tongue-twister ‘She sells sea shells by the sea shore’

[sprigxfthyme]

((so this is going to be a rambly, stream of conscious meta about alice’s personality and behaviors.

like we all know alice to be a bit of a troll in the modern day, who likes messing with people and who shifts between crankiness and just not giving a fuck about anything. but she’s also pretty heavily characterized by the rigidness and cold personality she developed in the 16th century, with a cocky self-assured air added in the mid 18th century, and the constant drive of ambition. we’re gonna ignore how clunky that last sentence was. so this is a look at how and why her behaviors developed and changed

Alice came into existence when Roman control and control was already well-embedded into Britannia’s civilian zone (present-day central and south-east England). Although she knew nothing of life before or without the Roman Empire, Alice was very aware of what she was: a territory of another political and national entity, a culture that only existed because of foreign rule. That seriously embittered her, knowing that essentially, the purpose of her existence was to be ruled over, when there were others like her (nations) who came to be of their own accord. So her inferiority complex began pretty much at the beginning of her life, meaning she was never without the desire to prove herself, and that she had a deep and immediate resentment of anyone who would try to exert power or influence over her, or even hint at doing so.

Still, Alice was a very high-spirited child. She was never not talking, brimming with non-stop questions, and eager to make friends. But as she was looked after by a series of guardians rather than proper parents, adults tended not to have patience for her inquisitive mind. Alice’s many questions went unanswered, leading her to believe that the answers she wanted were obvious, and she just wasn’t very smart.

As Rome withdrew from Britannia and pockets of Anglo-Saxon communities and small, early kingdoms cropped up, Alice thought it was going to mean the end of her life. Because not only was Rome, which had brought her into the world, gone, but the Anglo-Saxon migration was hardly the singular, uniform conquest that people seem to think it was. There were multiple kingdoms, formed by migrants from different backgrounds (some from central Germany, some from Jutland, some with distinct Anglian/Scandinavian influences). There were nonetheless strong cultural similarities, such as language, architecture, and metalworking, and the regional differences were caused by the pre-existing state of Romano-British communities that the Anglo-Saxons encountered - hence how I justify the continuity of Roman Britain into the early Anglo-Saxon period and further into what would become England (and also there is textual reference to Anglo-Saxons referring to “England” despite the existence of multiple kingdoms).

Still, despite her survival, Alice felt as though this all wasn’t quite her’s. Which granted, is contradictory, she literally was the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. But she wanted time, time to grow on her own terms and come into her own, so to speak, to flex her muscles without anyone looming over her. The Viking and Norman invasions obviously through a wrench into that idea.

All this desire to gain and show off power, and have an identity that was purely her own culminated in the Hundred Years’ War. Nationalism surged in both England and France, and in England this was best seen in the replacement of French as the common language of the higher classes in favor of a dialect of Middle English. But for all the territories she had gained and the infamous victories she had won, it was all pulled out from under her feet at the end, followed by a tumultuous civil war.

Alice was basically at her wit’s end, deflated, and spent the beginning of the 16th century doing what teenagers do best, #brooding. The religious conflicts at first only exasperated this issue, but the idea of England breaking apart from the rest of Europe and not beholding to the Pope, only to itself, lit a new fire in her. In a way, she reinvented herself, drawing on all her life experiences. She mastered the art of learning through careful and clever watching and listening and how to socialize for nothing else than gain. She was keen to get in on the pushing and shoving that was going on between European countries, but did so with an extremely guarded persona and a bit of a self-righteous attitude. She new what she wanted: power. And nothing else mattered.

As she came to be recognized as a force to be reckoned with, Alice could afford to drop some of her stiffness. Mid-18th century and onwards Alice uses an air of cockiness to enjoy making others squirm, but she never grows complacent. She knows how little it takes for everything to slip away and at her core remains cold and rigid, only now presented as aloofness. 

And that’s pretty much it. How Alice went from her 18th/19th century self to today is fully explained in this post.

More on Alice in Roman Britain is here.

[labourpress]

Jeremy Corbyn speech ahead of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party speaking in Birmingham today, ahead of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Wednesday 22nd March, said:  

*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

I would like to start by thanking Race On The Agenda and the Runnymede Trust for hosting this event today.

And for all the work they do to highlight the issues that impact the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities in Britain.

Birmingham of course has a long race relations history.

It was in Birmingham almost 50 years ago, that the Conservative MP for Wolverhampton, Enoch Powell gave his notorious ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech. I remember it like it was yesterday as I was living in Jamaica at the time.  The outrage on the streets was palpable.

An evil appeal to racial hatred, made just a week before the Labour government's Race Relations Bill 1968, the first legislation in the country to prohibit racial discrimination.

And some of you will remember that it was in 1972, Stuart Hall, a Jamaican-born cultural theorist and political activist became the director of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University. I learned a lot from Stuart.

His writing on race, and identity, and the links between racial prejudice and the media in the 1970s, was certainly ground-breaking.

And of course, Birmingham's Handsworth, now a vibrant multi-ethnic commercial area, was rocked by unrest three decades ago following years of social injustice, poverty and racial inequality.

This coming Wednesday, the United Nations marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

So it’s particularly fitting for me to be here today to set our Labour’s vision on race equality and economic justice for Black, Asian and Minority Communities.

Labour is a party built on the values of social justice, equality, internationalism and human rights. That is why I have devoted my life to it.

Theresa May will tell you she wants a society that works for everyone. But friends, I and many others in the Labour party haven’t just talked the talk; we have walked the walk as well.

I have stood side by side with your communities, to campaign against Apartheid in South Africa, against increasing Islamophobia in this county against Racism and against anti-Semitism.

