Sunday, March 11, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Whitney Houston
Reports of Whitney Houston's Death Denied
Whitney Houston's rep issued a shocked denial today to counter reports that the singer/actress has died
In a statement, her publicist, Nancy Seltzer, said, "I've just spoken to Whitney. She is perfectly fine and does not understand why, with everything going on in the world right now, they have to find new rumors to dig up. She is home in New Jersey with her family." Seltzer said people were calling the singer at home and sobbing, after apparently having heard reports of her death over the radio. According to the rumors, Houston had died of a drug overdose.Fans and the media have speculated about Houston's health after her performance at Friday's Michael Jackson tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, where she appeared shockingly thin, even skeletal. The singer then bowed out of the second night of the concert without explanation, prompting heightened speculation about her health. Houston has long been rumored to have drug problems, and in Tuesday's edition of the New York Daily News — which was evidently published before horrific terrorist attacks brought the city to a standstill — Seltzer denied fresh reports that her celebrity client was on drugs.
"Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress, she doesn't eat," Seltzer told the New York tab at the time.
Houston and her husband, singer Bobby Brown, have had a history of drug- and alcohol-related issues, including possession of marijuana charges for Houston in January 2000, which were later dismissed, and a 75-day stint in jail for Brown in 2000, after he violated his probation (stemming from 1996 drunken driving charges).
St Valentine's day
ST VALENTINE’S DAY
Valentine's Day is celebrated on 14th February, the feast day of St. Valentine. It is a traditional celebration in which lovers, partners and married couples express their love and affection for each other. In some countries it is known as The Day of Lovers or The Day of Love and Friendship.
These days it is celebrated with the exchanging of cards known as valentines, with patterns on of hearts or Cupid; but with the rise of the Internet the custom of exchanging virtual cards has also increased. Common as well is the tradition of giving roses or tokens of love.
Since the nineteenth century, people have exchanged cards and gifts like roses and chocolates. The gift of roses is common between couples, friends and family, and the colour of the roses determines the message expressed. For example, the red rose symbolizes love, white represents peace and yellow represents friendship.
However, like most holiday celebrations, Valentine's Day has been commercialized and now many think it seems more like a celebration organized by the shops and department stores as any hint of romanticism has been lost.
Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day and how did it start?
Pope Gelasius declared 14th February St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. Various theories exist regarding how Valentine's Day started and one of those describes a story that mixes drama with romanticism, whereas others claim that the celebration came about due to a pagan festival that was christianized.
Who is St Valentine?
The Catholic Church recognizes 11 Saint Valentines and 14th February celebrates at least three of them:
1) Valentine of Rome: a roman priest who was martyred around the year 269 and was buried on Via Flaminia. His relics can be found in the Church of Saint Práxedes in Rome and in the Carmelite church of Whitefriar Street in Dublin (Ireland).
2) Valentine of Terni: around the year 197 he was named bishop of Interamna (now called Terni). He is also buried on Via Flaminia, but in a different place to Saint Valentine of Rome. His relics can be found in the Basilica of Saint Valentine of Terni.
3) A third saint called Valentine (according to the Catholic Encyclopedia) was mentioned in the early martyrologies under the same date (14th February). It only states that he was martyrized in Africa with some companions.
What is the history of St Valentine?
There are various legends regarding the history of St Valentine; the only thing that can be said for sure is that there is lots of mystery and his exact story is not very clear.
One of the most well-known legends dates back to Rome in the 3rd century. In this period, soldiers were not allowed to get married because it was believed that single men were better soldiers in battle than those that were married, because they were emotionally attached to their families. Faced with this situation, the figure of the Christian priest Valentine appeared, who considered the obligation on soliders not to marry to be injust. He therefore decided to unite partners in matrimony with the Christian blessing. Through his actions, he emerged as the protector of those in love, because he carried out secret marriages all over Rome, until he was summoned by the Emperor Claudius II.
