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☆ I attended law school in the US and Belgium. I had better, cheaper classes in Europe and felt safer.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-07 | by ( Kristopher Milicevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewI attended law school in both the United States and Europe thanks to being a dual citizen of the US and Italy. This cruelty at the heart of American life makes me wish I'd never attended law school in the United States. From day one, I found that future lawyers competed for grades and coveted spots in school law journals. I felt safer at my European universityI attended law school in the wake of the deadly Virginia Tech massacre and the seemingly endless barrage of mass shootings that followed. Ghent University's law school is nestled in the heart of the city, surrounded by stunningly preserved medieval architecture.

Persons: —, William S, I'd Organizations: Service, European Union, Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Ghent University, Business, UNLV, Nevada, Belgian, Virginia Tech, Ghent University's Locations: United States, Europe, Italy, Belgium, Las Vegas, Nevada, America, Virginia, Ghent

MILAN (AP) — Officials have secured the area around one of two 12th Century towers that have become symbolic of the northern city of Bologna, fearing its leaning could lead to collapse. Italy’s civil protection agency has maintained a yellow alert on the site, denoting caution but not imminent danger. The Garisenda, the shorter of two towers built between 1109 and 1119, currently stands 48 meters (157 feet) feet to the Asinelli’s 97 meters (320 feet). Mayor Matteo Lepore noted in a debate earlier this month that the Garisenda tower has leaned since it was built “and has been a concern ever since." Preliminary work on the Garisenda tower will include creating a containment area to prevent any damage to nearby structures or harm to passersby from a “possible collapse,’’ the city said in a statement.

Persons: Matteo Lepore, ’ ’ Organizations: MILAN, —, UNESCO Locations: Bologna

☆ The Garisenda 'leaning tower' in Bologna, Italy, is on 'high alert' for collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —It’s the ‘leaning tower’ that has stood tipsily – but steadily – for nearly 1,000 years. But now, the days of the Garisenda tower in Bologna, Italy, could be numbered. Following investigations last month, the city is instigating a civil protection plan for the “sudden and unexpected collapse of the tower,” which has dominated the Bologna skyline since the 12th century. The Garisenda leans at an angle of four degrees – only a little more upright than the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s five degrees. “The overall situation has unfortunately worsened considerably, with worrying implications for the overall stability of the tower,” reads the report.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, CNN —, “, ”, Dante, Michele Lapini, Garisenda, Matteo Lepore, ‘ Organizations: CNN, intel, Bologna’s, Bologna, UNESCO Locations: Bologna, Italy, Manhattan

1977: The band releases “Love Gun” and a second live album, “Alive II.” The Gallup Poll names Kiss the most popular band in America. 1981: The band releases “Music From The Elder,” a concept album that evokes “Harry Potter” 20 years before that phenomenon began. 1984-1990: Kiss releases the albums “Animalize,” “Asylum,” “Crazy Nights” and “Hot In The Shade” as MTV embraces their new look. The band releases “Alive IV” with a symphony orchestra in 2003. 2009-2012: Kiss releases “Sonic Boom” and “Monster,” their final studio albums.

Persons: Yorkers, Gene Simmons, cabbie Paul Stanley, Elvis Presley, he'd, Wicked Lester, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Simmons, Stanley, Criss, Beth ”, “ Beth ”, ”, “, Kaskets, Eric Carr, Harry Potter ”, “ The, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St, John, Vincent, Bruce Kulick, Carr, Eric Singer, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Paul Stanley's, — Stanley, Kulick, Singer —, Frehley, telegraphing, Kiss, Tommy Thayer, Singer, Wayne Parry Organizations: Garden, Associated Press, Detroit, “, York, NBC, MTV, Kiss, Hall of Fame, Madison Locations: New York, Madison, Detroit Rock City, America

☆ ‘Bone biographies’ reveal what life was like for medieval commoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“An osteobiography uses all available evidence to reconstruct an ancient person’s life,” said lead study author John Robb, a professor at Cambridge University, in a statement. “Our team used techniques familiar from studies such as Richard III’s skeleton, but this time to reveal details of unknown lives — people we would never learn about in any other way.”An illustration shows a typical marketplace in medieval Cambridge. Mark Gridley/After the PlagueThe bone biographies are available on Cambridge University’s After the Plague project website. Together, the bones tell a collective story about a cross section of people living in medieval Cambridge and the hardships they faced. “Everyday diseases, such as measles, whooping cough and gastrointestinal infections, ultimately took a far greater toll on medieval populations,” Robb said.

