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Monday 29 February 2016

Brightness falls from the Ayre

.

Stunning sky tonight @berkeleyside
: image via Avram Goldstein @newsdoc, 29 February 2016

That glancing silver band upon the Bay
shimmered, and the light that lay out on the shining sands
gleamed, as the tide went down, and the German
Shepherds were leaning out the windows of the SUVs
at the stoplight, straining
to attack, and that
was that. The tail lights in a long red line

Two blanco gangstuz w/multi tats roared up the sidewalk
on stretched out low riding motorized POS
I objected, they laughed and gunned their motors.

There went the waste of a perfectly good
three quarters of a century but regret not yet
take her up tenderly, lift her with care
over the threshold.

In the shadow light
I walked through the long school room questioning
a kind of old nun in a white hood replied...    




TRAFFIC ALERT: 10-vehicle collision including bus in Berkeley along I-80, injuries.: image via NBC Bay Area @nbcbayarea, 29 February 2016
 

Stephen Curry, No. 30, celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning 3-pointer against the Thunder Saturday night
: photo by
J Pat Carter via The New York Times, 28 February 2016
 
   

Stephen Curry, No. 30, celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning 3-pointer against the Thunder Saturday night: photo by J Pat Carter via The New York Times, 28 February 2016



A woman lies on the ground in Mytilene, on the northern island of Lesbos, Greece, after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey: photo by Aris Messinis/Agence France-Presse, 29 February 2016

 
Stranded refugees try to take down a fence along the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, Greece. The refugees were angry over restrictions on travel.: photo by Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters, 29 February 2016
 
 

Stranded refugees try to take down a fence along the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, Greece. The refugees were angry over restrictions on travel.: photo by Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters, 29 February 2016
 

A refugee watches a shelter burn at a camp in Calais, France, where refugees were told to leave after a French court upheld their expulsion: photo by Laurent Dubrule/European Pressphoto Agency, 29 February 2016



Supporters at a campaign event at Radford University in Virginia wear T-shirts of Donald J. Trump, a Republican presidential candidate.: photo by Damon Winter/The New York Times, 29 February 2016



A woman in Dallas holds up a picture of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, not long before a rally for the Republican presidential hopeful: photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, 29 February 2016



A Hillary Clinton supporter cheers at a rally at the Old South Meeting House in Boston: photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times, 29 February 2016



A Hillary Clinton supporter cheers at a rally at the Old South Meeting House in Boston: photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times, 29 February 2016


Models wear clothing by Giorgio Armani at Milan Fashion Week: photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto via The New York Times, 29 February 2016


Models wear clothing by Giorgio Armani at Milan Fashion Week: photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto via The New York Times, 29 February 2016

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts to supporters as he arrives to a campaign event in Radford...U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts to supporters as he arrives to a campaign event in Radford, Virginia February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Keane

 U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts to supporters as he arrives to a campaign event in Radford, Virginia: photo by Chris Keane/Reuters, 29 February 2016

Destruction Of Calais Jungle Camp Begins...CALAIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 29:  Workers and police officers clear part of the 'jungle' migrant camp on February 29, 2016 in Calais, France  The French authorities have begun dismantling part of the migrant encampment in the northern French town of Calais and relocating people to purpose-built accommodation nearby.
Workers and police officers clear part of the ‘jungle’ migrant camp on in Calais, France. The French authorities have begun dismantling part of the migrant encampment in the northern French town of Calais and relocating people to purpose-built accommodation nearby.: photo by Carl Court via FT Photo Diary, 29 February 2016

A refugee pours water over a woman who collapsed after losing her child during a mass panic after Macedonian police used tear gas against refugees at the Greek-Macedonian near the village of Idomeni.

 A refugee pours water over a woman who collapsed after losing her child during a mass panic, after Macedonian police used tear gas against refugees at the Greek-Macedonian near the village of Idomeni.: photo by Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP, 29 February 2016

Indian workers carry a bag containing copies of the federal budget for the year 2016-17, that will be distributed to lawmakers at the parliament house in New Delhi, India.

