text:
Q: Three.js raycaster intersection with sprites is completely off to the left I have sprites with text on screen, placed in spherical pattern and I want to allow user to click on individual words and highlight them.
Now the problem is that when I do raycasting and do raycaster.intersectObjects() it returns sprites that are somewhere completely different where the click happened (usually it highlights words that are to the left of the words clicked). For debugging purposes I actually drew the rays from the raycaster object, and they are pretty much going trough the words I clicked.

In this picture I clicked the words "emma", "universe" and "inspector legrasse", but the words that got highlighted are in the red, I also rotated the camera so we can see the lines.
here is the relevant code:
Sprite creation:
var canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
var context = canvas.getContext('2d');
canvas.height = 256;
canvas.width = 1024;
...
context.fillStyle = "rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0)";
context.fillText(message, borderThickness, fontsize + borderThickness);
var texture = new THREE.Texture(canvas);
texture.needsUpdate = true;
var spriteMaterial = new THREE.SpriteMaterial({map: texture});
var sprite = new THREE.Sprite(spriteMaterial);
sprite.scale.set(400, 100, 1.0);

Individual sprites are then added to "sprites" array, and then added to the scene.
Click detection:
function clickOnSprite(event) {
    mouse.x = ( event.clientX / renderer.domElement.clientWidth ) * 2 - 1;
    mouse.y = -( event.clientY / renderer.domElement.clientHeight ) * 2 + 1;
    raycaster.setFromCamera(mouse, camera);

    drawRaycastLine(raycaster);

    var intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(sprites);
    if (intersects.length > 0) {
        intersects[0].object.material.color.set(0xff0000);
        console.log(intersects[0]);
    }
}

I am using perspective camera with orbit controls.

A: I came to the conclusion, that this cannot be currently done with sprites (at least not currently).
As suggested in the comments, I ended up using plane geometries instead of sprites.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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As the Blues' dropped points for the first time in three games at the weekend, European qualification becomes the focus this coming Wednesday.
The evening kick off at the Bridge brings familiar territory for Jose Mourinho. Chelsea currently sit top of Group E, with Swiss nemesis Basel a point below and German side Schalke 04 a slot below them, with 7 points respectively. Mourinho has never missed out on the knockout round of the Champions League, and until last campaign, neither had Chelsea.
Chelsea are handed the easier game with the aim to top the group, with the Romanians yet to win a game in this years competition, having drawn three and lost two. With Basel and Schalke certain to take points off one another, Chelsea simply need a win to consolidate top spot.
But you and I both know things are not well at the Bridge. Juan Mata is back in the side, Fernando Torres is fit and Andre Schurrle has found form. So why has our usually reliable back four beginning to leak goals against second rate teams such as Stoke City and Sunderland, and we haven't kept a clean sheet since West Ham away.
Petr Cech has kept 4 clean sheets in 15 games in the Premier League this season.
Many fans applauded Mourinho's decision to start Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of Ashley Cole for the past few weeks, as his vigour and rate getting forward are rewarding. But with the team damns of the back for seemingly burst, is this the way Mourinho wants his team to set up, or is it a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it?'. Gary Cahill has also been enjoying minutes ahead of David Luiz, who is seemingly still out injured, but is looking increasingly out of sorts.
I'd expect Lampard and Oscar to come back into the side. And which does Mourinho value more; Torres' confidence or a happy Samuel Eto'o? Demba Ba is also in with a shout after coming into favour over the last two games amidst growing rumours Chelsea are to splash big cash on a striker this.


During the Austria to Austin Roadshow, participating students travel to Vienna to meet the 3DS team, get introduced to key entrepreneurship principles, and learn best practices for maximizing the Austria to Austin Foundations Exchange Program. The bootcamp will prepare you for your trip to the United States and the start of your international entrepreneurial journey.
Spend 72 hours with fellow Austrian exchange participants and local young professionals at Capital Factory, the epicenter of entrepreneurship in Austin, Texas, to create early stage venture projects. At the end of the program, you'll pitch your ideas to 3DS alumni from our global network and an esteemed group of mentors and panelists.
Meet the world's great doers, thinkers, and makers at universities around the world at a 3-day conference. Continue building your entrepreneurial capabilities through various workshops and panels and maybe build some early partnerships in between. Have your business cards ready! You'll be networking with the best of the best for three days straight.
Gain exposure to Austin (one of the most innovative cities in America) and San Antonio (a unique and emerging startup ecosystem), and learn how to transform your community back home. Visit companies like Facebook, Google, HomeAway, and Rackspace; see coworking spaces like Capital Factory, Geekdom, and Impact Hub; and meet social, business, and corporate entrepreneurs throughout Texas. We'll teach you how to navigate any startup ecosystem.
Being a good mentee is not something we are born with. The exchange will prepare participants to understand and meet the demands of mentors and investors.
Join us for great BBQ, two-stepping, food trucks, summer fun at Barton Springs, Texas history, and much more! Alongside building your entrepreneurial capabilities, you'll enjoy traditional Texan pastimes and excursions. Get ready for some fun in the sun.
The 2019 Austria to Austin Exchange application has now closed.
Please review the information under the "What Will Happen on the Exchange" section and the "FAQ" sections closely to get a better idea of the exchange before applying. We also encourage you to view the full application for the 3DS Foundations Exchange Program from last year in preparation for the ATA 4.0 application.
For questions about the Austria to Austin Student Startup Exchange, please email exchange@3daystartup.org.


