text:
Somali militants linked to al-Qaida say they executed a French agent whom French armed forces had tried to rescue. The claim is at odds with France, which has consistently said the agent was killed in Saturday's failed rescue mission.
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali militants linked to al-Qaida said Thursday they had executed a French agent who French armed forces had tried to rescue during the weekend.
The Al-Shabaab rebel group said on its Twitter account that Denis Allex, held hostage since 2009, had been killed at 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
"Let Muslims enjoy his execution and the French cry," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabaab's spokesman for military operations, said.
The militants added that the decision to kill Allex was unanimous and followed three years of what they called exhaustive attempts at negotiation.
France has consistently said it believed Allex was killed in Saturday's failed rescue mission and have accused the militants of manipulating the media with their latest statements.
Two French commandos were killed in the failed raid, which coincided with the launch of French air strikes against Islamist militants in the West African country of Mali.
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text:
A different astronomy and space science
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From oedb
Click above to view full image! Any book lover can tell you: diving into a great novel is an immersive experience that can make your brain come alive with imagery and emotions and even turn on your senses.
Via Anu Ojaranta
Pamela D Lloyd's curator insight, October 27, 2013 1:07 PM
Educators have long told us that reading expands our minds. Here are some of the specific ways in which they do so.
Carol Rine's curator insight, October 29, 2013 4:54 AM
This is a GREAT article that has lots of embedded cross-linked articles within it. :O)
This is a guest post by Jon Acuff, the author of four books including Start.
Helen Teague's insight:
"The truth is, you should never waste time trying to turn someone who hates you into someone who likes you. Instead focus on turning people who like your dream into people who love your dream." Applies to folks both online and off.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs are almost always working, whether they're in the office or not. But is it possible that taking time off and resting is…
Via Barb Jemmott
Helen Teague's insight:
My favorite quote: You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.~Plato
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman has been offering an amazing glimpse of Earth from aboard the International Space Station.
Helen Teague's insight:
spectacular photos (need I say...out of this world!)
Spending less time on the sofa lengthens 'telomeres' - the caps on chromosomes which protect the genetic code inside
The world could learn a lot from you, Finland
Helen Teague's insight:
~Teacher-student ratios differ by 50% from the U.S.
~U.S. students take 100 million standardized tests per year--lots of time spent prepping for test vs. deep learning of content
~Interestingly, recess is utilized and is of a longer duration in Finland.
Link to website: http://themetapicture.com/why-theres-no-homework-in-finland/
Enrico De Angelis's curator insight, August 31, 11:06 PM
a beautiful (clear, on the point, ...) image of what we should do! In Europe and in our Country!
Who will tell this to Mr. Renzi and his Education&Research Minister?
Successful professionals share what they wish they knew in college.
Helen Teague's insight:
especially poignant is David Essel's list
Richard Branson says, "it is amazing how focusing your mind on issues like health, poverty, conservation and climate change can help to re-energize your thinking in other areas." Successful people agree with Anne Frank: "No one has ever become poor from giving." Tom Corley studied the rich for five years before writing his book "Wealthy Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals." He found that 73% of wealthy people volunteer for five or more hours per month. Read more of the top 12 weekend habits of highly successful people.
"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Via Barb Jemmott
From news
Helen Teague's insight:
"Having good neighbors and feeling connected to others in the local community may help to curb an individual's heart attack risk," said a statement that accompanied a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
"Prescription Painkillers Kill More Than Heroin and Cocaine ... Combined" [Liberty Voice] "The U.S. spent more on defense in 2012 than the countries with the next 10 highest budgets ... combined." ...
Helen Teague's insight:
By David Weinberger--The gasp of combined -- "We love the 'more than ___ … combined' trope" --my favorite blog right now-- http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/2014/08/08/the-gasp-of-combined/ via @dweinberger
J. R. R. Tolkien's 10 Tips For Writers: INFOGRAPHIC
Helen Teague's insight:
By Dianna Dilworth Thanks to The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter, we can literally speak with the author of the world fantasy classic
Dr. Travis Bradberry explains startling new research from Yale University and shows you how to keep your stress under control.
Helen Teague's insight:
This study was mentioned in "How Successful People Stay Calm" written by Travis Bradberry
Helen Teague's curator insight, August 5, 7:07 AM
Helen Teague's insight:
This study was mentioned in "How Successful People Stay Calm" written by Travis Bradberry
Fall is right around the corner and so are the colors!
Helen Teague's insight:
#exhale... :)
Three Ways to Become More Mindful at Work
Don't worry: These tips will help you stop needlessly agonizing once and for all.
Via Barb Jemmott
Helen Teague's insight:
Thank you Barb Jemmott!
Because sometimes you get tired of smartphones, drive-thru's, and indoor plumbing.
Helen Teague's insight:
there is even a place in the contiguous U.S.
Digital Learning, Deeper Learning
Great teachers will impact on a child's future and memories forever. Once children reach their school age, they spend more time with their teachers than their parents. This infographic from Teacher Certification Degrees provides interesting facts on how great teachers affect students' lives.
Helen Teague's insight:
Scroll through the version on the blog post link to see the stats and sources
Looking for new books, used books, or textbooks? Sites that offer cheap books abound on the web. We've paged through them to bring you 15 of the very best.
Helen Teague's insight:
Old Faves (Powells) and New Finds (Better World Books, BookMooch) plus more...
No matter how successful you are in life and business, success doesn't give you immunity from humanity. Here's what to do when you feel like giving up.
Helen Teague's insight:
Post by Clint Salter. I really like this Winston Churchill quote, "If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time – a tremendous whack."
From blogs
Psychologists are finding that when students are motivated by a desire to have a positive impact on the world they are more able to plug away at challenging or tedious tasks.
Helen Teague's insight:
High school students in this study characteristically indicated that making money, attaining fame or pursuing a career that they enjoyed were important to them. But many of them also spoke of additionally wanting to make a positive impact on their community or society. Research psychologist David Yeager (UT Austin) and his colleagues devised a new social psychology intervention to foster a "purposeful learning" mindset as another way to motivate pupils to persevere in their studies.
Learn how Tailwind built their online community to over 22,000 top brands, five minutes at a time.
Helen Teague's insight:
the high-impact benefit of the low-tech thank you note
"My father added a whole dimension to my childhood, one that I took for granted.
When my sister and I were little, we had an almost daily ritual with my father: drawing stories.
He would sit us on his lap and get out his clipboard, a piece of paper and his black click pen. He'd divide the paper into four parts, and draw as he told a story. Sometimes he drew old favorites and we knew what would be in each of the four drawings. Sometimes he let us decide what he should say and draw. But most of the time, we had no idea what would come next.
And that was really fun."
Via Gregg Morris
Helen Teague's insight:
I am going out to buy marshmallows right now.
From www
Do your best, and you might have a nice little career. Bring out the best in others, and you can change the world. Do the math - to accomplish anything significant, you have to involve other people.
Via Barb Jemmott
Helen Teague's insight:
Smiling while I read this post...thanks Barb for the original scoop!
Marianne Cloeren's curator insight, August 5, 5:22 AM
This line caught my interest - is there a way to communicate this to injured employees who are getting stuck in disability thinking? "With persistence, you can communicate two critical lessons: you have talent burning inside you, and you can bring it out if you are willing to put in sufficient effort." How do we help patients see the way out of bad situations, especially when it seems the systems conspire to keep them stuck?
Graeme Reid's curator insight, August 6, 7:51 PM
Bring out the best in others, and you can change the world.
Helen Teague's insight:
Update 8-19-2014: Here is an updated link http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/1251/
Alternatively, until this study is re-released at the original link, here is a link to additional work on this topic: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude/gratitude_research_grant_winners
8-3-14: Original Post--A dissertation on gratitude by Adam R. Smith of the University of Miami....The dissertation examines how gratitude works, and details a function called the WTR (Welfare Tradeoff Ratio)
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Package amor-3.5.10-1
|KDE - themeable animated window toy (3.5.10-1)
AMOR stands for Amusing Misuse Of Resources. It provides several different characters who prance around your X screen doing tricks and giving you tips. Note that AMOR will only work with some window managers. Both KWin (the KDE window manager) and Metacity (a GTK2 window manager) are supported.
|Usage Hints:
---[ Installation ]--------------------------------------------------- To install all of the official KDE packages, install "bundle-kde" or "bundle-kde-ssl" (depending on whether crypotgraphic laws permit downloading strong cryptography). Unless you have a specific reason not to, "bundle-kde-ssl" is suggested. ---[ Configuration ]-------------------------------------------------- To use KDE as your windowing system in XDarwin, create a file called ".xinitrc" in your home directory, containing the following line: /sw/bin/startkde >/tmp/kde.log 2>&1 See http://fink.sourceforge.net/doc/x11/run-xfree86.php#xinitrc for more information on the xinitrc files and how they work. If you want to use Apple's X11 instead of the KDE window manager, put the following line before the startkde line in .xinitrc: export KDEWM=quartz-wm If you want to disable quartz-wm even for clipboard synchronization (proxying), put the following line before the startkde line in .xinitrc: export DISABLE_PROXY=1 ---[ Startup ]-------------------------------------------------------- Once you have created an ~/.xinitrc file, you should be able to start KDE by clicking on the "XDarwin" icon in your Applications folder. NOTE: By default, X11 on Mac OS X runs in "rootless" mode, generally. If you run KDE in rootless mode, it will take over your desktop with a window that covers everything up. You can remove this by disabling desktop icons in the KDE control center. Open the control center (either from the "K" menu bar, or by typing "kcontrol" in an xterm) then expand the "Desktop" list, click "Behavior", and uncheck the "Show icons on desktop" checkbox. ---[ Removal ]-------------------------------------------------------- To remove all of the official KDE packages, you can remove the KDE libraries and anything that depends on them by running, in a terminal: sudo apt-get remove kdelibs3-unified-shlibs To remove an individual KDE package collection (like kdenetwork3 or kdesdk3) you can generally remove [package]-base. For example, to remove all of the kdenetwork3 packages, run: sudo apt-get remove kdenetwork3-base
|Benjamin Reed <kdetoys3ATfinkDOTracoonfinkDOTcom>
|kdetoys3 (KDE - toys)
CVS log, Last Changed: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 17:07:08 (UTC)
Section list - Flat package list - Search packages
(*) = Unsupported distribution.


