#The Latin American Siege 2022 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

brookstonalmanac · 1 year ago

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Events 10.23 (after 1940)

1940 – Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meet at Hendaye to discuss the possibility of Spain entering the Second World War. 1941 – The Holocaust: Nazi Germany prohibits Jews from emigrating, including in its occupied territories. 1942 – World War II: Allied forces commence the Second Battle of El Alamein, which proves to be the key turning point in the North African campaign. 1942 – All 12 passengers and crewmen aboard American Airlines Flight 28 are killed when it collides with a U.S. Army Air Force bomber near Palm Springs, California. 1942 – World War II: The Battle for Henderson Field begins on Guadalcanal. 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. 1955 – Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam. 1955 – The people of the Saar region vote in a referendum to unite with West Germany instead of France. 1956 – Secret police shoot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution. 1958 – Canada's Springhill mining disaster kills seventy-five miners, while ninety-nine others are rescued. 1965 – Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, launches an operation seeking to destroy Communist forces during the siege of Plei Me. 1970 – Gary Gabelich sets a land speed record in a rocket-powered automobile called the Blue Flame, fueled with natural gas. 1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ends after five months. 1982 – A gunfight breaks out between police officers and members of a religious cult in Arizona. The shootout leaves two cultists dead and dozens of cultists and police officers injured. 1983 – Lebanese Civil War: The U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. A French Army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops. 1989 – The Hungarian Republic officially replaces the communist Hungarian People's Republic. 1989 – Bankruptcy of Wärtsilä Marine, the biggest bankruptcy in the Nordic countries up until then. 1989 – An explosion at the Houston Chemical Complex in Pasadena, Texas, which registered a 3.5 on the Richter magnitude scale, kills 23 and injures 314. 1991 – Signing of the Paris Peace Accords which ends the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb prematurely detonates in Belfast, killing the bomber and nine civilians. 1995 – Yolanda Saldívar is found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of popular Latin singer Selena. 1998 – Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign the Wye River Memorandum. 2001 – Apple Computer releases the iPod. 2002 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatist terrorists seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage. 2004 – A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata Prefecture in northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated. 2007 – A storm causes the Mexican Kab 101 oil platform to collide with a wellhead, leading to the death and drowning of 22 people during rescue operations after evacuation of the platform. 2011 – A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Van Province, Turkey, killing 582 people and injuring thousands. 2011 – The Libyan National Transitional Council deems the Libyan Civil War over. 2015 – The lowest sea-level pressure in the Western Hemisphere, and the highest reliably-measured non-tornadic sustained winds, are recorded in Hurricane Patricia, which strikes Mexico hours later, killing at least 13 and causing over $280 million in damages. 2022 – Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term of the paramount leader of China. 2022 – Myanmar Air Force airstrikes a concert in Hpakant Township, Kachin state killing at least 80 people, including senior Kachin Independence Organisation officials, in the Hpakant massacre.

#Events

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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Thursday, February 4, 2021

Pressure builds on schools to reopen during pandemic (AP) Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year, pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In Chicago, the rancor is so great that teachers are on the brink of striking. In California, a frustrated Gov. Gavin Newsom implored schools to find a way to reopen. In Cincinnati, some students returned to classrooms Tuesday after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns. While some communities maintain that online classes remain the safest option for everyone, some parents, with backing from politicians and administrators, have complained that their children’s education is suffering from sitting at home in front of their computers and that the isolation is damaging them emotionally. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study that there is little evidence of the virus spreading at schools when precautions are taken, such as masks, distancing and proper ventilation. But many teachers have balked at returning without getting vaccinated first.

House Dems make case for conviction; Trump denies charges (AP) Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office. Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional. The dueling filings offer the first public glimpse of the arguments that will be presented to the Senate beginning next week. The impeachment trial represents a remarkable reckoning with the violence in the Capitol last month, which the senators witnessed firsthand, and with Trump’s presidency overall. Held in the very chamber where the insurrectionists stood on Jan. 6, it will pit Democratic demands for a final measure of accountability against the desire of many Republicans to turn the page and move on. The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest on Feb. 9.

