#is that the population of Paris appears to be approximately ~100

[norsecoyote]

Miraculous is an exceptionally good kids' show

I started watching Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir because of a CJ the X video.

(Or, rather: because we needed to kill some time in an AirBnB in San Diego (this was the same trip but not the same day that our car got stolen), our then-4-year-old wanted to watch something, all we had access to was Netflix, and the thumbnail for Miraculous popped up and I at that point remembered the CJ the X video.)

It took us over two years to catch up, because after that trip it became something we watched together as a family, which we only made time to do every so often. But last night, with our kid now just over a week away from her 7th birthday, we finished Season 5 and the conclusion of the primary plot arc which had been driving the show since the first episode.

And... as weird as it would have sounded to hear myself say this two years ago, I'm genuinely impressed by this show, and I want to try to talk about why.

Uh, spoilers, I guess? Though I cannot imagine there are that many people reading this who would also have an interest in watching the entirety of Miraculous totally blind.

One of the things CJ discusses in that video, that was honestly the major selling point to me as "something to watch with your kid," is the show's surprising and often-subtextual emotional sophistication. Like, the entire conceit of the major antagonist is that he preys on people with strong negative emotions and turns them into supervillains, and while some of the scenarios are certainly silly, they're also all grounded. The way the show portrays the interpersonal dynamics of the core cast is certainly simplified, because this is a show for kids, but it's all realistic enough that it let us actually have meaningful conversations with our daughter about how to treat people.

For example: Chloe Bourgeois is an utterly absurd caricature, the spoiled vindictive brat to end all brats, and frankly it shows herculean restraint on the part of the writing team that they waited until the final episode of S5 to make the obvious joke, but: the broadness of her cattiness, selfishness and cruelty made it legible to our kid even from the beginning. We had a lot of conversations with her about why Chloe acted the way she did, and Chloe's motivations (if that's the right word) made sense to her. I would not be at all surprised if growing up alongside Chloe for two years -- or rather, alongside Chloe's brief flirtation with but ultimate rejection of actually growing up -- has a long-lasting influence on the sophistication of our daughter's moral compass beyond its 4yo starting point of "mean" vs "nice."

(Also, so carefully developing Chloe as this truly awful but fundamentally "relatable" character was crucial to the successful introduction in the later seasons of the genuine sociopath Lila. Seeing the contrast in our kid's reactions to the two different flavors of villainy was fascinating -- she haaaaaaated Lila.)

The overall commitment to emotional sophistication also paid off tremendously in the arc of Gabriel/Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch, both in the sense that our kid understood him and why he was doing everything, but also in how his final heel > face > heel > face turn, a rapid-fire sequence of Shocking Twists that could very easily have come across as contrived, cheesy or worse, instead felt fully "earned" and deeply satisfying. Miraculous may use bright colors and broad strokes to paint the relationships between its characters, but the final result feels like a painting, not a cartoon.

The other aspect of the show that impressed us, really throughout its run, was the way it handled shifts in the status quo. Like, the entire first 3/4 of the first season presents itself as purely episodic: someone gets their feelings hurt, they get "akumatized," the heroes save the day, Hawk Moth curses Ladybug as the iris closes over his window. (Notably, as CJ the X points out, they make zero attempt to explain the nature of any of this magic or the vocabulary used for it -- it's presented as a world where everybody is already used to it all, and every episode is Just Another Day.) And honestly most of the episodes of the first four seasons have that same fundamental pattern -- it's not until like halfway through the fifth season that they start regularly shaking up the formula.

But, every once in a while, and not just in season finales, the show introduces some new bit of lore, or gives the heroes or villains access to some game-changing new power, and then just... keeps moving. It neither ignores the new stuff nor falls victim to classic DBZ-esque power creep, instead just fully incorporating the changes into the landscape and exploring how they affect the dynamics of the conflict moving forward. Ladybug spends a lot of time straining against the limitations of her power set, but every so often she actually solves one of those problems, and afterwards that problem is just... solved. And like the bad guy quickly adapts to her new capabilities, of course, but not (just) by throwing More Power at her but by changing his tactics.

In fact, one of the few times the show did feel like it was just doing Competitive Power Level Charging ended up not only not being that but setting up for a very clever payoff. At some point, Ladybug gains the ability to, after she saves someone, create a magical charm to protect them from being akumatized again, and then that process gets incorporated into the standard post-battle victory sequence. And then, not long afterwards, Shadow Moth gets the ability (somehow?) to make "megakumas" that can just... break through those charms. But she keeps giving them out for some reason, and eventually discovers that a LOT of charms all working together can protect even against a megakuma, and at this point it's just like okay, I'm seriously losing interest in the arms race subplot.

...until it is revealed that Ladybug's habit of giving out charms to fucking everybody, all the time, even to people who already had one that totally failed to do anything at all before immediately breaking, is actually a critical mistake, because oops one of the infinite people she tossed one to like confetti was secretly Shadow Moth himself and in the finale he figures out how to use it to track her energy signal anywhere on Earth. And this instantly redeemed the whole plot element, because not only was it not in fact the writers being lazy and uncreative, they deliberately stuck it into the one sequence of the show that gets repeated more or less verbatim every single episode -- which, it was clear by episode 2, is deliberately reflective of the repeated animation sequences in classic shoujo anime -- to misdirect the audience about whose laziness it was.

The show is also unafraid to genuinely shift the status quo of its second primary conflict: the love rectangle between the two leads. For anybody still reading this who hasn't seen the show (which: why?), the gimmick from the very beginning is that, in their civilian identities, Marinette (aka Ladybug) is in love with Adrian (aka Chat Noir), and in costume, Chat Noir is in love with Ladybug -- and they are both explicitly forbidden from ever revealing their secret identities to each other. This state of affairs continues unchanged for some time, even as their classmates repeatedly try to set the two of them up -- until, all of a sudden, it changes. The character growth is slow and subtle, but it's there, and by the third or fourth season they actually start making new moves in the endless dance, before the whole first half of the fifth season is basically dedicated to exploring "what if?" scenarios and systematically demonstrating that there is no shortcut to them being properly Together without them both Growing Up and also Defeating Monarch.

And like, I am very aware that none of this is groundbreakingly original television or storytelling -- it's just surprising and refreshing to see in the context of a show that starts out looking like, basiclly, a slightly better-animated PJMasks.

This is, unlike the CJ the X video, not actually a recommendation for any adult to go binge Miraculous, but it is a recommendation for any parent to consider watching it with their kid. The combination of surface-level simplicity and deep, thoughtful character writing and plotting makes it simultaneously accessible to quite young audiences and complex enough to "grow with them," and ultimately leave even an adult viewer feeling satisfied with the time spent.

(plus, of course, it makes for some adorable moments:)

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

WHO Announces Virus “Plateau” (Foreign Policy) Countries across Europe are beginning to reopen after months of restrictions. U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed a proposal to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines, paving the way for accelerated production. But rather than achieving herd immunity, the world appears to be entering a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic, with more contagious variants spreading rapidly in places without stringent regulations or sufficient vaccines. In a Monday briefing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the world had reached a plateau in new cases and deaths from the coronavirus, with numbers declining overall in most regions. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged that the plateau was “unacceptably high.” Nearly 90,000 COVID-19 deaths were recorded worldwide last week. Thousands of those deaths occurred in India, where new cases and deaths have remained near record daily highs for days—and are still likely undercounted. Meanwhile, Malaysia announced a new lockdown on Monday amid a third wave driven in part by more infectious variants. Cases are rising elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, as well as in Latin America—with potential consequences for political leaders.

Election reform controversy (Reuters) Democrats in the U.S. Senate hope today to advance sweeping election reform legislation making it easier for Americans to cast ballots, despite intense opposition from Republicans, many of whom support new restrictive voting rules at the state level. The 886-page bill would expand mail-in voting that was used widely in last year’s presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic and would lengthen the hours of in-person balloting.

California expands drought emergency to large swath of state (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought emergency to a large swath of the nation’s most populous state while seeking more than $6 billion in multiyear water spending as one of the warmest, driest springs on record threatens another severe wildfire season across the American West. His emergency declaration now includes 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people, and he said a further expansion is likely as conditions worsen. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of the state and the American West is in extensive drought just a few years after California emerged from the last punishing multiyear dry spell. “We’re staring down at what could be disastrous summer and fall, with the potential of communities running out water, and fires,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Costa.

DarkSide Admits Hack (1440) Officials from the FBI confirmed yesterday a cyberattack that shut down one of the nation’s biggest gas pipelines was carried out by a cybercriminal outfit known as DarkSide. The group, based in Eastern Europe, is believed to develop, use, and sell ransomware—malicious software capable of locking IT systems until payment is made. Colonial Pipeline, which supplies an estimated 45% of the East Coast’s gasoline, shut down its network as a proactive measure after being hit with the attack late last week. In a twist, DarkSide representatives said they didn’t mean to create problems, but rather to simply “make some money.” The group, which claims to have an ethical code, represents an emerging phenomenon of hackers operating as enterprises—DarkSide even reportedly has a call-in number and help desk for its victims. It’s unclear whether the company paid the ransom; service is expected to be restored by next week. (AP) Meanwhile, more than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel, primarily because of what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers, as the shutdown of a major pipeline by a gang of hackers entered its fifth day Tuesday.

Central American leaders resisting Biden’s anti-corruption efforts (Washington Post) In a rebuff to the Biden administration, political leaders in El Salvador and Guatemala have forced out several senior judges known for their independence and anti-corruption zeal, underscoring the difficulties facing Washington’s new Central America policy. President Biden has put the fight against corruption at the heart of that policy. U.S. officials argue that graft is stunting Central American economies and driving citizens to attempt to migrate to the United States. The sidelining of the judges has raised concerns at the highest levels of the U.S. government. The administration is readying measures to increase pressure on El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle countries—including a name-and-shame list of corrupt politicians who would be denied U.S. visas. The efforts come as human rights groups warn of democratic backsliding in Central America, where the judiciary had emerged as a key check on presidential power.

Paris Teenager’s New Gig: Would-Be Queen of Italy. A Nation Shrugs. (NYT) Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the son of the last king of Italy, gave his granddaughter a big 16th birthday present. In a formal 2019 decree, the “Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples and by the grace of God direct heir to Head of the Royal House of Savoy,” amended a medieval law that for centuries had restricted succession in his royal line to male heirs. He bumped “our beloved granddaughter” Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Maria up the royal food chain, making her the first woman in 1,000 years to be invested with the authority to eventually lead the family and stake a claim to the defunct monarchy. “It was the best gift he could give me,” Vittoria, now 17 and a burgeoning Instagram influencer, said from her Paris home. But the gift didn’t include a crown. Italy is a republic, having abolished the monarchy 75 years ago for its disastrous support of Mussolini, and Italians have approximately zero interest in a royal restoration. “Never say never,” said Vittoria’s father, Emanuele Filiberto, an Italian television personality who claims the title Prince of Venice, which is also the name of his Los Angeles restaurant and former food truck. (“We do a lot of film premieres. We did Jumanji,” he said.) Obviously, he said, the monarchy wasn’t returning “tomorrow,” but he had no sons and the family needed a head of the royal household to run its historic orders.

Russian governor: School shooting in Kazan kills 7 students (AP) A school shooting erupted Tuesday morning in the Russian city of Kazan, killing seven students and leaving 16 other people hospitalized with wounds, a Russian governor reported. Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of the Tatarstan republic which has Kazan as its capital, said Tuesday that four male and three female eighth-grade students have died in the shooting. Twelve more children and four adults were hospitalized in the attack, Minnikhanov said. The shooter was 19. Kazan is roughly 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of Moscow.

Deadly ‘black fungus’ cases add to India’s covid crisis (Washington Post) As coronavirus cases and deaths soared in India recently, doctors began to notice another disturbing trend. Some covid-19 patients who had been released from hospitals were coming back with different symptoms, including sinus pain, blurred vision, black and bloody nasal discharge and a dark discoloration around the nose. The culprit was a deadly fungal infection called mucormycosis that physicians say is increasingly preying on people with immune systems weakened by covid-19 and the steroids used to treat it. Though cases of the black fungus remain rare, its lethality and increasing prevalence have prompted government warnings, put doctors on high alert and added to the country’s health crisis. “The death rate from mucormycosis is 50 percent,” said Amarinder Singh Malhi from All India Institute Of Medical Science, a public hospital in New Delhi. “The death rate from covid is 2.5 percent. So we have to use these steroids very cautiously.”

100 days in power, Myanmar junta holds pretense of control (AP) After Myanmar’s military seized power by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, they couldn’t even make the trains run on time: State railway workers were among the earliest organized opponents of the February takeover, and they went on strike. Health workers who founded the civil disobedience movement against military rule stopped staffing government medical facilities. Many civil servants were no-shows at work, along with employees of government and private banks. Universities became hotbeds of resistance, and in recent weeks, education at the primary and secondary levels has begun to collapse as teachers, students and parents boycott state schools. One hundred days after their takeover, Myanmar’s ruling generals maintain just the pretense of control. The illusion is sustained mainly by its partially successful efforts to shut down independent media and to keep the streets clear of large demonstrations by employing lethal force. More than 750 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces, according to detailed independent tallies. Meanwhile, the junta also faces a growing military challenge in the always restive border regions where ethnic minority groups exercise political power and maintain guerrilla armies. Two of the more battle-hardened groups, the Kachin in the north and the Karen in the east, have declared their support for the protest movement and stepped up their fighting, despite the government military, known as the Tatmadaw, hitting back with greater firepower, including airstrikes.

China Targets Muslim Women in Push to Suppress Births in Xinjiang (NYT) When China’s government ordered women in her mostly Muslim community in the region of Xinjiang to be fitted with contraceptive devices, Qelbinur Sedik pleaded for an exemption. She was nearly 50 years old, she told officials. She had obeyed the government’s birth limits and had only one child. It was no use. The workers threatened to take her to the police if she continued resisting, she said. She gave in and went to a government clinic where a doctor, using metal forceps, inserted an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy. She wept through the procedure. Across much of China, the authorities are encouraging women to have more children, as they try to stave off a demographic crisis from a declining birthrate. But in the Xinjiang region, China is forcing them to have fewer, tightening its grip on Muslim ethnic minorities and trying to orchestrate a demographic shift that will diminish their population growth. It is part of a vast and repressive social re-engineering campaign by a Communist Party determined to eliminate any perceived challenge to its rule, in this case, ethnic separatism.

35 killed in Gaza, 3 in Israel, as violence escalates (Reuters) Hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated overnight, with 35 Palestinians killed in Gaza and three in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years. Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, as the Islamist group and other Palestinian militant groups fired multiple rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba. One multi-story residential building in Gaza collapsed and another was heavily damaged after they were repeatedly hit by Israeli air strikes. It was the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control. U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: “Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” he wrote.