Persons: —, ”, John Robb, “, Richard III’s, Mark Gridley, Sarah Inskip, osteoarchaeologist, John the, ” Robb, Anne, Eudes, Edmund, John, Wat, Robb, Christiana, Dickon, Maria, infirmity Organizations: CNN —, Cambridge, Cambridge University, University of Leicester, Cambridge’s Hospital of St, St, John’s, Stourbridge Fair, University of Cambridge, “, Cambridge Archaeological, Hospital of St Locations: Cambridge, Cambridge’s, Wat, Christiana, Norway, Stourbridge, England, ”, Europe

☆ George Santos said he's become the 'Mary Magdalene of United States Congress' and dared the House to expel him
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Speaking on an X Space on Friday, Santos said he had become the "Mary Magdalene" of Congress. AdvertisementRep. George Santos of New York on Friday compared himself to the biblical figure Mary Magdalene as he railed against colleagues in the House who want to expel him. "Within the ranks of the United States Congress there's felons galore," Santos told media personality Monica Matthews, who hosted the X Space. "There's people with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds and all of a sudden George Santos is the Mary Magdalene of United States Congress." AdvertisementDuring the X Space on Friday, Santos sought to channel anger and defiance, saying he welcomed the idea of being expelled.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, Mary Magdalene, —, Monica Matthews, Jesus Christ, Michael Guest Organizations: Service, Hill, United States Congress, Republican, House, CNN Locations: George Santos of New York

☆ The future of interest rates is more surprises
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Observing these oscillating forecasts, a bystander might conclude that nobody knows anything about the future direction of interest rates. The study examined data from 19 countries back to 1870 and found only a tenuous link between the determinants of savings and investment and real interest rates. “No single factor or combination of such factors”, the authors concluded, “can consistently explain the long-term evolution of real interest rates. Indeed, if the trend persisted Schmelzing forecast that “within a generation historically implied real interest rates will have reached negative territory”. Homer and Sylla wryly observe that people assume that the interest rates they encounter are normal and are surprised by what comes next.

Persons: Claudio Borio, “, ”, Paul Schmelzing, Sidney Homer, Richard Sylla, Sylla, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Capital Economics, Bank for International, Austrian, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Financial, Boston College, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Central, U.S . Federal, London, Japan

☆ The Crown, the Cabinet and the UK’s legacy of slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

British banks backed large parts of the U.S. slavery economy, and British factories were the world’s largest customers for the cotton produced by plantations in southern U.S. states. In 1663, it was granted a monopoly by King Charles II for the British slavery trade. In 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that would transform the U.S. slavery economy. Mill owners including the Arkwrights, one of the richest families in the industry, were Smith family clients. Two British travel writers visited Farm Pen in 1837, when the land was still in Smith family hands.

Persons: ”, Nick Draper, George Smith, King Charles, Hunt, Trevor Burnard, “, ” Burnard, Smith, Edward, René Payne, Payne, John Tunno, John de Ponthieu, … ” Edward Payne, slaveholder John de Ponthieu, de Ponthieu, buryed, King Charles II, John Montagu, Edward Montagu, Montagu, ” John Montagu 11th Earl of Sandwich, Edward Montagu , 1st Earl of Sandwich, Nicholas Radburn, ” Radburn, Brookes, –, Eli Whitney, Rothschild, Geoffrey Clifton, Brown, William, James Brown, James, Clifton, Harriman, Draper, Morgan Chase, Joseph Sturge, Thomas Harvey Organizations: America, University College London, “, Wilberforce Institute, University of Hull, ”, Reuters, Company of Royal Adventurers of, Royal African Company, The Company, Royal Adventurers of, Lancaster University, Traders, Transatlantic, Brown Brothers, Brown, Harriman & Co, Planters Bank of Tennessee, Planters Bank of Mississippi, Rio, Spanish Town Locations: Britain, U.S, British, Caribbean, British Caribbean, America, English, Nottingham, London, West India, Bristol, Liverpool, United States, South Carolina, Charleston, Barbados, Africa, North, Clifton, New York, Louisiana and Mississippi, Louisiana, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish

☆ Why is medieval art so weird? This new book offers a guide to the era
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —So you want to live like you’re from the Middle Ages? Swarthout is the researcher behind the popular art history-inspired social media account Weird Medieval Guys, which has attracted nearly 700,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, since she began posting with the handle @WeirdMedieval in April 2022. Swarthout is not a historian, but a recently graduated statistician who took art history during undergrad. Württemberg State Library Stuttgart/Courtesy Penguin Random HouseThere’s a reason why Medieval art is particularly, well, weird. Watch: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)The classic satire of Arthurian legend mined the Middle Ages for comedic gold decades before Medieval memes were a thing.

Persons: it’s, Olivia M, commonfolk, Guy, —, ” Swarthout, Swarthout, ”, Jonah, tradespeople, Andreas, Monty Python, Jack Hartnell Organizations: CNN, Dark Times, University of Pennsylvania, Twitter, Stuttgart, Xbox Locations: Camelot

☆ We Now Need College Courses to Teach Young Adults How to Make Small Talk
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Tara Weiss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jana Mathews , a professor of Medieval literature at Rollins College, checks the bathrooms to coax out students hiding from the big event in her Job Market Boot Camp class, a mixer with alumni to practice professional networking. For many of her students, the face-to-face conversations with strangers are more nerve-racking than decoding Chaucer. Sydney Parmet had trouble sleeping the night before and considered skipping it. “I kept overthinking what I was going to say and second-guessed whether I should say anything,” said Parmet, who graduated in May from the Winter Park, Fla., campus.

Persons: Jana Mathews, Sydney Parmet, “, ”, Parmet Organizations: Rollins College Locations: Fla

☆ Azerbaijan’s 10 best castles and fortresses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Tom Marsden | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

It grew up around a fortress built in the 1750s by Panah Ali Khan, founder of the Karabakh Khanate (1748-1822). Kamilla Rzayeva Tea culture: Azerbaijani tea culture originated in Lankaran and the hospitable locals will often welcome visitors with a refreshing glass. Kamilla Rzayeva Yanar Bulag: Yanar Bulag, meaning "burning spring" is a natural spring which percolates methane gas. Kamilla Rzayeva Hirkan National Park: Home to endangered Persian leopards, Hirkin National Park is a great place for hiking and cooling off. Kamilla Rzayeva Ironwood trees: Hirkan National Park's famous ironwood trees are believed to have survived the last Ice Age.

Persons: ”, Alexander the Great, Timur, Russia –, Elchin Aliyev, who’s, Akhsitan I, Ilisu, Ivan Paskevich, Imam Shamil, Potemkin, Sergei Einstein’s, Panah Ali Khan, Persian Shah, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Joseph Stalin, Kamilla, Stalin, Yanar, Zindan Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Sheki, of Sheki, Zaqatala Locations: Europe, Asia, Azerbaijan, Russia, USSR, jostle, Old City, Baku, Mardakan, Shabran, Persia, Chirag, Sheki, Caucasus, Ilisu, Ilisu Sultanate, Soviet, Zaqatala, Lesser Caucasus, Shusha, Karabakh, Persian, Alinja, Azerbaijan’s, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Machu Picchu, Azerbaijani, Lankaran, Ironwood, ironwood, Talysh

☆ One in 5 teens who have heard of ChatGPT say they've used it for schoolwork, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Pew Center study found that one in five teens who have heard of ChatGPT have used it for schoolwork. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . With around two-thirds of US teenagers having heard of ChatGPT, that is a lot of kids using OpenAI's chatbot to help write essays and solve math problems. ChatGPT is so popular among students right now that its US traffic dropped by over 10% when schools finished for summer. AdvertisementIts growing presence in classrooms has fuelled fears of a cheating epidemic, with another survey conducted earlier this year finding that one in four teachers say they have caught their students cheating using ChatGPT.

