4/8 Open Thread: International Romani Day

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 5:00am

~~ Image is the Flag of the Romani People

The Romani, or Roma, are believed to have originated in northern India and to have begun dispersing from that area sometime around 1000CE. Sometimes known as Gypsies, in some cases, even among themselves, but some consider the term to be a racial slur. The attendees at the first World Romani Conference voted unanimously to reject all non native identifiers of their people. Generally, they have been discriminated against and persecuted wherever they have traveled.

Further information on the Romani people may be found, among other places, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people

**********

On this day in history:

1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral was dedicated.

1820 – The Venus de Milo was discovered.

1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. the US Supreme Court declared unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.

1911 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity.

1913 – The 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, became law requiring direct election of US Senators.

1935 – The WPA was formed.Unbelievably, it was not "market based".

1946 – Électricité de France, was formed by the nationalisation of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.

1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta was convicted by Kenya's colonial rulers.

1959 – A team led by Grace Hopper met to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be COBOL.

1961 – An explosion sank the MV Dara and killed 238. The British eventually blamed ~~Russia~~ rebels, but produced no evidence whatsoever.

1970 – The Israeli air force bombed an Egyptian primary school but only managed to kill forty-six children.

2008 – The world's first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines was completed in Bahrain.

**********

Some people who were born on this day:

I don't think much of the journalism that I see.

~~ Seymour Hersh

1859 – Edmund Husserl, mathematician and philosopher
1896 – Yip Harburg, lyricist
1905 – Helen Joseph, activist
1917 – Winifred Asprey, mathematician and computer scientist
1922 – Carmen McRae, singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress
1927 – Ollie Mitchell, trumpet player and bandleader
1929 – Jacques Brel, singer-songwriter and actor

1937 – Seymour Hersh, journalist and author
1941 – J. J. Jackson, singer, songwriter, and arranger
1944 – Deke Richards, songwriter and producer
1947 – Steve Howe, guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1949 – Brenda Russell, singer, songwriter, and keyboard player
1951 – Mel Schacher, bass player
1951 – Joan Sebastian, singer, songwriter, and actor
1962 – Izzy Stradlin, guitarist and songwriter
1963 – Julian Lennon, singer, songwriter, and photographer

**********

Some people who died on this day:

We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.

~~ Pablo Picasso

1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, dancer and choreographer
1973 – Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor
1993 – Marian Anderson, singer
1997 – Laura Nyro, singer,songwriter, and pianist

**********

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

International Romani Day
Hana Matsuri (Japan)
National Empanada Day

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Today's Tunes

New Winchester Cathedral

Venus de Milo

Yip Harburg

Carmen McRae

Ollie Mitchell

Jacques Brel

J. J. Jackson

Deke Richards

Steve Howe

Brenda Russell

Mek Schacher

Julian Lennon

Marian Anderson

Laura Nyro

The Romani are known, among other things, for their music, which is invariably an amalgm of the local traditions with other background traditions. The next two videos are from a genre that used to be called "Gypsy Flamenco":

Manitas de Plata and Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes and Manitas de Plata

A different genre with The Barcelona Gypsy Klezmer Orchestra:

Djelem Djelem was written by Žarko Jovanović and is often used as the anthem of the Romani people.

The Rus

Hungary

Cuba?

"Gypsy Jazz"

**********

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Roma, Romani, Yip Harburg, Carmen McRae, Jacques Brel, Mek Schacher, Marian Anderson, Djelem Djelem, Manitas de Plata, Jose Reyes, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grapelli

Tags:

Open Thread

Roma

Romani

Yip Harburg

Vote

Comments

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 8:28am

buna dimineaţa

-
Really enjoy the Gypsy music.

Vă mulțumesc!

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 10:58am

And Buenos Dias to you, tambien; also

@QMS

Con mucho gusto. Some of the music is an acquired taste, but some is also almost impossible not to like.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 9:24am

The Onion

-
-

Biden: ‘Israel Has An Obligation Not To Harm My Reelection Chances’

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have spoken on several occasions about the importance of keeping me in power, and he has assured me he will do everything he can to mitigate any domestic political fallout in the United States."

https://www.theonion.com/biden-israel-has-an-obligation-not-to-harm-my-r...

