text:
This page will automatically refresh every 60 minutes as we might be adding regular updates. Keep it open in a browser tab.
Also written by Jens Skapski.
Update 16:24 UTC - October 1 : The Pakistan Disaster Management Authority has released new data of the fatalities after both earthquakes of last week. A Total of 825 people have lost their live (780 during and after the mainshock and 45 during and after the aftershock). This new report arrived after our 09:24 update. This makes the Pakistan earthquake sadly enough the most deadly one since the Japan Tsunami.
Update 09:24 UTC - October 1 : The death toll of 375 makes this earthquake the 8th highest in the last 5 years after: Haiti 2010 - ca. 95,000-110,000 ;; Tohoku 2011 - ca. 18,500 ;; Yushu 2010 - 2968 ;; Sumatra 2009 - 1117 ;; Van 2011 - 604 ;; Chile 2010 - ca 525-550 ;; Mentawai 2010 - ca. 497 ;; Pakistan 2013 - ca. 375-400.
The 375 killed correlates quite well with our initial estimate of 400 through James Daniell. Although economic loss estimates have not been seen, they should be in the order of $72-117 million as stated in the first few hours.
We urge people to donate to aid organizations, given the widespread destruction.
Update 07:54 UTC - October 1 :
Very interesting article in the Disasterscharter.org website where the UN agency has made a damage assessment based on Satellite Spot Images from some of the seriously damaged areas. Satellite assessment is not a conclusive way of detecting damage as it has to be completed with surveys on the ground. Due to the complicated political situation on the ground the current assessment gives a very good overview of the most affected areas. Based on these satellite images we can clearly see that towns and villages have only been hit partially. Others escaped the drama (see image below where squares in red means destruction and blue no visual damage.
Check the full article here or click on the map to be linked.
Update 13:02 UTC : A couple of other data obtained by government sources from the mainshock :
Fatalities : 375 Injured : 815
Those who have been following this report from the beginning may think : again other numbers ! Well, that's exactly how we feel ourselves in this tragedy. Whatever the numbers will be, this earthquake is and will remain one of the most tragic earthquakes of the last couple of years.
Update 08:17 UTC - September 30
"Authorities" did report earlier today that Saturday's aftershock left 30 people dead and 150 injured.
Links to Interesting articles :
Earthquake-hit Awaran: After sporadic attacks, relief supplies start trickling in
Update 13:02 UTC : New data mentions a death toll of 34 and +100 injured
Update September 29 07:17 UTC : The death toll of yesterday's aftershock has climbed to 25. 60 more injuries are reported too.
Update 15:31 UTC : Al Jazeera, normally well informed in Islamic circles, reports that the number of fatalities of today's aftershock has increased to 22 and at least 50 have been injured. 2 villages were completely destroyed following the Khuzdar authorities. Earthquake-Report.com warns his readers that this is a very partial report as many areas are under control of separatists and accordingly authorities have only incomplete data of what happens there.
The death toll from the mainshock has been increased to 515 (number most cited by international correspondents, but in reality nobody knows exactly. Sad, very sad ...
Update 13:39 UTC : Reports from the earthquake zone are mentioning an additional 12 fatalities (today's aftershock)
Update 09:48 UTC : The Al Jazeera video below describes what the people and the hardest hit areas are currently witnessing.
Update 09:03 UTC : Islamic Relief has dispatched a team to the disaster area. The initial response will address the needs of 1000 families. Due to the complex security situation in Baluchistan, access is still being negotiated...
Update 08:31 UTC : GDACS, an organization monitoring nature disasters all over the world has calculated that today's aftershock (following Al Jazeera who was in contact with the Pakistani Seismological Agency a new earthquake not an aftershock) will inflict additional damage.
Whether this earthquake is an aftershock or not is not important at all, an aftershock is also an earthquake and as this one occurred in the same region (a little north of the mainshock).
Update 08:31 UTC : Qlarm, a theoretical damage and loss engine has calculated that an additional 0 to 300 people may be killed by this aftershock. 0 to 1000 may have been additionally injured. Why the 0 ? Because of the uncertainties of the preliminary data and also because of the living conditions after an aftershock.
Update 08:23 UTC : The current aftershock was felt less than the mainshock because the magnitude was "only" M6.8 compared to M7.7 on Tuesday. The very shallow depth of 14 to 20 km (differs from agency to agency) makes the earthquake less felt in a wider radius (like Karachi and the Emirates) but can be very destructive in the epicenter area. The earthquake type is a devastating one too, the main acceleration is horizontal which makes houses and infrastructure who have not been build with earthquakes in mind will collapse easily.
Update 08:12 UTC : Based on our own visitor record at this moment, the earthquake was less felt than the mainshock on Tuesday. Aftershocks never stopped after the mainshock on Tuesday but all of them on one exception had Magnitudes below M5 (one shortly after the mainshock had M5.9). Today's aftershock will certainly further damage the area and a lot of unstable constructions who where already damaged in the mainshock and aftershocks will certainly be flattened today. Most people will be camping outside their houses exactly because out of fear for aftershocks but we also know that the rescue people digging into the rubble have a big risk of being buried themselves.
NEW Massive aftershock on Saturday
On Saturday another massive aftershock has struck the Awaran area. USGS reports a preliminary Magnitude of 6.8, EMSC 7.0 and Geofon 6.6. This means that everything which was still standing upright in the disaster zone would likely be grounded.
The epicenter region is the same then the mainshock on Tuesday. Preliminary depth is reported as 14 km. As the earthquake is an aftershock, the same depth is almost certain as the mainshock = a horror scenario for this region.
WE TRULY HOPE THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WILL WAKE UP AFTER THIS AFTERSHOCK TO HELP THESE UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE. Many of the devastated areas have not been helped with medical and relief goods since Tuesday. This earthquake is a HUMANITARIAN DISASTER for this part of Pakistan. The security risk to bring relief and rescue aid to this area are an additional disaster (Separatists groups and Taliban are fighting the Pakistani government for regional independence)
Security fears hold back relief work in quake-hit Pakistan
QUETTA, 26 September 2013 (IRIN) -
Many times before, Abdul Rashid, 30, a general practitioner, has volunteered in emergency situations.
"I believe it is my duty to use my medical skills to help. I went to Sindh Province in 2011 to help flood victims; I helped victims of the 2007 cyclone in Balochistan; and I worked in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as a medical student after the 2005 earthquake for months," Rashid told IRIN.
But now, while he is eager to reach the district of Awaran in southwestern Balochistan Province, the area worst hit by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck in the afternoon of 24 September, Baloch friends have advised him against going. "Ethnically, I am Punjabi. And Awaran town, and the district in general, is a stronghold of Baloch nationalist groups, locked in battle against state forces," he said. "They have regularly attacked non-Baloch people before."
The security situation is a concern for many international humanitarian agencies trying to help the victims of the earthquake, which has killed at least 348 people and wounded hundreds more, with the death toll still rising.
Fears of violence
The Baloch ethnic group has long had nationalist aspirations, complaining it is excluded and marginalized by the government and does not receive its fair share of revenue from the natural resources in Balochistan. The region has a long history of insurgency, which has intensified since the 2006 killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. Baloch nationalists blame the Pakistan military for his death.
"The security situation is always unpredictable anywhere in Pakistan," Haseeb Khalid, senior media officer at the Islamic Relief's office in Pakistan, told IRIN. "In Awaran, there may be some security threats for relief and aid workers, especially for those who are non-Baloch."
Since Islamic Relief already had a presence in the area and could work with local people, Khalid said, "the situation may be safer for us.
On 25 September, unknown persons opened fire on a team of doctors and paramedics attempting to reach the quake zone. There were no casualties.
According to an update the same day by Islamic Relief, this was just one of three recent incidents since 23 September in which assailants opened fire in Balochistan against aid workers or security forces, leading to reported deaths.
As he flew into Awaran on 26 September to assess the situation, Maj-Gen Mohammad Saeed Aleem, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, also came under attack; his helicopter was targeted by rockets, according to media reports. He escaped unharmed.
"The truth is we are scared and won't be going in," the head of an NGO based in Karachi, who asked not to be named, told IRIN. "This is bad for affected people."
Toll rising
The security concerns come on top of other challenges. The logistics of assessment and rescue are daunting, with Awaran district spread over 21,000sqkm of inhospitable territory, which houses around 300,000 people. It is served by an inadequate road network and takes hours to reach, even from the closest major cities.
"No one has come to help us, and we urgently need shelter, food, water and medical help," Inayat Baloch told IRIN over a crackly phone line, from just outside Awaran town. He said his house had been reduced to a pile of rubble. "My three-year-old son has a broken leg; he has been crying in pain but there is nothing I can do."
The number of confirmed deaths, meanwhile, continues to rise as reports come in from remote areas.
The PDMA says "almost all homes" in Awaran town and nearby surrounding areas are destroyed or damaged. Reports from other parts of the district are coming in, with some media accounts saying 80 percent of mud houses in the district have been destroyed. Most of the homes in the rural areas of Awaran are made of unbaked mud bricks.
The extremely poor medical infrastructure in the district does little to help. "There are just no means to help the injured, and because of the security situation health workers won't go there," said Jan Muhammad Buledi, a spokesman for the provincial government.
The Chief Minister of Balochistan has reportedly asked nationalist groups for calm, but a local administrative official in Awaran, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "This may not be effective."
As the PDMA and UN begin a rapid assessment of needs, major humanitarian organizations are weighing their options.
Awaran "is not easily accessible by road due to damaged road links and the security situation, as non-state armed groups are present in the area and one attack on the medical team has been reported," Arif Jabbar Khan, Oxfam's country director, said from Islamabad. "It is going to be challenging for the aid workers given the security situation and inaccessibility issues," he said.
In the meantime, people are desperate.
"My parents, two sisters, their husbands and small children are out there," said Nazir Ahmed, a native of Awaran who works in Quetta. "I can't even get in touch because the telephone networks are so bad. I understand they are all out in the open, but this is information from others." He said getting to his home village could take "three days or more" since many roads were just dirt tracks.
Update 15:22 UTC : The death toll has risen to 515 according to officials within Pakistan in English press, 600 is still quoted in some Urdu press, and 400 is still common place.
Approx. 400-600 deaths have occurred as a result of the earthquake (assuming that double counting has not occurred).
As previously stated by our theoretical models after the earthquake of between 400-990 dead depending on occupancy from 38% to 97%, around $72-117 million damage is expected to have occurred using the rapid loss model of James Daniell. 20000 houses are said to have collapsed or been severely damaged of the 65000 houses in the area. The loss estimate still remains.
We are waiting on other news from agencies. Many of the reports are discussing the Taliban influence and the mud volcanoes, however, little is being mentioned as to the relief processes in place for the approx. 100000 homeless and 300000 affected people.
Update 07:43 UTC : The number of fatalities from the earthquake is approaching that of the Van earthquake in 2011 (604 dead). Numbers of the the fatalities are varying depending on the source. The government reported earlier today that 400 people were killed. Our (to be found reliable) Urdu news source states at this moment 600 fatalities (they have computed this based on the confirmed deaths in the different districts).
Independent screening is of what is happening exactly is almost impossible as all this happens in Taliban dominated Baluchistan where external NGO's do not work because of the security risk. Multiple security incidents have been reported since the earthquake.
The Taliban is trying to enforce their own relief efforts to the surviving victims, reports are saying. These reports are also stating the the relief of the Taliban arrived much earlier than the relief from the government.
Update September 27, 07:43 UTC : Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, cutting short his Britain tour, reached his homeland and said he will approach the world community for aid of the people affected by the earthquake.
Talking to media at Karachi airport, he said the government will valve into all available resources to overcome the situation occured by the devastating earthquake, adding the cordiality of nations will be appealed for the aid of the quake-hit people.
At least 10,000 to 15,000 houses collapsed as a result of powerful earthquake; hence, the death toll is feared to rise, the Chief Minister noted declaring that he will establish his camp in the quake-hit area.
Update 16:08 UTC : Another "Mud Volcano Island" has appeared on the Makran coast. The Island emerged off the Ormara coast, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the new island appeared near River Basil.
On Tuesday, an island had emerged off Gwadar coast which was given the name 'Zalzala Jazeera' (island earthquake). - Source here
Update 15:24 UTC : OCHA (United Nations) reports today from Pakistan :
The military and local authorities continue rescue and relief activities in the affected region. The PDMA has dispatched 2,600 tents, 1,700 food packets, 300 blankets, 1,700 plastic mats, 300 mosquito nets and 300 jerry cans to the affected area. The provincial health department is providing health services through mobile health units.
The National Disaster Management Authority has provided 5,000 tents and 7,000 food packs for the affected people in Awaran and Kech districts.
WHO has provided kits for the delivery of emergency primary health care services to more than 100,000 people, while WFP has arranged for the delivery of high-energy biscuits to the affected people.
Various security incidents have been reported in the affected area. Plans to conduct humanitarian and security assessments are under way.
Update 15:11 UTC : Patrick Fuller from the IFRC (International Red Cross) wrote earlier today :
Thousands of people have spent a second night in the open following the devastating earthquake which killed +350 people and injured over 500 in a remote, mountainous area of Balochistan, southwest Pakistan.
The army has mobilised food supplies, medical teams and tents from the regional capital Quetta. The lack of medical facilities in the affected area has meant that seriously injured people have to be airlifted to hospitals in Karachi and other towns.
Not only is the region remote, but security concerns mean that both the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are unable to directly conduct humanitarian operations in the area. However, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society has a well-established network on the ground and is able to operate freely.
On Wednesday, a team from the Red Crescent's nearest disaster management cell in Lasbela district was deployed to the affected area. Two further disaster response teams from the adjoining districts of Kharan and Gwadar have been mobilized and a team from the Red Crescent provincial headquarters in Quetta will be deployed today along with two health teams with ambulances.
