the 18th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Ecuador.

Developing young leaders was high on the agenda of the 17th Congress. Young workers involved in many struggles participated in the congress as speakers in the plenaries and as delegates.

The Bahrain delegation came from the Alba union representing workers at Aluminum Bahrain BSC, one of the largest industrial companies in the Middle East and one of the top ten aluminum producers in the world. Yasser Al-Hujairi is the general secretary of the Union and Basem Kuwaitan is in charge of international relations. They were joined by Abdullah Ali and Abbas Ali.

Denmark was represented by brick layer Emil Olsen, a member of union 3F. After returning from a previous WFTU meeting, he was fired for having gone to aFederation of Trade Unions opened its congress with over 1,200 delegates from 111 countries, cheered on by a convention hall rocking with songs sung by hundreds of other South African union activists who had come to make this meeting a huge success.

These were songs of struggle sung by serious working class fighters. The delegates represented 92 million workers (an increase of nearly 20 percent in the last five years). Observers, represented at least hundreds of thousands more.

Over 340 of the delegates were women union leaders. About 70 percent of the delegates were from unions representing workers in the private sector and 30 percent in the public sector.

It was the first congress held on the African continent, and it was proudly hosted by the South African labor federation COSATU


along with other members of the South African alliance: the Communist Party and the African National Congress.

What were the initial impressions of this congress by some in the U.S. delegation?

For union activists in the U.S. who were tired of hearing U.S. union leaders talk about “the middle class” instead of what they mean but are still afraid to say—“the working class”—this congress was a breath of fresh air.

For union activists in the U.S. who yearn for real political independence in relation to the parties and political system of the rich, many of the unions in this congress showed what is possible.

For union activists in the U.S. who see the desperate need for bold, united class action against all the anti-union attacks and the injustices of racist police brutality,of steelworkers have lost their jobs and their health care and had their pensions cut by corporations controlled by banks. Now thousands of British steelworkers are losing their jobs. The Redcar works have closed and Tata is threatening to close Port Talbot, killing the jobs of 4,000 more workers.

In Netherlands, 4000 more workers are at risk of the same thing.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Arcelor Mittal shut down a plant in Point Lisas this year. The workers whose labor made all of the profits were among the last of the 175 creditors. It was their investment of labor that was key to everything. Their pensions were at risk, just as the pensions of workers in the UK are. Steelworkers in the U.S. are very familiar with plant closings, pension


organize all who are adversely impacted by neoliberal policies.

Ukraine:

A delegate from Ukraine backed up his words about the life and death struggle they are in with graphic pictures showing how fascist death squads had destroyed union offices and killed union staff.

Colombia:

Since the U.S. Colombia Free Deal was passed in 2011 (with the support of Hillary Clinton) over 100 unionists have been assassinated. This year, in the space of two weeks in February/ March, three more activists were killed. In Honduras, because of the U.S. sponsored soft coup, death squads have reappeared. Two more people were killed on October 8.

Guatemala:

Estrada Tambito was shot five times and killed in Guatemala City on June 19, 2016. She was a leader in the UNISTRAGUA. She had just dropped off her father whowas advising the banana plantation workers in contract bargaining. Several banana plantation workers have been murdered in the past several years, and in 2014 11 union leaders were fired. In the past eight years, 62 unionists have been murdered. This is part of the context for the May 20, 2015, arrest and imprisonment of Julia Amparo Lotan Garzona, a WFTU Presidential Council member. She also was a leader in UNSITRAGUA, an affiliate of WFTU.

Targeted murderous repression was also exposed in the Basque County, Ecuador and many other countries

Syria:

The Congress heard from delegates in the most embattled areas. Leaders of General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) in Syria stood up to denounce the death and destruction taking place due to the maneuvers of the U.S. with right wing terrorist


groups. The Syrian delegates received a warm, sustained loud applause showing complete solidarity. So did the Palestinian cause, which was at the heart of so many delegates’ speeches.

Bangladesh:

The barbarity of the system was also highlighted by the delegation from Bangladesh. In the weeks leading up to the Congress another factory fire killed over 30 more workers in Bangladesh, less than four years after another fire killed 112 workers. The fight for health and safety was not the only matter being faced by the Bangladesh Trade Union Centre BTUC. New laws are being pushed which will slash labor rights. They returned from the WFTU Congress and immediately organized a large protest against the law.

Brazil:

Brazil had a very large delegation including the Central Workers of Brazil (Central dos Trabalhadores eTrabalhadoras do Brasil), which brought 44 delegates. The INTERSINDICAL – Fighting instrument and Organization of Working Class had important leading delegates there as well. The President of UST, the Trade Union Central or Uniao Sindical dos Trabalhadores was there with a delegation, as was the President of the CGTB General Central of Brazilian Workers or CGTB

The energy of the Brazilian delegates was amazing and their determination to overcome the May 12 coup was clear to everyone. Everyone at the Congress was aware at least in part of what was going on. But hearing it and feeling it in their voices and the passion of their words brought it home.

As soon as the coup was consolidated, the ruling class began to dismantle the social protections that workers had fought


for and won. Institutions to fight discrimination were dismantled and then the ruling class moved quickly to a direct attack on the most basic rights. Nearly every workers’ movement in the capitalist world is facing a battle in the legislative arena where vitally important rights are at risk of being taken away. In Brazil, after the coup, that process is on steroids. The government pushed a bill thought the House known as PEC 241 and is now in the Senate as PEC 55. It was freeze federal investments in education, health, welfare and safety for 20 years, causing the collapse of those systems- those public services won in previous struggles. (High school students occupied over 110 schools on Oct 11 to protest this)

At the same time the SupremeCourt is moving to allow privatization- destroying decades old rights against it. That hearing is set for hearing and their will be demonstrations at the Court on November 9.

On September 27, the Court took aim at the right to strike by declaring that strikers could no longer be paid, despite the fact that the right was won long ago and the right to strike is referenced in the Constitution.

On September 30, two million workers went on strike to send a message that they would not stand still in the face of these attacks. Oil worker from Petrobras and auto workers joined others on the picket lines. Then on Oct 28 the Petrobras workers rejected a contract, setting the stage for a possible major strike on or about Nov


11. Following that will be demonstrations on November 25.

The president of CTB, Adilson Araújo, was one of the first speakers in the late morning of Wednesday (5). He denounced the coup and the Temer regime and described the impact of the coup on Latin America, particularly in the wake of the economic crisis from the mid-2000s. Remembering the direct role of the United States in the 1964 coup, he also pointed to how the oil monopolies and banks based in the US plan to benefit from the coup this time. This is a direct and brutal challenge to Brazil’s sovereignty that stands behind the coup.

Ricardo Saraiva-Big from the Intersindical Central da Classe Trabalhadora also exposed the forces behind the coup and its devastating impact. He called for greaterfocus on exercising the power of the working class through a general strike

Both speeches were met by wild cheers as deep militant solidarity.

Turkey:

Representatives DISK Nakliyat-Is in Turkey denounced the severe repression in Turkey noting that tens of thousands of workers have been summarily fired and put in jail over the last several months. On July 21, the government imposed a State of Emergency which is being used against the working class. Since then over 200,000 people have been arrested. Over 100,000 public workers have be summarily fired or suspended. Recently 10,000 more in the fields of education and health care were fired. And 15 more media outlets were closed bringing the total to about 160.

Even before the July State of Emergency, the government was engaged in repression. In


June 2013 when hundreds of thousands were protesting and suffering police brutality, the DISK union federation and others called a general strike to challenge state terror. (In May 2013 the government had sprayed 14 tons of tear gas on union and progressive forces at May Day events).

The police attacked again on May Day 2015, not with the same ferocity as in 1977 when 34 workers were killed but still with brutality and a large number of arrests.

In June 2016, before the State of Emergency, the general secretary of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK) was detained based on the flimsy claim that she had insulted the president of the country in a speech in August 2015. Immediately upon her arrest, WFTU unions like PEO inthe Department of International Relations KASBI (serving as translator). On the right, Sunarno, KASBI secretary general addressed the participants of the WFTU congress

While workers in India and several other countries proudly display union banners with symbols of associated with communism and workers’ power (the hammer and sickle), doing that in Indonesia could be cause for arrest.

The year 2015 was the 50th anniversary of the 1965 U.S.-supported massacre of people suspected of belonging to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). On July 21, 2016, a hearing in The Hague found the Indonesian government guilty and the U.S. complicit in the killing of half a million to one million people.

This is not a problem of the past. A 1999 Indonesian law is still on the books. Act 27, Article 107 says


that any who talks or writes or develops the teaching of Marxism shall be put into prison for up to 12 years. If the person who is charged has an intent to change or replace the ideological underpinnings of the Indonesian state (referred to as Pancasila), the penalty is up to 20 years in prison.

This law is enforced. In June 2016, a young man was arrested for wearing a T-shirt that had a hammer and sickle on it. In July, a group of youth were arrested when one of the youth was found to be wearing a pin with a hammer and sickle on it.

