FOTOS DE BUDAPEST :
-----------------
El Parlament
El Pont de les Cadenes
Vista de Budapest des de Gellert Hill
_____________________________________




BUDAPEST, CAPITAL D'HONGRIA

****************************

La història coneguda de Budapest es remunta a la ciutat romana d'Aquincum, fundada a les rodalies del 89 sobre d'un antic campament celta, prop del que després seria Óbuda.
De 106 fins al final del segle IV, fou la capital de la província de la Pannònia inferior (en llatí Pannonia).

Cap a 896, els magiars, avantpassats del poble hongarès actual, colonitzen la regió sota el comandament d'Árpád, poblant la conca pannònia així com el sector d'Óbuda.

Hongria es funda un segle més tard, a l'any 1000, amb la coronació del seu primer rei, Esteve I.

Malgrat la seva destrucció gairebé total en resposta a una invasió mongola el 1241, i el desplaçament de la residència reial a Visegrád el 1308, la ciutat esdevé la capital del país el 1361.

La conquesta de la major part del país al segle XVI per l'Imperi otomà interromp el creixement de la ciutat.
Pest cau en mans de l'invasor pel sud el 1526.
Buda, defensada pel seu castell, té la mateixa sort 15 anys més tard.

Mentre que Buda es converteix en la seu d'un governador turc, Pest és desertada per una gran part dels seus habitants fins el moment de la seva reconquesta el 1686 pels Habsburg, que havien continuat sent reis d'Hongria des de 1526 malgrat la pèrdua de la majoria del país.

En el transcurs dels segles XVII i XVIII, malgrat una inundació devastadora el 1838 que va fer 70.000 morts, Pest coneix la taxa de creixement més forta gràcies a un comerç molt actiu, contribuint molt majoritàriament al creixement combinat de les tres ciutats.
El 1900, la seva població supera les de Buda i Óbuda reunides.
En el transcurs del segle següent, la població de Pest es multiplicarà per vint, mentre que les de Buda i Óbuda seran quintuplicades.

El 1780, l'alemany és introduït com a llengua oficial pels Habsburg.


La fusió de les tres ciutats sota una administració comuna es va produir, per primera vegada el 1849, sota la impulsió del govern revolucionari, abans de ser revocada després de la reconstitució de l'autoritat dels Habsburg.

És ratificada definitivament el 1873 pel govern reial autònom hongarès procedent del compromís austro-hongarès de 1867.
La població total de la capital unificada es va multiplicar per set en el període 1840-1900, amb 730.000 habitants.

En el transcurs del segle XX, la majoria de les indústries del país s'instal·len a la ciutat, i el creixement de la població prossegueix.

Així, la població d'Újpest és més que doblada en el període 1890-1910, i la de Kispest és quintuplicada entre 1900 i 1920.

Les pèrdues humanes vinculades a la Primera Guerra Mundial i la pèrdua conseqüent de més dels dos terços del territori de l'antic regne, el 1920 no causen més que un trastorn temporal:
Budapest continua sent la capital d'un Estat, certament més petit, però d'ara en endavant sobirà.

El 1930, la ciutat compta amb un milió d'habitants, més 400.000 a les rodalies.

En el moment de la Segona Guerra Mundial, els jueus són reunits al gueto de Budapest.
Aproximadament un terç dels 250.000 habitants jueus de Budapest van morir durant el genocidi nazi perpetrat durant l'ocupació alemanya de 1944.

Malgrat aquest fet, Budapest és actualment la capital europea que compta amb més ciutadans jueus.
El 1944, el diplomàtic suec Raoul Wallenberg va salvar almenys 10.000 jueus hongaresos.

A partir de 1950, l'aglomeració de Budapest coneix una expansió significativa: es creen nous districtes a partir de les ciutats veïnes.

Durant els anys 1950 i 1960, la ciutat es recupera del setge soviètic de 1944, fent-se, en cert límit, un aparador en matèria de política pragmàtica practicada pel govern comunista del país (1947-1989).
La democratització és aturada per la insurrecció de Budapest del 1956 i la intervenció de l'URSS.

Divisió administrativa
dels districtes de Budapest.
----------------------------
A banda de la divisió popular de Buda a l'oest del Danubi i Pest a l'est, la capital hongaresa es divideix en vint-i-tres districtes (sis a Buda, setze a Pest i un a l'Illa de Csepel) numerats amb xifres romanes encara que solen ser coneguts pel nom del barri principal.

