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Sunday 3 July 2016

Aphra Behn: A Song from The Emperor of the Moon

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 THIEPVAL, FRANCE - JULY 1: Prince Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge during the Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Thiepval Memorial on July 1, 2016 in Thiepval, France. The event is part of the Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Thiepval Memorial in Thiepval, France, where 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave are commemorated. (Photo by Andrew Matthews - Pool/Getty Images)***BESTPIX***

 Prince Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge during the Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Thiepval Memorial in Thiepval, France: photo by Andrew Matthews/Pool, 1 July 2016

When Maidens are young and in their Spring
Of Pleasure, of Pleasure, let 'em take their full Swing,
         full Swing,-- full Swing,--
   And Love, and Dance, and Play, and Sing.
   For
Silvia
, believe it, when Youth is done,
There's nought but hum drum, hum drum, hum drum;
There's nought but hum drum, hum drum, hum drum.

Aphra Behn (1640-1689): from Scaramouch's Song, in The Emperor of the Moon: A Farce, 1689
 

World in focus – best photos for July 2

Britain Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England. General view of the cover over court 1 as rain delays play
.: photo by Reuters, 2 July 2016


World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

Spectators are led into the ground by security ahead of the start of day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England:
photo by Jordan Mansfield via The National, 1 July 2016



Theresa May, at an aristo regatta in Henley, England, on Friday, is the favorite of five candidates seeking to be prime minister
: photo by Jonathan Brady/Press Association, via Associated Press, 2 July 2016


 

Theresa May, at an aristo regatta in Henley, England, on Friday, is the favorite of five candidates seeking to be prime minister: photo by Jonathan Brady/Press Association, via Associated Press, 2 July 2016


#instantané Scène de rue à Kiev, Ukraine @AFPhoto #AFP: image via Agence France-Presse @afpfr, 2 July 2016


A neighborhood in Sunderland, England, where “Brexit” was heavily favored
: photo by Adam Ferguson for The New York Times, 29 June 2016




A neighborhood in Sunderland, England, where “Brexit” was heavily favored: photo by Adam Ferguson for The New York Times, 29 June 2016 


 A woman in Sunderland, England, on Sunday after British voters chose to leave the European Union. Voters in Sunderland overwhelmingly supported leaving the bloc.: photo by Adam Ferguson for The New York Times, 26 June 2016



A woman in Sunderland, England, on Sunday after British voters chose to leave the European Union. Voters in Sunderland overwhelmingly supported leaving the bloc.: photo by Adam Ferguson for The New York Times, 26 June 2016
 
World in focus – best photos for July 2

People hold banners during a demonstration against Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, in central London. Britain voted to leave the European Union in the EU Brexit referendum.
: photo by Reuters, 2 July 2016



 Demonstrators in favor of remaining in the European Union gathered last Saturday in Parliament Square in London, several days after British voters chose to leave the alliance.: photo by Andrew Testa for The New York Times,  25 June 2016



Demonstrators in favor of remaining in the European Union gathered last Saturday in Parliament Square in London, several days after British voters chose to leave the alliance.: photo by Andrew Testa for The New York Times,  25 June 2016

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Professional wrestler Magnifico leaps from the ropes of a wrestling ring during a photo call at York Hall in Bethnal Green on July 1, 2016 in London, England. A number of luchadores will perform in 'The Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre', which takes place over two days and features Mexican and British stars from the world of Mexican Wrestling. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Professional wrestler Magnifico leaps from the ropes of a wrestling ring at York Hall in Bethnal Green in London, England. A number of luchadores will perform in ‘The Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre’, which takes place over two days and features Mexican and British stars from the world of Mexican Wrestling: photo by Jack Taylor, 1 July 2016

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Professional wrestler Magnifico leaps from the ropes of a wrestling ring during a photo call at York Hall in Bethnal Green on July 1, 2016 in London, England. A number of luchadores will perform in 'The Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre', which takes place over two days and features Mexican and British stars from the world of Mexican Wrestling. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Professional wrestler Magnifico leaps from the ropes of a wrestling ring at York Hall in Bethnal Green in London, England. A number of luchadores will perform in ‘The Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre’, which takes place over two days and features Mexican and British stars from the world of Mexican Wrestling: photo by Jack Taylor, 1 July 2016

