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Tuesday 20 June 2017

Iftar of the war orphans, Douma / Antigone and the Ice Age Horse Challenge for Tory Party Leadership

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SYRIA - Residents of the rebel-held town of Douma break their fast with the "iftar" meal on a heavily damaged street. Photo Hamza Al-Ajweh: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 June 2017


Ramadan in a time of war: People gather for Iftar amid damaged buildings in rebel-held Douma, Syria. Photo @BassamKhabieh: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017


#Syria How amazing, Iftar in Wartorn #Douma: image via Jammin @Buzzriet1, 18 June 2017



A #Ramadan iftar in war torn #Douma #Syria!! Oh Lord, keep them safe and bless them. Amen.: image via jacquelineroberts @jacquelineroberts, 20 June 2017


#Ramadan two years ago, after air strikes on #Douma #Syria taken via #iphone #iphoneography: image via Mohammed Badra @badramat, 18 June 2017


In a destroyed #Douma neighbourhood people pull together to celebrate #iftar.: image via NurPhotos @NurPhoto, 19 June 2017


'seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of hell, are not hell, then make them endure, give them space' - Calvino #Douma #Syria: image via Luca Tardelli @luca_tardelli, 20 June 2017


Several women today demonstrated in #Douma city, demanding release of detainees: image via oreusser @AllyOfTruth, 19 June 2017


More than 25 attacks on #Douma city near #Damascus by airstrikes and missiles: image via Asaad Hanna @AsaadHannaa, 20 June 2017


#Douma under Assad siege for 4 years. 1000s of civilians facing heavy #bombardment, lack of food and medicine. Conditions worsening.
: image via Rami Saleh @rami_Saleh2, 5 June 2017


 

#Ramadan atmosphere in #Douma with traditional Ramadan drink 'Sous'. PH: Firas Abdullah #7DaysinSyria: image via Diane Lockyer @dlockyer, 5 June 2017



 #Ramadan atmosphere in #Douma with traditional Ramadan drink 'Sous'. PH: Firas Abdullah #7DaysinSyria: image via Diane Lockyer @dlockyer, 5 June 2017



 #Ramadan atmosphere in #Douma. PH: Firas Abdullah #7DaysinSyria: image via Diane Lockyer @dlockyer, 5 June 2017



Man arranging sweets for #Ramadan in rebel-held besieged city of #Douma #Ghouta #Damascus #Syria Photo @BassamKhabieh #photojournalism: image via Syrias Vibes @syriasvibes, 3 June 2017


One angel, an angel from #Douma. By: @rami_Saleh2
: image via Eliane Alhussen @_ElianeBarros, 2 June 2017



 #Boys playing with water well in #besieged #Douma in East #Damascus. Taken by Rami Saleh on June 2, 2017. #Care4SyrianKids @lylarose18: image via Rami Saleh @rami_Saleh@, 1 June 2016


Image of a child wounded in #SyrianRegime forces shelling on #Douma in Damascus suburbs, May 31 #SNHR: image via Syrian Network @snhr, 31 May 2017


#Douma... Mohamed has left school to help his family ...: image via Nino Fezza @nfcinereporter, 31 May 2017


Civilian injures in #Douma after #Assad #terrorists' artillery shelling #Syria #Orient: image via Orient News English @OrientNewsEn, 3 June 2017


On a searing hot day in Mosul, a child with heat stroke is revived as others flee Islamic State Photo @ErikdeCastro: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017


Iraqi forces drop leaflets over the old city of Mosul as they launch what they hope will be their final assault: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017


#Iraq Iraqi forces push into Mosul Old City, warn IS 'surrender or die' Photo Mohamed El-Sahed #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


#Iraq An Iraqi forces member hold a position as they fight Islamic State group fighters during #MosulOffensive Photo Ahmad Al Rubaye #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


A member of the Iraqi forces drives an armoured vehicle as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City. Photo Mohamed El-Sahed #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017



#Iraq Shiite Muslims pray at the Great Mosque of Kufa during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Photo @HaidarAfp #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017

Britain Pedestrians Struck

Police stand guard at a cordon on a road near Finsbury Park station after a vehicle struck pedestrians in north London, Monday, June 19, 2017. A vehicle struck pedestrians near a mosque in north London early Monday morning. Police said a man who was driving the car has been arrested and taken to a hospital as a precaution.: photo by Tim Ireland/AP, 19 June 2017