Activists wary of broader law enforcement after Capitol riot (AP) As federal officials grapple with how to confront the national security threat from domestic extremists after the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol, civil rights groups and communities of color are watching warily for any moves to expand law enforcement power or authority. They say their communities have felt the brunt of security scrutiny over the last two decades and fear new tools meant to target right-wing extremism or white nationalists risk harming Muslims, Black Americans and other groups, even if unintentionally. “The answer ought to be to sort of pause. Because the instinct to do something is something I’m really quite afraid of,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, one of more than 130 civil and human rights organizations that say the FBI already has the tools it needs. “There’s an entire federal code in place that allows you to successfully go after this violence before you need to sort of say, ‘Oh, wait, you know, there’s this existing gap and we need more power,’” she added.

Jeff Bezos steps down (CJR) Jeff Bezos said yesterday that he will soon step down as CEO of Amazon. Andy Jassy, who runs the company’s cloud computing division, will replace him; Bezos will become executive chair, a role he says will give him more time to focus on outside commitments, including his ownership of the Washington Post. (As CNN’s Brian Fung noted, not many people can say “I’m quitting to spend more time with my newspaper and space rockets.”)

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico (AP) A dozen state police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing 19 people, including Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border late in January, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday. Tamaulipas state Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said all 12 officers were in custody and face charges of homicide, abuse of authority and making false statements. The killings revived memories of the gruesome 2010 massacre of 72 migrants near the town of San Fernando in the same gang-ridden state. But those killings were done by a drug cartel, while it is likely many people will find it more shocking that the Jan. 22 slayings allegedly were carried out by law enforcement. The attorney general did not say what motive the officers might have had, though corrupt local and state police in Mexico are often in the pay of drug cartels. Cartels in Mexico often charge migrant smugglers for crossing their territory, and kidnap or kill migrants whose smugglers have not paid or paid a rival gang.

Common pots prepared by neighbors feeding thousands in Peru (AP) At dawn, Genoveva Satalaya and her neighbors walk through Lima’s food markets hoping to find a kind merchant who will donate food to help fill the “common pot” that is feeding their neighborhood. The survival strategy that first appeared in Peru’s capital during the country’s civil conflict four decades ago has been vital since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in this South American nation. With the country again under a lockdown, Satalaya’s pot is feeding 120 people, including seniors, children and pregnant women. Satalaya and her neighbors prepare lunch Monday through Friday. There’s not enough food for weekday breakfasts or dinners or weekend meals. The common pots, also seen in other Latin American countries, have emerged as a symbol of the struggles of the region. Thousands of them are in use throughout Peru at levels not seen since the 1980s and 1990s during the armed conflict between the state and the Shining Path terrorist group. There are almost a thousand common pots in Lima that are recognized by officials in the municipality, but many, including the one run by Satalaya, are not registered and do not receive any kind of help. The government announced last week that it would send aid to many common pots, but since there are so many, the help may not reach every neighborhood.

Tycoon Ordered to Demolish His $70M Home (The Daily Beast) A French property tycoon has been ordered to tear down his $70m faux-Italianate palazzo in the hills of Provence after losing a 15-year legal battle over the 32,000 square foot structure, which was built without planning permission. Patrick Diter has been given 18 months to scrub every last trace of “Chateau Diter,” including its 18 bedrooms, two helipads, swimming pool, bell tower, Roman colonnade and orangery, from the landscape above Monaco. Subscription newsletter AirMail reports that France’s highest judicial court upheld a previous ruling in the appellate courts that the illegal château near the Provençal village of Grasse must be removed and the countryside restored to its original state. If the court orders are not complied with by June 2022, Diter will pay a fine of $600 per day. The court also slapped Diter with fines totaling $550,000.

Hundreds Arrested as Navalny Sentenced (Foreign Policy) A Moscow court handed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of two years and eight months on Tuesday, as authorities hope to put an end to a saga that has seen thousands of Russians take to the streets in protest over the last two weeks. The court found that Navalny had broken the terms of his probation for a previous conviction for stealing $500,000 from two companies. Navalny denies the charges, and the European Court of Human Rights at the time called the case “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.” The reasoning behind his probation breach is murky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have approved Navalny’s transfer to a German hospital for treatment after he was poisoned in August. Navalny’s relatively short prison term could soon be extended, as investigators prepare a fraud case that could carry another ten-year sentence. But Tuesday’s sentence may be just enough if it means Navalny will not be a threat in September’s parliamentary elections. The Kremlin has dismissed international condemnation of the verdict. “You should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deal with their own problems,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

