Glass jewellery believed to have been made by Roman craftsmen has been found in an ancient tomb in Japan, researchers said Friday, in a sign the empire's influence may have reached the edge of Asia.Read the rest of this post...
Tests have revealed three glass beads discovered in the Fifth Century "Utsukushi" burial mound in Nagaoka, near Kyoto, were probably made some time between the first and the fourth century, the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties said.
The government-backed institute has recently finished analysing components of the glass beads, measuring five millimetres (0.2 inches) in diametre, with tiny fragments of gilt attached.
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Sunday, June 24, 2012
Roman jewelry found in 5th century tomb in Japan
What an amazing discovery.
Compare and contrast two church leaders
On Friday, US Catholic Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan went on another loony rant that is all too typical of Teabagging crazies. Obamacare, the healthcare system that will help millions of Americans including many who could not previously afford healthcare including millions of kids, is dangerous to religion. Sure thing Timmy. Can you feel the compassion for the poor?
Once again, it's great to see the priorities of the Catholic church who are always more concerned with the power of the church than helping the poor. It's encouraging to see one priest finally held accountable for the rampant child rape problem that continues to plague the church. But no, rather than admit that problem or care at all about helping the poor, the Catholic church remains much more concerned about issues like women's health even though 98% of Catholic women support birth control.
Meanwhile in England, you have the most senior Church of England official taking a stand against the brutal lies of the Conservative "Big Society" program. The most senior leader in the church Rowan Williams has called out the program for hitting the poor the hardest. Wow, what a concept! Concern for the poor and not for the authority of the church. That would be a firing offense if he worked for the Vatican.
I've disagreed with Williams on other issues in the past but it's refreshing to see a senior church official bother to show real compassion. The Guardian:
Once again, it's great to see the priorities of the Catholic church who are always more concerned with the power of the church than helping the poor. It's encouraging to see one priest finally held accountable for the rampant child rape problem that continues to plague the church. But no, rather than admit that problem or care at all about helping the poor, the Catholic church remains much more concerned about issues like women's health even though 98% of Catholic women support birth control.
Meanwhile in England, you have the most senior Church of England official taking a stand against the brutal lies of the Conservative "Big Society" program. The most senior leader in the church Rowan Williams has called out the program for hitting the poor the hardest. Wow, what a concept! Concern for the poor and not for the authority of the church. That would be a firing offense if he worked for the Vatican.
I've disagreed with Williams on other issues in the past but it's refreshing to see a senior church official bother to show real compassion. The Guardian:
Commenting on the "big society", Williams, who steps down in December after 10 years in his post, writes: "Introduced in the runup to the last election as a major political idea for the coming generation, [it] has suffered from a lack of definition about the means by which such ideals can be realised. Big society rhetoric is all too often heard by many therefore as aspirational waffle designed to conceal a deeply damaging withdrawal of the state from its responsibilities to the most vulnerable."Read the rest of this post...
He suggests that ministers have fuelled cynicism over the Cameron vision by failing to define what the role of citizens should be. "And if the big society is anything better than a slogan looking increasingly threadbare as we look at our society reeling under the impact of public spending cuts, then discussion on this subject has got to take on board some of those issues about what it is to be a citizen and where it is that we most deeply and helpfully acquire the resources of civic identity and dignity."
GM grass producing cyanide gas, kills herd of cattle
So far the cyanide gas-producing grass has only killed one herd, though the cyanide gas is also present in other nearby fields. Strange.
A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.The other open question is what impact this may have on the cattle that don't die, that make it to the food plate. Read the rest of this post...
Preliminary test results are blaming the deaths on the grass the cows were eating when they got sick, reports CBS Station KEYE.
The cows dropped dead several weeks ago on an 80-acre ranch owned by Jerry Abel in Elgin, just east of Austin.
EU court ruling: If you get sick during vacation, those days don't count against vacation
Compared to the US where there aren't even minimum vacation days on the books, this is amazing. NY Times:
For most Europeans, almost nothing is more prized than their four to six weeks of guaranteed annual vacation leave. But it was not clear just how sacrosanct that time off was until Thursday, when Europe’s highest court ruled that workers who happened to get sick on vacation were legally entitled to take another vacation.Read the rest of this post...