text:
One more thing we've got in common
Having recently completed the Ambition School Leadership: Future Leaders programme, Chris Richards was appointed Deputy Headteacher at Villiers High School in Ealing at Easter, 2017. Chris oversees the quality of teaching and learning and is also raising standards leader for the school line managing all core subjects. Chris trained as a Modern Languages teacher in 2007 at the Swansea Institute for Higher Education and has a Masters degree in Educational Leadership and Management. This is his story:
Having completed my first five years of teaching in South Essex, I was ready for some diversity and moved to a South London school in 2012. In my previous school, I was "out" to my colleagues, but it wasn't really something the LGBT+ staff ever discussed with students other than in PSHEE lessons and they certainly didn't refer to themselves. This was quite different to the experience of many heterosexual colleagues who had photos of their significant other or children on their desks and openly discussed them in class.
I was really happy to find an ethnically diverse student and staff body on arriving in London and really enjoyed getting to know them better. I was initially a little apprehensive about coming out to colleagues, but it soon became apparent I was in good company and there was an active LGBT working party which arranged opportunities for students to march in London gay pride, did outreach work with local primary schools and, most excitingly, celebrated LGBT History Month (www.schools-out.org.uk) A year or so before I'd arrived, they arranged an assembly where a number of colleagues talked about their experiences of being gay. I thought this was incredibly important and, the year I arrived, they decided to repeat the concept and many of us recorded a short interview about our experiences of coming out. Standing in assembly when this was played, I can remember my heart being in my mouth just before my section of the recording and couldn't look at the students in the audience while I heard my words echoing around the hall. There seemed to be no negative reactions during the whole of the assembly however, and one of the most touching moments in my teaching career was when some of my year 11 boys came to find me afterwards telling me how great it was that I'd done that; that they hadn't known but, as far as they were concerned, nothing had changed. This was indicative of a really harmonious community despite its ethnic, religious and social diversity. Over the five years at the school, we did several similar assemblies and even recorded a music video on the theme of "I am what I am" for the outgoing Principal as she'd been so accepting of all students and teachers. This didn't mean that we had eradicated homophobia, however, but regular staff training and working with students who had expressed homophobic attitudes helped ensure the school community was well educated on the issues.
It was with a degree of sadness that I left this job to move on to a school in West London where I'd been appointed deputy head teacher. Would the staff and students be as accepting? Would the parents be accepting? How would the community react? I made sure to drop "husband" into conversation with staff at regular intervals and remember a conversation early on about "Orange is the new black" with one of the students who expressed how similar I was to one of the male characters and she said "but he's gay, so…" and I replied "oh, that's one more thing we've got in common then!". What seemed like hours later (though it was probably milliseconds) she said "Oh, that's cool!" and we've continued to talk about the latest Netflix arrivals since! This certainly gave me a bit of confidence that the students would be accepting.
What the new school lacks currently though is visibility; my old school was plastered in the Stonewall "Some people are gay" posters and teachers had stickers on their desks etc. I decided to take a chance and, at the end of term, charged with the task of talking about the spirit of adventure in an assembly, I mentioned, among other things, getting married to my best friend last year and put up a picture of us on our wedding day. Once again, as I came to the slide, I could feel my heart beating ninety to the dozen, but knew there was no going back. I got to the end of the assembly and received rapturous applause. Students have continued to behave as normal towards me, but the positive comments received from a huge number of staff members have been incredibly encouraging. One staff member, also a parent of a student in the assembly, has said how much it meant to her son to hear that and I guess that's why I decided to "take the risk". Whilst inwardly, it may feel like a massive challenge to "bear your soul" to a room full of people, it's incredibly important to do it. Young people need to see that LGBT+ people exist; they live, love, study and work with them; LGBT+ people contribute; we share a lot in common. I wish I'd had teachers who were "out" when I was growing up; to have seen that it was "okay to be gay" would have meant an awful lot to me as a confused teenager. I'm looking forward to making LGBT+ lives more visible in my current school and feel heartened by the reactions I've received so far.
Coming out twice
As LGBT+ people, we are permanently coming out – It's rarely a one-off. Whenever we meet someone new, there is that potentially awkward moment when you don't know how they will react if you slip it into conversation. Here's Jacqueline Collins' positive story of coming out twice at school.
Teachers don't have to share their personal life but I am the type of teacher who doesn't mind sharing parts of my life – therefore hiding an important part of who I am felt like I was somehow cheating the young people I work with. The first time I came out happened through chance more than planning, however.
On a school trip to London, I had bought a watch for my partner and on showing the other teachers, the beady eyes of my S3 girls clocked this and said 'Aaaw is that for your girlf…..I mean fiancé? In that split second I made the decision to roll with what she was going to say and said 'yeah, it's for my girlfriend' before quickly moving the conversation on. I noticed a few glances between the girls but no issues. I did however begin to worry about what would happen when we got back to school! Back at school there were no issues and two weeks later the girls very sweetly and discreetly asked 'did she like her watch?' I said 'yes she loved it!' For a straight teacher this would be no big deal I imagine but it was this acceptance from the girls that a year later gave me the courage to embark on a journey that has been both humbling for me and empowering for our LGBT+ pupils.
I decided to start an LGBT+ allies group and the first lunch-time we did this was my second coming out! In conversation I explained what the group was about and told the pupils who had turned up that my reason for starting this is because I want every young person to feel part of our school community… a feeling that I didn't have as a gay teacher when I first started my career. This subtle coming out meant that I was no longer looking over my shoulder and worried that a pupil would find out and somehow use my sexuality against me. I owned it and I was proud! From this, I could not be prouder of the pupils and staff at my school! Our LGBT+ pupils feel more accepted and we have empowered our allies to know that they have a significant role to play in this journey. Our LGBT+ allies group run campaigns, fundraise and play a vital role in promoting and celebrating equality and diversity within our school.
Jumping the final hurdle in my own gay journey was scary and not without its challenges. I can honestly say however that my experience has been a positive one. Being able to fully be myself has made me a better teacher and losing that final little bit of 'gay shame' has given me the confidence to lead change within my school.
We can never underestimate the power of acceptance but we must never lose sight of the difficulties LGBT+ teachers face. Fear and shame are powerful and at times debilitating emotions that are hard to lose. Without the the support of both the staff and pupils at my school I would not have had the courage to come out. I feel lucky to work where I do because many teachers do not feel able to take this step due to a lack of support. It has taken me a long time but I am proud to be a gay teacher and I am proud to be a role model for young people.
As they navigate the many difficulties in life and through the minefield that is adolescence, it is my hope that they can believe that being LGBT+ is an important part of who they are. But sexuality and gender need not define them and it certainly does not need to hold them back in any way. I teach all young people to be respectful, be proud, be ambitious and be the very best version of themselves that they possibly can be. Doing this with rainbows, I believe, just makes everybody's world a little more colourful!
Are you a lesbian, Miss?
In today's story, Sue Sanders from SchoolsOut – founders of LGBT History Month – shares a published piece from many years ago on why it's so important to have 'out' LGBT role models in schools, words that still resonate so much today.
The Soft Subject
Chris Woodley tells of his experiences as a gay teenager at school and as an openly gay teacher at work in his new self-penned Edinburgh Fringe Festival play.
I came out at fourteen years old. Having been blessed with forward thinking parents, my greatest battle was at school. I was educated in Bromley during the eighties and nineties when homosexuality was banned from discussion in schools. This was due to Margaret Thatcher introducing Section 28, which prevented teachers promoting homosexuality as something equal to a heterosexual relationship. This left me with a constant battle. The battle was daily. It was school. Five years in an all-boys school. Possibly the worst five years of my life. I was spat at, sworn at, shoved around, belittled, bullied and abused on a regular basis, like so many others. The school did very little.
Having studied theatre and then education, in 2005, two years after Section 28 was repealed, I went back to Bromley to work as a Drama Teacher in a secondary school. This time I was to be the teacher in the classroom, not the student. I was the only openly gay teacher at my school. Within a year, I witnessed the impact being out made to my life and also that of the students. More gay students came out in school, I directed plays on sexuality, I challenged homophobic bullying – I felt empowered. The road was not always easy but I knew it was about visibility and promoting dialogue. Theatre prompted discussion; discussion prompted change.
The idea of writing Next Lesson came to me in 2009 when working as a teacher in Cambridge, where I was itching to write and act again. I was fascinated by how much had changed for gay students in schools since I was a teenager and I questioned how comfortable teachers in schools today are when discussing sexuality, following Section 28.
I felt so strongly that in 2012 I quit my job and moved back to London to write my first full length play Next Lesson. The play explores the all too human consequences that Section 28 had for a South London school community – its staff, its students and their parents. The show has since gone on to have a sold out run in London and a staged reading in New York.
This August I will be taking my second show The Soft Subject (A Love Story) to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show is an autobiographical love story about teaching drama, heartbreak and The Little Mermaid. As part of the show I teach a lesson about falling in love, my experiences of working as an out and openly gay teacher. Think chick-flick meets stand-up comedy meets Disney with a Spice Girls soundtrack. As always, I will continue to be an out and proud teacher.
The Soft Subject (A Love Story) will be on at Assembly Hall, Baillie Room, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LU at 4.25pm 3rd – 28th August. Please find more details at https://www.assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/the-soft-subject-a-love-story/book-now @HyphenTC @AssemblyFest @ImChrisWoodley #TheSoftSubject
Please visit our friends at Schools Out
Our friends at Schools Out (founders of LGBT History Month) do amazing work!
This includes providing both a formal and informal support network for all people who want to raise the issue of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and heterosexism in education; campaigning on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans issues as they affect education; researching, debating and stimulating curriculum development on LGBT issues; working towards unison between teacher and lecturer unions and other professional stakeholders in education, and promoting equality, safety and visibility in education for LGBT people and all the protected characteristics.
Once you've finished here, please check out their pages:
http://www.schools-out.org.uk
http://the-classroom.org.uk/
The Careful Poet: My experience as a transgender pre-service teacher
Being a pre-service teacher is rewarding but never easy; being a transgender pre-service teacher adds another dimension to the challenge. While the students can stare in confusion and be understood, it's the cooperating teacher who can show blatant disrespect and discrimination without any repercussions. This video shares the story of my first time teaching as an out transmasculine person, and how that experience has affected my confidence as an education student and my attitude toward how teachers should be protecting their LGBTQ+ students.
https://youtu.be/5zIpa05zAyI
When it becomes just ordinary
I'm not the first out teacher at my school, and I'm unlikely to be the last, but on this sweltering
classroom day in June something profound happened that was so small that it bowled me over with
hope and happiness.
I've been teaching for 7 years now and I always wanted to help students realise
that they aren't 'wired' or 'freaks' when it came to their sexual orientation. I made a promise to
myself that I wouldn't go in all parade floats and glitter cannons, although the latter is always a good
announcer, but I would not lie if a student out right asked me if I was gay, or married to a man.
Let's set the scene. Geography individual projects on the Middle East. Starting the lesson with a
recap on how to structure an investigative report to my Year 9 class. General side track conversation
at the end of the starter refresh on the classes weekend and mine. Was asked about mine and I was
answering when one of the students piped up,
"You're married sir?"
How he's noticed only now after 2 years of teaching him I don't know, but I answered.
"Yes, I am."
"So, there's a Mrs'?"
Without missing a beat, I reply "Nope."
Another student replies, along with many of the students nodding, "Oh can we meet him?"
"Maybe." I reply, releasing that I've just come out to my class and they just deemed it as nothing out
of the ordinary and that being married can be to either gender and it's nothing 'strange' in that.
That moment gave me in that small passing conversation, the hope that this world, that can
sometimes dwell on the negative, has made progress and that we don't always see that till it
becomes ordinary.
Jonny Dobbs-Grove
Posted on April 8, 2017 July 22, 2017
Why, after nine years, I finally came out to my students.
This article tells the story of Daniel Gray, a teacher from South London in the UK, who came out to all of his students. Follow Daniel on Twitter at @thatgayteacher
I've done it. After nine years of teaching, I finally came out to my students. It shouldn't be a big deal in this day and age but, unfortunately, it still is.
When I was a pupil myself, at a secondary school in Basingstoke in the Nineties, I had a horrible time. I was subjected to the most horrendous bullying on an almost-daily basis, from knuckle-scraping Neanderthal boys. This was before I even knew I was gay – they all seemed to know something I didn't, and delighted in making my life hell. When it was raised with a teacher, during the time of Clause 28, I was told that, "it's just something we have to put up with".
I decided to become a teacher to right a few wrongs, to give young people the opportunities I didn't have; to make them feel safe, respected and secure.
It took a long time, however, to be fully honest about who I am – partly because I was warned categorically in my training year never to come out.
"Don't give the pupils any ammunition," I was told. In hindsight, isn't this kind of comment doing young people a disservice?
When a new head teacher arrived at my current school, I decided to broach the idea of commemorating LGBT History Month. He was all for it.
I wanted to increase visibility of LGBT+ people and issues in our school and "normalise" it. So now, all subjects being taught to all pupils will include LGBT+ issues for one lesson this month. In geography, students are being taught about LGBT+ safe spaces and why some cities have a higher queer population than others. In languages, students are being taught about Polari, while in maths they are learning about Alan Turing and his struggles and how these led to his suicide.
As part of this range of events, I thought it would be a good idea to come out to pupils in an assembly. It's something I have wanted to do for some time — the final frontier, perhaps.
I hoped it would build an open and positive relationship with students. If we are going to increase visibility and acceptance of the LGBT+ community, then we must start with ourselves as role models.
I thought about how it would have helped me to have an LGBT+ figure to look up to and decided to go for it. While discussing all the things we are doing, I said: "As a gay man, I know how important it is to have positive role models." No drama, no jazz hands. Done.
At first, most people didn't react at all. Some shrugged, others smiled. I had felt nervous, anxious and sweaty beforehand, but so relieved afterwards. A few minutes later, one student, who I have never taught, came up to me and said, "Sir, your assembly just changed my life." Then they walked away, not wanting to cause a scene.
That's why I did it, right there. I know now I've probably made a difference to at least one life for ever and we can't put a price on that. No amount of backlash – which so far has been minimal – can take that way.
Having taken nine years to pluck up the courage, I understand why most LGBT teachers don't come out. But I would encourage all of them to do it for the sake of all those young people who need us. Maybe then it'll stop being a big deal and will no longer make the news. It'll finally just be accepted as part of life.
Here's the link to the original BBC News article by Jennifer Scott: click
"Miss, are you gay?"
This blog was originally posted on http://thegutsygay.com/ in two parts – one and two. Follow TheGustyGay on twitter, instagram and Facebook. This article was also posted on TES.
The title of this blog is a question I dreaded being asked as a 22 year old teacher at the beginning of my career. I was worried that being open about my sexuality would be frowned upon by other staff members or that being honest with students may lead to them not respecting me. I had thought about what I would say if the question arose; "I would rather not talk about my private life", "I am not sure how this is relevant to the lesson" or simply "no". Surely not "no"; that would be denying who I was, suggesting a sense of shame. At this stage in my career I gave very little thought to discussing my sexuality with students, it wasn't on my radar. I lacked confidence, I needed to establish myself and I wanted nothing to jeopardise my credibility.
One day the dreaded question was asked: "Miss, I've heard a rumour you are gay". I panicked, I didn't think, words just came out of my mouth, "I don't know where you heard that, it isn't true". Instantly I regretted it, it felt wrong. Why had I denied it? Who was I trying to protect? Myself? What was I so scared of? My response to this question has regularly played on my mind since. Seven years on, I still think of how I responded and I regret it wholeheartedly. Young people deserve honesty and they require role models who are proud of who they are. I do not advocate teachers sharing too much with students about their private lives as there have to be clear boundaries. However, my lie and denial did not send the correct message; it suggested a lack of pride in who I am.
In the four and a half years that I have been with my wife she has always been open regarding her relationship with me. Previously, she had only been in relationships with men and, in every circumstance, has tackled questions about her 'partner' head on. This is something I truly admire; her response normalises our relationship rather than hides it. Not once has her honesty been met with anything other than support and acceptance. Seeing her approach showed me that honesty was the best way to tackle questions regarding sexuality. This was something I knew before but was not confident enough to follow through with. Whilst I have never been directly asked the exact question since, there have been opportunities for me to discuss my sexual orientation which I have not shied away from.
I did not deal with this question well in the early stages of my career. Actually, I dealt with it appallingly. I denied my sexuality and set a precedent for how I may tackle similar questions in the future.
Fast forward a few years and at no other time has a student asked me explicitly about my sexual orientation. However, there have been circumstances where I have been able to discuss my partner with students, both past and present. The most notable time was on last year's ski trip in Italy. Another teacher and I were talking one night with two students. My colleague was talking about her boyfriend and one of the students said to me 'Miss, are you with anybody?'. I was able to confidently say, "Yes, well actually I am married". The conversation continued and I disclosed that I was married to a woman. It was as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders; it felt great to talk about my sexuality. It was exactly how I wanted it to happen: natural and met with complete acceptance, as I should have assumed it would have been.
I wouldn't say I am openly out with students; it isn't something I feel the need to declare. It is not something I feel the need to talk about freely, in the same way I wouldn't expect any professional teacher to talk openly about their private life. I have been questioning the need that people in the LGBT community have to come out and tell people about their sexuality, especially since watching the film 'Jenny's Wedding' that I have previously blogged about. In a truly equal society there should be no greater need for me to announce my sexuality anymore than my heterosexual neighbour.
What do you think about TheGutsyGay's story? We'd love your comments.
So did you take your wife's name, or did she take yours?
by Brie Jessen-Vaughan (@DanceWellNZ), a middle school teacher from Wellington, New Zealand
It's the start of lunch and I'm chatting with a group of students. I'm not even sure how we got to this point, but I don't mind. I've been out at school now for 3 years. That's half my teaching career. (The answer, by the way, is neither; we went for the double-barrelled version).
I got married (well, had a civil union – at the time the only option in New Zealand) the summer before I started teaching. I spent the first couple of years talking about my 'partner' and never really confirming or denying any leading questions. I was out to the staff at my school, but I wasn't openly out to my students. I wasn't sure how parents might respond, and I justified myself with the fact that it wasn't really any of the students' business.
But when my wife became pregnant with our son, I realised that something had to change or I'd be hiding a huge part of my life. To be honest, it's pretty hard NOT to be out when you're having a baby, but you are not the one who's pregnant (also a little confusing for some students). So I told my class, and they were excited, but they didn't even blink when I mentioned my wife. It was the biggest non-event. And you know what? It IS the biggest non-event, that I'm married to a woman. There are so many different ways to be a family, and we're just one among many.
You could argue then, well why does it matter to be out at school if it's a non-event? But it's kind of like arguing why do we need male teachers when we have plenty of female ones? It's not a question of necessity, but rather representation. Students need to see diverse role models, of all kinds, different genders, ethnicities, abilities, interests, and sexual orientations. But what they need above all, is to see the person behind a label.
For most of my students, my being out at school doesn't matter to them personally. But for some students, it might. Maybe not right now, but maybe one day. When I became openly out at school, I showed my students that I trusted them. That I trusted them with a part of who I was and my classroom is richer because of it. Just last week we took a trip to visit parliament, and sitting outside the parliament buildings, we were talking about the different parts of parliament and the roles of the government. We were learning about how laws are passed and I mentioned the marriage equality law. I talked about being able to make a submission to the government, sharing my views on how this would affect me, and explained to my students how that law subsequently did affect me and my family. It was eye-opening for them, but also so much more real to hear a first hand story. They hadn't realised that less than 4 years ago, I hadn't been legally allowed to get married to the woman I loved.
Last year we had a group of students calling things and people 'gay' as in dumb. I could have told the students off for using it, but instead I used my own identity to help them understand the effect that it has when you give the word a negative connotation. It was a teachable moment, made all the more real because they suddenly understood what they were saying about someone they actually knew. It's not all serious though, there have been some hilarious moments, like overhearing a discussion between some students at lunchtime about how they took DNA from me and from my wife to create our son (not yet possible guys!) or when students have realised that I am married to a woman.
When I mentioned to a colleague that I was writing this article, she pointed out that I don't look like the typical lesbian and sometimes that challenges students. I hadn't really thought about it, but she's right in a lot of ways. Some students do hold a pre-conceived idea of what a lesbian looks like, and I don't really fit into that mould. And I think that's a really good thing; too often we hold tightly to stereotypes and try to box people in, and when you meet me, with my long hair, high heels, and love of ballet, you might not pick that I'm married to a woman, and so when you learn that, some people are challenged. But it's good. We all need a challenge.
Mostly though my students, their parents and staff have been nothing but supportive. I'm a quiet person, but I do believe that I need to set the example. I want my students to feel safe in sharing of themselves and the things that they love, that make them excited about life, so I need to do the same, and my family is such a huge part of who I am. When I talked to my syndicate leader, Louise, about this she said the most important thing about my being out is that "you show care for your partner, and the fact that it's a wife, not a husband doesn't even matter. I like how it's just who you are, not a big deal, and that's what you share with the kids." There are so many ways of being in this world, and the more students are exposed to them, the richer their lives will be, and the more open to new experiences they will be.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Пыльцеголо́вник длинноли́стный () — травянистое растение; вид рода Пыльцеголовник семейства Орхидные.

