#reuts publications

[mariacallous]

The Russian authorities have decided the reduce the number of election polling stations available to voters. In Moscow, ahead of the mayoral election planned for September, officials are slashing the number of municipal polling locations by almost 40 percent, as confirmed by Tsentrizberkom (“TsIK”), Russia’s state election authority. In other regions, the reduction is less stark, reaching about 10 percent.

Explaining the decision, TsIK appealed to the need to “strengthen the public’s control over the elections” and to “reduce organizational expenditures.” Fewer polling stations will be easier to monitor for the parties involved, the officials say. The agency’s deputy head, Dmitry Reut, also suggests that slashing the number of polling locations in Moscow is natural, given the popularity of online voting. According to Reut, large numbers of urban voters prefer to cast their ballots remotely, and fewer people actually show up to vote in person.

Electronic voting was implemented in Moscow during the State Duma elections in 2021. A year later, it was once again an option for city council elections. Both times, counting procedures for electronic ballots were entirely opaque, provoking numerous scandals. During the Duma election, for example, opposition candidates leading the paper-ballot vote in several single-mandate districts suddenly lost to United Russia’s candidates once online voting was “taken into account.” The opposition’s attempt to question the results came to naught.

A United Russia insider who spoke to Meduza explains the shrinking number of local polling stations as a consequence of major developments in “electronic services,” suggesting that in-person voting is less in demand now than it used to be. Another source close to the Kremlin’s political team says the government is intent on expanding online voting:

It’s a two-way street. They chalked up tons of votes to electronic voting in the Duma and city elections, and now they can cut the polling stations. Then, when the share of online votes increases, they can say they were right to cut them, since everyone likes voting online, and then attribute increased online turnout to the cuts.

Two political spin doctors who previously worked with United Russia candidates in nationwide and regional campaigns say that reducing the number of polling locations will help the Mayor’s Office get Muscovites accustomed to online voting. People who like to vote in person, they explain, will have to take the extra trouble to find out their new, post-reduction polling location. They will also have to consider the risk of spending more time standing in line if they choose to go and cast paper ballots.

Another political consultant working with the government expects that polling-location cuts will reduce in-person turnout by as much as 25 percent. He illustrates his argument with an example from his past work in a regional election:

Our task was the kill the turnout to get the best possible result for United Russia. As a solution to this challenge, we rearranged the voting districts’ borders. The habitual pattern in the voters’ heads had been broken: they now had to find out where they were supposed to go. The calculation was that it would be easier for people just to stay home. And it worked. Besides, those who didn’t check the polling address and just showed up at the old one would arrive there, hear that they’re registered at a different location — and give up with a spit and go home.

The upcoming Moscow mayoral election is not going to be an easy task, the same speaker anticipates. “When electing the mayor, we have to show a respectable turnout,” he says. (In 2013 and 2018, “respectable” meant around 30 percent.) “But if you start herding everyone towards polling locations, no one will show up to the presidential election,” he explains, referring to the spring 2024 election, where “the task is to show a record turnout.” And while achieving the needed turnout with online votes is well and good in a mayoral election, electing a president this way would not be a great look.

Still, electronic voting is immensely advantageous to the current regime. All the political consultants who spoke with Meduza agree that online polling “presents unlimited potential for falsification.” Election-law attorney Andrey Buzin, who previously managed the voter advocacy organization Golos, confirms this assessment: “Electronic voting is not a controllable voting method in principle. Other methods can be monitored by grassroots representatives, but electronic voting cannot.”

Having fewer polling stations, Buzin points out, can also be useful to state propaganda, since it’ll be easier for TV crews, for example, to record footage of long lines of voters waiting to cast their ballots. It’ll also be easier to staff polling stations with United Russia loyalists. “The reduction of polling locations,” Buzin explains, “is certainly an element of the degradation of the election process in Russia, but it’s not the main element. What’s central is the reduction of political competition.”

[newstfionline]

Friday, June 23, 2023

5 passengers on missing sub likely dead following ‘catastrophic implosion’ (Yahoo News) The Coast Guard announced Thursday that they believed the five passengers who disappeared while attempting to explore the Titanic shipwreck were likely lost due to a “catastrophic implosion” of their vessel. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger announced at a press conference that on Thursday morning, five major pieces of debris had been found on the seafloor about 1,600 feet from the site of the Titanic, a finding “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.” The Titan had been projected to run out of its 96-hour supply of breathable air on Thursday morning. And because the door was bolted from the outside, those inside would not have been able to open it on their own even if they were able to reach the surface. Asked about the possibility of recovering remains, Mauger called the conditions “unforgiving” and said there weren’t prospects for doing so at this time.

A century later, the Titanic still fascinates (Washington Post) More than two miles under the sea, off the remote coast of Newfoundland, sits the skeleton of a ship that has captured the public’s imagination for more than a century—rusting, decaying, but still emitting a siren call that draws historians, explorers and regular people alike to study its tragic history. The Titanic has inspired books, films, video games and musicals and has afforded researchers decades of exploration and debate. It is immortalized in at least seven museums, and artifacts circle the globe as part of traveling exhibits. One hundred and eleven years after sinking to the depths of the Atlantic, the ill-fated luxury ocean liner still regularly makes news: new images of the wreck are released, replicas are built, salvage missions are launched. The Titanic has occupied a special place in human history and lore for over a century, taking on “a great metaphorical and mythical value in the human consciousness,” as director James Cameron—whose 1997 blockbuster about the sinking remains the fourth-highest-grossing film ever—said in a 2005 interview with the Independent. “It’s the implausible story: The biggest ship in the world on its maiden voyage, it’s supposed to be unsinkable and it’s full of rich and famous people, and then it hits an iceberg and it sinks,” said Titanic historian Don Lynch.

Tropical Storm Bret grows stronger as eastern Caribbean islands prepare for heavy flooding (AP) Tropical Storm Bret grew stronger on Wednesday as it took aim at islands in the eastern Caribbean that braced for torrential rainfall, landslides and flooding. Bret had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) on Wednesday night and was moving westward across the Atlantic Ocean. The storm was located east of Barbados and is expected to grow stronger before lashing several eastern Caribbean islands late Thursday at near hurricane strength. Tropical storm warnings were issued for St. Lucia, Dominica and the French Caribbean island of Martinique as officials in the region urged people to prepare for Bret.

Court could ban Brazil’s Bolsonaro from running for office (Washington Post) From the moment he won Brazil’s presidency, Jair Bolsonaro worked to undermine confidence in the country’s democracy. Elections were rigged, he warned. Fraud was endemic. The electoral court was controlled by corrupt partisans. The barrage of allegations is blamed for helping to drive thousands of Bolsonaristas in January to storm the capital, where they invaded the congress, presidential palace and supreme court in an effort to reverse his election loss. Now Bolsonaro is scheduled to face trial before the country’s electoral court Thursday on charges of abusing power. If convicted, the 68-year-old former leader could be barred from running for public office for eight years. He’s facing more than a dozen other investigations, some of them criminal, that could put him behind bars.

