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wolfpawn · 5 years ago

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I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 101

Chapter Summary - Tom and Danielle finish the touring part of their holiday and the move on to meeting Danielle's elderly maternal grandmother.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

Gaelgóir - A predominantly native Irish speaker. IRA - Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary organisation set up to fight British occupation in Ireland. UVF - The Ulster Volunteer Force, a paramilitary organisation set up by Unionists who fought regularly against the IRA. I have the grandmother written to be a lot like my childminder growing up. An older woman who had no filter, she was great.

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tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

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Tom stood at the bottom of the waterfall looking up as the water cascaded down towards them, he adored Ireland, it was official, it was so alike to home, similar foods, similar weather, yet incredibly different also. He could see why Danielle always spoke so well of her home and country, it was impossible to not love the place. He turned to see Danielle hopping from rock to rock with almost childlike glee on her face. “Having fun?” “Yes, yes I am.” She grinned back.

She was, as he predicted, quite stiff from their escapades that morning, but she had been nothing short of ecstatic since either, smiling happily as they enjoyed their holiday. “So, where next?”

“There is an old abbey not far from here, and a castle, I never got to go there, but I always wanted to.” She smiled at him, her eyes pleading.

Tom could only grin back. “You are such a nerd, come on, before someone comes and thinks we’ve lost our minds.” He walked cautiously made his way back to the path, having taken several photos on his phone beforehand of the water plummeting from the sky.

“What about you, is there anything you want to look at around here, I don’t want to dictate things and be boring you.”

“You are not boring me, I like these sorts of things, I love history and old buildings.” “Same difference, they are old because they are part of history.” Danielle pointed out. “If you rather not come, just say it, I won’t get insulted, I know that what I like isn’t for everyone, or we could incorporate a mix of things for the two of us.”

‘Elle, stop worrying, I love this, honestly.’ Tom reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her. ‘I swear.’

‘I suppose it’s better than a Selena Gomez concert anyway.’ She giggled as Tom looked at her bemused. ‘That was a funny one.’

‘I am glad you find my life funny.’ Tom growled.

* Tom sat staring at the old lady in the chair in front of him. He had absolutely no idea what the woman was saying, for the most part, knowing that she was assessing him in his presence.

After Kerry, they made their way to her family in Cork, her maternal grandmother was still alive, though in care in her old age. Danielle had suggested he do something more interesting than sitting with her in an old folk’s home for an hour, but Tom requested to go with her. Her grandmother did not recognise her at first, apparently, that was common enough for the older woman these days, her memory slowly fading. Her accent was strong and part of Tom was grateful that Danielle had not developed one such as it, he would not have understood a word she was saying if she had. They stayed a while but Tom needed to use the bathroom, so he went to the visitors one in the main hall, leaving Danielle to talk to her grandmother. When he came back to the room, he paused for a moment before entering.

‘He’s a bit of alright.’

‘Nan!’ Danielle laughed. ‘You’re terrible.’

‘So, are you going staying over there with him?’

‘I don’t know, hopefully.’

‘What does he do?’

‘He’s an actor.’

‘A real one or a bad one?’

Danielle laughed again. ‘A real one Nan. He’s really good. You know Hank Williams?’

‘Now there was another bit of alright, he was some crooner. There was a movie on about him recently.’

‘Yes, that was Tom, he played him.’ Danielle informed her.

‘Jesus, hold on to him Danielle, he is good.’ Danielle just laughed again. ‘Your grandfather was into his country music.’

‘Yeah, Mam said that a lot.’

‘You’re not living off him, are you?’

‘No Nan, I have my own job and house, I don’t need him to pay for things for me.’

‘Girls these days are lucky, you can make your own money and everything. Don’t depend on men.’

‘The only man a girl should depend on is her Dad.’ Danielle joked.

‘Your father was a good man.’

‘Yeah, he was,’ Tom could imagine the fond smile on Danielle’s face as she spoke.

‘Not as good looking at that lad though, if I were you, it wouldn’t be here visiting me I would be.’

‘Jesus Nan, I swear to God,’ Danielle’s words were muffled as it was clear she was hiding her face in shame.

Tom, for his part, could not prevent himself from blushing, thankful he had not been in the room when she said that particular line. Deciding to rescue Danielle and put that discussion to rest, Tom knocked on the door to re-enter the room. ‘Ladies,’ he smiled as he came in.

‘Did I hear that you played Mr Williams in that movie?’ her grandmother inquired.

‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Tom used his Hank impression.

‘Jesus, tis him alright,’ Danielle just sighed and shook her head. ‘Are you any bit of a singer?’

‘It was him singing, Nan.’

‘Was it? He’s a bit of something alright, Danielle.’ Danielle looked skyward, wondering how she could ever stop this. ‘He was brilliant.’

‘An incredible musician.’ Tom agreed.

‘He’s very proper.’ Her grandmother leant towards Danielle.

‘Nan, he is three feet in front of you, he can hear you.’ Danielle began to feel exasperated.

‘I’d say it to his face too.’

‘You literally just did,’ Danielle stated exasperatedly. ‘I give up.’

‘Your grandfather used to sing a lot.’ Danielle looked at her grandmother curiously. ‘He was the one to had me listening to Hank Williams, he was a country-style too, but he could not get the croon.’

‘I didn’t know that, I thought he just listened to it.’

‘Your mother hated country music.’

‘That I did know.’

‘Yes, your father wondered where we got her,’ Sheila looked to Tom, ‘she was more traditional Irish music, she loved Irish dancing too, makes sense she married a man from Connemara, my Daniel took one look at him and laughed, “Of course she’d go for a Gaelgóir,” he said. He’d have never thought his granddaughter would go over and marry a Brit though.’

Tom’s brows furrowed. ‘Nan, we’re not married.’ Danielle corrected. ‘And it’s not the same now as it was in Grandad’s time.’

‘Did we get back Ulster when I was asleep last night?’ Sheila asked. Danielle looked awkwardly to the far wall. ‘I am not a fool, Bridget, I know things are different. Go get me a cup of tea.’

Danielle smiled slightly and rose to her feet. ‘Sure Nan, I’ll get it there.’ She looked to Tom and indicated to the door.

Tom looked awkwardly at the older woman for a moment. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs O’Brien.’

‘Look it, let me tell you this if I tell you no more boy, it’s Sheila, and you may be some little pulchritudinous fancy thing from Britain, but if you hurt my Bridget, I will sort you.’ She threatened.

Danielle looked at her adoringly. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll ring his Mam and sisters and they’ll sort him.’

‘You do that, I mean it now Bridget.’

‘Sure thing Nan.’

‘And for the love of God get me that tea.’

Danielle walked over and gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek, ‘I will Nan.’ She stated quietly. ‘I love you loads, and thanks for telling me about Granddad and Hank Williams.’ She smiled sadly, before she turned and left the room, informing the care workers that her grandmother was tired but would like a cup of tea.

Neither Tom nor Danielle said anything until they got back to the car. ‘Are you alright?’ Tom took her hand in his as they sat in the car park.