Districte I (Budavár)
Districte II
Districte III (Óbuda)
Districte IV (Újpest)
Districte V (Belváros)
Districte VI (Terézváros)
Districte VII (Erzsébetváros)
Districte VIII (Józsefváros)
Districte IX (Ferencváros)
Districte X (Kőbánya)
Districte XI (Újbuda)
Districte XII (Hegyvidek)
Districte XIII
Districte XIV (Zugló)
Districte XV (Rakospalota)
Districte XVI
Districte XVII (Rakosmente)
Districte XVIII
Districte XIX (Kispest)
Districte XX (Pesterzsébet)
Districte XXI (Csepel)
Districte XXII (Budafok)
Districte XXIII (Soroksár)

----------------------------


NADIUS IL·LUSTRES

Pal Kadosa: compositor i pianista (1903-1983)
Joseph Böhm: violinista (1789-1863) nascut al cantó de Pest
Jelly d'Aranyi: violinista (1895-1966) era neboda de Joseph Joachim
Adila d'Aranyi: violinista (1886-1962) era neboda de Joseph Joachim


LLOCS D'INTERÈS

Castell de Buda.
Parc Memento.



ORGANITZACIÓ TERRITORIAL D'HONGRIA

Capital: Budapest

Províncies(megye): Bács-Kiskun



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SARKOZY DEAL WITH BRITAIN TO BE RESPECTED

François Hollande and David Cameron
at an EU summit in Brussels.

Traditional tensions could complicate
the Prime Minister's attempts to woo
the French President.
_________________________________________

Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA



Published in :

" THE GUARDIAN "
Sunday 27 May 2012

******************


David Cameron to warn François Hollande
against challenging EU rebate
-----------------------------

Prime Minister to tell President: abide by deal struck with Nicolas Sarkozy or UK will demand major cuts in EU subsidies to French farmers.

Britain is to tell the new French government that it will demand major cuts
in generous EU subsidies to farmers in France if President François Hollande challenges the annual £2.7bn British rebate.

In a sign of how traditional tensions could complicate the Prime Minister's attempts to woo the new French President, Britain is planning to warn Paris that Hollande would be well advised to abide by an informal deal struck with Nicolas Sarkozy.

The Prime Minister agreed with Sarkozy not to push too hard for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which favours French farmers.
In exchange Sarkozy undertook not to demand a watering down of Britain's EU budget rebate.

Britain is hoping to deliver the message in a friendly way to Hollande who has not forgotten that David Cameron declined to meet him during the presidential campaign, all but endorsing Sarkozy.

But the Prime Minister is under pressure to take a tougher stance on Europe with a more radical reform of the next seven year EU budget which will run from 2014-2021. A tough round of negotiations, not expected to conclude until next year, is gathering pace.


Andrea Leadsom, a central figure in the eurosceptic Fresh Start Group of MPs, said the Prime Minister needed to be "more aggressive" in his negotations with other EU leaders.

Leadsom, former head of corporate governance at Invesco Perpetual, said the EU's overall budget could be cut by 15% if a series of reforms are made to structural funds which are meant to support poorer member states.
The budget is worth £112bn a year which would mean it would be cut by 15% – £16.8bn.

In a chapter of a new green paper, to be published by the Fresh Start group, Leadsom says that structural funds should only be distributed by the EU to countries whose gross national income is less than 90% of the EU average.

Britain would have been handed back £13bn of the £33bn it contributed during the current budget period from 2007-2013 had the plans been in place then.

The £9bn spent in Britain on structural funds would have been administered in Britain while a further £4bn, spent on relatively rich EU regions, would have been repatriated to Britain.
The remaining £20bn would have remained with the EU to distribute to poorer regions.

Leadsom said:
"We should be far more aggressive in our negotiating position.
Advisers tell me you can't have a shopping list but reforming structural funds would be a razor sharp reform."

The demands by the 'Fresh Start Group' may help ministers as they explain to the French that the Prime Minister will face intense domestic pressure during the budget negotiations that are expected to last well into 2013.

One senior government source said Britain will tell the new administration in Paris of the need for each country to respect their interests.

The source said:
"The prime minister and Nicolas Sarkozy had an informal understanding that we would not push the French too hard on the CAP if they keep their hands off the rebate."

If Hollande demands major cuts to the rebate Britain will explain that the CAP and the rebate are linked.
If the first element of the CAP, known as Pillar 1 which provides direct support to EU farmers, were to fall then the rebate would fall at a commensurate rate.

Margaret Thatcher negotiated the rebate in 1984 because Britain paid a disproportionate amount in the CAP Pillar 1 under the terms of its EEC accession terms when it joined in 1973.
"The rebate is never as simple as the French think," the government source said.

Cameron wants to avoid a repeat of the last EU budget negotiations, concluded in December 2005 under the British presidency of the EU, when Tony Blair agreed to cut the rebate by about £7bn in a seven year period.
Blair has always maintained that he achieved a good deal because the rebate had to be reformed after the arrival of ten new member states in 2004.
The former Prime Minister says he rejected French demands for larger rebate cuts by placing the CAP on the table.

Leadsom said :
"With the eurozone in absolute crisis the impact on all European economies is going to be disastrous. At a time like this it is complete nonsense for the EU to bury its head in the sand. We have got to really start to fight back."

