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els-writes · 6 years ago

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A Place of Ghosts - Godless Snippet

The stack of books was growing unmanageable. Every time Maesha looked up at the pile on her desk, someone had added yet another book or two. It towered over her now, dwarfing her in the creaking chair. She put her pen down, caring little that she left a streak of ink across the thin paper. Slumping, Maesha rubbed at the rough calluses the pen had left on her dark skin. Her hands felt dry, coated in ink, and the notes in front of her were as messy and badly written as always. There was little more she could do. She didn’t want to have to try again. She didn’t want to have to keep digging through these dull books to finish it off either.

“Day! Forward!”

Maesha was never sure whether to be happy about a call forward: it got her away from the mounds of books, after all, but it rarely meant something good. If the Bookmaster wanted her, it was mostly because she wasn’t doing something right again, or to ask her to go on another study.

Oh please, let it not be another study.

She muttered back a confirmation that the caller wouldn’t even hear over the chorus of scratching pens in the college library. Tucking her chair neatly in, she flattened out her dress. Despite the thin fabric, her skin was still sticky with the heat: the library could never be properly aired out. Who used thick brick walls in a desert? She stepped back into her sandals, moving through the library as she adjusted the hairband to keep her tight curls at bay.

The library sat in the very heart of Bellon College – the College grounds and housing off to one side, and the public forums to the other. At the front of the library was where the Bookmaster received requests from the public, a small room with only three walls, allowing the breeze to ease the heat just a little for visitors. Maesha entered through the backdoor, stepping out behind the Bookmaster’s desk, where he usually sat hunched over one book or another. Today, however, he was standing on his skeletal legs, gripping the hand of a voluptuous young woman.

“Please send my gratitude to your father once again, Miss Evelone,” the Bookmaster said. “He is the only mine-owner who lets us know when they unearth something of interest.”

The woman’s eyes flickered over to Maesha, eyebrows lifting in interest, but her words were still directed at the Bookmaster. “Of course, sir. Father is so passionate about promoting learning across the world. It would be a disservice to our history to destroy any valuable archaeological evidence. Now, is this her?”

The Bookmaster’s head turned slowly, and he gave Maesha a smile she’d never received from him before. It was almost pleasant. She respected the elder scholar greatly, but Maesha didn’t deny that, for as great a mind as he was, he lacked social pleasantries.

“Yes, yes. Maesha Day,” He beckoned her forward, and Maesha took a few hesitant steps until his hand rested on her shoulder. “She’s our resident researcher in religion and religious articles. If anyone is to help you, it’d be her. She’s incredibly passionate. Came here and demanded to study when she was only… seven? Eight?”

Maesha was well aware that her passion and length of time at the College was the only things that the Bookmaster noticed about her. It was all anyone really knew her for.

She lowered her gaze to the floor, unable to even take in this woman when she was being examined so blatantly by her.

“Day,” the Bookmaster went on, patting her shoulder. “Miss Evelone requires some assistance. Please give her your attention.”

For a man who, Maesha was sure, had not a strip of muscle inside him anymore, the force with which he pushed Maesha forward past the desk was quite remarkable. The woman was still dragging her eyes up and down Maesha in her entirety, and that made her skin prickle with unease as she led this Miss Evelone out into the garden where meeting tables had been set up under the expansive arbour.

“Would you like a drink, Miss?” Maesha asked, motioning to an empty table.

“No, I’d very much like to get to the point,” Miss Evelone sighed heavily, brushing her hair from her forehead. Her skin shined, and Maesha wondered if she wasn’t used to the intense heat of Tyfe.

“How may I help you then, Miss?”

“I’m travelling with…” She paused, her lips quirking up slightly. “With some assistants of mine. We’re very interested in seeing some of the ancient religious grounds of Tyfe, as I know they are built so vastly different to the… singular and somewhat disappointing Temple we have in Clarend. However, the maps we were using to direct ourselves seem to be lacking, well, anything to do religious grounds whatsoever.”

Maesha couldn’t work out why this woman would want to see some boring religious spots, and she struggled not to furrow her brow. “Tyfe has a long and complicated history with religion. It was one of the first to build Temples to the Primaries, but one of the last countries of the Mainland to accept the concept of Secondaries. Historically, religious grounds here are seen to be something that people aren’t meant to go to, unless if they have some greater calling. Temples and the like in Tyfe have never been sightseeing spots like the Temple of Lore, or places open for common prayers and ceremonies like the Temple of the Secondaries. Thus, they’ve never been put on maps to avoid people getting the wrong impression.”

Miss Evelone listened in silence, and somehow that surprised Maesha. She held an air about her as if she believed she were far above anyone else, but she pressed a finger to her lips and sat thoughtfully for quite some time after Maesha had finished – like she was really taking in the information.

“And are the Temples still unvisited for the most part? Since the Mainland borders opened for the public, surely you have more tourists or more faithful followers from Loren and Estra, for example. Does Tyfe still keep the Temples private?” Miss Evelone asked. They were valid questions, ones that Maesha had written about in her research before.