Israelis, Palestinians and Their Neighbors Worry (NYT) Let’s see, what happens when TikTok meets Palestinian grievances about right-wing Israeli land grabs in Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem? And then you add the holiest Muslim night of prayer in Jerusalem into the mix? Then toss in the most emotional Israeli holiday in Jerusalem? And a power play by Hamas to assume leadership of the Palestinian cause? And, finally, a political vacuum in which the Palestinian Authority is incapable of holding new elections and Israel is so divided it can’t stop having elections? What happens is the explosion of violence around Jerusalem on Monday that quickly spread to the Gaza front, and has people asking: Is this the big one? Is this the start of the next Palestinian uprising? The Israeli government, the surrounding Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority all desperately want the answer to be “no”—Israel because it would find little support from a left-leaning White House, let alone the rest of the world, for a big crackdown on Palestinians; the Arab governments because most of them want to do business with Israeli tech-makers, not get mired defending Palestinian rock-throwers; and the Palestinian leadership because it would expose just how little it controls the Palestinian street anymore. But unlike the Intifadas that began in 1987 and 2000, when Israel had someone to call to try to turn it off, there is no Palestinian on the other end of the phone this time—or, if there is, he’s a 15-year-old on his smartphone, swiping orders and inspiration from TikTok, the video app often used by young Palestinians to challenge and encourage one another to confront Israelis.

At least 1m people facing starvation as Madagascar’s drought worsens (Guardian) Madagascar’s worst drought in 40 years has left more than a million people facing a year of desperate food shortages. The south saw 50% of its usual rains during the October planting season, in a fourth year of drought. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network, most poor families have to rely on foraging for wild foods and leaves that are difficult to eat and can be dangerous for children and pregnant women. Aid agencies have reported people eating termites and mixing clay with tamarind.

[antigotravel-blog]

Cheap Flights to Paris

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with a population of 2,148,271 residents in an area of 105 square kilometers (41 square miles). Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centers of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts. The City of Paris is the center and seat of government of the Île-de-France, or Paris Region, which has an estimated official 2020 population of 12,278,210, or about 18 percent of the population of France. The Paris Region had a GDP of €709 billion ($808 billion) in 2017. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Paris was the second most expensive city in the world, after Singapore, and ahead of Zürich, Hong Kong, Oslo, and Geneva. Another source ranked Paris as most expensive, on a par with Singapore and Hong Kong, in 2018

If you are planning a trip to France and want to find flights to Paris, log onto antigotravel.com and find the most affordable and Cheap Flights to Paris. The website offers a user-friendly and comprehensive platform for you to easily navigate and select what you are looking for, making the entire experience extremely memorable.

Cheap Flights to Paris

Paris is, without a doubt, one of the most popular destinations on the planet – but, you don’t need to dig too deep to pay for your flights to the French capital. You can be enjoying the wide, tree-lined avenues, grand architecture, world-class museums, art galleries, opera, theatre, cafes and fashion boutiques after bagging a cheap flight from Antigotravel.com. Let’s show you how.

How to Find the Best Flight Deals for Paris

It’s not just the time of year, however, that can help you find the best deals on Flights to Paris. Sometimes it’s down to the tactics you use for searching, and here are some to try out right now.

For those not restricted to set days, cheaper flights can be found by using our ‘Show Flexible Dates’ feature. This appears just above where your flight options are returned – and it lets you see exactly when the cheapest tickets to Paris are near your preferred dates.

Airlines offering flights to Paris include:

Air France

British Airways

Ryanair

Vueling

easyJet

Flybe

CityJet

SAS

Emirates

Lufthansa

KLM

Best Places To Visit In Paris For A Dreamy Vacation In 2020!

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement. Approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square meters (782,910 square feet). In 2019, the Louvre received 9.6 million visitors.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colorful rose windows, as well as the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style. Major components that make Notre Dame stand out include one of the world's largest organs and its immense church bells.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, 1.9 kilometers (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theatres, cafés, and luxury shops, for the annual Bastille Day military parade, and as the finish of the Tour de France cycle race.

Musée d'Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe. Musée d'Orsay had 3.177 million visitors in 2017.

Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as "le Nouvel Opéra de Paris" (the new Paris Opera), it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect Charles Garnier's plans and designs, which are representative of the Napoleon III style. It was the primary theatre of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when a new opera house, the Opéra Bastille, opened at the Place de la Bastille.

Place de la Concorde

The Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring 7.6 ha (19 acres) in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the site of many notable public executions during the French Revolution.

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the étoile or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three arrondissements, 16th (south and west), 17th (north) and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

Climate of Paris

The Climate of Paris and the region of Île-de-France is temperate and influenced by the Atlantic Ocean: it is quite cold but not freezing in winter and pleasantly warm in summer. However, it has some continental characteristics too, so it can sometimes be very cold in winter and hot in summer.

In winter, from December to February, the average temperatures are quite low: normally, the maximum temperatures are around 7/8 °C (45/46 °F). When Atlantic currents prevail, the temperature can become mild and can even reach 13/14 °C (55/57 °F), but the weather in these cases is cloudy and rainy; in these periods, the wind blows frequently, and sometimes can be strong. On the other hand, there can be cold periods due to north or north-east currents, which are able to lower the temperature to the freezing point (0 °C or 32 °F) or a few degrees above; in these situations, the feeling of cold can be exacerbated by the wind, which blows moderate, usually from the northeast. The coldest periods occur under the influence of cold air masses from Russia, which can lead to a few days of snow, generally not abundant, and frost. In Paris, the temperature rarely drops to around -10 °C (14 °F), though this may happen on colder winters: in January 1985, the temperature dropped to -18 °C (0 °F).

Summer, from June to August, is a pleasantly warm season: the days are very long, and the temperature generally lends itself to outdoor activities. However, the weather is variable: there are some cool and rainy days due to Atlantic fronts, when the maximum temperature remains below 20 °C (68 °F), while on other occasions, the Azores High can bring some hot and sunny days, maybe a little sultry, with highs around or even above 30 °C (86 °F); in these cases, some thunderstorms can erupt in the afternoon. Really hot days in Paris are quite rare, though sometimes they may occur because of hot air masses from Africa: in August 2012, the temperature reached 38 °C (100 °F), while in August 2003, which, however, has been exceptional in the whole of France, it reached 40 °C (104 °F).

Spring and Autumn are cool and unstable, characterized by the passage of Atlantic depressions and by temperature changes. In spring, from March to May, the return of cold weather is possible, with short snowfalls in March and sometimes even in April. Sometimes, it's cold still in early May, with highs around 10 °C (50 °F), while in the course of the month, the temperature can reach and even exceed 25 °C (77 °F). Autumn, from September to November, is characterized by a gradual increase of cloudy and rainy periods; usually, it gets cold by November or late October.

[dramioneasks]

Hey, I've been away from fanfiction for a while now. Still I have approximately 100 stories downloaded on fanfic app. Problem is most of them are wip or abandoned & I don't wanna start reading incomplete stories. So, will you be kind enough to suggest some new-ish completed ones? I prefer post-Hogwarts stories. Medium burn and neither of them are nasty to the other type. Missed you guys tbh.

Faceless by Phinoa - E, 25 chapters - New year. New love. New threat. A powerful enemy is on the rise, and Hermione Granger finds herself intertwined in a relationship with Draco Malfoy – only she doesn't know it's him. // RUNNER-UP: Enchanted Awards Summer 2017 for Best Relationship Development

Rewriting Destiny by mayawrites95 (mayarox95) - G, 76 chapters - They all thought after Voldemort's fall that the world would get better. But they were wrong. The Death Eaters used politics to accomplish what Voldemort never could. And with the dwindling Wizarding population and no one left to fight, there's only one solution: to go back in time to before Voldemort rose to power, and fix what broke the first time around. Time Travel AU. Nominated for Best James Potter and Best Peter Pettigrew in the 2018 Marauder Medals!

Memorised by mhcalamas - M, 28 chapters - Astoria Malfoy is found dead in Paris. Hanging from her ankle, all the blood drained from her body, and the galleons and galleons apparently with her are missing. Aurors have a suspect, but mounting evidence seems to point to her husband, Draco. In a twisted tale of intrigue, suspicion and love, Magizoologist Hermione Granger wishes she'd never set foot in Paris. EWE. DRAMIONE.

Necessary Evil by CourtingInsanity - M, 28 chapters - Hermione Granger is a case worker for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Draco Malfoy has just been released from Azkaban nearly five years since the end of the Final Battle. Throw in a vindictive boss, an ailing mother and a common goal, and you've got a recipe for a slow burn Dramione.

Savicorns & Fireflies by RainbowPages0618 - M, 18 chapters - A new creature appears at Malfoy Manor, causing the curious to come looking. Draco must seek help from the Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: Hermione Granger. In order to save the creature and find its place in the Wizarding World, they must overcome the past and help one another.

More > here

- Lisa

[sugasweetsubs]

You Never Walk Alone [BTS Apocalypse AU]

Members | Taehyung & Jungkook

Words | 1.4K

Warnings | violence, language

Summary | Taehyung doesn't mean to be a hero, but sometimes the approaching end of the human race doesn't leave you much of a choice.

Disclaimer: This is the DRAFT EDITION of this story. It has been sitting in my drafts for almost two years, it isn’t finished and I don’t know if it ever will be, but I wanted to share. It is mostly unedited. Feedback is welcome!

Prologue | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | ?

Prologue: Sometimes People Die

Coughing--the first sign.

They say it started on a plane--a standard flight from New York to Paris that left JFK International Airport at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If the stories are to be believed, at some point during those eight hours and thirty-seven minutes a passenger came down with a cough that then spread throughout the entire aircraft. Due to recent international health scares, the flight was quarantined upon arrival and the one hundred and fifty-seven passengers and crew members were kept under careful medical observation for what was meant to be a ninety-six hour period.

Subconjunctival hemorrhaging--bleeding underneath the lining of the eye.

Fifteen hours before the quarantined passengers were set to be discharged, a new symptom appeared. As startling as bright red blood covering every part of the eye except the iris may appear, subconjunctival hemorrhaging on its own is harmless and clears up on its own. Normally, the condition would be written off as a result of the intense coughing fits that the passengers had suffered from since the flight; however, the sudden onset of the bleeding in every single patient worried the medical staff. The quarantine was extended by one week.

Aphagia--the inability or refusal to swallow.

Less than twenty-four hours after the last of the patients showed signs of hemorrhaging in their eyes, many of them also began to display a disinterest in eating their rationed meals. Thought to be a result of the sudden stress and isolation, the affected patients were kept under closer observation, but otherwise nothing more was done. Throughout that same day, the remainder of the plane’s occupants started to refuse their meals as well. By the time the extended quarantine period was meant to end, every last affected patient was receiving an intravenous rehydration treatment and being tube fed. The quarantine duration was extended indefinitely. An unknown disease outbreak was confirmed.

Death--the permanent cessation of vital bodily functions.

From there, the progression of the disease was rapid. The inability to eat left the patients weak and listless, blood began to leak from their tear ducts, they started to cough blood, they wheezed with every breath, and their skin broke out in patches of bruises that ranged in color from dusty gray to deep violet. Not long after the bruising reached its peak, the patients showed drastic, aggressive personality changes: they snapped at their nurses, threw anything they could get their hands on, and yelled nonsense for hours at a time. Some patients grew violent with the staff and were placed in bed restraints.

In addition to these external symptoms, the patients were also a mess internally: organs were failing, fevers raged, and their blood pressures sank to dangerous levels. Despite doing their best to treat each symptom as it appeared, the doctors were unable to find an effective treatment for this disease without a name.

On the thirtieth day of the quarantine, the first of the patients died. Over the course of the next thirty-six hours, the rest of the infected passed. News outlets went wild, headlines shouted questions like "157 Die in Quarantine, Beginning of an Epidemic?" and public fear spread like wildfire. The United States and French governments were quick to soothe the public with pretty words and smudged statistics that appeared tremendously comforting to the untrained eye; for the next few weeks this method was effective as no other cases of the mysterious disease had been reported. People moved on to more pressing matters, as people do. The governments covered up the news that was even more startling than the deaths of one hundred and fifty-seven people, as governments do.

Reanimation--a restoration to life or consciousness.

When humans die of unknown causes, it is natural for some questions to be raised. Most people don't like not knowing. So when one hundred and fifty-seven people died of a disease no one had ever seen before, doctors and scientists from around the world wanted to take a crack at solving the mystery.

A small number of families agreed to donate the bodies of their loved ones to science. Those donated bodies were transported to top medical research labs across the world to be used in diagnostic and cure research.

It was during this research that the final symptom of the disease made itself known.

The first documented case was in a lab in Australia. The researcher in charge of collecting tissue samples for further analysis left the subject's body unattended for approximately twenty minutes while running files to a different research team one floor up. Upon returning to the autopsy room, the researcher discovered that the subject's body was no longer lying on the examination table. At the time, it was believed that another researcher had taken the body for a CT scan without proper notice; however, it was later discovered that neither research team knew the location of the subject's body. Facility security conducted a sweep of the building, but there was no sign of the subject.

Until they reached the basement.

The figure that huddled in a dimly lit corner of the facility's basement was dressed in a standard medical gown and was thought to be an escaped patient from the hospital next door. The security team approached the figure--meaning to detain the patient and return them to the hospital--but as the team came closer the patient stood and began to back into a different hallway. It was then, when the patient stepped into full lighting, that a member of the security team claimed to recognize the patient.

The supposedly dead research subject.

Ignoring the ridiculous claims of their teammate, the remainder of the security team moved to detain the patient. This movement was met with hostility from the patient, who attacked one of the security guards so viciously that the team resorted to lethal force.

Later, blood testing confirmed suspicions. The patient in the basement was indeed the research subject come back to temporary life.

Over the span of a week, every single lab studying one of the bodies reported situations eerily similar to the Australian lab's. Some were more prepared than others. Not every location was lucky enough to escape fatalities.

It is unknown what happened to the bodies not sent to research locations, but by then the world was more preoccupied with the increasingly common outbreaks of the still unnamed disease. The public panicked as the news of a 'real life zombie virus' spread with every new case of the sickness and with every new example of the dead coming back to...not quite life.

Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Z. In the eight months it took scientists to decide on a name for the deadly virus, over a million people had been killed by the disease and the number continued to grow with every passing day. The staggering infection rate and 100% chance of mortality of the airborne virus created immense paranoia all over the world: governments shut down borders, mandatory curfews took effect in nearly every city across the world, and scientists jumped immediately into intensifying the research for a cure.

The violent tendencies of patients in the late stages of "Z Fever" led to any confirmed cases of infection being detained and held in specially designated compounds where they were to either become experimental subjects for cure research or be terminated. After their initial deaths, patients were considered to be beyond saving and it became standard practice to burn their bodies before they were able to reach the 'reawakening stage' of the disease.

One year and ten months passed with nearly sixteen million deaths before a vaccine was created.

A cure was still considered to be years away, but that same research led to the invention of a vaccine that reduced the infectiousness of the disease. No longer airborne--spread only through contact with an infected person's blood or saliva--the rate of infection was cut in half.

Eight years later, the world's population has fallen to a mere 2.1 billion. While a cure is thought to only be a few months away by even the most conservative estimates, the surviving human population is struggling to hold out for salvation when the world's remaining cities are overrun with the infected and resources have hit critical lows.