Indian workers carry a bag containing copies of the federal budget for the year 2016-17, that will be distributed to lawmakers at the parliament house in New Delhi, India.: photo by Manish Swarup/AP, 29 February 2016

TOPSHOT - A girl holds a bag with clothes outside the old international airport, which is being used as a shelter for refugees and migrants, in Athens February 28, 2016. Greece said the number of refugees and migrants on its soil could more than triple next month, reaching as many as 70,000, as a cap on border crossings by Balkan countries left them "trapped" in the country.  / AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINISANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images

A girl holds a bag with clothes outside the old international airport, which is being used as a shelter for refugees and migrants, in Athens. Greece said the number of refugees and migrants on its soil could more than triple next month, reaching as many as 70,000, as a cap on border crossings by Balkan countries left them “trapped” in the country.: photo by Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP, 29 February 2016

R2-D2, C-3PO...R2-D2, left, and C-3PO pose backstage at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

R2-D2 and C-3PO pose backstage at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles: photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, 29 February 2016

Trumplandia: A Vision

.

Ku Klux Klan rally

Paramedics tend to a protester who was stabbed during the KKK rally in Anaheim. Many people at the park were demanding to know why police did not have a larger presence at the scene before the violence broke out.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016


KKK rally in Anaheim
 
Ku Klux Klan rally in Anaheim erupts in violence: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

Ku Klux Klan rally
A protester lies on the ground after being stabbed in an altercation with KKK members. Klansmen were once the dominant political force in Anaheim, holding four of five City Council seats before a recall effort led to their ouster in 1924.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

Ku Klux Klan rally

A Ku Klux Klansman, left, struggles with a protester for an American flag after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday. Three people were treated at the scene for stab wounds, and 13 people were arrested.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016
 
Night of the Walking Slime

Oscars 2016: Red carpet arrivals
Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet: photo by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2016

Oscars 2016: Red carpet arrivals
"The Martian" actor Matt Damon on the red carpet: photo by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2016

Oscars 2016: Red carpet arrivals

Taylor Kinney, left, and Lady Gaga arrive at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles: photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/Associated Press, 29 February 2016

Oscars 2016: Red carpet arrivals
"Titanic" costars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite on the red carpet: photo by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2016

Oscars 2016: Red carpet arrivals  
Charlize Theron on the red carpet: photo by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2016

Night of The Pretty Interesting Quotes Gathered by the Grandson of Friedrich Drumpf, Murikan Progenitor

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs for supporters at the conclusion of a rally at Millington Regional Jetport on Saturday in Millington, Tenn.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs for supporters at the conclusion of a rally at Millington Regional Jetport on Saturday in Millington, Tenn.: photo by Michael B. Thomas/AFP via NPR, 28 February 2016

Trump Won't Condemn KKK, Says He 'Knows Nothing About White Supremacists': Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 February 2016

On the Sunday morning talk shows, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to condemn endorsements from a prominent white supremacist and former KKK leader, and said he retweeted a Mussolini quote because "it's a very good quote."

The extended conversation about white supremacists came on CNN's State of the Union, where Jake Tapper asked if Trump would distance himself from an endorsement by David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Duke has told his radio that voting against Trump would be "treason to your heritage."

Trump refused to condemn that endorsement or say he didn't want the support of white supremacists -- four times.

"I don't know anything about David Duke. I don't know what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacist. I don't know. I don't know, did he endorse me, or what's going on?" he said. That prompted a back-and-forth that went, in part:
Trump: I don't know what group you're talking about. You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. ... If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them and certainly I would disavow them if I thought there was something wrong.
Tapper: The Ku Klux Klan?
Trump: You may have groups in there that are totally fine and it would be very unfair. So give me a list of the groups and I'll let you know.
Tapper: I'm just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here.
Trump: Honestly, I don't know David Duke.
As several people swiftly pointed out on Twitter, Trump hasn't always claimed ignorance of David Duke.

In 2000, when he ended his presidential campaign, Trump cited Duke's participation in the Reform Party as one reason he no longer wanted the party's nomination.

"The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. [Pat][ Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. [Lenora] Fulani. This is not company I wish to keep," he wrote in his statement.

And as recently as Friday, Trump had disavowed Duke endorsement, without expressing any uncertainty about Duke's identity. On Sunday, he didn't reference that statement  or indicate he'd ever heard of Duke's support for him.

On MSNBC, Chris Jansing spoke to Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., about his father's comments on State of the Union. 

He said he wasn't a campaign spokesman -- but as a spokesman for his father, he was willing to say Trump's camp didn't want the support of a former KKK leader.

"I'm pretty sure we're not interested in those kinds of votes," Trump Jr. said.

Also on the Sunday show circuit, on NBC's Meet the Press, Trump declined to distance himself from a Benito Mussolini quote he had retweeted.