Ботаническое описание
Многолетнее травянистое растение 15—60 см высотой.

Корневище укороченное, глубоко залегающее, горизонтальное. Растение имеет корни двух видов — толстые, свободные от грибов, запасающие питательные вещества, и тонкие, имеющие микоризу, всасывающие питательные вещества из почвы.

Стебель прямой или чуть извилистый. Листья в количестве 5—9(11), линейно-ланцетные, длиннозаострённые, часто вдоль сложенные, 7—16 см длиной и 0,9—3 см шириной.

Соцветие не густое, с 3—10 (20) большими белыми цветками. Прицветники (кроме нижнего) мелкие, чешуевидные, 1—2 мм длиной. Три наружных листочка околоцветника ланцетные, заостренные, с 3—5 жилками, 1,2—2,6 см длиной, два
внутренних листочка – обратнояйцевидные, продолговатые, тупые, с 5 жилками. Губа разделена на две части: переднюю плоскую (эпихилий) – почковидную, тупую, до 0,5 см длиной и 0,8 см шириной, с 5—7 гребневидно выдающимися полосками, на конце золотисто-жёлтую, с мельчайшими папиллами, и заднюю (гипохилий) – вогнутую, до 0,4 см длиной и 0,9 см шириной, при основании с боковыми лопастями. Завязь около 1 см длиной, голая, скрученная, сидячая. Плод – веретеновидная коробочка до 1,7 см длиной. Цветет в мае – июне.

Опыляется пчёлами. Самоопыление отсутствует. У этого растения своеобразный процесс опыления. Пыльник раскрывается ещё в бутоне, при этом часть пыльцы как бы выталкивается в виде столбиков. По мере созревания рыльце цветка наклоняется вперёд, вытягивая за собой пыльцевые столбики с пыльников. Стоит пчеле задеть головкой цветок, как «столбик» рассыпается, осыпая насекомое облаком пыльцы. Хотя цветки нектара не содержат, но сладкое вещество содержится в выростах на конце губы.

Плодоносит в июле — августе. Размножается семенами и вегетативно.

Геофит.