“Um, more do visit, indeed. Hope Temple has prepared for that, however. They offer guides to help visitors learn and follow the expected protocol we have in Tyfe. If that’s what you wish to see, the guides there are knowledgeable in the history of Hope. It may not be mapped or signposted, but residents of the city are still happy to point it out.”

“Oh, we’re not interested in Hope,” Miss Evelone said.

Something about the blasé way she spoke made Maesha’s stomach twist. “Not Hope? Then… not a Temple, but somewhere seen as an important area in religious history?” She spoke hopefully, praying that this wasn’t going where her gut feared it would.

“No. The Temple of Lost Souls. That’s where we’re hoping to go.”

Maesha’s fingers dug into her knees. She held Miss Evelone’s eyes, attempting to pick apart the confidence and… challenge in her gaze.

“You can’t…” Maesha breathed.

“I’ve discovered that ‘can’t’ is a very decisive word,” Miss Evelone laughed. “More than that, it’s somewhat a belief. One I don’t invest much time in. So, yes, I can.”

Maesha shook her head. “The Temple of Lost Souls is not somewhere you can visit on a whim, Miss Evel-”

“Please, call me Spinel. ‘Miss Evelone’ is what my employees call me.”

That was very much beside the point, but it seemed this woman – Spinel – didn’t see that. Maesha glanced around, fearing what would happen if someone overheard the way this conversation was going.

“That place is not what you associate Temples with, no matter what it’s called. It’s not a place people visit. It’s a place to avoided. Hope Temple is a perfectly beautiful and renowned example of Tyfen religious builds–”

Spinel’s lips curved upwards. Resting her chin on her hands, she leant closer over the table. “Why are you so against me visiting this Temple? What’s there?”

Maesha took a breath. “The Temple of Lost Souls is not a place built in honour of the Gods – Primary or Secondary. It’s a place built for the souls unable to cross over to the Far Plains. Vengeful souls, sorrowful souls, souls who couldn’t pass on in peace. They reside in the Temple… trapped there to prevent their negativity spilling over into the world.”

A soft sigh left Spinel’s lips, and she sat back again. “Goodness, this is cliched, isn’t it? I wonder how we didn’t see it before.”

At a complete loss, Maesha could only stare as Spinel seemed to find the whole concept boring. Perhaps she was a non-believer. Clarend tended to stray away from religion and prayer since the Split, Maesha knew that, but she’d never met someone so intent on visiting the Temple of Lost Souls even after hearing the stories. Even if she wasn’t religious, surely everyone was at least a little superstitious? Maybe this strange woman was a thrill seeker like those ghost hunters Maesha had heard tales of – the people who snuck into the mass crypts closed off since the Landbreak Wars. That must be it.

“Where is this Temple, then?” Spinel asked, and Maesha’s gripped at the edge of the table, horrified.

“If I tell you, you’ll go?”

“Obviously.”

“Even after all I’ve said?”

“Oh sweetheart, you could have told me there were packs of rabid wolves around the Temple and I still would go.”

“But, why?” Maesha pressed. “What could there possibly be to make you want to go to an old, crumbling Temple with nothing but ghosts in?”

Spinel tilted her head to the side, an amused smile on her face. “The ghosts, of course.”

Hey guys look it’s Maesha! She’s finally here!!!

Tagging: @nyxnevin @reeseweston @kriss-the-writing-nerd - if you’d like to be added or removed from the Godless tag list, please let me know! ^^

#wip #writeblr #fantasy #snippet #godless #ellenwrites #i love maesha so much more than i thought i would #this is her intro chapter #her and spinel are a PAIR

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blackkudos · 6 years ago

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Hakeem Jeffries

Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (born August 4, 1970) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York's 8th congressional district in Brooklyn and Queens. Prior to taking office in 2013, he was a corporate lawyer for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, then Viacom and CBS, before running for and serving in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012, representing the 57th Assembly district.

Early life and education

Jeffries grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and received his bachelor's in political science from Binghamton University with honors. He graduated from New York University School of Law and obtained a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

Law career

He served as a clerk for Judge Harold Baer, Jr., then worked in the litigation department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before becoming assistant litigator for Viacom and CBS.

New York Assembly

Elections

In 2000, he challenged incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Roger Green in the primary, losing 59 percent to 41 percent. In the general election, Jeffries ran on the Independence Party line, and Green defeated him again, this time 90 percent to his 7 percent.

Two years later, after redistricting, his residence was put out of the 57th Assembly District. Jeffries claimed in the 2010 documentary film Gerrymandering that it was a retaliatory move (a charge denied by Green). He challenged Green again in the Democratic primary and lost again, by 24 points.

In 2006 Green decided to retire from the Assembly in order to run for New York's 10th congressional district against incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Ed Towns. Jeffries ran for the 57th district again and won the Democratic primary, defeating Bill Batson and Freddie Hamilton 64 percent to 25 percent and 11 percent. In the general election, he handily defeated Republican nominee Henry Weinstein.

Two years later, in 2008, he won re-election to a second term, defeating the Republican candidate Charles Brickhouse, with 98 percent of the vote. In 2010 he won re-election to a third term, easily defeating the Republican candidate Frank Voyticky.