Gawker has since posted to announce that the account that first tweeted the quote -- unsubtly named "@ilduce2016" -- was a bot they designed with the express purpose of tricking Trump into retweeting a line from the fascist Italian dictator.

And the ploy succeeded.

When Chuck Todd pointed out that "it is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep" is, indeed, a famous Mussolini quote, and asked if Trump knew that, Trump said:
"It's OK to know it was Mussolini. Look, Mussolini was Mussolini. ... It's a very good quote. It's a very interesting quote."

When Todd asked if Trump wanted to be associated with a fascist, Trump said, "No, I want to be associated with interesting quotes."

He then pointed out he has millions of followers on social media, and that they appreciate his interesting posts.

"Hey, it got your attention, didn't it?" Trump said.


Ku Klux Klan rally

A protester tries to tear off the shirt of a Ku Klux Klansman. Six Klan members -- five men and one woman -- and seven protesters -– six men and one woman -- were arrested after the fracas, an Anaheim Police Department spokesman said.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

The Proud Heritage of Friedrich Drumpf, Murikan Progenitor

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 11h11hours ago
"@ilduce2016: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” – @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain"

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan members ride in an automobile advertising a lecture at the Anaheim Christian Tabernacle in 1915: photo courtesy of Anaheim Public Library via Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

WARREN CRITICIZES 'CLASS' PARADES; Police Head Declares Neither Fascisti Nor Klan Had Any Place in Memorial March. KLAN ASSAILS POLICEMEN No Progress Made In Tracing the Slayers of Two Italians -- Seven Arraigned In Queens Battle: The New York Times, 1 June 1927

[ DISPLAYING ABSTRACT ] 

NYT June 01, 1927

Police Commissioner Warren announced yesterday that he was in favor of fewer "extraneous" parades in this city. He made this known in discussing the disorders incident to the Memorial parade when two Fascisti were killed on their way to join a detachment of black shirts in the Manhattan parade, and 1,000 Klansmen and 100 policemen staged a free-for-all battle in Jamaica.


Maybe @realDonaldTrump inherited a lifetime #KKK membership from his Dad? @tedcruz @CNN
: image via Scott Wooledge @Clarknt67, 28 February 2015  Brooklyn, NYx

1927 news report: Donald Trump's dad arrested in KKK brawl with cops: Matt Blum, Boing Boing, 9 September 2015

In an article subtitled "Klan assails policeman", Fred Trump is named in among those taken in during a late May "battle" in which "1,000 Klansmen and 100 policemen staged a free-for-all." At least two officers were hurt during the event, after which the Klan's activities were denounced by the city's Police Commissioner, Joseph A. Warren.

“The Klan not only wore gowns, but had hoods over their faces almost completely hiding their identity,” Warren was quoted as saying in the article, which goes on to identify seven men “arrested in the near-riot of the parade.”

Named alongside Trump are John E Kapp and John Marcy (charged with felonious assault in the attack on Patrolman William O'Neill and Sgt. William Lockyear), Fred Lyons, Thomas Caroll, Thomas Erwin, and Harry J Free. They were arraigned in Jamaica, N.Y. All seven were represented by the same lawyers, according to the article.

The final entry on the list reads: “Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, was discharged.”

In 1927, Donald Trump's father would have been 21 years old, and not yet a well-known figure. Multiple sources report his residence at the time -- and throughout his life -- at the same address.

To be clear, this is not proof that Trump senior -- who would later go on to become a millionaire real estate developer -- was a member of the Ku Klux Klan or even in attendance at the event. Despite sharing lawyers with the other men, it's conceivable that he may have been an innocent bystander, falsely named, or otherwise the victim of mistaken identity during or following a chaotic event.

The name of Trump's grandfather, Friedrich Drumpf, was anglicized to Frederick Trump, but he died several years before the report. 

A person answering calls at the N.Y.C. Police Department's Records Section said that arrest reports dating that far back were not available in any form. We've sent a formal request in writing and will update if and when we receive a response. We've also left a message with the Trump Campaign requesting a callback. 

nyttrump

The article, published on June 1, 1927, describes police frustration at rowdy parades, the Klan's use of masks, and its growing presence in New York City. The Klan, originally founded in the 19th century, was reborn in 1915 as a violent supremacist organization associated with lynchings, white nationalism, and the distinctive white robes and hoods used by Klansmen to conceal their identity at parades and other events. At its mid-1920s peak, it had up to 6m members, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Fred Trump, who died in 1999, was a New York real estate developer and the father of mogul and presidential candidate Donald Trump. Born in the Bronx to German immigrants, Fred became a real estate developer in his teens; at about the time of his apparent arrest, he was constructing single-family houses in Queens, according to his obituary in the Times. At his death, his net worth was estimated at between $250m and $300m. A savvy businessman and real estate developer, his wealth enabled the junior Trump to start big.