Make a deal with the devil and pay with your soul.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 10:59am

Heh, too true. n/t

@QMS

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 1:04pm

DJT stock

down 50% from peak

The chief executive of Trump Media & Technology highlighted the company’s retail investor base as he said it was working on adding streaming capabilities to the social-media messaging site.
The stock DJT fell another 10% in early Monday trade, having fallen 12% on Friday. The stock at its lows on Monday was 55% below its peak after merging with the special-purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Co.

who's the big loser

No major institutional investors own Trump Media & Technology stock. So Trump himself is taking most of the hit.
Trump owns 58.1% of the company, making him the largest shareholder by far. He's already lost $2 billion from the position from the highs. And he's down $741 million from the day the SPAC deal was finalized.

Note that Trump can't sell for at least 5 months.

Just discovered that Trump eff'd this one up too.

Submitted by soryang on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 11:41am

Compelling history- South China Sea

Cambridge PhD- "The US is lawless." Deliberately refused to resolve Chinese territorial claims against Japan after WWII. The Philippines is a US colony. France stole the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Historically the Philippines has no claim. The US, France, and UK never listened to their international law experts. The US has been trying to contain China since WWII.

Who has sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea islands? Where do the roots of the current controversy lie? One renowned scholar's relentless quest through the archives of three Western players has led to startling discoveries. Professor Anthony Carty was born in Ireland in 1948. He pursued his studies at Queen's University Belfast, University College London, and Cambridge University, where he obtained his Ph.D. From 2011 until the end of 2018, he delved into a century of archives kept by foreign affairs departments in France, the UK, and the U.S. concerning the South China Sea. He published his findings in two papers five years ago, based on which a Chinese book titled 'The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea' was published. During an exclusive interview, Prof. Carty told Liu Xin that these governments understood the disputed islands belonged to China, but they had been bluffing for strategic reasons. "They need to be confronted."

I've cued the video to the six minute mark to start. The first six minutes is background on the scholar and where and how he worked to obtain the historical archives. Not only is this video compelling, but if you listen to whole interview, you will know more about the history of US policy in the South China Sea than any western journalist has reported to date. Western governments and media have been lying about this situation for a long time.

There is a similar provenance to US/UK/Japanese arguments against the "one china" policy allegedly the official US policy toward Taiwan. There is an argument that "title" to Taiwan was not given up by the allied powers after WWII because the San Francisco Treaty did not deal with the issue. It has actually been argued "legally" that title to Taiwan still rests with the United States. I wrote about this at the link below.

One China Policy legal review claims the Allies have title to Taiwan

The professor's interview is so important. I'm concerned it will either be ignored or disappear from youtube. Thanks for the OT Enhydra Lutris.

—

語必忠信行必正直

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 12:33pm

Hi Soryang

@soryang @soryang
-
-
so I am confused and or under educated
how does the US hold a title to Taiwan?
Because of some treaty going back to WW2?
Had assumed China owns Taiwan. At least in a
practical sense. The Philippines is a different issue.
So does the US have the right to govern the whole world?
Thanks for your insights.

Cambridge PhD- "The US is lawless." Deliberately refused to resolve Chinese territorial claims against Japan after WWII. The Philippines is a US colony. France stole the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Historically the Philippines has no claim. The US, France, and UK never listened to their international law experts. The US has been trying to contain China since WWII. Who has sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea islands? Where do the roots of the current controversy lie? One renowned scholar's relentless quest through the archives of three Western players has led to startling discoveries. Professor Anthony Carty was born in Ireland in 1948. He pursued his studies at Queen's University Belfast, University College London, and Cambridge University, where he obtained his Ph.D. From 2011 until the end of 2018, he delved into a century of archives kept by foreign affairs departments in France, the UK, and the U.S. concerning the South China Sea. He published his findings in two papers five years ago, based on which a Chinese book titled 'The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea' was published. During an exclusive interview, Prof. Carty told Liu Xin that these governments understood the disputed islands belonged to China, but they had been bluffing for strategic reasons. "They need to be confronted." I've cued the video to the six minute mark to start. The first six minutes is background on the scholar and where and how he worked to obtain the historical archives. Not only is this video compelling, but if you listen to whole interview, you will know more about the history of US policy in the South China Sea than any western journalist has reported to date. Western governments and media have been lying about this situation for a long time. There is a similar provenance to US/UK/Japanese arguments against the "one china" policy allegedly the official US policy toward Taiwan. There is an argument that "title" to Taiwan was not given up by the allied powers after WWII because the San Francisco Treaty did not deal with the issue. It has actually been argued "legally" that title to Taiwan still rests with the United States. I wrote about this at the link below. One China Policy legal review claims the Allies have title to Taiwan The professor's interview is so important. I'm concerned it will either be ignored or disappear from youtube. Thanks for the OT Enhydra Lutris.

