► Métamorphoses is an album by Jean Michel Jarre, released on Sony Music in 2000. It was released in the U.S. on Disques Dreyfus in 2004. It is his tenth overall studio album.
This album was, to fans, a surprising break from his previous works, as it makes extensive use of vocal elements, as well as house, techno, trance, dance-pop, breakbeat, and downtempo sounds. The vocal elements are not short, sampled pieces as highlighted in his album Zoolook, but longer, more integral parts of the work, and thus quite surprising for an artist known for his instrumental works. Métamorphoses is also Jarre's first album to contain actual songs with lyrics. Jarre's own voice is heard through a vocoder in many of the songs, but the album contains several other singers as well, mostly female singers. "Rendez-Vous à Paris" features Sharon Corr on violin. "Rendez-Vous à Paris" and "Bells" are the only largely instrumental tracks on the album; in the former only the track title is repeated in rhythm, the latter does not have intelligible lyrics. Although the album was generally not badly received by critics, and despite the collaborations and a number of single releases ("C'est la Vie" and "Tout Est Bleu"), Jarre did not achieve great mainstream success with this album.
► Track listing
1. "Je Me Souviens"
2. "C'est la Vie"
3. "Rendez-Vous à Paris"
4. "Hey Gagarin"
5. "Millions of Stars"
6. "Tout Est Bleu"
7. "Love Love Love"
8. "Bells"
9. "Miss Moon"
10. "Give Me a Sign"
11. "Gloria, Lonely Boy"
12. "Silhouette"
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Saturday, June 08, 2019
2019-06-04 Humans will perish in 31 years, warns latest climate change study
• Cities like Mumbai, Florida, Shanghai will be reduced to swamps, 90% of mankind will be annihilated, says report released ahead of World Environment Day
•
https://www.cntraveller.in/…/world-environment-day-humans…/…• Raj Aditya Chaudhuri
• PUBLISHED: JUN 04, 2019 | 13:11:17 IST
• Instances of extreme heatwaves could increase.
• We’ve got till 2050.
• That’s it—just another 31 years before 90% of mankind is annihilated by climate change, says Australia’s Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration.
• The BNCCR is an independent think-tank that aims to inform the conversation around climate emergency in Australia.
• Its recent report reinterprets existing data to arrive at this dire conclusion.
Should We Take This Report Seriously?
• The findings may seem alarmist, but the cause for alarm is genuine, the report says.
• It argues that though the data is there for all to see, bodies like the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are not projecting the doomsday scenario realistically enough—that they are “erring on the side of least drama”.
“We must never forget that we are in a unique situation with no precise historic analogue. The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is now greater, and the Earth warmer than what human beings have ever experienced. And there are almost eight billion of us now living on this planet.”
• (This corroborates with the recent decision by a body of scientists to formally declare our era as the Anthropocene—a time when humans have a disproportionate impact on the environment)
• According to the study, we are marching towards an existential crisis at a much quicker trot than previously thought. It even questions the efficacy of the Paris Agreement that aims to cap global temperature rise to 3-5°C.
• That’s bad enough for disaster, the BNCCR says. “…3°C of warming already constitutes an existential risk,” says the study.
Mumbai, Shanghai And Other Cities At Risk
• A 3°C rise in temperatures would correspond to a 0.5m rise in sea levels endangering coastal areas around the world.
“If climate change was to reach 3°C, most of Bangladesh and Florida would drown, while major coastal cities — Shanghai, Lagos, Mumbai — would be swamped, likely creating large flows of climate refugees,” says the study.
• Besides, when temperatures rise more than 3°C, the domino effect that will be hard to roll back.
• Think no more polar ice caps to reflect the sun’s rays and heat, Arctic permafrost defrosting to release methane into the atmosphere and other such horrendous things that will only make the Earth hotter still.
• A 4°C rise could annihilate up to 80-90% of the global human population, say the study.
• The think-tank estimates that if nothing is done, by 2050 up to 1 billion people currently residing in West Africa and the Middle East will have to relocate because the climate conditions there will make these places unliveable.
• Other parts of the world will experience more than 20 days of “record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires, more intense flooding and more damaging hurricanes” every year. (Puts the recent heatwave that India is experiencing in perspective.)
“Climate change is now reaching the end-game, where very soon, humanity must choose between taking unprecedented action, or accepting that it has been left too late and bear the consequences.”
• On the eve of World Environment Day, that’s a chilling warning.
