Jon Savage ”Uninhabited London”

 

Rosrevolutionen Georgien 2003

 The Revolution of Roses, often translated into English as the Rose Revolution (Georgian: ვარდების რევოლუცია, romanized: vardebis revolutsia), was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003. The revolution was brought about by widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections and culminated in the ousting of President Eduard Shevardnadze, which marked the end of the Soviet era of leadership in the country. The event derives its name from the climactic moment, when demonstrators led by Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the Parliament session with red roses in hand.

Quick Facts: Date, Location ...

Consisting of twenty days of protests from 3 to 23 November 2003, the Revolution triggered new presidential and parliamentary elections in Georgia, which established the United National Movement as the dominant ruling party.^{Following the Rose Revolution, Georgia pursued a decidedly pro-Western foreign policy and declared European and Euro-Atlantic integration as its main priority; this change in trajectory contributed to Georgia's tensions with Russia, which continue to this day[when?].}

Georgisk dans

Georgian dance (Georgian: ქართული ცეკვა) is the traditional dance of Georgia. It has its roots in the military moves, sports games, and dances celebrated during holidays in the Middle Ages.

Georgian dance was popularized by Iliko Sukhishvili and his wife, Nino Ramishvili, founders of the Georgian National Ballet.

Two folk dances, Perkhuli and Khorumi, are inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia list.

 

Sophia Shalmiyev "Mother Winter"

 This book is dedicated to all the feminist mothers and the girls who need them most

- Sophia Shalmiyev 

 

When a woman drinks it´s as if an animal were drinking, or a child. Alcoholism is scandalous in a woman, and a female alcoholic is rare, a serious matter. It´s a slur on the divine in our nature

- Marguerite Duras 

Jacqueline Kennedy - A Tour From The White House 1961

 

Det kändes sorgligt att inte hitta något historiskt i huset, inte något före 1902. 

Jacqueline Kennedys restaurering av Vita Huset

Att döda renar räknas som stöld

 Ann-Helen Laestadius berättar om den hotfulla stämningen efter den så kallade Girjasdomen, som kom den 23 januari 2020 och där det slogs fast att samebyn Girjas har ensamrätt att bestämma över småviltjakten i sitt område, med hänvisning till det som kallas urminnes hävd. Ett beslut som orsakade en våg av hat mot samer. Skjutna och överkörda renar. Ett våldsamt näthat. Hot och trakasserier från sådana som romanens Robert.

– Det blev som ett uppvaknande för folk, det här hatet som vi alltid har varit medvetna om och blivit utsatta för på olika sätt genom tiderna. Jag har inte blivit hotad personligen men jag har blivit kallad saker och ting. När jag jobbade som tidningsreporter i Kiruna kunde folk komma in på redaktionen och kalla mig för lappjävel, samma sak på krogen, folk som kom fram.

Hon berättar att hon använt hundra polisanmälningar om renstölder som research för romanen. Utredning efter utredning som lagts ner och hur polisen där uppe, precis som i hennes bok, har att patrullera oändliga områden med minimerad personalstyrka och därför oftast kommer försent, om de ens dyker upp.

– Och sedan ska man dessutom orka med rovdjuren och mäkta med klimatförändringarna som försvårar rennäringen ... Det är också den psykiska ohälsan som drabbar många samer och orsakar tragedier i många familjer. Det är så otroligt mycket på en och samma gång.

– Till slut kände jag, nu får det vara nog. Det här måste berättas om, men fiktivt, i en roman.

Marilyn Manson i blåsväder

 For years, Marilyn Manson was unafraid to publicly admit to violent ideations. Some of his comments felt campy and performative, but others were plainly disturbing. In a 2009 interview with Spin—after he and Wood had briefly broken up—he said that he once called Wood a hundred and fifty-eight times in a single day, and that he regularly fantasizes “about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.

Manson became a prominent countercultural figure, in the nineties, after touring with Nine Inch Nails and releasing a thick, menacing cover of the Eurythmics’ 1983 single “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” He assumed the first name of a beloved but aggressively sexualized starlet and the last name of a demagogue serial killer, and developed a purposefully grotesque persona both on- and offstage.