If the man arrested at the riotous Klan parade was indeed Donald's father, it would not be his last tangle with the law over issues concerning minorities. A 1979 article, published by Village Voice, reported on a civil rights suit that alleged that the Trumps refused to rent to black home-seekers, and quotes a rental agent who said Fred Trump instructed him not to rent to blacks and to encourage existing black tenants to leave. The case was settled in a 1975 consent degree described as "one of the most far-reaching ever negotiated," but the Justice Department subsequently complained that continuing "racially discriminatory conduct by Trump agents has occurred with such frequency that it has created a substantial impediment to the full enjoyment of equal opportunity."

Donald Trump has made nativism a pillar of his campaign, describing Mexican immigrants as rapists and two Boston men who beat a homeless immigrant as "passionate" fans.

The events described in the Times' article took place 22 years before Donald Trump was even born, and he’s not responsible for any youthful sins his father may have committed. But given the racially-charged tone of the younger Trump's campaign, it raises questions about the values he was taught by the man whose fortune he inherited. 


trumpsr1

According to a New York Times article published in June 1927, a man with the name and address of Donald Trump's father was arraigned after Klan members attacked cops in Queens, N.Y.: image via Boing Boing / The New York Times


A Ku Klux Klan member fought a protester for an American flag in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday
: photo by
Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times, via Associated Press, 27 February 2016 

Ku Klux Klan rally

Protesters taunt an injured Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim. Witnesses said the Klansmen used the point of a flagpole as a weapon while fighting with protesters.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

 
People asking where #Anaheim police department was during #KKK stabbing, forgetting many were there wearing hoods...: image via immigrant @shushugah, 28 February 2016
  
Jorge Ramos: Trumplandia

No human being is "illegal" / Ningún ser humano es "ilegal": JORGE RAMOS @jorgeramosnews, 26 August 2015


. Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, left, asks Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a question about his immigration proposal during a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos was later taken from the room. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, left, asks Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a question about his immigration proposal during a news conference Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos was later taken from the room: photo by Charlie Niebergall/AP, 25 August 2015

Trumplandia: Jorge Ramos Avalos, Univision, 26 Agosto 2015

Vamos a imaginarnos el país que quisiera Donald Trump. Trumplandia tendría un gran muro de 1,954 millas en la frontera con México. En una gigantesca operación de limpieza migratoria deportaría a más de 11 millones de indocumentados. Sus hijos nacidos en Estados Unidos no tendrían pasaporte ni país y, eventualmente, también serían deportados. Así, y solo así, Estados Unidos volvería a ser una gran nación.

Esa es la utopía que Donald Trump le está vendiendo a los norteamericanos. Pero esa utopía es una mentira. Los indocumentados no son responsables de los principales problemas del país. Lo que Trump propone es imposible de lograr. Trumplandia sería como una muy mala y tenebrosa película de ciencia ficción.

Para que Trumplandia se quedara sin indocumentados primero tendría que vivir el terror. Imagínense el horror de detener en casas, trabajos y escuelas a millones de hombres, mujeres y niños. Para lograr eso a corto plazo sería necesario usar al ejército, a la policía y a todos los agentes del servicio de inmigración. Las cortes quedarían paralizadas, desbordadas y habría violaciones masivas a los derechos humanos.

Tras las brutales redadas, sería necesario detener en estadios o en enormes lugares públicos a los indocumentados para luego ser deportados en autobuses –- a México -- y en aviones al resto del mundo. ¿El costo? Unos $137,000 millones de dólares, es decir, $12,500 dólares por inmigrante, según un cálculo de ICE. Los $10,000 millones de dólares que Trump dice tener no alcanzarían ni siquiera para deportar a un millón de personas.

Si Trumplandia cambiara la Enmienda 14 de la constitución y le quitara la ciudadanía a los hijos de indocumentados nacidos en Estados Unidos, primero tendría que deportar a 4.5 millones de esos niños que ya viven en el país. Pero ¿a qué país? Si el papá es de México y la mamá de Honduras ¿a dónde se envía un niño sin patria y sin pasaporte?