Tenure

During his six years in the state legislature he introduced over 70 bills. In response to a series of toy recalls, he introduced bill A02589, which would penalize retailers and wholesalers who knowingly sell to the public hazardous or dangerous toys that have been the subject of a recall. In 2010, the Stop-and-Frisk database bill was signed into law by Governor Paterson that banned police from compiling names and addresses of those stopped but are not arrested during street searches.

He also wrote and sponsored the hotly contested house bill A. 11177-A (now law) that eliminated the stop-and-frisk database used by police forces in New York City. He sponsored and passed house bill A.9834-A (now law) the Inmate-base gerrymandering law that ended counting prison populations of upstate districts as part of the public population, becoming the second state to end this practice.

Committee assignments

State House Committee on Banks

State House Committee on Codes

State House Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions

State House Committee on Correction

State House Committee on Housing

State House Committee on Judiciary

State House Subcommittee on Banking in Underserved Communities

State House Subcommittee on Mitchell-Lama

State House Subcommittee on Transitional Services

State House Subcommittee on Trust and Estates

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Jeffries announced he would give up his Assembly seat to run in New York's 8th congressional district in January 2012. The district, which includes the Brooklyn communities of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, Mill Basin and Coney Island along with South Ozone Park and Howard Beach in the borough of Queens, had previously been the 10th, represented by 30-year incumbent Democrat Edolphus Towns. On the steps of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, Jeffries said: “Washington is broken. Congress is dysfunctional. People are suffering. We deserve more."

Jeffries expected to give Towns a strong challenge in the Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. However, with Jeffries assembling "a broad coalition of support” and having more cash than the incumbent, Towns announced his retirement on April 16, leaving Jeffries to face city councilman Charles Barron in the Democratic primary.

Touted as the "Barack Obama of Brooklyn” during his run for the congressional seat, Jeffries has said he doesn’t see the Obama comparison. “Other than the fact that we were both born on August 4, it’s not clear to me that there’s much of a professional resemblance,”

On June 11, 2012, former Mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Councilman David Greenfield, and Assemblyman Dov Hikind gathered with several other elected officials to support Jeffries and denounce Barron. The officials described Barron as anti-Semitic and denounced his allegedly anti-Semitic statements, while also denouncing his support of Zimbabwe ruler Robert Mugabe and former Libya ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Barron responded that such attacks were a distraction from bread and butter issues.

Green Party candidate Colin Beavan called on Jeffries to "get the money out of politics", noting that as of his March 2012 filing, "he had received about $180,000, or 35 percent of his funds, from Wall Street bankers and their lawyers". Beaven added that Jeffries gets many campaign donations from charter school backers and hedge fund managers. After primary night, when asked about his two most important concerns, Jeffries replied eliminating the "crushing burden" of private religious school education costs.

After out-raising him by hundreds of thousands of dollars, Jeffries defeated Barron in the primary election on June 26, 2012, 72 to 28 percent. A New York Daily News post-election editorial noted that Barron had been “repudiated” in all parts of the Congressional district, including among neighbors on Barron’s own block in East New York, where the Councilman lost 57-50. The Daily News also analyzed Jeffries' donations in the last weeks of the campaign and found almost 50 percent came from out of state. He went on to defeat Beavan and Republican Alan Bellone in the November general election with 71 percent of the vote, but not before declining to attend a pre-primary debate with third party candidates, saying that the presence of the Green Party and Republican candidates at the debate would "confuse" voters.

On January 3, 2013, Jeffries was sworn into the 113th Congress.

Among the innovative practices Jeffries has carried over to Congress from his service in the State Assembly are: Operation Preserve, a legal housing clinic for displaced residents in the community; Summer at the Subway, now known as “Congress on Your Corner,”; outdoor evening office hours from June through August near subway stations that allows him to connect and hear constituents’ concerns first- hand; and his annual “State of the District” address, a community event in January that reviews important milestones achieved in the past year and previews the Congressman’s goals for the year ahead.

Positions

Since fall 2006 he has been a cautious supporter of Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.

He has opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, but also voted against an amendment that would have restrict sales of oil transported on the pipeline to within the United States.

He is pro-Israel, saying at a rally in July 2014 "Israel should not be made to apologize for its strength.” Citing his own childhood growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Jeffries added that he knew from experience that “the only thing that neighbors respect in a tough neighborhood is strength."

Since taking federal office, Jeffries has been called “a rising star,” appointed to the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Over Criminalization as well as appointed the Congressional Black Caucus Whip. He also plays in the infield on the Congressional Baseball Team.

As a member of Congress, he has called for a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the circumstances surrounding the death of Eric Garner. On a visit to the Staten Island site where Garner was killed, recorded by a CNN news crew in December 2014, Jeffries encountered Gwen Carr, the victim’s mother. In April 2015, Jeffries stood with Carr to announce the introduction of the Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2015 that would make the use of a chokehold illegal under federal law.

As the Congressmember with among the highest number of public housing residents, Jeffries has been attentive to their needs. He introduced P.J.’s Act in response to the death of 6 year old P.J. Avitto of East New York; who was stabbed in an elevator inside the Boulevard Houses, a NYCHA apartment complex. The legislation would increase federal funding for enhanced security in public housing developments.

