FREEDOM PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Street on River Island

Your taxi to T.R.A.C.S: http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/194/110/1007

Songs about Freedom

Born free to follow your heart

I GOT TO BREAK FREE

And I dream I'm an eagle

And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky

I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze

High, high, what a feeling to fly

Over mountains and forests and seas

And to go anywhere that I please

Over de muur (Dutch for Over the wall) is one of the most successful Dutch songs in history. Its success stems from the witty text and the historical value. The song refers to the political differences between East and West of the time, depicting the situation in Berlin with the Berlin Wall as clear boundary. With the song, Klein Orkest first reject Eastern socialism fully along the lines of the common view in the West. But then the song also broadcasts the faults of the West, such as commercialization, racism and poverty. As a whole, it ridicules the Cold War.

Oost-Berlijn, Unter Den Linden - East Berlin, Unter Den Linden

Er wandelen mensen langs vlaggen en vaandels - People are walking along flags and banners

Waar Lenin en Marx nog steeds op een voetstuk staan - Where Lenin and Marx still stand on their pedestal

En iedereen werkt, hamers en sikkels - And everyone works, hammers and sickles

Terwijl in paradepas de wacht wordt gewisseld - While the guard is changed in parade march

40 jaar socialisme, er is in die tijd veel bereikt - 40 years of socialism, there's much achieved during this time

Maar wat is nou die heilstaat als er muren omheen staan - But what's this ideal state when it's surrounded by walls

Als je bang en voorzichtig met je mening moet omgaan - When you must deal your opinion frightened and carefully

Ach wat is nou die heilstaat, zeg mij wat is hij waard - Yes, what's this ideal state, tell me it's value

Wanneer iemand die afwijkt voor gek wordt verklaard - When somebody who differs gets certified isane

En alleen de vogels vliegen van Oost- naar West-Berlijn - And only the birds are flying from East to West Berlin

Worden niet teruggefloten, ook niet neergeschoten - Aren't whistled back, nor shut down

Over de muur, over het ijzeren gordijn - Over the wall, over the Iron Curtain

Omdat ze soms in het westen, soms ook in het oosten willen zijn - Because they want to be sometimes in the West, or sometimes in the East

Omdat ze soms in het westen, soms ook in het oosten willen zijn - Because they want to be sometimes in the West, or sometimes in the East

West-Berlijn, de Kurfürstendamm - West Berlin, Kurfürstendamm

Er wandelen mensen langs porno- en peepshow - People are walking along porno- and peepshows

Waar Mercedes en Cola nog steeds op een voetstuk staan - Where Mercedes and Cola still stand on their pedestal

En de neonreclames die glitterend lokken - And the neon signs are tempting with glitter

Kom dansen, kom eten, kom zuipen, kom gokken - Come dancing, come eating, come drinking, come gambling

Dat is nou 40 jaar vrijheid, er is in die tijd veel bereikt - That's 40 years of freedom, there's much achieved during this time

Maar wat is nou die vrijheid zonder huis zonder baan - But what is such freedom without a home, without a job

Zoveel Turken in Kreuzberg die amper kunnen bestaan - So many Turkish in Kreuzberg who can hardly survive

Goed, je mag demonstreren, maar met je rug tegen de muur - Right, you can demonstrate, but with your back against the wall

En alleen als je geld hebt, dan is de vrijheid niet duur - And only when you have money, freedom is not expensive

En alleen de vogels vliegen van Oost- naar West-Berlijn - And only the birds are flying from East to West Berlin

Worden niet teruggefloten, ook niet neergeschoten - Aren't whistled back, nor shut down

Over de muur, over het ijzeren gordijn - Over the wall, over the Iron Curtain

Omdat ze soms in het westen, soms ook in het oosten willen zijn - Because they want to be sometimes in the West, or sometimes in the East

Omdat er brood ligt soms bij de Gedächtniskirche - Because sometimes they can find breadcrumbs at the Gedächtniskirche

Soms op het Alexanderplein - Or sometimes on Alexander Square

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Slavery is not merely a historical relic. According to the International Labour Organisation  (ILO) more than 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery. Although modern slavery is not defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term covering practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power.