‘Yeah, I just hate seeing her get worse, she is ninety-three years old, so I know it is common at her age, but she is such a character, I don’t like seeing it.’

‘I see where you get your madness from,’ Tom jested. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s life.’

‘So, your grandmother saw my work and liked it then?’

‘She loves Hank.’

Tom smiled proudly back. ‘Well, I did a great job apparently.’

‘You did.’ Danielle agreed with a smile.

Tom frowned. ‘Can I ask why would your granddad have been somewhat shocked?’ Danielle looked at him bewildered. ‘About you and I? I assume he was a republican?’ Danielle looked at him for a moment silently. ‘What?’

‘My grandfather Daniel was in the IRA.’ She admitted. Tom’s eyes widened. ‘He was involved in an incident in the fifties and well, yeah he was not a fan of British authority. Normal English people on the street he had time for, armed forces and government were something he very much did not.’ Tom said nothing in return. ‘In all fairness, Jack’s uncle was in the UVF.’

‘I don’t know what that is.’ Tom admitted.

‘The Unionists paramilitary army,’ Tom looked at her shocked. ‘Yeah, it was a two-sided thing, as wars tend to be.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘I was talking to his dad at the wedding, he told me that his brother died in the Troubles and we got talking about all that.’

‘That was anything but light-hearted. It was a wedding.’

‘It turned out to be an interesting conversation.’ Danielle admitted.

‘Your grandmother called you Bridget a lot towards the end.’

‘Yeah, she does that when she’s tired.’ Danielle’s tone was downtrodden at talking of such.

‘I heard what she said when I left by the way.’ Tom grinned, his tongue between his teeth as he did so.

‘Jesus, that woman has no filter.’ Danielle laughed. ‘I cannot even blame her age for that, she was always blunt.’

‘She likes me.’

‘How could she not?’ Danielle looked at him, a loving smile on her face.

‘Thank you,’ Danielle frowned. ‘For letting me be this involved in your life, giving me a chance to see all of you.’ Tom explained. ‘Now, to Dublin, be warned Siobhan wants to say hi,’

‘Will I drive?’ Tom offered. Danielle did nothing for a moment before getting out of the car and going to the passenger door, Tom smiling as he got out, kissing her gently on the lips before walking to the other side and getting in.

Torc Waterfall in Killarney

Muckross House

Muckross Abbey

Muckross Abbey Yew Tree

Ross Castle

The Lakes of Killarney

#I Hate You I Love You #chapter 101 #wolfpawn #tom hiddleston #Tom hiddleston fic

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pepperf · 5 years ago

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Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019 - update

So we’re now 2/3rds through the year (yikes), and I’m just under 40% of my way through the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019. I had a strong start in January and February, and then crashed and burned from March to May. I started to get back on track in June, and I’m picking up pace now, but I think I need a few easy wins to be sure I’ll finish. For me, that’s YA fantasy and scifi, so I thought I’d try the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series - if I can find a way to wedge them into the prompts.

So, oh wise internet, or the corners thereof who have read the series - these are my prompts. Strikethrough are ones I’ve read. Italics are ones I might read. I’ve stuck The Lightning Thief in at #35, but I also have Circe by Madeleine Miller for that, and I’ve just bought that book and really want to read it. Do you have any bright ideas for where the full Percy Jackson series can fit? I’ll also take suggestions on how to rearrange my list in order to wedge them all in, if you’re so inclined. :)

A book becoming a movie in 2019 (uggggh, they all look terrible!)

A book that makes you nostalgic (The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett)

A book written by a musician (fiction or non-fiction) (Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater)

A book you think should be turned into a movie (Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse)

A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling / The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger)

A book with a plant in the title or on the cover (The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver / Cereus Blooms At Night, Shani Mootoo / Gossip from the Forest: The Tangled Roots of Our Forests and Fairytales, Sara Maitland)

A reread of a favourite book (Jingo, Terry Pratchett)

A book about a hobby (Sourdough: A Novel, Robin Sloan)

A book you meant to read in 2018 (Carry On, Rainbow Rowell)

A book with "pop" "sugar" or "challenge" in the title

A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover (A Hat Full Of Sky, Terry Pratchett)

A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore (I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett)

A book published posthumously (The Shepherd's Crown, Terry Pratchett)

A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie

A retelling of a classic (The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker)

A book with a question in the title

A book set on a college or university campus (Zuleika Dobson, Max Beerbohm)

A book about someone with a superpower (Vicious, V.E. Schwab)

A book told from multiple character POVs (The Lion's Daughter, Loretta Chase)

A book set in space (The Martian, Andy Weir)

A book by two female authors (Spoiled / Messy, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan)

A book with a title that contains "salty", "sweet", "bitter", or "spicy"

A book set in Scandinavia (The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden, Jonas Jonasson)

A book that takes place in a single day

A debut novel (Selling Lip Service, Tammy Baikie)

A book that's published in 2019 (Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse)

A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature (A Natural History Of Dragons, Marie Brennan)

A book recommended by a celebrity you admire (there’s a list of these on GoodReads, far too many to put here)

A book with "love" in the title

A book featuring an amateur detective (Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates, Kerry Greenwood)

A book about a family (Kindred, Octavia E. Butler / Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America (Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata)

A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title (Half Of A Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

A book that includes a wedding (Don't Tempt Me, Loretta Chase)

A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter (Circe, Madeline Miller / The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan)

A ghost story (Beloved, Toni Morrison)

A book with a two-word title (Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell)

A novel based on a true story (Once More With Feeling, Victoria Coren and Charlie Skelton - not a ‘novel’, strictly speaking, but idc)

A book revolving around a puzzle or game

Your favourite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: A book you bought on a trip (2017) (The Secret Lives of Colour, Kassia St Clair)

A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book (The Overstory, Richard Powers)

A "choose-your-own-adventure" book

An "own voices" book (Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi)

Read a book during the season it is set in (Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett)

A LitRPG book

A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters (Snuff, Terry Pratchett)

Two books that share the same title (1) (The Doll's House, Neil Gaiman)

Two books that share the same title (2) (A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen)

A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom (e.g. Big Brother from 1984) (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, John le Carré / Gaslight, Patrick Hamilton)

A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent

#popsugar reading challenge 2019 #book recs #also book disrecs #I was not a fan of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater #but it was a quick read #I'll say that for it

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celticguy2012 · 5 years ago

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT, MISSION CHURCH! SATURDAY NIGHT, HIBERNIAN HALL!

You know, growing up in Boston was a joy in many ways. Especially when your Dad came from County Kerry and your Nana came from County Mayo. They were Irish born and Irish bred. And then my Dad married Nana’s daughter and our family came about. We are part of what was called the Boston Irish.