Jeffries has also publicly called on the New York City Police Department Commissioner to reform its marijuana arrest policy after recent reports showed that small amount of marijuana arrests, which had increased dramatically under Mayor Michael Bloomberg Administration’s application of stop-and-frisk, were still rising in New York City under Bloomberg’s successor, Mayor Bill de Blasio. Jeffries has become a high-profile critic of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, questioning whether the reduction in stop-and-frisk has been a product of mayoral administration changes or the results of a movement that brought a successful federal lawsuit, and criticizing Eric Garner’s chokehold death.

In Congress, as the Congressional Black Caucus’ Whip, he has been actively involved in maintaining the CBC historic role as “the conscience of the Congress.” In his CBC role, he has hosted Special Orders on the House floor, including regarding voting rights (after the Supreme Court decision weakening the 1965 Voting Rights Act) and in December 2014, leading CBC members in a “hands up, don’t shoot” protest to protest the killings of African-Americans by police. After the shootings in Charleston in June 2015 by a white supremacist inspired by the Confederate flag, Jeffries led the effort to have the flag removed for sale or display on National Park Service land, an amendment eventually killed by the Republican House leadership after its initial support and inclusion on voice vote. During dramatic debate on the House floor, Jeffries stood next to the Confederate battle flag, and noted he “got chills” and lamented that the “Ghosts of the Confederacy have invaded the GOP.”

With a high concentration of public housing and high unemployment in his district, Jeffries has also made an issue of HUD’s failure to adequately enforce Section 3 of its initial creating statute from 1968, which explicitly required that federally funded capital and rehabilitation projects in public housing developments had to employ residents of those developments. As Jeffries noted, “we can download the power of the federal government into neighborhoods that are struggling the most, without legislative action. The most promising area is Section 3.”

Bills

In addition to legislation mentioned above, on April 11, 2013, Jeffries introduced the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act (H.R. 1501; 113th Congress) into the United States House of Representatives. Jeffries's proposed bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn as a unit of the National Park System (NPS). Jeffries said that "as one of America's largest revolutionary war burial sites and in tribute to the patriots that lost their lives fighting for our nation's independence, this monument deserves to be considered as a unit of the National Park Service." On April 28, 2014, the Prison Ship Martyrs’s Monument Preservation Act was passed by the House.

On July 15, 2014, Jeffries, who in private practice addressed intellectual property issues, introduced the To establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (H.R. 5108; 113th Congress), which would establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to be available to accredited law schools for the ten-year period after enactment of the Act.

In 2015, Jeffries led the effort in Congress to pass The Slain Officer Family Support Act, which extended the tax deadline for individuals making donations to organizations supporting the families of assassinated NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The families of the officers, who had been assassinated in their patrol car on December 20, 2014 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Jeffries' district, had been the recipients of significant charitable fundraising. Prior to the enactment of the new law, individuals would have had to make those contributions by December 31, 2014 to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with taxes filed in 2015. With the legal change, contributions made until April 15, 2015 were deductible. President Obama signed the bill into law on April 1, 2015.

Committee assignments

Committee on Education and the Workforce

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training

Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet

Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law

Endorsements

During 2007, while still in his first term in the State Assembly, Jeffries publicly endorsed and supported Barack Obama, and was among Obama’s earliest supporters in Hillary Clinton’s home state. In one interview, he noted “"When I first ran for office, some people suggested that someone with the name "Hakeem Jeffries" could never get elected and when I saw someone with the name "Barack Obama" get elected to the U.S. Senate, it certainly inspired me."

While President Barack Obama did not openly support candidates in Democratic primaries, he and President Bill Clinton together took a photograph with Jeffries weeks before his 2012 Congressional primary against Councilman Charles Barron, which was effectively used in campaign literature.

In a 2012 special election, Jeffries endorsed Walter T. Mosley, who was successful in a special election run to succeed Jeffries in State Assembly.

The following year, Jeffries backed Laurie Cumbo in the hotly contested race for Brooklyn's 35th city council seat vacated by Tish James, who won the City-wide race for Public Advocate, also with a Jeffries endorsement.

In 2013, Jeffries endorsed in the race for Brooklyn District Attorney, the seat held since 1990 by Charles‘ “Joe” Hynes, whose office was facing deep criticism for wrongful convictions and botched prosecutions. He endorsed Kenneth Thompson, whom Jeffries had met while interning at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District in the 1990s, when Thompson was a prosecutor.

According to journalists, the Jeffries endorsement of Thompson’s campaign was critical, and was followed by endorsements of Thompson by Brooklyn’s three other Democratic members of Congress. Thompson won the Democratic primary and defeated Hynes again in the general election when the DA elected to run as a Republican in the majority Democratic borough.

In the 2013 NYC mayoral race, Jeffries endorsed City Comptroller Bill Thompson, hailing his experience in City government. Jeffies also noted he was offended by Bill de Blasio's ad featuring stop and frisk claiming himself as the only candidate who would address, modify or reform stop and frisk:

"In some ways, I'm offended by the notion that one individual, in a city of eight million people, after years and years and years of many of us, in the state legislature and the City Council, activists, marches that took place, including one on Father's Day, to get us to a point where all of the major mayoral candidates have said stop and frisk will be significantly reformed on their watch."