"The Red Crescent has disaster preparedness stocks in the region that can be mobilized rapidly, but the biggest challenge is reaching the affected area," says Mike Higginson, acting head of delegation for the IFRC in Pakistan. Most of the Red Crescent supply hubs are hundreds of kilometres away. "It takes between 18-20 hours to travel to Awaran from Quetta and it's unclear how many villages surrounding the epicentre still haven't been reached. Some may not be accessible by road."
The Sindh Branch of the Red Crescent is also supporting relief efforts. A medical team has been deployed at Awaran today via helicopter in coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority.
At this stage, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society is planning to support about 7,000 people with emergency shelter support in the form of tents and tarpaulins as well as essential non-food items including blankets, kitchen sets and plastic jerry-cans.
Given the scale of destruction, further anticipated needs are most likely to be materials for building transitional shelters, health and care services and further supplies of food and essential non-food items.
Update September 26, 09:26 UTC : We will not write updates for every new number of increased fatalities, but we will point to the exact number (based on our sources) in the title
Update 14:07 UTC : We are sorry to report that the number of fatalities has increased to 343.
Update 12:27 UTC : Some more information about the new Gwadar island who was shaped during the shaking of the earthquake. The new island is probably a "mud volcano", pushed upwards by methane gas during the violent shaking of the earthquake. Historic facts are mentioning a same island forming after a 1945 earthquake. Scientists are surprised that such activity occurred more than 400 kilometers from the epicenter. The island is not a normal island but a huge amount of mud that will be eroded by waves and weather and will again disappear in the ocean like it also did in 1945.
Important Update 12:04 UTC : The number we have given below only represents the counted fatalities in the Awaran district. Another 42 bodies have been reported from the Kech district. Statistically, this means that the Awaran, Pakistan earthquake is sadly enough the deadliest earthquake since the Van earthquake (Turkey) on October 23, 2011.
Update 11:59 UTC : The Pakistani newspaper TheNews reports that : The death toll in Balochistan from the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck southwest Pakistan has risen to 285 after twenty bodies of madrassa students were recovered from Awaran.
Update 10:47 UTC : Below an overview map of the epicenter and the towns as well as the population density in the greater epicenter area. Click on the map to watch in full format.
Update 10:20 UTC : Another recent video from the devastation. As we were ahead of the main news distributors (we get our fatalities data from the local Urdu news sources), the number of death are still the same however we have to stress that tens of people are still missing.
Update 08:52 UTC : The video from Geo.tv gives a mind blowing impression of the destruction in Arawan, Balochistan. Does the Pakistani government has to call in International relief ? We think yes, but every nation has the feeling at the start that they can handle it all alone. We have seen data that is reporting 40,000 collapsed houses! At least International Financial help would be very welcome for this poor area in Pakistan. The current earthquake is exceeding the fatalities of all earlier earthquakes this year, a sad record.
Update 08:28 UTC : Queen Elizabeth expressed grief and sorrow over the earthquake in Pakistan. In her statement, the Queen requested Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron to immediately contact government of Pakistan and ask about the updates regarding the relief work to the people hit by earthquake in Balochistan, Pakistan. (Source : thenewstribe.com)
Update 07:57 UTC : Awaran district has an estimated population of around 300,000, scattered over an area of more than 21,000 square kilometres. "Over 50% of urban and around 90% of rural areas of the district have been ravaged by the quake," Mir Quddus Bizenjo, the deputy speaker of Balochistan Assembly, had told reporters by phone. He had put the death toll at 150-plus in Awaran alone. Army and civil rescuers were sent to the affected region to pull out casualties as residents said dozens of people are trapped under the rubble of their collapsed houses. The weather conditions are very favorable for extended rescue operations. The main problem for those alive under the rubble are lack of drinking water however. 72 hours is the normal timeframe that people can be found alive below the rubble. We are now 20 hours after this deadly earthquake struck.
Update 07:29 UTC : District Administration and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority are also doing its utmost to provide relief and succour to the suffering people in the area. Provincial government spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledi said: "We are seriously lacking medical facilities and there is no space to treat injured people in the local hospitals. "We are trying to shift seriously injured people to Karachi through helicopters and others to the neighbouring districts."
The scale of the territory involved is daunting. Awaran district has an estimated population of around 300,000, scattered over an area of more than 21,000 square kilometres (8,000 square miles).
Update 06:32 UTC on September 25 : The death toll has further increased to 283 people. 400 are being reported as injured. The number will probably increase further today as SAR (Search and Rescue) teams are searching the rubble. No word so far of people who are missing (probably also hundreds). Army units have been dispatched to the epicenter area. The weather in the area is good which implicates a smooth relief assistance. We have noticed many powerful aftershocks which make rescue efforts very dangerous as many houses are on the brink of collapse.
The earthquake has affected 6 districts in Baluchistan.
600 army soldiers are currently helping in the rescue and relief efforts.
The seriously injured people are helicopter rescued to hospitals in Karachi.
Update 20:32 UTC : The army dispatched 300 soldiers, rescue and medical teams and a helicopter to the worst-hit areas. Chief Minister Abdul Malik said an emergency had been declared in Awaran, seven to eight hours' drive from Quetta, the provincial capital.
Fatalities data are varying depending the source. Indian sources are now stating 80 dead and 80 injured. Most Pakistani sources who have their own information channels are maintaining the 150 number.
Update 17:37 UTC : Based on many local reports we can now confirm that at least 150 people have been killed. SAR work is continuing and the death toll will almost certainly increase the following hours.
Update 17:05 UTC : More and more reports in Urdu are citing +150 fatalities. Iran Urdu Radio reports also that 150 people have died . Several aftershocks (some strong) have been felt . Only Pakistan reports fatalities. We maintain the 50 fatalities in our title because we want
Update 16:37 UTC : Communication systems are still disrupted and army helicopters are flying assistance teams to the earthquake hit area. Below a picture of Gwadar Island as it was seen after the earthquake today.
Update 16:26 UTC : The well informed Indian news-site Outlook India writes : Forty people were killed and dozens injured when a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan today, with officials saying casualties could increase near the epicentre in a remote area in Balochistan.
Forty deaths were reported from quake-hit areas of Awaran district, chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said in a message posted on Twitter. Other officials were quoted by news channels as saying that dozens were injured when mud-brick houses collapsed in Awaran and Khuzdar areas of Balochistan province. Six bodies were found in Awaran bazar and four more recovered in far flung villages of the district, said Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rasheed Baloch. "I fear more people are trapped inside collapsed houses," he said.
Ghulam Baloch, a local administration official from Khuzdar, said, "Houses and shops have collapsed and the casualties could increase. An emergency has been declared in Awaran and some other parts of Balochistan."
Update 16:07 UTC : We do not expect much new information from Pakistan the coming hours as darkness has fallen en as SAR (Search and Rescue) work in Pakistan will be very difficult. This mainly because the power will certainly not have been restored in the the greater epicenter area.
National Seismic Monitoring Centre Director Zahid Rafi told PTI that the tremors were of "great intensity" in Quetta and in some remote areas of Balochistan. "The affected areas include Jaffarabad, Noskhi, Kalat, Windar, Naseerabad, Phunjgur and Mastung," he said.
Update 15:46 UTC : Based on the Catdat calculations of James Daniell, the estimated damage for this earthquake will be around 100 million US$
Update 15:38 UTC : NO new information or numbers so far. Most media are still mentioning a maximum of 35 people killed, our Urdu source has mentioned 50. The new island (an island who also appeared after the megathrust quake in 1945 and then vanished again) is making more news value than the earthquake itself, this also because news from the epicenter area takes a long time to reach the outside world.
Update 14:46 UTC : Normally well informed Iranian sources are now reporting an increased death toll of 50. More people remain below the debris which means that the death toll will climb further the coming hours.
Update 14:41 UTC : On the Gwadar coastline, the quake created a small island about half a mile into the sea near an area called 'Jhanda', according to Express News. The newly appearing island is said to have a mountainous terrain rising up to a hundred feet. A large crowd was seen gathering at the site to see the new island. This information has been given by normally well informed press sources however ER finds it hard to believe and looks for further confirmation.
Update 14:24 UTC : Around 30% of houses possibly destroyed in the worst parts of Arawan district.
Update 14:20 UTC : We expect the fatalities and injured number still to rise sharply. Our own estimates are better than scenarios of other theoretical engines. Part of the reason is the time of the day the earthquake occurred. We are estimating less than 1000 fatalities based on the current epicenter, Magnitude and depth data.
Update 14:16 UTC : A M5.5 aftershock will probably create more damage and will be possibly life threatening for those buried under the rubble of the collapsed houses. All people who got safely out of their houses will surely not enter them anymore for some time.
Around 200000 people are without power and are in the worst affected epicentral area. This is around 45 times less than the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
32 dead and 54 injured. Balochistan has imposed emergency measures. We are still waiting for confirmation of these figures.
30 dead and 54 injured. Balochistan has imposed emergency measures.
The weather will be around 22 degrees at night, to 35 degrees in the day for the coming week with no rain. Shelter will need to be provided accordingly as well as water supplies.
Many injuries are confirmed.
Around 400 fatalities are expected using theoretical studies and the current USGS shakemap. There still exist huge uncertainties of course.
Nearly 100% of buildings are adobe in this region according to Maqsood and Schwarz (2008). In their mean vulnerability index - this region came up one of the highest in Pakistan. Thus, it can be said that the vulnerability of such housing is high.
A lot of damage has occurred in the Khuzdar district in the Arawan area
The economic losses will be less than $1 billion USD. It is likely they will be around $100 million USD, however further modelling will be done in the coming hours.
Still at 10 fatalities.
Another M5.8 aftershock has struck the area .
The sparse population (about 50 times less populated than that of the epicentral region in Kashmir 2005) and time of day (4.30pm local time), will have reduced casualties significantly. 10 people however are reported dead currently.
It should be remembered that this is a rural area and thus the population is sparse. Given the length of the fault break, it is likely that Arawan district was quite heavily hit. .
Mw7.7 and 20km depth has been reported from USGS..
Update:- As a yardstick - the Pakistan earthquake of 2005 was Mw7.6 and at 10km depth. The fault break for Mw7.8 should be of the order of 150-180km long using scaling laws..
Update:- The duration of the quake was close to 2 minutes .
Update:- At least 2 people have been killed.
Update:- Many houses have collapsed, and no power is reported in parts of Balochistan. It is unknown the extent of these collapsed houses.
Update:- M7.8 and 15km depth has been given by IIEES.
Update:- The maximum intensity in Karachi has been around III so it is highly unlikely that there will be any damage there.
Update:- A number of aftershocks have occurred which is making life difficult for inhabitants. An M5.9 and M4.7 earthquake have been the largest so far, however it can be expected that aftershocks will plague the region in the coming hours and days.
No damage has been reported in Iran. Dubai in the UAE reported swinging of buildings.
Update: PAGER is predicting in excess of 1000 fatalities using a theoretical model. Internal models are predicting less than 1000 fatalities, (around 440) but with huge differences currently due to the uncertainty of intensities (and differences in magnitude)
Update: The earthquake occurred at 16:30 local time, which is one of the best times for an earthquake to strike... many people will hopefully been out of the house and out of schools, and agricultural workers will still hopefully have been outside.
Update: Roofs of schools in Arawan district collapsed.
Update: Pakistani news report that a lot of houses were damaged in Arawan area. Many people were injured and are on the way to hospital.
Update: Reports from Pakistan indicate that a lot of houses in western Pakistan were damaged. We expect more damage, also in other parts of Pakistan.
Update: USGS rose the Magnitude to 7.8 again. The quake was also felt in UAE and Oman. So far, we don't have any reports from greater epicenter area.
Update: Panic was spreaded in Dehli and other Indian cities. People ran to the streets.
Update: According to PAGER, 16.000 people living in the area of strongest shaking. 105.000 in area of Intensity VII and VIII.
Update: USGS has changed the value from M 7.8 to M 7.4, still very dangerous. The quake was also felt in parts of India.
USGS ShakeMap shows a violent shaking in epicenter area, which is only sparsely populted with some villages (Balochistan Region).
A massive very dangerous earthquake with M 7.5 occurred in southern Pakistan.
Nearby Cities
69km (43mi) NNE of Awaran, Pakistan
118km (73mi) NW of Bela, Pakistan
172km (107mi) S of Kharan, Pakistan
174km (108mi) NW of Uthal, Pakistan
793km (493mi) ENE of Muscat, Oman
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 7.7
Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-09-24 16:29:49
GMT/UTC Time : 2013-09-24 11:29:49
Depth (Hypocenter) : 20 km
Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below.
Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers.
Click on the "I Felt It" button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership.
|Refresh this list
|UTC Date/time
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 23:41
|Sep 24 23:41
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 23:22
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 23:22
|Sep 24 22:38
|Sep 24 22:38
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 22:38
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Khuzdar, Pakistan
|Sep 24 21:59
|Sep 24 21:59
|Sep 24 21:59
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 19:54
|Khuzdar, Pakistan
|Sep 24 19:54
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 19:54
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 18:57
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 18:57
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 18:12
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 18:12
|Sep 24 18:12
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 17:20
|Sep 24 17:20
|Sep 24 17:20
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 15:12
|Sep 24 15:12
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 15:12
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 14:08
|Sep 24 14:08
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Khuzdar, Pakistan
|Sep 24 14:08
|Khuzdar, Pakistan
|Sep 24 13:01
|Sep 24 13:01
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 12:42
|Sep 24 12:42
|Sep 24 12:07
|Sep 24 12:07
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 11:36
|Sep 24 11:36
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 11:36
|Awaran, Pakistan
|Sep 24 11:29
|Sep 24 11:29
|MAP I Felt It INFO
|Sep 24 11:29
Our Fast Earthquake and Tsunami Twitter Accounts :
Other earlier earthquakes in the greater epicenter area (since 1900)
Strongest earthquakes within a 150 km radius from this earthquake (max. 60)