 

Secret Service agents at the Washington home of Hillary Clinton on Saturday. As part of its "let's pretend" investigation of her use of a private email server, the F.B.I. interviewed the former secretary of state on Saturday morning. Mrs. Clinton’s sit-down with the F.B.I. came amid controversy over a meeting between her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who "ran into each other" on Monday at the Phoenix airport while Mr. Clinton was fund-raising for his wife’s campaign. The ex-POTUS trotted oacross boiling tarmac to climb aboard the Attorney General's plane, ostensibly to discuss recent acquisitions for his vintage Colonial-era furniture collection.: photo by Al Drago/The New York Times, 2 July 2016

 
 
Secret Service agents at the Washington home of Hillary Clinton on Saturday. As part of its "let's pretend" investigation of her use of a private email server, the F.B.I. interviewed the former secretary of state on Saturday morning. Mrs. Clinton’s sit-down with the F.B.I. came amid controversy over a meeting between her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who "ran into each other" on Monday at the Phoenix airport while Mr. Clinton was fund-raising for his wife’s campaign. The ex-POTUS trotted oacross boiling tarmac to climb aboard the Attorney General's plane, ostensibly to discuss recent acquisitions for his vintage Colonial-era furniture collection.: photo by Al Drago/The New York Times, 2 July 2016  


Thanks, errybody! We overcame trolls, #HillBots and threats today through solidarity and humor. We will not yield!: image via PhillyForBernie @PhillyForBernie, 28 June 2016 


 A model presents a creation by Txell Miras during the 080 Barcelona spring-summer 2017 fashion week in Barcelona: photo by Luis Gene / AFP, 28 June 2016 
 

#HillaryClinton met w/ FBI re: email scandal. What a joke! There'd be Super Bowl-style TV coverage if it were #Trump: image via PJ Campbell @pegcamp78, 2 July 2016 
 

Hillary Clinton models senior maternity sportswear in Indianapolis on Sunday.
Mrs. Clinton raised more than $40 million for her presidential campaign in June, a healthy sum as the presumptive Democratic nominee seeks to maintain her overwhelming fund-raising and organizational advantage against Donald J. Trump by crushing him beneath a massive barrage of paid advertisements.
For candidate Clinton, every situation will always be a bought situation. This is Murica, isn't it?: photo by  Aaron P. Bernstein, 26 June 2016



Hillary Clinton models senior maternity sportswear in Indianapolis on Sunday. Mrs. Clinton raised more than $40 million for her presidential campaign in June, a healthy sum as the presumptive Democratic nominee seeks to maintain her overwhelming fund-raising and organizational advantage against Donald J. Trump by crushing him beneath a massive barrage of paid advertisements. For candidate Clinton, every situation will always be a bought situation. This is Murica, isn't it? .: photo by  Aaron P. Bernstein, 26 June 2016


Models presented clothing by the American fashion designer Thom Browne during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday: photo by Christophe Petit Tesson/European Pressphoto Agency, 28 June 2016



Models presented clothing by the American fashion designer Thom Browne during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday: photo by Christophe Petit Tesson/European Pressphoto Agency, 28 June 2016
 

Waiting for the speech by Donald Trump in Monessen, Pennsyvania, on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump on Tuesday laid out a radically different economic message than Republicans have advanced, and it holds considerable appeal to white working-class Democrats. He supported renegotiating or withdrawing from Nafta, cracking down on Chinese currency manipulation, and using United States steel for domestic infrastructure -- which he promises to rebuild.: photo by Hilary Swift for The New York Times, 29 June 2016


 
  
Waiting for the speech by Donald Trump in Monessen, Pennsyvania, on Tuesday. Mr. Trump on Tuesday laid out a radically different economic message than Republicans have advanced, and it holds considerable appeal to white working-class Democrats. He supported renegotiating or withdrawing from Nafta, cracking down on Chinese currency manipulation, and using United States steel for domestic infrastructure -- which he promises to rebuild.: photo by Hilary Swift for The New York Times, 29 June 2016