From the start of his career, Manson was an outsider and a provocateur, poses that have long been fundamental to rock and roll—a particular brand of male rebelliousness (usually manifesting as a kind of wild-eyed, carnal debauchery) is endemic to the genre. Yet the idea that this misbehavior has often included—sometimes nearly required—sexual violence is still frequently overlooked. 

It’s exceptionally dispiriting to feel oneself developing “abuse fatigue”—becoming inured to new and devastating allegations as a matter of self-preservation. Manson, who is fifty-two, has not been especially coy about how he may have inherited damaging ideas about relationships: “My father’s view of women was, ‘If you wanna get a man, spread your legs. And if you wanna keep a man, shut your fucking mouth,’ ” he told Dazedin 2015. “It’s foul. But that’s how I was reared and raised—under the assumption that, if you want to keep a man, don’t mouth off. You wanna get a man, show him your business parts. I’m not saying that’s my philosophy, I’m just saying that’s what my father taught me.”

Asscher på Tolstraat - Centrum för diamantslipningen

 

The Royal Asscher Diamond Company (Dutch: Koninklijke Asscher Diamant Maatschappij) was founded in 1854 by the Asscher family of gemcutters. The company is responsible for cutting some of the most famous diamonds in the world including two of the top three largest diamonds ever found. Its headquarters still stand at its original location Tolstraat 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company also has regional headquarters in New York City (Royal Asscher of America) and Tokyo (Royal Asscher of Japan).

Royal Asscher is still owned by the Asscher family, today a renowned diamond dynasty. The Asscher Diamond Company, made famous at the turn of the 20th century by Joseph and Abraham Asscher, became Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 1980 when it was bestowed with the Dutch Royal Predicate from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in recognition of the company's stature both in the Netherlands and across the world. In 2011 Queen Beatrix perpetuated the Royal Prefix for another 25 years. 

In 1854 Joseph Isaac Asscher, a known artisan in the diamond industry, established the I.J Asscher diamond company, named for his son Isaac Joseph Asscher, who followed in his father's footsteps and entered the diamond industry. He passed down his expertise to his five sons, including Joseph (a prolific and unrivalled diamond cleaver) and Abraham (a talented innovator and businessman). Together, they became the 20th century's most prodigious diamond experts. Under Joseph and Abraham, the company is known as the Asscher Diamond Company and cuts diamonds to be set in jewellery for world famous boutiques and maisons internationally. As one of the largest diamond polishing companies in the world at that time, the company was known for having Royalty, celebrities and politicians as private clients.

The Asscher Cut

In 1902 Joseph Asscher designed and patented his namesake original Asscher cut.^[1] This emblematic cut was the world's first patented diamond cut protecting it from replication by other companies. The Asscher Diamond Company held its exclusive patent until the Second World War and saw strong sales internationally, particularly during the 1920s and 30s when the cut and company were both at the height of success.

The original design had 58 Step cut facets, a small table, high crown and steep pavilion with cut corners. An accurate description would be a cut cornered square emerald cut diamond. 

In 1905 the Cullinan diamond was discovered. At 3,106 carats (621.2 g) it was a legendary find, and achieved instant renown across the globe. The diamond was presented to King Edward VII, and he invited the Asscher brothers to London to discuss cleaving the diamond. It was decided that Joseph Asscher would cleave the Cullinan into three parts, necessitated by inclusions within the rough diamond. Nine large stones were cut from it, the largest being the Cullinan I at 530.20 carats (106.040 g).

In February 1908 a notable audience gathered to watch Joseph Asscher cleave the huge stone. In order to yield large, beautiful diamonds he needed to hit the Cullinan in exactly the right place. On his first strike his blade broke, while the stone remained intact. He dismissed all present and set to work creating larger, stronger tools.

The following week, armed with new tools, Joseph resumed his work, allowing no one but the notary public in the cutting room. Urban legend recounts that Joseph fainted after striking the Cullinan diamond with a tremendous blow. He later commented that the adrenaline surging through him the moment the stone split was so strong all he could think to do was to examine the stone and check his workmanship over and over again before rushing to the next room to share the good news. Later, the Cullinan diamonds were polished, ready to take pride of place in Great Britain's Crown Jewels. 