Notes: I really liked where this story was going and I’ve been searching for the best time to post it. I wanted to wait until it was complete, but after two years I said f*** it and decided to post on a whim. Feedback is welcome!! I’ll be updated every two days until I run out of pre-written content and after that it’s a mystery. I’m very busy these days, but I miss writing TT

If you want more of this universe check out the video ‘trailer’ I made for it here and a semi-related video edit here

masterlist

[crimethinc]

The G20 in Buenos Aires: Logbook November 20-22–Security Zones and Shantytowns

On November 30 and December 1, the 2018 G20 summit will bring together the rulers of the 20 most powerful nations for a meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the third installment of our coverage of the 2018 G20 summit, our international correspondents describe the unprecedentedly massive security operation that is accompanying this summit, the international protest mobilization, and police violence against the poor population in the periphery.

Tuesday, November 20

Border Controls, Security Zones, and a City Blockade

The government announced on Monday, November 19 that it will be tightening border controls, focusing on the border triangle with Uruguay and Brazil as well as the international airport. They claimed to have “extensive international lists” and that they “will strictly prevent the entry of radical G20 protesters.” In case friends and activists are detained at the airport, the Protest Alliance has set up a round-the-clock legal emergency service.

On Tuesday, the “security junta” chaired by Minister Patricia Bullrich held a press conference; Bullrich is a machine of repression with an oligarchic family background and also some (decidedly dubious) past association with the Montoneros. Everyone expected large security zones and restrictions on freedom of movement, but the scope of what Bullrich announced went beyond the expectations of the assembled capitalist press.

The graded security zones will cover an area of about 20 square kilometers only in the inner-city area—a tenth of the total area of the capital. There will also be “variable corridors” and closed roads to the international airport 40 km away. Within the dark red security zone, the “Villa 31” is located—the so-called “Villa Miseria”—with its approximately 30,000 residents, which is close to the conference venue. As it appears, the residents are to be locked in or out of their homes and their neighborhood. They have virtually no lobby at all to advocate for them; on the contrary, they are highly stigmatized.

The square-shaped area below (to the south) in the following city plans is justified as “protection of the Theatro Colon”—where this Friday, the feudal dinner of the heads of state is to take place. However, the theater is not located in the middle of this zone, but close to the upper left edge, between the metro line B and the zone border. More than 200,000 inner city residents live in this square, which also houses the political and historical center of the city and the entire country, including the Congress and the Plaza de Mayo. The security zones also include the entire port, the inner-city airport, the city’s main arterial roads including the sixteen-lane Avenida of July 9, Retiro Central Station, large parts of the historic Recoleta district, and the expensive new Puerto Madero port quarter. For the latter two, we are talking about approximately 50,000 more residents who will be directly affected by the security around the summit. In addition, there is a smaller control area to the south, near the Plaza Constitución, which can only be explained by a “troop site” planned there.

In addition to all these security zones, restrictions on local public transport have been announced, on a scale that has never been implemented before at any previous summit. The entire regional rail network and the metro (“Subte”) network will be completely shut down during the G20. This will render travel impossible throughout the city. The same is true for all shipping traffic on the Rio de la Plata, the river that separates the neighboring cities of the metropolitan region and Montevideo in Uruguay from Buenos Aires.

On the other hand, some buses within Buenos Aires “may still run.”

All this is hard to swallow for city residents who have only experienced such conditions during general strikes. This time, however, the aim of the intervention is not a social concern—and certainly not “guaranteeing the safety of the summit”—but rather, cutting off or inhibiting the flow of protest towards the center. In the city center, only police and politicians should move freely. Everyone else—the inconvenient others—should leave for the countryside or stay locked inside their homes.

The affected areas.

The affected areas.

Wednesday, November 21

A Book, an Article, and a Call for a Demonstration

On Wednesday, the widely read national online newspaper Infobae published an article about the multilingual book To Our Compas in Buenos Aires by activists from Hamburg and Paris. Infobae is considered to be close to the reigning government; it is often cited by the German Foreign Office as a “serious source.” The lengthy article was titled “Take Care Compas—The Handbook of International Protest that the Government Is Studying ahead of the G20.”

First, the text briefly presents the concerns of the Argentine government, highlighting the alleged threat posed by international opponents of globalization. After that, however, the article quotes the book at great length in a fairly unbiased manner. For example, the book description appears unabridged and passages referring to the forthcoming summit in Buenos Aires are highlighted. The text is framed as a kind of “guide to protest,” though this is already refuted by the quotations. However, the article sketches a relatively comprehensive picture of the courses of events in Hamburg, chiefly through the quotations. Infobae describes it as “ridiculous” that the authors of the book describe the attendance of 80,000 people at the central demonstration as a “success”—a rather small number of participants, by Buenos Aires standards.

To Our Compas in Buenos Aires.

Surprisingly, on the same day, the short call for a demonstration in Hamburg to show solidarity with the protests in Buenos Aires, translated into Spanish, appeared on the front of the local protest website in Buenos Aires. The call is for a demonstration on the afternoon of December 1 after an FC St. Pauli home game. The preceding evening, there will be a meeting in a left cultural center in Hamburg to follow the events in Buenos Aires. The December 1 demonstration is also intended as a reaction to the anticipated repression.

And International Protests?

In addition to those in Hamburg, parallel protests will take place in Paris and London. There are probably also plans elsewhere. Very few activists from Europe or North America will come to Buenos Aires, and not only because of the announced border controls. The flights are expensive and harmful to the environment, police repression is expected to be intense, and the strange conditions in which the G20 will take place in Argentina are likely to deter many more protesters.

The alliance “Confluencia” expects activists from neighboring countries. In view of limited resources and the long distances, however, even within South America, travelling to protests in neighboring countries is by no means standard. Now, the Argentine government has added the offensively announced border closure. The national government and international security management are doing everything they can to minimize the number of participants from outside Argentina. Even journeys from other regions of Argentina will be rendered considerably more difficult by the interruption of the railway connections into Buenos Aires. It is even conceivable that this will extend to regional train connections and bus routes. The announced repression is also having an effect: one of the larger Peronist trade unions has already toned down its mobilization for this reason and in view of next year’s elections. One does not want to be associated too much with the foreseeable (or even conjured up) “riots.”

Thursday, November 22

“No Roof, No Land, No Life”

This is the headline of the progressive, left-leaning daily newspaper Página 12. Rodolfo Orellana, 36 years old, of Bolivian origin and father of five children, is dead, most likely murdered by the police. What happened? In the early morning, between 100 and 200 residents attempted to occupy a vacant site in the huge suburb of Matanza. In fact, the owner had already signed a far-reaching temporary use agreement with the local neighborhood association, in which Rodolfo Orellana was also active. This agreement document has been pushed from office to office for a long time in order to take effect legally.

Despite this legal grey zone, the police immediately arrived at the occupation in full gear and shot numerous rubber bullets, seriously injuring several people. A video shows Rodolfo Orellana, likely after his death. As became known later during the autopsy, he died as a consequence of live ammunition entering his shoulder. Based on the exit wound, the shot must have hit him when he was in a stooped posture, either standing or squatting with his back to the murderer.

Police maintain that neither the bullet nor the shell were found; the caliber of the bullet is supposed to be determined in a second autopsy. The police deny the use of firearms, alleging that there were hostilities between Bolivian and Paraguayan groups within the occupiers. Since the bloody political unrest of 2002, it is forbidden for the police in Argentina to carry firearms during demonstrations—and even more so to use them. But it is absurd to imagine that now, during a brutal evacuation, the demonstrators would have shot each other under the eyes of the police.

There were four more arrests, including a mother who was “allowed” to have her baby in the police cell for a short time every three hours to breastfeed. On the following day, there was a fierce and emotionally moving protest rally in the city center.

Housing Shortage in the Periphery

Officially, the city of Buenos Aires covers only 203 km² with 2.9 million inhabitants; by contrast, Berlin covers 891 km² with 3.6 million. However, there are officially almost 14 million inhabitants in the immediate metropolitan area. In the periphery there are also some isolated “islands for the rich” and areas with a mixed character, but by and large, the “outskirts” range from poor to extremely poor districts and informal settlements. The social and cultural contrast to the official “capital” is dramatic.

The “suburb” Matanza (in English, “slaughter” or “bloodbath”) hosts 1.8 million inhabitants—as many as the city of Hamburg. There are also several “villas,” places with improvised buildings. The housing shortage is most clearly visible in these shantytowns and their surroundings. Migrants from neighboring countries often live in highly crowded and inhumane conditions. Empty spaces are often squatted in order to open up a little more space for survival and life. In addition, there is a widespread “economía popular” via which people organize their everyday lives. Rodolfo Orellana was an activist there.

Rodolfo Orellana, murdered by the police.

Income throughout Buenoes Aires

The proportion of “villas” as a form of housing in 2010.

[samuraiko]

Semi-Useful Notes for Writing for THE ROYAL TUTOR

(Author’s Note: This includes all twelve episodes of the anime (plus the movie), as well as up through Chapter 84 of the manga (18 Oct 2019) and what info I can glean from the Character Book (unfortunately it’s all in Japanese). I will continually update this post as the series progresses and new spiffy stuff shows up, so visit my Master List of my ROYAL TUTOR Stuff to see the latest version.)

While writing A Noble Soul (which is done, by the way!), I had the idea that I personally love the little touches of authenticity that make a story more 'real,' and hey, if nothing else, I learn a few things along the way. (I *am* a researcher, after all!) So I did a lot of searching to find the real-world analogues of the buildings, references, history, and so forth from the series. As you’ll see in the descriptions, I explain how I determined which ones were which.

You’re welcome to post questions, comments, share this, etc. Hope it helps anyone else who wants to write for the ROYAL TUTOR fandom! (Quick question - would everyone prefer me to include chapter references for stuff? It’d make this post much longer, but if the fandom thinks it’d be useful, I can give it a shot.)

So, here we go!

GRANZREICH FAMILY INFO

Viktor von Granzreich, current ruler of the kingdom of Granzreich, assumed the throne at 18 (considering his father’s much later death, this may have been for reasons of health on his father’s part, possible abdication on his father’s part, or other political reasons)

Maria von Granzreich, Viktor’s mother, still living

NOTE: Her sibling (name and gender as yet unmentioned) is the Queen’s parent

Father’s name as yet unmentioned, died of natural causes at ‘a ripe old age’

NOTE: The princes mention in earlier chapters that they do remember their grandfather from when they were small, so his death is relatively recent)

Viktor’s wife (appears only once in flashback, name as yet unmentioned)

NOTE: One of her siblings (not sure if brother or sister) is the parent of Beatrix von Lothringen

(Beatrix also has three younger brothers and one younger sister)

Viktor’s children:

Eins von Granzreich, Viktor’s eldest child and firstborn son

Kai von Granzreich, Viktor’s second son

Currently engaged to Beatrix von Lothringen, first cousin to the princes

Bruno von Granzreich, Viktor’s third son

Leonhard von Granzreich, Viktor’s fourth son

Licht von Granzreich, Viktor’s fifth son

Adele von Granzreich, Viktor’s sixth child and only daughter

LOCATIONS:

GRANZREICH (real world analogue: Austria)

Granzreich population: ~6 million

Side note: Both Viktor and Leonhard are shown riding white horses - these are the famed Lipizzaner stallions, from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria

Other side note: Viktor’s typical outfit is clearly inspired by the military field uniform of Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria (the white variant that the princes wear on some of the covers/inside art is the gala/formal version); the three medals shown on Viktor’s uniform are the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck, what appears to be a simplified version of the Long Service Cross over his heart, and what appears to be a simplified version of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa just below that (a round circle with a cross).

90% of Granzreich’s population is Gherman (see below)

3% of Granzreich’s population is Kvel (see below)

Wienner (capital) (real world analogue: Vienna, Austria)

Wienner's population: ~1.3 million

Weissburg/Weisburg Palace (both spellings are used) (real world analogue: Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria) - specifically, the part often shown as denoting the palace is the Neue Berg wing

Karl Theater (real world analogue: Carltheater) - operettas

Remnant Theater (possible real world analogue: Raimund Theatre) - operettas

National Opera House (real world analogue: Staatsoper (originally Vienna Court Opera)) - opera house

National Art Museum (real world analogue: Kunsthistorisches Museum - directly opposite the palace, it is the largest art museum in the country; the image of the museum behind Heine when he announces the prize matches the façade of the building)

Granzreich University (real world analogue: there is no University of Austria, per se, but there is the University of Graz (the second largest city in Austria), which is the second largest and second oldest university in Austria)

Wienner University (real world analogue: University of Vienna, the building shown in both the anime and the manga is the main building - this is where Doctor Dmitri (and later Bruno) comes to lecture – it is also recognized as a leading institution for studies in Humanities – Bruno would do well here studying Philosophy!)

Prunksaal (real world analogue: Prunksaal) – the national library (also housed within the palace in another building)

Within the Prunksaal is the Royal Archive, where historical documents, judicial records, going back hundreds of years, and other documents the royal family keeps from one generation to another are preserved; only royals and a fraction of statesmen are permitted to use it (this is the place referenced in the anime that Prince Licht says even princes can’t visit without the king’s express permission)

The plaza/fountain where the KaseKrainer stand is (real world analogue: Donnerbrunnen Fountain in the center of the Neuer Markt)

Granzreich Military Academy (real world analogue: Theresian Military Academy (one of the oldest in the world) - yearly had 100 nobles and 100 commoners enrolled)

Princes are enrolled at the age of 15 (in-series)

Schwarz Palace (real world analogue: Schloss Neuwaldegg, aka Villa Schwarzenberg - at first I thought this was the Palais Schwarzenberg, but double-checking the architecture confirms it's the Schloss) - in-series, given to a general who played a major role in the war 150 years ago by the reigning king, Friedrich IV, and currently Prince Eins’ residence

Kohl Street, the site of Café Mitter Meyer's second location (real world analogue: Kohlmarkt, which is indeed right next to the palace, and leads past the Catholic Church of St. Peter)

The train station (mentioned in-series when Viktor gives directions, as well as the departure point for various trips) (real world analogue: Wien Südbahnhof, Vienna’s main train station)

Wienner Grand Hotel (mentioned in-series as Herman Koenig’s previous place of employ) (real world analogue: Grand Hotel Wien, Vienna’s first Grand Hotel, opened in 1870, and *the* last word in elegance - Herman would have worked in the Kavalierbar, the hotel’s bar/lounge) 

Augustinian Church (Augustinerkirche) (not mentioned in series, just a useful note) - the parish church of the royal court (located next to the Hofburg)

Salzichl (the royal villa and hot springs) (real world analogue: the Kaiser Therme at Bad Ischl, aka the ‘Emperor’s Spa, favoured holiday resort of Emperor Franz Joseph I - and yes, the architecture as shown in the manga is exactly what the villa looks like... Leonhard would his own reasons to love it there, as it also has a renowned pastry shop)

OTHER NATIONS:

Fonsein/Fonseine (both spellings are used, though Fonseine is used more often) (real world analogue: France)

Capital - Fleur (real world analogue: Versailles - while the capital of France is actually Paris, Versailles was the primary residence of French royalty until the revolution, and the art in the manga depicts the Palace of Versailles and its famed gardens (which, as Bruno ruefully notes, are in fact larger than the gardens of Weissburg Palace, aka the Hofburg). Rather than differentiate between Versailles and Paris (approximately 15 miles away), the manga conflates the two of them together, as the map that Claude shows the princes depicts Paris’s center. Also, the manga accurately states it’s a half-day from Wienner to Fleur by train - at a guess, the train station that the princes arrive at is Gare de l’Est.) Some of the famous sights in Fleur include:

The Etoile Arc (real world analogue: the Arc de Triomphe, and as Claude points out, is a monument to France’s endurance through war and hardship, and is carved with bas-reliefs indicating peace and friendship)

The Opera House (real world analogue: the famed Paris Opera House (immortalized in literature by Gaston Leroux in his novel The Phantom of the Opera), stated to have been completed “five years ago” (as the Paris Opera House was completed in 1875, this puts the current date at 1880-ish)

The Art Museum (real world analogue: the museum depicted here is the Louvre, and Claude is not kidding when he says you could spend a week and STILL not see all the art museums in Paris)

The Cathedral (real world analogue: Notre-Dame de Paris - immortalized in literature by Victor Hugo is his novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, although Leonhard possibly mis-translates Claude’s description as to when it was built - Notre-Dame de Paris was completed FIVE hundred and fifty years earlier, not FOUR hundred and fifty)

The Department Store (real world analogue: because the interior art is so limited, this is likely one of three places - Le Bon Marché, the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV), or Printemps Haussman)

Current queen: Queen Isabelle (distant blood relatives of the same family as the von Granzreichs) (real world analogue: debatable, as post-1870, France was ruled by republican government, rather than a monarchy - also as of Chapter 69, Claude confirms that his mother and father are both abroad (so yes, Isabelle is currently married).