In addition, more than 150 million children are subject to child labour, accounting for almost one in ten children around the world.

Facts and figures:

• An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
• There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world.
• 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
• Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities.
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.

ILO has adopted a new legally binding Protocol designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate forced labour, which entered into force in November 2016.

Slavery

Slavery is, in the strictest sense of the term, any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form of property. A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the term chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised, de jure slavery. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against their own will. Scholars also use the more generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour to refer to such situations. However, and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word, slaves may have some rights and protections according to laws or customs.

Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, or purchase.

While slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any previous point in history, with an estimated 45 million people being in slavery worldwide. The most common form of the slave trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is also still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In other areas, slavery (or unfree labour) continues through practices such as debt bondage, serfdom, domestic servants kept in captivity, certain adoptions in which children are forced to work as slaves, child soldiers, and forced marriage.

Terminology

The English word slave comes from Old French sclave, from the Medieval Latin sclavus, from the Byzantine Greek σκλάβος, which, in turn, comes from the ethnonym Slav, because in some early Medieval wars many Slavs were captured and enslaved. An older interpretation connected it to the Greek verb skyleúo 'to strip a slain enemy'.

There is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as "unfree labourer" or "enslaved person", rather than "slave", should be used when describing the victims of slavery. According to those proposing a change in terminology, "slave" perpetuates the crime of slavery in language, by reducing its victims to a nonhuman noun instead of, according to Andi Cumbo-Floyd, "carry[ing] them forward as people, not the property that they were". Other historians prefer "slave" because the term is familiar and shorter, or because it accurately reflects the inhumanity of slavery, with "person" implying a degree of autonomy that slavery does not allow for.

Memorial of Racker Snook

Sweetgrass canceled there Sunday Party but than I got this notice: "Although there will be no party at Sweetgrass this Sunday, the disco has been dedicated as a space of remembrance for our dear friend, Racker Snook. Please feel free to drop by the disco at your convenience to pay your respects to Racker. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and condolences for Racker."

First there was the ceremonial at Sweetgrass and than we all went to the Memorial building where Norbie placed a commemorative plaque. And at last but not at least we all went to Barefoot. Everybody told his story and memories about Racker. Especially Fiorino could tell us so much about his close friend. Here are some snapshots.

 Rest In Peace Racker

Saturday we had a BLACK PARTY. On Thursday we got the the news that Racker Snook died in real life. Racker was a deejay at T.R.A.C.S till he had a stroke in 2014 from what he never totally recovered. Tim and I decided not cancelling the party and Tim worked hard on a set of songs to make a tribute to Racker. But his stream did not work properly last Saturday and that made Tim mad and sad. I understand, it was his tribute to a great and dearest friend. Use Racker in SEARCH, on this blog, if you want to know more about Racker. Here are some of the snapshots of the party. 

BLACK PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Street on River Island

Your taxi to T.R.A.C.S: http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/194/110/1007

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

BLACK

Black is the darkest color, the result of the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, literally a color without hue, like white (its opposite) and gray. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness, while white represents light.

Black ink is the most common color used for printing books, newspapers and documents, because it has the highest contrast with white paper and is the easiest to read. For the same reason, black text on a white screen is the most common format used on computer screens.

In color printing it is used along with the subtractive primaries cyan, yellow, and magenta, in order to help produce the darkest shades.

Black and white have often been used to describe opposites; particularly truth and ignorance, good and evil, the "Dark Ages" versus Age of Enlightenment. Since the Middle Ages black has been the symbolic color of solemnity and authority, and for this reason is still commonly worn by judges and magistrates.

Black was one of the first colors used by artists in neolithic cave paintings. In the 14th century, it began to be worn by royalty, the clergy, judges and government officials in much of Europe. It became the color worn by English romantic poets, businessmen and statesmen in the 19th century, and a high fashion color in the 20th century.