37 hurt in Paris blast (Reuters) A blast ripped through a street near Paris’ historic Latin Quarter on Wednesday and rescuers were searching for two missing people feared buried under the rubble of a building that partially collapsed in the explosion. The explosion tore through Rue Saint-Jacques, which runs from the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the Sorbonne University, in the late afternoon, injuring at least 37 people, four of whom were fighting for their lives in hospital. Witnesses said there had been a strong smell of gas moments before the blast.

Ukraine’s dreams of rebuilding run into reality of soaring costs (Washington Post) Hopes for reconstruction run high in Kharkiv, a once grand regional capital devastated by Russian bombing. Many here dream that after the war, Kharkiv will not only be rebuilt but reimagined for the 21st century, to shake off the last shackles of the Soviet Union. There is just one painful and inescapable reality: The war is not over, and neither is the destruction. Cities like Kharkiv, which sits just 25 miles from the border with Russia and is still regularly hit by attacks, must convince investors not only that the war will end soon, but that another will not follow. Nearly 16 months after the start of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine and its supporters are eager to start rebuilding, especially in areas like Kharkiv that seem safely out of Moscow’s reach. But the war could drag on—increasing costs, repelling investment and further delaying even a temporary recovery. Even if Ukraine survives militarily, some officials fear that it could end up starved economically. After shrinking by 30 percent last year, the economy, remarkably, has stabilized. But Kyiv’s debt is piling up, and its deficit continues to widen: The government estimates it is spending about $3.1 billion it doesn’t have each month, just on routine costs. Reconstruction, whenever it begins, will be expensive. The World Bank estimated in March that Ukraine needs $411 billion over a decade to recover from the war. That’s a gargantuan sum for a country already receiving $42 billion in outside funding for basic spending this year.

EU summons Kosovo and Serbia leaders for emergency talks amid fears of a return to open conflict (AP) The European Union has summoned the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo for emergency talks on Thursday to try to bring an end to a series of violent clashes near their border that is fueling fears of a return to open conflict. Serbia and its former province Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 conflict left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Belgrade has refused to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. Tensions flared anew last month after Kosovo police seized local municipality buildings in northern Kosovo, where Serbs represent a majority, to install ethnic Albanian mayors who were elected in a local election that Serbs overwhelmingly boycotted.

After devastating floods in Pakistan, some are still struggling (AP) Last summer’s flooding in Pakistan killed at least 1,700 people, destroyed millions of homes, wiped out swathes of farmland, and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. All in a matter of months. At one point, a third of the country was underwater. A year on, the country hasn’t fully recovered. The aftermath runs the length of the country; survivors living in makeshift huts where their homes used to be, millions of children out of school, damaged infrastructure waiting to be repaired. Almost 8 million people were displaced at the height of the crisis. But there is no information on how many people remain homeless or live in temporary shelters. Aid agencies and charities provide up-to-date pictures of life, saying millions remain deprived of clean drinking water and that child malnutrition rates have increased in flood-affected areas.

A once-banned Modi is making history in Washington (Washington Post) Narendra Modi will make history on Thursday. Other Indian leaders have addressed Congress before, but none have done so twice. Modi’s address is part of a high-profile visit to Washington that also includes his first state dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. The pomp is remarkable when you consider the lengths to which he was once kept by American leaders. Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat, a state in western India, was effectively denied entry to the United States in 2005 over allegations related to religious mob violence that led to the deaths of about a thousand people, mostly Muslims. But things changed quickly after Modi became prime minister of India in 2014. That year he delivered a speech at Madison Square Garden after receiving the visa he was once denied. Modi’s rehabilitation in the United States says more about India than him personally. India overtook its neighboring giant, China, to become the world’s most populous nation last year. Unlike China, many of its 1.4 billion or so population are young, so the country is expected to keep growing for decades. Trade with the United States has boomed under Modi’s watch, with India now often seen in Washington as a potential bulwark for global trade as it shifts away from an inward-looking China and an isolated Russia.

Temple visits rise in China as jobless young people seek spiritual assistance (Guardian) In the search for a job in a gloomy economy, many young people in China are hoping for divine intervention. According to data released by the Chinese travel platform Qunar, the number of visitors to temple scenic spots increased by 367% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2022. Much of that increase can be accounted for by the opening up of tourist and cultural destinations since zero-Covid restrictions were abandoned in December. But some other religious sites are also experiencing increases in visitors compared with their pre-Covid levels. In May, the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds hit 20.8%. The phrase “incense-burning youth” has caught fire on social media, referring to young people who have turned to spiritual offerings in an attempt to increase their prospects. Although the Chinese Communist party is officially atheist, many people turn to ancient practices in times of need.

Deadly accidents are commonplace in China (AP) At least 31 people were killed and seven injured when cooking gas exploded at a restaurant in Yinchuan in northwestern China. It was the latest in China’s long history of deadly industrial accidents, which occur regularly despite government pledges to clamp down on lax standards, poor oversight and corruption frequently blamed for the collapse of buildings, mine cave-ins, explosions and other disasters.

Israeli settlers storm into Palestinian town in West Bank as Israeli airstrike escalates crackdown (AP) Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed into a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, setting fire to dozens of cars and homes to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen the previous day, residents said. Palestinians said one man was killed in the violence. After nightfall, Israel carried out a rare airstrike on a car carrying suspected Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank. The drone strike, believed to be the first in the area in nearly 20 years, marked a major escalation by Israel in a more than year-long campaign against militants in the area. Palestinian media reported three were killed in the strike. The fighting further raised tensions heightened this week by a daylong Israeli military raid that killed seven people, including a 15-year-old girl, in a militant stronghold, and Tuesday’s mass shooting, whose victims included a 17-year-old Israeli boy.

Sesame: How regulation works (Money Stuff) Congress passed legislation intended to make life better for people allergic to sesame seeds. Instead, it made things worse. The bill, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden in 2021, requires manufacturers to label sesame on their products starting this year. In response, some companies began adding sesame to products that hadn’t included it in the past—saying it was safer to add sesame and label it, rather than certify they had eliminated all traces of it. People with sesame allergies say the result is fewer sesame-free food options, as well as new and unexpected risks from sesame in foods they used to eat without worry. The issue is that it is hard to eliminate trace amounts of sesame, and the law now requires food manufacturers to label sesame as an allergen. Not putting sesame on the label effectively constitutes a promise that there is no sesame in the product, and if there is a little bit, then you get in trouble. But if you say that the product definitely contains sesame, then you are immunized from trouble. So you just chuck some sesame into everything, change the labels, and you’re fine.

[scifrey]

Strap on your goggles and buckle up your jetpack,THE SKYLARK’S SONG is finally here!

A Saskwyan flight mechanic with uncanny luck, seventeen-year-old Robin Arianhod grew up in the shadow of a decade-long war. But the skies are stalked by the Coyote—a ruthless Klonn pilot who picks off crippled airships and retreating soldiers. And as the only person to have survived an aerial dance with Saskwya’s greatest scourge, Robin has earned his attention.

As a Pilot, Robin is good. But the Coyote is better. When he shoots her down and takes her prisoner, Robin finds herself locked into a new kind of dance. The possibility of genuine affection from a man who should be her enemy has left her with a choice: accept the Coyote’s offer of freedom and romance in exchange for repairing a strange rocket pack that could spell Saskwya’s defeat, but become a traitor to her county. Or betray her own heart and escape. If she takes the rocket pack and flees, she could end the war from the inside.