Ареал и среда обитания
Европейско-малоазийский сарматский вид, встречающийся почти по всей Европе (за исключением самых северных ее регионов) – от Британских островов и Скандинавии до Средиземноморья, Крыма, Северного Кавказа, на значительной
территории Азии и в Северной Африке. Ареал включает в себя следующие регионы:
 Северная Африка: Алжир, Марокко, Тунис
 Азия:
 Западная Азия: Афганистан, Иран, Израиль, Иордания, Ливан, Сирия, Турция
 Средняя Азия: Таджикистан, Китай
 Индийский субконтинент: Бутан, Индия, Непал, Пакистан
 Кавказ:
 Азербайджан, Грузия
 Европа:
 Северная Европа: Дания, Финляндия, Ирландия, Норвегия, Швеция, Великобритания
 Центральная Европа: Австрия, Бельгия, Чехословакия, Германия, Венгрия, Польша, Швейцария
 Восточная Европа: Беларусь, Украина — Закарпатская область, Украинские Карпаты, Полесье, лесостепь, Горный Крым, степь (редко), Российская Федерация — европейская часть, Предкавказье, Дагестан
 Юго-Восточная Европа: Албания, Болгария, бывшая Югославия, Греция, Италия, Румыния
 Юго-Западная Европа: Франция, Португалия, Испания

Популяции насчитывают от нескольких десятков до нескольких сотен особей, но плотность низкая. По возрастной структуре преобладают нормальные полночленные, с правосторонним возрастным спектром, доля молодых особей составляет треть. Только на вырубках и в лесах, где пасут скот, они в подавленном состоянии.

Растёт в светлых скально-пушистодубовых и тенистых буковых широколиственных лесах, чаще — на полянах, опушках (до 1500 м над уровнем моря). К влажности и кислотности почвы растения неприхотливы как на известняковых, с хорошо развитым гумусовым слоем, так и на бедных и скалистых, иногда на заболоченных торфянистих почвах.

Мезофит, сциофит.

Природоохранный статус вида и меры по охране
Редкий вид. Уменьшение численности происходит из-за освоения территории, вырубки лесов, замены буковых на хвойные посадки, сбора на букеты.

Занесён в Красную книгу Украины. На Украине охраняется в природных заповедниках: Карпатском биосферном заповеднике, Ровенском, Каневском, Крымском, «Мыс Мартьян», Ялтинском горно-лесном, Карадагском, «Расточье»; национальных природных парках: Карпатском, Вижницком, Ужанскому, Яворовском, Шацком, «Синевир», «Подольские Товтры», «Сколевские Бескиды», «Святые горы». Состояние популяций контролируется. Запрещён сбор растений, сплошные вырубки лесов. Выращивают в Национальном ботаническом саду имени Н. Г. Гришко НАН Украины.

Значение
Имеет научное значение как редкое растение со сложной биологией развития. Может использоваться как декоративное и лекарственное растение.

Ботаническая классификация

Синонимы
По данным The Plant List на 2010 год, в синонимику вида входят:

 Cephalanthera angustifolia Simonk.
 Cephalanthera conferta (B.Baumann & H.Baumann) Kreutz
 Cephalanthera ensifolia Rich. [Illegitimate]

 Cephalanthera ensifolia var. cesari-gonzalezii Rivas Goday & Bellot
 Cephalanthera ensifolia var. maravignae (Tineo) Nyman
 , nom. illeg.
 Cephalanthera lonchophylla Rchb.f. [Illegitimate]
 Cephalanthera longifolia subsp. conferta B.Baumann & H.Baumann
 Cephalanthera longifolia var. gibbosa Boiss.
 Cephalanthera longifolia f. latifolia (Maire) Maire & Weiller
 Cephalanthera longifolia var. latifolia (Maire) D.Rivera & Lopez Velez
 Cephalanthera longifolia f. longibracteata (Harz) Asch. & Graebn.
 Cephalanthera longifolia f. pilosa (Harz) Soó
 Cephalanthera longifolia f. pumila Asch. & Graebn.
 Cephalanthera longifolia var. rosea Perko
 Cephalanthera mairei Schltr.
 Cephalanthera maravignae Tineo
 Cephalanthera pallens Rich.
 Cephalanthera thomsonii Rchb.f.
 Cephalanthera xiphophyllum Rchb.f. [Illegitimate]
 Cephalanthera xiphophyllum var. latifolia Maire
 Cymbidium xiphophyllum (Ehrh. ex L.f.) Sw.
 Epipactis ensifolia F.W.Schmidt
 Epipactis ensifolia Sw.
 Epipactis grandiflora (L.) Sm.
 Epipactis grandifolia All.
 Epipactis longifolia var. gibbosa (Boiss.) W.Zimm.
 Epipactis longifolia var. longibracteata Harz
 Epipactis longifolia var. pilosa Harz
 Epipactis pallens Sw. [Illegitimate]
 Epipactis pallida Sw.
 Epipactis xiphophylla (Ehrh. ex L.f.) Sw.
 Limodorum acuminatum (Wall. ex Lindl.) Kuntze
 Limodorum grandiflorum (L.) Kuntze [Illegitimate]
 Limodorum longifolium (L.) Kuntze [Illegitimate]
 Serapias ensifolia Murray [Illegitimate]
 Serapias grandiflora L. [Illegitimate]
 Serapias helleborine var. longifolia L.
 Serapias lonchophyllum L.f. [Illegitimate]
 Serapias longifolia (L.) Scop. [Illegitimate]
 Serapias nivea Vill. [Illegitimate]
 Serapias pallida Wahlenb.
 Serapias xiphophyllum Ehrh. ex L.f.

Литература
 Чопик В. И., Щербак Н. Н., Ардамацкая Т. Б. и др. Редкие и исчезающие растения и животные Украины : Справочник. — К.: Наукова думка, 1983.
 Каталог раритетного биоразноманития заповедников и національних природных парков Украини. Фитогенетичный фонд, микогенетичный фонд, фитоценотичный фонд / ред.: С. Ю. Попович; Державна служба заповідної справи Мінекоресурсів України, Науковий центр Заповідної справи Мінекоресурсів України, Інститут ботаніки імені М. Г. Холодного НАН України. - К.: Фитосоциоцентр, 2002. — 275 с. — ISBN 966-306-003-4.
 Фіторізноманіття Українського Полісся та його охорона / Під заг. ред. Т. Л. Андрієнко. - К.: Фитосоциоцентр, 2006.