¿Qué pasaría con las madres indocumentadas después de dar a luz y con sus bebés? Sería patético meterse en el terrible e inhumano negocio de deportar bebés, niños y estudiantes.

El problema de Trumplandia, claramente, es con los mexicanos, no con los canadienses. Por eso Trump construiría un muro para separar a Estados Unidos de México. Pero, en cambio, no tocaría la frontera más grande del mundo, la que comparte por 5,525 millas con Canadá.

Construir muros es un mal negocio: cuestan mucho y no sirven. Cada milla cuesta, al menos, $16 millones de dólares (según reportó el NYT). De las 1,954 millas de frontera, ya hay muros, bardas y vallas en 670 millas. Pero en 1,284 millas no hay nada. Poner ahí un muro costaría, al menos, $20 mil millones de dólares. La fortuna de Trump alcanzaría solo para la mitad.

Pero construir ese muro sería una increíble pérdida de tiempo y dinero. Casi 40 por ciento de los indocumentados que entra a Estados Unidos lo hace por avión y, simplemente, se queda más allá del límite de sus visas. Eso no lo detiene ningún muro. Además, el muro es innecesario. La frontera sur está más segura que nunca -el número de indocumentados bajó de 12.2 millones en 2007 a 11.3 en el 2014- y tiene más de 20,000 agentes patrullándola. De hecho ya en el 2013 entraron a Estados Unidos más inmigrantes de China (147,000) que de México (125,000), según reportó el WSJ. ¿Qué piensa hacer Trump al respecto: construir otra muralla china?

Trump se equivoca. México no es parte de ninguna conspiración para enviar criminales y violadores a Estados Unidos. De hecho, su gobierno está bastante ocupado lidiando con sus propios problemas como el escape de El Chapo, la narcoviolencia, varios casos de corrupción y la acelerada devaluación del peso. Y es importante aclararlo: la mayor parte de los inmigrantes que vienen de México no son delincuentes. Todos los estudios coinciden en que los niveles de criminalidad entre los inmigrantes son menores que entre los nacidos en Estados Unidos. Punto.

Trumplandia –- esa utopía llena de muros y de odio contra los inmigrantes -- no es el Estados Unidos que yo conozco. Trumplandia sería el reino de la intolerancia, la xenofobia y la división.

Las grandes naciones se definen, no por la manera en que tratan a los ricos y a los poderosos, sino por la forma en que cuidan de los más vulnerables. Hoy, en Estados Unidos, los indocumentados y sus hijos son los más vulnerables. Y Trump decidió ir contra ellos.

Trumplandia es el horror.


. A security guard for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump removes Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
  
A security guard for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump removes Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a news conference Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal: photo by Charlie Niebergall/AP, 25 August 2015

. A security guard for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump removes Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A security guard for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump removes Miami-based Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, left, from a news conference Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal: photo by Charlie Niebergall/AP, 25 August 2015

In Trumplandia

Ku Klux Klan rally
 
A Ku Klux Klansman is subdued and handcuffed. All of the 13 people arrested could face charges of assault with a deadly weapon, though a police spokesman said “some people could have a self-defense claim.”: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

Ku Klux Klan rally
 
Protesters scuffle with a Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim. The event quickly escalated into violence.: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

Ku Klux Klan rally

A Ku Klux Klansman is kicked in the face by an angry protester after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim: photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 27 February 2016

Saturday 27 February 2016

the worst people in the world

.

 
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, arriving for the ceremony in 2012: photo by Monica Almeida/The New York Times


After luncheon the snow stopped, and the afternoon turned out intensely cold but bright and clear. I took a tram up the hill to Monte Carlo. The sound of firing came from the bastion below the promenade where 'Tir aux Pigeons' was advertised. Some kind of match was in progress; the competitors were for the most part South Americans with papal titles. They made very interesting gestures with their elbows as they waited for the little cages to collapse and release their game; they also had interesting gestures of vexation and apology when they missed. But this was rare. The standard of marksmanship was high, and while I was there only three birds, fluttering erratically with plucked tail and wings, escaped the guns to fall to the little boys below, who wait for them on the beach or in rowing-boats and pull them to pieces with their fingers. Often when the cages fell open the birds would sit dazed amid the debris until they were disturbed with a bowl; then they would rise clumsily and be brought down, usually by the first barrel, when they were about ten feet from the ground. On the balcony above the terrace sat one of the Casino pigeons, privileged and robust, watching the destruction without emotion. The only convincing recommendation which I heard of this sport came from one of the visitors at the Bristol who remarked that it was not cricket.