text:
We have an unusually long clothes-dryer exhaust duct. It travels along the floor, makes three elbow turns to go up about 8 ft., then a horizontal run to the outside. It's always been a pain to keep the lint from collecting in the ductwork and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the exhaust efficiency is pathetic.
Many months ago, I acquired the No-Clog Dryer Duct Booster, manufactured by Tjernlund Products Inc., White Bear Lake, MN, one of our regular advertisers. At the time, I put it in the laundry room to be installed "when I get some free time." Every time I had to move it, I thought to myself, "I really need to install that thing and see if it works as advertised." It sure wasn't going to boost any air sitting in its box.
About three weeks ago, I discovered that a contractor we hired for some remodeling had knocked the dryer duct off of the back of the dryer. Every time my wife dried clothes, most of the exhaust was getting pumped into the laundry room. That was the tipping point.
The time had come to install the booster. I dismantled and cleaned the ductwork and, before reassembling, cracked open the Duct Booster box, braced for a some-assembly-required, duct-tape-wrapping, new-wiring, wood-cutting, 10-trips-to-Home-Depot, all-day project. I'm more than happy to report that none of that materialized.
I had to make one trip to Home Depot and had the Booster installed and all ductwork back in place in about an hour. I plugged the Booster in and it did its calibration, as described in the instructions. Yes, I'm one of those who actually reads the instructions.
The real test was the first load of laundry. That happened the next day. My wife and I were at full attention when she punched the start button on the dryer. The dryer started and a brief moment later the Booster fired up. I expected to hear the screaming of a small jet engine. Instead, whatever sound the Booster made/makes, is drowned out by the dryer.
Though quiet, it moves some SERIOUS AIR! I went outside and immediately was concerned that lint would soon be plastered on the neighbor's house. Warm, moist dryer air was howling out of that vent. Back in the laundry room, the usual buildup of heat during a drying session didn't happen. Bad in the Illinois winters, but great in the summer when drying clothes was always accompanied by extra AC operation. According to my wife, clothes now dry better and much faster.
My only regret? That I didn't install the Booster many months ago. I don't make it a habit of endorsing products (it's an integrity thing), but there have to be many commercial situations that involve long dryer-exhaust runs. If you have one, put the Booster on your upgrade list, and no, I don't offer installation services.—Gary L. Parr
Pumping dryer air outside
We have an unusually long clothes-dryer exhaust duct. It travels along the floor, makes three elbow turns to go up about 8 ft., then a horizontal run to the outside. It's always been a pain to keep the lint from collecting in the ductwork and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the exhaust efficiency is pathetic.
Kick some rooftop unit "tires" on this tour
If a new rooftop unit is at the center of an upcoming HVAC-system project, you can do a little "tire kicking," compliments of the upcoming 2009 Rooftop Unit Rollout Tour, offered by Lennox Industries Inc., Dallas. The tour allows specifiers to compare the benefits of various manufacturers' HVAC systems, including energy usage, control-system intelligence, dehumidification, and comfort control. The tour will also include the Lennox Energence rooftop unit line, said to be the industry's most energy-efficient light commercial unit.
The tour will stop in 17 cities across the U.S. and Canada during November and December. Each stop on the tour will include product displays, refreshments, door prizes, and a chance to win a trip to Greece.
Scheduled stops are:
- November 3: Dallas and Toronto, Ontario
- November 5: Kansas City, KS, and Montreal, Quebec
- November 10: Denver
- November 12: Boston and Los Angeles
- November 17: Parsippany, NJ, and Phoenix
- November 19: Columbus, OH, and Sacramento, CA
- December 1: Chicago and Portland, OR
- December 4: Atlanta
- December 8: Charlotte, NC, and Vancouver, BC
- December 11: Calgary, AB
Registration, location, and time information is available at www.lennoxcommercial.com.—Gary L. Parr


text:
Natasha Nice Wiki | Tatiana Laurent Wiki
Welcome to the extended Natasha Nice wiki English page. Natasha Nice right here on StarNoStar. Here on Star No Star you can find Natasha Nice wiki in a more convenient way then on the classic Natasha Nice wikipedia pages or encyclopedia Natasha Nice pages. You can access many features about Natasha Nice, such as Natasha Nice pictures or videos, Natasha Nice latest scenes, Natasha Nice timeline events, new Natasha Nice videos, or latest scenes with Natasha Nice, but the most popular Natasha Nice searches come for Natasha Nice astrology numerology, Natasha Nice biography, popularity, Natasha Nice information 2014 or Natasha Nice destiny. StarNoStar wiki pages are becoming very popular by wider audiences searching for celebrity wiki or star wiki biographies. You are currently browsing the English wiki page of Natasha Nice (real name Tatiana Laurent). Celebrity wiki provides Natasha Nice information and facts all in one page. You can find Natasha Nice updates on our celebrity timeline or answers to questions such as, Does Natasha Nice have siblings? Who is Natasha Nice father and mother? and much more. Get discovered and become a star. Let others know you are here and let them know how to be a star. Contact StarNoStar and join our growing celebrity network. Natasha Nice September, 2014 is our latest starwiki update.
VOTEVote for Natasha NiceULTIMATE HOROSCOPENatasha Nice Horoscope and Zodiac SignBIONatasha Nice BiographyRANKNatasha Nice RankFULL NAMENatasha Nice Full / Real nameQUIZNatasha Nice QuizHi!IMAGESNatasha Nice ImagesSTATSNatasha Nice StatisticsBIRTHDAYNatasha Nice birthday / ageVIDEOSNatasha Nice VideosFAQNatasha Nice FAQTOP CHARTSNatasha Nice in Top ChartsNEWSNatasha Nice News
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text:
Written by:
Each morning, a white symphony
wakes up the same melancholy,
Cold sun and the white which will burn…
Dreams and the dust filling the urn
From the back of the time`s pony
Each morning, a white symphony;
The wind`s instruments by the sea;
Violins on sky`s balcony;
All seasons`tribute in advance:
Winter with its full dress entrance;
Each morning, a white symphony;
Hearts`s piano found harmony.
Hope established its colony;
Kids with carols and happy eyes.
Soon, they make a palace from ice.
Each morning,a white symphony.


text:
The development budgets for two of the most highly-anticipated video games of 2014 have been revealed. According to a report from Kotaku on Jan. 15, both "Destiny" and "Watch Dogs" cost a lot of money to produce.
Ubisoft showed off one of the first video games for the next-generation at E3 2012 with the open-world action-adventure video game. The company is apparently putting a lot of resources into "Watch Dogs" as it has a budget of $68 million. Furthermore, the software product was delayed indefinitely, which could further increase the production costs.
Activision is planning to make "Destiny" into the next franchise that can achieve billions in revenue. As a result, the publisher decided to allocate $140 million to Bungie. The shared-world first-person shooter was also pushed back as it was initially set to launch in the spring season of this year.
"Destiny" is now slated to come out for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on Sept. 9th. A new release date has not yet been announced for "Watch Dogs," which is coming out for the Nintendo Wii U, PC as well as the aforementioned Playstation and Xbox platforms.
The new intellectual properties need to sell million of copies at full price in order to recoup the development costs and be profitable. Fortunately for both Activision and Ubisoft, the two video games seem to be getting a lot of attention from the gaming community.
You can check out some "Destiny" and "Watch Dogs" screens in the slideshow to the left of this article.


text:
Once again, Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Rhode Island. "This is a meaningful honor for the Firm. We value the support we receive from our team and the outstanding service they provide to all of our clients," said Managing Partner, David Gilden. "We strive to live up to the Firm's Vision Statement, '...To enjoy a culture that encourages and rewards teamwork, quality and outstanding service to our clients and makes PS&H a great place to work.' "
Businesses throughout the state were surveyed and judged on their responses to an extensive management report as well as an employee survey conducted by Best Companies, an independent research organization based in Harrisburg, PA. The results were analyzed and categorized according to 8 core focus areas: Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction, Work Environment, Relationship with Supervisor, Training and Development, Pay and Benefits, and Overall Satisfaction.
Women's Initiative
"Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP decided it was time to place greater focus on women's advancement, both within the firm and within the marketplace through special training sessions and networking events" as stated in an article appearing in the October 15, 2007 edition of Providence Business News titled "Making women a priority".
Career Opportunities — Qualifications/Experience:
Corporate, Employment, Commercial Real Estate, Business Litigation Partners - Boston & Westborough
Are you a partner looking to propel your already successful practice to the next level? Join our exciting and dynamic firm. We have an excellent track record in:
- Growing books of business
- Increasing partner profitability
- Working collaboratively across our practice areas
- Integrating and supporting lateral partners
- Realizing marketing opportunities with our award-winning Marketing Department
- Exceeding client service expectations
Our Boston and MetroWest offices seek to add Corporate, Employment, Commercial Real Estate and Business Litigation Law Partners to our fast-growing team.
Realize your potential at Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
Send resume in confidence via e-mail to: firstname.lastname@example.com or mail to:
Recruiting Committee
Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
1700 West Park Drive, Suite 200
Westborough, MA 01581
Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP is an equal opportunity employer.


text:
Her goal was to understand the painstaking process of the have and have-nots in a college admissions process. Michael Kyle, vice president of admissions, said that, One condition we set for her doing this was that she would protect the identity and other identifying characteristics of all the students we talked about. The article, after all, included many very specific and direct quotations, so I think we all felt we were showing her how it would have gone whether or not she had been in the room.
This insight into the admissions process allowed St. Olaf students and staff, as well as the community, to understand the greater admissions process that must be undergone, instead of just the statistics for the incoming class of 2011. Smetanka stressed in her article that St. Olaf was looking for well-rounded students, she witnessed applicants from various backgrounds and with various grounds for acceptance, but an overwhelming number of students that were in the accepted pile were eventually moved to wait list or deny.
One such applicant, Smetanka commented, was a talented West Coast musician whose file had been reviewed four times accept, wait list, reject and refer were scribbled in the corner -- was finally, painfully, denied.
With over 1,000 more students applying for admission than two years ago, the admissions team has found itself more stringent in the applicants whom they accept. Admissions staff look for well-rounded high school students who will fit into the St. Olaf community. GPA and SAT/ACT scores are still very important to the process, but so is volunteer involvement and extracurricular activities. If a student is well rounded in each of these activities, his or her chances of getting in are higher.
Diversity is also important in the application process. Not just diversity of race, but also geographical and religious diversity, as well as other factors, make a difference in whether a student might get admitted to St. Olaf. More students from a broader range of backgrounds are considering St. Olaf, and I think that enhances campus and community life, both in and out of the classroom, Kyle said.
Kyles leadership role and responsibility recently increased, as well as that of the rest of the admissions staff recently when former Director of Admissions Jerry Pope resigned in late January. Shortly after, Smetanka sat in on the admissions process.
Admissions and Financial Aid aren't the only entities that weigh in on those who are accepted and those who are denied admission. [St. Olaf staff, coaches, music directors,] pastors, high school teachers, to name just a few others there are many stakeholders in high school students lives who care about the choices they make, and the college choice is no different. At the end of the day, Kyle said, there are many other factors that contribute to the acceptance process, but the admissions staff tries to factor that into our process as fully and fairly as they can.
Due to the increased number of students applying, instead of a growing acceptance sect, there is a larger waiting list. One of the real challenges for us is that the applicant pool wasn't just larger the quality of the students considering St. Olaf has also increased, so that is both exciting and challenging, Kyle said.
The admissions staff is currently waiting to hear back from accepted students as to whether or not they will choose St. Olaf. We have all these offers of admission out there and we are eager to see who will make the decision to come to St. Olaf. It has been a very busy year but we are working very hard and deliberately to give every admitted student the information they need to make a good, well-informed college choice, Kyle said.
To read Smetanka's article on St. Olaf's admission process go to (www.startribune.com/10106/story/1022855.html).