Примечания

Флора Евразии
Орхидные
Микогетеротрофы

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Enlarge Christ Church, Barbados LCCN (identifier)
Capital of Barbados
For other uses, see Bridgetown (disambiguation).
Capital city in Saint Michael, Barbados
City of Bridgetown
Chamberlain Bridge spanning the Careenage, Bridgetown
Location of Bridgetown (red star)
Location on a map of Barbados parishes
Coordinates: 13°05′51″N 59°37′00″W / 13.09750°N 59.61667°W / 13.09750; -59.61667Coordinates: 13°05′51″N 59°37′00″W / 13.09750°N 59.61667°W / 13.09750; -59.61667
15 sq mi (40 km2)
3 ft (1 m)
7,300/sq mi (2,800/km2)
UTC−4 (Eastern Caribbean Time Zone)
Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison
ii, iii, vi
Reference no.
State Party
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI)[2] is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town". As of 2014, its metropolitan population stands at roughly 110,000.
The Bridgetown port, found along Carlisle Bay (at 13°06′22″N 59°37′55″W / 13.106°N 59.632°W / 13.106; -59.632 (Bridgetown port)) lies on the southwestern coast of the island. Parts of the Greater Bridgetown area (as roughly defined by the Ring Road Bypass or more commonly known as the ABC Highway),[3] sit close to the borders of the neighbouring parishes Christ Church and St. James. The Grantley Adams International Airport for Barbados, is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of Bridgetown city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. There is no longer a local municipal government, but it is a constituency of the national Parliament. During the short-lived 1950s-1960s Federation of the British West Indian Territories, Bridgetown was one of three capital cities[4] within the region being considered to be the Federal capital of region.[5][6]
The present-day location of the city was established by English settlers in 1628; a previous settlement under the authority of Sir William Courten was at St. James Town. Bridgetown is a major West Indies tourist destination, and the city acts as an important financial, informatics, convention centre, and cruise ship port of call in the Caribbean region. On 25 June 2011, "Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison" was added as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.[7][8][9]
1.1 Early settlement
1.2 From town to city
2 Geography and climate
2.1 Geography
2.2 Boundaries
2.3 Careenage
2.4 Climate
3 The city
3.1 Neighbourhoods
3.2 Landmarks/points of interest
3.3 Harbour
4 Society and culture
4.1 Utilities and local services
5.1 Stock exchange
5.2 Business/specifics
6 Transportation
6.1 Public buses
6.2 Route taxis
7 Diplomatic missions in Barbados
7.1 Twin and Sister cities
Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British landed there, one of the few traces of indigenous pre-existence on the island was a primitive bridge constructed over the Careenage area's swamp at the centre of Bridgetown. It was thought that this bridge was created by a people indigenous to the Caribbean known as the Tainos. Upon finding the structure, the British settlers began to call what is now the Bridgetown area Indian Bridge. Scholars widely believe that the Tainos were driven from Barbados to the neighbouring island of Saint Lucia, during an invasion by the Kalinagos, another indigenous people of the region. Eventually after 1654 when a new bridge was constructed over the Careenage by the British, the area became known as The Town of Saint Michael and later as Bridgetown, after Sir Tobias Bridge.
Bridgetown is the only city outside the present United States that George Washington visited. (George Washington House, the house where he stayed, is included within the boundaries of the Garrison Historic Area.) Two of Washington's ancestors, Jonathon and Gerrard Hawtaine, were early planters on the island. Their grandmother was Mary Washington of Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England. In 2011, historic buildings in Bridgetown were designated as a protected area by UNESCO.[10]
Bridgetown, Barbados in 1848
English settlement of Bridgetown began on 5 July 1628[11] under Charles Wolverstone, who brought with him 64 settlers to these lands formally claimed by James Hay, the Earl of Carlisle. Wolverstone had been sent by a group of London merchants, headed by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon. They had been granted a lease[12] to 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land by the Earl of Carlisle in settlement of debts. Wolverstone granted each of the settlers 100 acres (40 ha) of land on the northern side of the Careenage waterway for the purpose of general settlement.[11] The southern shore on Needham's Point was claimed by Carlisle's agents in October 1628. In 1631, many acres of land directly facing Carlisle Bay were passed to Henry Hawley, the new Governor; but after reports of his dishonest behaviour he was arrested and forcibly returned to England in 1639. An investigation by a commission in 1640 found that much of Hawley's land transactions were legitimate and properly showed[clarification needed] these lands (including the town site) as being attributed to the Earl of Carlisle. Bridgetown was built with a street layout resembling early English medieval or market towns, with its narrow serpentine street and alley configuration.
From town to city
See also: Districts of Barbados § City of Bridgetown
In 1824, Barbados became the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados and the Leeward Islands. The St Michael's Parish Church became a cathedral, so that Bridgetown became a city. In 1842, Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia were split into separate dioceses by Royal Letters Patent which also decreed that the Town of Bridgetown should be called the City of Bridgetown.[13]
From 1800 until 1885, Bridgetown was the main seat of Government for the former British colonies of the Windward Islands. During this period, the resident Governor of Barbados also served as the Colonial head of the Windward Islands. After the Government of Barbados officially exited from the Windward Islands union in 1885, the seat was moved from Bridgetown to St. George's on the neighbouring island of Grenada.
The Coat of Arms of Bridgetown
In December 1925, a committee sought to petition the King for a Royal Charter of Incorporation to provide local government in the city, proposed to consist of a mayor, 8 aldermen, 12 common councillors, a town clerk, a head-borough or chief constable, and such other officers as would be deemed necessary. It was proposed that the island's House of Assembly should seek to incorporate the city instead of using a Royal Charter.
This proposal did not succeed, but in 1958 the Local Government Act was passed in Barbados. This provided a separate administration for the city, with a mayor; 6 city aldermen; and 12 city councillors, four for each of the three wards in the city.
On 20 September 1960, the College of Arms in London granted arms to the City of Bridgetown. The armorial bearings were designed by the late Neville Connell, the then director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, and H. W. Ince, the Honorary Secretary of the Society.
Local government in Barbados did not last long. In April 1967, the Local Government Councils were dissolved and replaced by an Interim Commissioner for Local Government. The Corporation of Bridgetown thus ceased to exist, and its records and paraphernalia were deposited in both the Government Department of Archives and Barbados Museum and Historical Society.[14] Today, Bridgetown and surrounding constituencies are administered by members of the Barbadian parliament.
Aerial view of Bridgetown
As established in the early 17th century, Bridgetown's centre was originally composed of a swamp, which was quickly drained and filled-in to make way for the early development.
The earliest boundaries of Bridgetown are contained by way of an Act passed on 4 April 1660 called, "to prevent the danger which may happen by fire, in or about any of the seaport towns of the Island".[11] The southern limit was declared to be the River (Careenage), whilst the western limit was declared to be the western boundary of St. Michael's (now St. Mary's) Churchyard, and extending in a direct line to the seaside. The town's other limits consisted of properties of certain citizens' names in this statute, the location of which cannot now be determined with certainty.[11] The boundaries were not redefined until 1822.
Through Statutory Instrument (S.I) 1984 No. 141, Road Traffic Act, CAP. 295, ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATIONS, and under Schedule Sec. No. 6: The Boundaries of Bridgetown, Speightstown, Holetown and Oistin are cited as follows: 1) "City of Bridgetown" - "Bridgetown" - "The City":[15]
The area bounded by Highway 7 at the junction of Bay Street with Jemmotts Lane; thence in a north easterly and northerly direction following Jemmotts Lane, Martindales Road and Halls Road to the junction of Halls Road not including the said boundary roads; thence in a westerly direction following Tweedside Road and Roebuck Street to the junction of Country Road with Roebuck Street; thence in a northerly, westerly, and south-westerly direction following Country Road and Passage Road and Westbury Road to the junction of Westbury Road with President Kennedy Drive; thence in a southwesterly direction following President Kennedy Drive to its junction with Samuel Jackman Prescod Boulevard not including President Kennedy Drive; thence in a southerly and westerly direction following Samuel Jackman Prescod Boulevard to its junction with Princess Alice Highway not including Samuel Jackman Prescod Boulevard; thence continuing in a westerly direction to a point on the sea-coast; thence in a south-easterly direction following the sea coast to the junction of Bay Street with Jemmotts Lane.[citation needed]
Beyond the boundary outlined, the wider Greater Bridgetown metropolitan area technically occupies most of the parish of Saint Michael, an area which covers around 39 km² (15 sq. mi). The above portion for the Road Traffic Act also omits much of the 90 acres of new land originally formed by completion of the Port of Bridgetown in 1961.
Careenage
At the heart of Bridgetown is the Careenage and Constitution River. The Careenage can be considered a marina for boaters entering or exiting the inner basin located directly in front of the Parliament buildings of Barbados. This body of water provides the city with direct access from medium-sized yachts or small craft boats. Although moderately shallow, the Careenage slices Bridgetown into two parts. During the rainy season the Constitution River flows into the Careenage area and acts as an outflow for water from the country's interior storm drainage network. Flowing into the Carlisle Bay on the southwest coast of the island.
Bridgetown features a tropical wet and dry climate, with relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year. While fairly hot, Bridgetown is cooled somewhat by the trade winds that affect weather in Barbados in general. Bridgetown's record high of 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) in September 2005 and record low of 16.5 °C (61.7 °F) on January 2, 1984.[16] Bridgetown features distinct wet and dry seasons, with a relatively lengthy wet season and a shorter dry season. Its wet season is from June through January, while the dry season covers the remaining months.
Climate data for Bridgetown (Grantley Adams International Airport) 1981–2010, extremes 1944–present
(3.53) 1,270.3
11 8 8 8 8 11 15 15 14 16 14 12 140
Mean monthly sunshine hours
258.85 249.45 272.80 259.80 262.88 225.00 251.41 263.19 230.40 233.74 228.00 257.92 2,993.44
Mean daily sunshine hours
8.35 8.83 8.80 8.66 8.48 7.50 8.11 8.49 7.68 7.54 7.60 8.32 8.20
Source 1: Barbados Meteorological Services[16]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[17]
Bridgetown, showing Chamberlain Bridge and Parliament Building
Bridgetown Downtown
View from National Heroes Square, Bridgetown, Barbados, April 2007
In the centre lies the main street of Bridgetown which is Broad Street which runs directly through the centre of the city. Broad Street passes the Parliament Buildings and serves as the centre of city's shopping area.
Another major traffic artery into the city is Bay Street (which turns into Highway 7) and leads toward the South Coast of Barbados and the Parish of Christ Church. There are also other notable streets in Bridgetown, including:
Swan Street – which is parallel to Broad Street, to the north.
Roebuck Street – which leads towards Queens Park to the North, and East of Swan Street.
-and-
Tudor Street – which comes from the north, intersects Swan Street and runs perpendicular to Broad Street.
The Spring Garden Highway, which lies to the west of the city, plays host to over 85,000 bystanders and participants in the annual Grand Kadooment Carnival Parade.
Cat's Castle
Cheapside
Fontabelle
Garden Land
Strathclyde
Whitepark
Landmarks/points of interest
National Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar Square) and Fountain Garden [18]
Parliament Building
Nelson Statue
Independence Square and The Independence Arch
The Montefiore Fountain
Parliament Buildings of Barbados
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels
The St. Mary's Anglican Church
The St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral
Nidhe Israel Synagogue
The Pelican Village and Craft Centre