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): A Pleasure Cruise, from Labels: A Mediterranean Journey (1929)



Björk, at the Academy Awards in 2001: photo by Reuters


Gibraltar: Charles Pears for the Empire Marketing Board, c. 1930 (National Archives UK)
 

Jennifer Lawrence at the 2013 Academy Awards
: photo by
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Friday 26 February 2016

Friedrich Hölderlin: Menschenbeifall / The Approval of Men



Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump for president on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas
: photo by
Mike Stone/Reuters, 26 February 2016 

Friedrich Hölderlin: Menschenbeifall

Ist nicht heilig mein Herz, schöneren Lebens voll,
..Seit ich liebe? warum achtetet ihr mich mehr,
....Da ich stolzer und wilder,
......Wortereicher und leerer war?


Ach! der Menge gefällt, was auf den Marktplatz taugt,
..Und es ehret der Knecht nur den Gewaltsamen;
....An das Göttliche glauben
......Die allein, die es selber sind.


 
Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump for president on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas: photo by Mike Stone/Reuters, 26 February 2016 

Friedrich Hölderlin: The Approval of Men


Isn't my heart holy, filled with a whole
new more beautiful life, now that I've known love? Why did you value
me more highly then, when I was so full of myself
and my words were so much more numerous, and empty?

Ah, everybody rushes to approve
what sells; everybody wants to be told what to do by the powerful; and only those 
who have retained inhuman qualities continue to believe in anything
but what is human.

Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843): Menschenbeifall (The Approval of Men); German text from Ausgewählte Werke, 1874; English by TC

 


 
Gov. Chris Christie and Donald J. Trump at the Republican debate on January 14 in North Charleston, S.C.: photo by Eric Thayer for The New York Times, 14 January 2016 


 
Donald J. Trump at a news conference announcing the establishment of Trump University in May 2005 in Manhattan. Many of the students are now suing Mr. Trump for misrepresentation.
.
: photo by
Thomas Robinson/The New York Times, May 2005


A woman checks her cellphone before the start of a fashion show in Milan
: photo by Amer Almohibany/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016


Tear gas is set off in Parliament in Kosovo by legislators trying to halt the election of a new president by the legislature
: photo by
Armend Nimani/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016


Tear gas is set off in Parliament in Kosovo by legislators trying to halt the election of a new president by the legislature
: photo by
Armend Nimani/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016
 


A refugee from Afghanistan prays at the train station in Tabanovce, Macedonia, where he waits for permission to cross into Serbia
: photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters, 26 February 2016



An election official in Iran registers voters for parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a poll in Qom, 80 miles south of Tehrant: photo by Behrouz Mehri//Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016


The body of a Syrian boy was wrapped in shrouds after he was killed in airstrikes by Syrian government forces near Douma, east of Damascus, before the partial cease-fire
: photo by Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016



A Syrian rebel emerges from a hiding place in the town of Arbin on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, before  a partial cease-fire that was to start at midnight
: photo by Amer Almohibany/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016
 

 

A Syrian rebel emerges from a hiding place in the town of Arbin on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, before  a partial cease-fire that was to start at midnight: photo by Amer Almohibany/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016


Fans filling the bleachers along the red carpet: photo by Monica Almeida/The New York Times, 26 February 2012



  
A firebombing damaged a hotel that had been converted into a refugee shelter in Bautzen, Germany, on Sunday: photo by. Rico Loeb/European Pressphoto Agency, 26 February 2016


 A defendant in an arson case arrived at a court in Hanover, Germany, last week. He and two others are charged with attempted murder in the firebombing of an immigrant family’s home in Salzhemmendorf.
: photo by Julian Stratenschulte/European Pressphoto Agency, 26 February 2016


 


 A defendant in an arson case arrived at a court in Hanover, Germany, last week. He and two others are charged with attempted murder in the firebombing of an immigrant family’s home in Salzhemmendorf.
: photo by Julian Stratenschulte/European Pressphoto Agency, 26 February 2016

 


Investigators at a house that was damaged by a fire in Vorra, Germany, in 2014. A swastika was also sprayed on the house, which had been renovated to shelter refugees. There have been almost 1,200 attacks, including some 100 arsons, on refugee shelters over the past year.: photo by Christof Stache/Agence France-Presse, 26 February 2016



A view from backstage as Julianne Moore gives her acceptance speech after winning the best actress award for “Still Alice”: photo by Monica Almeida/The New York Times, 22 February 2015

Smoke fills the auditorium of the Kosovo assembly after opposition lawmakers released tear gas canisters disrupting a parliamentary session in Kosovo capital Pristina on Friday Feb. 26, 2016. Kosovo opposition members have released tear gas inside Parliament as the lawmakers were readying to vote on wether to elect Hashim Thaci , foreign minister and former guerrilla leader, as the next president. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu).

