Bush: Iran letter signed in ‘frustration’

Bush: Iran letter signed in ‘frustration’
http://www.cnn.com//2015/03/13/politics/jeb-bush-iran-letter-hillary-clinton-emails/index.html

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Army sending armored convoy through Europe

Army sending armored convoy through Europe
http://www.cnn.com//2015/03/13/world/army-convoy-through-europe/index.html

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From France 24 : Sirians refugees…

Syrian refugees find closed doors as conflict drags on

http://f24.my/1BCvxMi

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From BBC news : Syrians feeling abandoned as unending war grinds on

Syrians feeling abandoned as unending war grinds on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31847245

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From BBC news : Syrians feeling abandoned as unending war grinds on

Syrians feeling abandoned as unending war grinds on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31847245

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From BBC news : 10 things we didn’t know last week

10 things we didn’t know last week http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-31868270

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EU Faces Greek Democracy in Great Euro Poker Game – UKIP Leader Nigel Farage

UKIP MEPs

Published on Feb 11, 2015

http://www.ukipmeps.org | http://www.ukip.org/join
• European Parliament, Strasbourg, 11 February 2015

• Nigel Farage MEP, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Co-President of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Group in the European Parliament – http://www.nigelfaragemep.co.uk @Nigel_Farage
– Bluecard question: Jörg LEICHTFRIED MEP(Austria), Socialist group (S&D)

• Debate: Preparation of the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government (12 February 2015)
Council and Commission statements
[2014/2940(RSP)]

Transcript:

Having listened to this, this morning there are very few people in this room who understand or dare to admit the significance of this moment we have reached. In the wake of the historic Greek elections there are big questions, not just about the future of the Eurozone. But actually about the future of the European project itself. There’s a great game of poker that is taking place for the future of this currency.

And on the one hand we have the EU institutions. Now however much my warnings over the years may have upset people when I said the EU would crush and kill and destroy nation state democracy, I think the behaviour of the key players since the Greek elections justifies everything I’ve said. We’ve had the German finance minister, Mr Schauble saying elections change nothing. And Mr Juncker, Mr Juncker who is not here today which is disappointing, he ought to be hanging his head in shame. I guess, or perhaps he’s busy getting his euros out of Greece. I’ve no idea.

But Mr Juncker said there can be no democratic choice against the European treaties, so there it is folks. It doesn’t matter how you vote, which government you elect, these treaties are designed to be there forever and agreements by previous governments bind parliaments that come for years and years afterwards. And what it means is that the European project is in fact the very antithesis of the democratic principle. I think these comments frankly are disgusting. I guess we are all asking the question of who will blink first.

On the other side we’ve got this new, radical, left wing Greek government and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them until I saw last week ambling up Downing Street, Yanis Varoufakis. And there he was with his leather bomber jacket and his blue shirt hanging out the front of his trousers, his shaven head, hands in pockets. Looking a bit like a sort of off duty night club bouncer. Now I’m not normally a fan of Marxist academics but having seen this fella I suspect perhaps he is the real deal. At least I hope he is, because what is at stake is clear from the comments we’ve had from Germany, from people in this chamber this morning. What is at stake is clear, do the Greek elections mean anything? Yes or no?

I hope the Greeks stand firm whatever the consequences. If they do, the free world will applaud them.

Blue card response:

Well what I was saying is there is an atmosphere of denial. Do you know the Latvian presidency, in your wonderful speech this morning, at no point did you mention the word Greece? Mr Timmermans, very briefly touched on Greece and many speakers just ignored the subject. What I am saying is people are in denial. We are at a very, very big, important, historic juncture and that what is at stake is do General Elections in our member states count for anything or not? And I think those arguments and those debates are far more important than whether I have written any reports or gone native and become part of the system, because I most certainly have not.

………………..
• Video: EbS (European Parliament)
…………………………….

• EU Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom

“An EU Army to face Russia? Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Juncker?” – Nigel Farage

europarl

Published on Mar 11, 2015

http://www.ukipmeps.org | http://www.ukip.org/join
• European Parliament, Strasbourg, 11 March 2015

• Nigel Farage MEP, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Co-President of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Group in the European Parliament – http://www.nigelfaragemep.co.uk @Nigel_Farage
– Bluecard question: Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ MEP (Romania), Socialist group (S&D)

• Debate: Preparations for the European Council meeting (19-20 March 2015)
Council and Commission statements
[2014/2941(RSP)]

Transcript:

I’ve been wondering why David Cameron has been running down the British armed forces and why he refused to commit to spending targets in our islands.