The Lord Nelson Statue
The Barbados Museum
Kensington Oval (site of the 2007 Cricket World Cup final)
Carlisle Bay Beach
Cheapside market
The Tom Adams Financial Complex
The Frank Collymore Hall of the Performing Arts
The Cathedral Plaza
The Cave Shepherd Department Store (No.10 Broad Street)
The Mutual Building (lower Broad Street)
The Cheapside Gardens
Sagicor Plaza
The Garrison Savannah and National Historic Area
The Hilton Hotel
Martineau House
Pierhead Development Complex
Main article: Port of Bridgetown
The Bridgetown Port (or "Deep Water Harbour" as it is also known) is the major port of entry for cruise and cargo ships docking in Barbados. The Deep Water Harbour lies a short distance across Carlisle Bay northwest of the Careenage Canal. Found along the Princess Alice Highway, and west of the city's centre around Fontabelle.
The Harbour port acts as one of the major shipping and transhipment hubs from international locations for the entire Eastern Caribbean. Recently, the Bridgetown Port was dredged to allow safe access and berthing for the new league of "super cruise ships". The dredging project was completed in 2002 and the city can now host many of the largest cruise ships in the world.
The port of Bridgetown also handles goods for the domestic needs of the island. The island's main exports of mainly agricultural products also make use of the harbour facilities.
walk along canal
Bridgetown also has a smaller canal in the centre of the city, named the Careenage, a.k.a. "Constitution River". The Constitution River should not be confused with the Deep Water Harbour. The smaller Constitution River feeding into the west coast lies about a half kilometre south of the large harbour. The Careenage is just large enough for pleasure craft or fishing boats and has two main bridges near the city center which span the shallow Careenage.
Colourful Bridgetown street
St. Michael's Cathedral.
Bridgetown serves as a principal centre of commercial activity in Barbados, as well as a central hub for the island's public transport system. Many of the ministries and departments of the island's government are located within the Greater Bridgetown area. The Public Buildings or parliament, which stand at the heart of the city directly north of Heroes Square, house the third oldest continuous parliament in the British Commonwealth. Indeed, at one point in the city's early history, Bridgetown was the most important city of all British possessions in the New World due to the city's easterly location in the Caribbean region.
The headquarters of the National Library Service of Barbados is located in Bridgetown. The main branch is found on Coleridge Street, in a coral-stone building, built in the style of the English Renaissance.
The iconic Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society building from Broad Street.
For a city of its size, the Greater Bridgetown area is home to several prestigious educational institutions. The city serves as the seat of one of the three campuses of the University of the West Indies in the northern suburb of Cave Hill. The campus sits on a bluff offering views of Bridgetown and its port. The Barbados Community College is located three miles (5 km) east of the Central Business District in a suburb known as "The Ivy", while the sprawling campus of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic is located just beyond the eastern limits of the city in a suburb known as "The Pine". In addition, the city houses such distinguished secondary schools as Harrison College, Combermere and The St. Michael School.
The City of Bridgetown also played host to the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Islands States. Bridgetown has branches of some of the largest banks in the world and English-speaking Caribbean and is internationally recognised as an emerging financial domicile. The city underwent considerable redevelopment in preparation for the 2007 World Cricket Cup Finals held at the historic Kensington Oval. The stadium was renovated to a state-of-the-art sports facility accommodating 30,000 spectators. Live viewership for the 2007 event was estimated to be over 100 million people worldwide.[19]
Utilities and local services
Barbados Museum and Historical Society at the military prison at St. Ann's Garrison.
Today, Bridgetown is a fully modern and thriving city, with access to many modern services including a piped water supply (said to be naturally among the purest in the world), electricity, natural gas supply, cutting-edge telecommunications, wireless services, internet cafes, and a good overall infrastructure. The city is also served by an impressive conference facility known as the Sherbourne Conference Centre.
Electricity – Barbados Light and Power Company Ltd. (BL&P)
Natural Gas – National Petroleum Corporation
Water – Barbados Water Authority (BWA)
Telecommunications – Digicel, FLOW, and WIISCOM
Television – CBC TV 8, Multi-Choice TV (Barbados), and DirecTV
Radio – List of radio stations in Barbados
Barbadian media
See also: Economy of Barbados
Barbados' main exports are sugar, rum, and molasses. The island is also involved in other industries namely tourism and the offshore sector.
Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE)
The city of Bridgetown also has a well regulated stock exchange with securities of Barbadian and regional Caribbean companies.
Business/specifics
Business: Banks are open 8 am–3pm, Hours: Monday to Thursday, and 8 am–5pm on Fridays.
The main banks are:
Bank of Nova Scotia,
Republic Bank,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (see FirstCaribbean International Bank),
First Citizens and
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
Automatic Teller Machines are available.
Shops are open:
8am–6pm weekdays and
8am–noon Saturdays.
Payment cards are widely accepted.
Electricity: 115 volts AC, 50 cycles. Most hotels have 220 AC.
Telecommunications: the international dialling code for Barbados is 1–246 followed by seven digits. On the island, use the seven digits alone. When on the island, to call anywhere in the United States or Canada simply dial 1+ (area code) + seven digit phone number.
Emergency Numbers: Police: 211 (emergency only) Fire: 311 Ambulance: 511 Coast Guard and Defense Force: (246) 427-8819
Main article: Transportation in Barbados
The city has access to daily flights via the island's Airport the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) located on the ABC Highway/Highway 7 in Seawell, Christ Church. The city of Bridgetown and New York City in the United States, were the only cities in the western hemisphere to be served by regularly scheduled British Airways Concorde flights. Additionally, the GAIA has been chosen as one of only four global display sites for the retired supersonic aircraft. The Airport is in the final stages of an expansion project, which will also include the construction of an aviation museum to house the retired Concorde aircraft.
All seven of Barbados's primary Highways begin close to the City of Bridgetown, in the Parish of Saint Michael. They all fan out to the north, south and east to other parts of the island. Driving is done of the left-hand side of the road with a speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph) in built-up areas. The speed limit on the ABC Highway is generally 80 km/h (50 mph) except in built-up areas. Water transport is regulated by the Barbados Port Authority.
Public buses
Public buses that head northward to destinations such as Holetown and Speightstown, and to some locations in St. Michael including the University of the West Indies – (Cave Hill Campus), leave from the Princess Alice Bus Terminal which lies to the west of the city centre. Buses for points east and south leave from the Fairchild Street Bus Terminal, which is on the eastern edge of the city centre, near to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
Route taxis
Route taxis are privately owned minivans which operate as taxicabs for hire.
Diplomatic missions in Barbados
See also: List of diplomatic missions in Barbados
Twin and Sister cities
Bridgetown is twinned or is a sister city with the following cities:
– Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada (9 July 2004)[20]
– Borough of Hackney, London, United Kingdom
– Wilmington, North Carolina, United States (28 June 2004)[21]
Jofra Archer, cricketer
Richard Clement Moody, founder of British Columbia.
Gilbert Elliott (1870–unknown), first-class cricketer
Anthony Forde, darts player
Chester Gill, jazz saxophonist
Grandmaster Flash, rapper
Orlando Greene, Olympic runner[22]
Zane Maloney, racecar driver and 2019 British F4 champion
Malcolm Marshall, cricketer
Jackie Opel, credited as creator of experimental syncopated music genre called Spouge.
Rihanna, singer/songwriter
Sir Garfield Sobers, cricketer
Sir Clive Walcott, cricketer
Sir Everton Weekes, cricketer
Sir Frank Worrell, cricketer
Demographics of Barbados
List of cities in Barbados
List of cities in the Caribbean
List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies
Parishes of Barbados
Transportation in Barbados
^ "Population of Bridgetown, Barbados". Population.mongabay.com. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
^ Barbados codes, United Nations - Code for Trade and Transport Locations (UN/LOCODE) via UNECE
^ "Restore priority of B'town Redevelopment Plan". The Barbados Advocate. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
^ Nantambu, Dr. Kwame (12 December 2005). "W.I. Federation: Failure From the Start". Trinicenter.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
^ Kasperson, Roger E.; Minghi, Julian V. (2011). "Decision Making". The Structure of Political Geography. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. pp. Pgs. 350–365. ISBN 978-1-4128-1854-4. LCCN 2011003509.
^ Lewis, Gordon K. The Growth of the Modern West Indies. pp. Pgs. 350–365. ISBN 976-637-171-7.
^ "Barbados enters World Heritage List with Bridgetown and its Garrison; Hiraizumi (Japan) and Germany's Beech Forests also inscribed". UNESCOPRESS. UNESCO. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011. The World Heritage Committee has inscribed three new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List so far today: the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany as an extension to the World Heritage site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine), Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, the first heritage site of Barbados to enter the World Heritage List; and Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites
^ Ramsay, Allison (26 June 2011). "Barbados makes the list!". The Barbados Advocate. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2011. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison site was considered for nomination after Barbados became signatory to the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention in 2002. Barbados submitted the nomination dossier to UNESCO World Heritage Centre on February 1, 2009, and that was among 45 proposals which were examined by the World Heritage Committee in June 2010. A total of 35 nominations including natural, cultural and mixed properties are being reviewed by the Committee. The session will end on 29 June.
^ "Historic Bridgetown now a World Heritage Site". Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Paris, said Bridgetown and its garrison deserved a place on the List, which is comprised of more than 900 cultural or natural sites around the world regarded as having outstanding universal value.
^ Staff writer (29 June 2011). "Guard our heritage". The Barbados Advocate. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2011. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) determined that historic Bridgetown and its Garrison fulfil the following roles: 1) "exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; 2) bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has disappeared; 3) be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history."
^ a b c d Alleyne, Warren (1978). "I "The Beginning"". Historic Bridgetown. The Barbados National Trust. pp. 7, 8.
^ Carrington, Sean; Fraser, Henry (2003). "Settlement of Barbados". A~Z of Barbados Heritage. Macmillan Caribbean. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-333-92068-6.
^ "No. 20146". The London Gazette. 30 September 1842. p. 2631.
^ Alleyne, Warren (1978). Historic Bridgetown. Barbados: The Barbados National Trust.
^ "Road Traffic Act". Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
^ a b "Barbados Weather Climate Data". Barbados Meteorological Services. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
^ "Station Grantley" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
^ "Trafalgar Square". Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2005.
^ Mukherjee, Sharmistha. ICC Cricket World Cup draws record viewership. Business Standard. sify finance. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
^ Miller, Dame Billie (9 July 2004). "Remarks by Senior Minister Dame Billie Miller at the Signing Ceremony on the Occasion of the Twinning of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia and Bridgetown, Barbados" (PDF). Foreign.gov.bb. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business (Barbados). Bridgetown, N.S., Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
^ Bridgetown, Wilmington's Sister Cities
^ Fox, Scarlett (22 October 2012). "Newsome Coach Orlando Greene: From Caribbean To Olympian". Retrieved 24 March 2016.