A man prays after a van collided with worshippers leaving a mosque in the Finsbury Park neighborhood of London: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017
 

#London People affected by the fire that ripped through Grenfell Tower sit on the pavement outside a temporary aid centre. By @stansall_afp: image via Photojournalism @photojournalink, 19 June 2017


#UK Candles, religious icons and written tributes to the victims and the missing from the Grenfell Tower block fire in London. Photo @niklashallen: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017

North Korea Daily Life

A hotel staff member mops the floor where a picture featuring portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il decorates the lobby wall Monday, June 19, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea.: photo by Wong Maye-E/AP, 19 June 2017


In the latest @Reuters #backstory, a last-minute sprint delivers a disturbing image of Otto Warmbier's return
: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017


Photo

Young Pioneer Tours founder Gareth Johnson in North Korea (photo via Instagram)
: image via Consumer Affairs, 19 June 2017


Photo

Gareth Johnson with a bottle of Jack Daniels: image via Consumer Affairs, 19 June 2017


 DPRK tour manager Rowan talks you through his must-see's of the DPRK. Are we missing any? Tweet us!: image via Young Pioneer Tours @YPioneerTours, 12 June 2017


YPT staff enjoying a cheeky selfie at a mass dance in Pyongyang! #DPRK: image via Young Pioneer Tours @YPioneerTours, 9 June 2017


Fancy a weekend getaway with a difference? #Chernobyl #darktourism #ttot: image via Young Pioneer Tours @YPioneerTours, 12 June 2017


 $0.50 for a beer sound about right? YPT's Ben talks you through his likes and hates of living in "the pearl of the orient", Phnom Pehn.: image via Young Pioneer Tours @YPioneerTours, 6 June 2017

A television set shows U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his new Cuba policy, in a living room decorated with images of Cuban leaders at a house in Havana, Cuba, Friday, June 16, 2017. Trump declared he was restoring some travel and economic restrictions on Cuba that were lifted as part of Barack Obama's historic easing. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) 
Cuba: A television set shows U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his new Cuba policy, in a living room decorated with images of Cuban leaders at a house in Havana, Cuba, Friday, June 16, 2017. Trump declared he was restoring some travel and economic restrictions on Cuba that were lifted as part of Barack Obama's historic easing.: photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP, 16 June 2017


A member of riot security forces points what appears to be a pistol towards a crowd of demonstrators in Caracas: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 19 June 2017

Venezuela Crisis

An anti-government demonstrator slips during clashes with security forces along a highway in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 19, 2017. Nearly 70 people have died, hundreds more have been injured and thousands have been detained in months of almost daily protests demanding new elections as the nation battles triple-digit inflation, crippling food and medical shortages and rising crime.: photo by Fernando Llano/AP, 19 June 2017


#Venezuela Near-daily protests demanding the removal of President Nicolas Maduro began on April 1 in Caracas. Photo @jbarreto1974: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


#Portugal More than 1,000 firefighters are still trying to control the huge forest fire that erupted in central Portugal Photo @MiguelRiopa #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


#Portugal More than 1,000 firefighters are still trying to control the huge forest fire that erupted on June 17 in central Portugal. Photo @MiquelRiopa: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


#Pakistan Afghan refugee women wait to scans their eyes at the UNHCR registration centre in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Photo Abdul Majeed #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017


#India Muslim boys recite the Koran at the Madrasatur-Rashaad religious school in Hyderabad during the Ramadan. Photo @noahseelam #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 June 2017



Salem al Hassan al Hamoud and his son Hassan among 4 civilians killed in reported Coalition strike June 20 in Raqqa: image via Airwars @airwars, 20 June 2017

Extreme Heat Wave

Steve Smith wipes sweat from his face as temperatures climb to near-record highs in Phoenix on Monday, June 19, 2017.: photo by Ross D. Franklin, 19 June 2017

Extreme Heat Wave Los Angeles

A worker wears a large hat, wet with water, to shield from the sun while cleaning the seats at Dodger Stadium, Monday, June 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. A punishing heat wave has arrived in the Southwestern U.S. and brought temperatures that will approach 120 degrees in Arizona.: photo by Jae C. Hong/AP, 19 June 2017