text:
Drake's Beach
Want to sunbathe in the nude near a historic site? It's said this is the place where Sir Francis Drake, the first Brit to sail around the world, landed his Golden Hinde in 1579. But some say it another spot in Marin County. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, which connects Point San Quentin on San Francisco Bay with Drakes Bay in Point Reyes, is the point of contention. Each end is near a site considered by some to be Drake's landing place. Then there are those who think Drake came ashore in Bodega Bay, Tomales Bay, Coos Bay, or even Santa Barbara. Whichever is his true landing place, suitless sunbathing takes place on a spotty basis on the Point Reyes shore that bears his name, which is close to a memorial named after him. The area is just north of Drake's Beach.
Part of Point Reyes National Seashore.
From San Francisco, follow Highway 101 north to the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard exit. Stay on Sir Francis Drake through San Anselmo and Lagunitas. At the intersection with Highway 1, go north to the Point Reyes National Seashore headquarters in Olema. Pick up a map, then follow Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Drake's Beach Road and stay on it until you reach the beach. If you wind up at Point Reyes Lighthouse, you've gone too far.
Beautiful, untamed, and sandy.
Visited mostly by nonnudists, Drake's also attracts a few discreet skinny-dippers.
Cold water; wind; directions could be improved.
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text:
Welcome to Furfural Website
Tradeasia International Pte Ltd was established in 2002 as chemicals trading company. Over the years our product were expanded. Tradeasia International Pte Ltd was established to provide its customers with easy access to the finest furfural goods. Our staff has extensive experience with furfural products and especially furfural, we pride ourselves on our commitment to quality, reliability, and speed. We bring furfural to you.
Client's satisfaction is what we strive to provide. We're engaged in setting up a reliable product quality control system and good credit. To improve our product quality and meet our customer's changing requirements, we devote ourselves to broadening the range of products and keep focusing on technology innovation. We can also conduct processing on client's samples or orders. Your inquiry is welcome.


text:
June 27, 2013
• 2 notes
Liberal PACs Off to Mixed Start
On Tuesday, we showed how many conservative PACs are flush with cash, and already well-prepared for the 2014 midterm elections. Now, we take a look at liberal PACs - some of which, like EMILY's List, are doing great so far. Other liberal PACs, though, are off to a rough start compared to where they were two years ago.
Read more.
Tags: liberal pacs election 2014 2014 Fundraising follow the money money in politics OpenSecrets Blog opensecrets.org center for responsive politics Campaign Finance
Welcome to the OpenSecrets.org Tumblr, where we're tumbling all things money, politics and influence. Be sure to catch our original reporting at OpenSecrets Blog.
Curated by Sarah Flocken. Drop her a note at email@example.com.
Powered by Tumblr. Minimal Theme designed by Artur Kim.


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we've got signatures,
help us get to 1,000
by February 15, 2014
Adopt a shelter pet and save a lfe today!
If everything looks correct, click sign now. Your signature will not be added until you click the button below.
We hate spam. We do not sell or share the email addresses you provide.


text:
Since 1995, CAM's New Art in the Neighborhood program has sought to nourish the creative minds of our city's talented young artists. Every Saturday during the school year, up to 20 teens, selected through a competitive application process, come to CAM for pre-professional-level art instruction with educational staff and visiting artists. This intensive approach presents participating students with opportunities and resources that are not available in their regular school curriculum. This nationally-acclaimed program challenges students to adapt to the materials used at the forefront of art today, and it enables them to build a portfolio of work they can use to apply to college or employment.
Please visit our facebook page to learn more about the program.
Click here for an application. Deadline is July 25, 2014 for the Fall 2014 Semester. Classes begin September 6, 2014.
Fall 2014 Class Schedule
Saturdays, 12:00–4:30 pm
September 6, 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15, 22.
New Art in the Neighborhood is generously supported by Monsanto Fund; Employees Community Fund of Boeing; Missouri Arts Council, a state Agency; National Endowment for the Arts; Target; and The Honey Fund.