text:
1. Introduction
The demoscene is an international collective of programmers, graphics artists and musicians who create real-time audio-visual presentations with home computers. These people call themselves demosceners or just sceners. The real-time presentations are in turn called demos. Geographically the demoscene is a European phenomenon, with relatively little activity on other continents.
In this article, we want to introduce demos and the demoscene to the uninitiated reader.1 In the recent 10 years or so, social scientists, humanists and media researchers have written a number of texts that present the topic. These studies have been overviewed in our online research bibliography, Demoscene Research.2
Generally, the existing studies can be separated into two domains. In the first of these, the demoscene has been viewed as artistic activity. Secondly, many researchers have assessed demoscene culture as a particular way of life, for example as youth culture, counter culture, multimedia hacker culture or gendered community.
These existing works have opened up important and relevant points for discussion. But at the same time, they have often taken quite an abstract and an outsider perspective to demoscene practices. Having been active demosceners ourselves from the 1990s, we feel that the real live action of being in the scene should also receive its share of attention.
In this introduction, we thus focus on what demosceners do and the diverse artifacts they produce. We describe the basic concepts used by the sceners and explain the scene's key social conventions. The final section concludes with tips for further reading.
2. What Demosceners Do
As the name already suggests, the main activity of the demoscene is making "demos". A demo is a series of computer graphics effects with a music soundtrack. In most cases the demo -- short for demonstration ...!--more-->