On June 1, 2016, a conference opened on “Securing Pancasila ideology Threats Rise of PKI & Other.” It included several major leaders and organizations.The meeting was opened by Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu, who has criticized any revision of the anti-communist drive. Rizieq Shihab, a leader of the ultra-right wing Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), gave a slide show presentation on the revival of communism. He denounced the attempts to change education about the 1965 massacre, which up until now portrays PKI members as criminals who tortured people and had to be killed.

Reporters covering the rise of reaction have noted that “since mid-2015 police, soldiers, and vigilantes have broken up dozens of events, from film screenings to meetings of massacre survivors, which have been labeled “communist.”

Organizing a class oriented union in this context is extremely challenging. But KASBI, the Congress Alliance of Indonesian Labor Unions has proven that it is up


to the challenge. Formed just 11 years ago and led by young workers, it has 150,000 members. Its slogans and organizing combine the fight to win immediate needs with a sharp understanding of what causes low wages, contract labor, and foreign exploitation of natural resources.

KASBI has been mobilizing and fighting hard at the local and national level on raising the minimum wage. They have mobilized significant actions on a national level including their participation with others on the Dec 10, 2014, national strike by one million workers, followed by an equally impressive national strike Nov. 24 to 27, 2015, on the issue of wages.

Their spirit is captured in this video of an Oct. 31 KASBI rally of 50,000 members. The focus of the rally were 10 demands toabolish outsourcing, privatization, low wages and union busting. They demanded women’s rights and migrant rights, free education and reductions on the price of food. The mobilized workers for human rights and concluded by singing the Internationale.

Venezuela:

Marco Tulio Diaz, the vice president of the Socialist Confederation of Workers of Venezuela, took the podium to expose the United States’ efforts at regime change and the resistance of the Venezuelan working class. Among trade unions, the resistance is led by his union.

The loud and sustained applause for his speech indicated the firm support that all the delegates had for the struggle in Venezuela.

Marco Tulio Diaz analyzed the maneuvers of imperialism in Latin America and reviewed the resistance—noting and thanking Cuba for its support.

While most countries represented at the congress were having


reform” filled most of the first seven months of the year with mass organizing and protest.

Railway worker Matthieu Bolle-Reddat thrilled the congress with his expression of solidarity for the struggles in Africa. He represented the millions of French workers who mobilized repeatedly against the anti-labor El Khomri law. It was first proposed Feb. 17 which immediately triggered mass actions March 9 by 500,000 workers then again March 31 with many more. Nationwide protests and occupations fought the law in April and again in May. On June 2, rail workers shut down the system and garbage workers went on strike in Paris June 8. One million workers and community members marched on June 14 even as police attacked the demonstrators. More mass protests fought the law in July. Althoughin turn is being used as an excuse for privatization.

On April 26 and 27 over 40,000 state workers and students went on strike to protest the broad attack on rights and pay. On July 21 union activists interrupted the legislative assembly with chants highlighting their demands and reflecting the anger of workers targeted by their reforms.

In the fall UNDECA and a bloc of unions and community groups led by UNDECA (Bloque Unitario Sindical y Social Costarricense) continued to organize meetings and rallies to build the movement for larger and larger actions. UNDECA Secretary-General Luis Chavarria Vega was re-elected as the WFTU

Congo (DR):

The Congo (DR) was well represented not only in terms of numbers but even more so by serious organizers with political vision and a drive to create


of workers to the system of exploitation.

Nepal:

Workers in Nepal have had their sights set on power for some time. In many arenas of struggle, workers have felt growing power. It is a complex situation with competing political tendencies as well as the capitalist state and the forces of imperialism. There are many union federations as well as parties.

Perhaps one of most important lessons from Nepalese delegations such as CONEP, NDFRONT, the National Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions, and the Nepal Trade Union Federation is the level of unity they were able to achieve while at the same time acting to build each organization’s individual identity.

The WFTU is an organization that embraces all class based unions and most delegations had several different groups within it.

Cyprus:

The financial crisis hitworkers in Cyprus with a vengeance.

In 2011 and 2012, cost-of-living increases were frozen for everyone and remain frozen today, while prices have skyrocketed. In northern Cyprus, for example, the government proposed to cut wages for public workers by 40 percent along with imposing new tax increases, privatizing the Turkish Cypriot airlines, universities, telecom, and more. Workers went on general strikes in the north more than once with tens of thousands protesting in the streets.

By 2013, as banks were collapsing and poverty gripped 25 percent of the population, fees were instituted for health care, making it out of reach for some.

The troika of the IMF, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup forced Cyprus to sign an agreement in March 2013 that required even worse cuts and more privatization.

By


the end of 2014, wages were cut by about 30 percent.

The public ports of Cyprus are one of the defining features of the island. The IMF forced ports like the one at Limassol to be sold. In September 2015, the troika demanded that privatization continue with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus and with telecommunications. Big struggles forced suspension of it in the spring of 2016. Pensions have been target. Over the last several years thousands have abandoned their homeland to escape

This has been challenged in both sections of the island with organizing, mass protest and general strikes by coalitions of unions.

Everything that happens in Cyprus, happens in the context of its history as a colony of Britain (with its divide and conquer administration). It also happens in thecontext of the 1974 Greece/ US instigated coup followed by an invasion of the island by Turkey, which taken together ripped the island apart.

Based on its location, Cyprus has always been in the crosshairs of imperialist interests, led by NATO military leaders.

That is a tough position to be in—targeted by NATO, the IMF, and the European Central Bank. The situation also contains a mixture of local right-wing groups that feed at the trough of local capitalists and international capital.

Many labor federations have developed over the years, several steeped in class struggle. Seven federations sent representatives to the congress. Pampis Kyritsis, general secretary of PEO (Pancyprian Federation of Labour) and a VP of the WFTU, chaired one of the sessions and spoke at the plenary. Also speaking was DEV


President Hasan Felek.

On Sept. 1, 2016, the class-oriented unions of Cyprus held a demonstration to mark the International Day of Trade Unions for Peace. The action took place in the buffer zone between the two sections of divided Cyprus. Pampis Kyritsis, the general secretary of PEO, pointed out that the common class interests of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots create the basis for intensified common struggles and real solidarity between them. For the class unions of Cyprus, he said, “and for the progressive people of this country.” the solution of the Cyprus problem and the reunification of the country is a top priority.

Italy:

Cinzia Della Porta spoke at a congress plenary. She is a national leader of the Italian union federation known as USB or Base Unions, indicating itsfocus on mobilizing workers at the base and with the perspective of class struggle.

Italian unions went on a massive general strike in December 2014 against the labor “reforms” being pushed by the government led by Prime Minister Renzi. They continued their fight with a mass action in March 2015.

In the end, the government pushed through laws that made it easier to fire workers. The law also allows employers to not make the contributions owed to employee pensions for three years if hired by the end of 2015. This has undermined pensions and increased profits, but it hasn’t made a dent in unemployment.

This is the fifth time in five years that labor rights have been reformed—each time only to benefit business.

Italy now has fewer people in work as a


of workers in Russia. They have been organizing and building for 25 years. Renat Karimov, chair of a union for migrants spoke at a plenary about his union’s work organizing and protecting migrant workers from a number of neighboring republics.

Yuri Zaharchenko spoke to us about organizing over 6000 scientific workers in high schools, industry, higher education and in state scientific centers. This area of work was recognized by WFTU General Secretary Mavrikos as one in which the WFTU should begin to focus on internationally.

Evgeny Alexandrovich Kulikov a former chair of a rail workers union and now a general secretary of a union, talked about transportation industry workers organizing.

A major national labor federation from Russia became a new affiliate of the WFTU Congress.

The activist leaders from Russia had deepinsights into the class battles in Russia and around the world

Peru:

Valentin Pacho, deputy general secretary of WFTU and a leader of the CGTP in Peru has played an important role in organizing in Latin America. Working with Jose Ortiz, for example he made it possible to file a complaint against Chile for violating fundamental ILO labor rights.

Valentin Pacho was set to represent the WFTU in Chicago by placing a plaque at the monument honoring the Haymarket martyrs, whose struggle gave rise to May Day, celebrated around the world. The United States refused to give him a visa

Carmela Sifuentes, president of the CGTP was on the presidium of the congress. She was joined at the congress by VP Olmedo Auris, Nazario Arellano and Luis Villanueva, assistant secretary general of


the FTCCP (construction union).

Iran:

Alireza Mahjoub, secretary-general of Workers’ House in Iran spoke about developing workers power in that country. The base of support for class based organizing is partly reflected in the fact that he received over 1.3 million votes in a recent parliamentary election, getting the highest percent of votes in his area of Tehran. The Workers House is the largest trade union center in Iran.

Guadeloupe and Guyana:

A woman representing Guadeloupe spoke to the congress. Guadeloupe has a strong movement. In January 2009, a general strike involving the whole island brought power to the demand for lower prices and only ended when the government agreed to increase the minimum wage and made concessions on other points. This was during the world economic crisis and showed what waspossible with struggle. (The general strike spread to Martinique, which also won concessions)

Komal Chand, the leader of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), spoke at a plenary giving voice to farmworkers’ struggles around the world. He reminded the Congress about the role played by Cheddi Jagan, who for decades led the union and the People Progressive Party. Today, Komal Chand is also an elected representative of the People Progressive Party in parliament.

Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka was elected for the first time to the WFTU Presidential Council. The country will be represented by Mr. Janaka Adhikary from the Inter Company Employees’ Union. Delegations also came from the All Ceylon Trade Union Federation; and the All Ceylon Estate Workers Union which work together as a coalition.

The Ceylon Bank Employees


Union was there. They led a strong strike last December when 30,000 bank employees in eight state banks and 12 private banks joined in the action. The union represents all workers, Sinhalese and Tamil and is being vigilant against privatization.

Cuba:

Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, Politburo member and Secretary general of the Workers’ Central Union of Cuba, led a significant delegation to the congress.

Everyone at the congress recognized the key role played by Cuba as an example of both workers’ power and resistance to imperialism. Cuba was praised for its internationalist aid to struggles around the world and its contribution to the ideological arming of all who want a better world.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea:

Kim Tong Son, vice president, Central Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions of KoreaGFTUK and a member of the Supreme Peoples’ Assembly, led a delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In the U.S., the capitalist media tries to vilify North Korea. They refuse to describe the legal rights that workers in the DPRK have that workers in the U.S. are still fighting for. Far from being vilified or marginalized at this conference, workers from many delegations rushed to talk with and have their pictures taken with the DPRK delegation. Everyone understand how U.S. imperialism was targeting the DPRK, and expressed their heartfelt solidarity with the DPRK.

China:

An Jianhua, director general of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions International Liaison Department, led China’s delegation. China has hosted many conferences for WFTU unions, facilitating solidarity. For example, in March 2016 a union


capacity building workshop was held for Benin, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Unions in these countries are deeply concerned with national development that empowers workers and worker rights.

In the fall of 2014, China hosted a trade-union forum along with unions from the Organization of African Trade Unions and the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions.

Vietnam:

Bui Van Cuong, secretary, Standing Committee of Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, led Vietnam’s delegation. In personal conversations, Mr. Bui Van Cuong expressed his solidarity with the struggles of workers in the United States and recounted that he had been to Los Angeles.

In March 2016, Vietnam hosted a key meeting of the WFTU Presidential Council.

The U.S.:

A delegation of about 20 union activists came from theUnited States. It included a broad range of unions and workers including public employees, longshoremen, healthcare union representatives, an auto worker, roofers, musicians and community organizers.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME Local 3800 gave a presentation to the congress on behalf of the delegation. She recounted some of the recent union struggles and pointed to the small but important number of unions beginning to join with the Black Lives Matter movement against racist police brutality. She talked about the unions that were joining with Native activists in Standing Rock in the battle against the pipeline. And she brought awareness to the struggle to free political prisoners Oscar Lopez Rivera, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu Jamal and others, something that SEIU representatives played a particularly important role in.

Finally, she talked about


how the U.S. government blocked WFTU representative Valentine Pacho from traveling to Chicago to place a plaque at the Haymarket site. A statement from the WFTU was read by Kay Tillow, however, and was received enthusiastically.

Cliff Smith, business agent for the Roofers Local 36 also spoke. His local just voted to affiliate with the WFTU, the first union in the United States to do so. He expressed solidarity with the national strike being carried out by COSATU on the same date, demanding decent work and an end to labor contractors. He talked about the need to fight racism and national oppression in the U.S. and around the world. He also talked about the election and the need to build a People’s Democratic Workers’ Party.

Sudan:

Leading delegates from Sudan, Cameroonand others with Haidar Ibrahim General Union of Palestine Workers on the presidium of the Congress

The WFTU has made developing solidarity with African unions a high priority. It has always had deep roots among working class fighters in Africa. This fact was reflected in the many African delegations.

The delegation from the Sudan was large and strong. Coming from a country with a proud history of organizing and struggle from colonial times through the 1960s and beyond, these experienced fighters know about the class struggle.

On Oct. 31, 2016, President Obama extended the 19-year embargo/sanctions on Sudan for yet another year. Sanctions are a form of warfare, and these sanctions are a part of the same history as the August 20, 1998 U.S. bombing of pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan.


The factory had just opened in June 1997 and produced most of the medicine needed to treat Sudan’s leading causes of death. It also produced nearly all the country’s veterinary medicine. The factory allowed Sudan to have medicine at 20 percent of the cost on the imperialist world market. It was an important contributor of effective, low-cost medicine to much of Africa. The sanctions and the bombing are a part of a strategy to break Sudan’s sovereignty, to eliminate it as a symbol of resistance to imperialism and to gain access to its oil wealth.

In this context, Sudanese Workers Trade Union Federation (SWTUF) raised its voice against imperialist designs in Africa, the Middle East and around the world while holding up the organization of workers for greater power.

OnOct. 25 and 26, the Women’s Secretariat of the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF) organized a forum of women trade union activists. It brought together 250 women from many of the federation’s unions. The role of women in Sudan’s delegation to the WFTU reflected the organization’s attention to struggle and issues of women workers.

Representatives from dozens of African countries filled the WFTU Congress. Certainly, first and foremost were the delegates from South Africa who shared their struggles, political assessments, and amazing energy with all the other delegations.

Chad:

The general secretary of the Union of Unions of Chad participated in the congress. On Oct. 5 as the congress was opening, a court in Chad issued a ruling against ExxonMobil, ordering it to pay a $74 billion fine for systematically


Faso:

El Hadji Nana Inoussa, the dynamic general secretary of the union federation in Burkina Faso, shared his analysis of the struggle at one of the plenaries. He has been playing a key role in the coalition of unions meeting with the government over working-class issues.

Congo (DRC):

A number of unions represented the Congo and were quite kind in sharing their stories struggles and desire for international solidarity. The legacy of dedicated revolutionaries runs deep in the Congo.

We remember the inspiring role filled by Patrice Lumumba in the struggle for independence and then briefly as prime minister. He was just one example. But he was an amazing example and a leader. The U.S. CIA orchestrated the coup to remove him and arrange for his assassination.

We were honored to meet comradesfrom the Congo and to extend our solidarity to them

Congo (Brazzaville):

The Congo (Brazzaville) delegation followed up the congress with a Nov. 1 meeting between the WFTU Francophone Africa office and the Congo Brazzaville unions.

Gambia:

Long time Gambia and regional leader of the WFTU, Momodou K. Masaneh Ceesay, spoke at a plenary. He is the secretary general of the Gambia Labour Congress.

Nigeria:

The Nigerian Labor Congress is the class-oriented union federation of Nigeria, which is the largest country in Africa by population and has one of the largest working classes

Nigeria is rich with natural resources, especially oil. Yet the country is nearly broke and millions are poor and hungry. Many state workers are frequently not paid on time- for months. This situation exists for one fundamental reason, imperialist plunder that takes


severely weakened the effort as did the abandonment of the struggle by the reformist unions. Yet someone stood up. An organization of the workers stood up on an issue of the utmost importance.

People in the U.S. may think that fighting price increases is impossible. But it has been done effectively in rent control struggles and in the 1970s against food price hikes in several cities. In New Caledonia, massive general strikes in 2011 and 2013 did force pride rollbacks and strikes this year won a law that caps some price increases. (This was led by USTKE or Union of Kanak and Exploited workers.)

South Africa:

It would be impossible to overstate the importance of South Africa in the congress and in the world movement. The main contributors to the congressthe U.S.) is met with schemes to undermine the effort. He described the BRICS efforts to counter the World Bank and IMF and called for even greater unity of the unions in those countries.

He talked at great length about conditions in South Africa. He said that “monopoly capital as our main strategic enemy and the parasitic bourgeoisie as our most immediate threat”. He described the continuing poverty in South Africa and again stressed that “without defeating imperialism on a continental and wider international basis, our liberation will remain incomplete.”

The poverty rooted in colonialism and apartheid frames the current conditions which also feature both corruption and the constant attempts by capital to capture full and complete control of the government in all its aspects. The natural disgust by the


working class at the continuing poverty and corruption pushes workers to demoralization and sometimes to support for right wing parties.

He reminded the congress of the coup in Brazil and the desire by imperialism for regime-change wherever they sense resistance to exploitation.

With that context he described the dynamics in South Africa in 2012 in the Rustenburg platinum belt and the “Marikana Tragedy” which also occurred in the midst of the global economic crisis with mass layoffs in mining and auto.

He further described the aims of the SACP for free education for all, beginning first and foremost with free education for the poorest and the workers. He pointed out that, “We are dealing with… a global problem not only in respect to student debt but also the material basis ofPresident Michael (Mike) Mzwandile Makwayiba was elected president of the World Federation of Trade Unions on Oct. 7. He was born in a small village and began work as a migrant farm worker on apple farms in the Western Cape. In 1990, he became a cleaner in a hospital. He soon became an active shop steward and soon after he was elected to higher leadership positions. By the late 1990s, he was a regional leader and by 2004 a national leader. He was elected president in 2010

A WFTU program of struggle for public workers

The Congress adopted a program for the next five years which charts a course for increased organizational strength, increased international solidarity and growth for class oriented unions.

