The Drones
W♥M147: Australian Music Festivals
Sally and Vu on some Australian Music Festivals. This is the first podcast to be uploaded on YouTube, for those interested in getting content via the video service.
• Metric in Minneapolis (09/11/12)
• ATP Music Festival happening in Melbourne. Name inspired by Velvet Underground/Nico with "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "I'll Be Your Mirror"
• Drones curating ATP Melbourne and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) is the curator for ATP New York.
• Weezer playing Sydney Entertainment Center ($120 for single tickets)
• Meredith Music Festival is sold-out.
• Meredith's ballot tickets.
• Grimes is one of the headliner for Meredith.
• Harvest Festival's second lineup: Dexy's Midnight Runners, Silversun Pickups, Dark Dark Dark, and more.
• Song of the show is The City Lights' "I Just Got to Believe"
MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL LINEUP: Primal Scream, Spiritualized, Four Tet, Turbonegro, Grimes, Sunnyboys, Omar Souleyman, Regurgitator, Big Jay McNeely, Chet Faker, Rahzel & DJ JS-1, Pond, Twerps, Saskwatch, Hot Snakes, Eye-2, DJ Yamantaka Eye (The Boredoms), J.B. Smoove, Earthless, The Toot Toot Toots, Meredith Sky Show, Brous, Bitter Sweet Kicks, The Town Bikes, Otologic, Fraser A Gorman & Big Harvest, Angus Sampson, Royal Headache, City Of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band, Silence Wedge
HARVEST FESTIVAL LINEUP: Beck, Sigur Ros, Mike Patton's Mondo Cane, Grizzly Bear, Ben Folds Five, Silversun Pickups, Beirut, Santigold, Cake, The Dandy Warhols, Dexys, The Black Angels, Chromatics, Crazy P, Ozomatli, Liars, Fuck Buttons, Los Campesinos!, The War On Drugs, Dark Dark Dark, River City Extension, Dark Horses, Winter People
ATP I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR MELBOURNE: my bloody valentine, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Swans, The Dead C, HTRK, Thee Oh Sees, Sleepy Sun, Standish/Carlyon, The Drones, Beasts Of Bourbon (Original Line-up), Einstuerzende Neubauten, Lost Animal, Harmony, Cam Butler & The Shadows Of Love
ATP I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR NEW YORK: Frank Ocean, Philip Glass + Tyondai Braxton, Janeane Garofalo, Lightning Bolt, Lee Ranaldo's 'Hanging Guitar', Hannibal Buress, Edan (The Deejay), Kurt Braunohler, The Afghan Whigs, The Roots, José González, Mark Lanegan Band, Dirty Three, The Antlers, JEFF The Brotherhood, The Dirtbombs, Scrawl, Emeralds, Vetiver, Afterhours, Charles Bradley And The Extraordinaires, Joseph Arthur, DJ Questlove, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Make-Up, Hot Snakes, The Magic Band, Autolux, Thee Oh Sees, Lee Ranaldo (Full Band Show), The Album Leaf, BRAIDS, Quintron And Miss Pussycat, Tall Firs, Blanck Mass, The Psychic Paramount, Endless Boogie, Demdike Stare, DJ Jonathan Toubin,
Also, leading up to ATP's New York show (taking place September 21-23), you can win tickets with three nights accommodation at the Ace Hotel, Greg Dulli curated books, and Criterion Collection Blu-rays and DVDs on their Instagram Scavenger Hunt game.
More details on the ATP Website.
Some clues for you to work out:
1) Oscar the LP
2) Where a lighthouse might store its clothes
3) There are six in this clue
4) Flour, sugar, eggs and butter for sale
5) Tito's Scottish cousin
6) Motorhead digs at this hotel
7) This gallery is so delusional
8) Howard the doorman stares at the pink pussycat in the West Village
9) Sounds from a strange village in Lost
10) Audio neutering on fruit
11) Not a condo in the year before the nation started to daydream
BONUS: San Cisco's first ever USA date is in Minneapolis, Taco Bell, Sophia Petrillo sings about a goat, Sally saw the sign, and naked race!
vu ( ) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M
Posted at 04:09 PM in Afghan Whigs, Festival, Podcast, Quintron, Sally, Sigur Ros, Silversun Pickups, The Drones, Vu | Permalink | Comments (2)
The Drones and Little Man at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (4/9/09)
The Drones - The Minotaur
04/12/09 Sunset Tavern Seattle, WA
04/13/09 Someday Lounge Portland, OR
04/15/09 Catalyst Santa Cruz, CA
04/17/09 Fox Theatre Oakland, CA
04/18/09 Spaceland Los Angeles, CA
04/23/09 The Corner Hotel Melbourne
04/25/09 Metro Theatre Sydney
04/26/09 Fly By Night Fremantle,Aus
04/29/09 The Hi Fi Brisbane
04/30/09 ANU Bar Capital Territory
05/01/09 Governor Hindmarsh w/ Witch Hats Adelaide, South Australia
05/02/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Townsville, Queensland
05/03/09 Ripe Festival Noosa, Queensland
05/09/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Maitland, New South Wales
05/16/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Bendigo, Victoria
05/21/09 The Luminaire w/ Snowman London, London and South East
05/22/09 Festival Nuits Sonores Lyon, Rhône-Alpes
05/23/09 L’Abordage Evreux, Haute-Normandie
05/24/09 Gran Mix Tourcoing, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
05/25/09 Paradiso Amsterdam, Zuid-Holland
05/26/09 Merleyn Nijmegen, Zuid-Holland
05/27/09 Botanique (Witlof) Brussels, Brussels-capital
05/29/09 Primavera Barcelona, Barcelona
05/30/09 Le Confort Moderne Poitiers, Poitou-Charentes
05/31/09 Bad Bonn Festival Dudingen, Bern
06/02/09 Rote Fabrik-Ziegel Oh Lac Zurich, Zurich
06/04/09 Chelsea Vienna, Wien
06/05/09 Molotow Hamburg, Hamburg
06/06/09 Bang Bang Club Berlin, Berlin
06/10/09 The Rainbow w/ Snowman Birmingham, London and South East
06/11/09 Bodega w/ Snowman Nottingham, Midlands
06/12/09 Deaf Insitute w/ Snowman Manchester, Midlands
06/13/09 Brudenell Social Club w/ Snowman Leeds, Midlands
06/14/09 Captains Rest w/ Snowman Glasgow, Scotland
06/16/09 Hana-Bi Ravenna, Ravenna
11/03/09 Cargo London, London and South East
[2002] Here Come the Lies
[2005] Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By
[2005] The Miller's Daughter
[2006] Gala Mill
[2008] Havilah
The Drones came a long way to be here at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis. I have previously mentioned that singer Gareth Liddiard had a "heavy, heavy" accent. I have to correct that by adding that I did not understand a word the man said.
The Drones at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (04/09/09)
The Drones - Six Ways to Sunday
Kidding aside, but it was seriously hard to understand the man. They were also surprisingly louder than I thought, lots of distortion and odd feedback (probably unintentional). Listening to their Havilah album and seeing them live are two very different experience. I have concluded that this is a LIVE band.
There was no set list, I think the song order were all given out by bassist Fiona Kitschin. They started out with "Nail It Down", followed by some song, and then "The Minotaur". Right after Minotaur was an amazing bass-y song "Six Ways To Sunday", from their first album Here Come the Lies (and also their very first EP). Clearly one of the band's favorite song to play live.
I also caught "She Had An Abortion That She Made Me Pay For", from their third album, so basically their set is a mix-mash of new and old songs - making it for an effective playlist.
There were no encores, which didn't surprise me, as it was a work day and there was a moderate turnout for the show.
They have a few more US dates left, so be sure to catch them in Seattle and Portland if you can. Their latest album is called Havilah and it is available for purchase at ATP Recordings.
04/10/2009 23:27:26 ♥ vu ( ) ♥ thedrones.com.au ♥ myspace.com/thedronesthedrones
Little Man - Everyone On The Floor
04/18/09 7th Street Entry Minneapolis
04/25/09 Uptown Bar Minneapolis
04/29/09 318 Cafe - (solo) Excelsior
05/07/09 Underground Menomonie, WI
05/22/09 First Avenue Minneapolis
05/29/09 Turf Club St. Paul, Minnesota
05/30/09 Baba Louie’s DePere, WI
[2001] Core of Discovery
[2004] Big Rock
[2007] Soulful Automatic
[2008] Of Mind And Matter
Setlist at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (04/09/09)
Opening up for The Drones is Little Man. I'm actually embarrassed to admit talking to singer Chris Perricelli before the show that I didn't know Little Man the warmup band. Andrew seems to know all about Little Man and filled me in about how there was a local television commercial that showed Little Man playing while some student explained how he got his degree in video editing (apparently the 'acting' in the commerical really stunk).