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Several Unique Ways for Creating the Beautiful Sunflower Decor ...
Sunflower Decor Ideas
DM5710 Pandor Tree Wall Sticker 50x70cm Transparent Removable Room ...
Sunflower Home Decoration
Sunflower Photograph Autumn,Floral,Fall,yellow,bokeh,sage,home ...
home decor. 8x10 Sunflower
Sunflower Home Decor Cotton Blend Yarn Throw Pillow Case Cushion ...
Sunflower Home Decor Cotton
Mosaic Sunflower | FaveCrafts.
of your home decor like a
Sunflower Doilies, Home Textiles, Home Decor - Terry's Village ...
Sunflower Doilies.
to your home decor.
Decorating with Sunflower Décor | Decorating for the Artistic Soul
Sunflower décor is an
Free shipping Oil Painting canvas Sunflower painting decoration ...
Yellow home decoration
Several Unique Ways for Creating the Beautiful Sunflower Decor ...
Decoration Sunflowers For
Sunflower Bowl Fillers Rustic Flower by PaxtonValleyFolkArt
Abouts Summer Home Decor
Sunflower Rug by DesignAdventure | Crocheting Pattern
Home Decor
SUNFLOWER Coasters by CraftyCatPlates on Etsy
SUNFLOWER Coasters
handmade sunflower oil painting, wall decor, canvas art, home ...
your home decor. Sunflower
Popular items for sunflower pillows on Etsy
Pillow Nature Home Decor
4 Seasons Hanging - ... by Enfys | Crocheting Pattern
Home Decor
Sunflower Wall Decor Metal Promotion-Shop for Promotional ...
Lucy Home Decoration Art Decor
Amazon.com: Sunflower Yellow Basket Clock, Home & Kitchen Decor ...
Kids' Home Store
Handmade sewing cotton sunflower tie dyed,cushion,mat,pillow,home ...
,mat,pillow,home decor,
PLQ-FRIENDSHIP BRINGS THE(4719: Include on site when we have a ...
to any home decor.
Yellow Sunflower photograph baby nursery wall art by joystclaire
From joystclaire · Yellow
Door Wreath Autumn Wreath Fall Wreath Home by tatteredcottage2
From tatteredcottage2 · Door
Korean Home Decorating Promotion-Shop for Promotional Korean Home ...
home partitions Decoration
Capeles Backpacks USA WALL PLAQUE HOOK DECOR COUNTRY SUNFLOWER HOOKS
Wall Sunflower Decor
Popular items for sunflower home decor on Etsy
Sunflower Home Decor,
Sunflower™ Antiqued Gold Wall Mirror - Wall Mirrors - Wall Decor ...
Transform Your Home Decor with
Sunflowers by The Dragonfly | Quilting Pattern
Home Decor
Sunflower Home Decorations Price,Sunflower Home Decorations Price ...
Use: Home Decoration
Machine Embroidery Designs at Embroidery Library! - A Sunflower ...
A Sunflower Home Decor Pack
Sunflower Wreath Spring Decor Wreath Front Door by JPotterBlooms
Sunflower Wreath, Spring Decor
Sunflower Golden Sepia Farmhouse Decor by ShadetreePhotography
Stands Sun Home Decor,
Fall Sunflower
your Fall home decor and
Sunflower Wall Art Decor-Buy Cheap Sunflower Wall Art Decor lots ...
sunflower wall art decor
Love Crochet: September 2010
Sunflower Basket Country Decor
Printable Sunflower Party Collection INSTANT by SweetlyCreative
Instant Download. Printable
Sonal J. Shah Event Consultants, LLC: Sunflower Décor
Sunflower Décor
Crochet Sunflower ... by monikadesign | Crocheting Pattern
Home Decor
Sunflower Dishes, Home Decor Free Decorating, Free Decorating ...
Sunflower Dishes, Home Decor
Buy Sunflower Home Decor from Bed Bath & Beyond
Home Decor > Toss Pillows
Butterfly Mug Ceramic Mug with Sunflower Hand Painted Home Decor ...
Decor. Butterfly
Wholesale hand-painted hill sunflower High Q. Home Decoration ...
Q. Home Decoration Modern
On Crooked Creek: Sunflowers In The Entry!
the Sunflower swag hues is
Sunflower Shaped Rug - Furniture, Home Decor & Home Furnishi ...
Home Decor & Home
More September & Fall Wood Craft Home Decor | DIY Unfinished Wood ...
wood craft home decor this
The Sunflower Wall Clock Home Decor by ArtClock on Etsy
The Sunflower Wall Clock Home
How to Decorate that Spare Glass Vase to Match Your Home Decor
Topped with sunflowers, the
Sunflower Ceramic Mug 3D Coffee Cup Handmade Painting Home Decor ...
Painting Home Decor
Sunflower Floral Arrangement, Wreaths and Floral Decorations, Home ...
Sunflower Floral Arrangement
Sunflower Wall Stickers for Home Decoration | wallstickery.
Sunflower Decor for Home
Wholesale sunflower Home room Decor Removable Wall Sticker/Decal ...
sunflower Home room Decor
Love Crochet: September 2010
Sunflower Basket Country Decor
Texas Bluebonnets with Your Morning Coffee by LoneStarPetals
favorite · Silk Floral, Summer
Collections Etc Offer: Save 20% on $60 or more online order ...
home decoration reflects
Sunflower Print Vintage French Sunflower by swanboroughprints
French Provence Home Decor
Primitive Country Sunflower Watering Can Small Tin Sunshine Farms ...
Primitive Country Sunflower Watering Can Small Tin Sunshine Farms Home Decor