His support of Thompson over de Blasio came in spite of Jeffries' own support of two policing bills, for independent inspector general for the police department and to allow for bias suits in state court, which de Blasio backed but Thompson did not. Jeffries said it made sense for Thompson, because he was running to be the city's top executive, not to support them.

In 2014, he supported Rubain Dorancy as Democratic candidate for state senate, who lost to Jesse Hamilton by a wide margin.

In that state senate race, as in several others since 2012, Jeffries has endorsed opponents of candidates endorsed by current Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, which has created the perception of a rivalry between the two prominent elected officials, Both Jeffries and Adams have dismissed these perceptions, noting their shared history (they had together served as prime co-sponsors of the 2010 stop-frisk database bill in the state legislature) with Jeffries adding.: “Over the years, we’ve often disagreed about the best candidate for our community. But when the election is over, we should all work together to get things done.”

In 2015, calls were been made among prominent African-American pastors for Jeffries to step into the 2017 Democratic primary for Mayor against Bill de Blasio. Jeffries has stated that he has “no interest” and wishes to remain an effective member of Congress.

Personal life and family

He is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries, a social worker with 1199 SEIU's Benefit Fund. They have two boys, Jeremiah (born 2001) and Joshua (born 2004) and live in Prospect Heights. Jeffries is also the nephew of CUNY professor Leonard Jeffries, Jr.

Jeffries’ younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University in Columbus. He is the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt.

Wikipedia

#Hakeem Jeffries #08-04

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amicidomenicani · 4 years ago

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Darf ich in dieser Epidemiezeit (Coronavirus), in der man den Beichtvater nicht zurate ziehen kann, ein Gelübde ablegen, zu dem der Beichtvater mich bisher nicht genehmigt hat?

Frage Sehr geehrter Padre Angelo Bellon Ich schreibe Ihnen, weil ich auf der Seite “Dominikanerfreunde” auf Ihren Namen gestoßen bin, denn Sie haben einige Fragen zum Thema private Gelübde beantwortet. Ich würde gern ein Privatgelübde der persönlichen Stille ablegen, zuerst zeitlich begrenzt (z.B. bis zum Ende der Pandemie) aber später dann dauerhaft. Dieses Gelübde hat alle sinnentleerten…

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mtcpoole-blog · 6 years ago

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#citroen #dacia #renault #citroenc3 #citroen2cv #citroenc4picasso #citroenc4 #mtcpoole #citroends3

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ltwilliammowett · 6 years ago

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The boarding of Lord Nelson by La Bellone (August 13, 1803) by Auguste Mayer 1872

The British three-masted ship Lord Nelson of the East India Company was attacked by the privateer La Bellone, a Bordeaux frigate, but the Royal Navy recaptured her within about two weeks. And in return, the Bellone was captured by HMS Powerful on 18 July 1806 and was put into service as HMS Bellona. Later, the Navy renamed her HMS Blanche. She was broken up in 1814.

#naval art #lord nelson #east indianman #la bellone #french frigate #1803 #age of sail

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csrgood · 5 years ago

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Climate Action: Sodexo Confirms Its 34% Carbon Emissions Reduction Target by 2025 With Approval From the Science Based Targets Initiative, Joining Global Call-to-Action

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Life services, confirmed its objective to reduce its carbon emissions by 34% by 2025 (base year 2017) with approval from the Science Based Targets initiative, joining the global movement of leading companies aligning their businesses with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

“We will achieve our objective by focusing on our four environmental priority actions: preventing food waste, promoting plant-based meal options, sourcing responsibly through local and short supply chains; and finally, helping our clients reduce their emissions through better energy and waste management”, said Denis Machuel, Chief Executive Officer, Sodexo. “We’re proud to be part of the Science Based Targets initiative and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C call-to-action because there is an urgency to ensure we can sustain our collective quality of life despite a changing climate. Not only is this the right thing to do for the environment, but it also makes sense from a business point of view.”

“By including Scope 3 emissions, Sodexo will now be accountable for tracking and bringing transparency to the total carbon footprint of the food it serves and the resources used to provide our facility management services”, said Neil Barrett, Group Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Sodexo. “With this measurement, we will be able to make better choices, and also raise awareness and engage our clients and consumers in our climate action with information about the environmental impact of the services we provide”.

The targets have been reviewed and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The initiative helps companies determine a pathway for reducing their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Director, Science Based Targets at CDP, one of the Science Based Targets initiative partners, said: “Many congratulations to Sodexo on setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in line with keeping warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. The science has told us that this is what is required to secure a healthy and prosperous future for people, business and planet."

The approval follows a successful collaboration Sodexo has undertaken with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conduct a rigorous review of its emissions target since 2010 and identify priority actions to focus its effort.

Pierre Cannet, Conservation Co-director at WWF France, said: “By engaging the whole group to align its climate ambition with the 1.5°C threshold of the Paris Agreement, Sodexo is showing leadership at the global level as one of the first companies to propose such a level of mitigation. This commitment by one of the biggest catering, hospitality and food retail services group shows its sense of responsibility to tackle its carbon footprint. We now invite Sodexo to immediately implement it through a robust carbon reduction plan enabled by adapted decisions and means.”