Pressure from backbenches to take a tougher stance on Europe could interfere with Cameron's attempts to minimise tensions with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

On Sunday those tensions were increasing when Nick Clegg dismissed suggestions by the home secretary Theresa May that Britain was planning to "pull up the drawbridge" on any exodus of workers from crisis-hit eurozone nations.

May said on Friday contingency planning was under way to deal with a potential influx of would-be immigrants.

Clegg said she had only been talking about "keeping an eye on migration patterns".

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr:
"I really do think some of the breathless talk in the media about do we pull up the drawbridge to stop hordes of people migrating across Europe is both far-fetched, somewhat apocalyptic in tone and deeply unhelpful. We are not there yet."







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.....

PRESIDENT OBAMA AWARDS MEDAL OF HONOR

PRESIDENT OBAMA AWARDS MEDAL OF HONOR

**************************************


THE WHITE HOUSE

-----------------

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 16, 2012

Remarks by the President at Medal of Honor Ceremony
to Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr.


EAST ROOM
3:26 P.M. EDT


THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Thank you, General Rutherford. Good afternoon, everyone. We gather today to present the Medal of Honor for valor above and beyond the call of duty. In so doing we celebrate the soldier, the life that produced such gallantry -- Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr.

Today is also a solemn reminder that when an American does not come home from war, it is our military families and veterans who bear that sacrifice for a lifetime. They are spouses, like Rose Mary, who all these years since Vietnam still displays in her home her husband’s medals and decorations. They are siblings, like Leslie’s big brother George, who carries the childhood memories of his little brother tagging along at his side. And they are our veterans, like the members of Bravo Company, who still speak of their brother Les with reverence and with love.

Rose, George, Bravo Company, more than 100 family and friends -- Michelle and I are honored to welcome you to the White House. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration that America can bestow. It reflects the gratitude of the entire nation. So we’re joined by members of Congress and leaders from across our armed forces, including Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Sandy Winnefeld; from the Army, Secretary John McHugh and Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno; and from the Marine Corps, the Commandant, General Jim Amos.

We’re honored to be joined by Vietnam veterans, including recipients of the Medal of Honor. And we’re joined by those who have carried on Les’s legacy in our time, in Iraq and Afghanistan -- members of the 101st Airborne Division, the legendary “Screaming Eagles.”

This gathering of soldiers, past and present, could not be more timely. As a nation, we've ended the war in Iraq. We are moving towards an end to the war in Afghanistan. After a decade of war, our troops are coming home. And this month, we’ll begin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, a time when, to our shame, our veterans did not always receive the respect and the thanks they deserved -- a mistake that must never be repeated. And that’s where I want to begin today, because the story of this Medal of Honor reminds us of our sacred obligations to all who serve.

It was 1999, around Memorial Day, and a Vietnam vet from the 101st was at the National Archives. He was doing research for an article. And there, among the stacks, an archivist brought him a box. And he took off the lid. And inside, he found a file, marked with the name “Leslie H. Sabo, Jr.” And there it was -- a proposed citation for the Medal of Honor. And so this Vietnam veteran set out to find answers. Who was Leslie Sabo? What did he do? And why did he never receive that medal? Today, four decades after Leslie’s sacrifice, we can set the record straight.

I just spent some time with Rose and George and the Sabo family. Last week marked 42 years since Les gave his life. This soldier, this family, has a uniquely American story. Les was actually born in Europe, after World War II, to a family of Hungarian refugees. And as the Iron Curtain descended, they boarded a boat for America and arrived at Ellis Island, past the Statue of Liberty. They settled in the steel town of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. Les’s father worked hard, pulled his family into the middle class. And when Les was a teenager, the family went to the county courthouse together, raised their hands and became proud American citizens.

They say that Les was one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. He loved a good joke. He loved to bowl -- he could have given me some tips. (Laughter.) Rose says he was pretty good-looking, too. That’s what I hear.

He’d do anything for anybody. And when George went to college, Les looked after their mom. When George went to night school, Les helped care for his three young sons. When Les fell in love with Rose -- who couldn’t wait to start a life together -- he slipped the ring on her finger, right there in his car, while stopped at a red light. (Laughter.) And as he headed out for Vietnam, he stopped at a shop and ordered some flowers -- for his mom, for Mother’s Day, and for Rose, for her birthday.

For Les and Bravo Company, those early months of 1970 were a near constant battle. Pushing through jungles and rice paddies in their heavy packs. Enduring incredible heat and humidity. The monsoon rains that never seemed to stop. An enemy that could come out of nowhere and then vanish just as fast. For his bravery in battle, Les earned the respect of his comrades. And for his family, he wrote home every chance he could.

When American forces were sent into Cambodia, Bravo Company helped lead the way. They were moving up a jungle trail. They entered a clearing. And that’s when it happened -- an ambush. Some 50 American soldiers were nearly surrounded by some 100 North Vietnamese fighters. Said Les’s comrades: “The enemy was everywhere” -- in bunkers, behind trees, up in the trees, shooting down. And they opened up on them.