All she has to do is fly.

Filled with intrigue, forbidden romance, and a touch of steampunk, The Skylark’s Song soars in this new duology from the award-winning author of The Accidental Turn Series.

Pick up your copy of The Skylark’s Song in eBook and Paperback today!

[alain-keler]

# 90- Mercredi 2 novembre.

Dans l’avion Milan Tel-Aviv. 

Je vois la terre au travers du hublot et cela me procure toujours une intense émotion. Banlieue sud de Tel-Aviv, probablement Bat Yam et Holon. Des immeubles, tel un jeu de dominos blancs, se dressent comme plantés sur le sable et semblent regarder vers le sud, un peu comme un champ de tournesols penchés vers la lumière. Irrésistible désir d’habitation des lieux. Une autoroute se glisse au milieu comme un serpent à la recherche d’une proie.L’avion se rapproche lentement du sol. Il ralentit. Les quelques minutes qui nous séparent de l'arrivée sont pour moi un moment de bonheur.La gigantesque cimenterie à droite se dresse près d’un quartier de Lod où vivent des bédouins rencontrés lors d’un précédent voyage. Virage sec vers la gauche. Des arbres apparaissent comme un tapis vert poussant sur la terre rouge. A droite, au loin, on voit des collines qui s’étendent en grandissant progressivement jusqu’à Jérusalem. Elles nous montrent leurs formes arrondies et féminines. La descente semble maintenant plus rapide comme si l’avion était pressé de toucher le sol. L’ombre portée d’un nuage rougit encore plus la terre.Des  avions blancs comme des jouets d’enfants semblent attendre que l’on s’occupe d’eux et sont stationnés devant des  hangars vieillissants.L’atterrissage se fait en douceur, un peu comme si le pilote avait pris soin de ne pas vouloir abîmer le sol, de peur d’irriter des Dieux déjà fort occupés à régler les problèmes existants. La lumière blanche du Moyen-Orient jaillit soudainement dans la cabine de l’avion qui roule maintenant vers son point d’ancrage. La terre rouge a laissé la place à une mer de bitume.« Mesdames et messieurs, nous venons d’atterrir à l’aéroport Ben Gourion… ».Nous sommes le 2 novembre, il est 15.25 heures et c’est le début de mon huitième voyage.Ensuite tout va très vite. Le sourire de la fonctionnaire qui rajoute un tampon à ma collection, comme une preuve de mes présences répétées dans cet endroit magique, objet de toutes mes interrogations sur mon appartenance au peuple d’Israël.Bagages, voiture de location et des instructions que je n’écoute plus à force de les entendre. La lumière d’hiver est douce. La route se faufile entre les collines. Le soleil descend vers l’horizon. Il se couche tôt, comme fatigué d’avoir trop éclairé depuis longtemps les hommes qui se disputent cette terre. Il a besoin de repos car ils vont encore pendant longtemps lui donner du fil à retordre.Sur la route, les voitures passent d’une file à l’autre sans crier gare, dépassent à droite des véhicules attardés du côté où ils ne devraient pas se trouver, comme si leurs pilotes têtus et accrochés à leurs volants comme une bouée de secours avaient peur d’être dépossédés de quelque chose. C’est peut-être aussi ça d’être juif. La route a été très longue jusqu’à Jérusalem.En tout état de cause, les conducteurs israéliens n’ont pas amélioré leur conduite depuis mon dernier voyage. Peut-être qu’ici les règles sont autres. Après tout, nous sommes au moyen orient et comme mon chauffeur de taxi m’avait si bien dit le premier jour de mon premier voyage, même la terre est différente, elle est rouge.Jérusalem, l’auberge dans le monastère de Ratisbone, Natacha et ses quinze chats, Elio. Je m’installe. Je suis ici chez moi.Café avec Eyal de passage à Jérusalem. C’est dur professionnellement pour lui.Alex au téléphone. Rendez-vous demain matin pour un café.Je vais dîner au Link. Pas question de rester sur la terrasse, ma terrasse. Début novembre, il fait trop froid à Jérusalem. Ici, tout me semble familier. J’ai vraiment l’impression d’être chez moi.Je reprends un verre de Merlot. Il est onctueux. Je suis bien même si je ne suis pas sur ma terrasse.

Jeudi 3 novembre. Jérusalem.

J’ai rêvé de ma mère. Elle me demandait d’aller voir la maison d’Igny. Au premier étage, des enfants devaient avoir joué avec un ballon dont on voyait la trace sur la peinture blanche fraîchement étalée. Je passais une éponge mouillée et les tâches disparaissaient. Cela me rassura. Au rez-de-chaussée, la disposition des pièces était complètement changée. C’était très bizarre. Il me semblait que tous les murs étaient sombres, peints en noir. Il y avait beaucoup de monde qui se préparait à prendre la crémaillère.Je sors pour aller à la rencontre d’Alex. Dehors, il fait frais, un peu comme chez nous au début du printemps. Quelques chats attendent patiemment devant la maison de Natacha, la gardienne de Ratisbonne, l’endroit où je loge. Il y en a un, noir et blanc, perché sur ma voiture et qui miaule en me voyant, comme s’il me reconnaissait. En fait, cette machine à ronronner miaule systématiquement à la vue d’êtres humains pensants.Aroma café. Alex est déjà arrivé. On se fait la bise. Le voir me rempli de joie. On parle.La lumière est extraordinaire. J’entends dans la rue beaucoup de gens parler français et anglais. La plupart portent la Kipa.Beit Agron. Accréditation. J’en sors à 10H30. Le soleil est encore monté et me caresse le visage. Il fait doux.Au retour, je croise Natacha. Elle garde un petit chat amené en mauvais état par une jeune fille hier, à mon arrivée. Elle me fait remarquer qu’à sa mort, elle ira au paradis des chats. C’est son destin, rajoute-t-elle.11H30, assis sur un petit muret avec mon ordinateur devant la Sainte vierge qui monte la garde dans le jardin de Ratisbonne. Internet en wifi, ça marche. Miracle ou technologie ? Un peu long quand même. Je la remercie.Supermarché. Je fais mes courses.Déjeuner. Liana, 84 ans me parle avec fierté de son fils qui finit sa carrière comme directeur d’une école juive à Milan.Téléphone à Jaafar pour aller dans un village en Cisjordanie pour photographier la récolte des olives. OK pour samedi.Dîner de spaghettis, le tout arrosé d’un très bon Merlot israélien.Vendredi 4 novembre.Aujourd’hui, c’est le dixième anniversaire de la mort de Itzhak Rabin. Le soleil n’est pas au rendez-vous. La météo annonce de la pluie pour cet après-midi.Je vais à Tel-Aviv.Devant le monument qui lui a été dédié, en bas de l’escalier qu’emprunta Ytzhak Rabin après son discours, un homme joue de l’accordéon, accompagné par quelques personnes qui chantent son morceau préféré, « Shir Ha-reut », la chanson de l’amitié. Une jeune femme, appuyée sur son vélo se recueille (it’s my grief, c’est mon chagrin), perdue dans ses pensées en écoutant la musique qui s’échappe de l’endroit où le premier ministre israélien fut assassiné. Trois drapeaux israéliens dressés devant le monument sont en berne. Il n’y a pas beaucoup de monde. Je crois que la célébration officielle aura lieu le 12 novembre, avec la participation de Bill Clinton.Un peu plus loin, on peut lire le texte du dernier discours de Ytzhak Rabin:

en anglais suivi d’une traduction française :

 Tel Aviv, november 4, 1995.