Her son, Claude, first prince of Fonseine, the only child (and a child not much older than Adele, and THIS is Adele's intended fiance!) (I was under the impression she was affianced to someone else already!)

Granzreich and Fonseine have been in friendly relations for the past 200 years through royal intermarriage

AND EINS IS TO BE ENGAGED TO SOMEONE IN FONSEINE (correction - Eins is later revealed to be engaged to the Princess of Belgian (see below); however given the close intermarriages between their real world analogues of France, Austria, Spain, Germany, and Belgium, this may have been a negotiation point between Fonseine and Granzreich for upcoming treaties or other political purposes)

Beyer (real world analogue: Bavaria (southern state in Germany))

Belgian (real world analogue: Belgium)

Current queen: Queen Charlotte (real world analogue: Charlotte, Princess of Wales, wife to Leopold I of Belgium)

Princess Paola, second princess of Belgian (later referred to in Chap 77 as Charlotte) (real world analogue: Charlotte, later Empress of Mexico - possible reason for the name change is to avoid confusion - her brothers are also mentioned in the chapter... real life analogues for them would be Leopold II and Phillippe (their third brother died in infancy)

Viktor confirms in Chap 77 that the two nations are still on good terms

Ghermany (real world analogue: Germany)

Iel (real world analogue: Palestine/Israel)

Kingdom fell 1800 years ago. Kvel is used more as an indication of the Jewish populace rather than a specific nation, both in terms of bloodline and social/religious heritage

Madri (real world analogue: Spain)

Nederland/Neterlanden (both spellings are used) (real world analogue: the Netherlands)

Orosz (manga)/Erosz (anime) (real world analogue: Russia)

Capital - Pietarigrad (real world analogue: St. Petersburg - while the capital of Russia is Moscow, St. Petersburg (at one point named Petrograd) is Russia's second largest city, is Russia's cultural capital, and is the port city referenced here) (and it's 1800 km from Wienner to Pietarigrad, and the railroad route they show IS accurate to travel from Vienna to St. Petersburg!)

Grand Hotel Orosz (real world analogue: Grand Hotel Europe (confirmed via pictures of the architecture compared to the manga; opened in 1875, and one of the three most luxurious hotels in St Petersburg)

Orosz University (real world analogue: Saint Petersburg State University, the oldest university in Russia)

Doctor Dmitri references an art museum while discussing Pietarigrad (real world analogue: the Russian Museum)

Grand Theater (real world analogue: Mariinsky Theatre, the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, and the site of the premieres of most of Russia's most famous ballets, operas, and other music)

Romano (real world analogue: Russia or POSSIBLY Poland, more on that in a second)

King: Alexander Alexandrovitch Romano (real world analogue: Czar Alexander II)

Crown Prince Ivan Alexandrovitch Romano

Prince Eugene Alexandrovitch Romano

Russian uses patronymic names, so your middle name is a derivative of your parent)

ALTERNATE real world analogue: Poland - since Austria and Russia do not share a border (and mention is made of inspecting mines on the border between their nations), it’s possible that instead Romano (while borrowing heavily from Russian inspiration for names) is actually Poland. (Rationale: what is modern-day Czechia was originally part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, which DOES share a border with Poland.) While Polish is traditionally written in Latin script, it *can* be written in Cyrllic.

I’m still nailing down whether the Romano flag is based on an actual nation flag.

Venezia/Veneto (both are used) (real world analogue: Venice)

Laguna Empire (real world analogue: TBD)

Kingdom of Kataro (possible real world analogue: Qatar)

Yapan (real world analogue: Japan)

Eastern Continent (real world analogue: Asia)

Western Continent (real world analogue: Europe)

GRANZREICH’S ECONOMY:

1 florin = 100 kreutzer (real world analogue: the florin and the kreutzer, ratio the same following Austria-Hungary's decimalization of the currency system in 1857)

A doll costs 55 kreutzer

The Royal Guard makes 30k kreutzer/year (300 florins/year, as per the anime and the manga)

The ransom for Maximilian and Heine was to be 1500 florins, or 150,000 kreutzer… meaning the ransom for Kai at 1 million florins was 100 million kreutzer -- Heine wasn't kidding when he says it's the annual budget for a small country in the 1880s, (In the manga, the ransom is set at 300,000 florins for the prince, and 1500 florins for Heine and Maximilian)

Licht, on the other hand, earns 120 florins working at the cafe... which strikes me as odd because he only works one shift a week (even if a shift is potentially 12 hours). Now, this might actually be him figuring he works full-time, which would make more sense. But this has to be a YEARLY income, there’s no way he makes this much in a month if a member of the Royal Guard makes 300 florins a year.

Rosenberg quotes a rent of 150 florins for a 2br flat... again, this has to be for a year, there’s no way this is monthly.

Economic crisis 30 years ago (real world analogue: the European financial crisis beginning in the 1850s)

Granzreich's main industries: porcelain and wine

Also agriculture, according to the author's notes at the end of Vol 2

1880s TECHNOLOGY:

COMMUNICATION: Cables/telegrams are now fast enough for a 24-48hr message even all the way across Europe -- and crossing the English channel by ferry takes 1.5-2hrs

LOCAL TRAVEL: Primarily carriages, horseback, and walking -- trains are for longer-distance travel

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: You can get from London to Perm, Russia within SEVEN DAYS

TRAINS: The Orient Express (1883) went from Paris to Vienna in 15 hours overnight (not much different from now, actually!)

TELEPHONES: The telephone exchange does exist but the infrastructure is still VERY new and not heavily in use yet

POWER: Electricity is rapidly gaining ground for newer construction, but older buildings are still using gas, lamps, candles, etc.

1880′s EUROPEAN CULTURE:

Ballet, opera, operettas, plays, music

Social halls are still separated by 'class' (nobility vs commoner)

Popular dances in Europe at this point include the waltz (DUH, this is Vienna), the redowa, the mazurka, the polka (big shock with Germany next door), the cotillion, and the varsouvienne (another Polish dance)

Social etiquette at an event included the use of 'dance cards' (or fans!) - these were presented with a list of the songs/dances to be held over the course of the event, and if a gentleman wished to engage a lady for one, he wrote down his name (like making a reservation)

There is a TON of information out there about how one does (and does not) behave at a social event during that day and age, and safe bet that our dear princes have had it drilled into them from the time they were small. Some fun ones include:

WHY one wears gloves (because bare hands indicates holding hands, which is SHOCKINGLY intimate)

Not dancing with the same partner more than once (unless you're either engaged or about to be, because it puts you on intimate terms with your partner)

What is socially acceptable to eat at a party (the reason trifles and 'snacks' are served is so no one can embarrass themselves at table)

Games are occasionally combined with dancing (if you've seen AMADEUS, where during the masquerade they're playing Musical Chairs as they dance, and the loser has to pay a forfeit, you get the idea)

[argyrocratie]

In July hundreds of lives were lost in heat domes over western Canada and the US, and floods in Germany and China. Wildfires raged out of control from Californie to Greece, Turkey and Siberia. These disasters are clearly the result of global warming disrupting weather patterns. If emissions of greenhouse gases continue on the present path, these events will seem like a vicar’s tea party in comparison to what is to come. Millions upon millions will die.

Historically the human species has survived in a narrow range of mean average temperatures (MAT), the so-called climate niche. This range is approximately 11°C to 15°C and it also is the range for successful cultivation of crops and livestock. The average pre-industrial temperature was about 13.75°C and so far MATs have risen 1.1°C above pre-industrial temperatures so we are already at the limit of optimum temperatures for human survival. Since 2010 there has been an increase of 0.4°C in MAT which means we will reach the famous 1.5°C agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in the next 5 to 10 years, not by the end of this century. A rise of 2°C, possibly by 2040, will put a third of the human population outside the climate niche. Even at 1.5°C there will be a large reduction in food produced, and at 2°C yields are estimated to halve in areas like the US Midwest and India. Millions, possibly billions, of people will be forced to migrate as the climate niche moves to higher latitudes. This will lead to social breakdown and wars.

A number of warming processes are already beyond the tipping points, the points where human action cannot reverse them. Three important tipping points now appear to have been crossed; the melting of the Arctic ice, the melting of the west Antarctic ice sheet and the bleaching of the coral reefs. A further three processes appear to be close to tipping points; the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, the melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet and disruption of the Gulf Stream. While we produce more greenhouse gases we are also destroying nature’s ability to absorb them. The Amazon basin, for example, has changed from a net absorber of carbon dioxide to a net emitter because of fires and forest clearance.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its report for achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the Paris Conference goal, concludes this can only be achieved if there are

"No new oil and gas fields approved for development [and] no new coal mines."

Of course our rulers have not taken the slightest notice of this. The bulk of new energy investments is going into fossil fuels. The G7 as a whole spent $189bn to support oil, gas and coal in the year 2020-2021, 29% more than they spent on renewables, and in the 6 years since the Paris Conference the G20 have subsidised fossil fuels to the tune of $3.3tn! The IEA reports that just 2% of the $16tn allocated for the pandemic recovery is going to clean energy and notes that CO2 emissions are likely to surge to a new peak by 2023.

Why are our rulers doing the exact opposite of what their scientists tell them? The reason is they do what capitalism demands. Firstly the capitalist system only produces for profit, and fossil fuels are still very profitable, and secondly the system requires continual accumulation of capital, which means continual growth, which translates into energy growth. While the capitalist system dominates the world the need for profits and growth will determine what our rulers do even if this is leading to future extinction of Homo sapiens.

Intimately connected with the production of greenhouse gases is the pillage of the planet. Capitalism’s use of the renewable resources of nature is now annually 1.6 times what nature can replace. This is simply not sustainable. What can be done? Today we are presented with two alternatives; global conferences of the leaders of world capitalism agreeing to decarbonise, or direct action to disrupt the system forcing governments to decarbonise. Neither of these will work.

The first relies on the leaders of global capitalism agreeing to halt the way capitalism works. The COP conferences are supposedly a forum for this and the latest, COP 26, is due in Glasgow in November. The COP conferences have met annually since 1995, yet all previous COP conferences have achieved nothing whatsoever. Global warming has steadily increased. The Paris Conference was supposed to produce legally binding commitments, however, such commitments are unenforceable! Apparently 100 poor nations will come to the Glasgow meeting demanding money from the rich nations to fulfil the Paris COP 21 pledges which they haven’t met! Another fudge will be the outcome and the participants will, as usual, pat themselves on the back for making promises they have neither intention nor ability to fulfil.

The second alternative imagines global capitalism can be forced to decarbonise the economy by disruption and mass disobedience. This is the strategy espoused by Extinction Rebellion (XR) and its offshoot Burning Pink. They propose a “peaceful” revolution via members elected to parliament and citizens’ assemblies controlling decarbonisation. Decarbonisation costs are to be paid for by confiscation of 90% of the assets of the richest 10% of the population. The real criticism of all this fantasy is that the capitalist system with its continual demand for profit and growth is, according to XR, to remain in place. In other words all the forces which are leading us to catastrophe remain intact.

The simple truth is that there can be no solution to the environmental crisis while capitalism remains the global system of production. The ending of wage labour and production for profit is absolutely necessary before the terrible damage capitalism has inflicted on the planet can be rolled back. A global system based on cooperative production for human need must be constructed before we can strike at the root of the environmental problem.

​-”Save the Planet - Destroy Capitalism!”  Internationalist Communist Tendency

[instituteofgeorgianhistory]

“Attic Standard Zone”, Eurozone and Georgia: Historical Comparative Analysis

Tedo Dundua

Emil Avdaliani

https://www.eurasiareview.com/05052020-attic-standard-zone-eurozone-and-georgia-historical-comparative-analysis/

 If you cross the state borders freely, seeing all the cargos moving without delay, money standard and the name being identical everywhere, that means you are in Eurozone. The reality has its remote pattern, Athenian (Attic) case with Colchis (Western Georgia) being involved. If Colchis was in “Attic standard zone”, why to deny Eurozone to Georgia? Below Athenian and modern European cases are discussed.

 “If anyone mints silver coins in the cities and does not use Athenian coins or weights or measures, but foreign coins, weights and measures, I shall punish him and fine him according to the previous decree which Klearchos proposed” (A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. To the End of the Fifth c. B.C.  Edited by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis. Oxford. 1969. Printed to the University 1971, p. 113; Chr. Howgego. Ancient History from Coins. London and New York. 1995, p. 44).  This is what a secretary of the Athenian Council (Boule) had to add to the Bouleatic oath from the famous Athenian decree enforcing to use the Athenian coins, weights and measures within the Athenian Alliance. The Athenian officials in the cities were responsible to carry out the decree, and the local officials too (A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. To the End of the Fifth c. B.C.  Edited by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis, p. 113). The date of this decree is problematic, but still between 450 and 414 B.C. (A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. To the End of the Fifth c. B.C.  Edited by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis, pp. 114-115; C. G. Starr. Athenian Coinage. Oxford. 1970, p. 68 n. 15; Chr. Howgego. Ancient History from Coins, p. 44).The text was carved on stelai and set up at Athens and the other cities – members of the League. Seven fragments of this text have been already discovered in various places (A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. To the End of the Fifth c. B.C. Edited by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis, p. 111; “Athenian coinage decree”. J. M. Jones. A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins. London. First Published in 1986). There are several attempts to interpret the decree. One thing is clear – this decree is imperialistic in tone, and if some of the cities within the Athenian “Empire” were still supposed to issue own money, only Attic weight coins had to be used. Electrum staters remained popular (A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions. To the End of the Fifth c. B.C.  Edited by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis, p. 113). Later this decree is parodied in the “Birds” of Aristophanes (C. M. Kraay. Coins of Ancient Athens. Newcastle upon Tyne. 1968, p. 5).

The decree seems to be very comfortable for trade and taxation – indeed, Athenians were scrupulous while collecting taxes within the League.