India farming protests resonate with US agriculture (AP) Images of thousands of farmers streaming into India’s capital on tractors and carrying banners to decry potentially devastating changes in agricultural policy can seem a world away, but the protests in New Delhi raise issues that resonate in the United States. Indian farmers have left their homes to march through New Delhi in a desperate effort to force the repeal of laws they believe would end guaranteed pricing and force them to sell to powerful corporations rather than government-run markets. Despite decades of economic growth, up to half of India’s population relies on growing crops on small parcels of land, typically less than 3 acres, and farmers worry that without guaranteed prices they will be forced to sell their land and lose their livelihoods. The images of farmers marching through New Delhi recall similar scenes in Washington, D.C., during the farming crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when hundreds of trucks and tractors flooded the National Mall. Thousands of farmers lost their land, in part because of government policies that caused soaring interest rates as demand for their products plunged, leading to falling land values. In Iowa—one of the hardest hit states—there were about 500 farm auctions a month in 1983 when families had no choice but to sell. Decades later, those memories remain fresh for Rick Juchems, whose parents had to sell their 640-acre farm in Iowa. Just as feared by those protesting in India, the American farmers lost their livelihoods and sense of identity. “We were just trying to stay alive,” said Juchems, who later was able to continue farming thanks to his in-laws. “That’s what you work all your life for and then it’s gone.”

Myanmar’s Army Is Back in Charge. It Never Truly Left. (NYT) The men in army green never truly retreated. As Myanmar presented a facade of democracy to the world, the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century still dominated the economy and the halls of power. They even got away with what international prosecutors say was genocide in their murderous offensives against Rohingya Muslims. With its pre-dawn coup on Monday—unseating an elected government and putting its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, back under house arrest—the military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was once again flaunting its ultimate authority. Yet in the process of reasserting their command, the generals have ripped apart a prized project: a carefully constructed political system decades in the making that allowed them to camouflage their fists behind a veneer of democracy. Though they allowed elections, army officers also reserved a quarter of the Parliament’s seats and crucial cabinet positions for themselves. The public, which felt like it could express its political aspirations by delivering landslide victories to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, is furious. And the international community, which chose to focus more on the civilian part of the country’s civilian-military system, is now aware that one side of the scale clearly outweighs the other.

Iran reaches agreement with South Korea (Foreign Policy) Iran has agreed to release the crew of a South Korean oil tanker in what its foreign ministry called a “humanitarian” move after the vessel was impounded in early January. The vessel’s seizure was believed to be a bargaining chip to convince South Korea to free up $7 billion in Iranian funds currently frozen in South Korean banks as a result of U.S. sanctions. South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed Iran’s decision to release the sailors, saying it was a necessary next step to “restore trust” before resolving the issue of the frozen funds. Regarding the funds, the ministry stated it “will do what it can in a speedy manner while discussing consultations with the United States on the issue.”

Tigray crisis: Ethiopia region at risk of huge ‘humanitarian disaster’ (BBC) Opposition parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned of a huge “humanitarian disaster” if aid is not delivered urgently. The parties said people were already dying from hunger and urged the international community to intervene. Ethiopia’s government says aid is being delivered and nearly 1.5 million people have been reached. The parties also said 52,000 people had been killed since the conflict started in November. They did not explain how they arrived at the estimate but said it included women, children and religious leaders. About two million people have been internally displaced in the conflict in Tigray. The government has heavily restricted access to the region for the media and aid agencies. On Monday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said he had “rarely seen an aid response so impeded” in the 40 years he had worked in the humanitarian field. In a joint statement, three opposition parties—the Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray, and National Congress of Great Tigray—said if food and medicine did not arrive quickly the “looming humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion” would become a “gruesome reality in Tigray”.

#headlines #news

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metaleterno · 2 years ago

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ARCH ENEMY + BEHEMOTH por primera vez juntos en Argentina! 21 de Noviembre (Feriado) en El Teatro Flores Entradas ya disponibles por Sistema Passline: https://www.passline.com/eventos/arch-enemy-behemoth-21-de-noviembre-de-2022 Fade to Black (Bond) Metalmania (centro) Xennon (Quilmes / La Plata) La Cueva (Lanús) Locuras (Morón) Liverpool (Belgrano) Almacen Mala Difusion (Almagro) Santa Guadalupe (Merlo) Dos de las bandas de metal más importantes de Europa llegan con su gira “The Latin American Siege 2022” a Latinoamérica! BEHEMOTH y ARCH ENEMY se juntan por única vez para realizar una serie de shows únicos. El líder y visionario creativo de BEHEMOTH “Nergal”, dice: “Después de un gran parate de la música en vivo, no podemos pensar en un mejor regreso a Latinoamérica para nuestras queridas Legiones para ofrecerles un evento que quedará para la historia. “The Latin America Siege 2022”, una combinación aplastante de ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH”. BEHEMOTH tiene la reputación de subir la apuesta con su show en vivo como en cada lanzamiento, como se vio recientemente en su ultimo lanzamiento “In Absentia”. El fundador y guitarrista de ARCH ENEMY “Michael Amott” refleja el sentimiento y afirma: “Como hemos estado pasando por estos tiempos difíciles y desafiantes últimamente, creo que todos necesitamos algo que anhelar. Una razón para creer, ¿verdad? Bueno... esto es todo!! La gira “The Latin America Siege 2022”, con ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH, es sin duda la mejor gira de Metal de 2022. ¡Nos vemos allí!” (en Teatro Flores) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkpYxBzOroi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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trastornadosrevista · 2 years ago