text:
Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain:
The Order of Merced on the Christian-Islamic Frontier
James William Brodman
War, Raids, and Ransoming
Bougie and the other western ports became crowded with captives,
the roads rang with the noise of their chains,
especially when the unfortunates, bound with irons and chains,
poured out of their quarters to work at their daily tasks.(1)
This fourteenth-century account of captivity by the Berber historian Ibn Khaldun describes a phenomenon that was a constant in the life of the western Mediterranean from antiquity until the demise of the barbary pirates in the nineteenth century. The threat of capture, whether by pirates or coastal raiders, or during one of the region's intermittent wars, was consequently not a new but rather a continuing threat to the residents of Catalonia, Languedoc, and the other coastal provinces of medieval Christian Europe. So persistent and ordinary was this problem that individual instances of capture rarely elicited much notice beyond allusions in chronicles and wills.
Capture could occur at any time or place that marked the convergence of hostile peoples; in the context of the medieval Mediterranean, this conflict was increasingly between Christian and Muslim peoples. The creation of a powerful Islamic state in the eighth century, its collapse and subsequent retreat before the expanding Christian kingdoms of Spain in the eleventh century, and the prevalence of a religious antagonism that arose from the Berber revivalism and Christian crusading movement of the twelfth century gave raiding and warfare in Spain and the western Mediterranean a religious dimension. Thus, by the twelfth century a captive was almost axiomatically a slave of his religious enemy -- a Christian held by a Muslim or a Muslim enslaved by a Christian. Capture was the result of warfare that was random and intermittent in nature; periods of nominal peace and of normal commerce alternated with years of [2] formal conflict. Along the shifting frontier that came to delimit the zones of Christian and Islamic power, one can identify perhaps three occasions that might give rise to the capture of a Christian or of a Muslim: formal battles, raids, and piracy.
Between the capture of the strategic city of Toledo
by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085 and the completion of the medieval reconquest
by Fernando III of Castile and by Jaume I of Catalonia-Aragon around the
mid-thirteenth century, military activity along the land frontier that
separated the Christian and Islamic zones consisted of two types. There
were great battles like those of Zallaca (1086), Valencia (1102), Uclés
(1108), Saragossa (1118), and Fraga (1134). These, though marking periods
of great danger and of intense military activity, were sporadic. Almost
annual in their occurrence, however, were the raids and other forays that
militias, bands, and armies from both sides made against the towns, property,
and persons of their enemy.(2)
Battles of course had the potential individually to produce many more captives than could raids. Muslim chronicles, for example, tell us, with obvious medieval exaggeration, that the victorious forces of the Muwahhid caliph Ya'qub captured between five and twenty-four thousand Leonese and Castilian soldiers at Alarcos in 1195.(3)
Probably more devastating than these major catastrophes to the Christian population, however, were the raids and sieges that were much more frequent in occurrence, the sort of minor skirmishes that had as their purpose the seizure of captives and other booty as much as the winning of territorial advantage. The chronicles have left us with accounts of the casualties produced by this type of campaign. Thus, for example, the last of the Murabit sultans, Tashufin (1143-45), in a raid against Toledo, attacked the castle of Azeca and in the process of taking it, killed three hundred of its Christian defenders and sent the rest off as captives to Córdoba and then to Morocco.(4) In another series of raids, 'Ali ibn Yusuf (1106-1143) assaulted the Christian towns of Talavera, Olmos, and Canales and took many captives and much booty.(5) A raid by the Muwahhid fleet against Lisbon in 1181 yielded twenty ships, much booty, and a host of Christian captives,(6) while Alfonso VIII's forays in Andalusia in 1182 are said to have brought him over two thousand Muslim captives and 2,775 dinars in ransoms.(7) Ibn Khaldun reports that in 1195 the Muwahhid army took nearly five thousand Christians captive near Badajoz. In another raid against Lisbon in 1189, the Muwahhid caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur is reputed to have left with three thousand female and child captives, [3] while his governor of Córdoba, in a subsequent attack upon Silves in 1191, won three thousand prisoners and fifteen thousand head of cattle.(8) In Aragon, Enecho Sanç de Laues tells us that early in the twelfth century he, his wife, and two children were taken prisoner in a Muslim raid upon Huesca.(9) The Catalan church of Santa Maria d'Ullà was pillaged by Muslims in 1178, and those of its canons not killed were sent into captivity on Majorca.(10) The count-king Ramon Berenguer IV lost his own brother, Berenguer Ramon, in a raid upon Melgor in 1155.(11) The thirteenth-century chronicler Pero Marín, a monk of the abbey of Silos, reports numerous examples of the somewhat-random capture of travellers, raiders, and others caught by Muslims in the open countryside: two dependents of the Knights of Calatrava caught in 1266 while driving cattle, Gil Pérez de Motos and his companions captured while raiding on the outskirts of Granada in 1280, and Ramon de Muler seized along with his mule and ass on the road to Lorca in 1285.(12) These and the numerous other examples contained in the medieval sources illustrate the pan-Iberian character of the phenomenon; any Christian or Muslim near the frontier zone stood in at least some danger of capture.
Far better documented than these instances of capture on land are those perpetrated later along the coast or at sea in the western Mediterranean. Pirates and privateers -- it is often difficult to distinguish between them -- from the North African ports of Bône, Tunis, Oran, and Bougie, among others, and from Majorca and Almería, for centuries harassed the waters of the region and would continue to do so long after the military successes of Jaume the Conqueror and Fernando III had secured the more-inland regions of Iberia. The failure of these thirteenth-century Christian monarchs to eliminate the peninsular enclave of Granada and to extend the reconquest to its allied states in North Africa meant a continuation of border conflict and its traffic in captives. Thus, to the somewhat sketchy account that we have of twelfth-century peninsular captivity, we can add a much more detailed description of maritime piracy of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Despite certain differences of time and circumstance, however, these later events reveal a commerce in captives similar to that of the twelfth century.
The extension of the wars of reconquest from interior battlefields to the Granadan periphery and to the high seas marks only a new phase in a continuing Christian-Islamic struggle, because the new seats of Muslim military activity in North Africa had always been associated politically and culturally with Hispanic Islam. In the [4] twelfth century, for example, the unity between peninsular and African Islam that had been achieved under the Murabits and Muwahhids can be seen in the free flow of Christian captives from one region to the other. Christians captured by the Murabit sultan Tashufin at Azeca, for example, were taken first to Córdoba in Spain and from there to Morocco.(13) Even after the collapse of this trans-Mediterranean Berber empire in the early thirteenth century, the movement of Christian captives from Spain to Africa continued. Pero Marín, for example, tells us of Esteban de Matrera, who, after his capture in 1285 on the road between Arcos and Jérez, was taken to Tangiers, and of Aparicio de Plasencia, who, during seven years of captivity between 1284 and 1291, found himself in Málaga, and then in Ceuta and Tangiers before returning to Málaga.(14) By all accounts, however, direct pirate attacks from African ports became relatively more important as Islamic territory in Spain shrank and as Christians reoccupied the coastal regions of Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and the Balearics.
Christian shipping and populations were the targets of pirates, who presumably worked for their own gain, and of more official naval forces of Muslim sultans and emirs. Ibn Khaldun has left us a description of how the former operated. Groups of North Africans, the Berber historian tells us, built ships and chose brave leaders, who then led them in attacks upon the coasts of Spain, France, and Italy.
They arrived by surprise and took off all they could get their hands on; they also attacked the ships of the infidels [i.e., the Christians], very often seizing them and returning with them filled with booty and prisoners.(15)A confirmation of this from the Christian side comes in Pope Clement III's letter of April 22, 1188, in which the crusader's indulgence was granted to those of Tarragona who defended the city against the raids made each summer by Muslim pirates.(16) Concern for coastal defense against such incursions also motivated Jaume I to approve in 1257 the appointment of an official by the city of Barcelona to supervise such preparations, and surely is an explanation for the patent issued to one Guillem Grony of Barcelona in 1263 that gave this seaman license to prey upon the lands and ships of Tunis.(17)
The Catalan chronicler Ramon Muntaner tells us that such raiding was also the work of Muslim potentates. Late in the thirteenth century, for example, ten galleys of the sultan of Morocco, raiding from the port of Ceuta and now loaded down with Christian [5] captives, met four Catalan galleys outbound from Valencia. These, commanded by Corral Llança, had been sent to collect tribute owed to Catalonia-Aragon by the rulers of Tunis, Tlemcen, and Bougie. Having met, the two small fleets fought "a hard and cruel battle" until the Catalans prevailed; the latter then freed the Christian captives and took the Muslims as prisoners to Valencia.(18) The count-king Pere III, in a complaint to the sultan of Tlemcen of May 27, 1366, tells us that this Muslim ruler had detained a number of Catalans in retaliation for the capture of several of his subjects by Catalan raiders.(19) In another incident, Muhammad V of Granada in 1369 seized at Almería a Valencian merchant named Antoni Despens because the former suspected that Antoni's ship had previously attacked a Granadan vessel outbound to Honein in Africa.(20)
The occasions of capture were therefore multitudinous. Crossborder and coastal raiding, land and sea battles, piracy, and the detention of otherwise peaceful merchants all were causes of captivity. Whatever the particular circumstances of a captive's seizure, however, his ultimate fate was much the same -- slavery. The experience of Esteban de Matrera, a Christian captured in 1285, is perhaps typical. His captor took him to Algeciras, where he was sold to one Bovac the Hunchback for four doblas; his new master then transported Esteban to Tangiers, where he was sold to a resident for eight doblas.(21) A similar fate befell a Muslim of Honein, who was seized in the early 1360s by a galiot captained by Bernat Martí of Denia. The Muslim was taken to Cagliari in Sardinia and there was sold to Esteve Sa Basa for thirty-two livres; the new master then returned to Barcelona with his slave.(22) Slavery was the invariable result of captivity because those so taken were considered to be spoils of war to be used or sold to the profit of the captor.(23) Consequently, the plight of a captive was unhappy and is so portrayed in the medieval sources. Bishop Gaufred, in his 1137 appeal for alms from the Christians of Barbastro, explained to them:
For he who has been captured by the Saracens is led to Lérida bound in iron chains, and afflicted with hunger and thirst and various sufferings, and is at last to be imprisoned as a slave.(24)The widow Dadil of Barcelona described herself as a "miserable captive."(25) Enecho Sanç de Laues speaks of his family's six-year ordeal as one of languishing in chains, hungry and thirsty.(26) In 1327, the Catalan captives at Tlemcen wrote to their king, Alfons III, that the physical torments of captivity made death seem preferable to life.(27)
[6] Some captives, particularly those who found honorable employment with their Muslim lords, evidently were able to maintain their Christianity. Reverter (1090-1142), a Catalan noble taken captive by the Murabits, served the Muslims as commander of all Christian mercenaries and eventually became a general in the army of the sultan, 'Ali ibn Yusuf (1106-1143).(28) But less fortunate individuals might be tempted to forswear their faith in order to escape from captivity. Pope Honorius III appreciated the danger of apostasy in his letter of 1226 to Archbishop Rodrigo of Toledo that recommended that mendicant friars be sent to Morocco to strengthen the faith of Christians being held captive there.(29) In Catalonia, laws that made it far easier for a Muslim slave owned by a Jew, rather than by a Christian, to become free upon conversion testify -- by their attempt to preserve the property rights of Christian masters -- to the liberating effects of baptism.(30) Normally, the captive's ability to convert was limited; exceptions were made principally for those captives whose freedom would be useful, as for example soldiers. Another option for the captive was escape, but few attempted this route, because the price of failure, usually the loss of a nose or an eye, was higher than most were willing to risk.(31)
The most practical means for a captive to gain freedom was redemption, i.e., through the payment of a ransom in money or in kind, or through the exchange of a suitable captive held by the other side. Redemption was an ancient practice, for which provision was made in both Roman and Visigothic law.(32) While instances of redemption are found in the intervening centuries,(33) it is not until the twelfth century that redemptionism, i.e., the organized effort to free captives through ransoming, arose in the Iberian peninsula. This effort to institutionalize and regularize what had been chiefly a private endeavor was itself a response to the increasingly bitter Muslim-Christian conflict engendered by crusader enthusiasm and Berber revivalism. The twelfth century therefore began to produce increasing instances of capture, which in turn led to attempts to organize the means of redemption. The natural desire on the part of the captive and his family for liberation combined with the inclination of captors to turn a profit from the now-abundant supply of prisoners made redemption a mutually acceptable alternative to the slave market. Certainly a captive would place a higher value upon himself than would any third party.
The approaches to the ransoming of these twelfth-century captives were numerous, and they varied somewhat by region. Monarchs, municipalities, military orders, merchants and other individuals, all attempted to free captive Christians from the towns and [7] lands of Islam. The most visible means was the general prisoner exchange that might take place at the conclusion of a period of hostility, as Ibn Khaldun reports happened after a Berber raid near Badajoz in 1195.(34) Such mass liberations, however, were rare; more typical seem to have been more-modest negotiations that led to the release of much smaller numbers. The pioneers in arranging for such ransomings in twelfth-century Spain were the frontier municipalities of the trans-Tagus region of Castile and of the middle Ebro valley of Aragon. Their charters of settlement (cartas pueblas) and municipal law codes (fueros) chronicle their collective effort to preserve the property rights of captured residents and to help in raising a ransom and conveying it to the captor.