Migrants and refugees stand on the deck of the vessel Golfo Azzurro after being rescued by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms workers on the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, June 16, 2017. A Spanish aid organization Thursday rescued more than 600 migrants who were attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in packed boats from Libya. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Migrants and refugees stand on the deck of the vessel Golfo Azzurro after being rescued by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms workers on the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, June 16, 2017. A Spanish aid organization Thursday rescued more than 600 migrants who were attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in packed boats from Libya.: photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP, 16 June 2017
Sophocles: from Antigone

Chorus of Theban Elders:
 
Many things cause terror and wonder, yet nothing
is more terrifying and wonderful than man.
This thing goes across the gray
sea on the blasts of winter
storms, passing beneath
waters towering 'round him. The Earth,
eldest of the gods,
unwithering and untiring, this thing wears down
as his plows go back and forth year after year
furrowing her with the issue of horses.
 
This thing ensnares and carries off
the tribe of light-minded birds,
the companies of wild beasts, and
the sea's marine life
with coils of woven meshes --
this keenly skilled man. He has power
through his ways over the beast who traverses
the mountains and haunts the open sky.
The shaggy-maned horse he tames with yoke,
and the untiring mountain bull.
 
Both language and thought swift as wind
and impulses that govern cities,
he has taught himself, as well as how
to escape the shafts of rain
while encamped beneath open skies.
All resourceful, he approaches no future thing
to come without resource. From Hades alone
he will not contrive escape.
Refuge from baffling diseases
he has devised.
 
Possessing a means of invention, a skillfulness beyond expectation, 
now toward evil he moves, now toward good.
By integrating the laws of the earth
and justice under oath sworn to the gods,
he is lofty of city. Citiless is the man with whom ignobility
because of his daring dwells.
May he never reside at my hearth
or think like me,
whoever does such things.
 
[The Watchman returns, leading Antigone and accompanied by at least one other watchman...]
Sophocles: Antigone, ll. 331-372, English version by Wm. Blake Tyrrell and Larry J. Bennett
Antigone was first performed in the spring of 438 B.C. at the festival of Dionysus Eleuthereus. In early summer of 439, the Athenians had successfully concluded their war against rebellious allies on the island of Samos. At that time, the general Pericles reportedly brought the commanders and marines of the Samian ships, members of the island's elite, over to the marketplace in Miletus (Plutarch, Life of Pericles 28) . There, he had them bound to boards and exposed them until they were nearly dead. He then had them clubbed to death and their bodies thrown away without benefit of funeral rites. Plutarch, who names the Samian historian and sensationalist Duris as his source, does not believe the story because other authorities do not mention it. Yet, the punishment resembles apotympanismos, crucifixion on a plank, which Athenians inflicted upon citizens guilty of heinous crimes. By all appearances, Pericles treated the Samians as disloyal citizens, and, in that light, their revolt is equivalent to stasis, factional discord among citizens, and analogous to the quarrel between Oedipus' sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, both of whom claimed the kingship of Thebes for himself. Sophocles surely knew about these events --  as would his original audience -- and perhaps was inspired by them.  

In the months before the festival of Dionysus, Sophocles entered the contest for the prize in tragedy.

He submitted three tragedies and a satyr play to the magistrate, perhaps by reciting several odes. In effect, Sophocles was applying to the demos of Attica to grant him one of the three choruses available for the festival. As soon as the new magistrate entered office, he chose Sophocles and assigned a wealthy man to foot the expenses of costuming the choristers and paying their salaries and those of their trainer and the flute player. This same man, called a choregos, was likely also responsible for paying the doryphoremata or "spear-carriers" (silent players). Sophocles' prestige and the choregos' own desire to win honor for performing an important public office and a religious duty would ensure that he would be generous. Afterwards, Sophocles, perhaps with an assistant, trained the chorus of young men, but he was not involved (officially, at least) in selecting the actors. The demos provided the protagonist or main actor, and the latter picked the second (deuteragonist) and third (tritagonist) actors, for every tragedian used no more than three. Although success depended upon the vocal skills of all, the protagonist alone was eligible for the prize in acting.
 