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¡ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH por primera vez juntos en Argentina!

Arch Enemy y Behemoth dos de las bandas más representativas del death metal a nivel mundial llegan a la Argentina con su exitosa gira “The Latin American Siege 2022”. En esta oportunidad, las bandas realizarán un recorrido por su extraordinario repertorio sin dejar de enfocándose en sus recientes lanzamientos discográficos en un concierto único que tendrá cita el próximo lunes 21 de noviembre en el “Teatro Flores”, Av. Rivadavia 7806 C.A.B.A.

Por primera vez Arch Enemy y Behemoth unen su poderoso sonido en lo que será un imperdible show en Argentina. Luego de un poco más de un año fuera de los escenarios y las presentaciones en vivo, Arch Enemy y Behemoth volvieron con toda su energía a los shows presenciales, dejando en alto sus trayectorias de grandes éxitos y motivando a los fans a seguirlos en lo que sus protagonistas han catalogado como la mejor gira del metal.

Ambas bandas llegan a presentar sus nuevos discos. En el caso de Arch Enemy, “Deceivers”, esperado lanzamiento que realizaron hace sólo algunos días y que corresponde al undécimo álbum de estudio de la banda sueca.

Mientras que los polacos Behemoth, hará lo suyo con su también recientemente estrenado EP “Thy Becoming Eternal”, con cuatro canciones que elevaron su regreso a las pistas de grabación. Este EP, es el disco número 12 de su trascendental carrera, después de “I Loved you at your Darkest” de 2018.

El líder y visionario creativo de BEHEMOTH “Nergal”, dice: “Después de un gran párate de la música en vivo, no podemos pensar en un mejor regreso a Latinoamérica para nuestras queridas Legiones para ofrecerles un evento que quedará para la historia. “The Latín America Siege 2022”, una combinación aplastante de ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH”. BEHEMOTH tiene la reputación de subir la apuesta con su show en vivo como en cada lanzamiento, como se vio recientemente en su último lanzamiento “In Absentia”.

El fundador y guitarrista de ARCH ENEMY, Michael Amott, refleja el mismo sentimiento y afirma: “Como hemos estado pasando por estos tiempos difíciles y desafiantes últimamente, creo que todos necesitamos algo que anhelar. Una razón para creer, ¿verdad?. Bueno…esto es todo!!

La gira “The Latín America Siege 2022”, con Arch Enemy y Behemoth, es sin duda la mejor gira de Metal de 2022. ¡Nos vemos ahí!”

Tanto Arch Enemy, como Behemoth, cuentan con una gran legión de fanáticos en Argentina, por lo que su regreso a nuestro país será una increíble oportunidad para disfrutar de sus clásicos y los nuevos temas con los que siguen conquistando al público.

Entradas a la venta a través de:

Sistema Passline https://www.passline.com/eventos/arch-enemy-behemoth-21-de-noviembre-de-2022 Fade To Black (Bond Street) – Metalmania (Microcentro) – Xennon (Quilmes / La Plata) – Transilvania (Lanús) – Locuras (Morón) –Liverpool (Belgrano) – Understyle (Lomas de Zamora) – Almacén Mala Difusión (Almagro) – San Guadalupe (Merlo).