 « Allow me to say, I am also moved,I want to thank each and everyone of you who stood up here against violence  and for peace. This government which I have the privilege to lead together with my friend Shimon Peres decided to give peace a chance, a peace that will solve most of the problems of the state of Israël.I was a military man for 27 years, I fought as long as they were no prospects for peace. Today I believe that there are prospects for peace, great prospects. We must take advantage of it for the sake of those standing here, and for the sake of those who do not stand here. And there are many among our people. I have always believed that the majority of the people want peace and are prepared to take risks for it. And you here, by showing up at the rally, prove it, along with the many who didn’t make it here, that the people truly want peace and oppose violence. Violence is undermining the very fondations of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned, denounced, and isolated. This is not the way of the state of Israël. Controversies may arise in a democracy, but the decision must be reached throught democratic elections, just as it happened in 1992, when we were given the mandate to do what we are doing, and to continue to do it. I want to thank from here the president of Egypt,  the king of Jordan and the king of Marocco, whose representatives are present here, conveying their partnership with us on the march toward peace. But above all- the people of Israël- who have proven, in the 3 years this government has been in office, that peace is attainable, a peace that will provide an opportunity for a progressive society and economy. Peace exists first and foremost in our prayers. Peace is what the jewish people aspire to, a true aspiration. Peace entails difficulties, even pain. Israël knows no path devoid of pain. But the path of peace is preferable to the path of war. I say this to you as one who was a military man and minister of defense, and who saw the pain of the families of IDF soldiers. It is for their sake and for the sake of our children and grandchildren that I want my government to exert every effort, exhaust every opportunity to promote and to reach a comprehensive peace. This rallt must send a message to the israeli public, to the jewish community throughout the world, to many in the arab world and in the entire world, that the people of Israël want peace, support peace, and for that, I thank you very much ».

Traduction en français.

Tel-Aviv, 4 novembre 1995.

« Permettez-moi de dire que je suis profondément ému. Je souhaite remercier chacun d'entre vous, qui êtes venus ce soir manifester contre la violence et pour la paix. Ce gouvernement, dont j'ai le privilège d'être à la tête, avec mon ami Shimon Peres, a décidé de donner une chance à la paix - une paix qui résoudra la plupart des problèmes d'Israël.Pendant 27 ans, j'ai été un soldat. Tant qu'il n'y avait aucune chance pour la paix, j'ai combattu. Je crois qu'aujourd'hui, il existe une chance pour la paix, une grande chance. Nous devons en profiter, pour tous ceux qui sont présents ici, et pour tous ceux qui sont absents, et ils sont nombreux.J'ai toujours pensé qu'une majorité du peuple aspirait à la paix et était prête à prendre des risques pour elle. En venant ici ce soir, vous démontrez, ensemble avec de nombreux autres qui ne sont pas venus, que le peuple désire sincèrement la paix et s'oppose à la violence. La violence s'attaque à la base de la démocratie israélienne. Elle doit être condamnée et isolée. Ce n'est pas la voie de l'Etat d'Israël. Dans une démocratie, il peut y avoir des désaccords, mais la décision finale sera tranchée par des élections démocratiques, comme celles de 1992 qui nous ont donné un mandat pour faire ce que nous faisons, et pour continuer dans cette direction.Je voudrais dire que je suis fier du fait que des représentants des pays avec lesquels nous vivons en paix soient présents avec nous ce soir, et continueront à l'être : l'Egypte, la Jordanie et le Maroc, qui nous ont ouvert la route vers la paix. Je voudrais remercier M. le président de l'Egypte, le roi de Jordanie, et le roi du Maroc, représentés ici ce soir, pour avoir été des partenaires dans notre route vers la paix. Mais, plus que tout autre chose, depuis un peu plus de trois ans que ce gouvernement est en place, le peuple israélien a prouvé qu'il est possible de faire la paix, que la paix ouvre la porte à une économie et a une société meilleures, que la paix n'est pas seulement une prière. La paix est d'abord dans nos prières, mais elle constitue aussi l'aspiration du peuple juif, une aspiration sincère à la paix.La paix a des ennemis qui tentent de nous atteindre, pour torpiller le processus de paix. Je voudrais dire sans détour que nous avons trouvé chez les Palestiniens aussi un partenaire pour la paix : l'OLP, qui était notre ennemi, et qui a cessé de s'impliquer dans le terrorisme. Sans partenaires pour la paix, il ne peut y avoir de paix. Nous exigerons qu'ils accomplissent leur part du travail, comme nous accomplirons la notre, pour la paix, afin de résoudre l'aspect du conflit israélo-arabe le plus complexe, le plus long, et le plus chargé en émotions : le conflit israélo-palestinien.Il s'agit d'un parcours semé de difficultés et de douleur. Pour Israël, il n'est pas de chemin qui soit sans douleur. Mais la voie de la paix est préférable à celle de la guerre. Je vous dis cela en tant qu'ancien soldat, en tant que ministre de la Défense qui connaît la douleur des familles des soldats. Pour elles, pour nos enfants, et dans mon cas, pour mes petits-enfants, je veux que ce gouvernement exploite chaque ouverture, chaque occasion de promouvoir et de parvenir à une paix totale. Même avec la Syrie, la paix sera possible.Cette manifestation doit envoyer un message au peuple israélien, au peuple juif partout dans le monde, au monde arabe et en fait au monde entier : le peuple israélien veut la paix, il soutient la paix.Pour tout cela, je vous remercie. »

  À 17.30 heures, il n’y a plus personne. Dans le bassin qui jouxte la municipalité, à une trentaine de mètres de l’endroit où Rabin a été tué, deux jeunes filles hilares  retirent de l’eau un parapluie rouge complètement pourri.

[aliteraryprincess]

Speak the Ocean by Rebecca Enzor

Speak the Ocean by Rebecca Enzor

Many thanks to REUTS Publications and NetGalley for the ARC! This book was published on July 9 and is now available for purchase.

My Rating: 4 stars

Speak the Oceanis a new adult contemporary fantasy that uses aspects of “The Little Mermaid” while still distinctly being it’s own story. After discovery mermaids, or the Mer, humans immediately built Oceanica, a Sea World-like park that captures…

[jewish-privilege]

The wave of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe appears to be continuing unabated, with swastikas and hate graffiti appearing on Jewish institutions and property in a number of countries, including Poland, Greece and Spain.  

On Monday morning, Uri and Reut Huminer, emissaries from the World Zionist Organization, discovered swastikas and anti-Jewish graffiti daubed near their home in Madrid. The local police have launched an investigation.

In France, swastikas have also repeatedly appeared painted outside the homes of Jews.

One of them, Olivier Feldman, told Ynet that the attacks will not make him leave his country.

"It's a terrible feeling, but my life is here," he said, but added that he no longer views France in the same way as before. "I am afraid for my wife, for my children and for myself," he said. "I look at people differently, every day I wonder if it will happen again."