Reducing our total carbon footprint is part of Sodexo’s Positive Impact.

About Sodexo

Founded in Marseille in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is the global leader in services that improve Quality of Life, an essential factor in individual and organizational performance. Operating in 72 countries, Sodexo serves 100 million consumers each day through its unique combination of On-site Services, Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Sodexo provides clients an integrated offering developed over more than 50 years of experience: from foodservices, reception, maintenance and cleaning, to facilities and equipment management; from services and programs fostering employees’ engagement to solutions that simplify and optimize their mobility and expenses management, to in-home assistance, child care centers and concierge services. Sodexo’s success and performance are founded on its independence, its sustainable business model and its ability to continuously develop and engage its 460,000 employees throughout the world.

Sodexo is included in the CAC 40, FTSE 4 Good and DJSI indices.

Key figures (as of August 31, 2018)

20.4 billion euro in consolidated revenues

460,000 employees

19th largest private employer worldwide

72 countries

100 million consumers served daily

15.4 billion euro in market capitalization (as of July 5, 2019)

CONTACT

Alexandra Cauberghs

+1 (301) 987-4549

[email protected]

Sodexo

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/42658-Climate-Action-Sodexo-Confirms-Its-34-Carbon-Emissions-Reduction-Target-by-2025-With-Approval-From-the-Science-Based-Targets-Initiative-Joining-Global-Call-to-Action?tracking_source=rss

#CSR #corporate social responsibility #social good #philanthropy #employee engagement #workplace givi

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shenzhenblog · 6 years ago

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3 Ways Your Small Business Can Make a Big Difference

When speaking about mom-and-pop or emerging businesses, the term “small” is a bit of a misnomer. Not only can those companies have major impacts, but they account for nearly half of U.S. private-sector employment, according to figures from the Small Business Administration.

Each business that sits in the middle of a walkable neighborhood or bustling downtown district serves to brand the community. In fact, in many locations, the legacy and heritage built by the hard work of small business entrepreneurs is not just lauded but preserved via municipal regulations and community expectations.

Truly, small business owners have far-reaching opportunities to change both their immediate surroundings and places that are worlds away.

Individual connections on a global string of possibilities

How can a new neighborhood restaurant or a supplier of homespun jewelry sow seeds that will have long-term impacts? It’s surprisingly simple when founders focus their attention not just on marketing but on giving back authentically and consistently. Consumers appreciate businesses that keep tax dollars at home and offer employees a place to work that connects them with their roots.

If you have been seeking a way to rev up your differentiation and satisfy your desire to give back, adopt these three strategies:

1. Work toward fair wages.

Compensating your employees fairly is the right thing to do, and by paying your people fair wages, you provide them with disposable income they can spend at local businesses — maybe even your own. You’ll also likely see a more direct business benefit to paying employees fairly; namely, avoiding high turnover. Plus, you’ll improve your local reputation as a good employer, something that’s important to your customers as well as potential hires.

Some politicians talk about living wages, but their talk can be limited — and maybe even scary to a small business owner. After all, businesses just making ends meet may have trouble conceiving ways to boost their pay rates across the board. The truth is that moving to fairer wages requires a holistic approach.

To set up an equitable pay structure, start by evaluating each role in your organization. Once you have that role structure in place, you’ll need to define your market, noting where you recruit people from and whom you lose people to. Next, look at each employee’s performance and decide how you want to distribute pay increases over time. You’ll also have to decide whether you’re going to offer slightly more than your key competitors or match the marketplace when it comes to average pay for your industry and area. None of this will be a walk in the park, but the long-term business benefits will make it worth your while.

2. Source materials responsibly.

Many consumers, including 86 percent of Millennials, actively put their money behind products and companies that responsibly source product materials. How can you advertise your commitment to this along all points in your supply chain? Consider earning Fair Trade Certification a la Whole Foods Market or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Or investigate whether your industry offers certificates or badges for choosing fair trade options for everything from the materials you buy to the methods you use to create your output.

This commitment to ethical sourcing could be the secret to your business success — or at least that’s what Julio Zegarra-Ballon, owner of St. Louis-based Zee Bee Market, believes. As a seller of hand-crafted fair trade products, he sees his role as a storyteller, “to give customers in the U.S. a chance to say, ‘I am choosing to buy this versus that,’” he says. “If you are able to see and learn how your dollars are impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of artisans around the world, you will be more inclined to make that decision going forward.”

Zegarra-Bellon compares the uptick of interest in fair trade products to the locally grown food movement. In the same way that consumers began questioning where their food was coming from and how it was produced, they now want to know that other products they’re buying are being produced without exploitation of workers or the environment. By making a commitment to ethical sourcing, your business can both differentiate itself and make a difference in the world.

3. Weave your social mission into your story.

Why limit your business to just selling a product or service? Weave a mission into your business story and share it with the world. Not only will you feel a sense of purpose by contributing to a social mission, but you’ll see business benefits as well. As a Cone Communications survey discovered, 85 percent of Millennial consumers will turn to a new brand if it is associated with a cause they support.