And Les was in the rear -- and he could have stayed there. But those fighters were unloading on his brothers. So Les charged forward and took several of those fighters out. The enemy moved to outflank them. And Les attacked and drove them back. Ammo was running low. Les ran across a clearing to grab more. An enemy grenade landed near a wounded American. Les picked it up and he threw it back. And as that grenade exploded, he shielded that soldier with his own body.

Throughout history, those who have known the horror of war -- and the love behind all great sacrifice -- have tried to put those emotions into words. After the First World War, one soldier wrote this: “They are more to me than life, these voices, they are more than motherliness and more than fear; they are the strongest, most comforting thing there is anywhere: they are the voices of my comrades.”

And those were the voices Leslie Sabo heard that day: his comrades -- pinned down, at risk of being overrun. And so, despite his wounds, despite the danger, Leslie did something extraordinary. He began to crawl straight toward an enemy bunker, its machine guns blazing. Those who were there said the enemy zeroed in with everything they had. But Les kept crawling, kept pulling himself along, closer to that bunker, even as the bullets hit the ground all around him.

And then, he grabbed a grenade and he pulled the pin. It’s said he held that grenade and didn’t throw it until the last possible moment, knowing it would take his own life, but knowing he could silence that bunker. And he did. He saved his comrades, who meant more to him than life.

Leslie Sabo left behind a wife who adored him, a brother who loved him, parents who cherished him, and family and friends who admired him. But they never knew. For decades, they never knew their Les had died a hero. The fog of war, and paperwork that seemed to get lost in the shuffle, meant this story was almost lost to history.

And so today we thank that Vietnam vet who found Les’s files in the Archives and who was determined to right this wrong -- that's Tony Mabb, who joins us here today. Where's Tony? Tony, thank you. (Applause.)

We salute Les’s buddy, George Koziol, who, wounded in his hospital bed, first drafted the citation we’ll hear today and who spent the last years of his life fighting to get Les the recognition that he deserved.

And most of all, we salute the men who were there in that clearing in the jungle. More than two dozen were wounded. Along with Les, seven other soldiers gave their lives that day. And those who came home took on one last mission -- and that was to make sure America would honor their fallen brothers. They had no idea how hard it would be, or how long it would take.

Instead of being celebrated, our Vietnam veterans were often shunned. They were called many things, when there was only one thing that they deserved to be called -- and that was American patriots. In two weeks, on Memorial Day, Michelle and I will join our Vietnam veterans and their families at The Wall to mark the 50th anniversary of their service. It will be another chance for America to say to our Vietnam veterans what should have been said when you first came home: You did your job. You served with honor. You made us proud. And here today -- as I think Les would have wanted it -- I’d ask the members of Bravo Company to stand and accept the gratitude of our nation. (Applause.)

So yes, this Medal of Honor is bestowed on a single soldier for his singular courage. But it speaks to the service of an entire generation, and to the sacrifice of so many military families. Because, you see, there is one final chapter to this story.

You’ll recall that as he shipped out to Vietnam, Les stopped at that flower shop. Well, the day he gave his life was Mother’s Day. And on that day the flowers he had ordered arrived for his mom. And the day he was laid to rest was the day before Rose’s birthday. And she received the bouquet he had sent her -- a dozen red roses. That’s the kind of guy -- the soldier, the American -- that we celebrate today.

Les’s mother and father did not live to see this day. But in his story we see the shining values that keep our military strong and keep America great. We see the patriotism of families who give our nation a piece of their heart -- their husbands and wives, their sons and their daughters. And we see the devotion of citizens who put on the uniform, who kiss their families goodbye, who are willing to lay down their lives so that we can live ours in peace and in freedom.

No words will ever be truly worthy of their service. And no honor can ever fully repay their sacrifice. But on days such as this we can pay tribute. We can express our gratitude. And we can thank God that there are patriots and families such as these. So on behalf of the American people, please join me in welcoming Rose for the reading of the citation. (Applause.)

MILITARY AIDE: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3rd, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., United States Army for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. distinguished himself by conspicuous acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his own life while serving as a rifleman in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division in Se San, Cambodia, May 10th, 1970.

On that day, Specialist Four Sabo and his platoon were conducting a reconnaissance patrol when they were ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force. Without hesitation, Specialist Four Sabo charged an enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. Immediately thereafter, he assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. In order to re-supply ammunition, he sprinted across an open field to a wounded comrade. As he began to reload, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Four Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded his comrade with his own body, thus absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade’s life.

Seriously wounded by the blast, Specialist Four Sabo nonetheless retained the initiative and then single-handedly charged an enemy bunker that had inflicted severe damage on the platoon, receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire in the process. Now mortally injured, he crawled towards the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Four Sabo's life.