He made it clear that despite the growing anti-Semitism on the continent, he was not considering emigrating to Israel. "My life is here, I work in France, my friends are in France, my family is in France, it's a dream (to move to Israel), but my life is here."

Three months ago, vandals sprayed antisemitic and anti-Israeli slogans, along with swastikas, in front of the house of Angel Mas, a senior activist in the Jewish community in Spain and chairman of a Jewish organization fighting local boycotts of Israel...

The use of neo-Nazi symbols has become common in light of the radicalization of the political arena all across the globe. Extremist groups from both ends of the political spectrum use these symbols as part of the struggle between them.

Even so, deliberately spraying neo-Nazi symbols in a neighborhood where a number of Jews live is very uncommon in Spain.

The Madrid police has launched an investigation into the cases, working alongside the local Jewish community's security organization and Madrid municipality, which has ensured that the slogans outside Mas's home were removed.

The Israeli embassy in Madrid passed images of the graffiti along to several organizations that monitor and combat anti-Semitism, and also posted them on social networks."It is sad to see that anti-Semitism still exists in Spain," the embassy said.

The anti-Jewish sentiment has also reached Poland, where earlier this week large posted were placed on several residential buildings in Warsaw, which read: "These buildings will soon be returned to the Jews, to meet their demands."

In the Greek capital Athens, anti-Semitic graffiti was sprayed in the yard of a Jewish school. The graffiti said, among other things: "Jews are whores."

In France, which is home to the largest Jewish community in the world after Israel and the US, has seen an increasing number of such anti-Semitic attacks. Recent incidents include swastikas sprayed on mailboxes image of late French Jewish politician Simone Veil, who was a Holocaust survivor, a minister in the French government and president of the European Parliament. In Paris, the word Juden (German for Jew) was daubed on the window of a bagel shop.

In another incident, the French-Jewish philosopher Alain Finkielkraut was attacked with anti-Semitic slogans when he came across a yellow vest demonstration in central Paris. Days later, at least 80 graves were desecrated in a Jewish cemetery near Strasbourg, in the eastern part of the country.

In addition, unknown assailants vandalized the Paris memorial to Ilan Halimi, a young French Jew who was tortured and murdered in a 2006 anti-Semitic attack that shocked France.

Last Thursday, anti-Semitic graffiti was painted on the facades of houses and street furniture in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. A municipal official said that there had been dozen cases of anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on several streets in the southern part of the French capital. A man working in the area said that the graffiti had not been there the night before.

Graffiti reading "Dirty Jew" and an inverted swastika were sprayed on the wooden door of one of the buildings. Similar slogans were also found outside public toilets, on a bench at a bus stop, and on the facade of another building, beside the sign for a doctor's clinic...

[theculturedmarxist]

Zionist historical revisionism constructs an erroneous presentation of Israel as accommodating a left-to-right political milieu, the left-flank of which amenable to a peaceful resolution of “the conflict”, instead of recognizing the entirety of Zionism, including its “liberal” faction, as inherently white supremacist, settler colonialist and genocidal.

The supposed left, “liberal” wing of Zionism, comprising Israeli political parties, non-profit organizations and media organs in Israel and outside it, serves to promote Zionist propaganda, which renders occupation, apartheid and genocide of Indigenous Palestinian people palatable to audiences in Israel and worldwide.

Liberal Zionism intrinsically promotes reactionary regimes and interest groups, which share Zionism’s ethnocentric, xenophobic, misogynistic and hyper-capitalist worldviews, including Trump’s United States, Bolsonaro’s Brazil, Duterte’s Philippines, Orban’s Hungary and Modi’s India, among others.

Why is it important to recognize and dismantle liberal Zionist propaganda?

The Zionist “left” in Britain

The corruption of the Zionist “left”, i.e. liberal Zionism, and its ensuing damage to democracy is evident in the UK Labour Party.

Electronic Intifada’s Asa Winstanley has reported extensively on the development of this manufactured crisis, which exemplifies the dangers of a major anti-Semitic Zionist propaganda fallacy – the conflation of Zionism with Judaism and its effectiveness in torpedoing social justice.

In fact, a recent Al-Jazeera documentary – The Lobby – exposed the extent to which the Labour Party has been infiltrated by Israeli/Zionist interests via The Labour Friends of Israel.

Jackie Walker, an anti-Zionist, Black Jewish ex-Labour Party member and vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn was recently expelled as a result of this fallacious campaign on trumped up charges of “anti-Semitism”. Chris Williamson is the most recent example. Additionally, in a blatant attack on press freedom, Labour revoked Winstanley’s press pass for its upcoming conference.

The Zionist “left” in the US

The fiasco involving Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib has become a teaching moment for pro-Palestinian activists.

An important lesson from the campaign, outlined by Noura Erakat and Fadi Quran in their recent article, is the evident lack of Palestinian sovereignty both in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in spite of Israel’s claims to the contrary.

Thus, Israel’s self-aggrandizing, manufactured image as “the only democracy in the Middle East” is once again rendered null and void, in line with its crimes and long list of discriminatory laws.

Similarly, the banning of Omar and Tlaib has exposed once again Israel’s white supremacist nature, consequent to its Christian Evangelical, anti-Semitic origins and supporters.

Further, the targeting of Omar and Tlaib demonstrates the powerful threat of intersectional politics to reactionary regimes. In fact, the Zionist Reut Institute and the US-based Jewish Council for Public Affairs quickly recognized the danger intersectionality poses to their discriminatory colonial agendas.

However, no less important than these, is a crucial lesson quickly whitewashed – the campaign against Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib was instigated by a liberal Zionist editor at The Forward – Batya Ungar-Sargon – opportunistically picked up by corporate Democrats, and unsurprisingly adopted by Republicans, including President Donald Trump and a host of American-Zionist lackeys as a wedge issue to split their opposition.

It is all too easy to blame Trump and his racist supporters, including within the Israeli government, for the campaign against Omar and Tlaib. Yet whitewashing liberal Zionist culpability sets the stage for additional smears instrumentalizing the “new anti-Semitism”, i.e. the canard that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, including against progressive front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President – Senator Bernie Sanders.

Notably, Sanders is a liberal Zionist himself, yet has conveyed support for Omar and Tlaib, as well as harsh criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli apartheid policies. The UK example suggests Sanders’ surge in the race and his (relatively) pro-Palestinian rhetoric will likely lead to an increase in Zionist-led attacks on his intersectional campaign, including against grassroots supporters. In fact, concurrent to Sanders’ recent rise in the polls, liberal Zionist Haaretz published an anti-Semitic opinion piece echoing fascistic propaganda, calling Sanders “the last Jewish Bolshevik”. Sanders, of course. is a Democratic Socialist far closer to an FDR-style, new deal Democrat.

The Forward has played a major role in the smear campaign against progressive Democrats Omar and Tlaib. In addition to its initiation by opinion editor Ungar-Sargon, who has been working assiduously to jam Zionism down the left’s throat, or else, senior columnist Peter Beinart whitewashed the outlet’s culpability.

