When the men and women of Iraq’s oldest Christian town gathered for Easter mass this weekend, they did so knowing that the Islamic State extremists who had chased them away were not coming back. Their battlefield defeat two months ago meant the people of Hamdaniya (also called Qaraqosh) could once again celebrate without fear.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/21/iraqs-oldest-christian-town-celebrates-easter-without-isis

Hong Kong-based photographer Michael Wolf is best known for Architecture of Density, which shows the city’s tower blocks as dramatic geometric abstractions, and Tokyo Compression, which captures rush hour on the Japanese capital’s subway. He died this week aged 64.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2019/apr/26/photographs-michael-wolf-architecture-density-tokyo-compression

From Japanese commuters pressed against train windows to the high-rise hutches of Hong Kong, the German photographer caught the effects of global capitalism on humans.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/26/how-photographer-michael-wolf-captured-the-planets-teeming-city-life

Africa’s largest mosque has been completed with thanks to China. After seven years of construction and over $1 billion in expenses, a new mosque in Algeria is set to break new global records.

https://qz.com/africa/1606739/china-completes-africas-largest-mosque-in-algeria/

During World War II, something happened that nobody ever talks about. This is a tale of mysterious balloons, cowboy sheriffs, and young children caught up in the winds of war. And silence, the terror of silence.

Reporters Peter Lang-Stanton and Nick Farago tell us the story of a seemingly ridiculous, almost whimsical series of attacks on the US between November of 1944 and May of 1945. With the help of writer Ross Coen, geologist Elisa Bergslien, and professor Mike Sweeney, we uncover a national secret that led to tragedy in a sleepy logging town in south-central Oregon.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fu-go?fbclid=IwAR1xqPHMqUapBkmBSGEFfpaWHgX4j8oYCT45-AGrO4TmtCHFW--Uc3D-WtI

However, the new Belgrade project will dwarf all of Mészáros’ other ventures. The 160km railway line will cost €2.3 billion, which will make it the most expensive Hungarian railway project of all time. According to Szijjártó, the contract will be signed by the 25th of May, which will come into effect when agreements are finalised between the Hungarian Government and Eximbank. Construction is set to begin at the end of this year or the start of 2020 and the venture is estimated to take 5 years to complete.

https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarys-biggest-ever-railway-project-goes-to-orbans-friend/

Surprise Attack: CCTV6 Unexpectedly Airs Anti-American Movies as China-US Trade War Intensifies

“They have no new anti-American films, so they’re showing us the old ones instead.”

https://www.whatsonweibo.com/surprise-attack-cctv6-unexpectedly-airs-anti-american-movies-as-china-us-trade-war-intensifies

CAIRO — Seven months into her livestreaming career, Nada Khaled Mohamed, 20, still gets nervous every time she goes on air. But after taking a few minutes to compose herself, she turns on the camera and warmly greets her audience, her hands tucked into the shape of a heart: “Welcome! I want an island! I want a Ferrari!” 

The exchange is at most mildly flirtatious, but in a socially conservative region, such unscripted interaction seems plenty exciting for Mohamed’s mostly male followers. They tip her generously with virtual gifts — such as “islands” and “Ferraris” — that can be converted into real money on 7Nujoom, one of the first Chinese livestreaming apps to enter the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in 2014.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003993/where-watchful-eyes-are-welcome

In 1966, the leader of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, outlawed access to abortion and contraception in a bid to boost the country’s population. In the short term, it worked, and the year after it was enacted the average number of children born to Romanian women jumped from 1.9 to 3.7. But birthrates quickly fell again as women found ways around the ban. 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/16/what-actually-happens-when-a-country-bans-abortion-romania-alabama/

The dystopian vision that Westerners have about China is pretty backward.

https://qz.com/1077867/the-dystopian-vision-that-westerners-have-about-china-is-pretty-backward/

On 5/22/2019 at 3:38 PM, Lazar said:

In 1966, the leader of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, outlawed access to abortion and contraception in a bid to boost the country’s population. In the short term, it worked, and the year after it was enacted the average number of children born to Romanian women jumped from 1.9 to 3.7. But birthrates quickly fell again as women found ways around the ban. 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/16/what-actually-happens-when-a-country-bans-abortion-romania-alabama/

O ovome ima odlican film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Months,_3_Weeks_and_2_Days 

Darko Melentijević, mladi Kosjerac od aprila do danas oženio se sa četiri Kineskinje. Posle ovoga ženiće se tokom leta i jeseni, sve sa damama iz Azije, najmanje još 35 puta. Toliko svadbi mu je do sada zakazano podno Divčibara.