CNTRAVELLER.IN
Humans will perish in 31 years, warns latest climate change studyCities like Mumbai, Florida, Shanghai will be reduced to swamps, 90% of mankind will be annihilated, says report released ahead of World Environment Day
U.S. Sends Border Patrol Agents to Guatemala
>>...the U.S. has made plans to send dozens of Border Patrol agents to Guatemala in an attempt to curb the number of northbound Central American migrants who make it to Mexico. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan announced the plan as part of a larger scheme to offset Trump administration cuts to Central American assistance funds earlier this year. The plan also includes sending 80 Homeland Security agents to Guatemala to train local authorities on breaking up human trafficking rings.
DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG
US opens new mass facility in Texas for migrant children
>>...the U.S. has made plans to send dozens of Border Patrol agents to Guatemala in an attempt to curb the number of northbound Central American migrants who make it to Mexico. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan announced the plan as part of a larger scheme to offset Trump administration cuts to Central American assistance funds earlier this year. The plan also includes sending 80 Homeland Security agents to Guatemala to train local authorities on breaking up human trafficking rings.
DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG
US opens new mass facility in Texas for migrant children
Intel Vets Tell Trump Iran Is Not Top Terror Sponsor
Thirteen of the 14 Muslim Groups identified by the U.S. intelligence community as actively hostile to the US are Sunni, not Shia, and are not supported by Iran:
A group of U.S. intelligence veterans urges President Trump to stop his administration’s false claims about Iran being the leading state sponsor of terrorism when U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia, are clearly much guiltier.
MEMORANDUM FOR: The President
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
SUBJECT: Is Iran the “World’s Leading Sponsor of Terrorism?”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/BACKGROUND
We are concerned by recent strident and stark public statements from key members of your Administration that paint Iran in very alarmist terms. The average American, without the benefit of history, could easily be persuaded that Iran poses an imminent threat and that there is no alternative for us but military conflict.
President Donald Trump addresses the nation about his Iran policy on Oct. 13, 2017. (Screenshot from Whitehouse.gov)
We find this uncomfortably familiar territory. Ten years ago former President George W. Bush was contemplating a war with Iran when, in November of 2007, intelligence analysts issued a formal National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) debunking the prevailing conventional wisdom; namely, that Iran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon. The NIE concluded that Iran had stopped working on a nuclear weapon in 2003.
Recalling this moment in his memoir, Decision Points, President Bush noted that the NIE’s “eye-popping” intelligence findings stayed his hand. He added this rhetorical question: “How could I possibly explain using the military to destroy the nuclear facilities of a country the intelligence community said had no active nuclear weapons program?”
We believe that you are facing a similar situation today. But instead of an inaccurate claim that Iran has nuclear weapons, the new canard to justify war with Iran is the claim that Iran remains the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.” This is incorrect, as we explain below.
* * *
One of the recurring big bipartisan lies being pushed on the public with the enthusiastic help of a largely pliant media is that Iran is the prime sponsor of terrorism in the world today.
In the recent presentation of your administration’s National Security Strategy for 2018, the point is made that:
“Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, has taken advantage of instability to expand its influence through partners and proxies, weapon proliferation, and funding. . . . Iran continues to perpetuate the cycle of violence in the region, causing grievous harm to civilian populations.”
Those sentiments are echoed by several other countries of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, for example, declared in October 2015 that: Iran “is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it is working on destabilizing the region.”
The Saudi foreign minister conveniently declined to mention that 15 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked planes and attacked America on 11 September 2001 were Saudis, not Iranians. And, while Iran was an active promoter of terrorism two decades ago, it is no longer in the forefront of global terrorism. Ironically, that dubious distinction now goes to Iran’s accusers — first and foremost, Saudi Arabia.
The depiction of Iran as “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism” is not supported by the facts. While Iran is guilty of having used terrorism as a national policy tool, the Iran of 2017 is not the Iran of 1981. In the early days of the Islamic Republic, Iranian operatives routinely carried out car bombings, kidnappings and assassinations of dissidents and of American citizens. That has not been the case for many years. Despite frequent claims by U.S. officials that Iran is engaged in terrorism, we simply note that the incidents recorded annually in the U.S. Department of State’s Patterns of Global Terrorism rarely identifies a terrorist incident as an act by or on behalf of Iran.
Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah also has evolved radically. In the early years of the Islamic Republic, Hezbollah was often a proxy and sub-contractor for Iran. But during the last 20 years Hezbollah has become an entity and political force in its own right. It fought Israel to a standstill in 2006 in southern Lebanon, which was a watershed moment in establishing Hezbollah’s transformation into a conventional army. In the intervening years, Hezbollah, which is now part of the Lebanese government, also has turned away from the radical, religious driven violence that is the hallmark of the Sunni extremists, like ISIS.
Iran’s Asymmetrical Response
After Iran fell under the rule of the Ayatollah in 1979 terrorism, its role in high profile terrorist attacks, such as the taking of U.S. hostages and the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the Marine barracks in Lebanon, fed understandable U.S. animosity towards Iran. But Iran’s actions were not driven primarily by blind hatred or radical religious views. For Iran terrorism was a way to punch back against more powerful foes, principally the United States, which was providing military and intelligence support to Iran’s neighbor and enemy, Iraq.
Portrait of the late Ruhollah Khomeini by Mohammad Sayyid
The Iranians were also pragmatic and had direct dealings with Israel. During the early days of the Iranian revolution the Mullahs, despite publicly denouncing Israel, happily accepted secret military support from the Israelis. Israel was equally pragmatic. The Israeli leaders ignored the Mullahs and gave the support as a means of helping counter the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. A classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The public image of Iran as a hotbed of fanatical terrorists has been usurped since the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in east Africa by Al Qaeda and other radical Sunni entities. The U.S. Government’s own list of terrorist attacks since 2001 shows a dramatic drop in the violence carried out by Iran and an accompanying surge in horrific acts by radical Sunni Muslims who are not aligned with Iran. The latest edition of the Global Terrorism Index, a project of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, shows that four groups accounted for 74 percent of all fatalities from terrorism in 2015 — Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and ISIS.
Thirteen of the 14 Muslim Groups identified by the U.S. intelligence community as actively hostile to the US are Sunni, not Shia, and are not supported by Iran:
Thirteen of the 14 Muslim Groups identified by the U.S. intelligence community as actively hostile to the US are Sunni, not Shia, and are not supported by Iran:
A group of U.S. intelligence veterans urges President Trump to stop his administration’s false claims about Iran being the leading state sponsor of terrorism when U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia, are clearly much guiltier.
MEMORANDUM FOR: The President
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
SUBJECT: Is Iran the “World’s Leading Sponsor of Terrorism?”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/BACKGROUND
We are concerned by recent strident and stark public statements from key members of your Administration that paint Iran in very alarmist terms. The average American, without the benefit of history, could easily be persuaded that Iran poses an imminent threat and that there is no alternative for us but military conflict.
President Donald Trump addresses the nation about his Iran policy on Oct. 13, 2017. (Screenshot from Whitehouse.gov)
We find this uncomfortably familiar territory. Ten years ago former President George W. Bush was contemplating a war with Iran when, in November of 2007, intelligence analysts issued a formal National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) debunking the prevailing conventional wisdom; namely, that Iran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon. The NIE concluded that Iran had stopped working on a nuclear weapon in 2003.
Recalling this moment in his memoir, Decision Points, President Bush noted that the NIE’s “eye-popping” intelligence findings stayed his hand. He added this rhetorical question: “How could I possibly explain using the military to destroy the nuclear facilities of a country the intelligence community said had no active nuclear weapons program?”
We believe that you are facing a similar situation today. But instead of an inaccurate claim that Iran has nuclear weapons, the new canard to justify war with Iran is the claim that Iran remains the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.” This is incorrect, as we explain below.
* * *
One of the recurring big bipartisan lies being pushed on the public with the enthusiastic help of a largely pliant media is that Iran is the prime sponsor of terrorism in the world today.
In the recent presentation of your administration’s National Security Strategy for 2018, the point is made that:
“Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, has taken advantage of instability to expand its influence through partners and proxies, weapon proliferation, and funding. . . . Iran continues to perpetuate the cycle of violence in the region, causing grievous harm to civilian populations.”
Those sentiments are echoed by several other countries of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, for example, declared in October 2015 that: Iran “is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it is working on destabilizing the region.”
The Saudi foreign minister conveniently declined to mention that 15 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked planes and attacked America on 11 September 2001 were Saudis, not Iranians. And, while Iran was an active promoter of terrorism two decades ago, it is no longer in the forefront of global terrorism. Ironically, that dubious distinction now goes to Iran’s accusers — first and foremost, Saudi Arabia.