Beinart blamed Omar for being “wrong”, “inaccurate” and “irresponsible” for her accurate tweet describing the corrupting influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on politics in Washington, and praised her for her unnecessary apology, while conveniently shifting blame from The Forward’s dishonest liberal Zionism and its allegiance with corporate Democrats to Trump’s grotesque anti-Semitism and Republicans such as Lee Zeldin. Remarkably, in a masterful display of false equivalencies and straw man fallacies, Beinart did not mention Zionism at all, a likely prerequisite for safeguarding his position as a CNN commentator. Just ask Marc Lamont Hill. Unfortunately, Omar decided to promote Beinart on her Twitter feed.

Beinart’s column also demonstrates what is perhaps the most egregious of liberal Zionist contortions – the promotion of the fallacy of “the occupation” existing since 1967, not 1948, i.e limited to the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This false assertion, also echoed by the American Jewish progressive group IfNotNow, erases the rights of millions of Palestinians in the shattat, including their right to return home.

The Zionist “left” in Israel

A careful examination of the Zionist/Israeli political spectrum leading up to parliamentary elections on September 17th, including the “opposition”, reveals an assortment of reactionary parties seeking power without providing any hope for equality and justice for Palestinians. Even the anti/non-Zionist Joint List, recently showed a desperate interest in working with the Zionist “left”, to the dismay of many.

To quote Israeli dissident Ronnie Barkan:

While a so-called leftist discourse in Israel is usually perceived as revolving around liberal and humanistic values, no discussion exists concerning the deeply-rooted supremacist character of the state, its inherent anti-democratic nature, nor the fate of those who have been disenfranchised, oppressed, subjugated and terrorized for the past seven decades by Israel — the Palestinians.

In an article for (wait for it) The Forward, Stav Shaffir – previously of the liberal Zionist Labor Party, now of the Democratic Union Party – engaged in some break-neck political yoga in an effort to smear the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, while attempting to maintain her faux-left cred.

In another recent piece, Yossi Gurvitz accurately demonstrates the inherent contradictory nature of “left” and “Zionism”. Here, Gurvitz laments the deal brokered between the liberal Zionist Meretz party and corrupt war criminal and ex-PM Ehud Barak to form the Democratic Union Party, which also includes BDS-bashing Shaffir. Gurvitz’s impressive survey of Barak’s crimes falls short when he attributes Meretz’s selling out as a “wish to be, for once, on the winning side”. Gurvitz correctly identifies the reasoning as flawed yet does not lay out the hard truth, in which liberal Zionists opt habitually for apartheid over equality and naturally assume their role as propagandists while lambasting the adoption of an ideologically consistent, left-wing, anti-Zionist stance.

Significantly, the anti-Zionist, anti-racist framework intrinsic to the BDS movement and other campaigns, has yielded far more impressive gains for Palestinians than any collaboration with white saviors and/or liberal Zionist entities.  In fact, a principled anti-Zionism, with a focus on BDS provides real hope for Palestinians, Jews and others seeking an end to the ongoing injustice between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.

An intersectional alliance between all victims of white supremacy, including Palestinians, Black and Brown people, women, Indigenous groups, immigrants, the disabled and others, effectively exposes and dismantles all Zionist propaganda, en route to the promotion of equality and justice for all.

[emma1125]

Highest Paid Actor Most generously compensated Actors in Hollywood

There is a high compensation paid to popular performing artists in a motion picture. A portion of these on-screen characters are popular to the point, that simply partner the name of an on-screen character with that motion picture can make that motion picture mainstream too.

 What's more, the character of the performing artist spreads its quality and expertise all through the motion picture. Famous people are the consideration searchers esteemed for the Highest Paid Actor position they hold in the public arena. Individuals cross different points of confinement for simply getting a look at them once in a while.

Beginning with performing artists as indicated by Forbes Magazine, Matt Damon will gain $29 million now onwards. His job in the initial two Bourne films has gotten $850 million and the third is presently on the highest point of the U.S. Film industry.

The second on the rundown is Brad Pitt falling a place down and stashing $24 million today though Vince Vaughn is on the third position after a tie up with Johnny Depp of Pirates of the Caribbean. Sponsorship them up are the handsomes named Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise gaining of pay of $30 million for every film.

The one-time renowned saints Brad Pitt and Leonardo Di Caprio procure just $20 million including 20 level of the gross film industry turn over per motion picture.

Jim Carrey was the best winning performing artist gathering $39 million for his job in Cable Guy in 1996. By and by we have Tom Hanks who after the Da Vinci Code is being paid some place in the scope of $29 to $49 million for the up and coming motion picture Angels and Demons.

Essentially, even after a slump Rendition in 2007 Reese Witherspoon is a moneymaker. She wins at the very least $15 to $20 million while Angelina Jolie even after a motion picture like Beowulf earned just $8 million. The incomparable Charlie young lady Cameron Diaz is third having a sticker price of $15 million.

Nicole Kidman of New York won Oscar grant in 2002 for Virginia Woolfs The Hours was most generously compensated in 2006 however has dropped to fourth position to a pay of $10 to $15 million.

Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock get $10 million paycheck for their work. Indeed, even Julia Roberts a one Highest Paid Actor time top class courageous woman additionally now has a place with same class of $10 million. Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster together with Halle Berry pursue a similar track.

Nonetheless, as per Forbes Magazine there are two such individuals from industry however engaged with it generally gaining more than stars. One is J.K. Rowling and the other is Jennifer Aniston. The previous is none other than essayist of Harry Potter a furor all through the country though the last assumed control Britney Spears a year ago and packed away $35 million for her according to revealed by Reute.

These are the huge names of Hollywood on whom the film business depends for its prosperity

[lexacourtney]

Book Review: Speak the Ocean

Book Review: Speak the Ocean by #RebeccaEnzor 4⭐️'s // I inhaled this in a matter of hours and now I want more mermaid books. #bloggerswanted #bloggerstribe #bloggingcommunity #bookish #bookreview #bookpost #bookblog

Title: Speak the Ocean Author: Rebecca Enzor Pub. Date: July 9, 2019 Pages: 327 Pub: Reuts Genre: YA Fantasy Mythology Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ For Mer handler Finn Jarvis, the feral mermaid performers at Oceanica Marine Park are nothing more than ruthless aquatic predators, violent and unpredictable. That doesn’t stop the public from flocking to one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. To…

[scifrey]

COVER!

I HAVE A COVER FOR “THE SILENCED TALE”. IT IS IN MY INBOX. YAY.

Stay tuned for info about where and when the reveal will be.

[babyawacs]

.@fisa @fisa @judge @judges @law .@law @laws @harvard_law .@harvard_law @ap @reute rs @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom youmust understand itis a system usually thatit doesnotmatter how theybotch, aslong as you charge it publically youre the e nemy  and they shuffle systemic tricks of criminal governments against a civillian

.@fisa @fisa @judge @judges @law .@law @laws @harvard_law .@harvard_law @ap @reute rs @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom youmust understand itis a system usually thatit doesnotmatter how theybotch, aslong as you charge it publically youre the e nemy  and they shuffle systemic tricks of criminal governments against a civillian

.@fisa @fisa @judge @judges @law .@law @laws @harvard_law .@harvard_law @ap @reuters @bbc_whys @france24 @snowden @haaretzcom youmust understand itis a system usually thatit doesnotmatter how theybotch, aslong as you charge it publically youre the enemy

and they shuffle systemic tricks of criminal governments against a civillian

////

#hightreason .@fisa @fisa @judge @judges @law .@law @laws…

[starsbooksandtea2023]

But For The Mountains Blog Tour

But For The Mountains Blog Tour

But For The Mountains by Erin Riha Publisher: REUTS Publications Release Date: June 3rd 2020 Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Arden Thatcher wasn’t meant to be chosen.