   
Anzilotti's wipe their asses with Hilary's face #trump: image via Kristina Anzilotti @kristinaxo16, 2 July 2016

Bowling Nº 1 | by efo

Bowling  No.1. Shelter Island, New York.
: photo by efo, 9 March 2014


Jezebel Nº 1 | by efo 
Jezebel No. 1. 1960s American pin-setting machine in a two-lane bowling alley at the Shelter Island American Legion Hall, Shelter Island, New York.: photo by efo, 9 March 2014

changing room | by beetabonk

Changing Room (Shelter Island, New York)
: photo by oliver rockwell, 7 March 2006


President Obama arrived in Ottawa on Wednesday for the North America leaders' Silly Hat Summit meeting: photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, 29 June 2016



President Obama arrived in Ottawa on Wednesday for the North America leaders' Silly Hat Summit meeting: photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times, 29 June 2016


Michelle Obama sat in a car in Madrid while on a three-nation tour to promote her global girls' education initiative, at the very least: photo by Daniel Ochoa De Olza/Associated Press, 1 July 2016

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Michelle Obama sat in a car in Madrid while on a three-nation tour to promote her global girls' education initiative, at the very least: photo by Daniel Ochoa De Olza/Associated Press, 1 July 2016



Voters in large numbers have been rejecting much of the underlying logic behind a dynamic globalized economy that on paper seems to make the world much richer. For the bankers, trade negotiators, international businesspeople and others who make up the economic elite, this is cause for introspection, at least among those who aren’t too narcissistic to care what their countrymen think. Here is an overarching theory of what we might have missed in the march toward a hyper-efficient global economy: Economic efficiency isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Efficiency sounds great in theory. What kind of monster doesn’t want to optimize possibilities, minimize waste and make the most of finite resources? But the economic and policy elite may like efficiency a lot more than normal humans do.
: illustration by James Firnhaber via The New York Times, 1 July 2016


 

Voters in large numbers have been rejecting much of the underlying logic behind a dynamic globalized economy that on paper seems to make the world much richer. For the bankers, trade negotiators, international businesspeople and others who make up the economic elite, this is cause for introspection, at least among those who aren’t too narcissistic to care what their countrymen think. Here is an overarching theory of what we might have missed in the march toward a hyper-efficient global economy: Economic efficiency isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Efficiency sounds great in theory. What kind of monster doesn’t want to optimize possibilities, minimize waste and make the most of finite resources? But the economic and policy elite may like efficiency a lot more than normal humans do.: illustration by James Firnhaber via The New York Times, 1 July 2016 


Herder Zandraagiin Budjav posing for a picture in the Gobi desert near Luusiin. Mongolians went to the polls across their sprawling, sparsely-populated country on June 29 as it struggles to benefit from its vast natural resources amid disputes over foreign investment and slumping demand from neighbouring China.: photo by Johannes Eisele, 29 June 2016

 
Chileans celebrate victory over Argentina in the final match of the Copa America Centenario 2016 in Santiago, Chile: photo by Luis Hidalgo / AFP, 26 June 2016
 

A Tesla Model POS, with its self-driving mode and purple fingernail-polish-and-bondage-bracelet-equipped robo-operator enabled. The race by automakers and technology firms to develop self-driving cars has been fueled by the belief that computers can operate a vehicle more safely than human drivers. But that view is now in question after the revelation on Thursday that the driver of a Tesla Model POS electric sedan was killed in an accident when the car was in self-driving mode.
In a statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had sent an investigative team to examine the vehicle and the crash site in Williston, Florida.: photo by Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg. 2 July 2016

 