The war cry of the Boston Irish was “Wednesday Night, Mission Church. Saturday Night, Hibernian Hall.” On Wednesday night, they’d go to Mission Church, formally known as the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, for the weekly Novena services and Masses conducted by Father Manton. His services would be broadcast live every Wednesday night by WHDH-AM 850, unless there was a baseball game that night. They would then broadcast the afternoon service. People would turn out in droves for those services, then they'd go down to the local coffee shop to get a donut and a coffee. They'd talk about the service, how work was going and the family life that they were having at the time.

On Saturday night, they’d go back to Roxbury, this time to Hibernian Hall to go to an Irish dance. They’d hear the Irish bands play dance music such as jigs and reels, not to mention the latest songs from the hit parade. Even though they were far away from Ireland, they felt a little bit of home whenever they congregated there.

In what is now a largely black and Hispanic neighborhood now, there were at one time 5 Irish ballrooms with recreational facilities and offices in them. People would congregate on weekends for dances and weddings and what have you. People would take the subway to Roxbury from all over town to enjoy themselves.

These dances enjoyed great publicity, thanks to Irish radio shows like The Irish Hour with Tommy Shields on WUNR. There were many fundraisers there for charitable causes as well as concerts. They were great times for all.

During the years of the blue laws, it was illegal to have a dance on Sundays. But they still had them. When the police came around to see what was going on, someone would get up on the stage and sing, so as to the throw them off. And wouldn’t you know it? Once the cops were gone, they’d be up for another Irish waltz.

Musicians like Joe Joyce had steady employment at that time. People would come from miles to hear them. On Saturdays, some of the musicians would play 2 or 3 weddings before their regular Saturday night gig, and then do another wedding on Sunday.

On Sunday mornings, still reeling from their Saturday night out, the people would go to Mass then out to breakfast at one of their nearby cafes. There, they’d talk about the previous night’s performers and how they did. After that, they’d go on joy rides to the beach or the mountains. Some would go out to yard sales and flea markets, too.

I know that my Mom and Dad would go out on dates to those dances on Saturday nights. It was better than hanging around the house and watching TV or listening to the radio. Sometimes, they’d go out to the movies and see what was new there.

As the 60s and the civil rights movement came along, there would be riots in Roxbury, ending the reign of the Irish ballrooms. Dances would move to church halls and Irish pubs. They were more intimate settings for Irish music and dance, but people would still come to these places. It was about the change in demographics as the Irish moved out to the suburbs and started their own social clubs and festivals. Irish music can still be found in these areas if you know where to look.

Of course, bluegrass and country music are bballrooms. Dances would move to church halls and Irish pubs. They were more intimate settings for Irish music and dance, but people would still come to these places. It was about the change in demographics as the Irish moved out to the suburbs and started their own social clubs and festivals. Irish music can still be found in these areas if you know where to look.

Here in Boston, we’ve been blessed to have Irish radio programs like The Irish Hour Radio Program on WUNR and the Irish Hit Parade on WROL every Saturday. Some Irish programs can be found in New York City, as well as a smattering of hour-long radio programs in various cities of the East Coast and the Midwest. Outside of these areas, there’s a dearth of Irish radio programming ased on Irish folk music and is very popular in the South and other parts of the country. Some say that country music is more popular in Ireland than it is here in America, since the two genres are related to each other. Country music shows on RTE and local radio stations in Ireland are very popular and feature local country artists as well as worldwide talent. And on Irish radio shows here in the USA, a lot of Irish country artists are featured in the programs’ playlists.

Yes, life has changed for the Irish since their days of "Wednesday Night, Mission Church, Saturday Night, Hibernian Hall." However, the Irish experience is still alive in Boston in many ways.

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the-hindu-times · 5 years ago

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May, June, July 2019 reviews

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone On Wed 1st May, I once again set off to see Idlewild. This time at the Cambridge Junction with support from Hamish Hawk. Realising I had met him before, in his record shop in Edinbrugh, his onstage presence had more in common with Morrissey than someone in retail. Whilst Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason played the larger Corn Exchange, Hamish’s band made way for solo/acoustic number 'Catherine Opens a Window' - his answer to The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' or 'Asleep' - as Hamish gave the occasional gaze over to the talkative bar area during this delicate section. Back catalogue and recent EP songs were performed, which were all new to this audience.

The next day was the beginning of three nights at Outside The Box at the Royal Oak New Malden: Russell Howard on Thursday, Milton Jones on Friday and Al Murray on Saturday. I left the later early to catch Richard Ashcroft at The Olympia but train delays meant that by the time I arrived, he was already on to his '90s nostalgic hit parade, having missed the minimal selection of newer material. We were back at Outside The Box at Langleys, Surbiton for Romesh Ranganathan, before another Al Murray show there.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

Having previously seen Dean Friedman at Teddington Arts Centre (a large church near Kingston), a year or so ago, he's continued to be a frequent visitor from over the pond; selling out Pizza Expresses and country pubs. This time, he's deservedly in prestigious theatre, The Bloomsbury, close to central London but sadly only a few are in attendance. It's a similar set to before; covering songs from all of his albums on piano and guitar. Once again, he takes moments to advertise future gigs and what merch he has for sale - but a show just focusing on his wonderful songbook would have been much more credible. He always seems to be looking towards the future whilst his songs tell his past.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

On the Tuesday, I was back in Cambridge - this time for the Manic Street Preachers at the Corn Exchange; a venue we were due to return to last month the cancelled Ryan Adams tour. Standing can get uncomfortably crowded in there, and the reserved seating on the balcony gets worse the closer to the front, due to the perspex safety screen. There were a few chairs put out just under the balcony/above the standing, which isn't a bad spot though. Marking 19 years and 8 months since the release of 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', the adverts suggested that they would be playing the album in order, in its entirety - to which they did neither. Not the only marketing con to help make a fast buck, as it looked like they had bought all the unofficial £5 t shirts from outside gigs in 1998, and were now selling them for £30. The extra money was spent on more live session musicians for the tour, with the highlights being the two songs from latest LP ‘Resistance Is Futile’.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

The following evening, From The Jam, were at Epsom Playhouse. The small, all seated theatre saw original The Jam member, Bruce Foxton, battle through the flu to perform acoustic renditions of hits, album tracks and b-sides with Russell Hastings having permanently taken Paul Weller's place, whilst he continues to evolve as a successful solo artist. Support act, Nine Below Zero re-emerge to join in on a couple of numbers for an audience of one type and age bracket.

Monday afternoon's set from James Walsh at the Groucho Club saw Sam Fender and band turn up with journalist, Gordan Smart, and Josh McClorey from The Strypes, whom had to turn down the opportunity to be Weller's new guitarist whilst Steve Cradock's out with The Specials. The next day saw Brushy One String's first ever London show at The Blues Kitchen in Camden. With just one A (5th) string on his acoustic guitar, Jamacain musician, Andrew Chin, performed his Youtube hit 'Chicken in the Corn', along with other originals and Reggae classics. On Thursday, Lights was over from Canada but we decided to see Mull Historical Society’s stripped back set at Bush Hall on a night where the songs without Bernard Butler on guitar sounded best. After All Points East festival on the last Friday of the month, where Bring Me The Horizon topped the bill, we were at the Fighting Cocks, Kingtson for Outside The Box with Nick Helme, before we returned to the same club at Langleys Surbiton (Harry Hill, Matt Forde, Kerry Godliman), West Molesey Barn Theatre (Andy Parsons), Royal Oak, New Malden (Harry Hill [again], followed by just making Andy Parsons [again], after coming back from a live session on Bournemouth Radio, the next night]).