The whole story about the Greeks shaping Europe has been already told. Macedonia contributed much as a recruitment area, but earlier Athens had been thought to be a leader. It was merely a frustration – indeed, if the best city had to be stripped from a population, nothing would be created at all. While the Greeks still in this mistake, Athenians made a good deal – seizing the markets and imposing taxes.

Athenians cared much for the Black Sea areas; and Pericles even launched a special expedition (Plut. Pericl. 20). Then the numismatic visage of Colchis (Western Georgia) was changed as Athenian tetradrachms came in sight together with the Attic ceramics (G. Doundoua, T. Doundoua. Les Relations Économiques de la Colchide aux Époques Archaïque et Classique d’après le Matériel Numismatique. La Mer Noire. Zone de Contacts. Actes du VIIe Symposium de Vani. Paris. 1999, p. 111 №23; Очерки истории Грузии. т. I. ред. Г. А. Ме­ли­киш­ви­ли, О. Д. Лордкипанидзе. Тбилиси. 1989, p. 228). Moreover, Milesian, Aeginetan and Persian standards used for the autonomous coin issues of Phasis (modern Photi, Western Georgia) now disappear and Attic standard becomes unique.

Dioscurias (Modern Sokhumi, Western Georgia) was a splendid Greek city dominated by a mercantile oligarchy, a foundation of Miletus, sometimes – being troubled by the natives from the hinterland. Then it seems to be completely assimilated. History of Dioscurias is full of tremendous events and clashes. And the clashes were back again in the summer of 1993 as the civil war broke out in Abkhazia. Still one missile was especially lucky as it buried itself deep in the earth and showed a coin-shaped white metal. The description is as follows: weight – 300.37 gr. d=70 mm. Head of Athena wearing a crested helmet (the fashion is that of “old-style” coinage)/Owl. Obviously Athenian weight, it was offered for sale to Simon Janashia State Museum of Georgia.

The greatest number of the marked weights found in the Agora are small roughly square lead plaques. Sometimes these official weights are marked with the same symbols as the coins – head of Athena/owl (The Athenian Agora. v. X. Weights, Measures and Tokens by M. Lang and M. Crosby. Results of Excavations Conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Part I. Weights and Measures by M. Lang. Princeton. New Jersey. 1964, p. 6). Large circular stamp with helmeted head of Athena appears on the lead weight of the Roman time (The Athenian Agora. v. X. Weights, Measures and Tokens by M. Lang and M. Crosby, p. 31 pl. 9 LW (lead weight) 66).  Bronze weight too of some 69.9 gr. has an owl incised. This seems to be a coin weight, 1/6 of mina (The Athenian Agora. v. X. Weights, Measures and Tokens by M. Lang and M. Crosby, p. 26 pl. 1 BW (Bronze weight) 5). Even countermarks for the weights represent double-bodied owl and helmeted head (The Athenian Agora. v. X. Weights, Measures and Tokens by M. Lang and M. Crosby, p. 28 pl. 6 LW 26, p. 30, pl. 8 LW 46). The dry measure also has two stamps: the double-bodied owl and helmeted head of Athena (The Athenian Agora. v. X. Weights, Measures and Tokens by M. Lang and M. Crosby, pl. 14 DM (dry measure) 44, 45; pl. 18 DM 44, 45).

The Athenian coin mina, consisting of 100 drachms, weighted approximately 436.6 gr. There was also another mina, used for weighting market produce, equal to 138 coin drachms, or 602 gr. (“Mina”, “Attic weight standard”. J. M. Jones. A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins).  

So, the piece from Dioscurias should be considered as Athenian trade-weight – half mina.

What conclusions are we to draw from all this?

1) Dioscurias had to receive or was glad to receive the official Athenian weights as the city became a subject of the Alliance.

2) And Phasis should have accepted even a coin mina and Attic standard too while already in the Alliance. Was there any legislation in favour of democracy; what does a maintenance of “Archaic smile” on the Athenian (“Old Style” coinage) and Phasian coins mean? We shall never know.

3) One thing is clear – Attic standard was installed in Colchis between 450 and 414 B.C. And the effect was similar to the modern introduction of euro across much of the European Union.

From Ancient Period to Modern Europe

 Creating a common economic space was a recurring ambition throughout European history. The above-discussed “Attic standard zone” was one of the pertinent examples from Ancient history. From modern period the best example perhaps is the European Union (EU) which from the late 1960s aimed at coordinating economic and fiscal policies. It also included the establishment of a common monetary policy as well as the introduction of a common currency. The principal arguments in favor of its adoption were economic stability and unencumbered cross-border trade.

In 1979 the European Monetary System (EMS) was launched. Later on during the European Council session in Maastricht, 1991, the Treaty on European Union, which contained various provisions necessary for successful implementation of the monetary union, was agreed upon. https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/euro/history-and-purpose-euro_en

Then came the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) which aimed at step-by-step economic integration of a number of countries. EMU was designed to support sustainable economic growth and a high level of employment. This specifically comprised three main fields: 1. implementing a monetary policy that pursues the main objective of price stability; 2. avoiding possible negative spillover effects due to unsustainable government finance, preventing the emergence of macroeconomic imbalances within Member States, and coordinating to a certain degree the economic policies of the Member States; 3. ensuring the smooth operation of the single market. https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/economic-and-fiscal-policy-coordination/economic-and-monetary-union/what-economic-and-monetary-union-emu_en

It was not however until 1999 that a common currency – the euro – appeared with 11 countries – Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain – fixing their exchange rates and creating a new currency with monetary policy passed to the European Central Bank.

For the first three years euro did not exist as it essentially was an “invisible” currency. It was used mainly for accounting purposes. In 2002, however, first euro coins and banknotes were introduced in 12 EU countries thus ushering in, arguably, the biggest cash changeover in history. Nowadays, the euro is in circulation in 19 EU member states. There are a number of advantages attached to the use of the euro: low costs of financial transactions, easy travel, increased economic and political role of Europe on the international arena.

Parallel to the creation of the unified economic space ran the establishment institutionalized freedom of movement within most of the European states. The treaty came to be known as the Schengen Agreement signed on June 14, 1985, which led most of the European countries towards the abolishment of their national borders. The concept for free movement between the European countries is very old and it can be found through the Middle Ages.

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/eu-countries/

As was the case with the “Attic standard zone”, modern Georgia aspires to become an economic part of Europe, its monetary system, unified currency – euro. Major steps have been made to this end since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The current EU-Georgia close relationship is based on the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. More importantly, the latter involves a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which came into force in mid-2016 and along with closer political ties aims to achieve deeper economic integration between Tbilisi and the EU.             https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/georgia/

Simultaneously with Georgia’s slow and steady economic integration into the EU economy, the country has also started to enjoy the benefits of institutionalized free movement of citizens across much of the European continent.

Thus there is a long history of Georgian economic and territorial integration into the European models of unified economic spaces. The above examples of the “Attic standard zone” as well as the modern European Union prove this point.

[yourboatholiday]

Lesser Antilles Tour: What Are The Best Available Marinas?

Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent. These 5 islands make up a large part of the Lesser Antilles and are the main tourist destinations for yachtsmen who love sailing, cruises, and organized trips.

CONTACT US FOR YOUR CHARTER IN THE LESSER ANTILLES

In this article we briefly list the characteristics of each, highlighting the main marinas from which to set sail or find refuge during a boat trip.

Here, then, listed from north to south, each island, and its marinas:

Guadeloupe

Among the most popular Caribbean destinations, Guadeloupe offers a perfect balance between wild and unspoiled nature, the absolute protagonist, and magnificent beaches among the most beautiful of the lesser Antilles. Among the many, we point out La Caravelle, a painted landscape with crystalline and turquoise waters, typical of the Caribbean Sea, and sand that gives different shades from pure white to golden.

Today Guadeloupe is part, like Martinique, of the French overseas territories.

How to get to the island?

Being formally French territory, Guadeloupe is well connected with France through several direct flights to and from Paris. The island’s international airport, not far from Pointe-à-Pitre, the capital, also allows direct air connections with North America as well as with the other major Caribbean islands.

What marinas does it offer?

Guadeloupe is geographically and administratively divided into two areas, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, which meet at Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city on the island.

Pointe-à-Pitre offers two marinas at its main port, Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes and Quai de la Marina. both with 50 berths.

In the Grande-Terre area, in the eastern part of the island, there is the Yacht Club de Saint François, located about 36 km from Pointe-à-Pitre and equipped with 50 berths.

Finally, the largest marina is located in the western area of ​​Basse-Terre and is the Marina Rivière-Sens Gourbeyre. It is located in the village of Rivière-Sens and offers 340 berths with a maximum length of 18 meters and a maximum draft of 2.5 meters.

Dominica

The island of Dominica is the least frequented by tourists also and above all because it cannot boast the classic beautiful Caribbean white sand beaches that attract the attention of travelers from all over the world.

The island’s interest is linked to sports activities and makes it a suitable destination for those looking for sports holidays such as trekking, diving, and snorkeling.

Endowed with an enviable natural landscape, Dominica has a wonderful hinterland with rainforests, lakes, thermal springs, and more than 200 rivers, all to be discovered strictly on foot armed with boots and adventure desire.

How to get to the island?

Although the island has two airports, Canefield, not far from the city of Roseau, and Melville Hall, in the northeastern part, it is not possible to reach it directly from either Europe or North America. Therefore it is necessary to make a stop in one of the other Caribbean islands of the lesser Antilles.

What marinas does it offer?

Due to its very nature, Dominica is not provided by real marinas. Our advice is to plan your visit using the nearby islands of Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south as points of reference for your stops.

Martinique

This volcanic island has always been a mixture of different peoples and cultures resulting from different occupations that have followed one another over the centuries. The approximately 400,000 inhabitants have European, African, and Indian derivations with their own ways of life very rich in diversity with many contradictions, but at the same time also joyful and very welcoming.

Today Martinique is part of the overseas territories of France, the official language is French and the Euro is its valid currency.

How to get to the island?

It is possible to arrive here by air with direct flights from Paris and North America. The island Lamentin International Airport is located close to the capital, Fort-de-France.

What marinas does it offer?

Marina du Marin, located in the south of the island, is the largest marina in Martinique and one of the largest in the Caribbean. It offers its customers 830 berths for boats up to 60 meters in length and a maximum draft of 4.8 meters. The property offers a complete package of services including restaurants, shops, and a team at your disposal 7 days a week.

There are two other small marinas, Marina Pointe Du Bout, located in the Fort de France bay on the west coast, and Marina du Robert, on the east coast which however have a limited number of berths for small boats.

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is one of the eight independent islands of the Lesser Antilles and among its countless points of interest, you can’t miss the Piton mountains. Located southwest, these two mountains have become the island symbol worldwide. Although roughly only 800 meters high, their triangle shape has become iconic and panoramic. If you are a trekking lover, you cannot miss a walk among their paths, winding through the jungle of these two peaks.

How to get to the island?

Saint Lucia has two airports. Hewanorra International Airport, located on the remote southern end of the island, and George FL Charles Airport located northwest in the more touristy area. International flights land in Hewanorra, while those from other Caribbean islands and charters usually stop at George FL Charles.

What marinas does it offer?

The main tourist ports of Saint Lucia are 3 and they are all located in the northwestern part of the island. Capella Marigot Bay Marina, near Castries, the capital, is a luxurious port with 40 berths also for large boats, up to 85 meters in length.

Further north, in Rodney Bay, Rodney Bay Marina and Island Water World are within easy reach, both with 50 berths available.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

It is an archipelago made of 32 islands, most of which small and sparsely populated.

They are located between the islands of Santa Lucia and Grenada and are historically part of the British Empire as an English colony of the “Little Antilles”. They have been independent since 1961 but still part of the Commonwealth.

The official language is English but some local dialects deriving from French are also spoken.

How to get to the island?

The main airport is located on the main island, Saint Vincent, and is the Joshua Arnos Vale, located a short distance from Kingstown, the capital.

The airport serves international flights to and from the UK and North America.

What marinas does it offer?

The main tourist port of the island is located in its extreme south, not far from Arnos Vale airport. Blue Lagoon Marina is small (only 20 berths) but very well served with a customs and immigration office open 7 days a week. On request, it is also possible to stay overnight in the partner hotel.

Contact  now YBH Charter Brokers:

You can contact us by sending an email at ask@yourboatholiday.com or by phone, calling +39 33436 00997, available also on WhatsApp for both calls and texting.

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[birminghamalabama1]

Information about Birmingham Alabama

Birmingham Al Attractions Birmingham loads a great deal of history into its 140 short years. Listed below, a few things you may not recognize regarding the Magic City. Though Hernando De Soto travelled in 1540 with Alabama, the area around Birmingham wasn't resolved up until approximately 1813. For sixty years, ranch cities that were simply inhabited the location around the railroad crossroads. Birmingham was named after Birmingham, UK. This past year, the BBC launched a roundup titled 10 British Matters About Birmingham, Alabama, calling out, one of the important things, the community's Doctor Who fan club, The Jane Austen Society, the Etiquette School of Birmingham, and also the Birmingham Museum of Art's collection of Wedgwood pottery the biggest worldwide outside Britain.

Birmingham is the only place on the world where all 3 elements for steel take place within a ten-mile span. Sloss Furnaces generated pig iron. Anywhere was protected by its the only facility of its kind on earth Though nothing continues to be of the heater made complex. But if you are roaming the premises or are getting hold of a show there, watch out for ghosts: It has been recorded amongst the 100 put on the planet for action. The Rome god of the forge, Vulcan, enjoys across the moons among its suburban areas. The statue was appointed to advertise Birminghams sector Louis Worlds Fair. Check out https://www.targetpestcontrol.com/birmingham-pest-control/ for more details.

The Divinity of Light stands atop the Alabama Power Building. Midtown's Kirklin Clinic was developed by noted designer I.M. Pei, the male behind the National Gallery of Art's East Building and Paris Grand Louvre. Frank Flemings The Storyteller was produced to commemorate Southern storytelling practices. Informally, the installation of the ram-headed guy and his pals is described as the Satanic Fountain. With a population of roughly 212, 000, Birmingham is Alabama's largest city for now. According to demographic projections, Huntsville is likely to take the best spot within 10 decades. 10. No need to head to New York to appear like you are in the Big Apple: there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty on the community's borders.

Barber Motorsports Park, positioned just outdoors city limitations, boasts the globe's biggest bike museum. Guinness World Records made it main in 2015. 12. Baseball is not the only video game in town. The higher Birmingham area was the birthplace of several various other professional athletes also, including Charles Barkley and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. 14. Other renowned people from Birmingham Include Emmylou Harris, Courteney Cox, rapper Gucci Mane, writers Fannie Flagg as well as John Green, who lived there as a child, and also Condoleezza Rice. 15. The city of Birmingham suffered two different restrictions. Jefferson County prohibited the sale of alcohol from 1908 to 1911, and also a 1915 state law provided the state completely dry up till years after the Twenty-first Amendment ended across the country prohibition.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Democracy in the dumps (Foreign Policy) Young people are more disillusioned and less satisfied with democracy than at any point in the past 100 years, according to a study by the University of Cambridge. The study—which assembled data from 4.8 million respondents in 160 countries collected between 1973 and 2020—pointed to income inequality and the high rate of youth unemployment as the driving reasons behind the disillusionment.