Submitted by soryang on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 1:25pm

I know it's ridiculous

@QMS ...this is the kind of legal reasoning the professor is talking about. China's claim post WWII with respect to the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the SCS wasn't determined in the San Francisco treaty so that allowed everyone in the area to manufacture claims to these islands.

The same basic argument was made about China's sovereign claim to Taiwan in a legal essay I discussed in a post a few years ago. The argument went Japan obtained "sovereignty" over Taiwan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The allies (basically the US) that defeated Japan occupied it, and had the power to dispose of it by virtue of WWII. Chiang Kai-shek's KMT forces (the ROC) were given provisional control of the island by the allies, but it was never formalized in the San Francisco Treaty. Therefore it's legal status is at best undetermined. The author argued, that technically the allies (the US in fact) still had the power to dispose of the matter. It further argued that the Shanghai Communique just recognizes that there is a Chinese claim of "one China" but doesn't transfer any real sovereignty with its cagey wording. In other words it's still within the power of the allies to determine the sovereignty of Taiwan. I think I summarized the essential points. Here's the link to the original article from the Fordham International Law Journal. (pdf) LOL

One-China Policy and Taiwan

It's an absurd argument similar in theory to the claims that the Paracels and Spratly Islands aren't Chinese territory that are completely debunked in the video.

South Korea has a similar dispute with Japan based on the same specious argument. Sovereignty over Dokdo Islands in the East Sea/Sea of Japan was taken by force from Korea by the Japanese in around 1904-5. Sovereignty wasn't returned to Korea after WWII. The matter wasn't addressed in the San Francisco treaty after WWII. Therefore, Japan claims it's still theirs. South Korea occupied it by force sometime in fifties I think. ROK military forces have occupied it ever since and defended the territorial limit, sea and air, around it from Japanese encroachment ever since. Japan wants it back. This is one of the reasons among many, the new so called trilateral partnership with Japan is such a facade.

—

語必忠信行必正直

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 1:10pm

Good morning Soryang. Thanks for the clip and

the information. I'm listening to the clip right now.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by Tall Bald and Ugly on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 1:49pm

So

just been outside with welding
mask on checking the eclipse
maybe thirty percent or so
here pretty cool nonetheless

shared the mask with a neighbor
so they could look safely they
thought pretty cool also

hope to hear others views
maybe the photo gurus were
able to capture it and are
willing to share? either way
don’t burn your eyeballs

—

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 2:41pm

We had about 90% coverage here

@Tall Bald and Ugly

my welding goggles didn't help much
but went to the local library and they had
the special filter glasses. Pretty darn cool.
People brought moon pies and all kinds of
yellow cookies with an Oreo on top.

Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 11:20pm

Fairly high coverage here too but a high haze

@Tall Bald and Ugly
so not much to see. Went on the Net and got a good clear feed from Burlington, VT, which was bullseyed. Not the same as being there myself, but a grand show nonetheless.

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by on the cusp on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 2:52pm

I saw the eclipse at about 25%.

Afterwards, dark clouds and heavy rains made it impossible to see.
Well, maybe next time.
I am happy to report I spent no money in the endeavor.
Happy Monday!

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by usefewersyllables on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 3:57pm

Eclipse image from Denver,

where we had clear skies and 60% coverage. Colander plus white paper on the ground:

I have a laser burn on the retina of my left eye. I got it quite by accident, back during my misspent academic career. I was walking to a class, down a random hallway in one of the mechanical engineering buildings, when they did a shot with a 50W CO2 pulsed laser in one of the labs. They'd left the lab door open, and apparently I caught a specular reflection off of some random piece of apparatus. Wasn't even looking into the lab- I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Luckily for me, it didn't hit the fovea, and it is well off into the periphery of my vision. So over time, my brain has just annealed that black spot out of my visual field. It can be detected with a visual field analyzer at the ophthalmologist, and I know where it is, but otherwise it is sort of like the blind spots that everybody has, created by the foveas themselves. Still, I don't recommend it. It was pretty unpleasant at the time.

And yes, I raised holy hell with the lab manager, and there are now interlocks that will not allow the high-powered lasers to fire unless the lab door is closed. Just another one of the benefits of an engineering education, I guess...

I can tell when I'm getting a migraine, though, because I get the most hellish strobing-rainbow-colored fractal halo around the edges of the burn scar area, just as it sets in.

And hilariously, though I didn't study them in school, I now work with infrared lasers every day at work. And I'm the one who put up the sign in the lab that says "Warning: do not stare into laser with remaining eye." Management didn't think it was particularly funny- but they haven't taken it down. I *have* that tee shirt, so I can say stuff like that. (;-)

—

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 3:48pm

Hola UFS, great image. I like the colander idea.