Paul Weller brought his ever changing set list to Bedgebury Pinetum forest before we witnessed David Blaine wow Hammersmith Apollo, the night before we attended Metallica at Twickenham stadium. The following evening saw Rhys James headline the New Malden Sports Ground club before I was back at Outside The Box in Kingston for Romesh Ranganathan, Al Lubel and Adam Bloom.

I wasn’t that impressed with my first trip to Exeter but Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds were mostly on top form at Powderham Castle. I would have liked The Charlatans’ ‘90s’ greatest hits support set to have have been more varied and up to date but they were being pleasing the majority.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

After Josh Widdicombe at Outside The Box in Surbiton at Langleys on the first day of July, I was at another Paul Weller show on Sunday, in Greenwich. Another Outside The Box the following evening, in Kingston, saw Angelos Epithemiou top the bill before Wednesday night’s Cosmo Sheldrake gig at the Oval Space was shut down early due to curfew laws – something he won’t have as much of a problem with on his European tour. Bob Dylan and Neil Young at Hyde Park on the Friday was followed by a daytime trip to Dartford’s free festival for The Farm and The Lightning Seeds.

The next day we were at On Blackheath, where Morcheeba had an afternoon slot. The festival seemed much smaller than previous years and the signs for what you could and couldn’t bring in were different to what the security would snatch from you so, we didn’t stick around.

On Tuesday, Doves played a nostalgic set at Sommerset House before The Good, The Bad & The Queen hosted a much better evening of new music. Harry Enfield, Miles Kane and Jeff Wootton were amongst the smaller crowd, to the night before, as Damon Albarn’s group engaged and impressed. After meeting Tom Speight on the train home, we went along to his short set, opening for The Lighthouse Family at a Banquet Records night, before a seaside trip back to Folkestone for Graham Nash at the Leas Cliff Hall. I’m still not sure Michael Barakan (Shane Fontayne) works on guitar for him, although I did like some of his country style, and the show worked much better with the addition of James Raymond on keys.

Nic Bennett

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theeventhub · 2 years ago

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Book the Best DJ Band for Your Wedding in Kerry | The Event Hub

Looking for a top-notch DJ band to make your wedding in Kerry unforgettable? The Event Hub offers the perfect solution! Our expert DJs and talented musicians will create a lively and entertaining atmosphere, ensuring that your special day is filled with unforgettable music and moments. Visit our website to book the best dj band for wedding in kerry and let us set the perfect tone for your celebration. With years of experience and a vast selection of music genres, we guarantee a night of non-stop dancing and pure enjoyment. Trust The Event Hub for a memorable wedding experience.

#dj band for wedding in kerry #dj band for wedding #the event hub #cork

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ethanlusa-blog · 5 years ago

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Wedding Musicians in Ireland

Tips to hire the musical group of your wedding

Music is the essential ingredient for your wedding, take note of the tips to choose the best Wedding Musicians in Ireland. If you are already in the planning stage of your wedding, the first things you should look for and hire is Musicians. The sooner you search out best Musicians and easier for you to arrange the things.

The importance of music on your wedding day

Music accompanies us throughout our life in all kinds of events, so the day of your wedding can not be less. Good music excites us, evokes memories, makes us laugh and brings us even closer to the people we love. That is why it is essential not to neglect this aspect of the ceremony.

Throughout the event there will be different situations that will require a different musical accompaniment. It is not the same to choose music for the moment of the link, civilly or by the church, than to select the themes for the dance after the banquet and the end of the party.

How to choose Musicians

But how to choose it? We give you some super simple tips for you to discover the best way to choose and hire the Musicians for weddings in Kerry.

Get references from the musical group

Your friends and family can be an excellent support, in this sense you can request the recommendation of one that they have already heard live in an event, remember that it is the guests who through music, feel or not encouraged to dance. Yes! Accept all the comments made by the groups, but also make sure you only keep those worthwhile according to what you are looking for.

Find a musical group according to the type and style of wedding you plan

In the musical world there is a great variety of musical styles, so it is important to be clear about the style of music you want for your wedding, whether it is a band, ranchers, gruperas, or a mixture of all.

Hire only professionals.

It is vital to ensure quality and good wedding ceremony music In Cork. The recommendation is that you rely on the experts only. If you consider cheap services and not make sure that hired musician are professional then you may lose some happy events of your party. So always choose professional who are expert in their field and have good work history.

Do not forget to include the performance in your budget

We are sure that any price you pay for a musical performance is well reversed, since avoiding having the empty dance floor is really a challenge. The musical groups usually ask for important figures, so it is essential that you do not forget to include them in the budget so as not to bring you unpleasant surprises later.

We hope that all these tips have helped you to specify what kind of musical atmosphere you want for your party.

#Musicians for weddings in Kerry #Unique Wedding Musicians In Ireland

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boyvenus · 7 years ago

Link

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tinyshe · 3 years ago

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Artist Name: Brendan P. Lynch Musicians : Brendan P. Lynch (fiddle), with Tom O'Connor (guitar), David L. Lynch (bodhrán, jew's harp), Mary McGuire (harp) Tracklist: 01 Reels- Jenny's Wedding, Kerry Reel, Cameronian Reel - 0:00 02 Hornpipes- Fiddlers Contest, Stacks Of Barley - 5:00 03 Shetland Air- The Old Resting Chair - 8:39 04 Jigs- Herd Of Cattle, Rosewood, Tamara's Jig - 13:03 05 Waltz Into A Reel- Margaret's Waltz, Boys Of Malin - 17:21 06 Jigs- Tatter Jack Walsh, Cook In The Kitchen, Garret Barry's - 21:47 07 Air- Carolan's Draught - 26:44 08 Hornpipe- The Derry Hornpipe - 30:04 09 Set Dance- Princess Royal - 33:33 10 Mazurikas- Sonny Brogans, Shoe The Donkey - 37:36 11 Reels- Red Haired Lass, Danny O'Donnell's Reel - 41:10

#music

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

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Globe, February 1 -- part 2 of 4

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Page 10: Whoopi Goldberg's constant bullying and temper tantrums on The View have pushed everyone to the edge of an explosive rebellion -- after more than 13 years on the show talking hot topics the workaholic has finally driven herself and everyone including co-hosts Joy Behar, Meghan McCain, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin to the edge with her tyrannical antics -- show bigwigs are near wit's end and close to putting her out to pasture for a rest because she's got everyone walking on eggshells and producers are this close to telling her to take a break whether she wants to or not -- the problem is Whoopi believes she's the only one there who knows what's going on in the world and she's blowing her top every day over something and right-winger Meghan who just returned from maternity leave is especially feeling her wrath -- Whoopi admits openly chasing the starring role in the iconic British sci-fi series Dr. Who