text:
Q: sysRestart Billion ADSL router (SNMP v2 or HTTP) Background

I am used to restart my servers on a scheduled basis. Now I want the same for my ADSL router.
This is my reason: When a random failure occurs, I am used to normally try to reboot the servers , interfaces and related equipments (if possible) as the first step before any other troubleshooting (e.g: changing configurations, etc).
In fact there are times that this corrects the problem (The service starts working as expected). This may be because when a system is long time up (sometimes, depending on the software and services), it may become unresponsive or faulty. May be the software fails to release some memory, unlock some resources , etc
Now for some services which scheduled down time is acceptable during non-work hours, I schedule the automatic restart. This way, such type of problems appear less frequently. And now if a problem occurs during work-hours, I don't need to restart the whole service, instead I will resume troubleshooting like after I had restarted them.
What we have
This is a Billion 5000 Series router and supports TELNET, HTTP and SNMP for management.
Telnet method (Updated)
This is possible to reboot the router via telnet command:
C:\>telnet 192.168.1.1
    Password:********
    router>set reboot

So near, just need a script that automatically telnets, pushes password characters and issues the 'set reboot' command. [The approach of using expect suggested by SvenW]
HTTP method
Good to mention that I utilize a software[1] application for monitoring my ADSL connection speed and noise margin via HTTP interface (the software itself, instead of a browser application, connects, logs in unattendedly and reads the values from HTTP interface and display them in a graph!).
I wonder if it is possible to achieve the SysRestart with similar approach (A script that automatically logs in and clicks the SysRestart button!)
The restart page:

*

*Picture of the page:

*The source HTML of the page:

<meta http-equiv=Content-Script-Type content=text/javascript>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Style-Type content=text/css>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=
iso-8859-1">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../css/style.css" type="text/css">

<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="/Forms/tools_system_1" name="System_Restore">

    System Restart

    System Restart with

:

        <INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="restoreFlag" VALUE="0" CHECKED>       Current Settings

        <INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="restoreFlag" VALUE="1">       Factory Default Settings

        <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" NAME="Restart" VALUE="RESTART">

</form>

SNMP Method
The router also has support for SNMP v2 read and write communities. I thought it might be possible to perform it this way.
In fact, by some search I found[2] that some people use SNMP to restart their devices (But I can't find an OID for my router to pass for performing a reset)
For example it appear that those who have one of these devices can reboot them using these OIDs:
'.1.3.6.1.4.1.207.8.4.4.3.2.0',    # Allied Telesyn restart
'.1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.14.11.1.4.1.0', # Hewlett-Packard hpicfReset
'.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.5.1.1.9.0',        # Cisco CatOS sysReset
'.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.9.9.0',          # Cisco IOS tsMsgSend
'.1.3.6.1.4.1.529.9.8.0.0'         # Ascend sysReset

SNMP Walk
Using SNMP walk I could get a list of more than five hundred OIDs such as:
.1.3.6.1.4.1.16972.5.1.1.0
.1.3.6.1.4.1.16972.4.10.0
...etc (568 more)...

But I have currently no idea how can I pick one among them (specially afraid to test snmp-write on them!).
Some more info
Some other (walked) OID and values that might help:
.1.3.6.1.4.1.16972.1.3.0; Trendchip TC3162 T14F7_3.0
.1.3.6.1.4.1.16972.5.1.1.0; www.huawei.com
.1.3.6.1.4.1.16972.1.6.0; Ras Ver:2.10.4.0(UE0.C2C)3.6.0.0   DMT Ver:3.6.0.0

How can you help ?

*

*Suggesting a way to script a restart via SNMP (Requires finding the
OID first!?)

*Suggesting a way to script a restart via HTTP

*Suggesting a way to script a restart via telnet

*Suggesting a way to script a restart (any other ways!)

FootNotes:

*

*[1] http://vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm

*[2] http://www.skendric.com/nmgmt/device/Generic/reset-device

A: Without a proper MIB file for SNMP your best bet will to either find some telnet command that does the restart and maybe use it with the help of the expect tool or to use something like curl to use the web interface.
Using curl might require multiple calls to it to first login and save a session cookies and then to do the actual restart.
I do wonder though - do you have an actual problem with the device you try to fix with a regular restart? If not, I can't see the reason to do so.
Edit:
Basic example for an expect script. Call it with scriptname hostname password or alter the variable assignments to contain the actual hostname and password:
#!/usr/bin/expect

set timeout 15
set hostname [lindex $argv 0]
set password [lindex $argv 1]

spawn telnet $hostname

expect "Password:"
send "$password "
expect "router>"
send "set reboot "