I think Mr Juncker has given the answer. We’re going to do it at EU level. We’re going to have a European army.

Now when I raised this last year with British Deputy Prime Minister Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg he said it was a dangerous fantasy to talk about a European army, an EU army.

Everyone has heard the leader of the European Liberals Guy Verhofstadt crying out for militarisation at EU level. Of course the truth is it is already happening. We already have a European Defence Agency. We have EU battle groups on active service all over the world. We already have an EU navy active against the Somali pirates, and who can forget Euro Corps here in Strasbourg last year virtually goose stepping that ghastly flag around the courtyard outside.

And of course the Lisbon treaty article 28 provides for all of this. Tony Blair was right. He said: “The European Union is not a project about peace, it’s a project about power.” And I think Mr Juncker is trying to seize an opportunity. We ourselves in the European Union provoked the conflict through our territorial expansionism in the Ukraine. We poked the Russian bear with a stick, and unsurprisingly Putin reacted. But this now is to be used as an opportunity to build a European army.

The opportunity is being seized. And Mr Juncker said we must convey to Russia that we are serious. Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Juncker? We do not want any part of an EU army and I doubt the rest of the peoples of Europe do either. Thank you.

[following a question from an MEP, Nigel Farage added]

Nigel Farage: “We through our territorial ambitions provoked the overthrown of an albeit corrupt but democratically-elected leader in the Ukraine. We have provoked this crisis. Now, the question you ask is, “What do we do from here?”

I was in this chamber at the time when Libya was attacked. I heard the Liberals and the Greens scream, frothing at the mouth, for us to bomb Libya, for us to become militarily involved because we believed that would make things better.

My view, Sir, is that if you look at Afghanistan, if you look at Iraq, if you look at Libya, and you look at the attempt to back the rebels in Syria, many of whom have now morphed into Isis, we see that our recent foreign military interventions have made things worse not better.”

………………..
• Video: EbS (European Parliament)
…………………………….
• EU Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom

World’s most dangerous footpath set to reopen

World’s most dangerous footpath set to reopen
http://www.cnn.com//2015/03/13/travel/spain-caminito-del-rey/index.html

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this pressed: Flash – Italy seeks to block regional “anti-mosque law” – France 24

13 March 2015 – 16H46

Italy seeks to block regional “anti-mosque law”

inShare

© AFP/File | Members of the Muslim community in Italy leave Rome’s mosque after prayers

ROME (AFP) –

The Italian government has moved to block new building regulations for Lombardy which would make it virtually impossible to build any new mosques in the northern region, officials said Friday.

The regulations, which have become known as the “anti-mosque” law, were approved by the right-wing dominated regional council at the end of January.

Amid an outcry over what critics see as a blatantly discriminatory move, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s centre-left government has decided to refer the new rules to the Constitutional Court for review.

Under the regulations, anyone seeking to build a new place of worship for a religion not officially recognised by the state would be subject to an extensive list of special restrictions ranging from the size of associated parking facilities to the outward appearance of the buildings, as well as having to clear a string of new bureaucratic hurdles.

Since Islam is the only major religion not recognised by the Italian state, the new rules have been seen as being specifically targeted at Italy’s one million plus Muslims.

Critics say the legislation breaches Italy’s constitution on several grounds and is bound to be overturned by the Constitutional Court.

Issues judges will consider are expected to include whether the new measures breach guarantees of religious freedom, whether the region has exceeded its power by redrawing the relationship between state and religion, and whether the new law leaves too much to the discretion of local mayors.

via Flash – Italy seeks to block regional “anti-mosque law” – France 24.

LISZT: Concerto no. 2 – Riccardo Muti, conductor / Paolo Restani, piano

Cesare Flaiano

Published on May 22, 2012

Franz Liszt: Concerto no. 2 for piano and orchestra R. 456
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Paolo Restani, piano
Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala
June 27, 2004
******************************************************
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franz Liszt wrote drafts for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S.125, during his virtuoso period, in 1839 to 1840. He then put away the manuscript for a decade. When he returned to the concerto, he revised and scrutinized it repeatedly. The fourth and final period of revision ended in 1861. Liszt dedicated the work to his student Hans von Bronsart, who gave the first performance, with Liszt conducting, in Weimar on January 7, 1857.

A typical performance of this concerto lasts about 20 minutes.

Instrumentation

The concerto is scored for solo piano, three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, two horns in E, two trumpets in E, three trombones (two tenor, bass), tuba, timpani in D and A, cymbals and strings.