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- John Legend slides down a slide during his winter getaway in St. Barts (picture), Hilaria (nee Hillary) Baldwin whose fake foreign accent seemed to come and drift for years while she duped the world into believing she was from faraway Espana who wed Alec Baldwin in 2012 while dramatically fanning herself with a Spanish fan is being dropped by high-paying brand partners frowning over the mom of five's embarassing scandal, freshly single Olivia Wilde is dating former boy-band crooner Harry Styles and the two became a thing while shooting their 1950s set flick Don't Worry Darling, Eva Amurri who is Susan Sarandon's daughter and finalized her divorce from former soccer star soccer star Kyle Martino just last year while pregnant with their third child is now dating pro chef Ian Hock, Kat Von D now wed to musician Rafael Reyes has snapped up a plot rumored to be the most haunted mansion in Indiana

Page 13: Sadie Frost vacationing in Mexico (picture), Justin Theroux carrying a basket and walking his dog in NYC (picture), Lauren Hutton hides her famous mug behind a mask in L.A. (picture)

Page 14: Lori Loughlin's spoiled spawn Olivia Jade Giannulli has been partying like it's prepandemic while convicted dad Mossimo Giannulli sits behind bars for his shady part in the scandalous college scheme to get the unqualified ding-a-ling into college and she posts pictures of herself dancing the night away in $1000 platform Gucci loafers, Miley Cyrus' beloved pooch Mary Jane died of cancer

* Fashion Verdict -- Jenny Slate 3/10, Kerry Washington 8/10, Elle Fanning 1/10, Laura Harrier 2/10

Page 16: George Clooney's stormy marriage could be headed the way of the Titanic after his wife Amal Clooney flipped out when he announced that he's moving his aging parents into their Hollywood home and George's devotion to his folks could trigger a $570 million divorce after Amal smacked him with a stinging ultimatum: it's them or me -- George's parents are getting up in age and he feels it's his duty to have them move out from their home in Kentucky and live with them in L.A. and he also thinks it would be great for his twins to be around their grandparents more -- Amal is afraid her in-laws will meddle with how she runs the house and raises the twins -- George is having a guesthouse built for his parents and he's also putting in a monorail for easy access from the guesthouse to his house up the hill so his elderly parents don't have to make that walk uphill on foot

Page 19: 10 Things You Don't Know About Amanda Kloots

* Bitter exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are needling each other over the $7 million divorce settlement she promised to donate to charity -- Johnny's lawyers claimed Amber has failed to make the donation but Amber's attorney confirmed she's yet to fulfill her pledge because she has been forced to spend millions of dollars defending Johnny's accusations against her and money is tight

(continued)

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paudiewalshmusic · 5 years ago

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pepperf · 6 years ago

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Reading Challenge 2019

For reference, this is the full Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019 list (also available at the above link, but I wanted a text version I could C&P into spreadsheets, because that’s how I roll).

I’ve struck through the two I’ve already read, and noted in [square brackets] all the ones I might read/suggestions I’ve received. Some have more than one option, so I might see if I can fit the alternatives into another category, if they take my fancy.

The list:

A book becoming a movie in 2019

A book that makes you nostalgic

A book written by a musician (fiction or non-fiction)

A book you think should be turned into a movie

A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads

A book with a plant in the title or on the cover - [The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver / Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie / Cereus Blooms At Night, Shani Mootoo]

A reread of a favourite book - Jingo, Terry Pratchett

A book about a hobby [Sourdough: A Novel, Robin Sloan]

A book you meant to read in 2018 - [Carry On, Rainbow Rowell]

A book with "pop" "sugar" or "challenge" in the title

A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover - A Hat Full Of Sky, Terry Pratchett

A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore - I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett

A book published posthumously - The Shepherd’s Crown, Terry Pratchett

A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie

A retelling of a classic

A book with a question in the title

A book set on a college or university campus

A book about someone with a superpower [Vicious, V.E. Schwab]

A book told from multiple character POVs - The Lion’s Daughter, Loretta Chase

A book set in space

A book by two female authors - [Spoiled / Messy, Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan]

A book with a title that contains "salty", "sweet", "bitter", or "spicy"

A book set in Scandinavia - [The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden, Jonas Jonasson]

A book that takes place in a single day

A debut novel - Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse [/Selling Lipservice, Tammy Baikie]

A book that's published in 2019 [Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell]

A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature - [A Natural History Of Dragons, Marie Brennan]

A book recommended by a celebrity you admire

A book with "love" in the title [Beloved, Toni Morrison]

A book featuring an amateur detective - Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates, Kerry Greenwood

A book about a family [Kindred, Octavia Butler]

A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America - [Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata / Half Of A Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie / Shades, Marguerite Poland]

A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title

A book that includes a wedding - Don’t Tempt Me, Loretta Chase

A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter - [Circe, Madeline Miller]

A ghost story

A book with a two-word title

A novel based on a true story

A book revolving around a puzzle or game

Your favourite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

Read so far: 8/40

And for the advanced challenge, there’s an additional ten books:

A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book

A "choose-your-own-adventure" book

An "own voices" book

Read a book during the season it is set in - Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett

A LitRPG book

A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters - Snuff, Terry Pratchett [/A Private Life, Chen Ran]

Two books that share the same title (1)

Two books that share the same title (2)

A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom (e.g. Big Brother from 1984)

A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent

Read so far: 2/10

#Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019 #see previous post #I'd never heard of LitRPG #or cli-fi

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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago

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Trump Organization fires more undocumented workers — a year after its use of illegal labor was revealed

By Joshua Partlow and David A. Fahrenthold | Published December 31 at 7:38 PM EST | Washington Post | Posted January 1, 2020 |

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Nearly a year after the Trump Organization pledged to root out undocumented workers at its properties, supervisors at the Trump Winery on Monday summoned at least seven employees and fired them because of their lack of legal immigration status, according to two of the dismissed workers.

The timing of the firings at the rural Virginia winery, 11 months after the company began purging the ranks of undocumented greenskeepers and cooks at Trump golf courses, came during the vineyard’s winter downtime. Workers had finished the arduous annual grape harvest, which involved working 60-hour weeks and overnight shifts under floodlights.

Two of the fired workers — Omar Miranda, a 42-year-old tractor driver from Honduras, and a second employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect family members seeking to stay in the United States — said they thought the company had held off on firing them until after the year’s work was complete, taking advantage of their labor for as long as possible. Both had worked at the winery for more than a decade.

“They didn’t make this decision in the summer because they needed us a lot then,” Miranda said. The second employee said, “I think they wanted to get their product out well, the grapes, to make sure that was taken care of, and once things were slow, they could fire us all.”

In response to questions from The Washington Post, the Trump Organization emailed only a statement that said, “Consistent with our efforts, we will immediately terminate any individual who has provided fake identification in order to unlawfully gain employment.”