#archenemy #behemoth #teatrodeflores

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rocktambulos · 2 years ago

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ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH visitarán Latinoamérica juntos en noviembre

ARCH ENEMY y BEHEMOTH, dos de las bandas de metal más importantes de Europa, llegarán con su gira “The Latin American Siege 2022” a nuestro continente este mes de noviembre. Será la primera vez que se junten para realizar una serie de shows únicos que tendrán como sede a 7 países: Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Perú, Colombia, Costa Rica y San Salvador. A continuación las fechas confirmadas de “The…

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#Arch Enemy #Behemoth

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gwendolynlerman · 6 years ago

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Discovering the world

Cuba 🇨🇺

Basic facts

Official name: República de Cuba (Republic of Cuba)

Capital city: Havana

Population: 10.9 million (2023)

Demonym: Cuban

Type of government: unitary socialist republic

Head of state: Miguel Díaz-Canel (President)

Head of government: Manuel Marrero Cruz (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $254.86 billion (2015)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 46% (high) (2020)

Human Development Index: 0.764 (high) (2022)

Currency: Cuban peso (CUP)

Fun fact: It has the highest ratio of doctos per person in the world.

Etymology

The country’s name is thought to come from Taíno, but its exact meaning is unclear. It may derive from cubao (“where fertile land is abundant”) or coabana (“great place”).

Geography

Cuba is located in Central America and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. It is located east of Mexico, south of the United States and The Bahamas, and west of Haiti.

There are three main climates: tropical rainforest in the southeast, tropical monsoon in the northwest, and dry-winter tropical savanna in the rest. Temperatures range from 18 °C (64.4 °F) in winter to 31 °C (87.8 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F).

The country is divided into fifteen provinces (provincias) and one special municipality. The largest cities in Cuba are Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín, and Santa Clara.

History

1492: Spanish arrival

1511-1535 Governorate of Cuba

1535-1821: Viceroyalty of New Spain

1762: Siege of Havana

1868-1878: Ten Years’ War

1879-1880: Little War

1895-1898: Cuban War of Independence

1898-1902: United States Military Government in Cuba

1902-present: Republic of Cuba

1912: Little Race War

1917-1922: Sugar Intervention

1952: coup d’état

1953-1959: Cuban Revolution

1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion

Economy

Cuba mainly imports from Spain, China, and Italy and exports to China, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its top exports are sugar, tobacco, and nickel.

Its economy is dominated by tourism and the export of coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Services represent 74.6% of the GDP, followed by industry (23.7%) and agriculture (0.8%).

Cuba is a member of the Latin American Integration Association and the Organization of American States.

Demographics

64.1% of the population identifies as white, 26.6% as mixed, and 9.3% as black. The main religion is Christianity, practiced by 58.9% of the population, most of which are Catholic.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.7 children per woman. 77.4% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 79.6 years and the median age is 40.4 years. The literacy rate is 99.8%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Spanish. Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language.

Culture

Cuban culture is a blend of those of Africa, Spain, and the indigenous Taíno. Cubans are very social and friendly.

Men traditionally wear a white shirt (guayabera), loose white pants, and a straw hat. Women wear a long, brightly colored dress with ruffles (bata) and a headdress.

Architecture

Traditional houses in Cuba are colorful, are made of whitewashed wood and thatch or tiles, and have a small front yard.

Cuisine

The Cuban diet is based on beans, meat, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include boliche (beef roast stuffed with ham), cucurucho (fruit inside a cone-shaped palm leaf), frita (a burger made with beef and pork and served with lettuce, onions, and shoestring potatoes), medianoche (a sandwich with ham, mustard, roast pork, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles), and ropa vieja (shredde beef in tomato sauce served with black beans and rice).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian countries, Cuba celebrates Good Friday and Christmas Day. It also commemorates New Year’s Day.

Specific Cuban holidays include Liberation Day on January 1, Victory Day on January 2, Day of the National Rebellion on July 25-27, which commemorates the assault on the Moncada garrison, and Independence Day on October 10.

Day of the National Rebellion

Other celebrations include Festival del Habano, which is dedicated to cigars; Festival of Fire, which celebrates music and dance from the Caribbean, and the Trinidad Cross Procession, which was originally designed to trick looting pirates.

Festival of Fire

Landmarks

There are nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Archeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Desembarco del Granma National Park, Historic Center of Camagüey, Historic Center of Cienfuegos, Old Havana and its Fortifications, San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Trinidad and Valley de los Ingenios, and Viñales Valley.

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park

Other landmarks include the Cathedral of Havana; the Cristo de la Habana, a statue of Christ; the Cueva de los Portales, a cave that was the headquarters of the army during the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Morro Castle, and the Salto Fino waterfall.