A Tesla Model POS, with its self-driving mode and purple fingernail-polish-and-bondage-bracelet-equipped robo-operator enabled. The race by automakers and technology firms to develop self-driving cars has been fueled by the belief that computers can operate a vehicle more safely than human drivers. But that view is now in question after the revelation on Thursday that the driver of a Tesla Model POS electric sedan was killed in an accident when the car was in self-driving mode. In a statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had sent an investigative team to examine the vehicle and the crash site in Williston, Florida.: photo by Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg. 2 July 2016 


A member of Iraqi government forces celebrates along a street in Falluja. Iraq, after government forces recaptured the city from Islamic State militants: photo by Thaier Al-Sudani / Reuters, 27 June 2016
 
TOPSHOT - A statue depicting US' Statue of Liberty decorated with a Star of David on its head is set ablaze by Iranian protestors during a parade marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran on July 1, 2016. Tens of thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in Tehran, as the annual Quds Day protests take on broader meaning for a region mired in bitter disputes and war.    / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENAREATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

A statue depicting US’ Statue of Liberty decorated with a Star of David on its head is set ablaze by Iranian protestors during a parade marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran: photo by Atta Kenareatta Kenare/AFP, 1 July 2016

TOPSHOT - A statue depicting US' Statue of Liberty decorated with a Star of David on its head is set ablaze by Iranian protestors during a parade marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran on July 1, 2016. Tens of thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in Tehran, as the annual Quds Day protests take on broader meaning for a region mired in bitter disputes and war.    / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENAREATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

A statue depicting US’ Statue of Liberty decorated with a Star of David on its head is set ablaze by Iranian protestors during a parade marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran: photo by Atta Kenareatta Kenare/AFP, 1 July 2016
 
Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces parade Shiite step on a representation of an Israeli flag during a commemoration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July. 1, 2016. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan as "al-Quds Day," Arabic for Jerusalem, a day of protest to show the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims. Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces parade march on a representation of an Israeli flag during a commemoration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Baghdad, Iraq: photo by Hadi Mizban/AP, 1 July 2016

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces parade Shiite step on a representation of an Israeli flag during a commemoration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July. 1, 2016. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan as "al-Quds Day," Arabic for Jerusalem, a day of protest to show the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims. Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces parade march on a representation of an Israeli flag during a commemoration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Baghdad, Iraq: photo by Hadi Mizban/AP, 1 July 2016
 
BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 01:  Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, peeks into a bakery while one of her minders eats a sandwich during a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus on July 1, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Maja performs daily at Circus Busch and circus workers take her on walks among the nearby apartment buildings to vacant lots where she likes to eat the grass. City authorities sanction the outings and federal regulations reportedly encourage activities for elephants to stimulate the animals' cognitive awareness.  (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
 
Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, peeks into a bakery while one of her minders eats a sandwich during a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus in Berlin, Germany: photo by Sean Gallup, 1 July 2016

BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 01:  Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, peeks into a bakery while one of her minders eats a sandwich during a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus on July 1, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Maja performs daily at Circus Busch and circus workers take her on walks among the nearby apartment buildings to vacant lots where she likes to eat the grass. City authorities sanction the outings and federal regulations reportedly encourage activities for elephants to stimulate the animals' cognitive awareness.  (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, peeks into a bakery while one of her minders eats a sandwich during a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus in Berlin, Germany: photo by Sean Gallup, 1 July 2016
 
epaselect epa05400625 A Chinese military band member is seen playing his trumpet below the Communist Star before a celebration ceremony of the 95th anniversary of Founding the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People (GHOP) in Beijing, China, 01 July 2016. China marks on 01 July the 95th anniversary of the formation of its ruling communist party with a grand ceremony at the GHOP.  EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

A Chinese military band member is seen playing his trumpet below the Communist Star before a celebration ceremony of the 95th anniversary of Founding the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China: photo by How Hwee Young/EPA, 1 July 2016

World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

A Chinese military band member is seen playing his trumpet below the Communist Star before a celebration ceremony of the 95th anniversary of Founding the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People (GHOP) in Beijing, China
: photo by How Hwee Young / EPA, 1 July 2016


epaselect epa05400625 A Chinese military band member is seen playing his trumpet below the Communist Star before a celebration ceremony of the 95th anniversary of Founding the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People (GHOP) in Beijing, China, 01 July 2016. China marks on 01 July the 95th anniversary of the formation of its ruling communist party with a grand ceremony at the GHOP.  EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