The Trump Winery, set amid rolling hills in Virginia wine country, is a minor part of President Trump’s portfolio. The property is located near President Thomas Jefferson’s former home at Monticello and down the road from a winery owned by musician Dave Matthews. Trump bought the property in 2011 and 2012 out of foreclosure for $16.2 million, renovated the manor house into a boutique hotel and created an adjacent venue for weddings.

The labor-intensive winery has long relied on a couple dozen immigrants — primarily from Mexico — who legally arrive year after year on seasonal work visas, living in a dormitory on the winery property during the harvest. But there has also long been a smaller parallel staff of undocumented employees who worked at the property year-round. This was the group fired Monday.

“Donald Trump has known about these workers for months,” said Anibal Romero, an immigration lawyer who represents many of Trump’s former undocumented employees and is advising Miranda. “He waits until the fields are tended, grapes picked, wine made. He then discards them like a used paper bag. Happy New Year — you’re fired.”

Over the past year, The Post has spoken with 49 people who had worked illegally for the Trump Organization at 11 of its properties in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. These employees spent years — and in some cases nearly two decades — performing manual labor at Trump’s properties.

Trump has made stopping illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidency, decrying unauthorized immigrants as a threat to the country’s safety and blaming undocumented workers for taking jobs from American citizens. But for years his company has relied on that low-wage, illegal labor, without explaining how some employees kept their jobs despite lacking proper papers.

The New York Times reported in December 2018 that undocumented workers were employed at Trump’s golf club in New Jersey. Shortly after, the Trump Organization promised to fire any of its workers in the country illegally.

Miranda, aware of the firings at other Trump properties throughout the year, spent months living with the anxiety of knowing that his dismissal could come at any moment. After a Spanish-language report by Univision in May revealed that the winery employed some undocumented workers, the Trump Organization appeared to take no action apart from firing the employee who let the camera crew onto the property.

The fall harvest came, and Miranda spent hours driving a tractor in the predawn dark. Then fall turned to winter, and he did the hard work of pruning vines. His bosses only praised his work, never mentioning immigration, papers or firings. The president’s son Eric Trump, who oversees the winery, even pulled Miranda’s name during a holiday raffle in early December, awarding him a $500 prize.

Then on Monday, the bosses asked to see him.

“So, when we looked at your forms and documents, some of the documentation did not seem genuine, or was insufficient,” Kerry Woolard, the winery’s general manager, told him, according to an audio recording obtained by The Post. “Do you currently have legal permission to work in the United States?”

“No,” Miranda replied.

“So unfortunately, this means we have to end our employment relationship today,” Woolard said. “We’re very sad. You’ve been wonderful. If your employment status ever changes, you’re welcome back, of course.”

Then she gave him a big hug, Miranda said.

On Tuesday at the winery, the vast rows of vines were leafless and empty, and the tractors Miranda had used were parked neatly in a row. A receptionist said that Woolard did not have time to speak to a reporter.

SMUGGLED TO THE U.S.

The Post has spoken extensively to Miranda over the past five months — interviewing him in Spanish and on the condition that no article would be published while he still worked at the winery. The Post confirmed Miranda’s employment by viewing pay stubs and observing him punching in at the winery’s security gate.

Miranda’s job was to drive a tractor down the narrow trellis rows. Some days, that meant spraying pesticides on the chardonnay and viognier grapes. On other occasions, he guided motorized pruning blades to trim the leaves. From his cockpit, he would share his cellphone videos of his work with The Post.

“It’s not difficult, but it gets boring,” he said in one video from August.

Because of worsening back pain, Miranda preferred these tasks to the job of picking grapes by hand and loading them into yellow plastic bins. Much of that work was done by legal immigrants — the Mexicans on temporary work visas.

This year, the Trump Organization received permission for 29 such seasonal visas.

But the winery also relied on illegal labor to supplement those positions. Miranda and other former staffers said that undocumented employees assisted with the winemaking and storage process, with landscaping around the hotel, and in the fields.

Many of these employees, including Miranda, live in Southwood, a trailer park tucked in the woods on the outskirts of Charlottesville, about 120 miles southwest of Washington.

Miranda had been a lathe operator in his native Honduras, making plastic parts for a Honduran beer company. After his brother received death threats from a rival businessman, Miranda paid a smuggler $5,500 to get to the United States. He swam the Rio Grande in 2004 and soon moved to the trailer park in Charlottesville.

After Trump purchased the winery, he converted the manor house into a boutique hotel known as the Albemarle Estate at Trump Winery. Inside the hotel, rooms come with Trump-branded slippers; a miniature Trump chocolate bar in the shape of a gold brick rests by the pillow. In the downstairs library, the books skew conservative, with volumes by Bill O’Reilly and Dinesh D’Souza.

Some of the workers involved in renovating the manor house were also undocumented — members of a roving group of Trump Organization stonemasons called “Los Picapiedra,” or “The Flintstones,” by other Spanish-

speaking Trump employees.

Maids who cleaned the rooms and landscapers who tended the manicured gardens — “inspired by Palladio’s Villa Rotunda in Vicenza, Italy,” according to a brochure — also did not have legal status, according to former workers.

Legally, the wine is manufactured by the Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing Company, of which Eric Trump is president. But the president owns the land under the winery, which produces rental income — between $300,000 and $3 million in 2018, according to his financial disclosures. He also owns the Albemarle hotel on the property, which took in $1.14 million in revenue in 2018.

Miranda was officially employed by a Trump Organization entity called Trump Vineyard Estates LLC, according to Miranda’s paychecks.

Miranda first joined the winery under its previous owner and then was hired by Trump in 2013, using fake documents he had purchased for $120.

“The papers one uses, they know it’s something illegal,” Miranda said. “The owner knows. The winemaker knows.”

Miranda said a longtime vineyard field supervisor who is no longer with the company was also undocumented and knew many employee working for him were in the same situation. Other managers helped fill out applications for employees without legal status, Miranda said.

'UNBEARABLE PAIN '

Miranda earned $15.75 per hour and often worked 60-hour weeks during the harvest — without higher overtime pay because of an exemption for agricultural workers in overtime laws. With that, plus odd jobs repairing his neighbors’ appliances and any lathe work he could find, he supported his wife and 11-year-old son. For a stretch in the late summer, he would wake up at 2 a.m. and work under floodlights. Some delicate grapes have to be picked in the dark before the sun shrinks them.

“It’s the hardest time of the year,” he said.

While Miranda was disgusted by the president’s rhetoric about illegal immigration, he was terrified about losing his job. At the winery, he received holidays off, plus two weeks per year of paid vacation, 48 hours of sick pay and holidays off.

The most crucial benefit was the health insurance the company provided. Pinched nerves in his back had nearly immobilized him during different stretches this year and sent him repeatedly to the hospital. He is now taking oxycodone, an opioid, to ease what he describes as “unbearable pain.” At other wineries, he said, he most likely couldn’t get such benefits.