text:
Chicago Subscription
Chicago Magazine focuses on issues important to Chicago area residents and the highlights this great American city offers. Articles regularly include profiles of restaurants, films, theater, fine and lively arts, and unique area festivities.
More about Chicago
More About Chicago
More about Chicago Magazine: Both Chicago-area natives and visitors to this world-class city alike can benefit from a Chicago magazine subscription. Find true insider tips about where to dine, drink, shop and sightsee in Chicago, with regular best-of features highlighting sports, food, the arts, and only-in-Chicago culture. Chicago residents will appreciate in-depth features on local politics, theater and art openings in the area, and neighborhood-specific news and real estate. Windy City personalities have their careers and lifestyles profiled each month, and only Chicago magazine has the inside scoop on which Chicagoland doctors, chefs and schools you need to seek out. Tourists in Chicago will find info on the city's must-visit attractions, from the amazing skyscrapers to the pizza and hot dogs that make Chicago a true culinary destination. With your Chicago magazine subscription, you're well prepared to take on the town.


text:
Buried Alive,The Startling Truth about Neanderthal Man
Science Or Science Fiction?
Scientists generally treat the theory of evolution as an absolute fact. But critics say that some archaeologists and paleontologists are fabricating research findings and committing scientific fraud, in order to promote evolution.
Shinichi Fujimura, a leading archaeologist in Japan, recently admitted that he lied about a major find. He initially claimed that he had unearthed 600,000 year-old-stoneware, which would prove to be a unique evolutionary find. However, Fujimura actually staged the discovery and 30 0r 40 others.
What happens when a non-evolutionist with familiarity with skulls and orthodontia gets a look at the goods? Dr Jack Cuozzo, orthodontist, anthropologist, and noted researcher on Neanderthal men, questions the dating of extremely old fossils and much of the so-called scientific "evidence" that appears to support evolution.
That's because he has uncovered many distorted and fraudulent artifacts. He says he's especially leery now, because it's a time when Neanderthal images abound on the Internet, promoting evolutionary theory.
In his book Buried Alive, Cuozzo, who studied and X-rayed Neanderthal skulls in Europe, reveals some of the shocking scientific fraud he says he discovered at a Berlin museum. Recalling one skull he examined, he was horrified to find, "They had both jaws 30 millimeters out of place to produce an apelike effect."
He made a similar discovery at a British museum. Upon examining the remains of a skull referred to as the Gibraltar II child, Cuozzo says someone had "Twisted.. two pieces of the mandible."
Even more appalling is a drastic change in a third skull he examined called the LaQuina portrayed on the cover of his book. "The skull had a chin when it was excavated from the ground in 1911," Cuozzo notes. "But, it has no chin now, because apes have no chins. That was a deliberate attempt to cut off the chin. It happened in the laboratory while I was there."
(Neanderthal skull in portable radiograph machine Cuozzo took onsite to study original material)
There is also the mystery of the Broken Hill skull from Africa. Evolution researchers claim that the skull fits right in with their concepts of evolution. However, Cuozzo says a part of the inner skull that promotes the evolution theory "suddenly appeared" between 1958 and 1981. In addition, evolutionists have tried to explain the presence of recent bullet holes in a skull they claim is at least 50,000 years old.See Page 4
"Some of my friends have called it 'evolution after death,'" muses Cuozzo."
He believes that this evolution at-any-cost attitude is also what caused him to encounter an even darker side of evolutionary anthropology including a death threat. Cuozzo alleges that after studying and examining skulls in Europe, he and his family were once chased in their van to the outskirts of Paris. Following that incident, he says someone attempted to break into their hotel room in the French capital.
"I suspected that they wanted my set of X-rays back so I don't have anything to show the scientific community." Cuozzo says. Even after he returned to America, the pursuits continued. "Someone tried to break in my office here in New Jersey," he says. "I had the police come and escort me out. Then someone came to my office and said, 'If you keep doing this, they're going to kill you.'" Other scientists discount these stories and consider Cuozzo "paranoid."
Undaunted by the apparent scare tactics, and the many incongruent archaeological finds presented to the public by evolutionary scientists, Cuozzo maintains there is still no concrete evidence that proves the evolution theory.
Notes From The Book
•Dr. Cuozzo obtained a portable x-ray machine from "Dr. Brown"- - - one of only two in the world.
•The machine would hold a skull with the mid-plane at a right angle to the beam.
•Accurate measurements of the bones of the face and their relationship to each other were easy to record.
"…there were real Neanderthal fossils, and we were about to penetrate the "inner sanctum" or "unholy of unholies." The high priests of Baal worship…were the paleontologists. They were respons ible for placing the animals on these pedestals. It was a temple of naturalism." (page 24)
"In the Musee de l'Homme, I was beginning to have very uneasy feelings •about my present condition, especially when I found out that some of the actual Neanderthal fossils did not look like they did in the textbooks….What if the radiographs clashed with the textbook descriptions of these fossils? I saw that some of them would and I was genuinely scared." (page 24)
"Just a short drive from Perigueux, high on a limestone cliff above the town of Les Eyz ies and the Vezere River stands a statue of prehistoric man. He is a rather strongly built, brutish character, supposedly the typical stone age man. A museum stands off to the side of this statue and is built into the side of an even higher cliff. This is the National Museum of Prehistory in the Castle of Tayac. The celebrated Cro Magnon man cave is nearby and within a short drive are some of the most famous Neanderthal sites in the world.
Fossils such as: Le Moustier in Le Moustier, Peyzac, La Ferrassie in Savignac du Bugue, and Pech de l' Aze in Carsac have put this area on the map of paleoanthropology. Decorated caves and rock shelters are major tourist attractions which draw thousands of visitors each year.
The focus of all these localities seemed to concentrate on one big theme:the Evolution of Man. It became increasingly evident that a major part of the French tourist industry is firmly cemented into Evolution with a capital E. People are curious about where they came from. They are seeking answers to the deep feelings within them.
Evolution provides an answer, both in history and science. It is that men and women are nothing more than animals, too. This is the source of all man's problems; an animal heritage. Humanistic answers are very popular in modern Europe, where great cathedrals are mere tourist attractions, themselves. The religion of the new age is evolution.
Therefore, many francs are made in the prehistory business. Everywhere we went the parking spaces in Les Eyzies were filled with cars, and the hotels and restaurants were overflowing with people. The caveman culture had created an economic boom…. This was southern France, it was August, and this was a prehistoric amusement park."
Amidst all the gaiety and vacation atmosphere, an ominous thought occurred to me. If anyone was able to cast a shadow on the evidence which supports this flourishing trade, they would probably find themselves in a heap of trouble. It seemed very much like Paul telling the Ephesians around A.D. 52 that Artemis was not a God.
The words of Demetrius, a silversmith from the ancient city in Asia minor, who made the silver shrines of Artemis came back to me, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends on this business… this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all" (Acts 19:25-26).
Whether it be Paul's journey in the 1st century or in 1979, the threat by Christians to the idol business remains the same, even though the names of the idols change.NEANDERTHAL SKULLS PUT TO AN ORTHODONTIC TEST
This type of x-ray was going to allow measurements to be made accurately inside the skulls while at the same time seeing the true outside dimensions. It was also going to be able to see the places where the bones were glued together with a kind of plastic material. It might then be possible to discover if the reconstruction was done properly or if some artistic license was involved. p.37 •
"I started to get the eerie feeling that many things had been changed to show what they (evolutionists) wanted to show. I began to see more evidence that the Bible was accurate in its description of ancient man." p.69
One of the prize Neanderthal skulls, Broken Hill,(Zambia) has a bullet hole!! Broken Hill or Rhodesian Man had a bullet hole 8 mm x 8 mm (guns 200,000 yrs ago?) In 1958 R. Singer of South Africa published a negative radiograph of this skull. Because it was published in the negative the bullet hole did not show up!!! The external occipital protuberance appears to have been shaved off and flattened (attempt to hide acromegaly as reason for other area skull thickenings)
"The British museum people told me that no lower jaw was found with the skull." p72 The boney parts of the mandible are crucial in diagnosing acromegaly.
More crucially in Singer's radiograph the anterior clinoid process is very short. In my radiograph it is clearly seen and even undercut with a space…. Could this be a new addition since Singer's radio- graph was taken or is his radiograph of just of poor quality? If it truly is an addition to make the sella space look smaller, this little piece of bone would extinguish any thoughts of a pathological pituitary gland as seen in acromegaly. This would be serious tampering with a skull….someone knew they needed a little extra proof against pititary disease." p. 73
"It appears as though the paleoanthropologists have made a concerted effort to adhere to a rigid uniformatarian viewpoint concerning the growth, maturation and aging process in ancient populations no matter what the evidence showed. This eerie feeling persisted with me throughout all my expeditions into the world of evolutionary dogma." p. 74
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
Please Support the Research of S8int.com!
Since 2002, Chris Parker has done the majority of the research and writing of articles for s8int.com. If this site has been an encouragement to you, please donate to support Chris's ongoing research. (S8int.com is not incorporated and your donations may not be tax deductable.)


text:
Sullivan, Patricia A. is the author of 'From the Margins to the Center Contemporary Women and Political Communication' with ISBN 9780275949938 and ISBN 0275949931.[read more]
You can find lots of answers to common customer questions in our FAQs
View a detailed breakdown of our shipping prices
Learn about our return policy
Still need help? Feel free to contact us
View college textbooks by subject
and top textbooks for college
With our dedicated customer support team, 30-day no-questions-asked return policy, and our price match guarantee, you can rest easy knowing that we're doing everything we can to save you time, money, and stress.


text:
ExploreView Homepage View in Catalog
Fox News and Fox Movietone News camera crews covered the people and events of the country and, indeed, the world. From 1919 to 1963 these journalists aimed their viewfinders at the mundane and the spectacular.
The resulting images—most of which still exist as camera negatives at Moving Image Research Collections—provide an unparalleled opportunity to glimpse the world through their eyes.
Related Terms:
- Film