His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members. Specialist Four Sabo’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness, above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, and the United States Army.

(The Medal of Honor is presented.) (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank everybody for their attendance. Please give another round of applause to the Sabo family. (Applause.) I hope that everybody enjoys the reception. I hear the food is pretty good around here. (Laughter.)

God bless you. God bless our troops. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)



END 3:46 P.M. EDT






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...

" ESO " The Spirit of Excellence

PHOTO: "E S O " Headquarters
located in Garching, near Munich
Germany
________________________________






" E S O "

************


ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory.

ESO provides state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and is supported by Austria, Belgium, Brazil*, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Several other countries have expressed an interest in membership.

ESO's main mission, laid down in the 1962 Convention, is to provide state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and astrophysicists, allowing them to conduct front-line science in the best conditions.

The annual member state contributions to ESO are approximately 131 million Euros and ESO employs around 730 staff members.

By building and operating a suite of the world's most powerful ground-based astronomical telescopes enabling important scientific discoveries, ESO offers numerous possibilities for technology spin-off and transfer, together with high technology contract opportunities and is a dramatic showcase for European industry.

Whilst the Headquarters (comprising the scientific, technical and administrative centre of the organisation) are located in Garching near Munich, Germany, ESO operates, in addition to the Santiago Centre, three unique observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor.

"An almost unique level of international cooperation is achieved at ESO, and everything is done by those who can do it best, irrespective of their country or institution. This spirit of excellence is an example for all Europe."


Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven,
Minister of Education, Culture and Science,
in the Netherlands









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....

BERNARD PALISSY, FRENCH ARTIST POTTER

PHOTOS :
1- Bernard Palissy, 1510-1589
2- Dish with Goddes Pomona
3- Jug and Plate
______________________________



BERNARD PALISSY

***************



Bernard Palissy was believed to be born around 1510, either at Saintes or Agen in France.

He is thought to have been a potter, craftsmen and writter.
Unfortunately he died nearly eighty years of age in Bastille in 1589.

His father was a glass-painter and so he was very well trained by him.
When he was first shown a white enameled cup, which caused him surprise and excitement, he decided to spend his life “to use his own expressive phrase, like a man who gropes in the dark, in order to discover the secrets of manufacture”.

Bernard Palissy was determined to imitate Chinese porcelain.

Even though he failed with Chinese porcelain, he succeeded in making kinds of peasant pottery decorated with naturalistic colored applied reliefs with glazes and enamels.

While searching some of his work, One is really impressed on how his work contains so much mythological history.

Bernard Palissy is known for his “rustic” earth ware, covered with colored lead glazes.

Also he almost never used the potters wheel.

Few of his most characteristic productions were large plates, ewers, oval dishes and vases, which he would usually apply realistic figures of fish, plants, shells, reptiles and other objects.

The colors he used to choose for his pieces were various shades of blue from indigo to ultramarine, greens, several tints of browns and greys and some yellow.

Some of Palissy's best ware collections are in the Museums of the Louvre, the Hotel Cluny, and Sevres and also in England in the Albert Museum.

In 1565 he was appointed as “inventor of rustic pottery to the king and the queen mother”.

His work passed through many phases.

After his “rustic figurines”, he made multiple dishes and plaques and also reproductions of the pewter dishes of Francois Briot and many other metalworkers of that period.

Palissy was one of the first Europeans to articulate the correct theory of fossils and his pieces and ideas of spring and underground waters were thought to be far in advance of the general knowledge of his time.









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....

JARDIN DU TOPHET DE SALAMMBÓ

FOTO:
Partie du jardin du Tophet de Salammbó
______________________________________






TOPHET DE SALAMMBÔ

******************


Le Tophet de Salammbô, ou Tophet de Carthage, situé non loin des ports puniques, est un enclos sacré où les Carthaginois auraient sacrifié leurs enfants aux divinités protectrices Tanit et Ba'al Hammon, selon une historiographie bien ancrée mais remise en cause par certains spécialistes, particulièrement Sabatino Moscati.

À la suite des auteurs anciens et d’une vision romantique favorisée par le roman de Flaubert, un certain nombre de chercheurs a cru reconnaître dans ce lieu la preuve de cette tradition.

Découvert en 1921 par Paul Gielly et François Icard, l’espace a vu les fouilles interrompues et reprises plusieurs fois par diverses équipes, les dernières investigations en date étant celles de Lawrence E. Stager, qui se place dans la tradition du lieu sacrificiel.

Dès les premiers coups de pioche, les vestiges ont confirmé l’hypothèse qui prévalait. La stèle du prêtre à l’enfant a pesé lourd dans l’interprétation.

Cependant, la médecine n’a pu jusqu’à présent certifier que les enfants enterrés là aient été victimes de sacrifices, d’autant plus que des ossements autres qu’humains y furent découverts.
Ces analyses posent davantage de problèmes d’interprétation qu’elles n’apportent de réponses.