And under my leadership the Labour party will deliver a credible plan to break the racial injustices in our economy and social institutions.

Now more than ever, we need to celebrate the profound and enriching transformation that the diversity of people in this country, with all the different experiences, talents and contributions has brought.

And we are privileged to have this reflected in the mass membership of the Labour party, now the biggest political party in Western Europe.

In my constituency of Islington North, we are all made better by the dynamism of cultures and languages from Ghana, Somaliland, the Kurdish region, Ireland and many more.

Here in Birmingham, one of the most diverse cities in Europe, people have come to Britain from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Birmingham is home to an elaborate variety of ethnic and religious communities:

Kashmiri Pakistanis in Sparkbrook. Bengali Muslims in Perry Barr. Hindus in Sutton Coldfield.

Britain wouldn't be the place it is today, people living and working together side by side, without the contribution of Black and Asian communities.

Following the Windrush Generation of 1948, it was the help of African- Caribbean communities that kept the nation moving.  And of course many who came before then.

Asian people in the industrial cities like Leicester and Bradford were recruited to work the night shift when Britain retooled its textile industry after the Second World War.

Today, Britain has the world’s sixth-biggest economy – no mean feat for a small island nation you might think...

That’s partly about inventiveness and organisation, and it’s also the legacy of immigration and an exploitative relationship with poorer nations as an imperial power. The echoing voices of Empire two point zero from this government are rightly making BME people feel very unsettled.

Labour rejects a post-Brexit Britain based on trade deals that profit from the exploitation of the world’s fragile economies.

We remember the great British heroine, the late Mary Seacole, originally born in Jamaica, who set up the “British Hotel” during the Crimean War, providing care for wounded servicemen on the battlefield.

Over 150 years later, and without the contribution of your communities, our health service would struggle to survive.

The NHS was established the same year as Windrush docked. It's our most cherished national institution.

NHS England figures in 2015 show that nearly one in five of all staff were from ethnic minority backgrounds, with over two in five NHS doctors from a non-white group.

And the Tories are squeezing the NHS dry, as they hand over chunks of it to their friends in the private sector, just as they refuse entry to desperate refugees, and allow the migrants, who keep the health service going, to be demonised.

Your communities also play an important role in our civil service, local government and voluntary sector.

Today Black and Asian owned businesses are an important and growing feature of our economy and society.

These businesses are important not just because of their financial contribution; they have also helped transform particular sectors of the economy and in the regeneration of inner-city areas like Birmingham.

In the wake of the Brexit decision, it is vitally important, that we value, celebrate and protect our diverse society.

And that includes the 3 million EU nationals who live and work here, and who have made lives, have families, friends and colleagues here and so are connected to many millions more of us.

Equality is the central bedrock of Labour’s values, and that message must be heard loud and clear, particularly in the current political climate.

However, the challenges remain stark.

It’s indefensible that in Britain today, if you’re Black or Asian you are more likely to be living in poverty than if you’re white.

And that young black men have experienced the worst long-term employment and economic outcomes in generations.

Or the fact that women of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin are less than half as likely to be employed compared with rates for other women.

How can it be just or fair that black people with degrees earn 23% less on average than their white peers?  

And despite significant equality legislation brought in by Labour governments, racial inequality is a routine feature in the British economy.

Why?  The political choices of this Tory government are a good place to begin.

Time and time again Theresa May patronises the electorate with empty rhetoric of “building an economy that works for everyone”.

After 7 years in government, the political machine she herself dubbed “the nasty party” continues to pursue an economic agenda that serves the elite at the expense of the majority of the people, including Black and Asian communities in particular.

Let’s just look at the budget her chancellor delivered last week. The biggest losers of this government’s tax and benefit policy are Black and Asian women.

Analysis from the Runnymede Trust and the Women’s Budget Group shows:

Asian women in the poorest third of households will be £2,247 worse off by 2020, facing almost twice the loss faced by white men in the poorest third of households.

And Black and Asian lone mothers stand to lose about 15% and 17% respectively of their net income due to punitive benefit changes.

The Race Equality Foundation showed in 2013 that overcrowding is most commonly experienced by Black African and Bangladeshi groups (with just over a third of households living in overcrowded accommodation).

And sadly, you are more likely to be homeless in Birmingham if you are Black or from an ethnic minority than if you are white.

The government’s own data reveals that a shocking 15 in every 1,000 BME households in Birmingham were homeless in 2015-16, the equivalent figure for white households is bad enough at four per 1,000.

Britain’s housing crisis is at its worst for 20 years and the government are not doing enough to address this problem.  The housing minister has ruled out raising the housing revenue account which enables councils to borrow money to build.  Councils cannot meet local needs.

Far from building an economy for everyone and helping the ‘just about managing’, this government is intent on the transfer of cash from the purses of poorer Black and Asian women to the wallets of the richest men.

There are also huge health inequalities in this country, particularly when it comes to mental health and social care.

Black British women are four times more likely to be detained under the mental health act than White British women.

Older people from Black and minority ethnic groups are often under represented users of health and social care services, where they do, often receive poorer treatment.

So how can Theresa May justify huge cuts to social care, but a special deal for Surrey?

The people of Birmingham are worth no less and deserve better!

The Tories talk a lot about the need for integration. Let them start by integrating our communities - black and white - into the economy, into secure and well-paid jobs, into the education system, into the health care system, onto a viable transport system.

They say they want more people to speak English and then cut the funding for English courses.

They say they want communities to integrate but then allow schools to opt out and slash the kind of youth services and education funding that would make that possible.

Britain has come a long way. But the journey was not an act of our own genius.