@usefewersyllables

In the past I've done scopes against garage doors and on driveways, makes it shareable.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:03pm

Glad that you got lucky!

@usefewersyllables

And you raised holy hell over it.

(blind spot)created by the foveas themselves.

Pretty sure it’s the optic nerve that creates the blind spot in everyone’s eyes. The fovea is avascular and filled mostly with cones that give us our central vision. Remember the days of flash bulb photography when you couldn’t see straight ahead after it went off. Macular assault….but temporary. The rest of the retina is filled with rods that give us our peripheral vision. There are so many that we can lose quite a bit of them before we notice we are having problems. The optic nerve leads to the optic chiasm and it’s where the blood vessels enter the eye. Diseases like glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and inflammation can cause damage to the nerve and it’s one quick way to diagnose those diseases.

If you want to find your optic nerve blind spot close one eye and move your finger way out on the edge of your vision and you should see if disappear in the mid bottom part of your vision. Don’t blink or you may miss it.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:19pm

Interesting

@snoopydawg
-
-
I tried your test and found the spot in the right eye.
It was kinda spooky, cause a black glow hovered around it.
Couldn't find one in the left eye tho. Maybe I'm just weird.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:43pm

Heh..l

@QMS

Maybe you blinked during your left eye test? I’ve seen that glow before, and I’m not sure what causes it.

Here’s a picture of a left eye with the nerve on the right. And the red spot in the middle is the macula.

A close up of the macula and the avascular fovea.

This patient had diabetes which causes diabetic retinopathy and you can see how much of the macula has been affected. Plus the black areas are where the retina has died. No cure for dead retina.

I wish I could still work part time in this field because it’s so interesting and rewarding. Alas no one wants someone working when they are on drugs. I’m accustomed to them, but still. It’s a liability thing.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:56pm

wow, your first shot reminds me of a moon

@snoopydawg
-
-
behind branches of a tree I once saw.
Although the colors are different.
Tried the left eye many times, finally found it
way out in the periphery. The right is more
forward. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

There are none so blind as those that care not to see.

Submitted by usefewersyllables on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:43pm

Of course.

@snoopydawg

Absolutely right. Thanks for the correction! I did indeed mean the optic nerve entry for the blind spot, and just used the wrong term. Serves me right for delving into medical terminology without looking it up to refresh my memory first!

The school's medical department ophthalmologist referred me out very quickly to be seen by some really good people (on their dime), and they all agreed that I was one lucky SOB. A couple of friends were ME and Materials Science types, and apparently I created quite the stir amongst the mucketymucks: they were displeased with the idea of maiming passers-by. They very quickly got back to the venerable 60s-era technique of hanging big 36"x48" sheets of paper all over the shooting lab. The technique is that you look at all the sheets of paper after a shot, and if there are any holes burned in one or more of them, you need to go back and refine your setup to put the beam energy where it is *supposed* to go...

And you close the door. *Always* close the door... (;-)

—

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 4:46pm

Yay for you

@usefewersyllables

getting them to take the issue seriously. Hopefully everyone working in the room is always wearing protective gear.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by dystopian on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 5:21pm

Monday Monday

la da da, la da da,

Hi all, Hey EL!

Hope you left some Pismo Clams at Pismo Beach EL! Great part of CA coast there...

We got T-boned by the eclipse and thick overcast and clouds. So it just got dark out. Very dark. Like nightfall. All the birds went quiet. Did not set off any frogs or crickets though.

Love Django. He was amazingly awesome. Gypsy flamenco is a great genre. Mys dys and I had Roma neighbors from the motherland in the 90's in Torrance (LA). We loved them, they were great people.

Was thinking about seeing some wildlife. Luckily a friend sent me this from our AI overlords to help me decide what type I should persue...

So the sissiest dog of 'em all is now wildlife? The only wild thought that dog ever had was about that cute French Poodle next door...

Hope all are well!

Happy Trails!

—

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 6:20pm

Good afternoon dysto. We left lots of clams, not to worry.

@dystopian

The Pellies are back, which was cool to see. hat whole Paris Jazz scene with Django was terrific, as is Gypsy Flmenco. I think I was turned on to Manitas de Plata back in the early sixties, Jose Reyes too.

great wildlife shot.

be well and have a good one

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by on the cusp on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 7:08pm

Real quick story about Romainian Romani.

We toured a Romani village. The guide said do not buy or trade with them, that they were very crooked. The discrimination lasts even today.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981