A Chinese military band member is seen playing his trumpet below the Communist Star before a celebration ceremony of the 95th anniversary of Founding the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China: photo by How Hwee Young/EPA, 1 July 2016
 


Men prayed at a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the last Friday of Ramadan: photo by Iqro Rinaldi/Reuters, 1 July 2016



Men prayed at a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the last Friday of Ramadan: photo by Iqro Rinaldi/Reuters, , 1 July 2016
 

Jhoulys Chacin of the Los Angeles Angels threw a pitch in last Saturday’s game against the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim, California. Oakland won, 7 to 3.: photo by Gregory Bull/Associated Press, 27 June 2016



Jhoulys Chacin of the Los Angeles Angels threw a pitch in last Saturday’s game against the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim, California. Oakland won, 7 to 3.: photo by Gregory Bull/Associated Press, 27 June 2016



First graders at the Detroit Leadership Academy’s elementary school in Detroit in May. Detroit is mired in a pubic education fiasco that is perhaps unparalleled in the United States.: photo by Joshua Lott for The New York Times, 1 July 2016



First graders at the Detroit Leadership Academy’s elementary school in Detroit in May. Detroit is mired in a pubic education fiasco that is perhaps unparalleled in the United States.: photo by Joshua Lott for The New York Times, 1 July 2016


Two homeless children sat on a sidewalk in São Paulo, Brazil, where they had been sleeping: photo by Miguel Schincariol/Agence France-Presse, 1 July 2016



Two homeless children sat on a sidewalk in São Paulo, Brazil, where they had been sleeping: photo by Miguel Schincariol/Agence France-Presse, 1 July 2016


 A pickup truck passed the remains of mobile homes devastated by a wildfire on Saturday in South Lake, about 40 miles northeast of Bakersfield, California: photo by Jae C. Hong/Associated Press, 25 June 2016



A pickup truck passed the remains of mobile homes devastated by a wildfire on Saturday in South Lake, about 40 miles northeast of Bakersfield, California: photo by Jae C. Hong/Associated Press, 25 June 2016


Greek firefighters took on a forest blaze about 30 miles northwest of Athens on Sunday that had been raging for four days: photo by Yannis Kolesidis/European Pressphoto Agency, 26 June 2016



Greek firefighters took on a forest blaze about 30 miles northwest of Athens on Sunday that had been raging for four days: photo by Yannis Kolesidis/European Pressphoto Agency, 26 June 2016


Forces loyal to the United Nations fought Islamic State militants in Surt, Libya, on Thursday. The attack on Surt has put pressure on Islamic State forces in Libya, possibly imperiling its largest base outside Iraq and Syria:: photo by Tyler Hicks/The New York Times, 30 June 2016



Forces loyal to the United Nations fought Islamic State militants in Surt, Libya, on Thursday. The attack on Surt has put pressure on Islamic State forces in Libya, possibly imperiling its largest base outside Iraq and Syria:: photo by Tyler Hicks/The New York Times, 30 June 2016


A relative of a security guard who was killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, mourned on June 22 after the bodies arrived at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. For Nepalese workers, finding work outside Nepal can be dangerous. The authorities said 13 Nepalese died in the bombing.: photo by Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency, 22 June 2016



A relative of a security guard who was killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, mourned on June 22 after the bodies arrived at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. For Nepalese workers, finding work outside Nepal can be dangerous. The authorities said 13 Nepalese died in the bombing.: photo by Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency, 22 June 2016



The daughter of Joseph Laous, who died after a suicide bomb attack in his village, mourns on his coffin during his funeral in Qaa, Lebanon: photo by Hassan Abdallah / Reuters, 29 June 2016

 
The mother of air hostess Gulsen Bahadir, who was killed during the Istanbul airport attack, cries during the funeral in Istanbul: photo by Bulent Kilic / AFP, 29 June 2016