As early as the Castilian fuero of Escalona (1130) and the Aragonese fuero of Calatayud (1131), towns tried to guarantee the right of a captive's family to purchase at a fair price a locally held Muslim slave who could be exchanged for the Christian.(35) While the terms of the purchase varied by region, municipal regulation of these transactions to the benefit of the captive appears in both the Cuenca-Teruel and the Leonese-Extremaduran-Portuguese families of fueros.(36) Towns felt a particular responsibility toward their own militiamen who were captured in battle, and in various ways offered captured Moors, livestock, or shares of the booty as contributions toward their ransoming,(37) and all such slaves or money or goods were exempt from normal municipal and royal taxes.(38) The towns, furthermore, placed upon the captive's family some obligation to attempt his redemption, but also limited the obligations of sons and especially of daughters to stand as sureties or substitute captives for parents.(39)
In addition to laws designed to help provide a captive with a ransom, these frontier towns also sought to facilitate the actual negotiation of a redemption. To this end, town councils made use of those Christian and Muslim merchants who maintained the flow of trade across the military frontier. As early as 1104, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, granted a monopoly over ransomings between his and Islamic lands to four Jewish merchants.(40) The towns of the Aragonese and Castilian frontiers also relied upon merchants, to whom they gave the title of exea, an arabic word that means guide or companion.(41) First appearing in the carta puebla of Belchite (1116), this official became in the Cuenca-Teruel fueros the commander of the recua, a commercial caravan that carried merchants, along with their goods and livestock, between Christian and Islamic towns. Among the exea's responsibilities were the conveyance of ransoms to [8] Muslim captors and the safe return of Christian captives to their home towns. In return, he was paid a commission amounting to a fifth of monetary ransoms, or a single gold maravedí if the redemption involved the exchange of a Muslim for a Christian.(42) An identical official, the alfaqueque, appears in the fueros of the Leonese-Extremaduran-Portuguese tradition, also as a merchant-redemptioner.(43)
In the thirteenth century, after the frontier had moved to the periphery of Granada, the sole remaining Islamic state in the peninsula, the exea and the alfaqueque became less municipally licensed merchants and more royal officials. This shift in their patronage can doubtless be explained in terms of the relative weakness of southern municipalities, but this in no way changed the redemptionist function of the office. Guillem d'Antist, for example, was nominated in 1273 by Jaume I as exea for southern Valencia and was charged with the duty of conveying Muslims safely into and out of the kingdom; in 1300 Jaume II appointed Joan de Barbastro as exea for trade between Murcia and Granada; and in 1371 Pere III sought freedom for Berenguer des Archs, an exea who had been ransoming captives between Ibiza and Granada.(44) Two charters of Pere II dated in 1277 tell us something of Muslim exeas. In the first, of August 3, the CataIan monarch granted permission to two Muslims to reside permanently in Valencia to arrange for the ransoming of their coreligionists held there; in the second, dated October 21, a Muslim is thanked for negotiating the redemption of Pere de Moncada, the master of the Templars.(45) For Castile's frontier with Granada, the Ordenamiento of Toro of 1369 speaks of an alfaqueque mayor of the lands of the Moors. By the fifteenth century, we have examples of such officials and of their delegates, or alfaqueques menores, to whose care smaller segments of the frontier were given.(46) Thus, at least until the end of the Middle Ages, there existed in the alfaqueque and exea a publicly licensed official who was able to carry out ransomings by virtue of the safe-conduct that permitted his secure crossing of the frontier and of his oath to act honestly and justly.
With the Christian occupation of much of the northern coast of the western Mediterranean, captivity after the mid-thirteenth century increasingly occurred at sea and at the hands of Muslims from Granada and North Africa. One explanation for this increased incidence of piracy was the necessity of maintaining the slave populations of the Maghreb at a time when land captures had begun to decrease.(47) To win the release of these captives, the kings of Christian Spain began to negotiate treaties with Muslim rulers that both [9] forbade such activity during periods of mutual truce and also provided for the release of any subject improperly taken captive. Typical of these agreements was that signed on May 8, 1309 between Jaume II and Abu Zakariya' of Bougie. This five-year truce stipulated that each side release the captured residents of the other to a designated representative; for the Catalans this was to be the Dominican friar Francesc de Relat.(48) An earlier agreement, that between Pere II and the sultan of Tunis in 1285, closed their respective ports and slave markets to pirates who preyed on the shipping of the two realms, and guaranteed safe passage to their merchants.(49) These agreements provided some relief to captives. Jaume II, for example, ordered in 1305 the release of a Tunisian ship that had been pirated by the Catalan merchant Simó Ricart.(50) Pere III in 1366 also ordered that a Muslim named Zohra be freed along with her sons because of the truce currently in force between Catalonia and Tlemcen.(51)
These treaties, however, were often violated and thus provided no sure immunity from capture. Tunis, for example, claimed that its treaty with Catalonia, signed in 1301, was violated on nineteen occasions by Catalans between 1303 and 1305.(52) Some infractions could arise from disputes over the treaty's terms, as when the sultan of Tlemcen in 1365 seized a party of Majorcan merchants at Oran on the grounds that they had also been in Morocco, a state then at war with Tlemcen.(53) But other violations grew out of a ruler's inability or unwillingness to police his own subjects. In 1365, for example, two Majorcan vessels entered the port of Ténès and, in violation of the current truce, captured fifteen Muslims, five of whom were later redeemed at a cost of 280 gold dinars.(54) Diplomacy, therefore, served only to limit the threat of capture. The fact that these treaties routinely included mechanisms for freeing captives and stipulated that piratical actions alone would not be enough to break the peace suggests the impossibility of halting entirely the traffic in captives. The economic interest created on both sides of the Mediterranean by slave labor and by ransoms was simply too great to be overcome through diplomacy alone. With this assumption as a given, the prudent course was to reduce the enterprises of capture and redemption to a routine of business, and this the treaties hoped to accomplish.
Royal and municipal intervention in the business of redemption, while useful in opening up channels for ransomers, usually failed to provide the means of redemption, the ransom itself. Exeas and alfaqueques especially had to be paid a commission in excess of the ransom price itself. Thus those without families or means might well be [10] denied the benefit of this type of assistance. For those unable to afford the cost of redemption, twelfth-century society devised a second method, organized by the Church. This was accomplished by elevating ransoming from a work of civic importance to an act of religious charity that was meritorious in God's eyes. Contemporary crusading ideology, with its sharp distinction between Christians and the infidel Moor, supplied this religious dimension. The new attitude toward captives can best be seen in the manner in which the documents designate captives. Whereas in most pre-twelfth-century sources the word "captive" is used without modifier, those of this era begin to describe captives in religious terms.(55) With captives now numbered among the religiously deserving, various efforts to raise alms for captives begin to appear along the twelfth-century frontier.
One of the first efforts to apply the institutions of religious charity to ransoming grew out of the initiative of Alfonso VIII of Castile and of Alfons I of Catalonia-Aragon to entrust this work to the military orders of their realms. The Spanish military orders, through their Palestinian antecedents, had inherited some commitment to hospitaller work; it was this interest in charitable deeds, combined with their fortuitous location within the frontier zone, that made these religious knights potential redemptioners. But the initiative for them actually to undertake the task came from Alfonso VIII (1158-1214), who established a number of religious ransoming centers in the trans-Tagus region of Castile and entrusted these to the knights of Santiago. The first so-called Hospital of Mercy was founded and royally endowed at Toledo in 1180; a second appeared in 1182 at Cuenca, a third at Huete in 1198, a fourth at Alarcón in 1202, and a fifth at Moya in 1215. By 1227 there were seven frontier hospitals operated by Santiago. The king of León, Alfonso IX, evidently saw the value of these redemptionist centers, and himself established two during his drive into Extremadura, one at Castrotoraf and another at Salamanca.(56) Santiago was by far the most active redemptioner among all of the Spanish military orders, with its seven Castilian, two Leonese, and perhaps three Aragonese hospitals.(57) Another order, however, also took up the work. In 1188 Alfons I established the ransoming hospital of the Holy Redeemer at Teruel and placed it in the care of the small order of Mountjoy.(58) The Knights of Calatrava seem to have had by 1214 a ransoming hospice at Évora in the Portuguese Alentejo and another at Salvatierra in the Sierra Morenas.(59) Only Alcántara of the Spanish orders is not known to have engaged in this work.
[11] Military redemptionism, to so designate this activity, advanced the development of organized ransoming in three ways. It marks the first royal intervention into the work of ransoming. By establishing and endowing such hospitals, these Hispanic monarchs acknowledged the seriousness of captivity and thus society's general responsibility to promote redemption. That these hospitals of mercy were entrusted to religious orders helped to establish ransoming as a legitimate and meritorious work of charity that was properly the work of the entire Christian community.(60) Finally, military redemptionism, tied closely as it was to individual municipalities, was the charitable complement to the other facilities offered by these same towns to their more-affluent captured residents. Its particular association, however, also meant that the scope of military redemptionism would be limited to the southern Meseta, for in the thirteenth century, when the frontier had passed out of this region and into the south, these same hospitals quickly fell into decadence.
Their place, however, was taken by a far more complex series of movements that grew out of the new twelfth-century caritative spirituality. Essentially a popular and laic force that seems to have originated in the Occitan, this movement saw great religious importance in the alleviation of material and human suffering. Thus this era saw the creation of as yet uncounted confraternities, hospices, hospitals, and religious orders that looked after the needy, lepers and the sick, travellers and pilgrims, bridges and highways, orphans and young women of marriageable age, and those too old to look after themselves -- all were considered worthy of alms and assistance, as they were the "poor of Christ."(61) During the twelfth century, captives, for reasons already discussed, came to be included among Christ's poor and thus worthy recipients of Christian alms.
The treatment of captives as Christ's poor and the resulting religious and ecclesiastical interest in ransoming appear first and most prominently in Catalonia, where as early as 957 the canons of Vich were admonished to assist captives. The twelfth-century development of hospitallerism and of laic charitable confraternities that scholars have noted on the French side of the Pyrenees has its parallels in this region as well. In Barcelona, for example, a hospital to serve the poor and pilgrims that was attached to the local cathedral demonstrates that the bishop and his chapter had systematically begun to distribute alms to the needy as early as 1024.(62) To this early foundation were added in the twelfth century three other hospitals of local origin, another attached to the Antonines, and a confraternity [12] that itself endowed in 1210 yet another hospital for the poor. Three more hospitals arose in the early thirteenth century, one of capitular foundation, another episcopal in origin, and a third established by the Mercedarians. Thus, by the 1230s there were eight hospitals and hospices in Barcelona that dispensed alms to a variety of the needy: the indigent, travellers, orphans, the aged, and captives.(63) Outside of Barcelona itself, other charitable confraternities also developed and have been noted at Urgel, Tarragona, and Tortosa and at the monasteries of Montserrat, San Marsal de Montseny, and Sant Cugat.(64)
Twelfth-century wills provide ample testimony that Catalans had come to consider captives, alongside the poor, to be fit objects of their charity, and statistical studies of thirteenth-century wills confirm what was emerging in the twelfth.(65) Most such bequests to captives, however, as only one of several to worthy caritative causes, were modest in amount. Two wills are typical of those of the era. The first, redacted in 1144 by Berenguer of Ripoll, came from the hinterland of Catalonia. Among its bequests were a bed to be given to the hospital at Narbonne belonging to the Order of St. John; a lance, shield, sword, and a small amount of money for the Templars; two morabetins each to the church of Ripoll, the monastery of Sant Cugat, and the bishop of Barcelona; thirty morabetins for masses; and twelve morabetins for ransoming one captive.(66) A resident of Barcelona, Berenguer de Fontallada, in a second example, left in 1205 his bed and linen to the hospital of Sant Dionís; 70s. to the confraternity of Santa Maria de Caro, with a surplice and hood to its chaplain; 25s. to his own parish church, with smaller grants to the other churches of the city; 10s. for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; and 100s. for ransoming captives.(67) That these bequests to captives were thus considered to be as meritorious as those to churches and hospitals is confirmed by a sacristan of Barcelona who in 1180 left to the archbishop of Tarragona 100s. "so that he might redeem for my soul one captive or if he wishes two."(68) Given the essentially religious motivation behind these grants, their beneficiaries are anonymous; any of Christ's poor would presumably qualify. In a few instances, however, specific captives are singled out for this charity.(69) The frequency with which both types of bequests appear in Catalan wills indicates that in this region ransoming had come to be considered an important work of mercy and thus the responsibility of all Christians. It is only in this light that the decision of a cobbler of Barcelona, Guillem Estrany, to adopt God, the poor, girls of marriageable age, and captives as his universal heirs becomes comprehensible.(70)