Among the sectors of WFTU work is an organization


that unites unions in the public sector. Pierpaolo Leonardi is leading the work of the Trade Union International for Public Services. This is one of the most important areas of work since on a world scale, public sector unions are the most organized force in labor and are under the most intense attack.

Many of the fiercest attacks on labor are in the public sector, giving this area of work a high priority. A world meeting of public sector WFTU unions was held in Nepal in February 2015.

In March 2015, Mexican unions had massive mobilizations against the possibility of privatizing energy and in a particular, the national public resource, oil. Teachers and other workers came out to rallies in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Michoacan states.

On April 4, 2016, the WFTUorganized a worldwide International Day of Action against privatization on April 4, 2016.

In Pakistan the April 4 rallies were held in the context of an attempt to privatize the national airline. On February 2 two workers were killed while protesting privatization. Many workers were injured in the police/ security attack. The same day, four airline trade union members were kidnapped and later released by unidentified men six days later.

The Pakistan APFUTU had previously denounced the government’s practice of taking loans from the IMF and similar organizations- stating long ago that the debt created would be used as leverage by finance capital to sell state-owned firms. APFUTU organized anti-privatization meetings and actions in 8 cities on April 4- including Gujrat, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Multan, and Fasilabad.

In Argentina, teachers went on


a national strike against the new right wing government which has failed to live up to contracts with public sector unions.

In Greece, PAME organized massive demonstrations in many cities on April 7 followed by large rallied on April 10 against unemployment. On June 8, Greek healthcare workers went on strike to expose the way that the IMF imposed austerity was gutting such a vital service. They raised the slogan that Healthcare and Education is a right for all people. On October 11, city workers in Athens went on strike protesting the layoffs of all workers with 2 month contracts- and exposing the use and exploitation of temp workers and precarious labor.

In Peru public sector workers went on strike against privatization on November 5 (and had to face offwith police) and then again during the International Day of Action on April 4, 2016.

Peru’s next big national public sector strike is on November 24.

Upcoming meetings and actions in 2017

March 22, 23 Latin American WFTU Public Sector meeting in Ecuador (organized by the newly elected Continental WFTU VP Perpetua Dionicia Mejia Echeverria).

First week in April – a week of fighting privatization. Asia Pacific continental meeting probably in India to be organized by the Vice President Nepal’s Punja Prasad Dhakal and Deputy General Secretary Sreekumar.

The Sudanese Workers Trade Union Federation (SWTUF) is organizing a meeting for the African continent.

Gabon is organizing a meeting for French-speaking Africa in Mauritania on April 3 and 4, 2017.

Another sector of work is led by the Trade Union International for Pensioners and retirees.

This work


is being led by Quim Boix from the Central Sindical Unitaria based in Barcelona, Spain. He joined the Communist Party in 1964 during the period of fascist Franco. He was fired eight times, arrested 11 times, tortured on several occasions and sent to prison twice. He has been a leader of the movement of the substantial Catalan communist movement and has been a leader in the PCPE. His efforts now are focused on the many struggles around the world that revolve around pensions and the struggle of senior.

Joining him is Marcos Wolman from Argentina (Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina Autónoma). He is the General Secretary of the National Coordinating Board of Organizations of Pensioners and is deeply connected to the many struggles in Latin America over pensions.

TheChile and forced some concessions, but much more is needed

On November 16, 2016, the WFTU affiliate in Senegal will host the first conference of class oriented organizations across Africa which are focused on the struggle of pensioners and retirees.

Workers all over the world have nothing but poverty to look forward to after a lifetime of work. That is certainly true in the U.S. and this remains an area where real struggle is possible.

Songs of struggle

Speeches inspired both strong applause in solidarity- and solidarity in song

South African songs of struggle sung by hundreds rhythmically rocked the Convention center.

One such song, “I’m a communist,” erupted spontaneously:

My mom

Was a kitchen girl

My father

Was a carrying boy

That’s why

I’m a communist

I’m a communist

I’m a communist


gear is disposed adjacent to, and in meshed threaded communication with, the threaded shaft of the anchoring elements such that rotation of the gear causes rotational torque of the anchoring elements. The driving rotational force on the gear causes the anchoring elements to rotate, deploy from the body, and thread into the vertebral bone of the patient's spine.
Despite the advancements in the art, there is nevertheless a need for a new intervertebral device that includes self-contained anchoring members that deploy in response to rotational, pulling, or pushing driving forces.Rest Of World

USD25 Million for Solar PV Projects in Mauritius and Rwanda January 21, 2018 Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for development aid, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global platform for international cooperation on renewable energy, have announced that US$25 million in concessional loans from ADFD have been earmarked for two solar PV projects, one each in Mauritius and Rwanda.

China to Dominate Global Clean Energy Industry, says Report January 11, 2018 2017 saw China increasingly becoming the world’s dominant player in the building and financing of clean energy technology globally, a report published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) says.


‘Each New Day is a New Nightmare’: GOP Judge Calls for Trump Impeachment

The first few weeks of the Trump administration have been riddled with controversy. Now, former Ohio Judge Mark Painter is calling for an end to Donald Trump‘s presidency less than a month after it began.

Painter, a Republican, wrote a scathing editorial for Cincinnati.com in which he discussed some of the highlights (or lowlights, as far as he’s concerned) of Trump’s brief time in office. A Twitter jab at Nordstrom over his daughter’s clothing line, the Pentagon looking into renting space at Trump Tower, issues of conflicts of interests with his businesses, “illegal” orders, and insulting a “so-called judge” are some of the notable hallmarks of the administration that Painter mentions, shocked that Trump has gotten awaysome of Police Chief Mike Reese's comments in this week's cover story. The bureau is hungry for a new drop-off center where cops can take people in crisis, lobbying hard to wrap the facility into the city's police reform settlement with the US Department of Justice.

And county officials bristled when Reese said the county's Crisis Access Treatment Center—a 16-bed mental health facility made possible with and state funding—wasn't working because "they have procedures against" taking people there. That's not exactly true, county spokesman David Austin told me. Cops can take someone to the CATC provided they phone first. On the dedicated police line! But here's some more distressing county data, looking at both the CATC and the county's urgent walk-in clinic in Southeast:

So, yeah, something's not working. The


Israeli tanks struck two Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip Friday evening after a grenade was hurled at troops and amid intense violence during mass riots in several locations along the border.

The strike came as Hadashot TV news reported that Israel is denying it agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas that stopped intense Gaza rocket fire into Israeli and IDF response attacks Wednesday and Thursday.

Around 9,000 Palestinians participated Friday in violent weekly border protests. Some protesters rioted near the fence, threw makeshift bombs, Molotov cocktails and rocks at Israeli soldiers, and burned tires to create a smokescreen. In one incident a grenade was thrown at Israeli troops, but caused no casualties. Several attempts were made to breach the security fence.

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The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that two Palestinians were killed in the riots: 25-year-old medic Abdullah al-Qatati and 55-year-old protester Ali al-Alul. It said over 300 people were hurt, of which dozens were shot by Israeli troops.

Some rioters flew incendiary kites and balloons into Israel. Israeli officials said at least nine fires had broken out in Israeli territory since the morning due to airborne arson attacks.

Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza and seeks to destroy Israel, had earlier said the so-called “March of Return” border demonstrations would continue unimpeded, despite its announcement of a cessation of hostilities with Israel the night before.

A senior Israeli diplomatic official insisted to Hadashot that Hamas’s announcement that Jerusalem had agreed to a


truce was a lie. A senior defense official backed up the claim, and added that the army did not see the confrontation as over.

The implication was that Israel had ceased its reprisal attacks in the Strip because Hamas had halted rocket attacks on Israeli communities, but did not see itself obligated to a truce.

Hamas’s announcement of a truce late Thursday came after a 12-hour lull in fighting, following two days that saw the heaviest exchange of Palestinian rocket fire and reprisal Israeli airstrikes since the 2014 Gaza war.

Hamas said a ceasefire had been reached “on the basis of mutual calm” and went into effect at midnight on Thursday. It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other regional players. Israel denied there was a truce, but aLatest News in December 2014.

Team Mass Elite is searching for the top underclassmen from classes 2016-2018, This team will represent Team Massachusetts Elite and Team 1st String Performance and compete in the upcomingPylon 7v7 events.February 28- March 1 Las Vegas
March 14-15 Los...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Noble and Greenough School girls basketball team has been one of the top teams in New England sports this decade and head Coach Alex Gallagher has his squad playing at a high level once again this season.Despite seeing their amazing...

CONCORD, Mass. – The Lowell Lady Red Raiders led from start to finish on Monday afternoon, as they defeated the Concord-Carlisle Patriots, 54-30.Lowell was led by the strong play of freshman point guard Shyan Mwai '18 (pictured left) and junior center...

The 2014 Massachusetts High


School football season came to an end last week, with "Super Saturday" in Gillette Stadium. After a long fall of gridiron action, we take a look at some of the top performers.Mass Prep Stars and First String performance joined...

Lawrence Academy football star Chris Garrison '15 is our Mass Prep Stars Private School Player of the year for the 2014 season.The ISL Co-Most Valuable Player helped lead Lawrence Academy to a 2014 ISL Championship, along with a 35-34 Hugh Caldera NEPSAC...