text:
Vinča symbols
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Vinča symbols, sometimes known as the Danube script, Vinča signs, Vinča script, Vinča–Turdaș script, Old European script, etc., are a set of symbols found on Neolithic era (6th to 5th millennia BC) artifacts from the Vinča culture of Central Europe and Southeastern Europe.[1] The vast majority of historians agree that those symbols are not a writing system, but private symbols or ornaments of some kind. A minority of historians claim that this is the earliest known writing system that has influenced other early writing systems.[2]
In 1875, archaeological excavations directed by the Hungarian archaeologist Zsófia Torma (1840–1899) at Tordos (present Turdaș, Romania) unearthed a cache of objects inscribed with previously unknown symbols. In 1908, a similar cache was found during excavations directed by Serbian archaeologist Miloje Vasić (1869–1956) in Vinča, a suburb of Belgrade (Serbia), some 245 km from Turdaș. Later, more such fragments were found in Banjica, another part of Belgrade. Since 1875, over 150 Vinča sites have been identified in Serbia alone, but many, including Vinča itself, have not been fully excavated.[3] Thus, the culture of the whole area is called the Vinča culture, and the symbols are often called[citation needed] the Vinča–Turdaș script.
The discovery of the Tărtăria tablets in Romania by a team directed by Nicolae Vlassa in 1961 revived the debate. Vlassa believed the inscriptions to be pictograms and other items found at the same place were subsequently carbon-dated to before 4000 BC (the tablets themselves cannot be dated by physical or chemical methods[4]), thirteen hundred years earlier than the date he expected, and earlier even than the writing systems of the Sumerians and Minoans. The authenticity of these tablets is disputed.[5]
Most of the inscriptions are on pottery, with the remainder appearing on ceramic spindle whorls, figurines, and a small collection of other objects. The symbols themselves consist of a variety of abstract and representative pictograms, including zoomorphic (animal-like) representations, combs or brush patterns and abstract symbols such as swastikas, crosses and chevrons. Over 85% of the inscriptions consist of a single symbol. Other objects include groups of symbols, of which some are arranged in no particularly obvious pattern, with the result that neither the order nor the direction of the signs in these groups is readily determinable. The usage of symbols varies significantly between objects; symbols that appear by themselves tend almost exclusively to appear on pots, while symbols that are grouped with other symbols tend to appear on whorls.
Dating and importanceEdit
The importance of these findings is due to the fact that the bulk of the Vinča symbols were created in the period between 4500 and 4000 BC, with the ones on the Tărtăria clay tablets possibly dating back to around 5300 BC (controversially dated by association).[6] This means that the Vinča finds predate the proto-Sumerian pictographic script from Uruk (modern Iraq), which is usually considered to be the oldest known writing system, by more than a thousand years. Analyses of the symbols showed that they have little similarity with Near Eastern writing, resulting in the opinion that these symbols and the Sumerian script probably arose independently.
Although a large number of symbols are known, most artifacts contain so few symbols that they are very unlikely to represent a complete text. Possibly the only exception is the Sitovo inscription in Bulgaria, the dating of which is disputed; regardless, even that inscription has only around 50 symbols.
A database of Vinca inscriptions, DatDas, has been developed by Marco Merlini:
DatDas organizes a catalogue of 5,421 actual signs. These are recorded from a corpus of 1,178 inscriptions composed of two or more signs and 971 inscribed artifacts (some finds have two or more inscriptions).[7]
Meaning of the symbolsEdit
The nature and purpose of the symbols is a mystery. Although attempts have been made to interpret the symbols, there is no agreement as to what they might mean. At first it was thought that the symbols were simple property marks, meaning "this belongs to X". A prominent holder of this opinion is archaeologist Peter Biehl. This theory is now mostly abandoned, as the same symbols have been repeatedly found throughout the territory of the Vinča culture, in locations hundreds of kilometers and years away from each other. The prevailing theory is that the symbols were used for religious purposes in a traditional agricultural society. If so, the fact that the same symbols were used for centuries with little change suggests that the ritual meaning and culture represented by the symbols likewise remained constant for a very long time, with no need for further development. The use of the symbols seems to have been abandoned (along with the objects on which they appear) at the start of the Bronze Age, suggesting that the new technology brought with it significant changes in social organization and beliefs.[citation needed]
One argument in favour of the ritual explanation is that the objects on which the symbols appear do not seem to have had much long-term significance to their owners – they are commonly found in pits and other refuse areas.[citation needed] Certain objects, principally figurines, are most usually found buried under houses. This is consistent with the supposition that they were prepared for household religious ceremonies in which the signs incised on the objects represent expressions: a desire, request, vow, etc. After the ceremony was completed, the object would either have no further significance (hence would be disposed of) or would be buried ritually (which some have interpreted as votive offerings).[citation needed]
Some of the "comb" or "brush" symbols, which collectively compose as much as a sixth of all the symbols so far discovered, may represent numbers. Some scholars have pointed out that more than a quarter of the inscriptions are located on the bottom of a pot, an ostensibly unlikely place for a religious inscription. The Vinča culture appears to have traded its wares quite widely with other cultures (as demonstrated by the widespread distribution of inscribed pots), so it is possible that the "numerical" symbols conveyed information about the value of the pots or their contents. Other cultures, such as the Minoans and Sumerians, used their scripts primarily as accounting tools; the Vinča symbols may have served a similar purpose.[citation needed]
Other symbols (principally those restricted to the base of pots) are wholly unique. Such signs may denote the contents, provenance/destination or manufacturer/owner of the pot.[citation needed]
Marija Gimbutas and Vinča as pre-writingEdit
The primary advocate of the idea that the markings represent writing, and the person who invented the name "Old European Script", was Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994),[7] an archaeologist and advocate of the hypothesis that the "Kurgan culture" (actually a cluster of many related cultures and horizons) of the Pontic steppe was the archaeological expression of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. She reconstructed a hypothetical pre-Indo-European "Old European civilization", which she defines as having occupied the area between the Dniester valley and the Sicily-Crete line.[8] Gimbutas observed that neolithic European iconography was predominantly female—a trend also visible in the inscribed figurines of the Vinča culture—and concluded the existence of a "matristic" (woman-centered, but not necessarily matriarchal) culture that worshipped various gods and goddesses. (Gimbutas did not posit a single universal Great Goddess.) She also incorporated the Vinča markings into her model of Old Europe, suggesting that they might either be the writing system for an Old European language, or, more probably, a kind of "pre-writing" symbolic system. However, Vinča logographics themselves have not been found on an area wider than southeastern Hungary, western Romania, and western Bulgaria, as described by Winn.[9]
See alsoEdit
- Banpo symbols, located not far from site of Jiahu discovery; also claimed as proto-writing.
- Dispilio tablet
- Gradeshnitsa tablets
- Jiahu symbols, an even older example sometimes claimed as proto-writing.
- Kamyana Mohyla, Ukraine, petroglyphs from caves used as early as 20th century BC.
- List of undeciphered writing systems
- Old European cultures
- Prehistoric Romania
- Prehistoric Serbia
- Sitovo inscription
Notes and referencesEdit
- ^ Haarmann 2010, 10: 5300 - 3200 BC.
- ^ Palavestra, Aleksandar (2018). Боља прошлост: измишљање традиције и нови идентитети [Better Past: Invention of Tradition and New Identities] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Evoluta. pp. 9–30. ISBN 978-86-80912-18-9.
- ^ Tasić, Nikola, Dragoslav Srejović, and Bratislav Stojanović. "Vinča: Centre of the Neolithic Culture of the Danubian Region". Belgrade: Centar za arheoloska istrazivanja Filozofskog fakulteta, 1990. http://www.rastko.rs/arheologija/vinca/vinca_eng.html (accessed 2009.06.22).
- ^ Merlini, Marco; Lazarovici, Gheorghe: Settling discovery circumstances, dating and utilization of the Tărtăria tablets (PDF; 10.8 MB). In: Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis. Band: VII. 2008. Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu. ISSN 1583-1817
- ^ a b Qasim, Erika: Die Tărtăria-Täfelchen – eine Neubewertung. In: Das Altertum, ISSN 0002-6646, vol. 58, 4 (2013), p. 307–318
- ^ Haarmann, Harald: "Geschichte der Schrift", C.H. Beck, 2002, ISBN 3-406-47998-7, p. 20
- ^ a b Merlini, Marco (2009). "Introduction to the Danube script". Academia.edu. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ Gimbutas, Marija (1974). The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: 6500 to 3500 BCE: Myths and Cult Images (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 17.
- ^ Winn, Shan M (1981). Pre-writing in Southeastern Europe: The Sign System of the Vinča Culture ca. 4000 BCE. Calgary: Western Publishers. p. 15.
- Gimbutas, Marija. 1974. The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe 7000–3500 BCE, Mythos, Legends and Cult Images
- Griffen, Toby D., Deciphering the Vinca Script [1], 2007.
- Haarmann, Harald. 2010. Einführung in die Donauschrift. Buske, Hamburg. ISBN 978-3-87548-555-4.
- Winn, Shan M.M. 1981. Pre-writing in Southeastern Europe: the sign system of the Vinča culture, ca. 4000 BCE
External linksEdit
- 2008 Symposium The Danube Script: Neo-Eneolithic Writing in Southeastern Europe. Held in Romania
- Vinca-Tordos symbols at omniglot.com, including a font created by Romanian linguist Sorin Paliga
- The Old European Script: Further evidence – Shan M. M. Winn


text:
Passive smoke causes high blood pressure in preschoolers
A new study has found children exposed to second-hand smoke have elevated blood pressure, putting them at risk of ongoing cardiovascular problems and heart disease later in life.
Quit Acting Executive Director Quit, Luke Atkin, said it was a timely reminder for smokers to provide smoke-free environments for their children at home and in cars.
"It's just over a year since we've seen smoking in cars with children banned in Victoria and the evidence just keeps growing on why we need this policy."
"We know that second hand smoke is associated with a higher incidence of many health problems in children, including asthma attacks, meningococcal disease, pneumonia and SIDS. This study adds to evidence that second-hand smoke is leading to cardiovascular problems in children that stay with them into adulthood."
"This study confirms parents and all smokers need to think twice before lighting up around children," Atkin said.
The new study, in Circulation, examined 4,236 preschool -aged children in Germany and found the children of smokers had higher blood pressure. This was still true even when the results of the five and six year olds were adjusted to take in other risk factors such as obesity.
Children of smokers were 21% more likely to have blood pressure readings in the upper 15% of their age group, when compared with children of non-smokers.
Cancer Council Victoria research suggests four out of ten smokers still smoke around children.
Heart Foundation (Victoria) CEO Kathy Bell said the legislation in place since January 2010, banning people from smoking in cars with children, was an excellent start. But smokers needed to take responsibility for protecting children in other places.
"Having a smoke-free home is an excellent step, while the study's authors conclude implementing additional smoke-free areas in public places would help. Frankston City Council has taken great steps in this regard introducing a smoke-free outdoor mall, and we'd love to see other councils taking similar steps in alfresco dining areas, parks and sporting fields."
"Smokers need to be aware that their actions are impacting on their children not only now, but well into the future. The best thing you can do for your children and yourself is quit."


text:
4790 W. 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222
(800) 822-4639 (317) 492-6700 Mon-Fri, 9a.m.-5p.m. ET
Jul 5, 2020
June 21, 2012 | By GRAND-AM MEDIA
The GT, or Grand Touring, class has long been a staple of sports car racing, both in national and international competition. The cars are historically those production-based cars built from the street and modified for the race track, though some cars in international series have been built as specificbased race cars with production-lookalike bodies.
GRAND-AM has employed a two-class system for the Rolex Series since 2005, running Daytona Prototypes and GT cars.
Currently, the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class sports some of the top models of sports cars in the world, with competitors adhering to GRAND-AM's level-playing field. Among those cars eligible for competition in the Rolex Series GT class are the Audi R8 GRAND-AM, BMW M3 and M6, Chevrolet Camaro GT.R, Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am and 430C, Ford Mustang, Infiniti G Sedan, Jaguar XK8, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mazda RX-8, Mercedes-Benz SLS, Nissan 350Z and Porsche GT3.
GT cars competing in the Rolex Series can be unibodied production cars (Prep 1) or custom tube frame chassis (Prep 2). The rules for GT employ several methods of equalization, including race car weight, tire size and engine RPM limits to provide an even playing field for the variety of different cars. Engines in GT machines produce between 390 and 450 horsepower depending on the car.
The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series ran multiple GT classes from 2000-2004, including GTU, GTO, AGT, GTS and SGS.


text:
Gaming is great fun. But sometimes it can totally piss you off. And you just want to Hulk Smash—but you don't.
This animated gif is from Japanese anime Shinryaku! Ika Musume (aka Squid Girl), and it's utterly fantastic. You can see what it looks like when a Super Nintendo cartridge is crushed and when a controller is snapped in half.
This particular scene was in the Ika Musume original video animation that was released this past August. There's something oddly soothing about this gif.
From "Shinryaku!! Ika Musume OVA" [AANNIIMMEE]
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.