“The purpose of entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable the worker to rest and enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure,” the Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, ruled in a case involving department store workers in Spain. “The purpose of entitlement to sick leave is different, since it enables a worker to recover from an illness that has caused him to be unfit for work.”
Poll: Americans don't like Obamacare, but love what's in it
Ugh. Cough this up to either bad or non-existent messaging on this important issue. If (when?) the Supreme Court knocks down Obamacare, there are going to be a lot of people upset that pre-existing conditions are gone. Looking at how dysfunctional Washington has become, chances are slim that any real health care reform will happen for decades and people will once again be at the mercy of insurance companies that care only about profit.
Should Obamacare be struck down, one thing that needs to happen immediately is to force Congress to terminate their luxurious health care plan and go it alone like their constituents. For that matter, the rest of the luxurious perks that Congress receives have to be scrapped. If they're unable to work and get anything done for the public, there's no reason to give them perks that no longer exist for everyone else.
As they like to say when they chop programs for the middle class and poor, everyone needs to "modernize" and change with the times. Let's face it, Congress is out of touch and needs to learn how to work like everyone else and deliver. In the real world, under performing as they do would always result in being fired.
Onto the latest poll that will make you bang your head on the wall.
Should Obamacare be struck down, one thing that needs to happen immediately is to force Congress to terminate their luxurious health care plan and go it alone like their constituents. For that matter, the rest of the luxurious perks that Congress receives have to be scrapped. If they're unable to work and get anything done for the public, there's no reason to give them perks that no longer exist for everyone else.
As they like to say when they chop programs for the middle class and poor, everyone needs to "modernize" and change with the times. Let's face it, Congress is out of touch and needs to learn how to work like everyone else and deliver. In the real world, under performing as they do would always result in being fired.
Onto the latest poll that will make you bang your head on the wall.
Fifty-six percent of people are against the healthcare overhaul and 44 percent favor it, according to the online poll conducted from Tuesday through Saturday.Read the rest of this post...
The survey results suggest that Republicans are convincing voters to reject Obama's reform even when they like much of what is in it, such as allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.
Strong majorities favor most of what is in the law.
Video: Damien Saez' rousing political anthem to Resistance: "Sons of France"
"Fils de France" (Sons of France) is one of the most powerful political anthems I've heard, and it's modern. Its composer, Damien Saez, is a man to watch. He's one of the best of this generation's singer-songwriters, and a powerful political voice.
I'll have more of his work in future posts.
"Fils de France" was written during the French 2002 presidential election, when Jean-Marie Le Pen (the far-far-right candidate) defeated the center-left candidate, Lionel Jospin, in the first round to enter the final round against Jacques Chirac, who won.
The victory by the racist Le Pen in reaching the second round shocked France and the world.
Couple that with the fact that 40% of French youth didn't vote — 40% — and you can see why Saez is upset. Saez is one of them, of that generation. The song opens with a reference to that lack of engagement by youth (a constant Saez theme).
Saez is always trying to engage the youth politically — something we should be doing here as well. In my own personal and most humble opinion, of course.
Notice please the emphasis on la Resistance (resistance!), with the raised fist. If you come here often, you know I'm a big fan of raising a ruckus, exerting your will, getting in the way of the machine — being effective, in other words.
But maybe that's just me and my "playing to win" fetish.
Listen and watch as Damien Saez performs "Fils de France" live at the Zenith in Paris in 2002. After that, a taste of the lyrics, to get you started.
Enjoy the music. Every time I listen, I can't get the song out of my head.
A taste of the lyrics:
We know how that ended (they lost to the Republican army), but it always comes back, that battle. The "old enemy" is rule by elites, as Saez obviously knows. He's quite the rebel, one I really like.
Nous sommes à l'heure de la Resistance. We're at the hour of Resistance.
If you think, as I do, that we're at a global tipping point — true that in spades.
à la Resistance, fils du Monde — Resist, children of the world. It really will be your world soon enough.
Remembering Saez' words: "You who have lost your faith" — do not lose your faith yet.
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
I'll have more of his work in future posts.
"Fils de France" was written during the French 2002 presidential election, when Jean-Marie Le Pen (the far-far-right candidate) defeated the center-left candidate, Lionel Jospin, in the first round to enter the final round against Jacques Chirac, who won.