People fought for it … Black and white and Asian, side by side, to build the kind of country that could celebrate our racial differences rather than be wary of them.

But we have a long way to go. Black and Asian people are still more likely to be excluded, stopped, searched, arrested, charged and get longer sentences.  Still less likely to go to university, get to the boardroom, the Houses of Commons.

We shouldn't be content with tolerance. You tolerate things you don't like.

We can do better than that. We DO do better than that.

People are right to be anxious. These are volatile times and people feel insecure in their work, about their children's future, about this country's future, they look for someone to blame.

Syrian refugees did not trade in credit default swaps and crash the economy.

East European builders and technicians did not slash funding for children’s centres and libraries.

Since BME communities can be disproportionately found in poor areas, and are more likely to be less well-off, everything we can do to support those families who are struggling to get by, will disproportionately support them.

And everything that is done to attack the living standards of families who are struggling to get by, will disproportionately make things worse.

Enoch Powell was wrong. There have not been rivers of blood. We have one of the highest rates of mixed-race marriage in the western world.

What we need is leadership that does not stoop to preying on those anxieties, blaming people who look differently, talk a different language or dress differently, for the mess that we're in.

Our Labour party has a proud record on race and equality.

Every progressive piece of equality legislation has been delivered by a Labour government:

The Race Relations Act The Human Rights The Equality Act

But these were not gifts from the liberal well-intentioned. They were won by struggle from well organised campaigns from the Black and Asian community in alliance with the wider labour and progressive movement.

The late 1980s saw a concerted push by members of Vauxhall Labour Party, in alliance with other members across the country, to establish Black Sections in the Labour Party.

Black Sections would become self-organised, autonomous groupings within the Labour Party, with the aim of increasing black and minority ethnic representation in the party but also in elected positions.

At the time they were opposed by many Labour Party members are being “divisive” or “segregationist”.

Today self organisation is much more accepted across the Labour movement.

But these important milestones won by your communities are now vulnerable.

Without a mandate, but with a motive, Theresa May seeks a dilution of rights and protections of people in this country.

Threatening to abolish the Human Rights Act.

Cutting to the bone funding to Equality and Human Rights Commission and all its vital work.

This Prime Minister is happy play to the gallery of her backbenchers and media cheerleaders who think your rights are a bureaucratic burden.

While serving as a distraction from the economic failure, the inequality and injustice that six years of Conservative government has delivered to our country and to our Black and Asian communities in particular.

This has serious consequences. Look at hate crimes against ethnic and religious minorities.

We see an alarming rises in racism and anti-Semitism, we are implacably opposed to racism and anti-Semitism in any form.

The party has carried out important work in this regard, both in terms of our policies to advance equality and combat hate crime, and in terms of taking forward the recommendations of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into racism and anti-Semitism.

Just last week, a report from Equality and Human Rights Commission to MPs expressed concern that the start of formally leaving the EU could cause a backlash, similar to the period of increased hate crime that followed the EU referendum.

Any move to tackle such heinous crimes head-on would be laudable, if it didn't come from a government which has actively stoked the fires of frenzied scaremongering as Europe faces its biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

"Go home or face arrest" vans, razor wire in Calais and warnings of swarms and migrants flooding our shores throws light on a party much more content to steal the clothes of far-right forces than attempt in any meaningful way to tackle racial and religious prejudice.

The Government strategy for Muslim integration has been through the lens of counter-extremism.

It has confused race, religion and immigration, with alarming consequences.

It woefully ignores the fact that your communities bear the brunt of its own economic choices that fund tax breaks for the richest in our society.

There is a long line of critical reports of the Government’s failing Prevent strategy.  

The parliamentary joint committee on human rights has called for a review, arguing that it has the potential to drive a wedge between the authorities and whole communities.

None of these organisations or bodies have any sympathies with terrorism or act as apologists for it.  

Anti-terrorism is a serious issue and effective anti-terrorism is always intelligence and community-led.

This must be fully supported and resourced. Prevent is the opposite of intelligence-led policy.

It is time for a major review of the strategy and a fundamental rethink by Government.

The rise of so called populist parties on the right in Europe reinforces how important it is for us to implement policy – both in the UK and internationally - which is inclusive and based on human rights and justice.

We must not allow people’s freedoms to be curbed and must at all times promote religious acceptance.

In this country we have a tradition of acceptance and I am sure many of us will want to maintain that tradition – including opposing any discriminatory bans of religious symbols, whether these be crucifixes, turbans, kippahs or niqabs or any other form of dress.

Friends you know the progress that has been made, but you know too problems that endure, you live these challenges. And you know too the forces that want to turn back the clock.

It is no coincidence that these and the economic injustice faced by your communities have worsened since 2010, when the Tory led coalition government began dismantling social provision.

The truth is austerity has hit ethnic-minority groups the hardest.

When left to its own devices what is called the free market has shown again and again that its impact is racial discrimination.

The loss of more than a million public sector jobs, either disappearing completely or outsourced to the private sector, has shattered one of the few footholds for ethnic minority young people to gain a real stake in society.

I am proud that Labour has the highest number of Black and Asian MPs of any other political party.  This year we celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the historic election to the House of Commons of four black members of parliament - Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz.

Labour will remain the party for aspiring councillors and members of parliament from Black and Asian communities.

As leader, it has been an honour to appoint Labour’s most ethnically diverse Shadow Cabinet, including the first Black woman, Shadow Home Secretary - Diane Abbott.

Labour is proud to have the support of many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

I will not take this for granted. I don’t want you to just vote Labour.

I want you to organise, campaign and lead for Labour in your communities and within the party. And to drive us to do more.