[13] What happened to the money so bequeathed to captives? Many wills, like those of Arnau de Castanyer of Lérida (March 29, 1249) and Ramon Ferrer de Marí of Barcelona (April 24, 1277) leave the distribution of funds to the discretion of executors, who are instructed to give the money to captives of their acquaintance.(71) The funds could also be given to a monastery or to a caritative institution of some sort. In 1198, for example, Guillem de Granada left an endowment to the monks of Poblet for use in alternating years to clothe the poor and to ransom captives.(72) Or, in 1172 or 1173 Guillem Colrat bequeathed ten morabetins to a confraternity of captives, presumably to a caritative association of some type that specialized in this work.(73) Since most of the bequests were small in amount (a sampling from the cathedral archives of Barcelona shows amounts between 5 and 100s.),(74) an individual gift would frequently not suffice for a single ransoming.(75) Consequently, to be effective most bequests would have to be pooled. Indications are that this was done by the local bishop, who, as the chief local dispenser of alms, assumed this responsibility for aiding captives. Only a few wills actually mention this episcopal role,(76) but other evidence suggests its existence. Archbishop Benet de Rocabertí of Tarragona, for example, acknowledged in 1256 that he and his predecessors had been collecting and dispensing ransoming bequests.(77) What little evidence we have suggests that the bishop himself had nothing to do with ransoming directly, but instead turned money over to a captive's family, which then became responsible for negotiating the release. This is at least the impression gained from the contracts signed in 1244 between Bernat Gras and, among others, the chaplain of Tarragona. The former was given 200s. as the ransom price of a captive to be freed from Almería, on the condition that the money be returned if not actually used.(78)
In the thirteenth century, in much the same manner that the old cathedral alms hospitals came to be supplanted by new caritative institutions, episcopal redemptionism was replaced in the main by the work of the new orders. Urban growth, perhaps a higher level of caritative consciousness, and certainly the bishop's own increasing institutional responsibilities meant that the local organization of charity was no longer entirely within his limited capabilities. Thus, there arose alongside the new hospitaller orders of St. Anthony, the Holy Spirit, Roncesvalles, Aubrac, and others, the redemptionist orders of the Holy Trinity and of Santa Eulàlia of Barcelona. The former, founded by John de Matha at Cerfroid, northeast of Paris, was approved by Pope Innocent III in 1198, and its members came to [14] work as hospitallers and as ransomers in thirteenth-century France and Spain.(79) In Catalonia, Trinitarians can be documented at Lérida as early as 1212 and as ransomers here by 1217.(80)
The Order of Trinity would never become as important in Catalonia-Aragon, however, as it was in medieval Castile, where major foundations were quickly established at Burgos, Toledo, and Segovia. Its failure to win parallel support in the eastern realms may reflect a certain animus on the part of the House of Barcelona toward the Order's Gallic roots. In any case, when captivity again became a critical concern here as a consequence of the reconquest's renewal by the ambitious Jaume the Conqueror, there existed in Catalonia-Aragon no well-established redemptionist order.
1. Ibn Khaldun, Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale, ed. Paul Casanova and Henri Pérès, trans. William MacGuckin, baron de Slane (Paris, 1925-56), 3: 116-17.
2. For a good summary of the reconquest, see Charles Julian Bishko, "The Spanish and Portuguese Reconquest, 1095-1492," in A History of the Crusades, vol. 3: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, ed. Harry W. Hazard (Madison, 1975), 396-456.
3. Ambrosio Huici Miranda, Historia política del imperio almohade (Tetuán, 1956-57), 1:368.
4. Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris, ed. Luis Sánchez Belda (Madrid, 1950), 109, 85.
5. Ibid., 79, 102.
6. lbn Khaldun, 2:204.
7. Huici Miranda, Imperio almohade, 1: 286.
8. lbn Khaldun, 2: 213; Roudh el-Kartas [lbn Abi Zar' al-Fasi], Histoire des souverains du Maghreb, trans. M. Beaumier (Paris, 1860), 307-8.
9. José María Lacarra, "Documentos para el estudio de la reconquista y repoblación del valle del Ebro (segunda serie)," Estudios de edad media de la Corona de Aragón 3 (1947-48): 515.
10. Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario á las iglesias de España (Madrid and Valencia, 1803-52), 15:215.
11. Pedro Marfilo, Historia de la corona de Aragón ... conocida generalmente con el nombre de Crónica de San Juan de la Peña, ed. Tomás Ximénez de Embrun (Saragossa, 1876), 124-25.
12. Pero Marín, "Miraculos romanzados," in Viday milagros del thaumaturgo español Moysées segundo, redemptor de cautivos, abogade de los relices partos, Sto. Domingo Manso, abad benedictino, reparados del real monasterio de Silos, ed. Sebastián Vergara (Madrid, 1736), 136, 150-51, 164-65.
13. Chronica Adefonsi, 85.
14. Marín, "Miraculos," in Vergara, Vida y milaqros, 161, 154.
15. lbn Khaldun, 3:116-17.
16. Josep Blanch, Arxiepiscopologi de.santa eglésia metropolitana i primada de Tarragona, ed. Joaquín Icart (Tarragona, 1951), 1:112-13.
17. Procesos de las antiguas cortes y parlamentos de Cataluña, Aragón y Valencia, ed. Próspero de Bofarull y Mascaró (Barcelona, 1847-51), 2: 119, no. 45; José María Ramos y Loscertales, El cautiverio en la Corona de Aragón durante los siglos XIII, XIV, y XV (Saragossa, 1915), iii.
18. "Crònica de Ramon Muntaner," in Les quatre grans cròniques, ed. Ferran Soldevila (Barcelona, 1971), 683-84.
19. Charles-Emmanuel Dufourcq, "Catalogue chronologique et analytique du registre 1389 de la chancellerie de la courronne d'Aragon, intitulé 'Guerre sarracenorum 1367-1386' (1360-1386)," Miscelánea de Textos Medievales 2 (Barcelona, 1974): 85-86, no. 77.
20. Ibid., 100-101, no. 137.
21. Marín, "Miraculos," in Vergara, Vida y milagros, 161.
22. Dufourcq, "Guerre sarracenorum," 76, no. 37.
23. Diccionario de Historia de España, ed. Germán Bleiberg, 2nd ed. (Madrid, 1968-69), 1: 623. According to the Code of Tortosa (9.8.5) Muslim captives could be sold privately or publicly, and this servile condition was passed down to children through their mother: Antonio Aunós Pérez, El derecho catalan en el siglo XIII (Barcelona, 1926), 153.
25. ACB, Liber Antiquitatum (hereafter Lib. Ant.), 4: 48v.
26. Lacarra, "Documentos de Ebro," 515.
27. Ángeles Masía de Ros, La Corona de Aragón y los estados del norte de Africa: política de Jaime II y Alfonso IV en Egipto, Ifriquía y Tremecén (Barcelona, 1951), 472-73, no. 173.
28. Chronica Adefonsi, 82.
29. Manuel Castellanos, Apostolado seráfico en Marruecos, ó sea Historia de las misiones franciscanas e aquel imperio desde el siglo XIII hasta nuestros días (Madrid, 1896), 716-17.
30. J. N. Hillgarth, The Spanish Kinqdoms, 1250-1516 (Oxford, 1976-78), 1: 87.
31. Charles-Emmanuel I)ufourcq, L'Espagne catalane et le Maghrib aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles (Paris, 1966), 75.
32. See, for example, the law of Diocletian that stipulates that anyone who buys a captive must free him upon repayment of the purchase price or the completion of not more than five years of servitude: Silvo Romano, Redemptus ab hostibiis (Rome, 1930), 5. An undated Visigothic law allows a commission of 20 percent of the ransom for anyone who frees a Visigoth from captivity: "Collectionis iuris Romano-Visigothici capita VII-XX (Fragmenta Gaudenziana)," in Leges Visigothorum, ed. Karl Zeumer, vol. 1 of Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Legum, Sectio I, Leges nationum germanicarum (Hanover and Leipzig, 1902), 471.
33. For a study of these, see Faustino D. Gazulla, "Moros y cristianos, algo sobre cautivos," Boletín de la sociedad castellonense de cultura 6 (1921): 209-17, 195-209, 266-72, 317-20; 11 (1930): 94-107, 201-10.
34. Some ten thousand prisoners, half Muslim and half Christian, are said to have been exchanged: lbn Khaldun, 2: 213.
35. "Fuero concedido a Calatayud por Alfonso I de Aragón en 1131," ed. Jose María Ramos y Loscertales, Anuario de historia del derecho español 1(1924): 413; "Fuero de Escalona," in Colección de fueros municipales y cartas pueblas de los reinos de Castilla, León, Corona de Aragón y Navarra, ed. Tomás Muñoz y Romero (1972 ed.; Madrid, 1847), 487. For a general discussion of municipal ransoming law, see my "Municipal Ransoming Law on the Medieval Spanish Frontier," Speculum 60 (1981): 319-30.
36. For example see El fuero latino de Teruel, ed. Jaime Caruana Gómez de Barreda (Teruel, 1974), 331-32; Fuero de Cuenca (formas primitiva y sistemática: texto latino, texto castellano y adaptación del fuero de lznatoraf), ed. Rafael de Ureña y Smenjaud (Madrid, 1935), 348-49; El fuero de Coria, ed. José Maldonado y Fernández del Torco (Madrid, 1949), 57; and "Fuero de Castel Rodrigo," Portugaliae monumenta historica (Lisbon, 1816-1936), 1: 893-94 (hereafter PMH).
37. For examples, see FCuenca, 654-55; "Fuero d'Alarcón," in Les fueros d'Alcaraz et d'Alarcón, ed. Jean Roudil (Paris, 1968), 434; and FCoria, 57; "Fuero de Castello-Melhor," PMH, 1: 936.
38. See FCuenca, 648 -49; Fuero de Béjar, ed. Juan Gutiérrez Cuadrado (Salamanca, 1974), 196; "Fragmentos del fuero latino de Albarracín," ed. Angel González and Inocenta González, Anuario de historia del derecho español 8 (1931): 487.
39. The fuero of Viguera and the Val de Funes, for example, disinherited a son who refused to attempt the redemption of his captive father: Fuero de Viguera y Val de Funes, ed. José María Ramos y Loscertales (Salamanca, 1956), 87. The Cuenca-Teruel tradition banned the use of daughters as substitute captives while a father attempted to raise his own ransom and also limited a son's responsibility in this regard to three years: FCuenca, 294-95; FLatTeruel, 307-8.
40. Die Juden im christlichen Spanien, Urkunden und Regesten, ed. Fritz Baer (Berlin, 1929-36), 1:7-8, no. 13.
41. Juan Corominas, Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana (Madrid, 1954-57), 2: 462.
42. "Carta de población de Belchite," in Colección de fueros, 413-14. See the "fuero de exeas" contained in FCuenca, 784-85; FLatTeruel, 408-9 and El fuero de Teruel, ed. Max Gorosch (Stockholm, 1950), 375-76.
43. "Fuero de Salamanca," in Fueros Leoneses de Zamora, Salamanca, Ledesma y Alba de Tormes, ed. Américo Castro and Federico de Onís (Madrid, 1916), 162; FBéjar, 134; Los fueros municipales de Cáceres, su derecho público, ed. Pedro Lumbreras Valiente (Cáceres, 1974), law 400; "Fuero de Castello-Bom," PMH, 1: 789. The functions of the alfaqueque are also discussed in detail in Las Siete Partidas del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio, ed. Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, 1807), 2:336-39.
44. Catálogo de la documentación relativa al antiguo reino de Valencia, ed. Jesús Ernesto Martínez Ferrando (Madrid, 1934), 1:325, no. 1484; see also 332, no. 1516; Ramos y Loscertales, Cautiverio, 155-56; and Dufourcq, "Guerre sarracenorum," 105, no. 151.
45. Martínez Ferrando, Catálogo Valencia, 2: 65, no. 261; 2: 70, no. 284.
46. For the alfaqueques of the later Middle Ages, see Juan Torres Fontes, "Los alfaqueques castellanos en la frontera de Granada," in Homenaje a don Augustín Millares Carlo (Grand Canary, 1975), 2: 99-116.
47. Dufourcq, L'Espagne catalane, 71.
48. Antiguos tratados de paces y alianzas entre algunos reyes de Aragón y diferentes príncipes infieles de Asia y Africa, desde el siglo XIII hasta el XV, ed. Antonio de Capmany y de Montpalau (Madrid, 1786), 73-75.
49. Memorias históricas sobre la marina, commercio y artes de la antigua ciudad de Barcelona, ed. Antonio de Capmany y de Montpalau (1961-63 ed.; Barcelona, 1779-92), 2(l): 57, no. 38.
50. Andrés Giménez Soler, "Episodios de la historia de los relaciones entre la Corona de Aragón y Túnez," Anuari d'Institut d'Estudis Catalan1 (1907): 216.
51. Dufourcq, "Guerre sarracenorum," 87, no. 81.
52. Hillgarth, Spanish Kingdoms, I: 42.
53. Dufourcq, "Guerre sarracenorum," 81-82, no. 62.
54. Ibid., 83, no. 67.
55. For eleventh-century uses of "captive" see Faustino D. Gazulla, La Orden de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, estudios bistóricocríticos (1218-1317) (Barcelona, 1934), 36-38.
56. See my, "Military Redemptionism and the Castilian Reconquest, 1180-1250," Military Affairs 44 (1980): 24 - 27.
57. There were Aragonese foundations at Saragossa, Castiel, and perhaps at Teruel; see Regina Sáinz de la Maza Lasoli, La Orden de Santiago en la Corona de Aragón: La encomienda de Montalbán (1210-1327) (Saragossa, 1980), 126-27.
58. See A. J. Forey, "The Order of Mountjoy ," Speculum 46 (1971): 210-66.
59. Bullarium ordinis militiae de Calatrava, ed. Ignacio de Ortega y Cotes (Madrid, 1761), 44; Julio González, El reino de Castilla en la época de Alfonso VIII (Madrid, 1960), 1: 660.
60. Despite the royal and municipal endowments given to these hospitals, they still sought alms directly from individuals; see González, Alfonso VIII, 1: 622; Bullarium equestris ordinis S. Iacobi de Spatha, ed. Antonio Francisco Aguado de Córdoba (Madrid, 1719), 110.
61. This caritative phenomenon has yet to be studied in any general way, although numerous local studies have begun to shed light upon its workings in the Occitan; among these are Jacqueline Caille, Hôpitaux et charité publique à Narbonne au moyen âge de la fin du XIe à la fin du XVe siècle (Toulouse, 1978); Jean Pourrière, Les Hôpitaux d'Aix-en-Provence au moyen âge: XIIIe, XIVe et XVe siècles (Aix-en-Provence, 1969); and John H. Mundy, "Charity and Social Work in Toulouse, 1100-1250," Traditio 22 (1966): 203-87.See also the collection of studies contained in Assistance et charité, ed. M.-H.Vicaire (Toulouse, 1978).
62. Diplomatari de la Catedral de Vic, segles IX-X, ed. Eduard Junyent i Subirà (Vich, 1980), 254-56, no. 302; Sebastián Puig y Puig, Episcopologio la sede barcinonense (Barcelona, 1929), 380-81, no. 39.
63. A. Lambert, "Diocèse de Barcelone," Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. Alfred Baudrillart, A. de Meyer, and E. Van Cauwenbergh (Paris, 1912-), 6:695-96; Paul Kehr, "La Confraria de Santa Eulàlia del Camp," Miscelánea Mons. José Rius Serra, ed. José Rius y Serra (San Cugat del Vallés, 1965), 1:51-65; Lluís G. Feliu, "L'Hospital de Santa Eulàlia del Camp," Analecta sacra tarraconensia 11 (1935): 291-306.
64. Kehr, "Confraria de Santa Eulàlia," in Rius y Serra, Miscelànea, 1: 54-55.
65. For example, of 283 wills from the Cathedral Archives of Barcelona, 81 contained bequests totalling 2,056s. and 52 besants for captives; 10 bequeathed 2,830s. for the dowries of poor virgins; and 31 gave 1,396s. 6d. for the "poor of Jesus Christ": Carme Batlle and Montserrat Casas, "La caritat privada i les institucions benèfiques de Barcelona (segle XIII)," in La pobreza y la asistencia a los pobres en la Cataluña medieval, ed. Manuel Riu (Barcelona, 1980-82), 1:184.
66. Cartulario de "Sant Cugat" del Vallés, ed. José Rius y Serra (Barcelona, 1945-47), 3:142-43, no. 961.
67. ACB, Lib. Ant., 1: 326v, no. 936.
68. Ibid., 1: 56r, no. 117.
69. For example, in 1231 Guilleuma, the wife of Guillem Hug of Majorca, gave 10s. to the captive Castelloní de Forn: AHN, Clero, carp. 76, no. 15. In 1227, Ramon Ferrer of Barcelona left two hundred gold besants for the ransoming of Tomás de Colongia and Vidal de Vila de Polius: ACB, Cubic III, scrin 34, Tít. preposit. Aug., no. 142. In 1214, Tarragona's archbishop designated seventy gold mazmodins for ransoms, particularly, for one Francigena: Villanueva, Viage literario, 19: 269, no. 19.
70. ACB, Calix 32-B, 7a est, Testag, no. 157 (April 13, 1305).
71. ACA, Gran Priorat, arm. 28, no. 185; ACB, Cubic III, scrin 35, Tit. preposit. Aug., no. 142.
72. Cartulari de Poblet, ed. Joan Pons i Marqués (Barcelona, 1938), 159-61, no. 264.
73. ACB, Lib. Ant., 1: 86v, 110. 202.
74. Ibid., 1: 182r, no. 1485, and 3: 112r, no. 294.
75. A captive might fetch 150 to 200s. of Barcelona: Robert I. Burns, S.J., Medieval Colonialism: Postcrusade Exploitation of Islamic Valencia (Princeton, 1975), 30.
76. Pere, a sacristan of Barcelona, in 1188 stipulated that 100s. be given to the archbishop for the ransoming of one or two captives: ACB, Lib. Ant., 1: 56r, no. 117.
77. Bullarium coelestis, ac regalis ordinis B. Mariae Virginis de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, ed. José Linás y Aznor (Barcelona, 1696), 35.
78. ACA, Monacales, 2676: 136rv.
79. See my, "The Trinitarian and Mercedarian Orders: A Study of Religious Redemptionism in the Thirteenth Centurv" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Virginia, I974), 211-44.
80. . See the will of Pere de Vespella, October 23, 1212: ACA, Gran Priorat, arm. 28, no. 130; and that of Saurina de Claramunt (March 25, 1217), with its grant of 100s. to the Trinitarians for ransoming: ACA, Jaume I, perg. 73.