Little Man ♥ 400 Bar, Minneapolis (4/9/09)
For those who don't know T.Rex, they are a wildly popular glam rocker from the 70s, whose lead si...
Anyway, Little Man played a pretty full set, which is a relief since I was so used to the 30 sets from SXSW. Sometime they would pause for applause and sometime each song leads directly into the next.
Halfway into the set, Perricelli picks up his acoustic guitar for two songs (I think "Seal Of Secrecy" and "Love Of All Time"), before going back to electric for the rest of the set. The acoustic was a nice treat, especially with the harmonica (which sort of made me think of Bob Dylan).
You can tell right away that Perricelli is an excellent guitarist with his left hand moving quickly up and down the neck of the guitar. It's no surprise why the City Pages called Little Man the Next Big Thing on their cover story for February 27th, 2007. I did ask Perricelli the story behind this and he told me that they had sent someone over the house to interview and take some photographs. He honestly didn't know it was going to be a cover story, so he was a little shocked when he learned about it.
Anyway, I have their latest album Of Mind And Matter since early February, but haven't had a chance to give it a listen. (If you've ever seen my ridiculous pending review pile, you can understand why it takes me so long to get to things).
Listening to the album post concert, I did recognize many of the songs on the album. This is evident on songs like "Everyone On The Floor", which is my personal favorite. Slower/sensitive songs like "Did You Now" was left off the setlist, probably for pacing.
"Tarots And Arrows" is catchy, although I felt was kind of repetitive with the lyrics at the end, but hearing this live, it made sense. The repetitive lyrics of "she's into tarots and arrows" suddenly comes to a halt, by the way.
The majority of the album feels very 60s, early 70s to me. Some people cited that they sound like T.Rex, and I can see where they are coming with that. In some songs, I thought I hear Beatles influence ("Don't Pray To Fantasy") and even a bit of The Zombies (check out "Talisman" with that "ch-ch-ahh" sound). So if you like "classic rock", you need to check out "the next big thing" Little Man.
Clicking on the 'discography' images on the sidebar will take you to websites to buy the album. You can find out more about his record label at Eclectone Records.
PS, when I talked to Perricelli, he was generally really excited about being interviews by life-sized muppets. So I leave you with part one of the Buzz Show:
BUZZ SHOW Part 1 - "Greetings"
04/10/2009 23:27:26 ♥ vu ( ) ♥ littlemanmusic.net ♥ myspace.com/sweetlittleman
Posted at 11:39 PM in 400 Bar, Concert, Little Man, The Drones, Vu | Permalink | Comments (0)
Space and the Astral World
thedrones.com.au ♥ myspace.com
The Drones are "an unconventional rock band", currently based out of Melbourne (originally from Perth). I used those quotes because I believe their current album, Havilah, fits more in the realm of psychedelic/space rock band with lots of guitar finger noodling and heavy, heavy Australian accent of Gareth Liddiard.
The cover artwork features what looks like a picture of the Moon, but the album title, Havilah, comes from an Australian area, near where this album was recorded.
My favorite song off the album is easily "Your Acting's Like The End Of The World", a lofty acoustic guitar song with lots of humorous lyrics, but with a bitterness to it. As usual, however, the song is so different that it doesn't really fit into their moody space music, such as either song "Nail It Down" or "The Minotaur". Although between the two songs, I might be leaning towards "The Minotaur", simply because "Nail it Down" features too much "nail it down" repeating lyrics (even though I think it's a superior song with chorus, bridge, the whole kit and kaboodles).
"The Minotaur" doesn't contain any catchy lyrics, but its music rhythm and energy more than makes up for it. Listen to that yep, followed by that bouncy bassline!
They are on tour to promote Havilah, currently available in the States via ATP Recordings. They will also be at SXSW 2009 - which I'm happy to report, I will be doing some coverage this year.
02/21/09 Theatre Royal (Gareth Solo) w/ Tendrils Castlemaine, Victoria
02/27/09 The Vanguard (Gareth Solo) w/ Ben Salter Sydney, New South Wales
02/28/09 The Troubadour (Gareth Solo) w/ Ben Salter Brisbane, Queensland
03/12/09 MORE U.S TOUR DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Various Cities, New York
03/15/09 The Echoplex - Aussie BBQ Los Angeles, California
03/16/09 The Aardvark Fort Worth, Texas
03/18/09 SXSW - Little Radio / Topspin Event Austin, Texas
03/20/09 SXSW - Aussie BBQ Austin, Texas
03/20/09 Karma Lounge - SXSW Official Showcase Austin, Texas
03/26/09 Bell House - Aussie BBQ Brooklyn, New York
04/07/09 Shubas Chicago, Illinois
04/24/09 The Corner Hotel w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Melbourne, Victoria
04/25/09 Metro Theatre w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Sydney, New South Wales
04/26/09 Fly By Night w/ Qui (USA) Fremantle, Western Australia
04/29/09 The Hi Fi w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Brisbane, Queensland
04/30/09 ANU Bar w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Acton, Australian Capital Territory
05/01/09 Governor Hindmarsh w/Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Adelaide, South Australia
06/10/09 Hare & Hounds w/ Snowman Birmingham, London and South East
06/12/09 Roadhouse w/ Snowman Manchester, Midlands
PHILIP CLEMO
philipclemo.com ♥ ilovestrings.com ♥ myspace.com
Philip Clemo and Ysanne Spevack - Surfing Dreams and Chaos
Philip Clemo - Taking A Hand (In The Company Of Angels)
Philip Clemo is a Scottish-born music composer, whose work seems to tie closely with his film project, "The Air Holds Still On My Breath", a series of paintings to the music from his album The Rooms (2008). In addition to The Rooms, I have Soundzero (to be release on March 29th), despite the album was recorded in 1999 with violinist and vocalist Ysanne Spevack, aka Mee.
Spevack's singing on the album isn't typical pop singing, it sounds like she's reciting poetry. Much of her vocals are also manipulated to sound distant to clearly in your head.
My favorite song off Soundzero is "Surfing Dreams and Chaos", which sounds a bit Celtic with the Spevack's metal violins. Unfortunately, there's none of her singing on this song - which is probably best as Clemo is more known for his atmospheric music.
Which brings me to The Rooms. The album opens up with an epic 17-minute track, "The Place" that slowly builds up in intensity. You can check out the entire song on his official page.
Admittedly, I was drawn to Chloë Goodchild's song, "Taking A Hand (In The Company Of Angels)" and the addition of organs and trumpets helped make the song interesting.
If you like electronica compositional soundtracks, you should definitely want to check out these two albums. Between the two, I will have to admit to liking Soundzero just a tad because it features more singing and doesn't feel like transitional songs (for some reason, the atmospheric songs like "Leaving Corridor Red" didn't strike a chord with me). But I reckon you have to be in the mood for these things...
You can find Clemo's albums on amazon (for Soundzero, it's listed under "Various Artists"). Both albums have a release date of March 29th, 2009, but The Rooms was made available in the UK in 2008.
ASTRONAUTS OF ANTIQUITY
astronautsofantiquity.com ♥ myspace.com
Astronauts Of Antiquity - Dance Until Dawn
Astronauts Of Antiquity's Rocket Science For Dummies is an loungey, funk-ish album with layers of electro-type of sounds. The band consists of B. Rhyan (music, guitars) and singer India. India's vocals is from a saucy jazz-styling, which actually fits well in these electronic lounge music - not too dissimilar to such acts as Thievery Corporation or Zero 7.
The smooth vocals of India, in contrast to Cee Knowledge's rap, is pretty interest and worth checking out on their track "Soup Du Jour".
Other songs worth noting is the trumpets on "Strangest Places", which seems to sound like it's an additional vocals, singing along India's vocals "looking for love in the strangest places".
As for my favorite song, check out "Dance Until Dawn". This sounds almost Caribbean, but with a flute solo and easy-to-listen-to vocals.
If you're in the mood for an urban loungey pop album, Astronauts Of Antiquity is worth checking out. Details on purchasing their music can be found on their official website.
They are playing at Shrine in New York on April 10, 2009, so be sure to see them, if you're in the area.