But when her name is announced, she’s presented with something she never thought she’d have: a future away from her abuser. Shuttled off to attend the prestigious National Women’s Institute, Arden will receive…

[kevinscottgardens]

18-31 May 2020

Last weekend was a bank holiday and time just flew. I made a second batch of croissants that were a bit more refined than my first attempt; practice make perfect and they are deliciously buttery. Monday was the first day I met up with people other than Ann and Kitty since lockdown. It was odd this social distancing thing. It will take a bit for me to adjust. I met Mary Ellen and her husband, Denis and Susie, at different times, in Richmond Park. I ended up spending most of my day there and seeing almost the entire park.

Institut français sent around a questionnaire asking when we would feel comfortable resuming in-class tuition and I said immediately. I’ve been slowly progressing through Duolingo’s levels, now I need to practice speaking.

I’m enjoying my running, though once I return to work I’ll only be running weekly, unless I can squeeze one in after work while the evenings are so light.

I was so busy this week: I finally walked to storage with the pile of books I read over the past few weeks; Wednesday I accompanied Ann to have her car get its MOT and then we visited her parents in their garden and took the dogs for a walk; I’m desperately trying to finish painting the bathroom - one more coat to go; Friday I met a few friends for a picnic in Richmond Park (Sonja, James, Elizabeth, Rob, Alessia and Paul) and had a work Zoom call to find out what’s happening. I imbibed an entire bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Friday afternoon in the park and enjoyed delicious food and the company of friends I hadn’t seen in months.

I will return to work Monday, 8 June, the same day the garden is going to open to the public. It will be great to be back in the garden and to see how the plants have enjoyed this break from the herds. I will try starting work earlier to avoid the evening rush home.

Yesterday was Ann’s birthday and Kitty has gone all out, including making a Fuller’s walnut cake right out of the Mitford novels. We drove down to Ann’s parents’ where one of her sisters and her family also joined us. It was a really nice afternoon of perfect weather, delicious food and good company. We finished with a walk with all the dogs. 

We arrived home just in time to watch the launch of Space X from Cape Canaveral. I felt like I was eight years old again watching the Space Shuttle take off. I had a thin slice of cake, some tea and headed to bed. I was exhausted.

Plant of the week 24 May

Lamiaceae Phlomis italica L.

common name(s) - Balearic Island sage, wooly sage synonym(s) - Phlomis balearica Chodat; Phlomis rotundifolia Mill. conservation rating - Least Concern native to - Balearic islands location - garden at home leaves - evergreen, grey-green, woolly, oblong flowers - whorls, called verticillasters, of up to six 2-lipped lilac-pink flowers in the upper leaf axils in summer habit - upright, spreading evergreen shrub to 600mm tall habitat - present in grazed areas and rocky soils pests - leafhoppers disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -10ºC (H4) soil - moist and well-drained sandy or loamy soil sun - sheltered, full sun propagation - seed at 13 to 18°C in spring, softwood cuttings in summer, division pruning - dead, damaged, diseased, keep under control by cutting back to about half its size in autumn to renew growth and maintain a bushy shape nomenclature - Lamiaceae - gullet, the name in Pliny refers to the gaping mouth of the corolla; Phlomis - flame, the hairy leaves were used as lamp wicks; italica - from Italy

References, bibliography:

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/103535317/103535327 [31 May 20]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-152268 [31 May 20]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:453921-1 [31 May 20]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/25155/Phlomis-italica/Details [31 May 20]

Shoot [online] https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/phlomis-italica [31 May 20]

Plant of the week 31 May

Ericaceae Rhododendron ponticum L.

common name(s) - common rhododendron synonym(s) - Anthodendron ponticum (L.) Rchb.; Azalea arborea L.; Azalea gandavensis K.Koch; Azalea lancifolia (Moench) Kuntze; Hymenanthes pontica (L.) H.F.Copel.; Rhododendron gandavense Rehder; Rhododendron myrtifolium Lodd. [Invalid] infraspecific taxa - Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum (Boiss. & Reut.) Hand.-Mazz. conservation rating - none native to - Bulgaria, Caucasus, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey location - Richmond Park leaves - tough, leathery, dark green, oval leaves flowers - terminal trusses of 10 to 15 purple, funnel-shaped flowers in spring habit - densely branched, evergreen, suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5m tall habitat - from sea level to over 2000m altitude, occurring in deciduous and evergreen forests pests - vine weevil, rhododendron leafhopper, pieris lacebug, scale insects, caterpillars, aphids disease - powdery mildews, rhododendron petal blight, rhododendron bud blast, silver leaf, honey fungus hardiness - to -20ºC (H6) soil - acidic, moist and well-drained sun - full sun to full shade propagation - seed, layering; often used as a rootstock, surviving when the grafted variety has died pruning - unhealthy, dead, diseased or damaged shoots nomenclature - Ericaceae - erica - Pliny’s version of an ancient Greek name used by Theophrastus; Rhododendron - rose-tree, an ancient Greek name used for Nerium oleander; ponticum - of the Black Sea’s southern area, Pontus or Pontica. NB - Fossil evidence shows it had a much wider range across most of southern and western Europe before the Late Glacial Maximum, or until about 20,000 years ago. It was noted by the botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort during his travels in the Near East in 1700–02, and so received its name from Linnaeus to identify the ancient kingdom on the south shores of the Black Sea, Pontus, in which it grew. At the other end of its range, in southern Spain, Linnaeus' friend and correspondent Clas Alströmer found it growing with oleander. It was introduced to Britain as an ornamental shrub in 1763, and later planted as cover for game birds. It is now considered to be an invasive species. Honey produced with pollen from the flowers of this plant can be quite poisonous, causing severe hypotension and bradycardia in humans if consumed in sufficient quantities, due to toxic diterpenes (grayanotoxins). In some parts of the world, including Nepal, a controlled dosage of the honey can be taken to induce hallucinations for spiritual or psychological purposes.

References, bibliography:

CABI [online] https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/47272#tosummaryOfInvasiveness [28 May 20]

Gledhill, David, (2008) “The Names of Plants”, fourth edition; Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 978-0-52168-553-5

IUCN [online] http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [28 May 20]

Plant List, The [online] http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2418394 [28 May 20]

Plants of the World [online] http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:333114-1 [28 May 20]

Royal Horticultural Society [online] https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/100610/i-Rhododendron-ponticum-i/Details [28 May 20]

Wikipedia [online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron_ponticum [28 May 20]

SARS-CoVid-2 update

[bloginstahiphop-blog]

Russia protests: Thousand arrests at Moscow rally

Police in Moscow have detained more than 1,000 people at a rally, in one of the biggest crackdowns in years. Demonstrators were dragged away from the city hall as security forces used batons against the crowd. People were protesting against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local polls. The opposition say they were barred for political reasons. Some of the candidates banned from standing in the 8 September election had been detained earlier. Officials disqualified about 30 people, saying they had failed to collect enough valid signatures to stand. Moscow crackdown in pictures Russia country profile At least 1,074 arrests were made at the banned rally, officials say, while monitors reported 1,007 detentions. Moscow's Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has called the demonstration a "security threat", and promised to maintain public order. Anger is widespread among opposition supporters at the way the city is run and the ruling United Russia party. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was jailed for 30 days on Wednesday after calling for Saturday's unapproved demonstration. Mr Putin was on a trip to the Baltic Sea on Saturday for a dive in a submersible. "There are a lot of problems on Earth, so to diminish their amount one has to go up and deep down," he remarked.