Quoi qu’il en soit, les cendres des enfants brûlés (au-delà des causes du décès) étaient recueillies dans des urnes puis enterrées au-dessous de cippes ou stèles votives.

Lorsque l’espace était rempli, on le remblayait, et ainsi se formait une nouvelle couche.

Les archéologues ont déterminé trois types dans les dépositions retrouvées:
(Tanit I, Tanit II et Tanit III),
chaque style se caractérisant par des caractères propres et des stèles aux différences marquées, tant dans la forme que dans l’éventuel décor.

Une constance doit être notée, celle de l’utilisation de symboles astraux et du signe de Tanit.
De même, les inscriptions sont stéréotypées, indiquant une dédicace pour un vœu ou un remerciement suite à un vœu exaucé.

L’image bien connue du tophet est constituée par les stèles sous des voûtes qui
sont toutefois plus tardives, datant de l’époque romaine.

Toutefois, la présentation actuelle du site, même si elle est hétéroclite et artificielle, met surtout en valeur des stèles anciennes de grès d’El Haouaria et un petit nombre de stèles tardives plus travaillées mais plus fragiles car elles sont composées de calcaire.
On les trouve exposées surtout au musée national de Carthage.

À l’époque romaine, cet espace servait à d’autres usages:
entrepôts, fours de potier et maisons, mais on y remarque également un sanctuaire dédié à Saturne, équivalent romain de Ba’al Hammon et divinité principale du panthéon africain.







===========================






....

ANTONIO CÀNOVAS DEL CASTILLO

FOTOS :
1 - Antonio Cànovas del Castillo
2 - Caricatura 'La Campana de Gràcia' del 1906,
feta per M. Moliné.
3 - Mausoleu de Cànovas, obra de l'escultor A. Querol
_____________________________________________________




ANTONIO CÁNOVAS DEL CASTILLO

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Neix el 8 de febrer de 1828, a Màlaga(Espanya)i mor el 8 d'agost de 1897 (als 69 anys) a Mondragón, Arrasat-Guipúscoa(Espanya).
Partit polític Unió Liberal
Partit Liberal-Conservador
Parella Joaquina de Osma y Zavala
Professió Historiador i diplomàtic
Religió Catòlic

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo fou un polític i historiador espanyol.
Va ser President del Govern espanyol (1874-1875), (1875-1879), (1879-1881), (1884-1885), (1890-1892) i (1895-1897) i la seva actuació, sovint fonamentada sobre la repressió, va ser bastant polèmica.



CARRERA POLÍTICA
----------------
Va fer els seus primers passos en política de la mà de Leopoldo O'Donnell.
Fou l'artífex de la Revolució del 54 proclamada amb el "Manifest de Manzanares", escrit pel mateix Cánovas.

Membre de la Unión Liberal, va ser ministre de Governació el 1864 i d'Ultramar el 1865 durant el regnat d'Isabel II, abans de proclamar-se la Primera República Espanyola.

Després de la Revolució Gloriosa i fi de la monarquia borbònica s'encarregà de preparar la tornada del que seria Alfons XII, fill d'Isabel II.

El 1874, després del pronunciament a Sagunt del general Martínez Campos i la proclamació d'Alfons XII com a rei, tingué cura d'idear el sistema de la Restauració, que es basava en els fraus electorals periòdics, recolzats en el caciquisme, que feien possible l'alternança en el poder, com a mitjà per a dissipar tensions.
Així va accedir diverses vegades al càrrec de PrimerPresident del Consell de ministres d'Alfons XII.

És autor de la Constitució de 1876 i va assumir funcions de cap de l'Estat durant la regència de Maria Cristina d'Habsburg-Lorena.

A Catalunya no era un personatge gaire apreciat -se l'anomenava popularment "El Monstruo"- ja que la seva política es caracteritzà per una repressió ben dura contra els anarcosindicalistes.

El periodista Cels Gomis el descrigué com a "lo més acérrim enemich que Catalunya ha tingut en lo sigle actual".

El seu govern va desenvolupar una política colonial basada en la repressió dels partidaris d'una Cuba lliure.

Aquesta política va fomentar i estimular el nacionalisme cubà, que acabaria duent a Espanya a perdre la guerra contra els Estats Units.
Igualment, va exercir una forta repressió contra la dissidència política a l'interior d'Espanya.



CARRERA LITERÀRIA
-----------------
Al mateix temps que exercia la seva activitat política, Cánovas demostrà que era una persona lletraferida.
Les seves obres sobre la història espanyola li feren guanyar una fama considerable, sobretot la seva "Història de la Decadència d'Espanya" que consta de 18 volums. Aquesta producció contribuí al seu ingrès, quan només tenia 32 anys, a la Real Academia de la Historia el 1860.
Després també fou membre de diverses entitats literàries, com ara la Real Academia Española el 1867, l'Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas el 1871 i finalment la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando el 1887.
També va ocupar la direcció de l'Ateneu de Madrid (entre 1870 i 1874, 1882 i 18884 i entre 1888 i 1889).