Everett Defensive Back / Wide Receiver Lukas Denis ’15 is our 2014 Mass Prep Stars Public School Player of the Year.Denis helped lead the Everett Crimson Tide squad to a Division 1 Sectional title and a runner-up finish in the State Title and Division 1...

Here are our 2014 MassToday was a fun day as we coasted downhill and were pushed by a strong tailwind. The day started with a 500 foot climb, but after that we went down 2000 feet over the next 35 miles.

Part of the route was on the highway again. However now the shoulder was not as clean as before. It hard lots of dangerous things for tires like parts of tires with steel bands and lots of glass. Also two section were reduced to one lane. For the first section we could stay out of the lane and on the other side of construction barrels. However the second section was a bridge that was dismantled and was down to one lane forcing us to travel very close to the trucks. I just


on the outskirts of Huntington welcoming us! The town was really small but several of the shops (there were only a total of 5 or so)had signs advertising what we're doing in store windows.

Also, the money from us for renting the school was going to go to the basketball team. So the coach had his players help us setup camp. Thanks!

It was very windy also. Several tents blew away. But several cyclists took it upon themselves to be on patrol watching for tents about to blow away while many of us decided to go to the bar.

Dave Meyer's birthday was today so we went before dinner to the dinner and had pie. I had marrienberry (not sure on the spelling, but its a local berry). It tasted amazingthem 2-0 behind, and in complete disarray. So bad were United until the break that the mind rewound to the David Moyes 2013-14 season and some of the shambolic offerings of that team.

While the club began the day by saying privately that Mourinho retained their backing, the joke at Old Trafford was that he might be relieved of his duties at half-time. But, no. After some stern words at the interval, out came his players in a re-jigged shape that had Paul Pogba as a quasi-centre-back-playmaker, and he, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Lukaku proceeded to tear at Newcastle.

From the 70th minute to the close United were unstoppable. Mata curled home a superb 20-yard free-kick, Martial burst the net with the equaliser and, then, entered the maligned Alexis


North Korea, Russia and China – three US adversaries.

There are 54,000 military personnel within the United States Forces Japan command. The command is the largest deployment of US troops in the region and is the backbone of the larger US Indo-Pacific Command.

Also included in the modernization package are Joint Mission Planning Systems, Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Modules and Rockwell Collins ARC-210 software-defined radios, the notice says.

Part of the modernisation package will be sold to Japan through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process, says the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The agency did not disclose what work would go through FMS, but says Boeing would be the prime contractor.

Another undefined part of the modernisation package, would be sold via a direct commercial sale (DCS) to Japan and would be handled byYonathan Ratosh

Yonathan Ratosh (1908-1981) was born Uriel Halperin in Warsaw, Poland. His family, which spoke Hebrew at home, immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1921.He published his first poem in 1926. Ratosh studied at the Hebrew University and at the Sorbonne. In the mid-1930s, he edited the Revisionist movement's newspaper and was active in right-wing underground organizations. In 1939, he founded the Canaanite movement, which rejected both religion and Jewish nationalism. This group promoted the theory of a shared cultural heritage for the entire Middle East. He founded and co-edited Alef, a widely translated literary journal, that included the works of Stendhal, Camus, Shaw and O'Neill. Ratosh was awarded the Prime Minister's Prize.
The literary expression of the Canaanite movement was strongly influenced by an ancient, pre-biblical mythology and vocabulary,


and Ratosh's own work is closely linked to the movement's political theory. The poems of his early period are marked by a strict structure, playing with rhyme and repetition to create an almost hypnotic effect. In contrast, Ratosh's later work sheds these tools and instead employs a colloquial diction and more contemporary style. In spite of the changes, his structure and metre remain unconventional and thus uniquely individual. While the movement founded by Ratosh was never broad, T. Carmi wrote that "its emphasis on myth and its stylistic mannerisms had considerable impact on contemporary poetry."Tag: medicinal plants

According to an 8 January 2014 member advisory release by the American Botanical Council (ABC), in Austin, Texas, researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and Masonic Cancer Center reported findings of a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research yesterday which found daily consumption of a kava-derived dietary supplement prevented the formation of 99 percent of tumors in a mouse lung tumor model used to predict lung cancer in humans. Positive animal studies usually suggest further research leads, but this study shows such a significant benefit that further development will be accelerated. The levels of success is reported with a patent-pending extract of Kava components, not currently available off-the-shelf Kava dietary supplement products.

A traditional ceremonial beverage of South Pacific societies, Kava (Piper


and may lead to a greater emphasis on prevention rather than cure.”

In the January 8th member advisory release, the Austin, Texas-based American Botanical Council, quotes Prof. Bill Gurley PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the College of Pharmacy of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and a leading expert on herb toxicology. Prof Gurley reviewed the study and commented to ABC, “…the findings are both compelling and certainly merit further research in order to translate them into the clinic. The findings are a breath of fresh air for kava, in particular, and botanical supplements, in general. Recently supplements have suffered quite a bit of negative publicity — some of it deserved, some not — but the kava study from the University of Minnesota emphasizesaward-winning, graphically-compelling journal, HerbalGram, are encouraged to join the American Botanical Council.

Whether you follow ancient pagan traditions, the Roman Saturnalia, or just good old Christian Christmas, it is the time of the winter festival marked by the concurrent astronomical shift of the Winter solstice. In 274 C.E., the Roman Emperor Aurelian is christened the 25th of December the day of the solstice on the Julian calendar—natalis solis inviciti—“birth of the invincible sun.” Just two years earlier, the 57th Emperor of the Roman Empire was born, Constantine I, who was to usher in a new epoch as the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. The December 25th celebration of the “birth of the invincible sun” was easily transformed into the Christian celebration of the “birth of the invincible


horticulture in 1804, it is native to China and Japan. In China it is symbolic of the Chinese New Year. Writing in 1848, Robert Fortune, observed, “Large quantities of its branches are brought at this time from the country and hawked about the streets. Each of these branches is crowned with a large bunch of red berries, not very unlike those of the common holly, and, contrasted with the dark, shining leaves, are singularly ornamental. It is used chiefly in the decoration of altars, not only in temples, but also in private dwellings and in boats—for here every house and boat has its altar.”

In ancient China the woody stem was carved into a gourd-shaped charm and hung around the necks of children to ward-off whooping cough. It wasUnited States have represented male branches grafted on to rootstocks. Within forty years after Ginkgos were widely planted as a street tree by the mid 1800s, female trees like those at Eureka Spring’s Post Office began to leave their bad smelling fruits on sidewalks. Female Ginkgos are simply not a neat and tidy street tree. Notwithstanding the beauty of the fall foliage, the fact that these two trees are females makes them a unique and interesting part of Eureka Springs’ heritage.

Beneath the Ginkgo tree, 13 November 2013

Ginkgo was common 175 to 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. This primitive tree is considered the oldest living tree species on earth. Ginkgo is monotypic. That is, in the ginkgo family there is only one species in one


genus — the only surviving member of the ancient and primitive ginkgo family—Ginkgoaceae. Ginkgo has been cultivated in East Asia for hundreds of years. Numerous reports mention the existence of large specimens, some more than a thousand years old, at ancient temples in Japan and China. The tree was first introduced to North America in 1784 in the garden of William Hamilton at Woodlands near Philadelphia. Mature ginkgos are said to reach over 100 feet in height. Its longevity as individual trees and a species in general can in part be attributed to its exceptional resistance to pests and resiliency to destruction by fire. It is also extremely tolerant of air pollution thriving in the harshest urban environments.

Ginkgo leaf extracts are highly complex, highly concentrated preparations with anFodor's may use your e-mail address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Bilbao and the Basque Country Hotels

Miró Hotel

A design refuge that places you in the eye of Bilbao's art and architecture fiesta

Cons

Not unpretentious

A hint of preciosity pervades these halls

Updated 03/12/2014

Fodor's Review

Perfectly placed between the Guggenheim and Bilbao's excellent Museo de Bellas Artes, this boutique hotel refurbished by Barcelona fashion designer Toni Miró competes with the reflecting facade of Javier Mariscal's Domine Bilbao just up the street. Comfortable and daringly innovative, it is one of the city's sleek new fleet of hotels inspired by the Guggenheim. The high-tech, contemporary rooms are spacious and lavishly draped in subdued mauves and


United States and the former Soviet Union.

It was the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades.

Offer to train foreign astronauts

He also pointed out that China launched an experimental space station in 2011. It will be replaced with a more permanent one which will be completed in 2020.

A Chinese astronaut said in September his country is willing to open its space station to foreign astronauts and even train them for such missions.

Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is now an adjunct professor with the University of Waterloo in Ontario. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

China was barred from participating in the current orbiting space station, largely because of U.S. objections over political differences.

Hadfield added that after the Russians launched the Mir Space Station inFebruary 1986, other nations dropped in for a visit during its 15 years in orbit.

NASA says on its website that Mir hosted 125 cosmonauts and astronauts from 12 different nations before it was deorbited and sunk into the ocean in 2001.