Relatives mourned Habibullah Sefer, a victim of Tuesday’s attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, during his funeral on Thursday: photo by
Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press, 29 June 2016

 

Relatives mourned Habibullah Sefer, a victim of Tuesday’s attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, during his funeral on Thursday: photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press, 29 June 2016


INDIA - Children prepare to break the fast with the Iftar meal during Ramadan in Chennai. By Arun Sankar #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 1 July 2016 


INDIA - Muslims offer prayers in the complex of ancient Shah-E-Alam Roza and Mosque in Ahmedabad. By Sam Panthaky #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 1 July 2016 


People leave the Jama Masjid towards Meena Bazar ahead of prayers on last Friday of #Ramadan2016 in #Delhi #AFPphoto: image via Chandan Khanna @Chandanphoto, 1 July 2016 


A young girl stands in abandoned school for hosting Syrian and Afghan refugees in Athens. By @ArisMessinis  #AFP: image via  AFP Photo Department @AFPhoto, 2 July 2016


Children play in an abandoned school used for hosting Syrian and Afghan refugees in Athens. By @ArisMessinis #AFP: image via  AFP Photo Department @AFPhoto, 2 July 2016



At an abandoned school in Athens used by volunteers for hosting families of Syrian and Afghan #refugees
: image via Aris Messinis #ArisMessinis, 2 July 2016  Attiki, Greece 

 


At an abandoned school in Athens used by volunteers for hosting families of Syrian and Afghan #refugees
: image via Aris Messinis #ArisMessinis, 2 July 2016  Attiki, Greece 
 

At an abandoned school in Athens used by volunteers for hosting families of Syrian and Afghan #refugees
: image via Aris Messinis #ArisMessinis, 2 July 2016  Attiki, Greece



Inside an abandoned school in Athens used by volunteers for hosting families of Syrian and Afghan #refugees: image via Aris Messinis #ArisMessinis, 2 July 2016  Attiki, Greece

World in focus – best photos for July 2
 
A young Syrian boy washes himself before praying in a mosque in Hamorya, Eastern Al-Ghouta province, Syria, 02 July 2016. In Islamic belief Laylat Al Qadr, one of the holiest nights in the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, marks the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.: photo by EPA, 2 July 2016

World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

 Bangladeshi passengers try to climb on to the roof of an overcrowded train as they head home ahead of Eid al-Fitr at a railway station in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of people working in Dhaka leave for their hometowns every year to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their family.: photo by AM Ahad / AP, 1 July 2016


BANGLADESH - Security personnel stand guard after gunmen stormed a restaurant in Dhaka. @AFPphoto: image via  AFP Photo Department @AFPhoto, 2 July 2016
 

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladeshi troops stormed an upscale restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter on Saturday, ending an 11-hour standoff with gunmen who had hacked patrons to death and sent photos of the carnage to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack.The authorities said 20 hostages, most of them foreigners, had been killed in the siege, the deadliest and boldest in an accelerating series of attacks by Islamist militants that have shaken the country’s secular underpinnings.
Relatives are seen mourning victims killed in the siege. At least 30 people were wounded.: photo by European Pressphoto Agency, 2 July 2016




DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladeshi troops stormed an upscale restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter on Saturday, ending an 11-hour standoff with gunmen who had hacked patrons to death and sent photos of the carnage to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack.The authorities said 20 hostages, most of them foreigners, had been killed in the siege, the deadliest and boldest in an accelerating series of attacks by Islamist militants that have shaken the country’s secular underpinnings. Relatives are seen mourning victims killed in the siege. At least 30 people were wounded.: photo by European Pressphoto Agency, 2 July 2016

World in focus – best photos for July 2 

A relative of a police officer, killed in a standoff with heavily armed militants, sits inside a car near the site of attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 2, 2016. Bangladeshi forces stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan area where heavily armed militants held dozens of people hostage Saturday morning, rescuing some captives including foreigners.: photo by AP, 2 July 2016