Pandemic air travel milestone; 1 million passengers screened (AP) The number of passengers screened in a single day for flights in the U.S. topped one million for the first time since COVID-19 infections began to spike last March. The notable milestone, reached Sunday, signifies both the progress made since the darkest days of pandemic for the devastated U.S. airline industry, when fewer than 100,000 people were screened per day in April, and how far it still has to go. The million plus passengers screened Sunday compares with 2.6 million on the same day last year, or roughly 60% fewer, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Presidential Candidates’ Microphones to Be Muted in Parts of Final Debate (WSJ) The presidential candidates’ microphones will be muted during parts of their final debate Thursday as organizers seek to limit the interruptions and crosstalk that marked their previous meeting. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday announced a plan for the debate, which will be divided into six segments, each with a different topic. President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be silenced while their opponent gives a two-minute opening statement at the start of each question.

Already facing grueling year, National Guard revs up for election and aftermath (Washington Post) The National Guard, already facing one of its busiest years, is prepping for election-related missions that include cybersecurity for local electoral authorities, ballot counting in at least one state and backup for police or if unrest erupts after the vote. The preparations come as the United States heads into one of its most contentious presidential elections, which is taking place in the middle of a global pandemic and amid persistent suggestions by President Trump that he may dispute the results if he loses. Parts of the country have also been experiencing racial justice protests and environmental threats ranging from wildfires to hurricanes, which have further stretched a Guard already on the front lines responding to the pandemic. The Guard’s domestic deployments this year under state authorities reached a peak of 86,367 forces in June, according to a spokeswoman for the National Guard, far larger than the approximately 50,000 guardsmen who deployed domestically to respond to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There are about 450,000 members of the National Guard across the country. Federal law prohibits the deployment of armed troops to polling places during elections, but National Guard units can do certain missions on Election Day if they are deployed by governors using state funds, which means they would also be unarmed, according to Guard officials. During primaries earlier this year, for example, some states used their Guard units, in civilian attire, to help local election authorities struggling with a shortage of volunteers at the polls because of the pandemic.

Evo Morales Is Out. His Socialist Project Lives On. (NYT) In a presidential election that was widely viewed as a referendum on the legacy of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, voters appear to have spoken clearly: They want his socialist project to go on. On Monday, exit polls in Bolivia showed Mr. Morales’s handpicked candidate, Luis Arce, with such a wide lead that his main opponent, Carlos Mesa, conceded the election, and Mr. Arce’s supporters began celebrating in the streets—despite the fact that official results may not be available for days. Mr. Arce is the chosen successor of Mr. Morales, a transformative figure in a nation where power was traditionally concentrated in the hands of a wealthy, white elite. During his 14 years in office, Mr. Morales slashed poverty, built roads and schools, and nationalized the oil and gas industry. But he fled the country last year after his run for a fourth term ended in accusations that he had committed election fraud, deadly protests and a call by the military for him to step down. He called his ouster a coup. He sat out this year’s vote in neighboring Argentina.

Argentina passes 1 million cases USHUAIA, Argentina (AP)—At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis. But as Argentina passed 1 million virus cases Monday, it is now smaller cities like Ushuaia that are seeing some of the most notable upticks. The trajectory is showing that the pandemic is likely to leave no corner of Latin America unscathed.

Wealth inequality in Brazil (Globo) Rafaela Dutra was working in Rio de Janeiro’s tourism industry and studying to become a nurse when the coronavirus arrived. A resident of the sprawling low-income favelas in the city’s Zona Norte, she had worked in one of Copacabana’s shiny, high-rise hotels, earning up to twice the region’s minimum monthly wage of 1,200 reais ($220). But after six years on the job, Dutra told Brazilian daily O Globo, she was laid off in April after the city had dried up of tourists. The only work she could find was selling clothes on the street at a time when most people started working from home or had also lost their jobs. “Some days I sell less than 50 reais ($8.80) worth of stuff,” she said. Dutra’s story is a case in point: poverty and inequality are on the rise in Brazil, a country of 210 million people, where a massive wealth divide has long plagued society. With COVID-19, the economy has begun to unravel and policymakers are warning of a backslide into entrenched poverty of dangerous proportions after temporary government support winds down. Not long ago, Brazil was hailed as an economic miracle for the rate at which it was lifting its people out of poverty. Now, the pandemic risks jeopardizing the progress the country made.

Narcosubmarines in the Atlantic? (WSJ) Narcosubmarines, which ferried cocaine from Colombia to Central America since at least the 1990s and have become a convenient way to ship large quantities of coke amid rising enforcement along traditional shipping lanes, have now been found crossing the Atlantic. Built for around $1 million apiece in the jungles of South America, the low-tech submersibles are an expensive but critical link in smuggling drugs out of their manufacture sites to Europe and North America. For a while, they were more of a “get the drugs out of the country to a depot site in Central America” leg of the adventure, but last year authorities nabbed a narcosubmarine flush with 152 bales of cocaine off the coast of Spain, so either that was one incredibly lost drug smuggler or they’re now using the DIY-vessels to make the 4,000-mile journey by sea rather than dice it on a container ship.

Ireland to go back into lockdown as Europe battles second wave (Euronews) Ireland became the first European country to announce a return to a full lockdown, with the entire population to be reconfined for six weeks. Prime Minister Michael Martin made the announcement on Monday evening, with the lockdown coming into force on Wednesday at midnight. Schools, he said, would remain open. A raft of new restrictions came into force in Italy on Monday, after being announced on Sunday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, with the country dealing with daily highs of infections. Wales has announced a strict, 17-day “firebreak” lockdown on Monday, starting on Friday. This is essentially a full lockdown, with only critical workers and those that cannot work from home allowed to travel to work. Everybody else will be expected to stay indoors, while all non-essential retail shops, leisure services, restaurants, pubs and cafes will be closed. Bars, cafes and restaurants are shut in Belgium from Monday for a month. There is also a curfew in place, between midnight and 5 am, with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo highlighting the “exponential” growth of the pandemic. The chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, announced on Monday that from Friday private gatherings will be limited to six people indoors and 12 people outdoors. In Paris and eight other cities in France, restaurants, bars, cinemas and other establishments were being forced to close no later than 9pm to try to reduce contact among people. The country is deploying 12,000 extra police officers to enforce the new rules.

After Teacher’s Decapitation, France Unleashes a Broad Crackdown on ‘the Enemy Within’ (NYT) France on Monday unleashed a broad crackdown on Muslims accused of extremism, carrying out dozens of raids, vowing to shut down aid groups and threatening to expel foreigners as anger swept the country following the decapitation of a high school teacher for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Many of those swept up in raids were already in police files for showing “signals” of potential radicalization, like preaching radicalized sermons or sharing hate messages on social networks, government officials said. More than 200 others—the bulk already in prison—were threatened with a rare mass expulsion. But other groups targeted in the raids included Muslim associations previously given government subsidies for their work promoting better civic relations, and only 15 of the people arrested had any connection to the gruesome attack on Friday. The scope of the response was a measure of how the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher in a suburb north of Paris, had reopened old wounds in France. The nation remains traumatized by terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists that killed scores in 2015, starting with the editorial offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine—whose cartoons the teacher had shown. As much as the Charlie Hebdo killings, the beheading of Mr. Paty has struck deep inside the French psyche as an assault on a principal pillar of the French republic—the secular public school system—as well as the nation’s devotion to freedom of speech. Thousands of people took to the streets in cities around France over the weekend to demonstrate their horror at the killing on Friday. And politicians, especially on the right, jostled to sound the alarm against “the enemy within,” as the hard-line interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, put it in a radio interview, referring to so-called radicalized Muslims.

Chinese military beefs up coastal forces as it prepares for possible invasion of Taiwan (SCMP) Beijing is stepping up the militarisation of its southeast coast as it prepares for a possible invasion of Taiwan, military observers and sources have said. The People’s Liberation Army has been upgrading its missile bases, and one Beijing-based military source said it has deployed its most advanced hypersonic missile the DF-17 to the area. Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has vowed to take back, by force if necessary. Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated since Tsai Ing-wen from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected as president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle. Ties have come under further strain this year as Taipei moved closer to the United States and signed a series of arms deals, including for Patriot missiles and an upgrade to its F-16 Viper jets. Satellite images show that both the Marine Corps and Rocket Force bases in Fujian and Guangdong provinces have expanded in recent years, according to Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canada-based Kanwa Defence Review. “The size of some of the missile bases in the Eastern and Southern theatre commands have even doubled in recent years, showing the PLA is stepping up preparations for a war targeting Taiwan.”

Chinese and Taiwanese officials clash in Fiji amid rise of ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’ (Washington Post) As a junior diplomat posted to Fiji in the 1990s, Chen Yonglin and the rest of his embassy colleagues fixated on the most sensitive issue in all of Chinese diplomacy: Taiwan. He tracked Taiwan’s pharmaceutical and agricultural aid to the remote Pacific archipelago. He monitored Taiwanese officials’ interactions with the local Chinese community. He tried to dissuade Fijian officials from attending Taiwan’s National Day celebration every October and local hotel managers from hosting it. When that failed, he sat in a coffee shop across the street to observe—discreetly—who attended. “At most, a braver colleague would wander over and peek inside,” said Chen, who was a third secretary in Fiji from 1994 to 1998 and defected in 2005 while serving in Sydney. “But gate-crash? Never. That was a different time.” The difference was laid bare this week after Fiji media reported that Chinese officials barged into the annual Taiwanese celebration, sparking a physical scuffle that left a Taiwanese official hospitalized. The basic contours of the incident were not refuted by either government and it was the latest aggressive turn by Chinese diplomats, who are quickly shedding their traditional image as one of China’s more polished, less muscular, arms of government. The behavior of the Chinese diplomats underscores the political pressure inside the bureaucracy to publicly defend China’s position on international issues, particularly over Hong Kong and Taiwan. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu condemned China’s “uncivilized wolf warriors,” a term used in China and abroad referring to the new breed of more muscular Chinese diplomacy. “As a sovereign state, we’ll celebrate Taiwan National Day everywhere, every year.”

Thailand admits first foreign tourists in 7 months (AP) Thailand’s tourist industry on Tuesday took a modest step toward reviving its coronavirus-battered fortunes by welcoming 39 visitors who flew in from Shanghai, the first such arrivals since regular travelers were banned from entry almost seven months ago. The visitors who arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport are pioneers in a “Special Tourist Visa” program devised by Thai authorities to restore step-by-step a sector of the economy that welcomed almost 40 million foreign visitors last year and by some estimates accounts for more than 10% of the country’s GDP. Bringing in tourists from China was a natural choice. Thailand was one of the top overseas destinations for Chinese tourists in 2019, when they accounted for by far the largest number of visitors to Thailand by nationality. Just as crucial is China’s ability to keep new coronavirus infections in check, a sharp contrast to most other parts of the globe that send visitors to Thailand.

The protest playbook (Washington Post) This past weekend, Lalisa could not look away from her smartphone. Clicking between Twitter, Instagram and secure messaging app Telegram, the 27-year-old who lives a comfortable, middle-class life in Bangkok was joining newly established Telegram groups, telling her what to pack and where to assemble for yet another mass protest in defiance of Thailand’s military-linked government and monarchy. Most of the posts were from protesting guides of last year’s demonstrations in Hong Kong translated into Thai. Young, digitally savvy Thai protesters like Lalisa are at the forefront of a swelling anti-government movement that has broken the mold in Thailand—both by shattering the long-held taboo against criticizing the powerful monarchy, and by revolutionizing mass protests and dissent in the country. Shedding the old strategy of occupying streets, which made them an easy target for police, demonstrators today have borrowed from their Hong Kong counterparts, subscribing to the “be water” strategy of fluid gatherings. The result so far has been harder for police to control, even in the context of Thailand’s long history of crackdowns on political movements. In recent days, police officers have privately admitted to being outmaneuvered, unable to arrest demonstrators en masse or prepare their crowd-control weapons ahead of time. Police have “never experienced this before,” said a 21-year-old officer deployed to Bangkok, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the protests. “The protesters disappear even before we arrive; we cannot tackle the protests by using our old methods.”

Nigeria Erupts As Lagos Comes to A Standstill (Foreign Policy) Two weeks of demonstrations in Nigeria came to a head yesterday as protesters effectively shut down Lagos, the country’s largest city. As part of the mass demonstrations, the city’s airport was blockaded by protesters along with the country’s main highway, the Ibadan expressway. Over the past two weeks, the protests have grown from a movement focused on disbanding the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)—accused of extortion and committing extra-judicial killings—to encompass anti-corruption and governance issues. Like recent protests in Hong Kong and Thailand, the protests have no central leader but are undoubtedly youth led, with the hashtag #EndSARS becoming shorthand for the movement. The national government has indicated it will soon take a harder line against the protests, during which at least 15 people have been killed so far. According to Amnesty International, police have already used excessive force in at least six Nigerian cities. The threat of violence has become so genuine that some groups have crowd-funded private security guards to protect them against attacks. Meanwhile, the country’s armed forces, who have threatened to intervene in the protests, are conducting a nationwide military exercise, Operation Crocodile Smile. “The biggest strength of the protests has also become its biggest liability, which is total absence of centralized leadership,” David Huneydin, a local journalist, told the Wall Street Journal. “A military intervention is now highly likely.”

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

The best swimwear if you want to throw gender norms in the trash

Going to the beach and picking out a hot swimsuit are some of the greatest pleasures summer has to offer — for approximately .00000001% of the general population.

Unless you're, say, a hairless Justin Bieber, nothing is more torturous than buying a new swimsuit. You've got to find something that remains *on trend* and accentuates your butt *just right* but if you text one more anxious changing room selfie to your roommate, she will take her things and leave. 

And while the pressure is on for everybody, it's particularly acute for the queer, trans and non-binary community, whose swimwear options are woefully limited, though growing.

SEE ALSO: All the characters in 'Beauty and the Beast' who were probably gay all along

Slowly — and I emphasize that with as many sarcastic eye rolls as the human eye can safely muster — independent designers have stepped up to the plate with gender-inclusive designs. Stylists now offer tangible advice for people don't fit the traditional gender binary (as well as those who do and just hate the word "tankini").

There is, technically, a growing catalogue of gender-inclusive swimwear options out there, you've just got to know where to look.

When the beach is something to fear

The classic beach scene in 'Paris is Burning'

Image: Miramax

More than any other genre of clothing, swimwear exposes people's gender presentations for the public to catalogue and so often, shame.  

Sonny Oram is the founder of Qwear, a style website for folks who don't fit the heteronormative mold and face erasure. For Oram, the beach is a particularly vulnerable environment for this community.

"I think there's a lot of anxiety around it, and that anxiety is grounded in reality," Oram said. "When you're trans, it's hard to be stealth wearing swimwear . . . Even if you try and cover up, you're drawing attention to yourself." 

Forget what you've heard about the fashion industry's "gender-bending" — most mainstream brands remain as anachronistic as ever. If you're non-binary and like to wear feminine swimwear that isn't particularly sexualized, you will have to Google harder than you've ever Googled before. If you're a cis woman with hips who wants to be topless and wear boy shorts, good luck. 