During the Second World War battle of the Netherlands the Nazis as part of their extermination plans, entered the Asscher Diamond Company's Amsterdam headquarters and seized its diamonds. Since the Asscher family were Jewish they were eventually deported from the Netherlands and interned in concentration camps, along with nearly all of the company's 500 master polishers. Most of the Asscher family and over 96 percent of the polishers were murdered by the Nazis.

During the war the patent on the original Asscher cut expired. With no one to renew the patent, other companies started to utilize the Asscher cut, leading to market confusion about the origin of many Asscher cut diamonds. Some companies chose to call their Asscher cut diamonds square-emerald cuts instead. Many of these diamonds were cut for yield and did not necessarily follow Joseph Asscher's original proportion calculations for the Asscher cut, which specified parameters for the diamond's crown height, table size, and facet alignment.

After the war

Only ten Asscher family members and fifteen of the five hundred polishers survived the Holocaust. Although once the world's diamond polishing capital, the diamond industry in Amsterdam was virtually wiped out during the war, including the Asscher Diamond Company. Antwerp subsequently emerged as a major diamond polishing center.

In 1946 Joop and Louis Asscher were invited to utilize their expertise to start a new company in New York, but they chose to remain in their home of Amsterdam and rebuild the Asscher Diamond Company. At this point during the 1950s and 1960s the company began exploring new markets and became a prominent diamantaire in Japan. 

The fifth and sixth generations of the Asscher family are at the helm of an international company. Edward Asscher, father works in conjunction with daughter Lita and son Mike.

In March 2020, Edward Asscher announced his retirement from the company. With his departure, his daughter Lita Asscher and son Mike Asscher will serve as co-presidents of the firm.^[2] 

Designed by renowned Architect Gerrit Van Arkel the castle like structure of the original Asscher factory is today the jewel of Amsterdam's De Pijp area, Working on the principle of needing ample light for the diamonds to be worked within, the castle-like factory had huge windows and originally featured a police station outside. At one time over 500 diamond polishers worked in the building alongside numerous administrative staff and family.

It was here in this grand building where some of the largest and most iconic diamonds in the world were cut and polished. Such was the stature of 127 Tolstraat that the area became known as the Diamantbuurt (DiamondDistrict) with street names such as Diamantstraat (Diamondstreet), Robijnstraat (Rubystreet), Saffierstraat (SapphireStreet) and Smaragdstraat (EmeraldStreet). All around the factory are beautiful workers cottages where many of the diamond polishers lived.

Now, the area is known as the “Asscher Quarter” with additional street names such as Cullinanplein. While the old factory is now a light filled luxury apartments complex, the main tower remains Royal Asscher's headquarters to this day.

 

 

 

 

 

Joe DiMaggio och Marilyn Monroe

 

Married in a quiet ceremony at City Hall on January 14, 1954, in DiMaggio’s native San Francisco, the couple posed for photographs on the steps of Saints Peter and Paul Church. A church wedding was not an option at the time due to both celebrants having previously divorced: DiMaggio from his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, in 1944, and Monroe from childhood neighbor James Dougherty in 1946.

According to Monroe, DiMaggio came up with the last-minute marriage scenario that fit both their schedules. “‘You’re having all this trouble with the studio and not working so why don’t we get married now? I’ve got to go to Japan anyway on some baseball business, and we could make a honeymoon out of the trip,’” Monroe recalls DiMaggio saying. “And so we were married and took off for Japan on our honeymoon.”

From the very start, their marriage was challenged. During the honeymoon, Monroe was asked to travel to Korea to perform for the American troops stationed there. DiMaggio was left behind in Japan. Back on home soil the couple sought a normal life, but the volatility of her career and his reported jealousy and involvement in her professional contract negotiations and role choices began to chafe.

Monroe and DiMaggio divorced after nine months of marriage

DiMaggio reportedly wanted a stay at home wife. Monroe wanted to expand her cultural horizons with a husband who was interested in her work. The new groom also struggled with his wife’s image. While filming The Seven Year Itch in New York, DiMaggio was disgusted with the now-famous subway grate scene. According to Monroe he said, “… exposing my legs and thighs, even my crotch — that was the last straw.”