Hadfield, who became a Canadian astronaut in 1992, visited Mir in November 1995 on the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis. He was the only Canadian to ever board the Russian space station.

"If you predicted in 1989 that I would fly on an American shuttle to go build a Russian spaceship, people would have said you were crazy," said Hadfield, who last March became the first Canadian to command the International Space Station.

"So I think looking forward, there's a great opportunity to include the Chinese in the world space program


— the international space program."

To the moon

Hadfield said a logical progression would be to include as many countries as possible in an international mission beyond Earth — "hopefully including China and India and the other countries that have launch capability and then progress to the next stepping stone, the next natural waypoint out to space, which is the moon."

Iain Christie, executive vice-president of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, says China's presence in space cannot be ignored. The association represents the interests of more than 700 aerospace companies across Canada.

I think China is back where we were in North America 50 years ago. They're excited about space. - Iain Christie, Aerospace Industries Association of Canada

"I think China is back where we were in North America 50 years ago,"he said in an interview from Ottawa. "They're excited about space, they're not spending their time justifying why they're in space, they're spending their time justifying why they're not doing more.

"I am hopeful that their enthusiasm for space becomes infectious to the rest of us."

Christie said decisions will have to be made in the coming years.

"We're going to have to decide what to do about engaging with China in space — whether it's to be more collaborative or more competitive," he said. "I don't know which one we'll choose."

Walt Natynczyk, the new president of the Canadian Space Agency, was in China in September to attend the annual International Astronautical Congress in Beijing. It was described as an opportunity to visit some major space actors in the country.

Meantime, as


Natynczyk continues work on a long-term space plan, Hadfield said Canada must look at where the world's space program is headed.

"Canada needs to choose what makes sense to us," he said. "There's so much technology that we need in power generation, in navigation, in communications, in environmental recycling — there's all sorts of technical issues that we need to solve that will also have use for us here back in Canada."

Hadfield attracted worldwide attention with his dramatic photos of the Earth, his tweets and his Space Oddity video during his space station visit which began when he blasted off in December 2012. He returned to Earth in mid-May 2013. The David Bowie cover has had close to 20 million views on YouTube.lurked in the woods, she would have found the atmosphere quite lovely.

Swamp | Art by Christine Choi

"We'll sleep in the boat," Vraska said. She let go of the oars and hissed as she poked at one of her blisters.

The thaumatic compass sat on the plank between the two Planeswalkers. Jace picked it up and looked where it was pointing. "That thing would be more useful if it told us how far we had to go," said Vraska as she stretched one arm out, then the other. She laced her fingers together and sighed with relief.

Jace didn't answer.

He looked up, and the magic in his eyes lit up the contours of his face. A large draft horse materialized above them, glowing a delicate blue against the night sky, and


ran upward into the canopy.

The spectral horse would serve as a beacon for Malcolm.

I hope the rest of the crew arrives soon.

The air was thick and windless. It smelled of growing things. Sap, rot, things dying and eating and growing on top of all the other dying and eating things. Vraska remembered her crew would sing on windless nights like these when they were trapped at sea. She loved those communal moments most. She and her tribe, enemies of all but each other.

"A castle grows in Old Below," she sang.

Jace looked at her like she had grown a second head. Vraska smiled and finished the verse.

"Its windows shine with an ancient glow,

Some wander its maze, a mess of decay—"

Vraska paused. Jace was listening carefully.

"You want me to keepgoing?" she asked with a tired smile. Jace smiled.

She sat up and kept her voice down. Perhaps music would deter whatever dinosaurs might be listening.

". . . and the Kingdom of Rot will rise one day."

Jace made a tired little noise of approval. "Cheery song."

"The Golgari have little to be cheery about." Vraska sat back with her eyes closed.

Jace's voice was slow with sleep. "Breeches taught me a song."

"The one about figs?"

"It's a rude song. Very rude. He's a rude little goblin."

Jace went quiet after that, and a moment later he was lost to sleep. Vraska wondered if he could do that on command.

Small winged creatures chirped overhead, and night birds sang deep in the jungle.

She opened a golden eye and gazed back at Jace. At the second-most-dangerous


telepath in the Multiverse.

He could break my mind as easily as I can sing a song.

And yet . . . he would not. He would never. Not when he listened like he had (like no one had).

Vraska knew in that moment that, memory or no, this was a man she could trust—and one who would trust her in return. She did not need another person to be complete, nor did she need validation of who she was. And if he weren't interested, that was fine—she had a history book at home to finish. But if he were interested, Vraska imagined he would make her tea if she was upset. He would listen when she needed to be heard, cheer her on to her own victories. All in all,not a bad prospect. Perhaps she'd ask him on a date when all this was over. She hadn't been on one of those in a while. For now, though, Vraska was happy as things were. A simple, straightforward race with a good friend at her side—that was what she needed.

Vraska couldn't wait to petrify whoever had stolen his memories.

The glow of the plants around and the stars above made their cold little boat feel warm in the shadow of the jungle, and as Vraska closed her eyes, she felt the cool breeze of invisibility cover her once more.

JACE

Jace slept soundly after his watch. The quiet and the open air were welcome changes from the months he had spent sleeping in a hammock surrounded by the rest of the


crew.

Vraska and Jace abandoned their boat the next morning. They rowed to the shore and left the ship on the riverbanks.

Masses of rock and forest floor seemed to jut out at odd angles, and any semblance of a path was lost in the noise and chaos of the jungle in daylight. Vraska got out her sword as a makeshift machete to clear the way.

Eventually, the two came to a wide, clear path. Vraska put her sword away in relief.

"About time. Sword blisters fall in about the same place as oar blisters," she groaned.

Jace's brows furrowed. "We may not want to walk here."

He pointed up at how the clearing ran through the canopy. "This path was probably made by dinosaurs."

Vraska sighed. "So all of this path was worn bydinosaurs crossing it?"

"No, it was cut by dinosaur loggers," Jace explained further in perfect, sarcasm-less deadpan. Vraska snorted a laugh.

Jace shook his head gravely. "Don't insult the noble trade of dinosaur forestry."

Vraska's laugh was interrupted by an odd smell in the air.

A thick cloud of dark smoke suddenly flooded the grove around them.

The smoke was cloying, an inky mist with the vague scent of myrrh that enveloped the trees, obscuring what little light broke through the canopy above and turning day suddenly into night.

Jace shouted in surprise, then reached out to sense what he could with his mind.

Vraska was standing in the center of the path, grappling with a barely-visible foe. The mist was too thick for vision—he reached out to the enemy's mind, sensed the spell that


was casting the darkness, and pinched it off.

The dark smoke dissipated, leaving a conquistador standing exposed. The vampire was snarling, chin covered in crusted blood, and her gold and black armor shone. The sigil of a rose was embossed on her chest plate, and the points of her helmet loomed jagged and sharp over the gorgon. The crust of dried salt on her armor led Jace to believe this was one of the survivors of the other shipwreck.

Jace held up a hand and created the illusion of a massive, disorienting storm.

Thick rain poured from the canopy above, the vibrant green of the path turned dark, and a clap of thunder sounded overhead.

Vraska appeared unfazed, but the vampire was startled. She jumped, slightly, but came to just in timeto block a strike from Vraska's sword with her armored shoulder. The vampire left her sword sheathed, moved in close, and attacked in a frenzy of kicks and blows. Vraska tried to swing her sword in response, but was interrupted by a sharp jab to her jaw. She began to draw the magic necessary to petrify the vampire.

Jace again threw out his hand, reaching for the vampire's mind, but the chaos of the tussle was too much—he was too unpracticed—and a gauntlet landed a blow to his forehead. He fell back to the ground, concentration shattered.

The illusory rainstorm vanished, and the dappled sunlight flickered back into view.

Jace groggily watched as the vampire reached down to the forest floor and felt around, snagging the thaumatic compass from the ground


split on either side of Jace's psychic defense.

The source of the illusion was a merfolk standing precariously on the back of a massive elemental.

He looked to the source of the other mental voice, a woman wearing steel armor plated with the same feather pattern as the dinosaur she rode. A half-circle blade hung at her side, and her long braid flicked in the air as she barreled toward him.

Jace's thought process leapt from idea to conclusion. He held up a hand at the oncoming human, a tingle ran down his neck, and the woman pulled back sharply on her dinosaur's reins. The beast skid to a halt. The woman atop it looked frantically to either side.

"Where did they go?!"

The merfolk's fins fluttered. "It is an illusion!"

She held outa hand, and vines whipped up from the forest floor to wrap themselves around Jace's legs.

He fell to the ground in a heap, and the invisibility he had projected vanished.

Vraska stepped out and stood in front of him. She called out to the knight and merfolk. "Wait!"

"Why are you chasing us?" she asked.

Jace gave himself permission to sweep the surface of the merfolk's mind.

"The merfolk knows about the compass."

The merfolk's fins fanned in surprise and anger.

Vraska's lip curled. "Who are you?"

Jace stood, and the vines around his feet receded. He took a place by Vraska's side and stared down their opponents.

Tishana's elemental readied itself to attack. The merfolk laid a reassuring hand on its side. "My name is Tishana, an elder of the River Heralds and protector of


in impatience.