For instance, Leila Janah, the entrepreneur behind data solutions provider Samasource, wanted to use online work to help lift people out of poverty. So she took a chance on untrained workers living in developing countries. Not only does her company offer these individuals the chance to improve their lives, but it gives clients another reason to choose her over a competitor.

You might already have a social mission that propels your organization’s decision-making. If not, now is the time to figure out what lies closest to your company’s heart. Then, share that discovery with the world through every decision you make.

Doing good is not just the right thing to do. It can also be a savvy business move. Rethink the ways you could give back to your community this year and beyond. You might just reap far more than you could ever have imagined both in revenues and in goodwill.

— Originally Published on March 18, 2019 Thrive Global

Rhett Power

Rhett Power is Best-Selling Author, Executive Coach, Columnist at Forbes, Inc. & Success. Rhett Power co-founded Wild Creations in 2007 and quickly built the startup toy company into the 2010 Fastest Growing Business in South Carolina. Wild Creations was named a Blue Ribbon Top 75 US Company by the US Chamber of Commerce and named as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing US Companies two years in a row. He and his team have won over 40 national awards for their innovative toys. He served in the US Peace Corps and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. He now has a rapidly growing coaching and consulting practice based in Washington DC.

3 Ways Your Small Business Can Make a Big Difference was originally published on Shenzhen Blog

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bellongroup-blog · 6 years ago

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Corporate Unit Constructions and Issues Experienced By Commercial Contractors

We all know that restaurants and stores are such locations where services or products are sold to customers. The construction of these units may differ from those of private buildings. The knowledge of the development process and the relevant needs of the unit are understood by the commercial construction service contractors from Bellon Construction Group.

The Buildings that may be Called as Commercial Structures

There is a very slight difference between industrial and commercial construction. For instance, a shoe-repair unit may be considered to be commercial, while shoe-manufacturing plant is industrial. On the other hand, artisan, who is manufacturing shoes manually, may be categorized in any way. Commercial units comprise:

• Stores of any size, such as supermarkets

• Cafes, restaurants, or bars

• Entertainment facilities, like cinemas, opera houses

• Offices

• Malls

• Parks and zoos

• Resorts and hotels

• Sporting facilities, like football grounds

• Municipal houses, including police stations and libraries

Issues that are Relevant to Commercial Construction Projects

A line that differentiates industrial and commercial buildings never changes the methods applied for construction; however, it may cause difficulties about zoning issues as well as building policy.

The major issues related to commercial construction are:

• Additional planning along with regulations on safety– for instance, preparation for the development of restaurant kitchens

• Working on commercial buildings in highly populated regions, for example, major shopping road or town center

• Doing construction at some odd time in order to avoid interruption of nearby corporate units or bother neighbors

• Accessibility – Since commercial areas are generally open to all of the population, they have to be accessible by every person

Thus, for any commercial building construction, you need to call certified constructors who are able to deal with any corporate building. The commercial contractors from Bellon Construction Group can not only do new construction but can also remodel your existing unit. For more information visit here.

#Commercial Construction Miami

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bobskiii87-blog · 7 years ago

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Never-Before-Seen Photos of Dalí Prove His Wife Was Way More Than a Muse

Earlier this year an exhibition opened at the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí's Púbol Castle revealing a version of the iconic surrealist as seen through the eyes of female photographers. The photos in the show, titled Women Photograph Dalí, are fascinating. Curators Bea Crespo and Rosa M. Maurell selected shots of the artist in private photos never meant for the public. Surrealist Denise Bellon and Vogue regular Karen Radkai's iconic magazine prints hang alongside behind-the-scenes portraits of Dalí directing In Voluptate Mors, shot by collaborator Philippe Halsman's wife, Yvonne. The jewels of the collection, though, are rarely-seen photos by Gala Dalí, Dalí’s wife and muse, taken at the dawn of their 53-year relationship.

Gala Dalí, Image Rights of Salvador Dalí reserved. Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, 2018

Gala was born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova in Russia in 1894. She met Dalí in 1929 while married to the French poet Paul Éluard and sleeping with the German Dadaist painter Max Ernst. By the end of the year, she and Dalí were living together, and entered an open marriage in 1934. Her photos in the exhibition were captured during their early years together in Púbol, where Dalí would later buy her the castle in which the photos are displayed today.

Taken between 1930 and 1932, Gala's photos of her frenetic early relationship with Dalí have never been displayed before publicly. They add a counter-visual to one of the most mysterious artist-muse relationships in recent history. They cement Gala's place as more than a famous object of the artist's attention, immortalized in paintings like The Madonna of Port Lligat and Portrait of Galarina. Dalí biographer Ian Gibson tells VICE Gala never spoke to the press about their relationship, so her impact on Dalí’s art must be decoded through his incredibly performative memoir, public appearances, and gossip from those who passed through their famous parties and orgies. But in Women Photograph Dalí, her gaze directed back at him is on display.

Gala Dalí, Image Rights of Salvador Dalí reserved. Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, 2018

“Although Dalí and Gala had a strong emotional bond, it was not a mature relationship," Dr. Zoltan Kovary wrote of the couple in an email to VICE. A clinical psychologist, creativity researcher, and associate professor at Budapest’s Eötvös Loránd University, Kovary took a close look at the couple when he began writing a psychological analysis of Dalí’s artwork called The Enigma of Desire: Salvador Dalí and the conquest of the irrational.