A visibly tearful and upset Monroe publicly announced their divorce nine months after they wed, citing mental cruelty. In a letter written to his wife at the time of the announcement DiMaggio said, “I love you and want to be with you. … There is nothing I would like better than to restore your confidence in me. … My heart split even wider seeing you cry in front of all those people.”

They eventually reunited and DiMaggio stood by her side until her sudden death

It would be years before they reconciled and in between Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. The union would last five years and at its end, an emotionally fragile Monroe was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in New York. It was DiMaggio who secured his ex-wife’s release, taking her to the Yankee’s Florida training camp where he was a batting coach, to rest.

Though a marital reunion was not on the cards the couple remained good friends, even as Monroe struggled with addiction, depression and anxiety. She died the following year on August 4, 1962, from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles.

A devastated DiMaggio claimed her body and arranged for her funeral, reportedly barring Hollywood’s elite as well as members of the Kennedy family including then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy, with whom Monroe was rumored to have had an affair. DiMaggio never forgave friend Frank Sinatra for introducing her to the Kennedys.

A still devoted DiMaggio never remarried and rarely spoke about Monroe during his life. He organized to have roses delivered three times a week to her crypt for 20 years. “I’ll go to my grave regretting and blaming myself for what happened to her,” DiMaggio is quoted as saying in Dinner With DiMaggio. “Sinatra told me later that ‘Marilyn loved me anyway, to the end.’”

Mannen med barnvagnen

 

Joyce Carol Oates ”Blonde”

 

Umberto Eco ”Om Fulhet”

 

Diplomatisk immunitet

Diplomatisk immunitet är en form av immunitet som innebär att vissa personer som officiellt representerar en främmande stat i ett värdland är okränkbara, till exempel en ackrediterad ambassadör. Personer med diplomatisk immunitet bär diplomatpass.

Begreppet exterritorialrätt rör även egendom som tillhör eller upplåtes till en främmande stat i ett värdland, till exempel en ambassad eller en militärbas.

En ackrediterad ambassadör kan inte lagföras enligt de straffrättsliga regler som i övrigt gäller i det land där denne är ackrediterad. Med immunitet kan en diplomat exempelvis inte bli lagförd för fortkörning eller rattfylleri, åtminstone i värdlandet. En person med diplomatisk immunitet som missbrukar sin ställning, eller som av andra skäl inte längre är önskad av värdlandet, utvisas och blir då en persona non grata. Stats- och regeringschefer samt ministrar som besöker ett annat land är också okränkbara likt en ackrediterad ambassadör. I teorin kan de fällas för felparkering då det är en avgift, inte ett brott. Dock är det svårt att få dem att betala dessa och andra skulder.^[1]

Okränkbarhet gäller också militära farkoster i främmande land, bland annat örlogsfartyg och statsluftfartyg.

Immuniteten gäller i värdlandet. Dock kan personen dömas i sitt hemland, vilket i första hand sker för grövre brott och det är inte så vanligt. Hemlandet kan också upphäva immuniteten, vilket dock är mycket ovanligt och endast skett vid grövre brott.

Liverpools hat mot The Sun

 På onsdagen efter tragedin publicerade The Sun ett barbariskt angrepp på offren på grundval av lögner som polisen hade spridit. Supportrar stal från de döda och döende, påstod tidningen. Polismän, brandmän och ambulanspersonal angreps av huliganer. Liverpoolsupportrar urinerade på de dödas kroppar. En polisman som gjorde upplivningsförsök med mun-mot-mun-metoden blev misshandlad. En död flicka hade ”skändats”. Än idag är The Sun i hög grad bojkottad i Merseyside, trots en offentlig ursäkt för dessa lögner femton år efteråt. Under ett årtionde av angrepp och nedsvärtning av arbetarklassens Storbritannien var rapporteringen kring Hillsborough ett nytt lågvattenmärke.

John Dillermand

 

Owen Jones ”Chavs”

 

Margaret Thatchers makttillträde 1979 markerade inledningen till ett totalangrepp på arbetarklassens bärande bjälkar i Storbritannien. 