But we together must go further.

And address the systematic economic disadvantage and institutional barriers your communities, the forgotten communities face.

If we are to build an economy that delivers for black and Asian people, not the privileged few off the back of you.

The Labour Party is passionately committed to equality and human rights. It has been at the forefront of championing changes in legislation and policy across the UK to combat discrimination.

That is why under my leadership, a Labour government will commit to eliminate racial inequality in our economy.

Work is now less secure and pays less, leaving Black and Asian employees, in increasingly precarious situations.

Labour has committed to introducing a real living wage, of at least £10 an hour by 2020 that will do most to boost the incomes of Black and Asian women.

We will work with businesses, stakeholders, and trade unions to ensure resources are available to investigate and deal with racial inequality in relation to pay, promotion and recruitment.

This is not red tape. It should not burdensome to ensure transparency in equality and diversity policy, or for tenders to demonstrate a zero-tolerance approach to racism.

At the same time as overseeing the proliferation of zero-hours contracts.

The Conservative government has pursued an agenda of removing employee protections, denying access to justice and fairness at work.

One example was introducing a regime of Employment Tribunal Fees in 2013, a financial barrier to challenging employers over equal pay, race and gender discrimination, putting a price on justice

Since the introduction of these charges, cases of race discrimination have fallen by 50%.

The fees brought in just £8.5 million last year. The low level of income from fees shows this was a purely political decision, not an economic necessity.

Labour’s policy is clear: we will abolish these punitive fees, giving employees seeking to challenge racism and discrimination in the workplace back access to the justice system.

A Labour government in a post Brexit Britain will safeguard the rights of all citizens by incorporating the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination into British law.

Just up the road in Stoke last month Labour defeated an attempt by UKIP to divide that community – to whip up hatred and division.

Ukip stood their leader as a candidate, they poured resources into the campaign – but they were emphatically rejected.

The far right and this government seek to divide our communities, the communities of working people.

But we have far more in common than the fake anti-establishment elitists want us to think.

Labour will unite our communities around economic and social justice for working people.

We will create a society where our origins don’t determine our destinies.

A Labour government will break the rigged economy.

End austerity.

And call time on the economic disadvantage faced by black and Asian communities in Britain.

Labour will deliver change.

Yesterday, the world lost Sir Derek Alton Walcott, the Saint Lucian poet and playwright whose intricately metaphorical poetry captured the physical beauty of the Caribbean, the harsh legacy of colonialism and the complexities of living  and writing in two cultural worlds won  him a Nobel Prize in Literature.

I end with a sentence from his poem about being kind to yourself:

You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

Thank you.

ENDS

[sportsclassic]

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf   formerly Yousuf Youhana,  born 27 August 1974) is a Pakistani right-handed batsman. Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of only a few Christians to play for the Pakistan cricket team. Yousuf was effectively banned from playing international cricket for Pakistan, for an indefinite period by the Pakistan Cricket Board on 10 March 2010, following an inquiry into the team's defeat during the tour of Australia.[1] An official statement was released by the Pakistan Cricket Board, saying that he would not be selected again on the grounds of inciting infighting within the team.[1]On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[2] a direct reaction to the indefinite ban handed out to him by PCB. However following Pakistan's disastrous first Test against England in July/August 2010, PCB decided to ask Yousuf to come out of retirement

Early life

Yousuf was born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan to a family who had converted from a Hindu low caste Balmiki to Christianity.[4] His father Youhana Maseeh worked at the railway station, the family lived in the nearby Railway Colony. As a boy, he couldn't afford a bat and so swatted his brother's taped tennis ball offerings with wooden planks of various dimensions on surfaces masquerading as roads. As a 12-year-old, he was spotted by the Golden Gymkhana, though even then only circumstances dictated his ambitions and never thought of playing cricket, to make a living. He joined Lahore's Forman Christian College and continued playing until suddenly giving up in early 1994.[5] For a time he tried his luck driving rickshaws in Bahawalpur.[6]Yousuf, hailing from poor background, was plucked from the obscurity of a tailor's shop in the slums of the eastern city of Lahore to play a local match in the 1990s. His well-crafted shots attracted attention and he rose through the ranks to become one of Pakistan's best batsman. He was set to work at a tailor's when he was pulled back by a local club was short of players. They called him to make up numbers and made a hundred which led to a season in the Bradford Cricket League, with Bowling Old Lane, and a path back into the game.[5]

Conversion to Islam

Until his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was the fourth Christian (and fifth non-Muslim overall) to play for the Pakistan cricket team, following in the footsteps of Wallis Mathias, Antao D'Souza and the Anglo-Pakistani Duncan Sharpe.[7] He also has the distinction of being the first and so far only non-Muslim to captain the country, leading the team in the 2004–05 tour of Australia where he scored a century in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He converted to Islam after attending regular preaching sessions of the Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan's largest non-political religious grouping, whose preachers include Yousuf's former team-mate Saeed Anwar and his brother.

 His wife Tania converted along with him and adopted the Islamic name Fatima. However, the news was kept private for three years due to family reasons, before his announcement of their conversion publicly in September 2005.[8][9] "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done", his mother was quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper. "We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock", his mother was reported as saying. However, Yousuf told the BBC that "I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is."[10] As part of his conversion, Yousuf officially changed his name from Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf. Former Pakistan cricketer and sports commentator Rameez Raja, who himself is Muslim, acknowledged the significance of Yousuf's new faith: "Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person."[11]

Career

He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 9,000 One Day International runs at an average above 40 (2nd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas) and over 7,000 Test runs at an average above 50 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 24 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in the One Day International match, with a total of 405 runs against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002–2003. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty and a 68-ball hundred in One Day International. In Test match, he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was the top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in One Day International match. In 2004, he scored 111 runs against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 runs against England at Lahore, also earning him the man of the match award. Seven months later in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, he scored 202 runs and 48 in the first Test, again earning himself the man of the match award. He followed up with 192 in the third Test at Headingley and 128 in the final Test at The Oval.