What happened this Saturday?

Last Saturday, more than 20,000 Russians took to the streets, demanding fair elections, and dozens were arrested. It is unclear how many people turned up for the new unauthorised rally on 27 July but the numbers seem to have been sharply down. According to police, about 3,500 people gathered, including about 700 journalists.

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionRiot police detained hundreds of protesters on Saturday Police in riot gear pushed back the crowd from barriers surrounding the mayor's office in central Moscow, hauling off detainees to police stations. A number of protesters could be seen bleeding while at least two members of the security forces reportedly received eye injuries from pepper spray.

A powerful message to the regions?

Oleg Boldyrev, BBC News, Moscow No -one was under any illusion that the large gathering would impress authorities into letting people express themselves peacefully. This rally went very much the same way others have done - arbitrary detentions, standoffs, crowds breaking off into the side streets. The question is whether the anger over not being able to nominate a candidate - even for lower-level, city elections - would galvanise Muscovites into bigger, sustained expressions of dissent. After all, there are lots of residents not happy with the way Moscow government and Mayor Sobyanin run the city, or respond to popular concerns.

Image copyrightREUTERS Certainly, the would-be candidates, most of them seasoned anti-Putin activists, are hoping that the resentment will linger. That is exactly why policy handlers in the Kremlin are desperate to put a lid on it. With both Mr Putin's ratings falling and the United Russia party deeply unpopular, chanting crowds in the capital may send a very powerful message to other regions preparing to hold their elections.

How did we get here?

Local elections usually attract little attention in Russia. The Moscow authority does not control the city's budget or choose key official appointments, and previous votes have passed without major protests or press interest. But this year some Muscovites are infuriated at what they see as brazen attempts to disqualify independent politicians from running.

Image copyrightAFP/GETTYImage captionLyubov Sobol is one of the opposition candidates barred from standing Candidates were asked to collect 5,000 signatures to stand. This limit was made even harder to match because a signature "means volunteering one's personal information for the government's database of opposition supporters", democracy activist Vladimir Kara-Murza wrote in the Washington Post. Many candidates managed to meet the threshold but the electoral commission ruled some signatures ineligible, saying they were unclear or the addresses provided were incomplete, and barred the candidates from taking part. Opposition groups say the authorities had no reason to rule them ineligible - claims that electoral officials denied. "We have no reason to doubt our experts," commission member Dmitry Reut said, according to media reports. Alexei Navalny: Russia's vociferous Putin critic Is Putin's popularity in decline? Mr Navalny, who addressed the crowds last Saturday, is not one of the candidates, although he stood in Moscow's mayoral elections in 2013 and won 27% of the vote in a result he disputed. Ella Pamfilova, the head of the electoral commission, said the protests would not change their decisions. "It doesn't matter, not even a bit of it," she said, dismissing the demonstrations as "political". The authorities banned this Saturday's rally on the grounds that there were threats of violence against the commission. Police then raided the homes of several opposition politicians, and called them in more for questioning.

What's been the reaction?

Election candidate and opposition leader Dmitry Gudkov tweeted that the council had "died under Putin". "The last illusion that we are able to participate legally in politics has disappeared." Some newspapers also denounced the raids. Novaya Gazeta ran the headline Moscow City Terror on Friday, while Vedomosti said authorities were using force to suppress the protest "having failed to counter it with political means". Skip Twitter post by @BBCSteveR

Steve Rosenberg ✔@BBCSteveR After a wave of police searches & detention of opposition activists in Moscow, one Russian paper today claims that “political terror in Russia is flourishing” & warns that “one day the terror will rebound on those who started it.” #ReadingRussia

220 8:25 AM - Jul 26, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 145 people are talking about this Report End of Twitter post by @BBCSteveR

Russian government paper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, however, accused the opposition of "blackmail" and "an unacceptable attitude to the statutes of law". Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told BBC Russian that the official response was designed to dissuade people from taking part. Any mass action would suggest the opposition had taken the initiative from the government. Some believe the demonstrations could actually benefit the local authorities by reducing turnout. "Young opposition supporters will not come to the polls, while the older generation whom the authorities are counting on vote out of habit," Denis Volkov, an expert at independent think tank Levada Center, told the BBC. "The authorities will orient themselves towards them." SOURCE:https://www.bbc.com/ Read the full article

[daniellekoste]

So I'm sure you are all wondering what the heck is going on. After all, it's been a long time since I've even given you guys a glimpse at PULSE and until last week all I could offer was vague answers in regards to it's publication... Well that time is over. I think we've all waited well than enough, don't you agree? So sit down and buckle up because boy, do I have an update for you. This is going to be a long one.This good news has to be prefaced with some bad, so let's rip the band-aid off first. After an amicable dissolving of my contract, I am now no longer being published with REUTS Publications. I'm very thankful for the help and guidance provided during my time working for them! What this means is that I will instead be pushing PULSE forward for self publication, which, at first, seemed like a very scary and daunting decision, but I've had the blessing of collecting some amazing, beautiful friends over the years who are helping me along the way through this transition in my and my book's life. In the last two weeks I've worked with their help behind the scenes, to plan out a rough timeline for goals for the next few months. With this timeline worked out a little more thoroughly, I've managed to decide on a goal publication date for PULSE, sooner rather than later this time ;)But before I announced that I'd like to to give a shout out to the people who are helping me make this all possible! My amazing editors Autumn Lala (https://www.facebook.com/autumnlalawriter) and Anah Tillar over at Paperweight Editorials (http://paperweighteditorial.tumblr.com) will be helping me get my manuscript shined up and ready. Self-pub kin Ashley Maker (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAshley/) is offering her experience to help me format my ebook and paperback so it's easy on the eyes for everyone once released. And lastly the amazing angels at Yonderworldly Premade Covers (https://www.facebook.com/yonderworldlycovers/) will be helping me make the outside of PULSE look just as good as the inside with a custom ebook and paperback cover and awesome PR goodies. I know, I know. "Shut up already, Danielle, we can for a publication date, that's what the banner says." You don't have to get pushy. After careful consideration and estimated schedules, I've decided on the preorder and release date. So, as long as our very tight schedule goes all as planned, PULSE will arrive for preorder on November 30th, with offical release day following on the 1st of January, 2018. (I know I said 2017, but it's only one day! It still counts, ok?)

 From now forward you can check out the first 5 chapters of PULSE over at my patreon page (www.patreon.com/DanielleKoste) for only $1! All further important news will show up here, but more frequent updates will be shown at my facebook page (www.facebook.com/DanielleKoste) and for more fun stuff feel free to follow my twitter and tumblr as well (DanielleKoste at both!)