"Think of the double standards. People with male nipples can show their nipples, people with female nipple cannot," Oram said. "In the ideal world, we wouldn't have to ascribe to these laws."

Brands are slowly catching up to culture — but to find them, you have to look outside the mainstream.

A handful of brands are stepping up to the plate

Clover Crisis for Rebirth Garments

Image: Grace duval

When Sky Cubacub founded Rebirth Garments, they had a depressingly uphill mission: to provide affordable swimwear, daywear, and lingerie for people of all gender identities and body types, including folks with disabilities.

So Cubacub chose to reclaim one the most scorned materials on earth, Spandex, and turn it until a whole fashion line. Say what you will about spandex, but it can stretch to fit nearly every body, and it easily doubles as daywear and swimwear.

"It just allows for your body to change a little bit more," Cubacub said. "I never have sizing on anything, people just send me their measurements. All that sizing stuff, it's just constructed to make people feel bad."

Ali Scott for Rebirth Garments

Image: Grace duval

Their tailoring attempts to be specific to customer needs. For trans women and non-binary folks who want to tuck, Sky tailors unique underwear or designs an attachable skirt. They use Powernet, a compression material, for people who want to bind their chest or any other part of their bodies.

Most important, Sky uses color. Imagine an early '90s fannypak turned into an entire clothing line.

"My style is radically visible" — Sky Cubacub

Image: Kendall Jolley for Rebirth Garments, photograph by Grace duval

For folks who like a slightly more muted palette, there's Outplay, a "company without a gender." The company provides fun swimwear basics without any gender assignations, and a range of areas of coverage.

A post shared by Outplay (@out_play) on Jun 10, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT

A post shared by Outplay (@out_play) on Sep 10, 2016 at 8:57am PDT

Beefcake Swimwear, which just passed its Kickstarter fundraising goal, operates on the same gender-busting principles as Out Playwear with a few more twists. Beefcake suits are modeled after androgynous swimsuits from the 1920s, and come with optional bra shelfs for people who need 'em and people who just don't. 

Since the photos are always b/w, it surprised me how colorful swimsuits from the 1920s really are. Haven't even launched and I'm dreaming about future designs for Beefcake swimsuits... 🙃🤓 . . . . . . . #onestepatatime #beefcake #tomboystyle #tomboy #tomboyswimwear #androgynousstyle #queerstyle #unisexswim #genderneutral #genderneutralfashion #vintageswimwear #1920sswimwear

A post shared by Beefcake Swimwear (@beefcakeswimwear) on Feb 28, 2017 at 12:51pm PST

On the slighter higher end of things, there's Chromat, a body-positive, queer-inclusive brand that emerged in 2015 and provides swimwear for people with all kinds of gender presentations. 

Image: chromat

Chromat likes to imagine "structural experiments for the human body." Designs are super colorful and architectural, and play with traditional gender norms: a zip-crop rashguard top paired with a more conventional bikini bottom, or the one-piece bathing suit that comes with a mockneck.

Image: chromat

Image: chromat

The brand isn't cheap — the contour rashguard suit retails for $238, for example — but at least it provides some kind of model for mainstream fashion brands, who have a legacy they can build on when they finally wake up and decide to pay attention to this ridiculously neglected market. 

So  . . . what do you do if you're broke?

When the average cost of women's bathing suit is $100 or more, sometimes DIY is simply the best option. Angie Chuang, an NYC-based designer who designs genderfluid high-end streetwear, struggles to find swimwear and has learned how to just improvise.

"Most of the time I’ll wear a bikini top and a muscle shirt or tank top over it and a pair of boarding shorts and call it a day," Chuang said. "I would be thrilled if there were more androgynous selections. It’s possible — we’d have to create new swimwear with different design lines and silhouettes." 

Oram agrees. For folks who prefer more traditionally masculine styles, Oram recommends boardshorts, or improvising a little with standard athletic gear:

"If you have any type of athletic shorts, those can just work as board shorts. Some folks who are packing may want to wear underwear. On top, you can wear a sports bra or a binder and a shirt over that. It's not ideal but it works . . .  Swimwear is a challenge because it's not manufactured with non-binary queer and trans bodies in mind."

Image: cassandra zetta via qwear

Image: cassandra zetta via qwear

For folks on the more feminine side of the spectrum, options are a little more limited. Mesh athletic gear easily doubles as a swimsuit. There are women's versions of boardshorts for people who want a little more coverage. 

Still, DIY can be tricky for the amateur — and it'd be great if the industry finally stepped up and did it for us. 

Brands: Are you listening?

Image: Carrie K, sky cubacub/photo by hole boss

For all the conversation about how contemporary fashion "gender bends" (what exactly does that word mean?), most gender-neutral fashion appears to live exclusively on the runway as a concept. It hasn't trickled down to most mainstream retail stores, where people can make it a part of their everyday life. 

It's a safe, bland move for brands, who get the credit for being "inclusive," without actually having to put into action. 

"I guess they [mainstream brands] think it's profitable. People make separate clothes for men and women, but so many of our clothes don't need to be separate," Oram said. "And I know so many consumers who don’t want that. It's not limited to the queer community! Brands need to take a broader range of bodies — trans folks, people of all sizes — into consideration."

If the industry really wants to pay attention, they'll have a hungry market. Nearly 150,000 American teens identify as transgender. Millennials are now the "gayest generation." And there are thousands more who don't identify anywhere on the LGBTQ spectrum, but still don't feel comfortable in strictly binary bathing suits. 

All anyone wants is the freedom to go to the beach and not feel horrible. It shouldn't have to be this hard. 

WATCH: Here's United Airlines' adjusted 2017 pre-flight safety speech

[eddiejpoplar]

The Alpine A110 Is Very French and Very Good

Turn up in France on July 14—Bastille Day, the Gallic nation’s answer to our Fourth of July—and les expressions du français will come at you rapid-fire. And should the next day happen to be the one on which the national team of this most proudly patriotic of nations finally wins soccer’s World Cup for the first time in 20 years, as happened last July, be assured the country will really let its hair down.

When you arrive in a town driving a new Renault Alpine A110, incredibly, the effect is magnified, as we found out moments after the French team’s great win. We were attempting to thread the distinctively blue two-seater through the streets of Arcachon, a resort destination on France’s south Atlantic coast. Stopped dead in single-lane traffic but also cheek to jowl with some of the commune’s most exuberant partisans, many if not all eyes were upon the Alpine, Renault’s extraordinary modern tribute to Jean Rédélé’s famous original rally-winning A110 stormer of the early 1960s and late ’70s.

Rédélé hopped up lowly Renault 4CVs in the ’50s, and from those humble origins he created the Alpine marque in 1954. What Rédélé ultimately wrought with Alpine is a kind of funkier French Lotus, with a racing and rally history ultimately supporting—and being supported by—road cars powered almost exclusively by Renault. Renault’s close association with Alpine became complete when it acquired the business in 1973. That same year Alpine-Renault won the inaugural World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ Championship running the original A110.

Larger, more comfortable, and more practical than its namesake—different yet strongly reminiscent—the new A110 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2017. The second coming of Alpine’s greatest hit, it was eagerly awaited by enthusiasts the world over, even in America, where it will not be sold. The latter fact borders on tragic because the new Alpine is not only a hoot to drive but is also a fully resolved automotive proposition.

After we landed in Paris but before we got caught up in the World Cup festivities, we drove this Alpine A110 500 miles south to the verdant, sun-dappled hills of Gascony, then on to the coast and the mob scene. The Alpine first distinguishes itself by being almost unique in conception. The French, once known for such things, do “weird” less and less these days, but the new A110 represents a highly credible and long overdue return to idiosyncratic form.

The substantial diffuser and flat floor create big downforce, allowing the all-aluminum, 150-mph A110 to avoid a loopy rear spoiler.

The last model badged strictly as an Alpine was the rear-engine A610, which finished rolling off lines in 1995. Unlike those last cars and their predecessors, which employed fiberglass body panels and a slight backbone chassis—a formula that doesn’t cut it in these days of side- and offset-crash testing—the reimagined A110’s chassis and body are constructed almost entirely of bonded and riveted aluminum.

With stylistic nods to the signature roofline and rear windscreen treatment of the old A110—the essential Alpine, looks-wise—this new one squarely captures the look of the original.

The new car’s 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder engine is a product of the corporate Nissan-Renault Alliance. Small but potent, it makes a big, gruff noise when prodded, more muscular than its size suggests. Mounting the engine behind the driver flies in the face of convention, as does the A110’s decidedly rearward-biased weight distribution (a claimed 44/56 split). An independent wishbone suspension, designed to help the A110 achieve a strong ride and handling balance, is in effect here, even though such a design too often seems to fall by the wayside when carmakers start looking to pare cost.

The new Alpine A110 borrows the seminal original’s name and style [shown here: 1975 Alpine 1300 VC], managing like few before it to capture the essence of a beloved ancestor.

Possibly most trailblazing of all, however, is the Alpine’s modest weight. At 2,381 pounds, it keeps company with what is nowadays a rarefied and shrinking cohort. The rewards of minimalism in terms of poundage are instantly obvious, accounting for a performance that belies the Alpine’s humble displacement by making the most of its 249 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. Sixty mph comes up in less than 4.5 seconds. There’s sufficient steam to hit 155 mph, making the A110 rapid enough for most every occasion—and it’s relatively efficient to boot. At a hair less than $70,000, this special car definitely flies as a certain type of value proposition.

Aerodynamics help. In homage to the original A110 Berlinette (1961–77), engineers worked in the wind tunnel to avoid having to fit an ungainly rear spoiler, which they accomplished by employing an undercar diffuser located aft of a single-sheet, all-aluminum floor. Up front, the Alpine’s radiator lies back at an angle, allowing the car’s nose to sit that much lower to the ground, nearer than would have been possible in a front-engine car. There’s room for a fair amount of soft luggage in the front and rear trunks. With stylistic nods to the signature roofline and rear windscreen treatment of the old A110—the essential Alpine, looks-wise—this new one complies with strict EU crash and deformability standards. Yet it squarely captures the look of the original.

Beginning what would morph into a 1,300-mile, weeklong odyssey in the Alpine, we left the factory showroom in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the western outskirts of Paris, and headed for the quaint and tiny hamlet of Lagraulet-du-Gers, population approximately 400. During those first few hundred miles, the Alpine showed it could handle traffic well, and despite its diminutive size and modest displacement, it was fully up to the task of consuming big distances in grand-touring style. Road noise was low, power revelatory without being excessive, and the seats were unexpectedly comfortable in spite of their sporty shape and stunningly light and elegantly simple construction. At about 29 pounds each, they weigh about half that of a typical car seat.

Doors that close with authority and quilted upholstery finished in black with decent dash and interior plastics elevate the Alpine’s interior well above the kit-car/parts-bin connotations that might once have clung to the brand. Its air conditioning is strong on a hot day, and the digital dash display is easy to read and works without annoying glitches. Three different screen views correspond to preset Comfort, Sport, and Track settings, which govern power, shifts, and chassis characteristics.

The interior design and materials emit no whiff of cheap, low-volume kit-car.

Grand touring is precisely what it felt like when we checked into the Hôtel Le Castel Pierre de Lagraulet. An exquisite boutique hotel with just five guest rooms, it has been lovingly recommissioned from an old castle that had fallen into disrepair. The couple behind the effort, like Alpine, seem to have figured out how to combine the best of the old world with our favorite modern conveniences in a seamless and appealing way. Hammering down country lanes, passing through rolling farm fields filled with hectare after hectare of yellow sunflowers and endless rows of neatly tended grape vines: The beauty of it all, in concert with the Alpine’s magical chassis and frisky affect, proves inspiring.

As we pulled into Fourcès for lunch on Bastille Day, half the patrons in an outdoor restaurant where we stopped for a trouser-busting lunch of slow-cooked lamb, eggplant, and sheep’s cheese poured out into the town square to admire the Alpine. They were delighted to see the car in the metal, surprised to see it being driven by an American, but filled with pride.

Again we come back to weight, which may be, along with lines that strike us as very fresh in this homogenized age of automotive design, the Alpine’s most remarkable achievement. This statistic amazes: An A110 carries almost 600 fewer pounds than a Porsche 718 Cayman, a car the new model comes as close to in conception as anything. Dynamically, the Alpine exhibits all the benefits of feathery weight with remarkably few of the demerits. Most surprising is its sense of rigidity and solidity. There are no rattles and little wanting in the way of comfort and convenience next to the Porsche, arguably the gold standard in less-than-stratospherically priced, mid-engine, two-seat sports cars.

Jamie Kitman reckons the Alpine is one of the best cars he drove all year, with modern electronics like the digital dash harmonizing well with its classic appearance.

Like the Cayman, the A110 offers a delectable degree of steering precision with the sort of feel we thought pretty much no longer existed. It intoxicates on secondary country roads, a right-sized car with superb balance and bags of power, readily accessed via its intuitive and agreeable paddle-shifted Getrag seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Yet it’s also fully up to the task of turning French autoroutes into mincemeat, going as fast as you or your license dare. A passing bird said that 100 mph equates to only about 3,700 rpm in the Alpine, which is pretty relaxed and all the more remarkable for its 1.8 liters.

Unlike so many cars that seek to capitalize on their heritage without the slightest grounds, the Alpine A110 actually extends Jean Rédélé’s philosophy into the 21st century, using the latest technology and engineering smarts to pursue the goal of reduced weight in the name of sports-car fun. If that doesn’t make you get up and want to sing “La Marseillaise,” nothing will.

2018 Alpine A110 Specifications

ON SALE Now (not in U.S.) PRICE $70,000 (base, est) ENGINE 1.8L turbocharged DOHC 16 valve I-4/249 hp 
@ 6,000 rpm, 236 lb-ft 
@ 2,000 rpm TRANSMISSION 7-speed dual-clutch automatic LAYOUT 2-door, 2-passenger, 
mid-engine, RWD coupe EPA MILEAGE N/A L x W x H 164.6 x 70.8 x 48.3 in WHEELBASE 95.2 in WEIGHT 2,381 lb 0–60 MPH 4.5 sec (est) TOP SPEED

[jesusvasser]

The Alpine A110 Is Very French and Very Good

Turn up in France on July 14—Bastille Day, the Gallic nation’s answer to our Fourth of July—and les expressions du français will come at you rapid-fire. And should the next day happen to be the one on which the national team of this most proudly patriotic of nations finally wins soccer’s World Cup for the first time in 20 years, as happened last July, be assured the country will really let its hair down.

When you arrive in a town driving a new Renault Alpine A110, incredibly, the effect is magnified, as we found out moments after the French team’s great win. We were attempting to thread the distinctively blue two-seater through the streets of Arcachon, a resort destination on France’s south Atlantic coast. Stopped dead in single-lane traffic but also cheek to jowl with some of the commune’s most exuberant partisans, many if not all eyes were upon the Alpine, Renault’s extraordinary modern tribute to Jean Rédélé’s famous original rally-winning A110 stormer of the early 1960s and late ’70s.

Rédélé hopped up lowly Renault 4CVs in the ’50s, and from those humble origins he created the Alpine marque in 1954. What Rédélé ultimately wrought with Alpine is a kind of funkier French Lotus, with a racing and rally history ultimately supporting—and being supported by—road cars powered almost exclusively by Renault. Renault’s close association with Alpine became complete when it acquired the business in 1973. That same year Alpine-Renault won the inaugural World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ Championship running the original A110.