 Yousuf was named CNN-IBN's Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africa's bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition.[12] Yousuf became the fourth recipient of the ICC 'Test Cricketer of the Year' award for 2007, he scored 944 runs at an average of 94.40 including seven centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of English batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian batsman Ricky Ponting.[13]

 A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by former West Indian batsman Viv Richards. The 32-year-old, Pakistani batsman achieved an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 10 Test matches with the help of twelve centuries which became his second world record. Yousuf is known for his ability to score runs at exceptional rate through his great technique and composed strokeplay. Although capable of hitting the ball hard, Yousuf is quick between the wickets, although he is prone to being run out.[7]Yousuf is a skilful infielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the seventh highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman.[14] He is also distinguished by his characteristic celebration after hitting one hundred runs for his country, where he prostrates in thankfulness to Allah in the direction of Mecca. He has observed this act (known as the Sajdah) since his conversion to Islam.[15]

 In 2007, after initially signing a contract to join the Indian Cricket League, Yousuf later refused due to pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board as he would later face a ban by the board. In return the PCB promised to get him into the Indian premier league, however, no team bid for him as he faced litigation from the ICL.[16]In 2008, he once again threatened to join the ICL after the PCB dropped him from their squad. A PCB official was quoted as saying, "We have banned all our cricketers who joined the ICL and if Yousuf also plays for the unauthorised league then he will have to face the same punishment. Yousuf is still our best Test batsman and has a future with the Pakistan team, but not if he joins the ICL."[17] Yousuf decided to join the ICL again to play mid-way though the second season.[18] The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted to the news by banning him from the national team.[19] Yousaf's chances to return to Pakistani cricket improved on 2 February 2009 when a Pakistani court suspended the ban on ICL players.[20]

 Pakistan Cricket Board recalled batsman Mohammad Yousuf to the squad for their July 2009 Test series in Sri Lanka. Yousuf ended his association with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) in early May, in the hope of earning a recall for his country. His decision to join the ICL was made because of differences with former captain Shoaib Malik, who has since been replaced by Younus Khan.[21] In July 2009, on his first match after returning to Test Cricket since 2007, Yousuf scored a century to announce his return to cricket. Yousuf informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that he would not be taking part in the Champions Trophy 2008 because it would coincide with the holy month of Ramadan.[22]

 He along with another former Indian Cricket League player Abdul Razzaq were awarded ‘A’ category mid-term central contracts by Pakistan Cricket Board after they left Indian Cricket League.[23] A little over one year after being welcomed back by the PCB, Yousuf was made captain of the Test team for the tour of New Zealand after Younus Khan was allowed to take a break. The Pakistan Cricket Board, on 10 March 2010, banned Yousuf and former captain, Younis Khan from playing for the national team indefinitely and imposed one-year bans on Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.[1] Despite receiving the ban Yousuf said that the series against South Africa in late 2010 could be a possibility.[24] Pakistan then toured England in July 2010 and after losing the first test by 354 runs due to a weak batting line-up, the second innings total of 80 being the lowest total by Pakistan against England. Yousuf announced his return to International Cricket and was placed on the squad.[25] He then required a visa which was granted but there was a concern that Yousuf could not come to England in time for that tour. In January 2012 it was announced that Yousuf was holding talks with Leicestershire over becoming their overseas player for 2012. Talks broke down over Yousuf wanting to take time off for Ramadam.[26]

Retirement and subsequent return (2010)

On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[2] just days after the Pakistan Cricket Board imposed an indefinite ban on him. "I received a letter from the PCB that my staying in the team is harmful for the team, so I announce my retirement from international cricket", he said at a press conference in Karachi.[2] On 27 March, Yousuf said that he had decided to retire from international cricket.[27] "Yes, I have decided to retire as Pakistan player and my decision is not an emotional one", Yousuf told press agency AFP, "It's of no use playing if my playing is harmful to the team".[27] He was handed over an indefinite ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board for his disciplinary problems on Pakistan's tour of Australia 2009–2010.

 On 1 August 2010, after Pakistan lost the first Test match against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Yousuf was called back in the squad for the rest of the series.[3] He decided not to play the second Test because of tiredness.[28] Shortly after the completion of the second test, Pakistani captain Salman Butt announced that he expected Yousuf to return for the third test.[29] The selectors decided to play Yousuf in a tour match against Worcestershire just before the third Test so that his form and fitness could be checked.[30] Yousuf's form check was positive, because on a day inflicted by rain he managed to score 40*.[31] Yousuf then scored 56 against England in the third Test before being caught and bowled by Graeme Swann; in the process Yousuf became Swann's 100 casualty in Test cricket;the day saw a much improved performance by Pakistan as they were eventually bowled out for 308.[32]

 In the same tour of England that summer, he participated in the Twenty20 series as well. Despite being considered an "old boys cricketer" and having participated in only a sole T20I in 2006 and considered one who does not slog as often (notable by the low number of sixes he has scored), Yousuf participated and scored 26 of 21 deliveries. His return continued well when he scored 46 in the second ODI against England. He consistently scored during the five-match England series as Pakistan lost 3–2. Yousuf was subsequently selected to play for Pakistan in all three formats against South Africa in October 2010;[33] he was considered as an option for becoming captain but the captaincy was given Misbah-ul-Haq Yousuf's batting partner Younis Khan; however still was not selected.[34]