“He’s got me captive because I’m illegal,” he said in August, referring to the president. “He can say whatever he wants.”

For months this year he worried that his time was running out. He was friends with some of the other immigrant workers that Trump had fired elsewhere. He couldn’t come up with any reason the winery staff wouldn’t be fired except that if it had happened, the season’s wine production might be lost.

He discreetly inquired at other wineries about jobs, without success.

By December, the Mexican seasonal workers had returned home, and the skeleton staff — including Miranda and the second employee — had begun the winter maintenance work.

They began to think it was possible they might not be fired after all. During Eric Trump’s holiday visit, he had nothing but kind words for the staff.

“He gave me his hand,” Miranda said in an interview in early December, remembering his raffle winner’s handshake with Trump, who treated him as a valued part of the team. “Eric is like a co-worker,” Miranda said then.

Then, in the three-minute conversation Monday, it was over.

Miranda said he felt like the president saw him as an embarrassment to be eliminated before the 2020 campaign heated up.

“He wants a clean slate,” Miranda said.

*********

Roberts says judges should lead the way on civics but doesn’t mention one outreach possibility

By Robert Barnes | Published December 31 at 6:47 PM EST | Washington Post | Posted January 1, 2020 |

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Tuesday that federal judges have an important role in promoting civic education and explaining government in an age “when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale.”

“We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside,” Roberts wrote in his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, adding that federal judges have “an important role to play.”

But in listing ways the judiciary has reached out to the public, Roberts did not mention one possibility urged by many members of Congress and overwhelmingly supported by Americans: televising the Supreme Court’s oral arguments or streaming audio from the sessions.

The justices, Roberts included, say they fear that cameras in the court could lead to grandstanding by attorneys or disruption of the arguments. The goal of oral arguments is not to educate the public, Roberts has said, but to aid the justices in reaching a proper conclusion based on the law.

As is his custom, Roberts praised the independence of the federal judiciary, a subject on which he has crossed swords with President Trump, who has criticized as biased the judges who have ruled against him and his administration’s policies.

Roberts did not reengage in that battle. But he did seem to allude to his upcoming role in presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of the president.

“We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch,” Roberts wrote. “As the New Year begins, and we turn to the tasks before us, we should each resolve to do our best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under law.”

Roberts’s report is an annual New Year’s Eve tradition, and the chief justice picks the topic. As it was released, the court disclosed that Roberts’s mother had died over the holidays in Westminster, Md. The obituary for Rosemary Roberts, 90, said she died on Dec. 28, “surrounded by her family.”

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that this year’s topic, civic education, “is a continuing enterprise and conversation. Each generation has an obligation to pass on to the next, not only a fully functioning government responsive to the needs of the people, but the tools to understand and improve it.”

There were a couple of other notable inclusions in the chief justice’s report.

Roberts praised, without naming, President Barack Obama’s 2016 nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland, who never received a hearing in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“The current chief judge of the District of Columbia Circuit has, over the past two decades, quietly volunteered as a tutor at a local elementary school, inspiring his court colleagues to join in the effort,” Roberts wrote. “I am confident that many other federal judges, without fanfare or acclaim, are playing similar selfless roles throughout the country.”

Roberts also singled out the court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education as an example of how judges can communicate with the public.

Although Roberts at his 2005 confirmation hearing praised the desegregation ruling, a number of judges nominated by Trump have refused to answer Democratic senators’ questions about Brown.

They have said the questioning is an attempt to get them on the record as supporting one court precedent so they can be pressed about others, such as rulings on abortion.

Roberts seems not to have qualms.

“Chief Justice Earl Warren illustrated the power of a judicial decision as a teaching tool in Brown v. Board of Education, the great school desegregation case,” he wrote. “His unanimous opinion on the most pressing issue of the era was a mere 11 pages — short enough that newspapers could publish all or almost all of it and every citizen could understand the court’s rationale.”

*********

Two trends to worry about in 2020

By Jennifer Rubin | Published December 31 at 4:59 PM EST | Washington Post |Posted January 1, 2020 |

A new year and a new decade does not, unfortunately, mean a clean slate for the country or the world. We bring into 2020 the baggage of 2019 — and if it is any consolation, at least with clarity about the dangers and challenges we collectively face. Front and center remain the impeachment of a disloyal president and a party willing to defend him with Russian propaganda. However, let us look at two other developments that may well boil over in 2020, and which are tearing at the fabric of the United States and affecting our national security.

The Hanukkah holiday brought a frightening reminder of the upsurge in violent anti-Semitic attacks. The stabbing attack that wounded five at an Orthodox rabbi’s home in Rockland County, N.Y., was far from an isolated event. The perpetrator was charged with attempted murder and federal hate crimes. The Post reported:

“Even before Monday’s charges brought a potential motive into focus, many officials and community leaders had denounced anti-Semitism and expressed concern about a spate of attacks on Jewish residents. Saturday’s stabbing was the 13th anti-Semitic incident in three weeks in New York state, the governor said, calling the Monsey stabbing ’domestic terrorism.’ Earlier this month, four people were fatally shot in what officials called a targeted attack on a Jersey City kosher grocery store.”

It is no surprise that in an era in which white nationalism is on the rise, the attorney general advocates for a theocratic state, the president echoes “replacement” theology, and politicians on both sides of the aisle tweet and retweet anti-Semitic memes, violent anti-Semites now feel emboldened. The attack was roundly condemned by politicians on both sides, including President Trump — who repeatedly has fanned anti-Semitic tropes — and the Democratic presidential contenders.

Nevertheless, it was left to the only Jewish presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to make a public and personal showing of defiance. (“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who had relatives killed by Nazis during the Holocaust, responded Sunday to the latest incident of anti-Semitic terror by wearing a kippah and lifting a blowtorch to light a public menorah on the final night of Hanukkah,” The Post reported. “And less than 24 hours after an intruder stabbed five Hasidic Jews at a rabbi’s home in New York, the Democratic presidential candidate delivered an urgent speech on a frigid evening in Des Moines decrying recent attacks against Jews and other minorities.”)

It is not enough for the same leaders and politicians, mostly in New York, New Jersey and other environs with large Jewish populations, to speak up. It is not enough to raise the issue only after a horrific attack. It requires a uniform and immediate response from Republicans when the president goes on his next anti-Semitic jag, and when Trump and other Republicans accuse the entire Democratic Party of being anti-Jewish. Republicans who defend and rationalize Trump’s anti-Semitic attacks, citing his positions on Israel, are part of the problem, and must take responsibility for the president’s white nationalist rhetoric as well as his refusal to take domestic terrorism seriously.

It requires a uniform and immediate response from progressives when Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party’s indulgence of anti-Semitism has managed to convince 87 percent of British that Jews Corbyn is an anti-Semite. When even a backbencher Democratic lawmaker resorts to anti-Semitic rhetoric. And when BDS defenders make specious arguments denying the movement’s anti-Semitic foundation.