World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

Kashmiri Muslim women offer prayers inside a house during Jumat-ul-Vida or the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan outside Jamia Masjid in Srinagar
: photo by Danish Ismail / Reuters, 1 July 2016


World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

A Palestinian man and his son from West Bank making their way next to the separated barrier to cross Qalandia checkpoint to attend the last Friday prayer of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. Israeli authority allow free access to Jerusalem for women and children, and limited the age of men over 45.
: photo by . Atef Safadi / EPA, 1 July 2016

World in focus – best photos for July 1, 2016

Muslims offer prayers on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Allhabad, India. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar, by fasting from dawn till dusk.
: photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP, 1 July 2016 




Iranian Shiite Muslims pray as they place the Quran on their heads at the graves of soldiers who were killed during 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, just outside Tehran, Iran, on Monday. Iranian Muslims spent the night in prayer and devotion commemorating Laylat Al Qadr, or the Night of Power, which is the anniversary of the night that Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran by the angel Gabriel.: photo by Ebrahim Noroozi / AP, 27 June 2016

 
An Afghan boy jumps for a swim at Qargha lake in Kabul, Afghanistan: photo by Mohammad Ismail / Reuters, 29 June 2016

 
A Nepalese youth plays in a rice paddy field in Baande village on the outskirts of Kathmandu on June 29, 2016. Farmers in Nepal celebrate National Paddy Day as the annual rice planting season begins.: photo by Prakash Mathema / AFP, 29 June 2016


 Migrants last Saturday on the Aquarius, a ship operated by Doctors Without Borders, after they had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea: photo by Bram Janssen/Associated Press, 25 June 2016



Migrants last Saturday on the Aquarius, a ship operated by Doctors Without Borders, after they had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea: photo by Bram Janssen/Associated Press, 25 June 2016


 Migrants look out from the Aquarius rescue vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, as more than 600 migrants are aboard the ship rescued by SOS Mediterranee and the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres. The organizations cooperate during search and rescue operations for migrants and refugees from boats in distress in the Mediterranean Sea: photo by Bram Janssen / AP, 25 June 2016


 Fans of Egypt's Al Ahly celebrate a goal: photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters, 1 July 2016 


MONGOLIA - A Mongolian tourist poses with an eagle overlooking Ulan Bator. By @johaynz #AFP: image via  AFP Photo Department @AFPhoto, 2 July 2016

Two paddleboarders are seen on Lake Balaton near Balatonfoldvar, 120 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 30, 2016. (Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP)
 
Two paddle boarders are seen on Lake Balaton near Balatonfoldvar, Hungary: photo by Gyorgy Varga/MTI/AP, 1 July 2016

Two paddleboarders are seen on Lake Balaton near Balatonfoldvar, 120 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 30, 2016. (Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP)

Two paddle boarders are seen on Lake Balaton near Balatonfoldvar, Hungary: photo by Gyorgy Varga/MTI/AP, 1 July 2016 

2 comments:

billoo said...

Lest we forget ( or, more accurately: lest we remember). These ceremonies with the fluttering flags, the somber faces and the mournful music always strike me as a farce, pure theatre. Anyway, with Chilcot due out next week people may have to remember another war.

TC said...

billoo,

If you're referring to imagery of the commemoration of the Battle of the Somme (top shot), and the perpetuation of the ridiculous royal twit-pack, with all its extremely silly trappings, and the willful attempt at somehow reviving that particular malign and now totally moribund Empire by means of decorative pomp and circumstance, it did seem to me that all that empty attempt at reproducing a lost grandeur would indeed require the grand sense of farce of Restoration Drama to capture. You know, that lovely period when dogs giving birth to puppies was regarded as routine entertainment in the delirious unending party at Court, while the sun conveniently never set on the faraway reaches of Empire.

The colonists over here did a pretty poor job of building a plausible reproduction of that, in my view. Not that there has been any lack of ambition, greed, cruelty, and gimcrack device, all those good things. But now it appears to be nearing the end of the day... and the remains ought not to be left out too long in the sun, lest we begin to actually notice.