 Mohammad Yousuf captained his domestic team, the Lahore Lions, to victory in the 2010–11 Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup; the team defeated the Karachi Dolphins in the final. That was also the first time in five years that the trophy had gone to someone besides the Sialkot Stallions.[35] Despite his poor fielding skills, Yousuf was given the award of fielder of the series. He did however injure his hamstring in training for the series against South Africa in October 2010. Chief Selector Mohsin Khan elected to withdraw Yousuf from the ODI and T20I squads but said that he should be ready to play in the Test match series.[36] Yousuf's replacement in the limited-overs squad was Younus Khan, who had successfully reconciled with the Pakistan Cricket Board. He managed to regain his fitness and participated in the two-match Test series against South Africa. Also, he managed to regain his fitness quickly enough to participate in the final ODI of the five-match series. Yousuf wore a shirt which had his name written on in ink, which was against regulations.

 The match-referee called him and Yousuf stated that because he came for the test series he did not bring coloured clothing because he did not think that he would play. Subsequently the ICC cleared him of any wrongdoing.[37] Minutes before the toss in the first Test match, Yousuf picked up a groin injury. The injury took two weeks to heal and subsequently Yousuf missed the two-match Test series.[38] Amid his recent spate of injuries, former Pakistan captain Moin Khan suggested that Yousuf should retire from ODIs and T20s and focus on Tests only due to age and consistent injuries.[39].[3]

[tvdas]

Calling Prophet Muhammad a Pedophile Does Not Fall Within Freedom of Speech: European Court

[Mark Steyn wrote this column entitled “Rationalizing Our Surrender” on Nov. 5.] Many readers have asked me to comment on the recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights, summarized in the headline:  

                Calling Prophet Muhammad a Pedophile Does Not                 Fall Within Freedom of Speech: European Cour

And yet, oddly, calling Muhammad a prophet now seems to be binding on non-Muslim headline writers. I don’t really have anything to say about this case that I haven’t said a decade and a half back and at great length in my book America Alone - to whit, absent any reversal of the demographic trends, some of the oldest nations in Christendom would soon begin making their accommodations with an ever more assertive Islam.

But, alas, nobody who matters listened to me, and thus “soon” has now arrived - which is why the most powerful European institutions (courts, media, police, bureaucracy) are increasingly eager to shovel core Western liberties into the landfill.

With regard to this particular case, I wrote about it at the time - seven long years ago:

Consider the case of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife who has lived in several Muslim countries. She was hauled into an Austrian court for calling Mohammed a pedophile on the grounds that he consummated his marriage when his bride, Aisha, was nine years old. Mrs. Sabbaditsch-Wolff was found guilty and fined 480 euros. The judge’s reasoning was fascinating: ‘Paedophilia is factually incorrect, since paedophilia is a sexual preference which solely or mainly is directed towards children. Nevertheless, it does not apply to Mohammad. He was still married to Aisha when she was 18.’

Ah, gotcha. So, under Austrian law, you’re not a pedophile if you deflower the kid in fourth grade but keep her around till high school. There’s a useful tip if you’re planning a hiking holiday in the Alps this fall. Or is this another of those dispensations that is not of universal application?

We now know the answer to that question. For the record, I have met Mrs Sabaditsch-Wolff just once - at the European Parliament a few years back. She is a most forceful and engaging personality. You get no sense of that from the Court’s decision, of course, where the appellant has degenerated to a mere set of initials – “E S”. One of the revolting aspects of Continental “justice” is the way the police and media preference for the non-identification of “victims” has expanded to a general denial of the specific humanity of those who come before the courts. I had cause the other day to recall the ancient legal principle that the public has the right to every man’s evidence. But, increasingly, not in Europe. So Mrs Sabaditsch-Wolff is now “E S”.

The ruling itself is a sobering read. You’ll recall a few years back that President Obama assured us that “the future will not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam”. De facto, that appears to be true, but de jure it’s a problematic concept in that, in English law and elsewhere, it’s not technically possible to “slander” a bloke who's been six foot under for 1,400 years. You can’t libel the dead. So instead the Euro-jurists have been forced to take refuge in the slippery concept (very familiar to those of us who’ve been ensnared in Canada’s “human rights” machinery” of “balance”:

In today's Chamber judgment 1 in the case of E.S. v. Austria (application no. 38450/12) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case concerned the applicant's conviction for disparaging religious doctrines; she had made statements suggesting that Muhammad had had paedophilic tendencies.

The Court found in particular that the domestic courts comprehensively assessed the wider context of the applicant’s statements and carefully balanced her right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected...

Whoa, hold it right there. There was “no violation” of freedom of expression because the courts “carefully balanced” freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected - and came down on the side of protecting feelings rather than freedom of expression.

The late Jennifer Lynch, QC, then head of the Canadian “Human Rights” Commission, used to talk about “balancing” free speech with other rights - and, then as now, “balancing” is code for nullifying: If your right to free speech has to be balanced with people’s “feelings”, then as a practical matter there is no free speech.

There is also no truth: It is not the defendant who “had made statements suggesting that Muhammad had had paedophilic tendencies” but the Hadith, which after the Koran are the most sacred foundational texts of Islam and in whose literal truth Muslims are enjoined to believe:

[60] What about he, who consummated marriage with a girl of nine

5158- Urwa narrated: The Messenger of Allah ‘Allah's blessing and peace be upon him’ married A’isha when she was six years old, and consummated his marriage with her when she was nine. She remained with him nine years (till he died).