Morro Castle

Famous people

Alejo Carpentier - writer

Alicia Alonso - dancer

Ana de Armas - actress

Andy García - actor

Daína Chaviano - writer

Gloria Estefan - singer

Javier Sotomayor - athlete

Martín Dihigo - baseball player

Regla Torres - volleyball player

Teófilo Stevenson - boxer

Alicia Alonso

You can find out more about life in Cuba in this article and this video.

#discoveringtheworld #langblr #spanish

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districofcolumbiaprelawland-blog · 4 years ago

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The Superiority Complex Of The US How A Nationwide Mindset Minimizes Underdevelopment And Poverty Among Marginalized Communities

By Mackenzie Meadows, American University Class of 2022

October 6, 2020

Colonists in the United States of America (US) saw themselves as the superior power in comparison to “third-world nations.” (Bratman 2011) This superiority complex has been institutionalized,to where it has exoticized issues such as poverty and underdevelopment; making it seem as if they are impossible to exist in a considered “developed” society founded by US colonists. (Walt 2010) There is scarce discussion surrounding how the US continually criticizes other foreign nations with impoverished and underdeveloped communities, despite them [the US] having just as many present in their own country. (Bratman 2011) Stating that there is no focus on domestic poverty and underdevelopment by theUS would be false. There are over six large scale federal welfare programs dedicated to these issues, as well as a significant portion of the US federal budget concentrating on them. (Wiseman 2003) Yet the US has persisted in their messaging about poverty and underdevelopment, that it is an issue not as present in American society as it is overseas. (Walt 2010)

Poor marginalized Americans, such as Black, Brown, and indigenous communities have been noted throughout history, to have succumbed to generational poverty and underdevelopment due to US colonialism and discrimination. (Garcia 2020)This lack of self-awareness has aided in the minimization of poor marginalized groups’ experiences and communities. (Garcia 2020) US Presidents and policies still continually promote as if international poverty is far more potent on the global stage, despite the very underdeveloped poverty-stricken marginalized groups in their own backyard. (Ehlers 2012)The lasting superiority and savior complex from colonial practices and ideals, has blinded the US into believing they must hold considered developing nations accountable, rather than equally calling out their own underdeveloped impoverished communities. Eve Bratman mentions this paradox in“Development's Paradox: is Washington DC a Third World city?” When nations such as the US identify issues such as poverty, racial inequity, and other socio-political issues, they tend to place emphasis on the idea that these problems are far more rampant in underdeveloped third-world nations. (Bratman 2011) Yet there is “‘third worldality’ [that] exist[s] within the urban geography of the capital of theUS,”Washington, D.C. (Bratman 2011) The capital of a considered “first world” that holds “the world’s foremost economic and military power,” has similar or identical high rates of impoverishment and underdevelopment amongst marginalized groups as “underdeveloped” nations. (Bratman 2011)

The US prides itself on how after World War II, they formed the Marshall Plan or the European Recovery Plan (ERP) in 1948 to support war-affected Western European economies. (Bissell 1996)Presidents such as George W. Bush, launched policies to combat poverty in Latin America, and economic justice in other countries; as while poverty and underdevelopment in the states was important, it was more important to push support and immense attention on issues in other nations to maintain the US’ projected super-power identity. (Leogrande 2007) Ranging from slavery to discriminatory bygone practices and institutions, the US was never built on the idea of uplifting nor supporting marginalized groups, such as Black, Brown and indigenous peoples. (Ehlers 2012)With these obstacles in the way of the aforementioned groups, financial stability was difficult to obtain; as the land owned by indigenous peoples was sieged and Black and Brown free labor in the form of slavery or indentured servants over 400-years was never compensated. (Ehlers 2012)

These historical factors have played a large role in these groups’ immense presence in impoverished America. (Ehlers2012) Ibram X. Kendi mentions that violent colonist practices and human hierarchy were permanently stamped on the US; and continued “ethnic and...color prejudice.” (Kendi 2016) These hierarchies invigorated present day impoverishment experienced by poor marginalized communities in America and hindered their ability to develop fully. According to Brookings, today “54% of Black workers and 63% of[Brown] ...workers are disproportionately working low-wage jobs” in comparison to the “36% of white workers.” (Perry 2020). While these disparities exist, the US’ sight is obscured to these issues as Western power superiority complex is heavily institutionalized. (Walt 2010)