ERIK SCOTT
erikscottbass.com ♥ myspace.com
Erik Scott - Bassque Revolution
Erik Scott, aka Eski, released his all instrumental album Other Planets in early 2009. He seems to have a thing for 'dada' (an art/music/media movement, often with abstract/surreal concepts) as he spent sixteen years with his former band Sonia Dada, but previously did some work for Alice Cooper in early eighties - possibly during his conceptual album DaDa (1983).
Other Planets is 100% original compositions by Scott, with one collaboration with Ron Schwartz for the song "Other Planets (Sundogs)".
All of the songs sounds epic, like a journey that starts from point a to point b, with lots of emphasis on the bass. There is one exception, "Bathing Maui", which I felt was just a fun song (like a toss-away b-side). I get the impression from the song that Scott is a huge dog lover and Maui, I believe, is the dog's name.
To represent Erik Scott, I would have to recommend "Bassque Revolution". Again, heavy on the bass, but it's perky enough to sound like it has its origin in a European cinema soundtrack. You do need to put on headphones to pick up the organ, keys, cymbals and variety of acoustics - but it should also be just as good for background music while you're reading a novel, or hanging out.
Other Planets can be downloaded at digstation, physical compact disc at amazon or CD Baby.
02/22/2009 21:15:40 ♥ vu ( ) ♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com
Posted at 09:25 PM in Astronauts Of Antiquity, Erik Scott, Philip Clemo and Ysanne Spevack, The Drones, Vu | Permalink | Comments (2)


Home>Energy>Waste-to-Energy
Sonoco Opens Biomass Unit in South Carolina
TAGS: Waste-to-Energy Yard Waste Generators
Allan Gerlat | Jan 20, 2014
Sonoco Products Co. has opened a biomass facility at its Hartsville, S.C., plant.
The biomass boiler for the Hartsville-based company is part of $100 million investment in the Darlington County compound, Sonoco said in a news release.
The company said it took more than two years to complete final engineering, fabricate the boiler, put together the infrastructure and complete construction of the biomass co-generation boiler system.
"A key part of Sonoco's culture is our commitment to sustainability, including our dedication to improving the environment and our contributions to the future of the communities in which we operate," said Jack Sanders, Sonoco president and CEO.
In 2011 Sonoco spent $75 million to replace two aging, coal-fired boilers and add the new biomass boiler at its plant in Hartsville.
The new boiler is fueled primarily by woody biomass from regional logging activity, but it also can run on natural gas. It will produce about 16 megawatts of energy that will be consumed by the manufacturing complex, as well as steam that is used to make paper.


Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)
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Interstitial lung disease (ILD) includes many different types of chronic lung conditions that make it hard to breathe—typically due to inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue. If you're living with ILD, you can get help from some of the world's leading experts at Cedars-Sinai, which is ranked among the nation's top hospitals for lung care by U.S. News & World Report. Using the latest advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of ILD, dedicated care teams will work alongside you to help you understand and manage your symptoms—so you can breathe better and get back to the activities you enjoy.
Pioneering Treatment for IPF
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common type of ILD, affecting as many as 100,000 people in the U.S. "Idiopathic" means there's no known cause of the condition. IPF can progress quickly, which makes treatment challenging. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai were involved in testing pirfenidone and nintedanib, the only two U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved antifibrotic medications shown to slow the progression of IPF.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PULMONARY RESEARCH
We treat and provide specialized care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and a wide range of other ILD conditions.
Related Programs and Services
Advancing Diagnostics
Early, accurate detection is vital to managing your symptoms and slowing disease progression. Research conducted at Cedars-Sinai has led to significant strides in diagnosing lung illnesses more quickly. Major developments include pinpointing genetic links and establishing a tissue bank for ongoing research.
Cedars-Sinai is also testing a first-of-its-kind scanner that creates live, 3D images of lung tissue and can measure lung function more precisely using radiographic images. These images will eventually help doctors detect lung disease earlier than ever before, so you can start treatment sooner.
With a $12 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health, Cedars-Sinai is leading the way in studies on treatments and diagnostics for IPF and other serious lung conditions. Learn about clinical trials being conducted by our doctors and researchers.
Researchers and doctors at Cedars-Sinai have pioneered medical advances in lung care and remain at the forefront of innovative tests and treatments to improve patient outcomes. Learn more about our current pulmonary research.
Medical Professionals & Postgraduates
Cedars-Sinai offers multiple options for graduate studies, postdoctoral research, continuing medical education and professional development in pulmonary and respiratory specialties.
Betting on Hope
When Paul Giordano was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), he thought he would have to get his affairs in order. But thanks to new medications prescribed by his Cedars-Sinai doctor, Paul W. Noble, MD, he now has renewed optimism—in fact, he and his wife just purchased a vacation home.
Read Paul's Story
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You are here: Home / Music / Alternative / Song of the Day – “Kill Your Sons” by Lou Reed
Song of the Day – “Kill Your Sons” by Lou Reed
September 22, 2018 by Eric Berman
Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Kill Your Sons” by Lou Reed
After the huge success of the Transformer album and its top-twenty single “Walk On The Wild Side,” Lou Reed delivered his most beautifully disturbing album as a follow up. The concept album, Berlin was considered at the time to be a depressing mess, and it was not exactly what fans expected or wanted from their newly minted glam rock star. Over time, Berlin’s stature has deservedly risen and is now not only considered a classic, but one of Reed’s greatest albums.
In order to calm the nerves of his record company and his fans, Reed followed Berlin with the live Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal that included readings of Velvet Underground classics with the blazing twin guitar attack of Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner who went on to back Alice Cooper. The album, which was recorded in New York City at the Academy Of Music in December of 1973, sold very well and still does to this day.
Reed’s next studio album, Sally Can’t Dance was his best-selling and highest charting (#10) record to date. The album was a hastily recorded reaction to all of the expectations fans and record company alike put on Reed, and while his involvement on the record was relegated to a minimum of tossed off vocals and some minor acoustic guitar parts, it did restore his standing in the decadent world of glam rock.
Sally Can’t Dance was not one of Reed’s most consistent collections of songs either, however there are a few standouts including the glammy “N.Y. Stars,” that comments on the many imitators that cropped up in the wake of the success he had with “Walk On The Wild Side,” the sadly beautiful and intimate album closer “Ennui” and “Billy,” a song about a school friend who chose a straighter path than Reed did. The latter track also reunited Reed with his ex-Velvet Underground band-mate Doug Yule on bass.
The album also features horn charts, which was a first for Reed, and soulful female backing vocals on the funky “Ride Sally Ride,” “Sally Can’t Dance” and the somewhat misguided “Animal Language.” But the album’s one true classic was also Reed’s most personal song “Kill Your Sons,” which found him reflecting on his childhood stint in a psychiatric hospital where he underwent shock therapy. It is perhaps one of Reed’s most frank and harrowing recordings (and that’s saying something), it is also one of his very best.
The top-ten success of Sally Can’t Dance found RCA Records pressuring him for a quick follow up, so Reed acquiesced and delivered the much-maligned-yet-superb-and -classic Metal Machine Music, which consisted of an hour of nothing but noise and feedback. RCA hastily rebounded by assembling the unused Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal tapes into the 1975 album Lou Reed Live. (Yet another great Lou Reed album!)
Filed Under: Alternative, Classic Rock, Experimental, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Grunge, Indie, Music, Post Punk, Psychedelic, Punk, Rock 'n' Roll, Song of the Day Tagged With: Kill Your Sons, Links - Rock and Roll, Lou Reed, Music, Sally Can't Dance, Song Of The Day by Eric Berman, Velvet Underground
About Eric Berman


NRA's Ties to Russia and Alleged Spy Maria Butina Run Deep Despite Denials, Report Reveals
By Cristina Maza On 1/30/19 at 3:50 PM EST
Tim Kirby, a journalist at the Moscow’s state-funded international broadcaster RT and a member of the National Rifle Association addresses a press conference following the arrest on July 15 of a Russian gun rights enthusiast on espionage charges in the United States, in Moscow, on July 31, 2018. Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images
World Russia investigation National rifle association Maria Butina Moscow
For the first time since the National Rifle Association's links to Russia became a matter of public interest, the gun advocacy organization released a statement about a trip high-ranking members of the group took to Moscow in 2015.
The organization's lawyers told The New York Times that the NRA's chief executive had forbidden members of the association from joining the delegation that went to Russia, and noted that the NRA's then-president Allan Cors had decided not to go on the trip.