Smoke fills the auditorium of the Kosovo assembly after opposition lawmakers released tear gas canisters disrupting a parliamentary session in Kosovo capital Pristina on Friday. Kosovo opposition members have released tear gas inside Parliament as the lawmakers were readying to vote on whether to elect Hashim Thaci as the next president.: photo by Visar Kryeziu/AP, 26 January 2016

An Oscar statue stands covered in plastic at the entrance to the Dolby Theatre as preparations continue for the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood...An Oscar statue stands covered in plastic at the entrance to the Dolby Theatre as preparations continue for the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California February 25, 2016. The Oscars will be presented February 28, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson      TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY


An Oscar statue stands covered with plastic at the entrance to the Dolby Theater as preparations continue for the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California: photo by Lucy Nicholson,/Reuters, 26 February 2016

A Sotheby's employee stands infront of a series of portraits of the Mitford Sisters during the pre-auction preview of the personal collection of Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Sotheby's

A Sotheby’s employee stands in front of a series of portraits of the Mitford Sisters during the pre-auction preview of the personal collection of Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Sotheby’s: photo by Justin Setterfield via FT Photo Diary, 26 January 2016

 A Sotheby's employee stands infront of a series of portraits of the Mitford Sisters during the pre-auction preview of the personal collection of Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Sotheby's  

A Sotheby’s employee stands in front of a series of portraits of the Mitford Sisters during the pre-auction preview of the personal collection of Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire at Sotheby’s: photo by Justin Setterfield via FT Photo Diary, 26 January 2016

A member of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent...A member of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent carries a wounded boy following an airstrike in the rebel-held city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, on February 26, 2016. Intense Russian air strikes and regime shelling battered rebel bastions across Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, just hours before a midnight deadline for a landmark ceasefire in the country's five-year civil war. / AFP / Abd DoumanyABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images

A member of the Syria Arab Red Crescent carries a wounded boy following an airstrike in the rebel-held city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, on Friday: photo by Abd Doumany/AFP, 26 January 2016 

A man pushes a baby in a stroller in front of tents at the transit center for refugees near northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce 
...................................................................A man pushes a baby in a stroller in front of tents at the transit center for refugees near northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce: photo by Boris Grdanoski/AP, 26 January 2016
   
FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino, of Switzerland,second left,  laughs  during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2016 held  in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. The Extraordinary FIFA Congress is being held in order to vote on the proposals for amendments to the FIFA Statutes and choose the new FIFA President. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino, of Switzerland, second left, laughs during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2016 held in Zurich, Switzerland. The Extraordinary FIFA Congress is being held in order to vote on the proposals for amendments to the FIFA Statutes and choose the new FIFA President.: photo by Ennio Leanza/AP 26 January 2016


Iranian women stand in line at a polling station during the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Qom, Iran: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, 26 January 2016

Iraqi supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtad...Iraqi supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr wave the national flag as they listen to his speech during a demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square on February 26, 2016, calling for governmental reform and elimination of corruption. / AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBAYEAHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr wave the national flag as they listen to his speech during a demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square: photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP, 26 January 2016

A fake dollar bill with US Republican pr...A fake dollar bill with US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's picture on it is displayed for sale with other electoral items at a roadside stall as pedestrians walk past in New York on February 26, 2016. White House hopefuls Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio unleashed a barrage of attacks against Donald Trump during raucous Republican debate on February 25, as they sought to halt the billionaire frontrunner's seemingly relentless march to the party's nomination. / AFP / Jewel SamadJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

A fake dollar bill with US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s picture on it is displayed for sale with other electoral items at a roadside stall as pedestrians walk past in New York: photo by Jewel Samad/AFP, 26 January 2016

Steve Bell 09.12.15

Donald Trump: illustration by Steve Bell via The Guardian, 9 December 2015