The victory by the racist Le Pen in reaching the second round shocked France and the world.
Couple that with the fact that 40% of French youth didn't vote — 40% — and you can see why Saez is upset. Saez is one of them, of that generation. The song opens with a reference to that lack of engagement by youth (a constant Saez theme).
Saez is always trying to engage the youth politically — something we should be doing here as well. In my own personal and most humble opinion, of course.
Notice please the emphasis on la Resistance (resistance!), with the raised fist. If you come here often, you know I'm a big fan of raising a ruckus, exerting your will, getting in the way of the machine — being effective, in other words.
But maybe that's just me and my "playing to win" fetish.
Listen and watch as Damien Saez performs "Fils de France" live at the Zenith in Paris in 2002. After that, a taste of the lyrics, to get you started.
Enjoy the music. Every time I listen, I can't get the song out of my head.
A taste of the lyrics:
Fils De France"The old enemy" is a revolutionary France–era reference to being surrounded by kings who wanted the French Republic to go away — threat as it was to their "divine right" doctrine. They put armies in the field to say so.
Sons of France
Announcer: "40% of 18–25-year-olds didn't vote. Unimaginable!"
J'ai lu, les larmes aux yeux,
les nouvelles ce matin
I read, with tears in my eyes,
the news this morning.
20% pour l'horreur,
20% pour la peur.
20% voted for horror
20% voted for fear
Ivre d'inconscience,
tous, Fils de France.
Drunk with unawareness,
all of them, Sons of France.
Au pays des lumières,
amnésie suicidaire.
In the land of the Enlightenment
suicidal forgetfulness.
Non Non Non Non.
Nous sommes, nous sommes la Nation des Droits de l'Homme.
We are the Nation of the Rights of Man [a document]
Nous sommes, nous sommes la Nation de la Tolérance.
We are the nation of Tolerance.
Nous sommes, nous sommes la Nation des Lumières.
We are the nation of the Enlightenment.
Nous sommes, nous sommes à l'heure de la Résistance.
We are at the hour of Resistance.
Pour les rêves qu'on a fait, et pour ceux qu'on fera.
For the dreams that we have done,
and the dreaming we will do.
Pour le poing qu'on a levé, pour celui qu'on lèvera.
For the fist that we have lifted,
and the fist we're going to raise.
Pour un idéal, pour une utopie.
For an ideal, for utopia.
Allons marchons ensemble enfants de la Patrie,
Fils de France.
Let us march together, children of the country,
Sons of France.
[The last is a quote from La Marseillaise, the French national anthem: "Allons enfants de la Patrie..."]
...
Y a ces ombres derrière nous, y a ces idées vendues,
Behind us there are shadows,
the traitors and their plots,
y a ces drapeaux qui flottent et des hymnes dessus,
the banners that they fly,
their anthems and their shouts,
et puis y a toi mon frère, oui toi qui n'y croit plus
and then there is you, my brother,
yes, you who have lost your faith
et puis y a nos prières et nos causes perdues.
and then there are all our prayers
and all lost causes too.
Honte a notre pays, honte à notre Patrie,
Shame on our country, shame on us,
Honte à nous la jeunesse, honte à la tyrannie,
Shame on us the young, shame on the tyranny,
Honte à notre pays, revoilà l'ennemi,
Shame on our country; look, the old enemy,
Allons marchons ensemble enfants de la Patrie,
Fils de France.
Let us march together, children of the country,
Sons of France.
We know how that ended (they lost to the Republican army), but it always comes back, that battle. The "old enemy" is rule by elites, as Saez obviously knows. He's quite the rebel, one I really like.
Nous sommes à l'heure de la Resistance. We're at the hour of Resistance.
If you think, as I do, that we're at a global tipping point — true that in spades.
à la Resistance, fils du Monde — Resist, children of the world. It really will be your world soon enough.
Remembering Saez' words: "You who have lost your faith" — do not lose your faith yet.
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
The Stooges - No Fun
Sometimes good things do come out of Michigan. The Sex Pistols also did this song a few years later. The original version was years ahead of its time, but the same could be said of The Stooges. Read the rest of this post...
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