Persons: —, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Brad Lightcap Organizations: Pew, Reuters, Service, San, Business Locations: San Francisco

☆ Largely Ignored by the Western World, Africa’s Medieval Treasures Shine at the Met
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Holland Cotter | More About Holland Cotter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

We like to keep history as we’ve learned it in a headlock, to make sure it doesn’t shift or change. They turn the world into a fixed field of safe-spots and blanks, an us-them weave of gates and fences. One of the many — many — benefits of much-maligned “wokeness” has been its message to relax the hold, toss the charts or, better, revise them: explore blanks, rethink fences. It’s thanks to this more free-breathing approach to history, including art history, that we’re getting a challenger of an exhibition like “Africa & Byzantium,” which opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this Sunday. At the same time, as its title suggests, the show confuses — in a good way — certain expectations about who made what, and what came from where.

Persons: we’ve, ”, we’re Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Africa, New York, Asia, Europe

☆ ‘Spamalot’ Review: You’ll Laugh in Its General Direction
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Jesse Green | More About Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If you’ve seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the 1975 movie spoof of all things Arthurian and many things not, you know the coconuts I mean. And if you’re enough of a Python fan to have also seen “Spamalot,” the 2005 Broadway musical “lovingly ripped off” from the film, you’ve probably memorized the whole bit. That’s the one in which Arthur’s trusted patsy, Patsy, slaps coconut halves together so the deluded king can pretend he has a horse. Among many others, so are a troupe of self-flagellating monks, a cart of corpses, a vulgar French taunter and a Trojan rabbit. This one, directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, gives the “ni”-sayers what they want.

Persons: Monty Python, “, you’ve, Arthur’s, patsy, Patsy, James, Eric Idle, John Du Prez, ”, Josh Rhodes, sayers Organizations: St Locations: England

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - OpenAI, whose generative AI products initially raised fears of widespread cheating on homework, is now exploring how it can get its popular ChatGPT chatbot into classrooms, according to a senior executive. Backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft (MSFT.O), OpenAI kicked off the generative AI craze last November by releasing its ChatGPT chatbot, which became one of the world's fastest-growing applications. But within a few months, teachers started seeing how ChatGPT could be beneficial, he said. A new team at OpenAI would be an extension of the work the company has already done to integrate its technology into the classroom. There are myriad ways to use ChatGPT in classrooms, said Andrew Mayne, a former OpenAI employee who works with educators through his AI consulting firm Interdimensional.

Persons: Brad Lightcap, ” Lightcap, OpenAI, we’re, Andrew Mayne, “ ChatGPT, ”, Anna Tong, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis Organizations: FRANCISCO, INSEAD Americas, Microsoft, Union, U.S, Khan Academy, Schmidt Futures, “, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, OpenAI, Sydney

☆ Vatican Confirms Ban on Catholics Becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Vatican, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of Locations: Philippines, Lodge of England, England

☆ Vatican confirms ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis gestures as he leaves after the weekly general audience, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsVATICAN CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Remo Casilli, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, CITY, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Philippines, Lodge of England, England

☆ The Members of This ‘Manuscripts Club’ Were Obsessed With Medieval Books
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Bruce Holsinger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It seems nothing less than a miracle that so many manuscripts from the era endure to our day. These heroes are the subjects of Christopher de Hamel’s lovingly written and lavishly illustrated “The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts.” Crack the spine of any volume by de Hamel and you will step into a world of bookish wonderment. One of the most eminent living scholars and catalogers of medieval European manuscripts, de Hamel is also their greatest champion, having devoted his career to revealing their treasures and mysteries to scholarly and public audiences alike. Alongside his catalogs of private and public collections, he has published studies and guidebooks on a variety of topics. “Scribes and Illuminators” (1992) is still widely taught to students in paleography and codicology (the sciences of old handwriting and old manuscript books, respectively), while “The Book: A History of the Bible” (2001) surveys the history of the sacred Hebrew and Christian texts through the lens of their myriad surviving manuscripts.

Persons: Christopher de Hamel, Hilary Mantel’s, ”, Cardinal Wolsey’s, Dukes, Christopher de Hamel’s, de Hamel, Illuminators ” Locations: Norfolk, Sussex, paleography

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ Israel Is In Real Danger For Three Reasons - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

After traveling around Israel and the West Bank, I now understand why so much has changed. It is crystal clear to me that Israel is in real danger — more danger than at any time since its War of Independence in 1948. Last Saturday night, a retired Israeli Army commander stopped by my hotel in Tel Aviv to share his perspective on the war. Consider this context: “According to Israel’s official Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2021, 9.449 million people live in Israel (including Israelis in West Bank settlements), the Times of Israel reported last year. Let me not mince words, because the hour is dark and Israel, as I said, is in real danger.