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Living without human contact for 40 years
The incredible story of the meeting between a group of geologists and a family that lived for 40 years in the russian taiga without human contacts, even unaware of World Ward II.
The low door creaked, and the figure of a very old man emerged into the light of day, straight out of a fairy tale. Barefoot. Wearing a patched and repatched shirt made of sacking. He wore trousers of the same material, also in patches, and had an uncombed beard. His hair was disheveled. He looked frightened and was very attentive.... We had to say something, so I began: 'Greetings, grandfather! We've come to visit!'
The old man did not reply immediately.... Finally, we heard a soft, uncertain voice: 'Well, since you have traveled this far, you might as well come in.'


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Home >> Literature
of India >> Bengali
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Prose|| ||Gems of
Bengali Literature||
Tagore's Literary Repertoire||
In contrast to the Bengali poetry, the history
of Bengali prose is relatively new. It was largely developed and
introduced by the missionaries of Serampore and by the Fort William
College. Nathaniel B. Halhead published the Bengali grammar in 1778
and William Carey (1761-1834) translated the Bible into Bengali in
1801. The Bengali prose thus developed in the early 19th century was
nothing more than a mixture of Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian words.
The first Bengali book of prose was Ramram Basu's
Pratapaditya Charita, published in 1801. The author later wrote
another book Lipimala. In 1802,
Batrisa Simhasana
written by Mritunjaya Vidyalankar was published. The same writer
also published three other books like
Hitopadesh, Rajabali,
Vedanta-chandrika and
Prabodh Chandrika.
Raja Rammohan Roy
published his first book of prose called
Vedanta Grantha in 1815. During the period 1815-1830, Rammohan
Roy wrote thirty books in Bengali. He translated some of the
Upanishads and rendered the Bhagwad Gita into Bengali verse.
Later on, other writers like Bankim Chandra, Sharad Chandra
Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore,
Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar,
Pyarichand Mitra
and Tekchand Thakur enriched the Bengali prose with their pioneering
works. Since then the Bengali prose went through a complete course
of evolution.
Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar (1820-91), who is considered as the father of modern
Bengali literary prose, wrote Sakuntala
Vanavasa (1860) and
Bhranti-vilasa (1869). The other
important Bengali writers and novelists of the 19th
the 20th centuries include Charu Chandra Banerjee
(1876-1938), Indira Devi (1880-1922), Anurupa Devi (1882-1958),
Nirupama Devi (1883-1951), Saurindramohan Mukherjee (1884-1966),
Rakhaldas Banerjee (1885-1930), Gokul Chandra Nag (1895-1925),
Sailajananda Mukherjee (1900-1976), Bibhutibhusan Banerjee
(1899-1950), Rabindranath Maitra (1896-1933), Rajsekhar Basu
(1880-1960), Prabodhkumar Sanyal (b.1907), Sita Devi (1896-1974) and
Santa Devi (b.1894).
to Professor Sukumar Sen, the evolution of Bengali novelist
tradition can be separated into four well-defined periods.
The Loric Period:
This was the earliest form of Bengali literature, which centred on
fables and Puranic tales and was either romantic or religious in
content. Examples include Lausen's Adventure from
by the 17th century poet Roopram Chakravarty and
by Bharatchandra.
(b) The Bankim Period:
The initial stories of this period,
like Chandrakanta and
Kaminikumar, were written in
verses and provided a romantic setting for the readers. A new era
dawned with Pyarichand Mitra's trend-setting prose-based novel
Alaler Gharer Dulal
(1858). However, it was Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee who finally dropped the curtain on the Loric period by
publishing his masterpiece Durgeshnandini (1865).
Romesh Chandra Dutt (1848-1909) played an important role in the
literary history of Bengal. He wrote four historical romances,
Vanga-vijeta (1874),
Madhavi-Kankana (1877),
Maharastra-jivana-prabhata (1878) and
(1879), besides two novels Samsara (1886) and
(1894). Damodar Mukherjee (1853-1907) wrote
Mrnmayi (1874)
and Nawabnandini
as sequels to Bankim Chandra's
Kapala-kundala and
Durgesanandini respectively. Bhudev
Mukherjee (Aitihasika Upanyasa and
Sanjib Chandra Chatterjee (Kanthamala, Madhavilata and
Pratapchand), Taraknath Ganguli (Swarnalata), Sivanath
Sastri (Mejabau and
Yugantara) and Swarnakumari Devi (Dipanirvana,
Chinnamukula, Malati) are the other important writers of this
(c) The Tagore Period: The Tagore period, which co-existed
with the Sarat Period, has been the most defining period in Bengali
literature. It has its essentially distinctive universal appeal,
richness and variety of literary styles. Tagore was not just a
Bengali poet or writer but a world phenomenon. His short stories are
many and varied in their content, taste, presentation, universal
appeal and inherent literary beauty. In his novels, Tagore observed
and depicted people in their family and social settings. He also
aptly portrayed the Western influence on the Bengali culture and
people. (See also:
Rabindranath Tagore's Literary Repertoire)
(d) The Sarat Period: Sarat Chandra Chatterjee can be
credited for taking the modern Bengali literature to the masses. He
highlighted aspects of human love, faith and society in his writings
and championed the cause of the under-priviledged and the women in
his stories. His novels and short stories appealed to people of all
walks of life. His immaculate writing style made him one of the
world's best-loved novelists. Haraprasad Sastri (1853-1931) wrote
two historical novels Kanchanamala (1916) and
Bener Meye
(1920). Swami Vivekanda was also a vigorous writer in Bengali.
Prachya O Pascatya, Bhavvar Katha, Vartamana Bharata and
Parivrajaka are the few books which contain his original
writings in Bengali. Other writers of the Sarat tradition include
famous novelists like Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Balaichand
Mukhopadhyay (�Banfool�), Abadhoot, Akshay Kumar Maitreya and Vimal