MORT I HERÈNCIA
---------------

Posteriorment Cánovas va pagar molt car la seva política repressiva.
El 1897, fou mort a trets per l'anarquista italià Michele Angiolillo, al balneari de Santa Àgueda, a Mondragón, Guipúscoa, com a revenja pels afusellaments d'alguns dels condemnats en el Consell de Guerra del procés de Montjuïc per l'atemptat anarquista del carrer dels Canvis Nous, a Barcelona.

Així doncs no visqué prou temps per a presenciar la pèrdua de les darreres Colònies d'Espanya, després de la Guerra hispano-estatunidenca.

El seu Mausoleu es troba al "Panteó dels Homes Il·lustres" a Madrid, i és obra de l'escultor català Agustí Querol.


La política de repressió i de manipulació política que Cánovas havia establert com a columna vertebral del seu govern, va ajudar en gran part a fomentar els moviments nacionalistes alhora a Catalunya i al País Basc, i preparà el terreny per als aldarulls laborals durant les dues primeres dècades del segle XX.

El desastre de la política repressiva de colònia, a més de comportar la pèrdua de les darreres colònies d'Espanya al Pacífic i al Carib, va afeblir considerablement el govern espanyol.
Generà així un Cop d'Estat, que va fallar, de Camilo García de Polavieja i portà a un llarg període d'inestabilitat política que va acabar finalment amb la caiguda de la monarquia i la dissolució de la Constitució feta pel mateix Cánovas.






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...

DANS LE PORT D'AMSTERDAM

TRÈS POPULAIRE CHANSON DE JACQUES BREL
______________________________________





DANS LE PORT D'AMSTERDAM

************************

Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui chantent
Les rêves qui les hantent
Au large d`Amsterdam
Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dorment
Comme des oriflammes
Le long des berges mornes
Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui meurent
Pleins de bière et de drames
Aux premières lueurs
Mais dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui naissent
Dans la chaleur épaisse
Des langueurs océanes




Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui mangent
Sur des nappes trop blanches
Des poissons ruisselants
Ils vous montrent des dents
A croquer la fortune
A décroisser la lune
A bouffer des haubans
Et ça sent la morue
Jusque dans le coeur des frites
Que leurs grosses mains invitent
A revenir en plus
Puis se lèvent en riant
Dans un bruit de tempête
Referment leur braguette
Et sortent en rotant




Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dansent
En se frottant la panse
Sur la panse des femmes
Et ils tournent et ils dansent
Comme des soleils crachés
Dans le son déchiré
D`un accordéon rance
Ils se tordent le cou
Pour mieux s`entendre rire
Jusqu`à ce que tout à coup
L`accordéon expire
Alors le geste grave
Alors le regard fier
Ils ramènent leur batave
Jusqu`en pleine lumière




Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui boivent
Et qui boivent et reboivent
Et qui reboivent encore
Ils boivent à la santé
Des putains d`Amsterdam
De Hambourg ou d`ailleurs
Enfin ils boivent aux dames
Qui leur donnent leur joli corps
Qui leur donnent leur vertu
Pour une pièce en or
Et quand ils ont bien bu
Se plantent le nez au ciel
Se mouchent dans les étoiles
Et ils pissent comme je pleure
Sur les femmes infidèles
Dans le port d`Amsterdam
Dans le port d`Amsterdam.






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.....

KAIRÓS, UN TEMPS de la MITOLÒGIA GREGA

FOTO :
Detall d'un fresc de Francesco Salviati
representant a KAIRÓS , 1552- 1554)
_______________________________________





K A I R Ó S

***********



Kairós era, per part dels antics grecs, una de les tres maneres d'anomenar el temps, juntament amb Aion i Kronos.

Kairós fa referència al :
"moment adequat i oportú" o "moment suprem".

Mentre el concepte de Kronos es referia al temps cronològic o seqüencial, Kairós representava un moment del temps indeterminat en què passa alguna cosa d'especial.

Kronos és així un concepte quantitatiu;
mentre que Kairós té un caràcter qualitatiu.



MITOLOGIA DE KAIRÓS
-------------------

En la mitologia grega, Kairós és fill de Zeus, el déu del Cel i del Tro (Júpiter en mitologia romana) i de Tique, deessa de la Sort (en mitologia romana anomenada deessa de la Fortuna).
No és un gran déu Kairós, però és hereu del temps.

Les arrels de Kairós remunten a quan Gea, deessa de la Terra (en mitologia romana anomenada Tellus), sense ajuda masculina, va donar a llum Urà, déu del Cel (en mitologia romana anomenat Aion).