There’s plenty of eros in Gala’s photos of young Dalí, especially the ones of him sunning himself at their home in the Spanish beach town. But Kovary said their love, “Was more like a mother-infant affair; Gala sometimes called Dalí, ‘My little son.’ They never had a ‘real’ sexual relationship. Dalí, although Gala raised deep desires in him, had fear of physical contact.”

Gala Dalí, Image Rights of Salvador Dalí reserved. Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, 2018

Nevertheless, these photos are full of the excitement of early romance. Dalí stands in front of a weird shop they found, or lies down, barely looking at the camera. His poses look casual and unassuming. We see Dalí as he wanted Gala to see him, years before he became famous for attention-grabbing stunts like walking his pet anteater in public and making cryptic statements on game shows.

No one understands how hard it can be to sort fact from fiction and exaggeration in Dalí’s life better than Gibson. The biographer behind The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí said in an email, “He’s a biographer’s nightmare. What can you do with an individual who is always acting, always playing a part?” Gala's photos create empathy for the woman married to such a confounding man.

Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt, Image Rights of Salvador Dalí reserved. Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, 2018

Denise Bellon, Image Rights of Salvador Dalí reserved. Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres, 2018

Gibson’s advice to those still fascinated by the man who painted the fantastical vision of The Elephants and the transcendentally anxious Persistence of Memory is straightforward. “The main clue to Dalí, I think, is that he was pathologically timid deep down and constructed his exhibitionistic persona as a protective device,” he said. “The tragedy is that we don’t have Gala’s side of the story.”

Women of Dali gets us closer than we’ve ever been before.

Follow Beckett Mufson on Twitter and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on VICE US.

from VICE https://ift.tt/2IurixJ via https://ift.tt/2hybfwu

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amicidomenicani · 4 years ago

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In this time of the pandemic (coronavirus) during which I cannot consult my confessor, can I make a vow that the confessor has not consented?

Question Dear Father Angelo Bellon I came across your name on the website “Amici Domenicani” (“Dominican Friends”). I see that you already answered some questions regarding private vows. I would like to take a vow of personal and private silence, at first for a specific length of time (for example, until the end of this pandemic), later turning it into a permanent vow. The matter of the vow…

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dani-qrt · 7 years ago

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U.S. state lawsuits against Purdue Pharma over opioid epidemic mount

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Litigation against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is intensifying as six more U.S. states on Tuesday announced lawsuits, accusing the company of fueling a national opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing its prescription painkillers to generate billions of dollars in sales.

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a shelf at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey

U.S. state attorneys general of Nevada, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee also said Purdue Pharma violated state consumer protection laws by falsely denying or downplaying the addiction risk while overstating the benefits of opioids.

“It’s time the defendants pay for the pain and the destruction they’ve caused,” Florida State Attorney General Pam Bondi told a press conference.

Florida also sued drugmakers Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc, Allergan, units of Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and Mallinckrodt, as well as drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp.

Teva, in a statement, emphasized the importance of safely using opioids, while AmerisourceBergen said it was committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to combat opioid abuse.

The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Healthcare Distribution Alliance, an umbrella group for drug distributors, said in a statement that accusations that distributors were responsible for the abuse of opioid prescriptions defied common sense and lacked understanding of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Lawsuits have already been filed by 16 other U.S. states and Puerto Rico against Purdue. The privately-held company in February said it stopped promoting opioids to physicians after widespread criticism of the ways drugmakers market highly addictive painkillers.

Bondi said state attorneys general from New York, California and Massachusetts were preparing similar lawsuits.

Massachusetts last week sent a letter to Purdue notifying the company of its intention to sue. A spokeswoman for the office did not say when that lawsuit would be filed.

The California and New York attorney general offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, in a statement, denied the accusations, saying its drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and accounted for only 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions.

“We are disappointed that after months of good faith negotiations working toward a meaningful resolution to help these states address the opioid crisis, this group of attorneys general have unilaterally decided to pursue a costly and protracted litigation process,” Purdue said.

Opioids were involved in more than 42,000 overdose deaths in 2016, the last year for which data was available, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Separate litigation involving at least 433 lawsuits by U.S. cities and counties were consolidated in a federal court in Cleveland, Ohio. The defendants include Purdue, J&J, Teva, Endo, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

The suits accused drugmakers of deceptively marketing opioids and the distributors of ignoring indications that the painkillers were being diverted for improper uses.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing the consolidated litigation, has been pushing for a global settlement. He invited state attorneys general with cases not before him to participate in those talks.

Despite filing separate lawsuits, the six attorneys general on Tuesday said they would continue to engage in settlement discussions with Purdue and other companies.

“You always want to settle and prevent a prolonged litigation,” said Florida’s Bondi. “But we’re sending a message that we’re fully prepared to go to war.”

Reporting by Tina Bellon Editing by Bernadette Baum and Bill Berkrot

The post U.S. state lawsuits against Purdue Pharma over opioid epidemic mount appeared first on World The News.

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party-hard-or-die · 7 years ago