In the Roman Empire, it became the color of mourning, and over the centuries it was frequently associated with death, evil, witches and magic. According to surveys in Europe and North America, it is the color most commonly associated with mourning, the end, secrets, magic, force, violence, evil, and elegance.

Etymology

The word black comes from Old English blæc ("black, dark", also, "ink"), from Proto-Germanic *blakkaz ("burned"), from Proto-Indo-European *bhleg- ("to burn, gleam, shine, flash"), from base *bhel- ("to shine"), related to Old Saxon blak ("ink"), Old High German blach ("black"), Old Norse blakkr ("dark"), Dutch blaken ("to burn"), and Swedish bläck ("ink"). More distant cognates include Latin flagrare ("to blaze, glow, burn"), and Ancient Greek phlegein ("to burn, scorch").

The Ancient Greeks sometimes used the same word to name different colors, if they had the same intensity. Kuanos' could mean both dark blue and black.

The Ancient Romans had two words for black: ater was a flat, dull black, while niger was a brilliant, saturated black. Ater has vanished from the vocabulary, but niger was the source of the country name Nigeria the English word Negro and the word for "black" in most modern Romance languages (French: noir; Spanish and Portuguese: negro; Italian: nero ).

Old High German also had two words for black: swartz for dull black and blach for a luminous black. These are parallelled in Middle English by the terms swart for dull black and blaek for luminous black. Swart still survives as the word swarthy, while blaek became the modern English black.

In heraldry, the word used for the black color is sable, named for the black fur of the sable, an animal.

Black Friday (shopping)

Black Friday is an informal name for the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November), which has been regarded as the beginning of the country's Christmas shopping season since 1952. Most major retailers open very early (and more recently during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but California and some other states observe "The Day After Thanksgiving" as a holiday for state government employees, sometimes in lieu of another federal holiday such as Columbus Day. Many non-retail employees and schools have both Thanksgiving and the following Friday off, which, along with the following regular weekend, makes it a four-day weekend, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time. Similar stories resurface year upon year at this time, portraying hysteria and shortage of stock, creating a state of positive feedback.

In 2014, spending volume on Black Friday fell for the first time since the 2008 recession. $50.9 billion was spent during the 4-day Black Friday weekend, down 11% from the previous year. However, the U.S. economy was not in a recession. Christmas creep has been cited as a factor in the diminishing importance of Black Friday, as many retailers now spread out their promotions over the entire months of November and December rather than concentrate them on a single shopping day or weekend.

The earliest evidence of the phrase Black Friday applied to the day after Thanksgiving in a shopping context suggests that the term originated in Philadelphia, where it was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. This usage dates to at least 1961. More than twenty years later, as the phrase became more widespread, a popular explanation became that this day represented the point in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from being "in the red" to being "in the black".

For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 a.m., but in the late 2000s many had crept to 5:00 or 4:00. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time. In 2012, Walmart and several other retailers announced that they would open most of their stores at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, prompting calls for a walkout among some workers. In 2014, stores such as JCPenney, Best Buy, and Radio Shack opened at 5:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day while stores such as Target, Walmart, Belk, and Sears opened at 6:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day. Three states, Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts, prohibit large supermarkets, big box stores, and department stores from opening on Thanksgiving, due to what critics refer to as blue laws. The Massachusetts ban on forcing employees to work on major holidays is not a religion-driven "blue law" but part of the state's Common Day of Rest Law. A bill to allow stores to open on Thanksgiving Day was the subject of a public hearing on July 8, 2017. There have been reports of violence occurring between shoppers on Black Friday. Since 2006, there have been 7 reported deaths and 98 injuries throughout the United States. It is common for prospective shoppers to camp out over the Thanksgiving holiday in an effort to secure a place in front of the line and thus a better chance at getting desired items. This poses a significant safety risk, such as the use of propane and generators in the most elaborate cases, and in general, the blocking of emergency access and fire lanes, causing at least one city to ban the practice.

APPLE PARTY

and here are the snapshots.