The merfolk must have heard him, but her face did not betray her thoughts. Instead, she tilted her head to one side as if she were listening.

Curious, Jace dipped back into the surface of the merfolk's mind. Through some unseen connection she was sensing an intruder move through the jungle ahead. Her tether to the trees and soil underfoot was delicate, and every step of the intruder left a trail through the rainforest. Experiencing it first-hand was elating—Jace had not known that such power was possible.

The merfolk looked to Jace. "A vampire is near. Did she take the device from you and abscond?"

The knight on top of the dinosaur had a subtle amber haze about her, and her dinosaur rumbled a deep growl. Jace began to hearthe movement of other dinosaurs around them.

He centered his weight and balled his fists. "The vampire took the compass from us."

Something snapped its jaws in the jungle behind them. Both Vraska and Jace jumped from the noise.

The knight smiled and turned her dinosaur to the side. She flashed a winning smile. "Thank you for your cooperation."

The merfolk swiftly climbed atop her elemental, and the two women bounded into the jungle.

As soon as they left, Vraska snapped her head to Jace.

"Can you track the vampire?"

Jace nodded, listened briefly for the vampire's mind.

He smiled.

"I can track more than just that."

Vraska nodded, and the two of them took off into the thick of the forest. As Jace ran, he sent another signal to the rest of their crew—and the illusory draft


horse charged along the same path as its caster below.

HUATLI

Huatli placed a hand on her mount as they ran and sent a short charge of magic through their connection.

A dinosaur perceives through scent what a human sees with their eyes, and years of training had taught Huatli how best to communicate with her mount.

Find. Blood. Decay. Vampire.

The dinosaur sniffed the air, lowered her head for the hunt, and increased her speed.

Leaves whipped past, and Huatli allowed her eyes to adjust as the branches above began to give way to wider trees with a thinner canopy. Smaller creatures dodged as she passed, and Huatli could hear birds and dinosaurs in the canopy above screeching warnings to each other as she and her predator moved below.

"This may take some time,"Huatli said.

It took nine hours.

Unclaimed Territory | Art by Dimitar

Island | Art by Raoul Vitale

They passed down steep hillsides and through empty vales, and at one point, they waded their mounts through the shallows of a lake. Every time they got close, the vampire would pull farther ahead, and every time they stopped for breath, they marveled at the tenacity of their foe.

"She's fast for a dead woman, isn't she?" Huatli panted, massaging a cramp in her thigh while her dinosaur drank thirstily from the lake.

Tishana seemed unimpressed. "The intricacies of the universe care not for how quickly the tapestry is made, only the ultimate connecting of its fibers."

For the sixth time that day, Huatli rolled her eyes.

Forest | Art by Raoul Vitale

Sunpetal Grove | Art by Dimitar

The


merfolk and the knight eventually emerged on the other side of the lake.

Huatli felt the dinosaur's glee—their prey was almost within reach. Sure enough, she soon saw a gold-clad figure ahead, leaning against a tree and panting with exhaustion.

"Let me have her, Tishana!" Huatli yelled. The merfolk slowed her elemental's jog and held back.

The dinosaur drew itself closer to the ground for the attack as they approached. The vampire turned her head to see what was approaching, but she didn't have time to respond as the dinosaur opened its jaws and seized her around the waist.

The vampire screamed in surprise as Huatli's dinosaur tossed her aside into the trunk of a massive tree.

Huatli dismounted and walked toward the vampire.

Her foe was taller than she, and an angry streakthe armor, but it was sufficient to hoist the vampire off the ground. The vampire was flailing in protest, trying to draw her sword while batting and clawing at the dinosaur's thick hide.

"Shake," Huatli said aloud.

The dinosaur shook the vampire up and down, and the conquistador wailed in response.

An odd-looking compass flung out of her pocket and hit the ground.

Huatli kneeled over and picked it up. It was beautiful and elaborate, humming with an energy she could feel through the palm of her hand.

Release, Huatli instructed.

The vampire, drenched in spit, hit the ground with a slimy thud. Huatli sensed for the nearest meat-eating predator and summoned it with a burst of magic and an invitation—Feast! She felt as the raptor bounded toward her in the jungle. Huatli quickly


climbed up on her saddle, and her mount took off into the jungle.

The greatest warriors of the Sun Empire never killed, but they would never let a hungry beast go without a meal.

Huatli trotted toward Tishana with a grin on her face. "Run, before the vampire can catch up! I got the compass!"

The merfolk smiled in response. Her teeth were like little knives in a well-organized row. "Wonderful!"

Tishana took the compass and looked it over, turning it over in her hands and investigating it as carefully as one would a sacred text.

She narrowed her eyes at the object, then gave Huatli a sly look.

The compass began to emit a pulsing amber light straight ahead.

The fins on the side of Tishana's face fluttered, and she closed her eyes.

Huatli closedher mouth and waited. She knew the River Herald was sensing something she couldn't see. After a moment, the merfolk's eyes fluttered open with an astonished wonder.

"The end of our peregrination is near."

Huatli was too excited to roll her eyes this time. "Really?"

"It is part of the land around it, yet separate, to keep it hidden. It does not move, but the way to it is enchanted to change . . ." Tishana closed her eyes again and pointed. Her finger was parallel to the line of the compass. "It is a half day's travel that way."

Huatli nodded resolutely. "Then we must not wait!"

Tishana paused.

Her mount shifted ever so slightly away from Huatli. Her eyes darted to the compass.

Huatli's mood turned defensive. "Tishana, we had a deal we


would go together."

"Yes," said the merfolk, "we did."

Huatli lunged for the compass, but just as she grabbed it she was interrupted by the slap of a large flap of canvas covering her face and knocking her off her mount.

Huatli hit the ground, her body entirely wrapped up in a massive sheet of cloth. She tried to wiggle her way free, but the canvas around her grew tighter. Beyond the fabric, she could hear her dinosaur screech and cry before being suddenly silenced. The silence was broken by the cheers of about a dozen people.

The Brazen Coalition.

A familiar female voice laughed. "Let her out, Amelia."

The fabric lifted Huatli back to her feet and spun her around until she was free, stumbling with dizziness from the release.

A pirate helmsmage stoodwith her hands at the ready, and the canvas—did she drag that sail all the way from the beach?—bound itself around Huatli's hands.

Huatli gasped. Her clawfoot was in front of her, crouching for an attack, jaws wide open . . . and entirely encased in stone.

The green-skinned pirate from before ran her hand along the side of the newly petrified statue. She knelt to Huatli's level and smiled.

"I'll be taking that compass back now." The tendrils and vines of the woman's hair writhed in smug pleasure. She took the dropped compass from Huatli's feet.

"How did you catch up to us?!" Huatli spat.

The green woman tutted and shook her head. "The vampire you were tracking followed the compass in a straight line. Across this terrain I find that is


not terribly effective. It's much easier to find shortcuts with an eye in the sky and a telepath on the ground."

The siren behind her preened, and the man in blue very politely bowed his head with a smile.

"Any other questions?" asked the captain.

Huatli concentrated her fury and channeled as much energy as she could into a spell. Her eyes lit with an amber glow, and from behind her a herd of clawfoots screeched in the jungle. She would never be without a mount in these jungles.

As the dinosaurs made their way toward her, the pirates fled in the other direction. Huatli wrestled her way out of the ropes and looked for Tishana. Damn merfolk! Where did that traitor go?!

Her answer came with a faraway rumble.

Huatli didn't want towait to find out what it was.

Behind her she saw Tishana, standing with her arms outstretched, and the trees moaned with bent wood and the smash of water as she summoned a flood to careen through the jungle.

Huatli had just enough time to order the dinosaurs away again, and she sighed in relief when Tishana's summoned river rushed past her and toward her fleeing enemies.

The pirates screamed and scattered, and Huatli could have sworn she saw the green-skinned woman and the man in blue escape.

"You're on your own, Warrior Poet," Tishana said dramatically. "I must stop Kumena on my own."

Huatli rolled her eyes once more just as Tishana vanished into the thick of the jungle.

Fine! If she wants to break our bond, then that is on her! Huatli


let out a colorful curse.

She once again began a spell to summon a new mount. She needed to follow the scent of the green-skinned woman. Huatli's merfolk guide may have left, but she was close enough to her goal that she didn't need Tishana any longer.

A voice caused her to gasp in surprise.

"PLANESWALKER! STOP!"

Angrath stood as tall as a tree and as wide as a snubhorn. His head was that of a horned beast, and his body rippled with barely contained power. Red-hot chains were draped over his shoulders, and he huffed in exhaustion.

Angrath.

All of this had started when the pirate had attacked her before. All of it came from whatever that pirate did that made her see what she did. Huatli grimaced and ran in the samedirection the pirates had fled.

Angrath pursued her.

"WAIT! I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Huatli yelled back.

Huatli looked to her right. Angrath was close behind.

She quickened her pace, but a chain whacked and wrapped around her ankle, yanking Huatli to the forest floor.

She masked her fear with a brave face, drew up a hand, and began charging a spell to summon as many dinosaurs and beasts as she could.

"Stop!" Angrath said.