text:
willyrho Wrote:
Dec 31, 2012 11:43 AM
I agree with you, all the Upper middle class should be taxed out of existance, because they could counter revolt and destroy our new United States of Socialist America. You must know that Castro and all other Great Communistas that Fundamentally Transformed their countries from Free Republics to Communist Utopian Slave States always "Eliminated the counter Revolutionaries". That is why Bill Ayer's Weather Underground had concluded that they might have to "eliminate" ten percent (%) of the American Population because they could not be Re-educated. That is on Record as True, but don't believe Snopes, they are owned by the Red-Green Alliance (Saudi/Russia). Oh yeah, Check out how many murders have been performed under the Red-Green Allianc


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Trophy Buck on the Run
So Hicks began hauling logs. These days his most valuable skill is loading so he's just underweight and his axles aren't over. He uses his eye to assess different-sized lumber on ground that ranges from muddy to rock hard. His 1993 Peterbilt 377 works weekdays when it's not raining out in timber country.
Hick's family shares his love of hunting. His daughters, Jessica, 12, Ashley, 10 and Meagan, 9, often go with their parents on hunts and are eager to hunt on their own as soon as they can. His wife, Lori, took up the sport when Hicks bought her a Browning 270. He privately admits to buying it so he could use it, only to find Lori was a natural with it. Two of Lori's trophies hang in the living room – a seven-point buck and a largemouth bass.
On another wall is the buck Hicks killed that cold, windy winter morning. "He was going so fast, I fired just as he got to the edge of the ridge, about 100 yards away," he remembers. "He just crashed off out of sight. There's a bluff there, it's a straight drop down. I kept the scope on him but I couldn't tell. But I found him; he was right where he fell."
Hick's trophy was an 11-point, typical buck that weighed 200 pounds. It made the Alabama Whitetail Deer Association's record book with a rack score of 162 5/8th.
Hicks was so elated he let his pickup slide in the mud and snag a ditch. He had to go back to Carrollton for a ride to pick up the trophy. "I was so happy and so proud," says Hicks. "I had to show that buck to my girls. I just had to. So on the way home I went by their school, backed the pickup up and went and tapped on the windows so they'd come see."
Montana — top
Wyoming — bottom
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Where Montana meets Wyoming is one of America's biggest parks, with big game hunting, upland bird and waterfowl hunting, fishing (including world-class trout), boating and canoeing, mountain biking and hiking.
And one other plus: you can drive you rig in and park it, using it as your own little vacation home. Of course you have to be bobtailing, because no working commercial vehicles are allowed in the giant 70,000-acre park.
The 70-mile long Bighorn Lake is host to walleye, trout, sauger, perch and rainbow trout. If you love fly fishing, you can find streams with brook, rainbow and brown trout, and if you love winter, there's ice fishing on the south end of the lake.
This National Recreation Area provides views that can take your breath away and a variety of wildlife you will see inside few parks. The park was set up after the construction of the Yellowtail Dam that harnessed the waters of the Bighorn River.
Some parts of the park are open year round, some only in the summer. As with any of Truckers News destinations, we suggest you contact the park in advance. The main office number is (406) 666-2412. The park is a great buy, at $5 a day or $30 for a yearly pass.
How to get there: The north entrance to the park is at Fort Smith, MT. I-90 to Hardin, MT, then Hwy 313 40 miles south to entrance. The south entrance is near Lovell, WY. From 14A go north on Hwy 37 nine miles to entrance. Also accessible via U.S. 310 from Billings, MT, or U.S. 14A from Sheridan, WY. The north and south ends of the park are not connected by road.
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Louisiana's ancient wetlands are a sportsman's paradise
OverdriveOnline.com strives to maintain an open forum for reader opinions. Click here to read our comment policy.


text:
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Looking towards Antisana (from Cotopaxi). Ecuador.
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text:
Category 3: Social & Economic Development
3e. The Green Mobile Award
The 'Green Mobile Award' category is for mobile industry organisations that are focused on the reduction of environmental impacts through eco-friendly, innovative policies, products, programmes or initiatives, as well as organisations outside of the industry that utilise the mobile platform to communicate, innovate or drive eco-friendly programmes, services and initiatives.
The 'Green Mobile Award' highlights the role of mobile in the development of low carbon economies, industries and lifestyles through improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, recycling, conservation, travel, manufacturing and logistics cost reduction and eco-friendly consumption.
Specifically, these could include:
- Alternative energy sources i.e. wind & solar power
- Procurement processes that lower equipment power requirements, or reduce the quantity of materials used, or substitute existing components with replaceable, longer lasting or even bio-degradable materials
- The manufacturing of system, network, charging or other equipment with energy saving or emission reduction features
- The deployment of green networks and use of alternative energy base stations or processes to reduce energy consumption
- Recycling programmes for devices & equipment, i.e. 'take back' type programmes for used handsets & accessories
- New mobile applications or products that reduce reliance on travel, monitor the environment or promote eco-friendly behaviours
- The introduction of systems and processes that reduce consumption of valuable resources, such as fuel, paper, and electricity
- Initiatives that engage employees, users or communities through awareness, and ultimately contribution to green programmes
The shortlist will be published by the GSMA in January 2014, and one winner in each category will be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday 25th February 2014.
This award is open to all organisations that either serve the mobile industry around the world, including mobile operators, manufacturers and product/ service/ network providers in the mobile eco-system or those outside the industry that demonstrate use of the mobile platform as an integral part of their eco-friendly networks, policies, programmes and initiatives.
The product, service, programme or initiative entered must have been launched and commercially available in at least one territory prior to the closing deadline of the awards Friday 6th December 2013. Please provide evidence in your entry to support this such as launch date of the service, including details of countries or regions where the service is available.
Judging criteria
The judges will look for evidence of pro-activity and tangible progress in terms of eco-friendly networks, policies, programmes and initiatives. Successful companies will be able to demonstrate well-conceived, designed and successfully implemented environmentally friendly approaches that deliver quantifiable results.
They will be looking for entries that show genuine efforts toward environmentally sustainable business and ecologically friendly technologies, where entrants should be able to demonstrate:
- Green policies and programmes in the areas of environment, employees, management, and product manufacturing or deployment
- Defined targets that are measurable in terms of contributing to reduced carbon emissions
- Sustainable commitment to continue to address environmental impacts
- Evidence of how policies and programme have or can benefit mobile users, employees, communities and the general public
Entry forms, supporting materials & formats:
The submission of video to support your entry/entries is Strongly encouraged.You may provide one URL to a video link demonstrating your entry. This should be either privately or publicly posted to YouTube (if a private post, please provide a user name and password for judges to access). The video should be between three and five minutes in length, but no more.
If pointing judges to a website within your entry, please include one website URL, where specific information relating to your product or service entry can be found easily (judges will not surf websites looking for the information).
The on-line entry form includes an upload facility for you to provide multimedia. You will have the ability to upload 5 additional files to accompany your entry up to a maximum file size of 5MB each. These can be illustration pdfs, such as for customer testimonials, jpeg for photos or PowerPoint for technical diagrams or statistics, but please keep these relevant to your entry and keep the pages to a maximum of 2.
Specific Entry Form Questions for this category:
On the entry form, in addition to submitting contact and company information, you will be asked to answer the following questions, (Please note the maximum text/character length for your answers including spaces are shown in brackets below):
Preview of entry form questions:
- What is the name of your green product, service, programme or initiative? Please note the name given here will be used in all awards publicity. (150 characters = approx 25 words)
- Is this a joint entry? If so, who are the partnering organisations? (150characters = approx 25 words)
- When was it launched or introduced, and in which markets? (500 characters = approx 85 words)
- What specific environmental concerns or issues that are addressed by your entry? (500 characters = approx 85 words)
- How does the entry benefit the environment in general or specific key stakeholders? (1500 characters = approx 250 words)
- How do you measure the success of your product, service, programme or initiative? How successful have you been to date in quantifiable terms? (1500 characters = approx 250 words)
- What specific evidence would you highlight for your entry, in terms of it contributing toward a greener economy, industry or community, or reducing carbon emissions? (1500 characters = approx 250 words)
- What business benefits have you seen from your focus on environmental sustainability? (1500 characters = approx 250 words)
- What plans do you have to expand and extend your product, service, programme or initiative? In what ways is your entered product/ policy / programme/initiative/product sustainable? (1500 characters = approx 250 words)
Please note: Use one URL that is specific and relevant to the category and will help judges further understand your entry, but due to the number of entries received, judges will not have time to surf company websites looking for further information on the entered product/service or initiative.