Després, aquest la va fertilitzar i van tenir sis Titans i sis titànides, entre ells Kronos i Rea.

Kronos va sotmetre a la seva germana Rea i van tenir descendència:
Els anomenats Déus de l'Olimp.

Un d'ells va ser Zeus (que va lluitar contra Kronos, va destruir la seva tirania i el va condemnar a presó (al Tàrtar).

Així que Kairós és fill d'un déu prou poderós i té parentesc amb Kronos, però tot i així és capaç de fer que la fortuna somrigui.

Kairós simbolitza el lloc on s'uneixen i on es pot distingir el Temps de la supervivència entre mort i mort, i el Temps de la vida plena on no hi ha mort.



DESCRIPCIÓ FIGURATIVA I SIMBOLISME
---------------------------------
Kairós es presenta com un noi adolescent, calb o amb un manyoc de cabells a la part del davant del cap.
A l’esquena té dues grans ales i a més té els peus alats com a símbol de la seva rapidesa (el que es pot interpretar com que se l'ha de trobar i agafar al moment just, ja que sinó es pot escapar).
La seva mà esquerra subjecta una balança desequilibrada, deixant entreveure que la seva virtut no és l'equilibri, tot i que posseeixi el secret de la mesura.
El seu aspecte físic reflecteix la bellesa, d’aquí en parteix la seva relació amb l’art.


KAIRÓS DES DE DIFERENTS ÀMBITS
------------------------------
Segons Amanda Núñez:

" Kairós és el temps del gaudi.
És l’instant alegre i vivenciat.
La manera individual de viure el temps intensament.
És el punt just, el moment adequat, la potència i l’eficàcia combinats amb l’harmonia i el plaer.
En tant que oposat al de Kronos, el temps de Kairós no és un temps mesurable
ja que es regeix pel plaer sorgit de les emocions.

És per aquest fet que, en l’actualitat, és un temps que resulta ser molt preuat a nivell sentimental.
Kairós, és un temps, però també un espai.
És un temps de glòria. És l’oportunitat. És l’ocasió del retrobament i del punt d’equilibri productiu.
Sentir dins d’un mateix Kairós significa entrar en un oasis de plenitud i viure moments d'il·lusió. "


Per a ella, el concepte sorgeix en diferents àmbits i activitats de la vida quotidiana:

Kairós és el temps que reclamen els infants, vinculat al temps de l’oci.
Un temps que porta a les persones al joc i al lleure.
Fugir de la realitat per crear un món imaginari i únic. Evasió.
Ens porta a una dimensió fora del món real.

Kairós és un temps que està directament relacionat amb les celebracions.
És el temps que per exel.lència sorgeix en les festes, i com a tal, segrega aquests instants dels del temps de treball.

Són espais de temps en què sorgeix la plenitud i ens fa defugir tot allò que
entenem per qüotidià o temps buit.

Kairós és un temps molt vinculat a les creences i a les religions.
És vist com l’instant que esdevé espiritual i sobrenatural.
És el temps de la meditació i la reflexió interna.

Kairós també apareix en el món esportiu, en aquells instants que són la clau per a l’èxit:

En el surf: és el moment en que s’agafa el plec, és a dir, l'onada s’anomena Kairós. Només es mantindrà l’equilibri si s’opta per entrar a l’onada en el moment oportú.

En l’atletisme: s’anomena Kairós el moment precís en què el primer atleta travessa la meta.


Kairós també és vist dins l’àmbit de la medicina, com el temps idoni per a la intervenció mèdica.


Kairós, en l’àmbit de la retòrica, és el que fa que l’escrit tingui harmonia i fluidesa, allò invisible que està relacionat amb el tema i l’estil.


Kairós és un temps directament relacionat amb el món de les arts:
És el temps de la inspiració, de la virtut i de la fecunditat.
És el temps de la creació.


__________________________

(Ésta es la dimensión del tiempo que yo llamo “kairológica”, la única capaz de conectar, en una tensión fecunda, pasado y futuro dentro del presente de la experiencia y la imaginación creativa.)
— G.MARRAMAO en su Apologia del tiempooportuno -

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REFERÈNCIES :
-----------
Mark Freier (2006) "Time Measured by Kairos and Kronos" (anglès)
Núñez, Amanda: "Los pliegues del tiempo: Kronos, Aión y Kairós"
Giacomo Marramao: "Kairós, Apología del tiempo oportuno" (Barcelona,Gedisa,1992,p.25)

BIBLIOGRAFIA:
------------
Marramao, G. (1992). "KAIRÓS, Apología del tiempo oportuno." Ed. Gedisa.
Domènech Francesch,J. (2009). "ELOGI EDUCACIÓ LENTA"., Ed. Graó
Valencia García, G. (2007). "ENTRE CRONOS Y KAIRÓS. Les formes del temps sociohistòric". Ed. Anthropos







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