The depiction of Iran as “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism” is not supported by the facts. While Iran is guilty of having used terrorism as a national policy tool, the Iran of 2017 is not the Iran of 1981. In the early days of the Islamic Republic, Iranian operatives routinely carried out car bombings, kidnappings and assassinations of dissidents and of American citizens. That has not been the case for many years. Despite frequent claims by U.S. officials that Iran is engaged in terrorism, we simply note that the incidents recorded annually in the U.S. Department of State’s Patterns of Global Terrorism rarely identifies a terrorist incident as an act by or on behalf of Iran.
Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah also has evolved radically. In the early years of the Islamic Republic, Hezbollah was often a proxy and sub-contractor for Iran. But during the last 20 years Hezbollah has become an entity and political force in its own right. It fought Israel to a standstill in 2006 in southern Lebanon, which was a watershed moment in establishing Hezbollah’s transformation into a conventional army. In the intervening years, Hezbollah, which is now part of the Lebanese government, also has turned away from the radical, religious driven violence that is the hallmark of the Sunni extremists, like ISIS.
Iran’s Asymmetrical Response
After Iran fell under the rule of the Ayatollah in 1979 terrorism, its role in high profile terrorist attacks, such as the taking of U.S. hostages and the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the Marine barracks in Lebanon, fed understandable U.S. animosity towards Iran. But Iran’s actions were not driven primarily by blind hatred or radical religious views. For Iran terrorism was a way to punch back against more powerful foes, principally the United States, which was providing military and intelligence support to Iran’s neighbor and enemy, Iraq.
Portrait of the late Ruhollah Khomeini by Mohammad Sayyid
The Iranians were also pragmatic and had direct dealings with Israel. During the early days of the Iranian revolution the Mullahs, despite publicly denouncing Israel, happily accepted secret military support from the Israelis. Israel was equally pragmatic. The Israeli leaders ignored the Mullahs and gave the support as a means of helping counter the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. A classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The public image of Iran as a hotbed of fanatical terrorists has been usurped since the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in east Africa by Al Qaeda and other radical Sunni entities. The U.S. Government’s own list of terrorist attacks since 2001 shows a dramatic drop in the violence carried out by Iran and an accompanying surge in horrific acts by radical Sunni Muslims who are not aligned with Iran. The latest edition of the Global Terrorism Index, a project of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, shows that four groups accounted for 74 percent of all fatalities from terrorism in 2015 — Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and ISIS.
Thirteen of the 14 Muslim Groups identified by the U.S. intelligence community as actively hostile to the US are Sunni, not Shia, and are not supported by Iran:
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE
U.N. Report: Vatican Policies Allowed Priests To Rape Children
In response, the Vatican said in a statement published on its website that some points made in the report were an "attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching."
Sebastian Gorka left red-faced after accusing a parody Nintendo account of promoting incest
Donald Trump's former aide turned conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka is no stranger to getting wound up about LGBT+ inclusion in pop culture. Just a few ...
BLOG NOTE: GORKA IS A MEMBER OF A HUNGARIAN CATHOLIC ANTI SEMITIC ORDER AND WE KNOW ABOUT CATHOLIC BUGGERS IN AND OUT OF THE CHURCH
GORKA MAY BE FEELING GUILTY
In response, the Vatican said in a statement published on its website that some points made in the report were an "attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching."
Sebastian Gorka left red-faced after accusing a parody Nintendo account of promoting incest
Donald Trump's former aide turned conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka is no stranger to getting wound up about LGBT+ inclusion in pop culture. Just a few ...
BLOG NOTE: GORKA IS A MEMBER OF A HUNGARIAN CATHOLIC ANTI SEMITIC ORDER AND WE KNOW ABOUT CATHOLIC BUGGERS IN AND OUT OF THE CHURCH
GORKA MAY BE FEELING GUILTY
AMERICA'S REAL ENTITLEMENTS
America has spent $5.9 trillion on wars in the Middle East and Asia since 2001, a new study says
The report, from Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, also finds that more than 480,000 people have died from the wars and more than 244,000 civilians have been killed as a result of fighting. Another 10 million people have been displaced due to violence.
America has spent $5.9 trillion on wars in the Middle East and Asia since 2001, a new study says
The report, from Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, also finds that more than 480,000 people have died from the wars and more than 244,000 civilians have been killed as a result of fighting. Another 10 million people have been displaced due to violence.
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