But despite attempts to minimize the involvement of its top officials, analysts say there is ample evidence that the organization had deeps ties to Russia and a longstanding relationship with Russian guns rights activist Maria Butina, who was recently charged for attempting to infiltrate Republican political circles on behalf of the Russian government.
Butina was an assistant to the deputy governor of Russia's central bank, Alexander Torshin, who asked to meet President Donald Trump at the NRA's 2016 convention. Torshin did not meet then-candidate Trump, but he did meet briefly with Donald Trump Jr. The president's son has dismissed the conversation as inconsequential, but it is still unknown what the two men discussed.
If you’re a senior NRA executive and you know Russia is invading Ukraine, harboring Edward Snowden, and threatening our NATO allies, what makes you decide to take a high-profile trip to Moscow to wine and dine Kremlin officials? (Hint: $$$$). https://t.co/3EUV2guxAg
— Michael Carpenter (@mikercarpenter) January 30, 2019
ABC News reported Wednesday that it had reviewed internal NRA emails showing that the organization was deeply involved with planning the trip to Moscow. One NRA employee even helped Butina arrange travel for the group, and Butina met the delegates at the airport carrying a sign that read "Welcome NRA." During the trip, the members of the NRA met with officials from the Kremlin. Many of the people on the trip are today a part of the association's top leadership.
"Put simply, the NRA's half-baked explanation for its infamous 2015 Russia trip doesn't pass the smell test. It's time for the NRA to dispense with the smoke and mirrors and tell the full truth about its ties to the Kremlin," John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, told Newsweek.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has launched an investigation into the NRA's ties to Russia.
"Any claims that the NRA played no official role in the 2015 Moscow trip are not credible," Wyden tweeted Wednesday.
The NRA donated tens of millions of dollars to the campaign of President Donald Trump. The Trump campaign's ties to Russia are also the subject of numerous congressional investigations and are under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team. The Senate Judiciary Committee requested documents about Russia's ties to the NRA in late 2017.
American Paul Whelan Arrested in Russia on Spy Charges
Russia Says Maria Butina Is #MeToo Movement Victim
Russia: U.S. Threatened to Send Maria Butina to Gitmo


HD 158 - Rep. Christina Sappey
Rep. Christina Sappey
More: Learn more about Rep. Sappey on her website
State Representative Christina Sappey is running for re-election in the 158th district in Chester County.
Rep. Sappey formerly served as the Chief of Staff for two environmental champions, Reps. Carolyn Comitta and Barbara McIlvaine Smith, and was a founding member of the Marshallton Conservation Trust. She was first elected to the state House in 2018 and earned a 100% on the 2019-2020 Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard. Rep. Sappey currently serves on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and is a member of the Climate Caucus. She considers environmental protection a top priority, particularly as Chester County’s land and water remain under threat from the Mariner East II Pipeline. Recently, Rep. Sappey stood with many of her colleagues in calling for an immediate halt to pipeline construction and a revocation of its building permits.
The 158th District has a committed environmental ally in Rep. Sappey, and we urge her constituents to send her back to Harrisburg to continue to fight us.


Triumph of Faith
According to the Muslims the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born on Monday, 12th Rabi al Awwal, in the year of the elephant, c. 571, in Mecca. He was forty years old in 610, when on a night in the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel came and asked him to ‘Recite in the name of thy Lord who created man’. The Prophet (PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622. This became the first year of the Muslim calendar, beginning with 16 July, as the first day of the first month.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a great prophet and a great general who possessed nine named swords, led his followers in eight major battles, and organized about a hundred raids in his last ten years at Medina. He expelled Jewish tribes from Medina, Banu Qaynuqa in February 624, Banu Nadir in August 625, and Banu Qurayza in March 627. And attacked the Jews of Khyber outside Medina in May/June 628.
The Prophet dispatched an army in Jumada al-awwal 629, to take revenge for killing of his emissary at Mutah but all three of the commanders appointed by the Prophet were killed and Khalid bin al-Walid brought back the army to Medina. The Prophet went to Mecca in triumph on 20 Ramadan 8/11 January 630 to become a Prophet (PBUH) with honour in his own country. Before he died at Medina on 13 Rabi al-Awwal 11/8 June 632, the prophet ordered an army to avenge the martyrs of battle of Mutah.
The Prophet’s elder father-in-law, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, was proposed caliph (successor) by his younger father-in-law, Umar. On the first day of his caliphate, Abu Bakr ordered the army to fulfill the Prophet’s command and march to Mutah. Thereafter, Caliph Abu Bakr organized armies for the Ridda wars (wars of apostasy) against those who had turned away from prophet on his death, and established an Islamic state in Arabia. This enabled the Muslims to create the largest pre-modern empire that was planned by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who had sent ambassadors to rulers of the states round him to accept Islam.
The first caliph, Abu Bakr (632-634), on his deathbed, nominated the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) younger father-in-law, Umar Al-Farooq (634-644), as the second caliph who assumed office on 23 August 634. During the Ridda wars those who did not accept Islam and took up arms were killed or enslaved. Caliph Umar freed thousands of Bedouin Arab enslaved during the Ridda wars. He expelled Christians and Jews from Arabia, and occupied the most heavily Christian and Jewish areas in the world. Jerusalem fell in February 638. Syria was conquered in 634-641, and Egypt in 639-642.
Persian empire comprising Iraq and Iran was conquered in 633-655. The Persian slaves in Medina chose a Persian slave, Firuz Nahavandi Abu Lulu, to attack Umar while he was leading the morning prayers at Al-Masjid al-Nabawi. He wounded Umar and twelve others. Six did not survive. Caliph Umar died three days later on Wednesday, 3rd November 644 (26th Dhu al-Hijja 23). It was followed by rebellion all over conquered Persian Empire.
Caliph Umar nominated a council of six to elect his successor, who chose a first cousin of the Prophet, son of a daughter of Um Hakim bint Abdul Mutalib, and elder son-in-law of the Prophet, Usman al-Ghani, known as Dhu al-Nurayn (of two lights), because he married to two daughters of the Prophet, firstly Ruqayyah and upon her death to Kulsoom. Caliph Usman consolidated the Islamic conquest and brought prosperity which created rivalry among the tribes. Caliph Usman (644-656), was surrounded by dissidents from Egypt, Kufa and Basra, and killed while he was fasting and reciting the Quran in his house at Medina, and another cousin of the Prophet, i.e. son of his father’s brother and the Prophet’s younger son-in-law, Ali (656-661), took over.
The failure of Caliph Ali to punish the murderers of his predecessor ran counter to the Quranic law of Qisas (Retaliation), and the traditional belief in tribal honour, which required every member of an Arab tribe to avenge the murder of one of their member, and stipulated that the heir was the man who accepted the responsibility for avenging the death. Muawiya, who was brother-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), leader of the Banu Umayya and the Governor of Syria, demanded that murderer of Caliph Usman be punished. This led to the division of the caliphate. Caliph Muawiya ruled the western part of the caliphate from Damascus in Syria, while Caliph Ali ruled the eastern part of the caliphate from Kufa in Iraq.
The Kharijites (seceders), partisan of Ali’s party did not agree with the division. They decided to kill both the caliphs on the same day during the early morning prayers. Caliph Muawiya in Damascus escaped with minor injuries, but Caliph Ali in Kufa received fatal injuries and died on 21st of Ramzan /26 January 661. Ali’s elder son Hasan fulfilled Qisas by killing Ali’s murderer and was declared caliph as successor of Ali but entered into a pact with Caliph Muawiya, whereby he gave up the caliphate on 10 August 661, in fulfillment of a saying of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH), ‘This son of mine is a Sayyid, and he will unite two branches of the Muslims’. In celebration of this meritorious deed of reconciling the opposing parties, the year is known as ‘Am al-Jama’a, the Year of Community (Jafri, 1979, 156). Imam Hasan died nine years later at Medina in AH 49/AD 669.
Under the Umayyad caliphate (661-750), Muslim armies conquered all of Christian North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Andorra and part of France. In the east, they conquered Bukhara and Samarqand in 706–712, and Sindh in 711-714.