Biće kasnije još njegovih svadbi, jer je Darko, učenik četvrtog razreda Tehničke škole iz Kosjerića, "profesionalni mladoženja" u interaktivnom projektu od turističke važnosti za njegov zavičaj. Nazvan je "Tradicionalna seoska svadba", po originalu scenarisan i kolorisan, s tim što su Darkove mlade iz Kine.

https://www.6yka.com/novosti/darko-19-se-za-dva-mjeseca-ozenio-sa-cetiri-kineskinje-jos-njih-35-ga-ceka-u-redu

Ko je ovo smislio, zaslužio je da se obogati 

A collection of Soviet control rooms. Power stations, control towers etc. Posted mainly for aesthetic reasons.

http://blog.presentandcorrect.com/27986-2

"Tetris," the hugely popular and addictive game that swept the world in the 1980s and 1990s, continues to engage and captivate players today. Unlike the majority of products developed during the early boom years of video game design, "Tetris" was a no-frills outlier: no fancy images, no memorable characters and no narrative.

But while the game may be uncomplicated, the story of how it came to dominate the gaming industry and bewitch millions of people around the world is quite the opposite. 

https://www.livescience.com/56481-strange-history-of-tetris.html

PHOTOGRAPHIC PIONEERS IN SOVIET-ERA LATVIA: THE STORY OF RIGA PHOTO CLUB

by Daiga Jamonte, RIGA

Riga Photo Club is the oldest photographic club in Riga. After its foundation, it quickly distinguished itself as the leading and most prestigious photography society – the one with which all other clubs in Latvia competed.

https://deepbaltic.com/2018/03/05/photographic-pioneers-in-soviet-era-latvia-the-story-of-riga-photo-club/

What is it about language that gets people so hot under the collar? That drives them to spend hours arguing with strangers on the internet, to go around correcting misspelt signs in the dead of night, or even to threaten acts of violence? The languages we speak are central to our sense of self, so it is not surprising that their finer points can become a battleground. Passionate feelings about what’s right and wrong extend from the use of “disinterested” to what gay people are allowed to call themselves. Here are some of the most memorable rows, spats and controversies.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/17/language-wars-18-greatest-linguistic-spats

Linguists Marko Dragojevic and colleagues recount the story of a cafe in an area of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by Croatians during the 1992-95 war. “On its menu, the cafe offered its customers coffee at three different prices, depending on which pronunciation customers used to order the item. Kava, indexing a Croatian, and by extension, Catholic identity, was sold for the modest price of 1 Deutsche Mark. Kafa, indexing a Serbian and Orthodox Christian identity, was not available for sale. Finally, kahva, indexing a Bosnian Muslim identity, cost the customer a ‘bullet in the forehead’.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis

Quote

Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America's dirty secret

Plastic bottles bundled in a recycling facility. Bales such as these travel around the world on shipping containers.

A Guardian report from 11 countries tracks how US waste makes its way across the world – and overwhelms the poorest nations

H-Alter je primio pismo planinara koji je svjedočio nasilju nad izbjeglicama na Risnjaku.

http://www.h-alter.org/vijesti/na-strani-zvijeri

The difference between truth and fiction can often been drawn by a razor thin line; at best it confuses us, and at worst the distortion of truth alters history. Author David King’s “The Commissar Vanishes” is a collection that shows us how the Soviet era was documented in the pages of history, then altered to fit the narrative created by one man: Josef Stalin. Photographs collected from Stalin’s regime show us that not only can history can be altered, but the first mass use of Photoshop methods erased the truth with the simple use of a razor, glue, and a little black ink.

https://www.history101.com/photo-altering-soviet-union

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/work-peak-professional-decline/590650/

Quote

Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think

Here’s how to make the most of it.