Asterius, a deputy of Rome, was responsible for the condemned Valentine. He made fun of Christianity and put Valentine to the test, asking him to return the sight of his daughter who was born blind. The priest accepted and performed the miracle. Asterius and his family became Christian, but they could not save Valentine from death, and he was executed on 14th February. Two centuries afterwards, the Catholic church revived the story and shortly afterwards, Valentine was canonized.
Another legend claims that St Valentine wrote the very first 'Valentine' himself, when he fell in love with a young girl (possibly the daughter of Asterius) who visited him in prison. Before his death, it is said that he wrote a card to her which he signed 'From your Valentine', an expression which is used a lot in current day Valentine messages.
Because of these stories, without even asking for it, St Valentine became a patron saint for all people in love and in friendships.
Why is it celebrated on the 14th February?
Some think that Valentine's Day is on 14th February because this is the date when Saint Valentine died or was buried. Others believe that it is celebrated mid-February because it was an attempt by the Catholic church to christianize the celebrations of the pagan festival of fertility 'Lupercalia' which started on 15th February.
How did Valentine's Day become the widespread and commercialized celebration that it is today?
In the United Kingdom during the 17th century, the celebration of Valentine's Day became widespread. In the 18th century, it was common for friends and lovers to exchange love notes written by hand. At the end of this century, printed cards started to replace these letters. In this period, Americans also adopted the tradition and in the 1840s, Esther A. Howland started to sell the first mass-produced Valentine's day cards.
SPAIN
In Spain, they started to celebrate Valentine's day in the middle of the 20th century, to create an incentive to buy presents. Often it is claimed that the celebration was introduced by the department store, El Corte Inglés. In Valencia it is celebrated on 9th October, on the feast day of Saint Dionis and in Catalonia the 23rd April is celebrated, as it is the feast day of Saint George, the Catalan patron saint.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Sentencing Spain's 'Superjudge': Why Baltasar Garzón Is Being Punished
Sentencing Spain's 'Superjudge': Why Baltasar Garzón Is Being Punished
Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón attends the first day of his trial in Madrid on Jan. 17, 2012
Javier Soriano / AFP / Getty Images
Baltasar Garzón is one of the most renowned magistrates in the world, so tireless in his quest for justice that national boundaries and foreign jurisdictions failed to stop him. On Thursday, however, Garzón himself was found guilty of criminal behavior. Best known for arresting Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for crimes against humanity, the Spanish judge was convicted by a Madrid court for ordering illegal eavesdropping; he was barred from practicing law for 11 years. Although many observers in and out of Spain understand why these particular charges were brought against the judge, both the extraordinary treatment he has received, and the fact that this case is one of three pending against him, have convinced many that Garzón is the victim of a witch hunt. For them, Thursday's verdict only confirms that sense.
Garzón has long been a divisive figure in Spain. From his seat on the National Court, he has gone after crime mobs, terrorists and, in the 1980s, his own government's dirty war against militant Basque separatists. As the world's foremost practitioner of universal jurisdiction, he has also investigated human-rights abuses in Guatemala and Guantánamo. In addition to famously ordering Pinochet's extradition, he also convicted Argentine naval officer Adolfo Scilingo for crimes against humanity in that country's dirty war.(See "Spain's Garzón Guilty of Misusing Authority.")
But his reputation as an unyielding defender of justice did not protect him from — and indeed may have contributed to — being prosecuted himself. Since 2010, he has been indicted for criminal abuse of power in three separate cases. One, which concluded hearings yesterday and is currently awaiting sentencing, questions the legality of his investigation into the disappearance of an estimated 114,000 people during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and the early years of the dictatorship that followed. Another centers on his alleged dismissal of charges against Emilio Botín, director of Banco Santander, after the bank sponsored a course at New York University for which the judge purportedly received an honorarium.
In the case decided Thursday, Garzón ordered police to record conversations between suspects held in prison and their attorneys. Because the suspects were indicted for high-level corruption, and because he suspected the lawyers of laundering their clients' money, Garzón argued, the eavesdropping was warranted. The prosecuting attorney didn't see it that way, characterizing the judge's actions as "monstrous" and accusing him of being "some kind of Big Brother who thinks he can listen to everything." Ever combative, Garzón declared after the verdict: "This sentence, lacking in juridical basis or supporting evidence, eliminates any possibility of investigating corruption and its associated crimes. Instead, it makes room for impunity and, in its fervor to impugn one particular judge, crushes the independence of the entire Spanish judiciary."