Larger, more comfortable, and more practical than its namesake—different yet strongly reminiscent—the new A110 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2017. The second coming of Alpine’s greatest hit, it was eagerly awaited by enthusiasts the world over, even in America, where it will not be sold. The latter fact borders on tragic because the new Alpine is not only a hoot to drive but is also a fully resolved automotive proposition.

After we landed in Paris but before we got caught up in the World Cup festivities, we drove this Alpine A110 500 miles south to the verdant, sun-dappled hills of Gascony, then on to the coast and the mob scene. The Alpine first distinguishes itself by being almost unique in conception. The French, once known for such things, do “weird” less and less these days, but the new A110 represents a highly credible and long overdue return to idiosyncratic form.

The substantial diffuser and flat floor create big downforce, allowing the all-aluminum, 150-mph A110 to avoid a loopy rear spoiler.

The last model badged strictly as an Alpine was the rear-engine A610, which finished rolling off lines in 1995. Unlike those last cars and their predecessors, which employed fiberglass body panels and a slight backbone chassis—a formula that doesn’t cut it in these days of side- and offset-crash testing—the reimagined A110’s chassis and body are constructed almost entirely of bonded and riveted aluminum.

With stylistic nods to the signature roofline and rear windscreen treatment of the old A110—the essential Alpine, looks-wise—this new one squarely captures the look of the original.

The new car’s 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder engine is a product of the corporate Nissan-Renault Alliance. Small but potent, it makes a big, gruff noise when prodded, more muscular than its size suggests. Mounting the engine behind the driver flies in the face of convention, as does the A110’s decidedly rearward-biased weight distribution (a claimed 44/56 split). An independent wishbone suspension, designed to help the A110 achieve a strong ride and handling balance, is in effect here, even though such a design too often seems to fall by the wayside when carmakers start looking to pare cost.

The new Alpine A110 borrows the seminal original’s name and style [shown here: 1975 Alpine 1300 VC], managing like few before it to capture the essence of a beloved ancestor.

Possibly most trailblazing of all, however, is the Alpine’s modest weight. At 2,381 pounds, it keeps company with what is nowadays a rarefied and shrinking cohort. The rewards of minimalism in terms of poundage are instantly obvious, accounting for a performance that belies the Alpine’s humble displacement by making the most of its 249 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. Sixty mph comes up in less than 4.5 seconds. There’s sufficient steam to hit 155 mph, making the A110 rapid enough for most every occasion—and it’s relatively efficient to boot. At a hair less than $70,000, this special car definitely flies as a certain type of value proposition.

Aerodynamics help. In homage to the original A110 Berlinette (1961–77), engineers worked in the wind tunnel to avoid having to fit an ungainly rear spoiler, which they accomplished by employing an undercar diffuser located aft of a single-sheet, all-aluminum floor. Up front, the Alpine’s radiator lies back at an angle, allowing the car’s nose to sit that much lower to the ground, nearer than would have been possible in a front-engine car. There’s room for a fair amount of soft luggage in the front and rear trunks. With stylistic nods to the signature roofline and rear windscreen treatment of the old A110—the essential Alpine, looks-wise—this new one complies with strict EU crash and deformability standards. Yet it squarely captures the look of the original.

Beginning what would morph into a 1,300-mile, weeklong odyssey in the Alpine, we left the factory showroom in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the western outskirts of Paris, and headed for the quaint and tiny hamlet of Lagraulet-du-Gers, population approximately 400. During those first few hundred miles, the Alpine showed it could handle traffic well, and despite its diminutive size and modest displacement, it was fully up to the task of consuming big distances in grand-touring style. Road noise was low, power revelatory without being excessive, and the seats were unexpectedly comfortable in spite of their sporty shape and stunningly light and elegantly simple construction. At about 29 pounds each, they weigh about half that of a typical car seat.

Doors that close with authority and quilted upholstery finished in black with decent dash and interior plastics elevate the Alpine’s interior well above the kit-car/parts-bin connotations that might once have clung to the brand. Its air conditioning is strong on a hot day, and the digital dash display is easy to read and works without annoying glitches. Three different screen views correspond to preset Comfort, Sport, and Track settings, which govern power, shifts, and chassis characteristics.

The interior design and materials emit no whiff of cheap, low-volume kit-car.

Grand touring is precisely what it felt like when we checked into the Hôtel Le Castel Pierre de Lagraulet. An exquisite boutique hotel with just five guest rooms, it has been lovingly recommissioned from an old castle that had fallen into disrepair. The couple behind the effort, like Alpine, seem to have figured out how to combine the best of the old world with our favorite modern conveniences in a seamless and appealing way. Hammering down country lanes, passing through rolling farm fields filled with hectare after hectare of yellow sunflowers and endless rows of neatly tended grape vines: The beauty of it all, in concert with the Alpine’s magical chassis and frisky affect, proves inspiring.

As we pulled into Fourcès for lunch on Bastille Day, half the patrons in an outdoor restaurant where we stopped for a trouser-busting lunch of slow-cooked lamb, eggplant, and sheep’s cheese poured out into the town square to admire the Alpine. They were delighted to see the car in the metal, surprised to see it being driven by an American, but filled with pride.

Again we come back to weight, which may be, along with lines that strike us as very fresh in this homogenized age of automotive design, the Alpine’s most remarkable achievement. This statistic amazes: An A110 carries almost 600 fewer pounds than a Porsche 718 Cayman, a car the new model comes as close to in conception as anything. Dynamically, the Alpine exhibits all the benefits of feathery weight with remarkably few of the demerits. Most surprising is its sense of rigidity and solidity. There are no rattles and little wanting in the way of comfort and convenience next to the Porsche, arguably the gold standard in less-than-stratospherically priced, mid-engine, two-seat sports cars.

Jamie Kitman reckons the Alpine is one of the best cars he drove all year, with modern electronics like the digital dash harmonizing well with its classic appearance.

Like the Cayman, the A110 offers a delectable degree of steering precision with the sort of feel we thought pretty much no longer existed. It intoxicates on secondary country roads, a right-sized car with superb balance and bags of power, readily accessed via its intuitive and agreeable paddle-shifted Getrag seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Yet it’s also fully up to the task of turning French autoroutes into mincemeat, going as fast as you or your license dare. A passing bird said that 100 mph equates to only about 3,700 rpm in the Alpine, which is pretty relaxed and all the more remarkable for its 1.8 liters.

Unlike so many cars that seek to capitalize on their heritage without the slightest grounds, the Alpine A110 actually extends Jean Rédélé’s philosophy into the 21st century, using the latest technology and engineering smarts to pursue the goal of reduced weight in the name of sports-car fun. If that doesn’t make you get up and want to sing “La Marseillaise,” nothing will.

2018 Alpine A110 Specifications

ON SALE Now (not in U.S.) PRICE $70,000 (base, est) ENGINE 1.8L turbocharged DOHC 16 valve I-4/249 hp 
@ 6,000 rpm, 236 lb-ft 
@ 2,000 rpm TRANSMISSION 7-speed dual-clutch automatic LAYOUT 2-door, 2-passenger, 
mid-engine, RWD coupe EPA MILEAGE N/A L x W x H 164.6 x 70.8 x 48.3 in WHEELBASE 95.2 in WEIGHT 2,381 lb 0–60 MPH 4.5 sec (est) TOP SPEED

[365footballorg-blog]

World Cup 2018: Football showpiece set to begin in Russia

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2018 Fifa World Cup Venue: Russia Dates: 14 June-15 July Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.

The 2018 Fifa World Cup gets under way on Thursday when hosts Russia face Saudi Arabia following an opening ceremony at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.

Football’s showpiece event features 32 teams, including holders Germany, competing in 64 games over 32 days.

The 21st edition will be played out in 12 stadiums, across 11 cities, spread over 1,800 miles.

England, winners in 1966, are the only team from the home nations to qualify and start against Tunisia on 18 June.

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Germany, who defeated Argentina in the 2014 final, are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since 1962, while Brazil seek a record-extending sixth world title.

The month-long tournament is expected to attract one and a half million fans to Russia and an estimated global television audience of over three billion viewers.

There are eight groups, each containing four teams, with the top two advancing to the last 16. The final takes place at the 81,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium on 15 July (16:00 BST).

What’s on when: fixtures, kick-off times, venues

BBC Sport’s coverage: times and channels

2018 World Cup: venue guide

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Who will win the World Cup?

World Cup holders Germany, five-time winners Brazil, Euro 2016 winners Portugal, 2014 runners-up Argentina, Belgium, Poland and 1998 winners France are among the eight seeded teams.

Hosts Russia are also seeded, even though they are the tournament’s lowest-placed team – 70th – in Fifa’s world rankings.

England, who have won only one of their past eight World Cup matches, are unseeded, as are 2010 champions Spain.

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Germany have reached at least the semi-finals in each of the past four editions of the competition and, after being the only team to progress through European qualifying with a 100% record, are expected to be in the shake-up again. They are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.

“Germany will be hunted like never before,” said head coach Joachim Low. “Only us, as world champions, have anything to lose.”

How can you predict who is going to win the World Cup?

Brazil are the only nation to have appeared at every single World Cup but they have not won the tournament since 2002, while you have to go back to 1958 to the last time they won it on European soil.

Yet the Brazilians will fancy their chances, particularly as Neymar, who cost a world record £200m when he moved from Barcelona to Paris St-Germain in August 2017, has returned to action after a broken foot.

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Spain feature several Champions League winners from Real Madrid in their squad as they look to recapture the magic that saw them crowned world champions eight years ago and European champions in 2008 and 2012.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping for a first World Cup winners’ medal after helping Portugal win Euro 2016, while Lionel Messi is hoping to win a first major trophy with Argentina.

France boast a young, exciting squad which includes 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe as well as a number of familiar Premier League names including Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud.

The coach who has modernised Brazil

‘When you win the World Cup, you could hug the world’

Which players are going to Russia – all the confirmed squads

How are England expected to perform?

The closest England have come to repeating their feat of 1966 is a semi-final appearance at Italia 90.

With an average age of 26 years and 18 days, the Three Lions have the third-youngest squad in Russia.

Only three of Gareth Southgate’s 23 players are aged 30 or over – defenders Gary Cahill and Ashley Young, both 32, and 31-year-old forward Jamie Vardy – while defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is the youngest at 19.

Cahill, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones are the only survivors from the squad that finished bottom of their group at the 2014 World Cup under Roy Hodgson.

After their opening game in Volgograd (16:00 BST), England face World Cup debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before rounding off their Group G campaign in Kaliningrad against Belgium four days later (19:00 BST).

While England comfortably qualified for Russia – and enjoyed friendly victories over Nigeria and Costa Rica in recent weeks – former Three Lions captain Alan Shearer does not believe they will win the tournament.

Current skipper Harry Kane is more upbeat.

“It’s impossible not to dream about lifting the World Cup. I believe we can win it – anyone can,” said the Tottenham forward.

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One thing England will have to address if they want to go far is their poor record at the knockout stage in major competitions.

They have not won a knockout match at a tournament since defeating Ecuador in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup.

“Yes, we have a great record when it comes to qualifying, but since the 2010 World Cup our record at finals has been poor,” added Shearer, who played alongside Southgate at the 1998 World Cup.

“That’s why we should concentrate on getting out of our group first before we worry too much about who we could face in the next round, because doing that has been difficult enough in the past.”

Five reasons to be optimistic about England’s World Cup chances

How much do you know about the England squad?

Throwback to when England won the World Cup

Who are the new boys?

Panama and Iceland will be competing at their first World Cup, which is held every four years.

With a population of approximately 335,000 people, Iceland are the smallest nation ever to qualify.

They will hope to repeat their exploits of two years ago, when they lit up Euro 2016 by reaching the quarter-finals in their first appearance at a major tournament, humiliating England en route.

Iceland’s first game in Russia is against 2014 runners-up Argentina on 16 June.

A national holiday was declared in Panama after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

The Central American country, 55th in Fifa’s world rankings, boast an experienced coach in Hernan Dario Gomez, who was in charge of his native Colombia at the 1998 World Cup and Ecuador at the 2002 edition.

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There are several teams back on the world stage after lengthy absences.

Peru return to the finals for the first time since 1982, while north African nations Egypt and Morocco are back for the first time in 28 and 20 years respectively.

Will an African team reach semi-finals for first time?

However, there are some notable absentees.

Four-time winners Italy, South American champions Chile and African champions Cameroon all failed to qualify.

The Netherlands, runners-up in 2010, also missed out while the United States are absent for the first time since 1986.

Referees to get VAR help

Video assistant referees (VAR) will be making a debut at the World Cup.

The technology will be used to help officials avoid making potentially match-deciding mistakes when it comes to such important issues as awarding goals, penalties or red cards.

VAR has been trialled in some domestic English cup games this season, and has been used in Germany and Italy.

“We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

“It’s not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn’t.”

VAR was first used at the Club World Cup in December 2016, and trialled in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

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Fan safety and security

Russia is hoping to put on a tournament to remember after beating England – as well as joint bids by Spain and Portugal, and the Netherlands and Belgium – to stage the tournament for the first time.

While about 10,000 England fans are expected to travel to Russia, a number are likely to stay away because of political tensions between the two countries and safety issues.

There were violent clashes when Russian fans charged England supporters in the stadium when the two countries played each other in Marseille at Euro 2016. Trouble was also reported in the city’s streets between England, Russia and France fans.

“One thing supporters need to do when they go is be a good guest, behave themselves,” said Mark Roberts, Britain’s lead officer for football policing.

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Deputy Chief Constable Roberts warned acts of disorder will carry “severe” sentences in Russia although Alexei Smertin, the anti-discrimination chief of Russia 2018, played down concerns and said the atmosphere around World Cup venues will be friendly.

“It definitely won’t be stressful and we let everyone feel comfortable and safe in our country,” said the former Chelsea midfielder, capped 55 times by Russia.

How to follow the World Cup on the BBC

The BBC is the only destination for coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on television, radio and online.

We will have 33 matches televised live while BBC Radio 5 live will provide live commentary of all the games.

England’s first two World Cup matches will be shown exclusively live on the BBC, starting with the game against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June, and then the match versus Panama on Sunday, 24 June.

Before the tournament starts, a World Cup preview show will be broadcast on BBC One at 22:45 BST on Wednesday, 13 June.

Meanwhile, fans will be able to watch the tournament in Ultra HD and virtual reality as BBC Sport trials cutting-edge technology.

Users will be transported to a fully immersive stadium experience, through headsets, as if they are sitting in their own hospitality box.

All 33 matches broadcast by the BBC will be available for free on BBC Sport’s VR 2018 World Cup app, and the 29 matches on BBC One will also be available in Ultra HD.

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Ultra HD TV can be accessed through a high-speed internet connection and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The HD stream will be available from the BBC iPlayer home screen as soon as programme coverage begins but the number of users granted access will be limited to “tens of thousands of people”.

Click here for a comprehensive guide on how to follow the World Cup across the BBC

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World Cup 2018: Football showpiece set to begin in Russia was originally published on 365 Football