text:
Monday, September 21, 2020
Shimon Peres, Israeli ex-president who signed the Oslo Accords, dies at 93
Cynthia Wang
- September 28, 2016
Main News
Oslo Accords
] [
Mahmoud Abbas
] [
Peace Process
] [
Israeli government
] [
] [
] [
Shimon Peres
Send by email:
Shimon Peres, a former Israeli president and a towering figure who concluded the Oslo Accords during his term as Foreign minister, died Tuesday at age 93. For many Israelis, Peres is regarded as the founding generation who assisted in the establishment of the Jewish State. The groundbreaking, first-time-ever peace agreement between Israel and Palestine was also signed under his pen. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told the
that "Peres' death is a great loss to humanity and the region." But he remains as a controversial figure among Palestinians. He was also
unloved by right-wing Israelis
for his trying to promote peace between two sides, which prevented him to break into the prime minister's post. "For the Palestinians, he will be seen as the man who has not implemented the Oslo Accords," Leila Shahid, the former Palestinian ambassador in the European Union, commented in an interview on
France Info
on Wednesday. Diana Buttu, a former Palestinian peace negotiator
that many will remember Peres as a "war criminal". "He's somebody who believed in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine," added Buttu. Al Jazeera's Middle East analyst Yehia Ghanem said in
an interview
that "people who are praising him [Peres] supported Israel and all of its crimes throughout its history." Referring to
the 1996 Qana Massacre
, which killed at least 106 people in a village in Southern Lebanon, he described the bloodshed as a war crime followed by Peres' command as the Prime Minister. After the announcement of his death by his son, world leaders pay tribute on Wednesday. Calling him "a soldier for Israel" and "a friend", US president Barack Obama expressed his sorrow in a
White House statement
that he felt the Americans are "in his debt". He praised Peres' diplomatic efforts on bringing together Israel and the US: "no one did more over so many years as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries". He was hailed as the "political giant" by Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and "an optimist about the prospects for reconciliation and peace" by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, jointly with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, for their role in negotiating the Oslo Accords. It was aimed to the achievement of an independent Palestinian state. He spent the first half of his political life ensuring Israeli military might and security, appointed several times to crucial roles such as Foreign minister and Defense minister. During the 1950s, he reached a secret agreement with France to build a nuclear reactor at Dimona in the Negev desert. According to the US-based
Nuclear Threat Initiative
, the nuclear power reactor can produce estimated 100 and 200 nuclear warheads and remains as the biggest and sole nuclear armed-power in the Middle East. Peres dedicated the second half in pursuit of bringing peace to his country. Before taken up the post of the ninth president of Israel in 2007, he served twice as prime minister, first between 1984 and 1986 with Likud; then later again after the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. He stayed in power until 1996 when he lost the election to Benjamin Netanyahu whom has been in premiership up to date. In his later years, he became Israel's moderate face under the hardheaded leadership of Netanyahu. He insisted many times that peace between Israel and Palestine is around the corner and will not hesitate "to extend my life for a year or two" to promote that goal, told Peres in
a 2013 interview.
He once spoke at the
that "The time has come to comprehend that the real triumph is in the harvest of peace, not in the seeds of another war." However, he never had been fully entrusted by Israeli voters. "At the ballot box they preferred a stern right winger in government,"concluded analyst
Anshel Pfeffer
. That is to say, today Peres' death might lead to an end to the last flicker of hope in bringing the already tightened Israeli-Palestinian conflict into peace.
Back to Top
Related Articles
Serbia, Kosovo to normalise ties with Israel
September 06, 2020
The announcement that Belgrade will move their embassy to Jerusalem and Pristina
Israel's top court rules Jewish settlement in occupied West Bank illegal
August 31, 2020
Israel's supreme court has ruled the Mitzpe Kramim outpost as illegally
Gaza, Israel tensions rise after bombing retaliation
August 24, 2020
Israel has rocked the Gaza Strip with daily bombing since the enclave began to
Most Popular Articles
Israel's puppet war unmasks apartheid regime
The El-Hakawati theatre was colorfully adorned to host its annual International
Rushdi Tamimi becomes second victim of Israeli army in Nabi Saleh
On Tuesday November 21st, the body of 31 year old Rushdi Tamimi was
Israel Avoids Hard-Right Shift: No Benefit for Palestinians
With many commentators predicting big wins for the settler movement in
Designed & Developed by:


text:
Since 1995, Panalink Infotech Limited has been providing software development, web design, web development & maintenance and web hosting services with clients in USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Holland, Middle East, Australia and India.Learn more
Panalinks offers custom web design, responsive web design, WordPress based web page design and portal development.Read more
Our mobile development team is proficient in deveoping native as well as PhoneGap and Titanium iPhone / iPad and Android Apps.Read more
Panalinks specializes in software development in .NET, .PHP. We develops API's for mobile iPhone and Android apps.Read more
I would also like to compliment you for developing such an excellent app. It was great pleasure working with a lovely bunch of professionals in your team.
We are using Panalinks services for a number of years and are happy with their professional approach.


text:
Many commentators read Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas in Veritate as if it were a think tank white paper, and ask whether he endorses their particular policy preferences. It is a mistake to read the encyclical in this way. A close look at the document's introduction makes plain that Benedict is not a man of the Left or of the Right: He is a non-ideological man of God.
The opening sentence soars above any political platform: "Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal force behind authentic development of every person and of all humanity." This is our first clue that we are not dealing with a technocrat or ideologue. "Authentic development" points away from the deliberations of politicians and policy wonks. Benedict does not define his objectives in material terms, such as maximizing GDP. Neither does he conduct focus groups or consult experts to figure out what people want. Rather in this encyclical, Benedict reflects on what it means to be authentically human and what the human good actually entails. That is to say, he seeks the truth about man in society.
Some readers will no doubt assume that it is hubris to believe that one can know Truth with a capital "T." Others may fear that Benedict will somehow impose his "ideology" on the rest of the world. Now, how a city state a few miles across, defended by a handful of guys with medieval weapons is going to impose its will on anyone is beyond my imagining, but put that to one side. Truth has taken such a beating in our time that our contemporaries routinely flinch at its mere mention.
But Benedict is not now, nor has he ever been, afraid of the concept of truth. He is not intimidated by postmodern doubts. He knows where the truth is to be found. The Truth is a person: Jesus Christ.
Truth and Freedom
His theory about Truth is not his own, but the traditional teaching of the Church, as it comes to us from the Apostles and as it has been safeguarded and interpreted over the centuries. His theory is quite simply that every person longs for both truth and love. This longing can never be suppressed, in spite of modern pretensions to being ever-so-above-it-all. "All people feel the interior impulse to love authentically: love and truth never abandon them completely because these are the vocation planted by God in the heart and mind of every human person" (no. 1). Therefore, we will never be able to completely suppress the human desire to know the truth and to live in accordance with it.
Benedict's perspective on Truth has its own view of human freedom as well as of the human good. "Each person find his good by adherence to God's plan for him,… in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free." Two possible objections come to mind, from opposite intellectual poles. From the relativist side, we can practically hear the sophisticated eye-rolling over the idea that freedom means anything other than "doing as I please." But consider these reasons why it is reasonable to follow God's plan for our lives: (1) God knows more than we do; (2) He has the good of more people in mind, whereas honestly, most of us are mostly thinking of ourselves most of the time; and (3) He has a longer time horizon.
From the objective side, people may fear that Benedict is descending into postmodern relativism when he refers to an individual truth for each person. Benedict's recognition of this unique path for each person takes nothing away from his affirmation of the existence of eternal and universal truths. Compared with the dehumanization of modern culture, Benedict's vision of each person living in accordance with God's distinctive plan for them is positively refreshing. Our emphasis on Equality smashes individuality. The combination of mass media and consumer culture, while it indulges choice in trivial matters, nonetheless creates a tendency to conformity in the most significant aspects of life.
Benedict's Realism
"The search for love and truth is purified and liberated by Jesus Christ from the impoverishment our humanity brings to it." Pause for a moment on this phrase, "the impoverishment our humanity brings." Some of our contemporaries may interpret it as evidence of hostility toward humanity. But I believe it is evidence of a realism that is far superior to the modern alternatives.
We are not gods, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving. Instead, we are limited human creatures. We easily confuse temporary goods with permanent goods, partial goods with complete goods and particular localized goods with universal general goods. Benedict knows well that we have a tendency to take one really good and important idea, make an idol out of it, and in so doing, "impoverish" it.
The modern ideologies fit this pattern. Consider Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality. The varieties of liberalism, including some free market versions, treat Liberty uncoupled from truth as the ultimate good. The fascists took the very natural desires for belonging and identity, Fraternity, and created a political system that worshiped the State and the Volk. And the various communist and socialist ideologies take the one noble idea of Equality and apply it where it is truly inapplicable.
These modern ideas were supposed to take the place of religious superstition, but instead, have unleashed rivers of blood on humanity. And for all the power they usurped, these ideologies still do not have the capacity to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. Only a relationship with Jesus Christ can do this. This was one of the key points of Benedict's earlier encyclical Spe Salvi, which translates In Hope we were Saved. Placing our hope in political platforms or leaders is certain to disappoint us. Only God Himself is worthy of this kind of ultimate hope.
Genuine Collaboration
With this prologue in place, we can turn to the core ideas of the encyclical: that charity and truth are not in tension with each other, but in fact complement one another. "Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine... Everything has its origin in God's love, everything is shaped by it, everything is directed toward it" (no. 2). God's love is the great source of all legitimate and reasonable optimism. And this is necessarily grounded in the truth. "Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love" (no. 3).
This close intertwining of charity and truth allows Benedict to avoid the problem of subjectivism that has plagued so much of modern political philosophy. We tie ourselves in knots trying to create a political system that is procedurally neutral toward all points of view. We try to hold the self-contradictory position that we must never say that some views are superior to others, while still maintaining that moral autonomy is itself a value that trumps all the others.
Benedict need not become embroiled in these debates over how to manage competing visions of the good life. He is proposing a "thick" conception of the good for the human person: "In Christ, charity in truth becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth." Though our modern colleagues may be surprised to learn this, Benedict's vision of Truth does not degenerate into warfare and hostility. Instead, the common commitment to the Truth allows genuine collaboration. "Truth, by enabling men and women to let go of their subjective opinions and impressions, allows them to move beyond cultural and historical limitations and to come together in the assessment of the value and substance of things" (no. 4). The commitment to truth provides us with a standard of goodness that exists outside our subjective desires. Thus, truth liberates us from the power struggles that inevitably accompany competing preferences. "Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power" (no. 5).
True Common Good
Benedict is also freed from one of the vexing conundrums of modern political philosophy, namely, what is the goal of the polis? Some political philosophers emphasize things like "social justice," which has come to mean little more than the redistribution of income. An even more revolting concept is Rousseau's "general will," which has come to mean that the people in power get to do whatever they want and claim it represents the will of the people. Both these terms smuggle in a thick conception of the good, even while being unwilling to defend the existence of "goodness" as such. Benedict, by contrast, is quite willing to defend a robust view of human nature, and the human good. This allows him to use the older, medieval term, "common good," without irony. The "common good" denotes something more than an aggregation of individual preferences, or the management of competing preferences.
"The common good is the good of "all of us," made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only really and effectively pursue their good within it" (no. 7). In this way of looking at things, the role of the state or polis is not to give everyone every good thing. The role of the polis is to create a set of institutional arrangements that allow people to pursue their own good. But unlike modern subjectivism and relativism, we do not shrink from asking the really important question of what is actually good for us.
Of course, this requires us to have a reasonable understanding of how a social order actually works. Benedict offers the same disclaimer as his predecessor when he says, "the Church does not have technical solutions to offer" (no. 9). This leaves wide latitude for the laity in each country to figure out how to implement the general principles of Catholic social teaching to their own situation. This should put to rest the fears that the Church has some "agenda" to impose on the world.
Reality, Not Fantasy
So don't read Caritas in Veritate with a checklist of policy prescriptions. I can almost promise you that the Pope will not conform to your whole list of policy preferences. If you read it this way, you will miss the larger point.
Benedict takes us to a world that once was, and could yet be: a world with noble aspirations for love and truth. It is a realistic world, not a utopian fantasy. This is the world we abandoned, these are the possibilities we forsook, when we exchanged truth for consensus and charity for self-interest. "Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested" (no. 9).
In an age when many have lost even the idea of truth, not to mention the will to search for it, the Church is poised to illuminate corners of our experience that few others will even notice. And in an age of indescribable loneliness, the idea of a social order built on love is surely more appealing than any list of policy proposals.
Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., a senior fellow in economics at the Acton Institute, is the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage.