Persons: I’ve, —, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Kiryat Shmona, Kibbutz, Liat Admati, “ Mahmoud, ”, he’d, “, Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu, Israel’s, Biden —, Ron Scherf Organizations: West Bank, Yemen —, West Bank —, U.S, Israeli Army, Iranian, Hamas, Sunday, The Times, ABC News, Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian, Statistics, West Bank Palestinian, West, Palestinian Authority, Brothers Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, America, U.S, Independence, Iraq, Yemen, Jerusalem, Hamas, Gaza, United States, Israeli, Kiryat, Lebanon, Kibbutz Be’eri, Be’eri, Mefalsim, “ Israel, West Bank, Netanyahu Israel

Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines of their homeland to fight on Moscow's side in the war, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. The news agency said Tuesday the soldiers swore allegiance to Russia when they joined the battalion, which entered service last month. The Institute for the Study of War in Washington said there have been previous reports of Ukrainian POWs being asked to “volunteer” for the battalion. Earlier this year, Russian media reported about 70 Ukrainian POWs joined the battalion. Given the location of the unit, Hird said she expected the Ukrainian POWs would be deployed to the front lines in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Persons: ”, Yulia Gorbunova, Nick Reynolds, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Karolina Hird, ” Hird, Hird, Reynolds Organizations: RIA Novosti, Associated Press, Ukrainian, Russian Defense Ministry, AP, Human Rights Watch, Land Warfare, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Russian, Geneva, Ukraine, London, Washington, Moscow, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, russia, ukraine

☆ Who Killed the Innkeeper With a Sword in 1315?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A street musician murdered for playing music too loudly after dusk. And who killed the innkeeper with a sword after a fight? But fans of true crime and history can now peruse them in an interactive medieval murder map released in September by University of Cambridge researchers. Users can click through the back stories of more than 300 murders in the English cities of London, York and Oxford. Entries are searchable by gender, day of the week and even weapon (pole-axe or crossbow?).

Persons: Queen, England, ”, Manuel Eisner Organizations: University of Cambridge, Oxford, Cambridge Locations: London, York

☆ Opinion | Israel Is Silencing Internal Critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Michael Sfard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

Freedom of political expression in Israel with regard to the Israeli-Arab conflict, especially with regard to Israeli policy toward Palestinians, has always been precarious, especially for the Palestinian citizens of Israel. It shouldn’t be surprising: In societies that contain widespread nationalistic tendencies, as is sadly the case in Israel, war and national tragedies create the perfect environment for witch hunts and the accelerated branding of critics and minorities as enemies from within. The suppression of speech and targeting of critics of Israel’s policy toward the conflict has always had a strategic goal. Crushing dissent and eliminating the political force of Palestinian citizens of Israel are crucial conditions that must be met to achieve that goal. Michael Sfard is an Israeli human rights lawyer and the author of “The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine and the Legal Battle for Human Rights.”

Persons: Nurit Peled, Jean, Paul Sartre, “, Ms, Elhanan, Sakharov, —, ”, Itamar Ben, Benjamin Netanyahu, Castigating, they’ve, Israel Frey, Frey, Michael Sfard Organizations: Legal Center, Arab, Rights, Academia, Equality, Education, Israel Police, Twitter, police, Human Rights Locations: Jerusalem, French, Israel, Gaza, Haifa, Umm, Jordan, Palestine

☆ Searching for Brian Friel, and His Mythical Ballybeg
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Laura Collins-Hughes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Then he moved a metal barricade away from the graveyard entrance — “It’s just a makeshift thing,” he said — and let me in. The bright green grass was so soft under my feet that I said so, and the man said it probably should have been farmland all those years ago. The graveyard has only a single marker, inscribed in Irish: a 20th-century monument to the dead buried there beginning in 1846. That’s the year after the failure of potato crops started the Great Famine, making poverty a scourge in rural Ireland. So much covered-over misery, such an alluringly pastoral setting: This felt like Friel to me.

Persons: “, ”, —, Friel Locations: Ireland, Inishkeel, Narin, Portnoo

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