The successful challenge to the Umayyad’s came as per the tribal system from the family of Abbas who was uncle of the Prophet (PBUH), and eldest male member of the Prophet’s family at the time of his death. It was natural for an Arab to accept Abbas as heir to the Prophet (PBUH), because the eldest male of the tribe was considered by them to be the main recipient of the inheritance. The claim of Abbas’s family also received support from the offspring of younger brother of Hasan and Husain named Muhammad, who was a son of Caliph Ali from ‘a blackish slave girl from Sindh’ (Ibn Saad, Book V, 105). He was known as Ibn Hanafiyya, to distinguish him from another son of Caliph Ali by that name from another wife. The imamate of Muhammad, son of Caliph Ali, and after his death that of Abu Hashim, son of Muhammad, was recognised by Shiites in preference to those members of the family of Caliph Ali who had taken to political inactivity and prayers. As Abu Hashim had no son, he made Muhammad, an offspring of Abbas, his nominee to the imamate and gave him letters addressed to Shiite circles in Khurasan.
This Muhammad, a great grandson of Abbas, conceived a plan for seizure of power from the Umayyad’s, which upon his death in 743, was put into operation by his son Ibrahim. It received active support in the province of Khurasan where Abu Muslim, a non-Arab, unfurled the black banner of the Abbasids in June 747 and occupied the provincial capital Merv (now in Turkmenistan). As Ibrahim had been captured in 748 and had died in captivity, his brother Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah received the oath of allegiance as caliph in the mosque of Kufa on 28 November 749.
Although Abbasids tried to kill the entire Umayyad family, Abd ar-Rahman, escaped and established an independent kingdom in 756 in Andalusia (Spain) where most of the local population converted to Islam by the tenth century.
Muslim forces captured part of Sicily in 827, sacked the Basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Rome in 846, and sacked Pisa in 1004 in Italy.
Instead of militia of Arab warriors who were riddled with factions, the Abbasid caliphs began to hire slave troops. The Shia Buyid troops from Daylam (on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea) employed by the Abbasids kept control of Baghdad for over a century. And independent dynasties emerged in the East, like the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Ghaznavids. A Shiite Fatimid caliphate (909-1171) came into power in North Africa, and built their capital al-Qahirah (Cairo) in 973.
In 1055, the Sunni Seljuq Turks under Tughril Beg (1016-1063) took control of Baghdad from the Shi'a Buyids. The Seljuq Alp Arslan added Armenia and Georgia in 1064, invaded the Byzantine Empire in 1068 and at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, annexed almost all of Anatolia. His famous vazir, Nizām al-Mulk established a network of madrassas (Islamic schools) in Baghdad, Isfahan, Nishapur, Mosul, Basra, and Herat, capable of giving uniform training to the state’s administrators and religious scholars, and wrote a treatise on kingship titled Siyasatnama (The Book of Government). He appointed Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (405-505/1058 –1111) as head of the Nizamiyya madrassa in Baghdad. Al-Ghazali wrote more than 70 books on science, philosophy and Sufism. He wrote Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Destruction of Philosophy), as he saw in philosophy a danger to correct faith. Al-Ghazali’s work, Ihya al-Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), provided the parameters within which a revived Islam was confined. He brought orthodox Sunni theology and Sufi mysticism together. To him the ultimate value was only in the mystical experience (nubuwwa), that is attained as a result of following Sufi practices. Thus Muslim world moved toward an increasingly theologically enclosed culture that could no longer promote original scientific research, while Europe was once again becoming aware of the glorious heritage of Greek science and philosophy.
The majority of Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not appoint a successor, and regard the first four caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali as close companions of the Prophet and the rightly guided caliphs.
However today about 13% Muslims are Shi’atu Ali (partisan of Ali) who believe that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUM) nominated his cousin and son-in-law Ali as his successor.
A majority of Shias, about 85 percent are Twelvers who believe that after the death of elder son of Imām Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765), his younger surviving son Musa al-Kazim became Imam and his descendent the twelfth and final imam is Muhammad al-Mahdi.
The Zaidiyyah Shias believe that a true imam must fight against corrupt rulers, therefore Zayd was the rightful 5th imam since he was killed fighting tyranny and corruption.
Batiniyyah Sevener believe that Isma'il (721–755), the predeceased elder son of Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765) was the divinely appointed 6th Imam who was succeeded by his son, Muhammad ibn Ismail, as the 7th Imam, who became "hidden" and will return as the Mahdi. The Assassins, Druses, Fatimids, Ismailis and Qarmatians, are Ismaili Seveners.
The Qarmatians believe that the Imams are in occultation, who communicate and teach their followers through a network of dawah (Missionaries). The Qarmaṭians considered the pilgrimage to Mecca a superstition. They sacked Mecca and Medina in 930, and desecrated the Zamzam Well with corpses of Hajj pilgrims and took away the Black Stone from Mecca.
The Nizari Mawla of Alamut, Hassan-i Sabbah (1034-1124) founded a group of fedayeen known as Hashshashin, or Assassins who assassinated the Seljuq vazir Nizam al-Mulk on 10 Ramadan 485 A.H. (14 October 1092). The Seljuq ruler Malik Shah (1072-1092) was assassinated the same year, which resulted in a war of succession and dismemberment of the Seljuk Empire.
The Pope Urban II at the town of Clermont called the first crusade by Christians against Muslims in November 1095 in central France, which was to depart on 15 August 1096. The pope made the proposal: 'Whoever for devotion alone, but not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.' The reaction to Pope's appeal was astounding as thousands saw this as a new way to attain salvation and to avoid the consequences of their sinful lives.
However, before that Peter the Hermit, led a "People's Crusade" of about 20,000 people towards the Holy Land after Easter 1096. The Seljuqs easily defeated the untrained People's Crusade. They ambushed them outside Nicaea with only about 3000 people escaping. But they could not stop the progress of the army of the subsequent Princes' Crusade, which set off from France and Italy on 15 August 1096. They took the city of Nicaea in June 1097. The first Crusader State, the County of Edessa, came into being under Count Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098.
In 1099 the crusaders captured the Holy Land and established three more states: those of Jerusalem, Antioch and Tripoli, and began to take control of the coastline with the support of the Italian trading cities.
The Seljuqs appointed Imad ad-Din Zengi of Oghuz Turk origin as atabeg (governor) of Mosul in 1127. He captured Edessa on 24 December 1144, which was the first city to fall to the Crusaders, and became the first to be recaptured by the Muslims.
The news of this disaster prompted Pope Eugenius III to issue an appeal for the second crusade (1145-49). King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany led armies from France and Germany to Jerusalem and Damascus without winning any major victories.
After the assassination of Imad ad-Din Zengi in 1146, his sons Saif ad-Din Ghazi I and Nur ad-Din, divided the kingdom between themselves. In 1149, Nur ad-Din defeated Raymond, Prince of Antioch, seizing several crusader castles in the north of Syria, defeated an attempt by Joscelin II to recover the County of Edessa, and captured Damascus.
In 1163, Shawar, the vazir to the Fatimid caliph al-Adid, asked for Nur ad-Din’s help against his rival Dirgham. Nur ad-Din sent his Kurdish commander Shirkuh, who restored Shawar as Vazir but kept the control of Egypt. Shawar was dissatisfied and asked Amalric, crusader king of Jerusalem, for help. Christian Amalric and Shia Shawar besieged Sunni Shirkuh at Bilbeis. Shirkuh retreated to Alexander where he left his nephew Saladin to guard the city. To relieve Shirkuh, Nur-ad-Din moved against the crusader state of Antioch. Amalric went back so did Shirkuh and Shawar was left with Egypt.
Shirkuh returned in 1166 to take back Egypt. Once again the Crusader King of Jerusalem came to Shawar’s aid. Saladin helped his uncle Shirkuh to move to Alexandria where the besieged Shirkuh agreed to leave Egypt alone in return for a Crusader withdrawal. Amalric left with a favorable treaty resulting in Egyptian tribute to Jerusalem and a friendly Shawar in control.
Amalric launched an attack against Bilbeis in 1168, Shawar appealed to Damascus and Shirkuh returned and fought off Amalric. The Fatimid vazir, Shawar, was assassinated and Shirkuh died in 1169. Saladin took over as vazir of the Fatimid Caliph, al-Adid. However, a group of Egyptian soldiers and amirs attempted to assassinate Saladin, and 50,000 black African soldiers from the regiments of the Fatimid army opposed Saladin's rule. Saladin crushed the uprising by 23 August 1169 and after that he never again had to face a military challenge from Cairo.
Towards the end of 1169, Saladin, with reinforcements from Nur ad-Din, defeated a massive Crusader-Byzantine force near Damietta. In 1170, Nur ad-Din sent Saladin’s father to Egypt at his request, as he had begun granting his family members high-ranking positions to strengthen his support base. Saladin also ordered the construction of a college for the Maliki branch of Sunni Islam in the city, and one for the Shafi'i denomination to which he belonged in al-Fustat.