Form

This concerto is one single, long movement, divided into six sections that are connected by transformations of several themes:

• Adagio sostenuto assai

  The key musical idea of this concerto comes at the beginning. Quietly yet confidently, half a dozen woodwinds, no more than five at a time, play a sequence of two chords—an A major chord with a C sharp on top, then a dominant seventh on F natural. The first chord sounds very ordinary. The second opens possibilities unhinted by what preceded it. One note connects the two chords—an A. This sequence sounds colorful and strange yet inevitable and easily grasped.

• Allegro agitato assai

  This is technically the scherzo of the piece. It starts in B-flat minor and ends in C-sharp minor.

• Allegro moderato

  This section contains a great deal of lyricism and proceeds at an unhurried pace. Among its charms is a metamorphosis of the opening theme, played by solo cello while accompanied by the piano, showing the influence of Italian bel canto on Liszt’s work.

• Allegro deciso
• Marziale un poco meno allegro

  Yet another transformation of the gentle opening theme, this movement has also nearly always been attacked as vulgar and a betrayal of both the initial character of this theme and the concerto on the whole. American musicologist Robert Winter disagreed. He called the march “a masterstroke that demonstrates the full emotional range of thematic transformation.”^[1] The march contains the force and weight needed to reestablish the home key of A major, from which the music has been moving quite far since the concerto opened.

• Allegro animato

Overview

The second concerto, while less virtuosic than the First Piano Concerto, shows far more originality in form. In this respect it reveals a closer link to Liszt’s better known symphonic poems in both style and structure. Also, while the final version of the First Concerto could be considered a soloist’s showpiece, the Second shows Liszt attempting to confirm his compositional talent while distancing himself from his virtuoso performance origins. Liszt is less generous with technical devices for the soloist such as scales in octaves and contrary motion; instead of an overbearing virtuoso, the pianist often becomes an accompanist to woodwinds and strings. The soloist does not dominate the thematic material—in fact, after the opening, the pianist never has the theme in its original form. Instead, his role is to create, or at least seem to create, inventive variations that lead the listener through a series of thematic transformations. The various pauses and silences are not intended breaks in the musical flow but rather as transitions in the musical discourse. “Organic unity” lends structure to the entire work.^[2]

Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K. 218

Am4d3usM0z4rt

Uploaded on Oct 24, 2011

Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major K. 218 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1775 in Salzburg. The autograph of the score is preserved in Biblioteka Jagiellońska, Kraków. The concerto has the usual fast-slow-fast structure and lasts around 23 minutes. The movements are:
1. Allegro
2. Andante cantabile
3. Rondeau (Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo).
—————————————-­————————————-
FREE .mp3 and .wav files of all Mozart’s music at: http://www.mozart-archiv.de/
FREE sheet music scores of any Mozart piece at: http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/start…
ALSO check out these cool sites: http://musopen.org/
and http://imslp.org/wiki/
—————————————-­———————————

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
March 13

483		St. Felix begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
607		The 12th recorded passage of Halley’s Comet occurs.
1519		Hernando Cortez lands in what will become Mexico.
1660		A statute is passed limiting the sale of slaves in the colony of Virginia.
1777		Congress orders its European envoys to appeal to high-ranking foreign officers to send troops to reinforce the American army.
1781		Astronomer William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus, which he names ‘Georgium Sidus,’ in honor of King George III.
1793		Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin.
1861		Jefferson Davis signs a bill authorizing slaves to be used as soldiers for the Confederacy.
1868		The U.S. Senate begins the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
1881		Czar Alexander II is assassinated when a bomb is thrown at him near his palace.
1915		The Germans repel a British Expeditionary Force attack at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in France.
1918		Women are scheduled to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York due to a shortage of men.
1935		A three-thousand-year-old archive is found in Jerusalem confirming biblical history.
1940		Finland capitulates conditionally to Soviet terms, but maintains its independence.
1941		Hitler issues an edict calling for an invasion of the Soviet Union.
1942		Julia Flikke of the Nurse Corps becomes the first woman colonel in the U.S. Army.
1943		Japanese forces end their attack on the American troops on Hill 700 in Bougainville.
1951		Israel demands $1.5 billion in German reparations for the cost of caring for war refugees.
1957		The FBI arrests Jimmy Hoffa on bribery charges.
1963		China invites Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev to visit Beijing.
1970		Cambodia orders Hanoi and Viet Cong troops to get out.
1974		The U.S. Senate votes 54-33 to restore the death penalty.
1974		Arab nations decide to end the oil embargo on the United States.
1981		The United States plans to send 15 Green Berets to El Salvador as military advisors.
1985		Upon the death of Konstantin Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the new leader of the Soviet Union.
1991		Exxon pays $1 billion in fines and costs for the clean-up of the Alaskan oil spill.
Born on March 13
1615		Innocent XII, Roman Catholic Pope
1733		Joseph Priestly, scientist credited with the discovery of oxygen.
1764		Charles Earl Grey, British Prime Minister
1798		Abigail Powers Fillmore, First Lady and wife of Millard Fillmore
1855		Percival Lowell, astronomer who predicted the discovery of the planet Pluto.
1886		Albert William Stevens, balloonist and photographer.
1892		Janet Flanner, writer (“Letter from Paris”).
1900		George Seferis, Greek poet.