So it’s not that it’s illegal to “suggest” that the Big Mo “had paedophilic tendencies”, it’s just illegal to suggest there’s anything wrong with that. . . . This dispensation is not of universal application. . . . If you spent (like the girls I met two years ago) a decade of your life being passed around dozens, hundreds of “Asian” men in Rotherham, Telford, Rochdale, Oxford, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle and on and on, that’s rather bad luck on your part but it’s not really a “suggestion” of anything prosecutable, is it? Especially if you’re suggesting that there might be any connection between the relaxed attitude to child sexual abuse that one observes in, ahem, certain communities throughout Europe and scriptural authorities that might provide a justification thereof. As the European Court noted:

The national courts found that Mrs S. had subjectively labelled Muhammad with paedophilia as his general sexual preference, and that she failed to neutrally inform her audience of the historical background, which consequently did not allow for a serious debate on that issue.

That is a disturbing basis on which to license speech. The full decision goes even further, and is a revealing glimpse of the state’s willingness to shrivel “free speech” to the point where the term is rendered meaningless:

The Regional Court further stated that anyone who wished to exercise their rights under Article 10 of the Convention was subject to duties and responsibilities, such as refraining from making statements which hurt others without reason and therefore did not contribute to a debate of public interest. A balancing exercise between the rights under Article 9 on the one hand and those under Article 10 on the other needed to be carried out. The court considered that the applicant's statements were not statements of fact, but derogatory value judgments which exceeded the permissible limits. It held that the applicant had not intended to approach the topic in an objective manner, but had directly aimed to degrade Muhammad. The court stated that child marriages were not the same as paedophilia, and were not only a phenomenon of Islam, but also used to be widespread among the European ruling dynasties.

Great. So maybe in Rotherham they should just start marrying the six-year-olds and all will be well. It should hardly be necessary to state that freedom of speech except for “statements which hurt others” and do “not contribute to a debate” or “approach the topic in an objective manner” is not freedom of speech at all, but merely-narrowly construed state-regulated speech. And in Europe the courts are perfectly cool with that:

The interference with the applicant’s freedoms under Article 10 of the Convention had therefore been justified. As to the applicant’s argument that those who participated in the seminar knew of her critical approach and could not be offended, the Court of Appeal found that the public seminar had been offered for free to young voters by the Austrian Freedom Party Education Institute, and at least one participant had been offended, as her complaints had led to the applicant being charged.

That was an anonymous undercover “journalist” - because the media regard “E S” as a greater threat than the Islamization of Austria.

I see that Irish voters have just voted to repeal their ancient and unused (Christian) blasphemy laws following a similar repeal a decade ago in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland retain them, so the advice on either side of the Irish Sea is, if minded to Christian heresy, take a short drive south. But where do you motor if minded to Islamic apostasy? From the Court’s conclusion:

The Court found in conclusion that in the instant case the domestic courts carefully balanced the applicant's right to freedom of expression with the rights of others to have their religious feelings protected, and to have religious peace preserved in Austrian society

The Court held further that even in a lively discussion it was not compatible with Article 10 of the Convention to pack incriminating statements into the wrapping of an otherwise acceptable expression of opinion and claim that this rendered passable those statements exceeding the permissible limits of freedom of expression.

The right “to have religious peace preserved in Austrian society”: Good luck with that. There will be much more of this: In the interests of “religious peace”, the prohibitions of Islam are being extended to infidels, and the linguistic contortions of courts and media and police and bureaucrats confirm that Europe has moved on to the next tragic stage of its civilizational suicide: rationalizing its surrender.

[kandicesellars-blog]

Large Thanks for visiting Our Most up-to-date Students.

Our undergraduate courses are actually informed by world-leading minds, delivering the latest research study straight to the class. This component concentrates on administration, regulation, norm-maintenance as well as procedure non-compliance within establishments and neighborhoods. Artistic programing like Animal Away Worry and Tension (PAWS), which supplies every week opportunities for trainees to connect with therapy animals, and Circle De-Stress, which utilizes circus performances and also activities to deal with worry and deliver mental wellness resources. A barrister and also social server along with a scholarly, he has actually chaired various public bodies including the Town government Earnings for England. UF is switching every dollar purchased the university by condition from Fla right into $15. If you have any type of inquiries regarding where and the best ways to utilize you can find out more, you can contact us at our own website. The University will definitely take into consideration applications coming from students delivering a vast array of certifications, typical criteria are listed below. In August from 2009 the Composing Center relocated coming from Morgan Venue in to Lloyd. The online graduate certificate offers pupils to the concept and also method from famous conservation, essential ideas and concepts, and also a number of regions of field of expertise. The strategy will definitely blend theoretical discussion of the principles that should update the notion of lawful values with evaluation and discussion from real moral as well as moral predicaments faced by legal representatives and also their resolution. A double significant (business management as well as food items & resource business economics) at UF, Felder took place to release the 2 Bearbottoms plan at his business, which contributes one pair of shorts to a child in demand for each set sold online. Extending the period coming from the Omission Crisis of the late 1670s till completion from the Seven Years' Battle in 1763, this component is going to look into a turning point in the background from Britain through an exam of politics, religious beliefs and savoir-faire.

10 Shocking Realities About gel.

7 Quick Tips For gel.

The Modern Fundamentals Of gel.

Developed in 1925 throughout the region's renowned real property boom, UM is actually a major analysis university participated in $324 thousand in analysis as well as funded course expenses annually. This light rail place is actually additionally the 1st in the Sacramento place to have transit-oriented growth created neighboring it. The F65 (Folsom Blvd & 65th road) venture features condominiums and also condos.