After establishing himself in Egypt, Saladin launched a campaign against the Crusaders besieging Darum in 1170. He also attacked and captured the Crusader castle of Eilat, built on an island off the head of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Nur ad-Din wrote to Saladin in June 1171, to establish the Abbasid caliphate in Egypt. Fatimid caliph Al-Adid died on 13 September 1171, and five days later, the Abbasid khutba was pronounced in Cairo and al-Fustat, proclaiming al-Mustadi as caliph. When Nur ad-Din died in 1174, Saladin took over Damascus and proceeded to reduce other cities previously held by Nur ad-Din. The combined forces of Mosul and Aleppo marched against Saladin who won and proclaimed himself king. The Abbasid caliph declared him "Sultan of Egypt and Syria." Saladin received threats from the Ismaili "Assassins", led by Rashid ad-Din Sinan. On 11 May 1175 a group of thirteen Assassins gained admission into Saladin's camp, but were detected and killed. Once while Saladin was resting in one of his captain's tents, an assassin rushed forward at him and struck at his head with a knife. Saladin had his guards supplied with link lights and had chalk and cinders strewed around his tent outside Masyaf—which he was besieging—to detect the Assassins. One night Saladin's guards noticed a spark glowing down the hill of Masyaf and then vanishing among the Ayyubid tents. Saladin awoke to find a note pinned by a poisoned dagger. The note threatened that he would be killed if he didn't withdraw. Saladin made an alliance with Sinan and his Assassins and left for Egypt.
Saladin returned in November 1177 to fight crusaders. Saladin and his men were surprised near Ramla on 25 November and suffered heavy losses. Saladin won a victory in the spring of 1178, at Hama. He ordered one of his generals, Farrukh-Shah, to guard the Damascus frontier with a thousand men, retire in case of attack, avoiding battle, and light warning beacons on the hills. In April 1179, the Crusaders led by King Baldwin expecting no resistance, advanced in pursuit of Farrukh-Shah's force, and were defeated by the Ayyubids. In the spring of 1180, while Saladin was in the area of Safad, to commence a campaign against the Kingdom of Jerusalem, King Baldwin sent messengers to him with proposals of peace. Saladin agreed to a truce. Raymond of Tripoli denounced the truce but was compelled to accept after an Ayyubid raid on his territory and the appearance of Saladin's naval fleet off the port of Tartus.
Raynald of Châtillon, harassed Muslim traders and pilgrims with a fleet on the Red Sea and threatened to attack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In retaliation, Saladin besieged Raynald's fortress Kerak in 1183 but was forced to leave on arrival of a relief force under King Baldwin IV. Saladin returned to Kerak again in 1184 with the same result.
In late May 1187, Saladin assembled the largest army he had ever commanded, around some 30,000 men including about 12,000 regular cavalry. The opposing Crusader army consisted of around 20,000 men, including 1,200 knights from Jerusalem and Tripoli and 50 from Antioch. Saladin annihilated the Crusader force led by Guy of Lusignan, King Consort of Jerusalem and Raymond III of Tripoli at the Battle of Hattin on 4 July 1187, and. It was a major disaster for the Crusaders and a turning point in the history of the Crusades. The Christian cities surrendered one by one; Jerusalem surrendered on October 2, 1187 after 88 years with Christians. Only some of the ports remained with the Christians.
The Pope Urban III died of heart attack at the news and his successor, Gregory VIII, issued an emotive crusade appeal and the rulers of Europe began to organise their forces for third crusade (1189-1192). Frederick Barbarossa's German army successfully defeated the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor only for the emperor to drown crossing a river in southern Turkey and Saladin escaped facing this formidable enemy.
The Franks in the Levant had managed to cling onto the city of Tyre and were besieging the most important port on the coast, Acre. It was here in the summer of 1190 that Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart landed. The city surrendered and Philip returned home.
Saladin faced King Richard at the Battle of Arsuf on 7 September 1191, and suffered heavy losses. Richard occupied Jaffa, restoring the city's fortifications. Saladin moved south, where he dismantled the fortifications of Ascalon to prevent it, from falling into Crusader hands.
In October of 1191, Richard began restoring the inland castles on the coastal plain beyond Jaffa in preparation for an advance on Jerusalem. During this period, Richard and Saladin passed envoys back and forth, negotiating the possibility of a truce. Richard proposed that his sister, Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, should marry Saladin's brother and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift. However, Saladin rejected this idea when Richard insisted that Saladin's brother convert to Christianity.
In January 1192, Richard's army occupied Beit Nuba, just twelve miles from Jerusalem, but withdrew without attacking the Holy City. Instead, Richard advanced south on Ascalon, where he restored the fortifications. In July of 1192, Saladin tried to threaten Richard's command of the coast by attacking Jaffa. Saladin very nearly captured it, however, Richard arrived a few days later and defeated Saladin's army in a battle outside the city.
The Battle of Jaffa (1192) proved to be the last military engagement of the Third Crusade. After Richard reoccupied Jaffa and restored its fortifications, he and Saladin again discussed terms. At last Richard agreed to demolish the fortifications of Ascalon, while Saladin agreed to recognize Crusader control of the Palestinian coast from Tyre to Jaffa. The Christians were allowed to travel as unarmed pilgrims to Jerusalem. Saladin died of a fever on 4 March 1193, at Damascus, not long after King Richard's departure.
The Fourth Crusaders (1201-1204) came to an abrupt halt as the Pope Innocent III excommunicated the entire Crusade for attacking and looting Constantinople, the greatest Christian city in the world.
In the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221), the Crusaders attacked Egypt from both land and sea, but bogged down outside the port of Damietta.
In the Sixth Crusade in 1229, Emperor Frederick II achieved the peaceful transfer of Jerusalem to Crusader control through negotiation with Kamil. The Muslims took back Jerusalem a decade later.
This prompted the Seventh Crusade (1239-41), led by Thibault IV of Champagne who recaptured Jerusalem but it was lost again in 1244.
In 1249, King (later Saint) Louis IX of France led the Eighth Crusade against Egypt, which ended in defeat.
In 1250, when the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub died, his Mamluk slaves murdered his son and heir al-Muazzam Turanshah, and Shajar al-Durr the widow of as-Salih became the Sultana of Egypt. She married the Atabeg (commander in chief) Emir Aybak and abdicated, Aybak ruled from 1250 to 1257.
When Mongke Khan was installed as the Great Khan in 1251, he selected his brother, Hulagu, to conquer the Muslim states. Hulagu's Mongol army set out for Baghdad in November 1257 and laid siege to the city on January 29, 1258. Baghdad surrendered on 10 February 1258.
In 1260, Hulagu demanded that Mamluk Sultan Saif ad Din Qutuz in Cairo should surrender. However, Mongke Khan died and Hulagu had to return to Mongolia for the election of a new Khan. Upon receiving news of Hulagu's departure, Sultan Qutuz quickly assembled a large army in Cairo, which defeated the Mongols at Ayn Jalut, where David is believed to have once humbled the giant Goliath.
On way back to Cairo, Sultan Qutuz was assassinated and Abu al-Futuh (Father of conquests) Bai (chief) bars (panther) took over as Sultan of Egypt, a move which was contested by Sinjar al-Halabi who claimed Damascus. Baibars defeated Sinjar on 17 January 1261 and occupied Damascus, thereafter the Ayyubid Amirs of Homs and Hama who had staved off the Mongols also submitted to him. When the Abbasid refugee Abu al-Qasim Ahmad, the uncle of the last Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim, arrived in Cairo in 1261, Baibars had him proclaimed caliph as al-Mustansir II and duly received investiture as sultan from him. Unfortunately al-Mustansir II was killed in an expedition to recapture Baghdad from the Mongols. In 1262, another Abbasid who had survived from the defeated expedition, was proclaimed caliph as al-Hakim I. In 1263, Baibars laid siege to Acre, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He used siege engines to defeat the Crusaders in battles such as the Fall of Arsuf from March 21 to April 30. He next captured Athlith and Haifa. In 1266, Baibars invaded the Christian country of Cilician Armenia. He captured Antioch on 18 May 1268.
In the Ninth Crusade in 1270, Prince Edward of England arrived in Acre. In May 1271 he survived an assassination attempt organised by Baibars, negotiated a ten-year truce and returned to England in 1272.