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Forum Home > General History > Military History > Modern Warfare
Hezbollah's defeat of Israel uncovered
Post Reply Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 <1 34567 8>
Vivek Sharma
Posts: 1775 Quote Reply Topic: Hezbollah's defeat of Israel uncovered
Posted: 28-Nov-2006 at 21:14
All said & done, can we draw the following conclusions then:
Primary conclusion = Hizbolla is the most powerfull fighting system in the world. It has routed all its opponents including the western world.
Implications / derived conclusions :
1. the arabs & the muslims world does not want an independent pelestine Or the victory of Hizbollah.
2. It sheds empty glycerine tears on the plights of these terrorists.
3. they in their heart want Hizbollah to be defeated but are so terrified of the Hizbollah (which is the most efficient & deadly, lethal fighting machine in the world) so that Hizbolla doesnt rule them.
4. For the above reason all muslim countries except the creators of hizbolla support the enemeies of Hizbolla.
5. izbolla is definitley infinitely more powerfull thatn israel, US & the whole of the Wester world taken together, but it is the support of the muslim nations that keeps israel in existence.
PATTON NAGAR, Brains win over Brawn
Worldhistory
Posts: 80 Quote Reply Posted: 28-Nov-2006 at 21:41
Originally posted by Timotheus
It's quite obvious that the Muslims cant drive the Jews out and the Jews can't drive the Muslims out without severe pain on either side. Neither will either leave voluntarily.
Muslims and Jews are one and the same and neither of them originate from that region.
It's just a scam to parasite off Europeans and European technology.
Many Arabs, let them be Jews or Muslims, have been able to migrate to Western nations on the "lets feel sorry for them factor" they constantly create with these fake battles.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese Arabs migrated into Australia based on such fake ME battles.
It's just a scam.
Posts: 1775 Quote Reply Posted: 28-Nov-2006 at 22:39
True to some extent only.
konstantinius
Posts: 762 Quote Reply Posted: 29-Nov-2006 at 02:56
Originally posted by Worldhistory
They're not quite the same. They're divided by light years of religious and ethnic division and a lot of blood shed. Jews originated in Egypt byt today's Arab populations of the area could very well be related to the original Semitic peoples who inhabited the region (Canaanites, Phoenicians etc). Islam changed the religion, not the bloodlines.
Actually the technology being "parasited off" is the US one, not as much the European. And it's being siphoned off by Israel mostly.
They're not fake battles. People don't die in fake battles.
Do you have a problem with Lebanese immigrants in your country?
By whom and for whom?
" I do disagree with what you say but I'll defend to my death your right to do so."
Originally posted by Vivek Sharma
Aethereal are the tidings of rain.
Originally posted by rock strongo
What an amusing and typically brainless repsonse! Goodbye strongo.
The forum's average IQ has just just shot up, though it is still somewhat below what we were used to.
Edited by Zagros - 29-Nov-2006 at 16:04
Many Arabs, let them be Jews or Muslims,�have been able to migrate to Western nations on the "lets feel sorry for them factor" they constantly create with these fake battles.
I think your nonsense is more suited to a place such as Stormfling, or whatever it's called. Or you can put up your conspiracy theories for discussion in a relevant sub-forum.
I am sure some of our distinguished members would love to lock horns with you on those wild claims.
I, an undistinguished one, am polishing the tips (of the horns) and I'm not even Arabic. It's OK, it'll be the second thrashing after the nonsense on the "Arabs and Spanish" thread .
Edited by konstantinius - 29-Nov-2006 at 20:27
Hellios
So what if Hezbollah won? It changes absolutely nothing. The state of Israel still exists, and Palestinians still don't have a homeland and never, ever, ever, ever will.
During the latest round, neither side's objectives were to maintain or destroy the states of Israel or Palestine like you suggest.
The objectives of each side were different:
IDF had 2 objectives:
- get back the 2 captured IDF solders.
- disarm Hezbollah.
Hezbollah had 1 objective:
- prevent IDF from achieving their 2 objectives.
IDF failed both their objectives and Hezbollah achieved theirs.
Hezbollah dug in nicely over a period of years and was able to withstand Israel.
Here's a quote, "The "target stretching" escalated throughout the conflict; frustrated by their inability to identify and destroy major Hezbollah military assets, the IAF began targeting schools, community centers and mosques under the belief that their inability to identify and interdict Hezbollah bunkers signaled Hezbollah's willingness to hide their major assets inside civilian centers."
I sure want those Hezbollah guys protecting me and my family. Their best interests would mesh nicely with mine.
Firstly, Hezbollah and those families are the same people. Hezbollah ARE those families, and those families ARE Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a people's resistance movement against a decades old occupation (an occupation ruled illegal by the U.N. decades ago).
Secondly, about the usage of civilian infrastructure by Hezbollah; it's quite possible that Hezbollah did this, but that doesn't change the fact that IDF is a state military governed by certain rules of engagement based on international laws & accords about war crimes. Such laws/rules prohibit the systematic shelling, bombing, and leveling of entire densely populated residential neighborhoods.
I guess its an honor to get killed in such a manner to be a statistic and photo op for faith though..My son was martyred, enjoy your virgins son, gosh willing I'll be there soon too if I can just become an innocent bystander...
My comdedy routine aside, the article points out the Israel gets US leftovers. Do you really think that Israel would lose a war with the US "A" game weapons?
Result would've been the same.
Israel would nuke its neighbors anyway to spite its face if it has to.
To save its physical existence it might do that, but to save "face"? You must be kidding.
I like how you've pointed out what amounts to a meaningless conflict in the global scheme of things. The US could take out the entire rathole of the middle east if they felt like it. Believe it! Its only one stupid terrorist action away from happening and then all those yahoos will be martyrs leaving the world of the living to more rational peoples.
Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are worth absolutely nothing to the world past the availability of their oil reserves.
Those countries are treasures of human culture.
What's going to happen when another power besides fossil fuels runs the US and Europe? Do you think the Chinese and the Russians will be as kind to the Middle East as the horrible Americans? Surely not..
What would happen is that foreigners would finally stop meddling in their affairs.
Edited by Hellios - 29-Nov-2006 at 20:33
all boils down to one simple conclusion. If the hizbolla was as powerfull a terrorist organization as it is being made out to be that it has defeated, routed, destroyed, humiliated one of the most powerfull military machines of the world, why don't they take it further and achieve all their goals. Surely they are the most deadly fighters , best trained, best motivated, have best strategies, best tactics............
What prevents these superhuman heroes from completing their heroic victory ?
Or is it that they in reality do not want the problem to be solved, lest the solution finishes off the only plausible reason fpor their existence ?
Timotheus wrote: It's quite obvious that the Muslims cant drive the Jews out and the Jews can't drive the Muslims out without severe pain on either side. Neither will either leave voluntarily.
Worldhistory wrote: Muslims and Jews are one and the same and neither of them originate from that region.
Your "Muslims and Jews are one and the same" comment can & should be interpreted positively, and in that sense I agree with you. It can also be argued however, because it's not entirely accurate.
Many Arabs, let them be Jews or Muslims, have been able to migrate to Western nations on the "lets feel sorry for them factor" they constantly create with these fake battles. Tens of thousands of Lebanese Arabs migrated into Australia based on such fake ME battles. It's just a scam.
Now, you're going off into the separate issue of how & why some refugees exaggerate claims because they feel it will increase their chances of entry. Anti-immigrationism is indeed contagious.
all boils down to one simple conclusion. If the hizbolla was as powerfull a terrorist organization as it is being made out to be that it has defeated, routed, destroyed, humiliated one of the most powerfull military machines of the world, why don't they take it further and achieve all their goals. Surely they are the most deadly fighters, best trained, best motivated, have best strategies, best tactics............What prevents these superhuman heroes from completing their heroic victory?
I don't believe Hezbollah think they can do that. I believe Hezbollah understand that they cannot destroy Israel, instead, they can only fight them in a defensive/guerilla style setting on their own land.
Or is it that they in reality do not want the problem to be solved, lest the solution finishes off the only plausible reason for their existence?
It' hard to agree with you that Hezbollah would not want Israel to release the thousands of Lebanese political prisoners that were detained during decades of illegal occupation and still remain illegally held today in Israeli military prisons. Equally hard to agree that Hezbollah would not want Israel to complete it's withdrawl from all illegally occupied Lebanese land.
Now, as for Hezbollah using the conflict to justify their existence, it's a logical assumption also.
My post was not against the Hizbolla, It was targetted at those people with no knowledge of counter terrorism who seem to make out that Hizbolla are the braves, deadliest etc....etc.... fighters & they will rout the wester forces.
What happened in this case was just a tactical miscalculation by Israel, which if it wants it can correct in no time & none of the so called supporters of Hizbolla will have the guts to rise against Israel. It's a bad statement to make & looks even worse to read, but is it not the truth ? How of many of these sympathizers had the guts to rise against the western combine when the mercilessly butchered more than half a million armed to the teeth professional fightors of Iraq ?
Thinking Hezbollah issue can be solved through so called anti-terrorist tactics might be a mistake.
What happened in this case was just a tactical miscalculation by Israel, which if it wants it can correct in no time & none of the so called supporters of Hizbolla will have the guts to rise against Israel.
The tactical miscalculation you're talking about is that they underestimated Hezbollah's ability to resist them, and yes, that has been corrected already; now, IDF is more aware of Hezbollah's ability to resist.
It's a bad statement to make & looks even worse to read, but is it not the truth?
How of many of these sympathizers had the guts to rise against the western combine when the mercilessly butchered more than half a million armed to the teeth professional fightors of Iraq?
Iraq? I believe the Iraqi resistance is quite existent and I hear many top U.S. leaders beginning to say that a military solution will probably not get rid of it either. I'm afraid you're mistaken in thinking that the "merciless butchery of more than half a million Iraqis" would diminish the Iraqi motivation to resist, when it only increased it.
Hellios, just a bit of correction the iraqi deaths I am talking about are not those of the resistance. their deaths number in thousands only. The one's I am talking about are the ones that occured during the invasion, when no body had the guts to resist the western forces.
The present resistance is entirely Iraqi, even today everybody cries hoarse about the west's actions in Iraq, but nobody has the guts to resist them. So also is be the case with Hizbolla. It is they who resist. Nobody has the guts to support them apart from shelling hollow tears for them.
Secondly the issue of anti terrorist tactics, such tactics can never succeed when any muslims terrorists are fighting against non muslims. I never said that they can succeed, because we see it here everyday.
The moot point was Hizbolla's co called much acclaimed victory over Israel, which the suupporters of Hizbolla call a victory of bravery etc.... while I maintained my point that it was just a small tactical confusion, after which Israel has again repeatedly bombarded Lebonan & killed many people.
It was more of a laid back reaction by Israel resulting from their underestimation or lack of inteligence of the levels of arming & planning of the Hizbolla, rather than any bravery or brilliance on their part.
Had it really been brilliance of the izbolla, why are they keeping quiet after that brilliant display of fighting when the Israleis resumed their offensive ?
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was one of the most profound philosophers of this century, author and educationalist. Radhakrishnan was also a professor of Eastern Religions at Oxford and later became the second President of free India. He has observed:
�The intolerance of narrow monotheism is written in letters of blood across the history of man from the time when first the tribes of Israel burst into the land of Canaan. The worshippers of the one Jealous God are egged on to aggressive wars against people of alien cults. They invoke Divine Sanction for the cruelties inflicted on the conquered. The spirit of old Israel is inherited by Christianity and Islam.
He went on to remark:
�Wars of Religion which are the outcome of fanaticism that prompts and justifies the extermination of aliens of different creeds are practically unknown in Hindu India.� <?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />
(source: The Hindu View of Life - By S. Radhakrishnan p. 40). For more on Dr. S. Radhakrishnan refer to chapter on Quotes.
He was perfectly right, so is your intention in selecting the material for the above post. Hats off to you.
What a great man, but unfortunately the intolerance has spread to include polytheists too.
In Iraq, there was no organised resistance, all of the army disbanded (prior to the invasion most of IRaq's top brass had been bribed) and went home save for 10,000 or so republican guard who didn't have much will to fight either... It can be said that at first the deposing of Saddam was welcomed by the Iraqis... It is once they saw that their occupiers were only better than Saddam in name that major resistance started.
Quote Reply Posted: 30-Nov-2006 at 16:27
Full conscription is the answer to all of America's military problems and it hasn't been used since WW2.
An act of terrorism bad enough to bring that back will creat the manpower and the will necessary to beat any foes.
From Haaretz: Cry to those using babies by Naomi Ragen. (via At Level Ground)
"They [Hezbollah] are a lousy army. They only win when they hide behind baby carriages."
Please remember this when you hear about the "atrocity" of the Israeli bomb that killed many civilians in Kafr Qana, a place from which Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel. Unlike previous administrations, Mr. Olmert has my respect when he says: "They were warned to leave. It is the responsibility of Hezbollah for firing rockets amid civilians."
Terrorists and their supporters have lost the right to complain about civilian casualties, since all they have is one goal: this entire war is to target civilians. Every single one of the more than 2,500 rockets launched into Israel, is launched into populated towns filled with women and children. Just today, another explosive belt meant to kill civilians in Israel was detonated harmlessly by our forces in Nablus.
So don't cry to me about civilian casualties. Cry to those using babies and wives and mothers; cry to those who store weapons in mosques, ambulances, hospitals and private homes. Cry to those launching deadly rockets from the backyards of kindergartens and schools. Cry to the heartless men who love death, and however many of their troops or civilians die, consider themselves victorious as long as they can keep on firing rockets at our women and children.


text:
What's Going on Saturday?
Today's NYC-area shows include Rolling Loud day 3, Mannequin Pussy, City Morgue, TOPS, Magnetic Fields, Sister Nancy, MIKE, and more
Jesse Malin talks return of shows, made us two summer playlists
Summer is here, shows are back, and Jesse Malin has some music for the occasion. He's playing 7 & 9:30 PM shows at City Winery tonight (6/25), and ahead of the shows, he penned a short essay on the return of NYC nightlife and made us two playlists...
Listen to new songs by YBN Nahmir, Ludacris/Chance the Rapper, Gillian Welch, Annie, Hatebreed, and more...
Listen to new songs by Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Laura Stevenson, Dope Body, YG, Doja Cat/Nicki, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and more.
Lenny Kaye, Steve Wynn & more playing Lou Reed birthday tribute in NYC
Lou Reed, who died in 2013, would've been 79 on next Monday and the Bowery Electric is throwing a birthday bash on Sunday, March 1 in his honor. They've gotten a bunch of very cool guests vocalists to sing at the party...
Village of Love benefit lineups announced for NYC, L.A., Chicago, S.F. & Miami
As mentioned, Panache Booking's annual Valentine's Day Village of Love benefits for Planned Parenthood have expanded well beyond New York City, and in 2020 there are shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami...
Saturday show options include American Football, Liturgy, Eddie Izzard, Califone, Snail Mail, Bodega, and more.
Anemone, Thundercat, Action Bronson, Corrosion of Conformity, The Cactus Blossoms and more Wednesday show options.
Courtney Barnett/Julien Baker/Vagabon, Raphael Saadiq, David Johansen, Bongripper, Jonny Fritz, and more Wednesday show options.
Kendrick Lamar in NYC for Hennessy event, going on tour w/ Drake & A$AP Rocky (dates)
XXLMag and Hennessy are teaming up to present Kendrick Lamar at S.O.B.'s TONIGHT (12/19). The show will also a feature of showcase of artists from XXLMag's The Break, "the spot where new MCs get to show and prove their skills...