today’s image: Portrait of Auguste Rodin

Portrait of Auguste Rodin

In 1905, photographer Gertrude K?sebier captures the profile of artist and sculputer Auguste Rodin in Meudon, France.

Photo: Library of Congress

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/picture-of-the-day#sthash.Nwfm1boA.dpuf

Saint of the Day for Friday, March 13th, 2015: Bl. Agnello of Pisa

Saint of the Day for Friday, March 13th, 2015

Bl. Agnello of Pisa

The founder of the English Franciscan province, Blessed Agnello, was admitted into the Order by St. Francis himself on the occasion of his sojourn in Pisa. He was sent to the Friary in Paris, of … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

Bl. Agnello of Pisa St. Agnellus of Pisa St. Ansovinus St. Euphrasia of Constantinople St. Heldrad St. Kevoca St. Macedonius St. Mochoemoc

St. Nicephorus St. Ramirus and Companions St. Roderic St. Roderic and Salomon St. Sabinus St. Theusetas St. Urpasian

today’s holiday: Kasuga Matsuri (2015)

Kasuga Matsuri (2015)

The Kasuga Shrine in Nara is one of the most beautiful and ancient in Japan. Every year on March 13, a festival is held there with elaborate ceremonies and performances that recall the shrine’s heyday. The hiki-uma horse ceremony, where a sacred horse is led in procession through the streets, and the elegant Yamato-mai dance performed by Shinto women are reminiscent of the culture and customs of the Nara and Heian Eras. Construction of the Kasuga Shrine was started during the Nara period (710-784) and was completed in the first years of the Heian period (794-1185). More… Discuss

quotation: As covetousness is the root of all evil, so poverty is, I believe, the worst of all snares. Daniel Defoe

As covetousness is the root of all evil, so poverty is, I believe, the worst of all snares.

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) Discuss

today’s birthday: Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764)

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764)

Charles Grey was a British statesman elected to Parliament in 1786 at the age of 22. He went on to become one of the leaders of the Whig party and eventually served as prime minister from 1830–34. His tenure saw the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, which reshaped the parliamentary representative system, and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire. He is perhaps best remembered as the namesake of the Earl Grey blend of tea. What once knocked the head off a statue of him? More… Discuss

this day in the yesteryear: Operation Northwoods Proposed (1962)

Operation Northwoods Proposed (1962)

Operation Northwoods was a plan proposed by the US Department of Defense to generate public support for military action against the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. To this end, it recommended staging acts of simulated or real terrorism and violence on US soil or against US interests and then placing the blame on Cuba. The plan, which was not implemented, was drafted by senior US defense leaders and signed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Who made the secret document public? More… Discuss

Article: Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson was the best known of several women claiming to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, believed to have been executed with her family after the Russian Revolution. Anderson first claimed to be Anastasia after a failed suicide attempt in 1920, which led to a protracted court case involving a long line of people who had known the real Anastasia. DNA tests in the 1990s revealed what about the claim’s legitimacy? More… Discuss

word: cardinal

cardinal

Definition:	(adjective) Of foremost importance; paramount.
Synonyms:	fundamental, central, primal
Usage:	The cardinal rule of membership in the secret society was never to reveal its existence to outsiders. Discuss.

From France 24 :

Australian teen’s blog charts path to ‘martyrdom’ with IS group

http://f24.my/1EaKPoF

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From France 24 :

Israel’s election hopefuls set sights on French Jews

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From France 24 :

Fugitive leftist extremist Cesare Battisti arrested in Brazil

http://f24.my/1BzG6zE

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Iceland drops bid for European Union membership

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Kerry in Egypt for talks on investment, battling IS group

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IMF approves $17.5 billion loan for Ukraine

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Iran’s supreme leader slams letter from US Republicans

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Security Council debates ending UN sanctions on Iran

http://f24.my/1x0w0Ig

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From CNN : U.S. admiral raises alarm over Russian threat

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