In 1272 Baibars invaded the Kingdom of Makuria, headed by King David I. Baibars' invasion of Makuria continued for four years until 1276, Baibars had completed his conquest of Nubia, including the Medieval lower Nubia which was ruled by Banu Kanz.
In 1277, Baibars invaded the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm, then controlled by the Mongol Ilkhanate . Baibars died in Damascus on 1 July 1277.
In 1291, Acre, the last major Crusader fortress in the Holy Land fell to the forces of the Mamluk Sultan, al-Ashraf Khalil of Egypt, and any remaining territories on the mainland were lost over the next decade.
A product of the Crusades and the Mongol invasion was Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328). Ibn Taymiyyah’s family had to leave their hometown of Harran which was completely destroyed by the Mongols and settle in Damascus. After the death of his father in 1284, he took his place as the head of the Sukkariyya madrassa giving lessons on the Hadith. A year later, as chair of the Hanbali Zawiya at the Umayyad Mosque, he started teaching tafsir on Fridays.
In 1293, Ibn Taymiyyah issued a Fatwa saying that any person, Muslim or non-Muslim, who insulted Muhammad must be killed. In 1310, Ibn Taymiyyah wrote against visiting the tombs of prophets and saints. According to Ibn Taymiyyah, seeking the assistance of God through intercession is allowed, as long as the other person is still alive. But those who ask assistance from the grave of the Prophet or saints, are engaged in shirk.
To Ibn Taymiyyah, the role models for Islamic life were the first three generations of Islam (Salaf); which constituted Muhammad's companions, the Sahaba (first generation), followed by the generation of Muslims born after the death of Muhammad known as the Tabi'un (second generation) and then the generation after the Tabi'un known as Tabi' Al-Tabi'in (third generation). Any deviation from their practice was bid‘ah (innovation), and was forbidden.
To Ibn Taymiyyah, "It is in jihad that one can live and die in ultimate happiness, both in this world and in the hereafter. Abandoning it means losing entirely or partially both kinds of happiness." He believed in taking the initiative in fighting those who did not observe unambiguous obligations and prohibitions, until they undertook to perform the prescribed prayers, to pay zakat, to fast during the month of Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. He made a declaration of apostasy (takfir) against a Muslim who did not obey Islam, and considered it a duty to oppose and kill Muslim rulers who did not implement the revealed law (shari'a). He declared the Mongol ruler Ghazan and other Mongols who did not accept shari'a in full, to be unbelievers. Ibn Taymiyyah affirmed that Jihad against the Mongols, "was obligatory, because the latter ruled not according to Sharīʿah but through their traditional, and therefore man made, Yassa code. He called for a defensive jihad to mobilise the people to kill the Mongol rulers and anyone who supported them, Muslim or non-Muslim. According to Ibn Taymiyyah, everyone who was with the Mongols, in the state over which they ruled had to be regarded as belonging to the most evil class of men. He was either an atheist (zindīq) or a hypocrite who did not believe in the essence of the religion of Islam. This meant that he outwardly pretended to be Muslim but belonged to the worst class of all people who were the people of the bida` (heretical innovations).
Ibn Taymiyyah thought of the Alawites as heritical and campaigned against Shias. He considered Husain's martyrdom a divinely bestowed honour—not a tragedy, and that the Islamic response to such loss is not extravagant mourning but to endure the loss with patience and trust in God.
Ibn Taymiyyah also criticized Mutakallimun for their use of kalam, rationalist theology and philosophy. To Ibn Taymiyyah the usul al-din of the Mutakallimun, deserved to be named usul din al-shaytan (principles of Satanic religion).
According to Ibn Taymiyyah, Tauheed is the most essential element of Islam. It means one nation under one Allah, i.e. Khilafat. The Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) established the Islamic state according to the Quran, performing the political and religious duties simultaneously. Muslim fragmentation is because of the loss of a sacred central authority of Khalifah, where the government is established according to the commandments of Quran, with Allah being the supreme and sovereign ruler of the state. Man cannot be the sovereign.
More than half of the European portion of what is now Russia and Ukraine, came under the suzerainty of Muslim Tatars and Turks from the 13th to 15th centuries. Between 1354 (when the Ottomans crossed into Europe at Gallipoli) and 1526, they had conquered the territory of present-day Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Hungary. The Ottomans conquered Thrace and much of Macedonia in 1371. The Bulgarian capital Sofia fell in 1382. Sultan Mohammad conquered Constantinople in 1453. All of Greece fell in 1461 and much of Serbia by 1459. They laid siege to Vienna in 1683. Today, the Muslim-majority regions of Europe are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, parts of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as some Russian regions in Northern Caucasus and the Volga region.
In 1517, Ottoman Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks and made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire. The Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III was captured and transported to Constantinople. He formally surrendered the title of caliph as well as its outward emblems — the sword and mantle of Muhammad — to Ottoman Sultan Selim I. Thus the Ottomans established the caliphate (1517-1925) in Turkey.
The Mediterranean naval campaign, which lasted from 1570 to 1573, resulted in the Ottoman control of much of the Mediterranean Sea, which was once called by the Romans Mare Nostrum (Latin, "Our Sea"). Further, the Barbary pirates of North Africa based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, under Ottoman rule preyed on Christian shipping in the Western Mediterranean, and captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves from the 16th to 19th century.
Thus, in about nine hundred years, Muslim armies had encircled, captured and invaded Christian Europe from all sides but the north. From Spain in the west, they attacked France, from the Mediterranian in the south they attacked Italy and from Turkey in the East, they attacked Vienna.
Diwane Aam
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Tag: race relations
Fifty years on… how the Wolverhampton community remembered Enoch Powell
It’s fifty years since Enoch Powell made his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech. Journalist LYNN BUTLER attended the ‘Rivers of Love’ rally held in the same room at the Burlington Hotel…
“I’d like to think that if Enoch Powell was here today he would stand up and apologise to all and sundry and say ‘I was wrong’.”
– Brendon Baston OBE, former West Bromwich Albion footballer
“In 1948, the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks. The promise was of streets paved with gold. The reality, as we know, was very different.”
– Rose Brown, Unison NEC member for the West Midlands
“Fifty-five years ago there was a black woman walking down the street in Walsall. She was pregnant and she was attacked in the street. She survived and her child survived. That was my mom and that was me.”
– Roger McKenzie, Deputy General Secretary, Unison
“I wish my dad was alive to see that in the very place those evil words were said, his daughter is joining with others in defiance and as a real and practical legacy of how wrong Enoch Powell was.”
– Salma Yaqoob, head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque
“We will all stand together, united in solidarity.”
– Labour MP Eleanor Smith, Wolverhampton South West (pictured standing)
“We represent all that is good in this country and we represent the majority of people out there who say we are not going to stand for racism. We are going to meet it head on.”
“What we are here for is the future, and what we want to do is make sure Powell belongs in the dustbin of history. He doesn’t represent us.”
– Weyman Bennett, co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism
“People commit racism because they know they can get away with it. The only way of getting rid of this cancer is by tackling systematic, institutionalised racism. We have to start there.”
– Maxie Hayles, anti-racism activist (seated right)
“We are all one. It is time for all of us to stand up and be counted.”
– Reverend Doctor Desmond Jaddoo
There are fears racism is on the rise again, with 3,495 incidents reported to West Midlands Police in 2017, compared with 2,328 in 2013, according to Weyman Bennett, Joint National Convenor for the Stand Up to Racism campaign.
Salma Yaqoob, Head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition, told the invited audience of around 50 campaigners they represented ‘the best’ of the region and were a legacy of ‘how wrong Enoch Powell was.’
But she warned racism in the West Midlands wasn’t dead, adding: “Whether it’s institutional, cultural or ignorant, it’s still there. But we won’t give up hope and we won’t be complacent.”
Tagged Black Country, photojournalism, race relations, reportage, Wolverhampton2 Comments


Sophie Gilpin
Artistic Director & Executive Producer
Sophie is Artistic Director of HeadFirst Productions and Co-Founder of SWAP’ra: Supporting Women and Parents in Opera.
Recent work includes La Traviata (Director, Hampstead Garden Opera); Madama Butterfly (Assistant Director, Opera North); A Festival of Sex, Love and Death (Producer, Pleasance Theatre Islington); and Don Giovanni (Director, Pleasance Theatre).
Previous opera directing credits include the world premiere of The Peasants’ Opera; Strauss’ Die Fledermaus for Celebrate Voice; Puccini’s La Bohème for HeadFirst Productions; Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet for Riverside Opera at the Rose Theatre Kingston; Puccini’s Tosca; Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (scenes); and the premiere of a new composition, Quays & Laila, for the Grimeborne Festival at the Arcola Theatre. From 2012 – 2013 Sophie was Director in Residence for the New London Opera Players.