The festival had long been anticipated, and finally the day arrived. The time was early in the morning of either the eleventh, twelfth, or thirteenth of Elaphebolion. Spring had come, and the seas were open for Athenians to leave on business and war and for others to come to Athens to see its crowning jewel, the contest for the prize in tragedy and comedy. Athenians, both young and mature men as well as women, along with foreign tax-paying residents, sat on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Officials and notable foreigners -- magistrates, the priest of Dionysus and other religious dignitaries, judges of the contest in tragedy, and generals -- enjoyed the honor of seats of wood or stone next to the orchestra. The audience was on holiday. They were a lively and noisy lot, some 14,000 to 17,000 strong, interested in the dramas and keen to shout approval and hoot disapproval.

-- Tyrrell and Bennett


Gregarious 30,000-year-old mummified Siberian horse carcass to challenge for Tory Party leadership
: image via the Ice Age @Jamie_Woodward_, 17 June 2017


Detail of a rather elegant Chauvet horse stained burnt orange by iron oxide #IceAgeArt: image via the Ice Age @Jamie_Woodward_, 17 June 2017


14,000 years ago two bison were shaped in soft clay, by torchlight, in the dark recesses of Le Tuc d'Audoubert cave in SW France #IceAgeArt:: image via the Ice Age @Jamie_Woodward_, 18 June 2017

Untitled | by I Shot Baltimore

 The Crown, Station North, Baltimore: photo by Larry Cohen, 17 June 2017

Untitled | by I Shot Baltimore

The Crown, Station North, Baltimore: photo by Larry Cohen, 17 June 2017

Untitled | by I Shot Baltimore

The Crown, Station North, Baltimore: photo by Larry Cohen 17 June 2017

Outside #portauthoritybusterminal #nyc #smoking #gx8 #lumix20mm #streetphotography #streetportrait #lumixlounge | by mikepetersphotography

Outside port authority bus terminal, nyc: photo by Mike Peters, 18 June 2017

NYC, 2017 / DSC01691 | by dirtyharrry

NYC, 2017 / DSC01691: photo by dirty harrry, 19 June 2017

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women..... | by sagasurfer

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women...: photo by Mike Smithwick, 1 June 2017

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women..... | by sagasurfer

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women...: photo by Mike Smithwick, 1 June 2017

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women..... | by sagasurfer

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women...: photo by Mike Smithwick, 1 June 2017

Pieces | by _Joris Dewe_

Pieces [Ostend]: photo by _Joris Dewe_, 26 May 2017

Pieces | by _Joris Dewe_

Pieces [Ostend]: photo by _Joris Dewe_, 26 May 2017

Pieces | by _Joris Dewe_

Pieces [Ostend]: photo by _Joris Dewe_, 26 May 2017

 
* | by Ania Klosek

* [Warsaw]: photo by Ania Klosek, 17 September 2012

C R I M E A "Seaside Resort Impressions"   45/70 | by Stare & Street Photographer

C R I M E A "Seaside Impressions" 45/70 photo by Pierre Gély-Fort, 20 August 2016

C R I M E A "Seaside Resort Impressions"   45/70 | by Stare & Street Photographer

C R I M E A "Seaside Impressions" 45/70 photo by Pierre Gély-Fort, 20 August 2016

C R I M E A "Seaside Resort Impressions"   45/70 | by Stare & Street Photographer

C R I M E A "Seaside Impressions" 45/70 photo by Pierre Gély-Fort, 20 August 2016

Viel bleibt nicht. | by 17einhalb

Viel bleibt nicht: photo by Markus M, 21 November 2016

Viel bleibt nicht. | by 17einhalb

Viel bleibt nicht: photo by Markus M, 21 November 2016

 
Viel bleibt nicht. | by 17einhalb

 Viel bleibt nicht: photo by Markus M, 21 November 2016


 Found in 1981, in the lower reaches of the Indigirka River in NE Siberia, this remarkable mummified horse is 30,000 years old #IceAgeHorses: image via The Ice Age @Jamie_Woodward_, 16 June 2017 

3 comments:

TC said...

Once again -- so glad we could talk! It takes me back 30,000 years.

Unknown said...

Those top images of Douma are unbelievable.
Really good collection today and the thirty thousand year old stuff still looks pretty fresh from here. Thanks for these by the way. Most important daily news I look at.

TC said...

Justin,

Thanks very much. There is Life on Earth!

The scenes from Douma are a reminder of all that's been lost and all that still suffers and struggles for a reason. Belief. Inspirational.

Hope someday we may catch up with the Ice Age... but fear the present may be gaining on us.