The Spanish constitution allows for breach of attorney-client privilege only in extremely grave cases, and only under judicial order. In the past, that exception has been applied to things like terrorism or international drug cartels, but even Garzón's supporters find corruption to be of a different order. "The law is very vague, and the line is very thin," says Spanish-born attorney Almudena Bernabéu, who, in her capacity as prosecutor at the San Francisco–based Center for Justice and Accountability, has twice presented cases in Garzón's courtroom. "It's hard to say that what he did was illegal per se, but it was certainly very questionable."
Still, Bernabéu, like other legal experts, isn't sure that the punishment fits this particular crime. "It wan't right for Garzón to order the eavesdropping," says Joan Queralt, criminal-law professor at the University of Barcelona. "But when other judges have done the same thing, their cases have been thrown out, or they've been sanctioned for misconduct. But to turn around and prosecute the judge? That's like throwing a doctor in jail because one of his patients dies."
Some critics of the decision believe that this case — and the two others still pending — stem from Garzón's high profile (he is commonly referred to as a "superjudge") and apparent love of the spotlight (before being indicted he was a frequent presence on Spanish front pages and television screens). "There's a lot of reasons why the court would want to punish him," says Bernabéu. "But more than anything, it sounds and looks like revenge. Garzón is very famous, and envy and rivalry are endemic in Spain."
It may not have helped that the case just decided involved some very powerful people. Garzón was investigating officials within the ruling Popular Party — including Francisco Camps, who until mid-2011 was president of the regional government of Valencia — for charges of tax evasion, bribery and money laundering. "He uncovered the Popular Party's shameful acts," says law professor Queralt. "Once he got involved with the finances of the Popular Party, he opened Pandora's box."
That box still holds two pending verdicts. But unless Garzón wins on appeal, the 56-year-old's career is effectively at an end. It's an ironic finale for a man who dedicated his professional life to the pursuit of justice. But no more so than the fate of all those involved in this corruption case. A jury exonerated Camps and his accomplices in January. Which means that of all those involved in the massive corruption scandal, only the judge who pursued its investigation has been condemned.
Queen Elizabeth Jubilee
This year Queen Elizabeth celebrates herdiamondJubilee. (sixty years ruling Great Britain)Here is one of her "houses". Click and you'll know more about it and her: (listenings, readings and videos)  |
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Last Christmas...
This is not a carol, but it is heard a lot.
George Michael / Last Christmas (with lyrics)
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A different carol
Think about it.
John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Here are the lyrics:
Happy Cristmas Yoko
Happy Christmas Julian
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over over
If you want it
War is over
Now...
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Thanksgiving Story
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Native Americans that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local natives did participate, this "first thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast - including 91 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and
geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include Native Americans, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives," (see the proclamation). By then, it had become apparent to the settlers that the natives were a hindrance to their quest for more land, so the good will they shared at the first feast had long been lost.
A hundred years later, in October 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as thefourth Thursday in November.
This video is about the same topic with an interesting ending.
If you want more information, here you have some "Thanks giving Webquests".
Friday, November 4, 2011
Eurozone Crisis
Read and listen to different accents:
- American accent.
Obama expresses sympathy for
Europe at G20 - video
US president Barack Obama says he is confident Europe will meet the challenge of the crisis and that policymakers must recognise how difficult the situation is. The G20 summit in Cannes has been overshadowed by an unstable Greece and a threatened euro, but Obama said he was impressed by what he heard from European leaders.
British accent.
George Osborne on eurozone crisis talks at G20 summit - video
Chancellor George Osborne, speaking at the G20 summit in Cannes, said the eurozone countries have to safeguard their currency while the G20 countries looked at how to bolster the international financial system, including IMF. He says Greece's future, meanwhile, is in the hands of Greek politicians.
Click on "Link to this video" above and you'll find more politicians from different countries (and different accents) talking about this topic.
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