The University of Memphis carries out not victimize students, workers, or candidates for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, faith, creed, national beginning, gender, sexual preference, gender identity/expression, special needs, age, condition as a protected professional, genetic info, or every other lawfully safeguarded training class relative to all work, courses and activities sponsored by the College from Memphis. A remediation from the property was actually completed in January of 2011 and the building right now includes storage locker areas, group regions, conference as well as video rooms, a weight room, sports training locations, as well as instructors' workplaces. You originate from some of the best robbed regions from the UK as indicated through ACORN and LPN information. Advancements feature the West Cambridge site, the developing extent of North West Cambridge, as well as the fixing of the New Museums Site, in addition to the growth from the Biomedical Grounds in the south of the metropolitan area. International pupils accepted to a doctorate system could not stay in the USA in between residencies under the I-20 and/or F-1 condition. This module intends to study the Court of law from Queen Elizabeth I as the fulcrum from energy and also national politics in the realm and as a cultural center. 5 from the University's teams have office in SERC, as well as personnel from the whole entire College make use of the classroom and also tutorial laboratories. Numerous graduates find work in fields like writing and the media, management and administration, nationwide and also neighborhood civil services, the galleries as well as heritage financial, trade and market, teaching and also study, and the rule. Workflow decisions focus on the best ways to organize, management, and also collaborate the company sources and procedures interested in producing and dispersing items and/or services.

[jennijephcott-blog]

Youngsters Assume They Will definitely Never Make use of Arithmetic Given that University Does A.

Reasons that gel Is Acquiring Even more Popular In The Past Many years.

I think that developers and also atmosphere professionals could help make a low-carbon created atmosphere where climate change mitigation is actually 'locked-in', and where properties as well as structure are actually naturally durable to a series of prospective weather futures. This springtime, higher and also mid institution pupils coming from Dallas center as well as high schools and youth development programs worked together to create the artivism landscape to advocate for adjustment and also reassess social as well as ethnological justice issues. If you're ready to learn more information about you can look here have a look at our own page. The South African authorities possesses, subsequently, been actually implicated from common shadiness and not doing sufficient to secure foreigners.

The Wonder From gel.

Knowing The Background Of gel.

Directly provide a safe, caring as well as enriching atmosphere for groups from little ones joining an in-school or after-school system. This year our company have actually carried several of the most ideal creators in witties to Leeds, thus simply join us wherefore's sure to become an intriguing panel discussion on the fact of developeding globes for inventor owned projects, in addition to living in those of witties' trendiest certified properties. Chandran Kukathas is Crown of the Department of Federal government at LSE. Sat 5th Nov, Information Space, Royal Armouries (Fourth Flooring), 16.10-17.00, free of charge entry with Saturday/Weekend conference pass, All Ages, but please note: Thought and feelings Bubble performs certainly not console information. Sir Richard Branson I believe that excellence in business can be gauged through if you enjoy what you are actually doing; develop something that sticks out; produce one thing that everyone is actually truly pleased with. However, along with the introduction of entrepreneurship, per capita income developed greatly in the West by TWENTY% in the 1700s, 200% in the 1800s, as well as 740% in the 1900s ..." (Murphy, 2006 ). Rested 15th November, Bury Theatre, Royal Armouries, 1430 - 1520, free of charge access with Saturday/Weekend convention elapsed, any ages, however please notice: Idea Bubble carries out certainly not console information. Taking a look at problems experiencing girls business people running in developed economic situations, gender predispositions have been verified to hinder females business people' capability to get access to expenditure, especially coming from Venture Capitalists. Summer season Achievers School can easily make trainees many DCoL logos originating from primary scholarly as well as enrichment classes. These example course plannings illustrate the MA in Global Idea degree plan format as well as supply examples from some various types of individual level programs. As an example, we may consist of federal government financing of religious colleges that impart a certain religious ideological background in trainees (at taxpayer expenditure) and victimize the non-religious in choosing team as well as admitting trainees. Sun Sixth Nov, Bury Theater, Royal Armouries (First stage), 12.00-12.50, free of charge access along with Sunday/Weekend convention pass, All Ages, however feel free to notice: Idea Blister does not console information. Thur 13 Nov, The Dependence, 76-78 North Street Leeds, 2000 (42 minutes), FREE, feel free to check out for tickets. Taking a trip Male, Eisner Feeling from Comic books Seller Finalist 2015, has strongly created on its own as the location to enter the North from England for all sort of comics goodness with its own amazing atmosphere as well as pleasant team. Offer a secure, caring as well as enhancing setting for groups of kids taking part in an after-school or in-school course. But this is nearly difficult for the business owner to carry out everything; there absolutely has to be actually a terrific group behind great entrepreneurs. Sunshine Sixth Nov, Information Space, Royal Armouries (Fourth Flooring), 11.10-12.00, cost-free access along with Sunday/Weekend convention elapsed, All Ages, but feel free to details: Notion Blister carries out certainly not control board web content. By performing this, our company expect to be able to aid even more people learn more about our much-loved narration medium, even if they're unable to journey to Leeds to experience Notion Blister original. Professor Gerry Gilmore Every society of which our experts possess any type of report, through the whole historic record from all societies that have actually ever existed on Earth, has been curious regarding their area in the universe. Tues 11 Nov, Everyman Movie theater, Albion Street, Leeds, 1700 (90 minutes), ₤ 8 (₤ 6 deal), simply check out for tickets. Simply pop along to any of the collections taking part, and also pick-up some great comics free of cost, to take home and also review, or even offer to a good friend! Thrown through LSE Cities, the Sustainability Staff as well as LSE Literary Festivity.