Sophie has also directed numerous pieces of new writing at venues including the Park Theatre, Theatre 503 and The Firestation Arts Centre in Windsor. Highlights include Katherine Armitage’s Duet for Re:Sound Music Theatre - a new commission by The Oxford Lieder Festival; Solitude, the winner of the Kenneth Branagh Drama Award; And Then He Came Back and Him, Her & Us both at the Park Theatre (Park200). Promenade productions include Macbeth, A Dickensian Christmas, and Narnia on the Pantiles.
Work as an Associate or Assistant Director includes Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte for Metta Theatre at the New Theatre, Oxford; Verdi’s La Traviata for Iford Arts; Verdi’s Otello for Dorset Opera; Bizet’s Carmen for Riverside Opera; Louis Nowra’s Cosi at the Kings Head Theatre; Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci for Opera up Close; a new translation of Euripides’ The Women of Troy; and Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Upcoming work includes directing the world premiere of Keith Bernstein’s The Prometheus Revolution for Fulham Opera at the Arcola Theatre, co-producing/co-directing the inaugural SWAP’ra Gala at Opera Holland Park, and working as the Assistant Director on Idomeneo for Buxton International Festival.


Brussels: Moslem Stabs Policeman While Shouting “Allahu Akbar,” Police Unsure of Motive
Charles Martel November 21, 2018
Charles Martel
Daily Stormer
For God’s sake Moslems, can’t you just tell us what you WANT?
I’m so sick of these ambiguous crimes that have everyone scratching their heads.
Breitbart:
A police officer was stabbed in the neck in front of Brussels’ main police station on Tuesday morning – with claims the attacker was an Islamist shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
The attack took place on the second day of a state visit to Belgium by French President Emmanuel Macron, and shortly before he is due to visit the infamous terror-linked neighbourhood of Molenbeek.
The police officer is said to be in a stable condition and his injuries are not life-threatening.
An attacker stabbed the officer outside the central police station at 5:30 am local time, police spokeswoman Ilse van de Keere told the AFP news agency.
“A police officer was stabbed and slightly wounded” and taken to the hospital, she said. “His colleagues retaliated by firing shots at the attacker who was subdued,” but he also did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
“It is too early to say now what the motive was of the attacker. The investigation is underway,” the police spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon said the suspect in the “cowardly attack” was not listed in Belgium’s counter-terrorism database.
Allahu Akbar Belgian Police Belgium Moslem on White Crime Moslems in Belgium	2018-11-21
Belgium: BLACKS Rise Up Against Racist Police, King’s Car Hit by Bricks
Belgium Tears Down Statue of King Who Hated Blacks
Statues of Belgium’s King Leopold II and London’s Robert Milligan are Removed Because They Raycis


The NM Political Report (https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2015/02/06/rolling-stone-writer-talks-about-apd-feature-story/)
Rolling Stone writer talks about APD, feature story
By Matthew Reichbach | February 6, 2015
Albuquerque was profiled in two major magazines last week but city leaders will not be promoting them any time soon.
The New Yorker started the week with an 8,300 word feature that wove the story of the Albuquerque Police Department shooting Christopher Torres in with what is now a litany of shootings and offenses that have become all-too-common when writing about APD.
The Torres shooting was in 2011, seemingly a lifetime ago when you run down the timeline of APD shootings and other violations. The Albuquerque Journal timeline only goes up until April 10, 2014 when the Department of Justice announced the findings of its civil rights investigation.
The Rolling Stone article used a more recent APD shooting as a launching pad — the 2014 shooting of James Boyd, a homeless man who was illegally camping in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.
New Mexico Political Report spoke to Nick Pinto, the author of the Rolling Stone article, this weekend about his piece. Pinto said that the article was in the works for a long time.
Pinto said the he began working on the piece in October. This included a whirlwind week of in-person interviews where Pinto says he lost his voice.
Talking to family members of those who were killed in APD shootings was particularly emotional.
“Certainly talking to family members of people who have been killed… people are obviously still grappling with this incredible loss,” Pinto said. “That translates into anger and pain.”
However, the energy from the anger is being used for positive things.
“They’re finding ways to transform that into positive efforts for change,” he said.
While they saw the Justice Department investigation and consent decree as a positive step, a word that came up repeatedly was “skeptical.”
“There has to be a genuine and sincere will on the department’s behalf to change,” Pinto said. He said there was a lot of skepticism that there was indeed that will to actually change the culture at APD.
Pinto says there is a sense that one reason for a lack of public acknowledgement is the potential fiscal impact on the city.
“There’s a concern that if the city were to completely concede that there’s a real problem here and that the DOJ’s diagnosis is entirely correct that would actually open them up to a greater liability to these civil suits than they’re prepared to face,” Pinto said. He noted that civil suits have been very expensive for the city over the past few years.
While this was Pinto’s first dive into reporting on APD, he said that he had covered the New York Police Department and there were some similarities thanks to the job.
“There are ways in which police culture has a certain consistency because of what we ask our police to do,” he said. “Police work is very difficult. It’s difficult and it’s dangerous and it’s complicated. It’s demanding.”
He does say that Albuquerque is different in many ways. APD is geographically isolated as compared to police departments in other parts of the country.
“These departments are more isolated and when things start to go wrong in that environment, it’s easier for them to go wrong in that environment,” Pinto said.
Pinto also acknowledged the New Yorker story.
“There are a lot of things that her piece does that mine doesn’t,” he said. He welcomed the new article, saying that more coverage of APD can only be a good thing.
He, for example, was told the APD would not comment on the story. The administration of mayor Richard Berry did not respond to his attempts for comment.
So why all the attention on APD now, when shootings have been ongoing for years?
It was part of the national media realizing there is a national conversation about this sort of thing in cities across the country.
“All of a sudden the national press and the national conversation is paying attention to the national conversation for the first time,” Pinto said.
He acknowledged local coverage, especially that of Jeff Proctor, first at the Albuquerque Journal and now at KRQE, has been instrumental to national media.
One reason why Albuquerque seems to be getting more attention, Pinto believes, is the video of police killing James Boyd. “That’s not so common,” he said of the video that went viral nationally.
So what will it take for changes to come to APD?
Pinto says there needs to be a mayor and police chief who are committed to the project of changing things.
“I think people on all sides of this conversation agree on one thing, which is that the solution to this, the responsibility for fixing this situation really has to come out of Albuquerque,” Pinto said. “This isn’t something that stories out of Rolling Stone and the New Yorker can fix. This isn’t really something that the justice department can parachute in and fix.”
Political ‘retribution’: The DOI rejected 100% of New Mexico’s proposed LWCF projects
After cheering the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, which secured permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), New Mexico wildlife and conservation advocates were shocked to learn every single project proposed to the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) for LWCF funds was rejected. The LWCF, created by Congress in 1965 to support public land management using offshore oil and gas royalties, received $900 million annually under the Great American Outdoors Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in August. It marked just the second time since its creation that the program is fully funded.
Growing Forward and looking to the past
'When history deals a bad hand:' Las Vegas struggles as tourism comes to a halt
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Governor, health officials discuss COVID-19 vaccine efforts
View all News articles →
Albuquerque could issue curfew if virus spread continues to increase
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew like the one now in effect in El Paso could be on the horizon for Albuquerque if the city doesn’t get the coronavirus spread under control. Keller and Dr. Mark DiMenna, a deputy director for the city’s Environmental Health Department, spoke Wednesday during a live teleconference about the increasing rate of virus transmission and actions the city is taking to try to reduce the spread and help local businesses survive.
New Mexico’s 1969 abortion law was one in a long line of laws restricting access
Details of APD’s plan for Oñate statue protest still fuzzy
View all Albuquerque Police Department articles →
ABQ police watchdog: Feds investigating more than just video tampering claims
The scope of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into events surrounding the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old woman by an Albuquerque police officer in 2014 stretches beyond what has been previously reported. That’s according to the lead investigator for the city’s independent police watchdog group.
Incoming DA announces panel to look at retrying case in James Boyd shooting
Law enforcement board to review how shootings by police officers are investigated
View all James Boyd articles →
Bill to legalize marijuana is tabled in first committee
Sen. Pinto sings The Potato Song on American Indian Day [Video]
About Matthew Reichbach
Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.
Follow @fbihop
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