The second unpleasant trend carrying over from the last decade is the collapse of U.S. credibility in the Middle East. In a written statement condemning the Iranian-backed militia attack on the United States Embassy in Baghdad, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) declared in a written statement released on Tuesday, “While the Trump Administration has touted its maximum pressure campaign against Iran, the results so far have been more threats against international commerce, emboldened and more violent proxy attacks across the Middle East, and now, the death of an American citizen in Iraq.”

It is frankly pathetic that administration officials in charge of Iran policy, the very ones who touted the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and who defend Trump’s incoherent approach to Syria, still blame former president Barack Obama (!). This recent performance by Brian Hook, special representative on Iran, on PBS’s NewsHour was downright pathetic:

Nick Schifrin: Brian, you just mentioned deterrence, but Iran shot down a U.S. drone earlier this year and attacked an oil facility in Saudi Arabia, and there was no U.S. military response after those two incidents.

Have you been worried that Iran feels that it could get away with these attacks?

Brian Hook: Well, what we saw was an erosion of deterrence for the many years preceding the president’s election three years ago. What we have done is, we have now sanctioned over 1,000 individuals and entities as part of the Iranian regime. We’re trying to restore deterrence. We’re trying to reverse the gains made by the Iranian regime over the last many years. Iran today faces its worst financial crisis and its worst political unrest in its 40-year history. But if we’re attacked, then we’re going to respond, as the president did yesterday.

Nick Schifrin: But I know that you want to talk ability deterrence after the Iran nuclear deal a few years ago, but the deterrence over the last few months, I have heard from military officials fearing that that deterrence has been lost. Do you worry that that deterrence, that the fact that Iran felt it could get away with these attacks, do you feel like that was happening because the U.S. wasn’t responding to previous attacks?

Brian Hook: Well, I think we did respond. We certainly increased the number of sanctions on the regime. We enhanced our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We also put more troops in the region. We removed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. So we did a number of things.

But during that same period of time, the president and Secretary Pompeo made clear that we will use military force if we are attacked. And that happened then a few days ago. The president, as I said, has shown a great deal of restraint, because the last thing America is looking for is another conflict in the Middle East.

And none of that has worked. (Recall how incensed Republicans were when Obama administration defenders continued to blame the Bush 43 team for the conflagration that followed removal of troops in 2011, two years after Bush left office.) The policy of unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), maximum pressure without a willingness to use force when challenged, and ceding Syria to Iran and Russia have increased violence and instability — and decreased U.S. influence. We are now free game for tin-pot dictators and jihadist mobs. Republican self-described hawks who would be screaming for a national security team shake-up and rethinking of U.S. policy instead circle the wagons around an impulsive and ignorant president. It will take a responsible Congress, a new president and a legion of dedicated civilian and military officials to find a road to repair U.S. prestige and influence.

Both at home and abroad, then, there are dark trends that demand our serious attention. Whether we can rise to the occasion collectively, regardless of partisan loyalties, to address them will greatly influence whether we are able to put a dismal chapter in U.S. history behind us.

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Reading the tea leaves for 2020

By David Ignatius | Published December 31 at 8:19 AM EST | Washington Post | Posted January 1, 2020 |

My crystal ball got a little cloudy in 2019, so as the new year dawns, join me in what the late, great New York Times columnist Bill Safire liked to call the “office pool,” where, as he put it, “every reader becomes a pundit.” Some of my suggested answers are fanciful, some entirely serious. But whatever the news brings, a happy 2020 to all.

1) During 2020, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will: (a) take the additional title of prime minister and declare elections for a Saudi parliament; (b) offer China a larger role in the development of his futuristic city of Neom; (c) expand commercial and academic ties with Israel and announce an interfaith study center in Riyadh; (d) create a royal commission to ensure that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi could never happen again.

2) For North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, the biggest challenge of 2020 will be: (a) establishing a Central Committee department to research possible quid pro quos to offer President Trump; (b) worrying about what life might bring if his “great friendship” with Trump doesn’t endure past Inauguration Day 2021; (c) signing an accord on the White House South Lawn for a joint U.S.-North Korean nuclear research and real estate investment program.

3) Iranian politics will be rocked during 2020 by: (a) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s nomination of hard-line chief justice Ebrahim Raisi as his chosen successor; (b) a campaign by Quds Force leader Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani to blame the “authorities” for instability and violence in Iran; (c) a comeback try by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pitching Trump-style populism; (d) all of the above.

4) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will demonstrate his impulsive independence during 2020 by: (a) secretly helping Russia install a new government in Libya, replicating Moscow’s Syria intervention; (b) threatening to impound U.S. nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base unless he can keep U.S. F-35 fighters and a Russian air-defense system to shoot them down; (c) building a lavish “Turkey Loves Trump” spa and resort in Bodrum run by Trump family pal Mehmet Ali Yalcindag; (d) annexing the northern Cyprus territory that has been under Turkish control since 1974, with Vladimir Putin’s acquiescence, in return for recognizing Russian annexation of Crimea.

5) Chinese President Xi Jinping’s biggest headache in 2020 will be: (a) stopping Hong Kong protests without killing thousands of Chinese demonstrators; (b) suppressing Internet and press freedom in Taiwan following the reelection of President Tsai Ing-wen in January; (c) resisting pressure from the People’s Liberation Army to abolish the rival Ministry of State Security and incorporate its intelligence functions within the PLA; (d) all of the above.

6) The economic surprise of 2020 will be: (a) the Justice Department files an antitrust suit against Amazon; (b) the Dow Jones industrial average falls below 20,000; (c) Facebook merges with NBCUniversal; (d) the European Union announces that, because of the unpredictability caused by overuse of U.S. sanctions, all European finance will be “de-linked” from the dollar; (e) the corporate debt bubble begins to burst as a result of several high-profile downgrades and defaults; (f) none of the above.

7) The political surprise of 2020 will be: (a) President Trump replacing Mike Pence with Nikki Haley as his running mate; (b) Joe Biden announcing that, if elected, his vice presidential nominee Stacey Abrams will attend all National Security Council and CIA briefings; (c) Republican Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), defeated for reelection to Congress, opening a global private intelligence group called “NeverSteele”; (d) Trump ordering the U.S. military to guard polling places to prevent “massive voter fraud” on Election Day.

8) The “sleeper” military crisis of 2020 will be: (a) Russian deployment of hypersonic nuclear weapons for which the United States has no defense or counterpunch; (b) Chinese space weapons that can blind U.S. spy satellites, hack communications satellites and limit projection of military power; (c) new bioweapons being developed by China, Russia and other countries that can target specific populations — and create super-empowered warriors that are tougher, faster and smarter than others on the battlefield; (d) all of the above.

Extra credit: By the end of 2020, which country will have eradicated “extreme poverty” as defined by the World Bank? Which will have the largest economy, as measured by the CIA and IMF? Which will lead AI competitions for voice recognition, facial recognition and financial technology?

Answers: 1) all except d; 2) a; 3) d; 4) a; 5) d; 6) f; 7) b; 8) d; Extra credit: China, China, China.

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