The longevity of the savior complex instilled from colonialism today, is due to the underwriting that the US has had on various international achievements and global institutions. (Walt 2010) Stephen M.Walt from Foreign Policy: National Public Radio (NPR), mentions that America’s superiority complex has stemmed from the US playing a “significant role in maintaining the spread of Western ideals and values” and spreading ideologies like “...nationalism, and democracy.” (Walt 2010) With these ideals consistently taught throughout American culture and politics, they have served as a buffer to the realities of the nation, as patriots believe that no wrong or underdevelopment can exist in a nation that is a “world leader.”These ideals held in US society, prevents even some governing bodies from realizing the very large issue of not recognizing that third-worldality is applicable to all states, even those assumed to be a primary power player. (Perry 2020)The toxicity of no self-awareness, coupled with a superiority complex has the tendency of undermining the very issues that lie within arms reach; and believes that only foreign nations have faults and underdevelopment. Americans believe that the media’s portrayal of poverty is incorrect and that “the majority of those defined as poor by the government do not experience material hardship.” (Rector 2020)They know poverty is an issue present in the nation, however it is impossible to be correlated to international poverty in say Africa or the Middle East. (Walt 2010)

The lack of self-evaluation and understanding of how it directly impacts lack of sustainable development in poor marginalized communities is immense in the US. As mentioned by Dr. Vandana Shiva, “built-in, transformation from within is the real meaning of development.” (Shiva 2020) This type of development in marginalized communities is missing, due to the minimization of poverty and underdevelopment present their impact in the states and how institutions in place to prohibit generational success amongst themselves; but also the universal belief that a nation run by the “upright” colonists could be not susceptible to third-worldality.(Moore 1976) In conclusion, the oppressed have already internalized their fate under the rule of the oppressor,as Paulo Freire in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed mentions. (Freire 1970) While liberation from impoverished American is a solution, the US can only “surmount the situation of oppression” amongst said groups regarding poverty and underdevelopment, once they [the US] acknowledge its equal presence in the states rather than exoticizing the issue. (Freire 1970) Without doing so, the US will remain ignorant to the very third-worldality that exists domestically, which prohibits poor marginalized communities from developing further beyond historical obstacles.

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Bissell, Richard M., Jonathan E. Lewis, and Frances T. Pudlo. (1996) "The Marshall Plan." InReflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs, 30-73. Yale University Press. AccessedSeptember 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt32bhdc.6.

Bratman, E. (2011). Development's Paradox: Is Washington DC a Third World city? Third WorldQuarterly, 32(9), 1541-1556. doi:10.1080/01436597.2011.620349

Dr Vandana Shiva on the TrueMeaning of Development, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63fA7gE_35c.

Ehlers, Nadine (2012). "Racial Knowledges: SECURING THE BODY IN LAW." In RacialImperatives: Discipline, Performativity, and Struggles against Subjection, 32-50. BLOOMINGTON;INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana University Press. Accessed September 21, 2020.http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gh861.6.

Freire, Paulo. 1970 (2005). “Introduction” (by Richard Shaull), and Chapter 1. The Pedagogy ofthe Oppressed. (New York: Continuum International Publishing Group) pp. 43-70. Garcia, S. (2020, June15). Where Did BIPOC Come From? Retrieved September 25, 2020, fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-bipoc.html

Kendi, Ibram X. (2016) Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas InAmerica. Bold Type Books. PP 15-46.

Leogrande, William M. (2007) "A Poverty of Imagination: GeorgeW. Bush's Policy in Latin America." Journal of Latin American Studies 39, no. 2 : 355-85. AccessedSeptember 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4491814.

Moore, Joan W. "American Minorities and "New Nation" Perspectives." The Pacific SociologicalReview 19, no. 4 (1976): 447-68. Accessed September 21, 2020. doi:10.2307/1388832.

MURAVCHIK,STEPHANIE, and JON A. SHIELDS. (2020) "America First." In Trump's Democrats, 93-120.(Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.) Accessed September 23, 2020.doi:10.7864/j.ctvz0h9mt.8.Perry, Andre M.(2020) “Addressing Poverty Can Heal an Increasingly Divided Country. ”Brookings.Brookings.https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/12/23/poverty-in-america-is-rising-we-n eed-a-plan-to-fight-it/

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componentplanet · 4 years ago

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3 Billion People Worldwide are Gamers, and Nearly Half Play on PCs

A new report claims that 48 percent of all gaming happens on PCs, with a whopping 3.1B gamers worldwide across all platforms, consoles, and mobile devices. What’s interesting here is how the data breaks down across region and in terms of gaming spend.