According to research by Dean Keith Simonton, a professor emeritus of psychology at UC Davis and one of the world’s leading experts on the trajectories of creative careers, success and productivity increase for the first 20 years after the inception of a career, on average. So if you start a career in earnest at 30, expect to do your best work around 50 and go into decline soon after that.

 

Edited June 26, 20195 yr by Duya

When I went to China for two weeks on a recent reporting trip, I had certain expectations. Officially, China is still a developing country. I thought I had a pretty clear picture of life in developing and developed nations, having grown up in India and spent most of my adult life in the United Kingdom.

https://qz.com/india/1036479/visiting-china-upended-my-misconceptions-about-developing-countries/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/amp-stories/descendants-of-american-slaves-fled-to-mexico-mascogos/

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/structure-relocation-romania-1987/

Moving a 7,600 ton apartment building to create a boulevard in a Romanian town, 1987

Known as “virtual lovers,” these individuals sell warmth and happiness to clients through platforms like e-commerce marketplace Taobao and internet forum Baidu Tieba, often via a virtual storefront run by an experienced retailer. Crucially, in this kind of care-for-money transaction, no one ever meets the other in person. Depending on the virtual lover’s comfort level, he or she communicates with customers via text, voice message, or video call.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1004223/understanding-the-logic-of-chinas-virtual-love-trade

Život u kvartu čestitih starina: Niko mlađi od 60, vrane i gavranovi ujutru i naveče kreću sa svojim horskim terorom, a po danu hitna ne napušta četvrt. Rotaciona svetla i zvuk sirena, ambulantnih kola, popune prazninu ptičije galame. Ušteđevina im nije utanjila, ali jesu koraci.

http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/419271/Kako-zuljaju-emigrantske-cipele

17 hours ago, Lazar said:

Život u kvartu čestitih starina: Niko mlađi od 60, vrane i gavranovi ujutru i naveče kreću sa svojim horskim terorom, a po danu hitna ne napušta četvrt. Rotaciona svetla i zvuk sirena, ambulantnih kola, popune prazninu ptičije galame. Ušteđevina im nije utanjila, ali jesu koraci.

http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/419271/Kako-zuljaju-emigrantske-cipele

Ne znam zasto ti je ovaj clanak posebno zanimljiv, procitao sam ga jos kad je svojevremeno bio objavljen, ali dobro subjektivan dozivljaj. Samo bih da dodam da je napisano samo delimicno tacno po mom misljenju, autor je napisao da u Australiji bilo ko moze da zivi veoma komfornim zivotom samo ako to hoce. Tacno je da ko radi nece umreti od gladi i imace za najosnovnije tipa rentu, polovna kola od par hiljada dolara, osnovne stvari, ali nije tacno da bas bilo ko moze da kupi takvu kucu kakvu ima autor od pola miliona dolara. Nepristupacnost nekretnina je veliki problem za sve koji nisu iste kupili do pre 10-ak godina. Autor mahom pominje starije ljude u svom kraju i to je tacno. Nekada su te kuce bile pristupacne i radnickoj klasi, vise nije tako. Zato danas imamo situaciju da stariji ljudi zive u polupraznim kucama od 4 spavace sobe i slicno dok mladji ne mogu da priuste da kupe ni dvosoban stan... Ukratko to je nekada bilo tako, a autor je starija osoba i trenutni momenat percepira iz svog ugla koji je zastareo i vise ne postoji u sadasnjici. 

Članak je prilično osrednji, kao i većina tekstova po domaćim medijima. Ali ipak mi je bio interesantan, ne u smislu činjenične situacije, nego u smislu autorove percepcije. Ne postoji nijedna zemlja na svetu u kojoj bilo ko može da živi veoma komfornim životom samo ako to hoće.