Dess samhällen slogs sönder, i vissa fall för att aldrig återhämta sig; och dess värderingar, som solidaritet och kollektiva strävanden, sopades undan till förmån för en hård individualism. När arbetarklassen hade berövats mycket av sitt inflytande och dess identitet inte längre förknippades med stolthet kunde man snäsa åt den, förlöjliga den och utse den till syndabock. 

Syftet med denna bok är att blottlägga demoniseringen av människor ur arbetarklassen, inte att i stället demonisera medelklassen. Vi är alla fångna i vår klass, men det innebär inte nödvändigtvis att vi måste vara fångna i våra klassfördomar. Boken försöker inte heller glorifiera eller idolisera arbetarklassen. 

Varje medelklassperson har latenta klassfördomar som mycket lätt kan komma till ytan … Uppfattningen att arbetarklassen har blivit orimligt bortskämd och fullkomligt demoraliserad av arbetslöshetsunderstöd, ålderspension och gratis skolgång m.m. … är fortfarande mycket spridd; den har på sin höjd en aning skakats av nyvunna kunskaper om att arbetslösheten faktiskt existerar. George Orwell, Vägen till Wigan

Man har ingen empati eller inlevelse eller förståelse och stöter bara på sådana människor när de serverar en kaffe eller städar ens bostad.” Journalisternas liv har blivit alltmer avskärmat från andras. ”Jag kan inte komma på någon redaktör på en rikstidning med barn i skolåldern som har dem i statlig skola”, funderar han. ”Dessutom får de flesta journalister på denna nivå privata sjukförsäkringar. Så de befinner sig inte i det vanliga livet.”

Efter hennes valseger 1979 inledde de konservativa landets djärvaste experiment i social ingenjörskonst sedan puritanernas styre i England tre hundra år tidigare. ”Vi måste styra landet i en ny riktning, förändra hur vi ser på saker, skapa en helt ny inställning”, uppmanade Thatcher sitt parti.

Hennes attityder cementerades utan tvivel när hon 1951 gifte sig med en rik affärsman, Denis Thatcher, som menade att alla fackföreningar borde förbjudas. I hennes första regering hade 88 procent av ministrarna gått i internatskola, 71 procent var företagsledare och 14 procent stora jordägare. 

Idag, under en tid av ekonomisk kris orsakad av ett alltför stort beroende av finanssektorn och en utraderad industriell bas, börjar till och med ledande tories tala om behovet av att börja tillverka saker igen. Många av de gamla industrisamhällena ligger alltjämt i spillror. Men man får leta med ljus och lykta efter någon ånger över den brända jordens politik som thatcherismen tillämpade.

”Jag tycker att det är en grotesk omskrivning av historien”, replikerar ekonomiredaktören Larry Eliot på The Guardian. ”Tories kom till makten och gjorde en rad katastrofala ekonomiska tabbar och fick pundet att raka i höjden på valutabörserna, vilket gjorde våra exportprodukter icke konkurrensdugliga. De lät inflationen stiga upp till 20 procent och drev upp räntan till 17 procent, vilket gjorde det dyrt att låna – något som var avgörande för tillverkningsindustrin.”

Regeringen Thatchers ambitioner var i viss mån förbundna med Ted Heaths nederlag. Men de hade mycket att göra med beslutsamheten, milt uttryckt, att sätta arbetarrörelsen på plats. Och det mest uppenbara sättet att strategiskt göra det på var att ge sig på och besegra gruvarbetarna. För de förstod – precis som var och en som funderade över det skulle förstå – att en seger över gruvarbetarna skulle få stora återverkningar på resten av arbetarrörelsen, vilket också blev fallet.

Francois Ozon ”I Guds Namn”

 

London var första värdstaden

 

The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its 990,000 square feet (92,000 m²) exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet (564 m) long, with an interior height of 128 feet (39 m). ^{The erection itself was a representation of modern architecture and modern industry that was developing with the Industrial Revolution, and the structure was three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral.}

^{The Great Exhibition was organised by Henry Cole and by Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria.}

^{Famous people of the time attended, including Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Michael Faraday(who assisted with the planning and judging of exhibits), Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot, Alfred Tennyson and William Makepeace Thackeray. The opening music, under the superintendence of William Sterndale Bennett was directed by Sir George Smart.}