The data here is from DFC Intelligence, via PCGamesN, and suggests that the PC-versus-console framing for understanding gaming is outdated. Only 8 percent of gamers identify exclusively as console gamers, meaning most gamers play across multiple devices. The study does not say if console gamers who only play ported console titles on mobile devices, such as Fortnite, would be considered console-plus-mobile gamers or strictly console gamers, but I’m assuming the former.

This makes sense. Even those of us who identify strongly with one platform — and I’m very PC-centric — still often have some other kind of platform. Technically, my Super Nintendo Classic and the old Wii we’ve got hooked up for some vintage Smash Bros makes me a console gamer. I’ve also got a handful of games on my phone. What am I? A PC gamer. But what am I technically? A multi-device player who has a number of avenues available for how to spend gaming time.

Chart by DFC Intelligence

Interestingly, those 8 percent of console players spend the most money per device. DFC Intelligence notes that their survey only includes gamers who spend actual money for games. Free-to-play games are not included. The company believes this eliminates double-counting across multiple platforms because people are unlikely to buy the same game for multiple machines. This control should help, but given that the Switch has a ton of ports of other games I doubt it caught everyone. There are undoubtedly some folks who bought games like Skyrim in 2011, then grabbed them again when they came out for Switch.

Overall, there are 1.42B gamers in Asia, 668M gamers across Europe, 383 million Latin American gamers, and 261M North American gamers. There isn’t an exact breakdown on console versus mobile gaming by area, but consoles have different availability in different parts of the world. Mobile gaming is the most ubiquitous method of playing because smartphones are now the primary way people worldwide access the internet.

Overall game spending has continued to surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. NPD estimates that July spending rose a whopping 34 percent annually, to $3.25B. What’s truly remarkable about this surge is that we’re seeing it despite the fact that we’re in the final year of the Xbox One/PS4 life cycle, when you’d expect software and hardware sales to be the slowest. Microsoft and Sony’s decision to add backward compatibility to their upcoming platforms may have been an incredibly wise decision given the disruptions COVID-19 is causing to mainstream game development.

Video game accessory spending also grew in July compared with the previous year, up 1.34x year-on-year, with full-year accessory spending up 1.24x. Video game hardware sales is down 2 percent. But keep in mind, that’s a drop of 2 percent at a time when these platforms are going to be replaced in a matter of months. Overall hardware sales are up 24 percent for the full year, at $1.3B.

This tremendous spending on games bodes well for the PS5/Xbox Series X launches, assuming the economic situation doesn’t collapse between now and then. Companies such as AMD, Sony, and Microsoft are all likely to see at least a small revenue uptick relative to the original expectations for console sales in 2020.

The PC gaming market isn’t the fastest-growing space (that’s mobile) or the highest revenue generator (also mobile), and PC gamers don’t spend as much as console gamers do. One interesting fact about the PC gaming market — and here, I’m drawing on a different report, by NewZoo — is that the PC space is much more static. It’s also sufficiently large enough that new releases rarely shift the market’s month-to-month performance.

According to NewZoo, the most popular games on PC right now are League of Legends, Rainbow Six: Siege, Valorant, Minecraft, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, GTA V, CoD: Modern Warfare, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and PUBG. The most popular games on Steam? CS:Go, DOTA 2, PUBG, Fall Guys, and GTA V. Here’s a larger list:

Most of these games are at least a few years old. A couple are closing in on a decade. NewZoo implies that the PC space is a bit unique in this way, with consoles tending towards quicker game turnover. I feel a bit less bad for playing Starcraft, Orcs Must Die, and Orcs Must Die 2 lately.

At any rate, the PC market was expected to grow at 3.5 percent CAGR through 2022 back in 2019. As of May, NewZoo was reporting a 4.8 percent boost for PC gaming, growth they attributed entirely to the pandemic. There’s an interesting implication there that overall PC gaming growth during the pandemic may have been slower or smaller than console game sales, but I haven’t been able to find additional data on that point. Either way, the pandemic has stimulated larger-than-expected sales in PC gaming too, not just in consoles.

Now Read:

Best Games for Laptops and Low-End PCs in 2020

GeForce Now Finally Comes to Chromebooks

It’s Now Possible to Play Doom Literally Inside of Minecraft

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/314009-3-billion-people-worldwide-are-gamers-and-nearly-half-play-on-pcs from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/08/3-billion-people-worldwide-are-gamers.html

#3 Billion People Worldwide are Gamers #and Nearly Half Play on PCs

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