text:
Harry Bruce knows where to draw the line in comics
A MAN who is a master craftsman at putting a comic twist on things throughout the year is cartoonist Harry Bruce.
The former teacher walked out of the classroom about 21 years ago and has been behind the drawing board ever since.
It's a job he enjoys, though he admits there are some tough assignments out there. We caught up with Harry to chat about favourite faces of 2012.
"There are some faces to draw that are quite easy, because they have particular facial features that stand out, like Julia (Gillard) with the big nose and Tony (Abbott) with the big ears," Harry said.
"But some are certainly harder to caricature.
"Deirdre Comerford for instance. Deirdre is a pleasant looking woman, and I don't like being cruel to women ... except Julia.
"I had trouble with (former mayor) Julie Boyd too, so good looking people, women especially, are difficult.
"And the closer you are to them (geographically) the harder they are to caricature. I don't want to upset them and then meet them in the supermarket."
Along with the tough gigs, there are some tried and true favourites.
"Locally, the best one is obviously George (Christensen)," Harry said.
"George has got the gap teeth and the full figure, the big bones, but he's a colourful character.
"Anyone who can get chucked out of parliament on a regular basis is great for a cartoonist. He's like the naughty boy in class, who always attracts attention. Whereas the ones that sit there and do their work well, and keep their heads down, like Ted Malone and Tim Mulherin, don't feature as often."
Mr Bruce said it was mainly politicians who featured in cartoons. "(Mike) Brunker, he was good too. Col (Meng) was good," he said.
"I hate it when my favourites get knocked out, because they're easy to draw."
On the state scene there are challenges as well.
"The new Premier (Campbell Newman) is a bit harder; it's hard to get a handle on him, to find the right balance.
"There's the bald head and big lips but it's taking a bit of time to get the balance right.
"At one point I was toying with the idea of drawing him as Napoleon all the time, the little dictator with the hand in the breast pocket."
He said other favourites were Bob Katter and Clive Palmer.
"Often it's more their character than their appearance, and you can tie it in together.
Harry said there's a lot to look forward to in 2013. "There's an election (federal) coming up, plenty of fodder there."


text:
Hi Everyone!
On August 15, 2011 I made a post to this blog that noted that the use of "flour" to enhance readability of gravestones was a controversial topic.
If you do not subscribe to the Posts or Comments of this blog, you may not be aware of a very nice comment that was left on that post indicating that "flour" should definitely NOT be used.
The comment was left by Mike Trinkley, Ph.D., Director, Chicora Foundation, Inc. of Columbia, SC.
To save you some time of going back to the original post, I thought I would include the comment here following in Bold and Italic:
Tony, the jury really isn't out. It is a bad practice and here's why. First, flour promotes the growth of lichen. Lichen damage stone by holding moisture to the stone, creating acids that attack the stone, and obscuring the stone. Second, flour does not readily wash off; instead it cakes on the stone, disfiguring it. Third, stones are not ours to treat in a cavalier manner — they belong to the families that erected them and to future generations. And fourth, there are other, equally convenient and simple, methods that do no harm. For example, using a flashlight to create a raking light across the inscription, maximizing shadows. Or using a pocket size reflector and the sun to do the same thing.
Mike Trinkley, Ph.D.
Chicora Foundation, Inc.
Columbia, SC
The comment stands well on its own.
You may want to visit the orignal blog post and see how the comment fits into the context of the entire blog post but I do think the comment from Mike is completely useful as is.
Consider using other alternative methods of enhancing the readability of gravestones as mentioned by Mike.
Leave the flour at home and bake some cookies when you return from the cemetery!
Thanks for the comment Mike.
Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library


text:
The lowdown on teenagers and young people travelling in Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland only foreign students who are currently enrolled in a third-level course or studying a course of at least six months duration, with a minimum 20 hours class time per week, can avail of the student travel card.
You can find out how and where to buy the Student Travel Card on the website. The Travel Card is applicable for Dart, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and Luas services.
There are special rates for children under 16. You can review all Dart and Irish Rail fares on their website.
For those visiting and travelling in Northern Ireland there is a Translink Student Discount Card. The card is only available to those currently enrolled in a full-time course in either the Republic of Ireland or Great Britain.
Many attractions such as theatres, cinemas, clothing stores and museums offer concessions to school or college students. Their websites will usually specify whether they offer concessions and what the discount is. In some cases the ticket will need to be bought directly from the point of purchase to avail of a concession. A student card bearing photo and date of birth will be required when seeking a concession.
Age requirements will vary when seeking to rent a car in Ireland. All car rental companies will feature the information in the Terms and Conditions section on their website.
Should you be a student interested in working or studying in Ireland, your first port of call should be the Irish student and youth travel service, USIT. While their Work in Ireland program is based in Dublin USIT also have 22 offices spread over the island of Ireland.
USIT also help source budget accommodation in Ireland as well as organising Study Groups and Irish Studies Summer Schools. Take a look at their Study in Ireland section for more information.
Save this page to a Scrapbook:
Save this page to your Scrapbook:
You have Scrapbooks created. Click below to see all of your saved pages.
Create a new Scrapbook:
This page has been save to your Scrapbook
Renting a vehicle in Ireland puts the island in your hands. From cars to motorcycles to camper vans, vehicle rental...
When it comes to looking after kids of all ages, Ireland is just one big playground
A great place to source local information and ask any advice about travelling in Ireland is one of the many Regional...
The island of Ireland is a tolerant place with many faiths and religions represented in the population
Ireland moves at a civilised pace, so escape the madness and enjoy the island in your own time
Where you can or can't smoke in Ireland
When using your mobile phone keep in mind that only digital phones with GSM subscriptions and a roaming agreement will...
The island of Ireland functions on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Can we help you with anything else? Find out how to get in touch by email, Facebook and more.
For more information on travel, accommodation and attractions have a look at our brochures and maps.
If you're a visitor from the island of Ireland you may want to visit one of these sites… Otherwise proceed to Ireland.com
Share this link


text:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 31-year-old Jacksonville woman was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for the armed robbery of a Gate gas station and the death of her boyfriend, who was shot and killed by police officers during the robbery. The life sentence is the result of a retrial.
In 2011, Shaketa Jones was tried and convicted of the same charges and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jones' 2011 convictions for second-degree felony murder and armed robbery were reversed by Florida's First District Court of Appeal due to a jury selection error. Last month, Jones was retried and convicted a second time on the same two charges.
"The court today articulated very clearly its reasons for the sentences imposed," said Assistant State Attorney John Guy.
Judge Tyrie Boyer sentenced Jones to life for the second-degree felony murder and 35 years on the armed robbery.
In May 2010, Jones staked out a Gate gas station on Atlantic Boulevard. Jones and her boyfriend, Jessie Cooper, then robbed one of the store's clerks. Jones was parked in a car near the gas station. She was the lookout for Cooper, who was in another vehicle in the Gate parking lot.
The two planned the robbery and communicated with each other by phone right before the robbery took place.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office undercover officers, staked out in the area, noticed Jones and Cooper in their cars. Officers witnessed Cooper get out of his vehicle and hold up a store clerk with a handgun. When detectives blocked Cooper's car in the parking lot, Cooper pulled his pistol on the two detectives. Cooper refused to comply with police commands, and detectives fired their weapons, killing Cooper.
Jones was convicted in Cooper's death because it occurred while she committed a felony.