He walked forward and kneeled, laying his chains cold and dark on the forest floor.

Huatli's heart was racing. She was more terrified than she ever had been. What was this killer playing at?

"You're like me," he said.

"I'll never be like you!" Huatli yelled defiantly, dramatically.

"No, idiot, not like that," Angrath replied, his eyes stern


with impatience. "I will not harm you, fellow Planeswalker." Angrath stood, looking down at her.

Huatli was about to demand answers, but Angrath spoke calmly and resolutely. "Whatever prevents us from leaving this plane is locked in that city. We can help each other escape to different worlds if we find it."

A small glimmer of wonder burst through Huatli's confusion.

Angrath continued, ". . . And all we have to do is kill everyone who tries to steal Orazca from our grasp."

Huatli's hope vanished, and a sick malaise filled her gut.

Spectacular, she thought to herself, the murder monster wants to be my friend.

VRASKA

The thaumatic compass began to vibrate in Vraska's hand.

Her heart leapt as she ran, Jace at her side and her crew at her back.

The merfolk's flood had beena smart distraction, but the crew of The Belligerent was not so easily washed away.

Malcolm flew up and ahead and returned with a gasp. "It's on the hills ahead!"

"Keep running!" Vraska yelled to her crew. They were so close, so incredibly close.

The trees grew differently in this part of Ixalan. Vraska and her crew had passed through a mountain range and ran now through a maze of fog and plants. Occasionally, they would run past a tree with beautiful yellow leaves, and in the rocks, beside them, veins of precious gold glittered from under the lichen and moss.

The land itself seemed eager to betray the secrets it kept.

The crew of The Belligerent came to a clearing, and all of them stopped in their tracks. Shining as golden beacons


above the green, the spires of Orazca pierced the sky.

The points commanded the horizon. Their masses were hidden beneath an endless barrier of trees, its bulk so immense that Vraska wondered if the hills themselves were the buried city, coated with an impenetrable tangle of jungle.

She tucked away the thaumatic compass, which pulsed and glowed to mirror the immensity of magic that surrounded them now.

"It is home to more than just the Immortal Sun. Whatever enchantment keeps us here is in there, too," she heard from behind her.

Vraska turned. Jace had caught up to her while the rest of the crew took a break before the final leg of their journey.

She nodded. "I haven't quite figured out what the Immortal Sun actually does yet. There are too manyrest of the crew and began chatting.

He looked so different without his hood. Vraska had never seen him without it before she rescued him from the island.

She distantly wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked.

"Are you coming, Vraska?"

"Just catching my breath. Assemble the crew."

Jace called out to the rest of them and Vraska quickly rearranged her expression into something more commanding.

As Vraska approached the crew of The Belligerent, the ground beneath her lurched to one side.

Her crew cried out in surprise. Malcolm took to the air, and Breeches crawled up onto Amelia's shoulder. Several crewmates had started looking around frantically for something to hold on to, but there was no escape from the jarring movement. The clearing began to shake more violently, and a long


crack appeared in the rock beneath them.

"Look!" Amelia was pointing to the spires in the distance.

They were beginning to rise, higher and higher, into the air. The city itself was emerging from the jungle with every jostle of the earthquake. Vines snapped, trees were violently ripped from the ground, flocks of sunwings rose into the sky, and more and more of the city came into view.

Art by Titus Lunter

Malcolm landed next to Vraska, a look of panic in his eyes.

Vraska grabbed his shoulder. "Did it do this because we approached?"

"Someone must have arrived at the city first."

He pointed to the thaumatic compass in Vraska's hand. Sure enough, all its points were glowing with a fierceness she had never seen before.

The bellow of some giant beast sounded over theshaking of the earth.

Vraska froze, the primal noise sending a jolt of terror through her heart. Her dread only intensified when she heard a similar sound of equal volume . . . then another . . . and another.

Something had awoken.

Water began to creep through the clearing, and Vraska looked to the source. A crevasse had opened nearby, and water diverted from the river poured down into the massive, newly-formed canyon at the base of the city.

The earth shook beneath Vraska's feet, and the Golden City of Orazca rose further and further from the ground.

Now that it was free of centuries of overgrowth, she had a clear view. It was incredible.

The city itself had opened like the petals of a flower. True to its name, the structure itself


was a perfect, untouched gold, ornamented with turquoise, amber, and jade. Its ramps and walkways led over churning rivers and waterfalls, and high above were strange symbols and motifs carved with care.

Vraska was filled with excitement paired with a bold desire to face and conquer whatever it was that had awoken in the distance. She called to the rest of the crew to follow her, but as she began to walk forward, another earthquake took hold and she fell to the ground.

"Vraska!"

She turned her head and gasped. The edge of the clearing they stood at had been cleaved in two, and Jace was clinging to a shifting boulder, trying not to fall over the edge.

The other pirates moved aside as water from the nearby river began to eekits way closer. The water increased in volume, and soon a torrent began threatening to wash away what remained of the ledge.

Vraska waded into the river as far as she could, then swam with the current toward Jace's position. She spat out river water and reached for his outstretched hand.

As soon as her fingers grazed his, the ground jerked sideways once more, and Jace lost his grip.

"JACE!"

Vraska watched as Jace tumbled down the side, eyes wide with terror and hands outstretched in desperation.

Vraska screamed in fury and grief, for she could not see the bottom of the waterfall.

Art by Wesley Burt

She lurched forward to try and spot his descent, and the boulder underneath her gave way.

Vraska fell, mist stinging her arms as she flailed, her hands desperately searching


for a grip.

She didn't have time to scream—only enough time to rearrange her body so her feet hit the surface of the water first.

Vraska was swallowed up by the pool at the bottom.

She grasped and grabbed at the water around, trying to pull her way to the surface.

Churning water squeezed her sides, and the slamming of the waterfall dared to push her further under, but Vraska did not die so easily. Not when the object of her quest was so close.

She felt her fingers break the surface and kicked herself upward, desperate for air. She emerged, sucking in air and spitting out river water. Her feet stung through her shoes with the impact, and she could sense a bruise starting to form on her legs as she kicked.Vast walls of stone and gold had burst through the earth on either side of the water, and the risen city of Orazca towered high overhead.

Suddenly, a searing stabbing slicing pain through her temples—she cried out—and an image appeared in her mind with a flash.

Island | Art by Richard Wright

The image vanished and Vraska gasped in surprise and pain.

Panic flooded her veins once more and she desperately kicked toward shore, craning her neck to get her bearings as she swam. Vraska was still in Ixalan, but the image in her mind was of Ravnica.

What was that?!

She was alarmed and confused, desperately paddling her way to where the brand-new river met the newly exposed stone of the city.

Vraska spotted Jace. He was clinging to a rock near the riverbank,


blood gushing from a wound in his head and his eyes alight with magic. His face was flush with confusion and pain, a faraway look in his eyes.

Did he see it too—?!

"Jace!" she howled, swimming closer, pulling herself and her heavy soggy clothes through the murky water, paddling to stay out of the swift current brought by the waterfall. "Jace, your head—AHH!"

Vraska gasped.

She wore a blue cloak and hood, and lay on the central dais of the Forum of Azor. Niv-Mizzet, the parun of the Izzet, was looking down at her, and she could make out the faces of the maze-runners from every guild of Ravnica. This is a memory, Vraska realized. The memory was colored with meaning, belonging, responsibility. It was the day Jace became the LivingGuildpact.

Suddenly, the image dissipated, vanished, and Vraska was swimming in the river once again.

He is remembering everything, Vraska realized with dread.

Jace's memory was returning all at once, returning as a flood and spilling over the sides, and he would soon remember everything about what Vraska was. He would soon remember their grudge, remember her guild, remember his job, and then none of what had happened over the last few months would matter. He would remember he was the Guildpact and she was an assassin and their friendship would certainly dissolve.

Vraska choked on river water as she frantically swam toward Jace on the shore. He was bleeding, broken, eyes alight and lost in the agony of remembering.

It's over, Vraska lamented with a heavy heart as she waded through the


shallows toward the mind mage. A pang of headache warned her another memory was about to flood her perception, and she shut her eyes tight to brace herself as Jace's past slipped through his control and rammed into her mind.

Ixalan Story Archive

Planeswalker Profile: Jace Beleren

Planeswalker Profile: Vraska

Planeswalker Profile: Huatli

Plane Profile: IxalanReadySteadyBlog

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed Beth Steel's play Ditch plugged in the Guardian Guide this weekend: "Following the sell-out London transfer of Stovepipe in 2009, HighTide transfers Ditch from the HighTide Festival to The Old Vic Tunnels for a limited season:

"I've listened to all the stories of my generation, then watched 'em get sick or fade away. And it wasn't this world that killed 'em. It was the other... the memory of it."

Britain, the near future. Much of the country is underwater and the government has been reduced to a group of fascist strongmen. In a rural outpost of the state, the men patrol the moors for illegals whilst the women run a self-sufficient farm to provide what all they need to survive. The living conditions


her play is getting all this well-deserved attention. Anyway, for more, see Ditch the movie (well, trailer!) on YouTube; or just head over to the Old Vic website.

Pinch, punch, first of the month... And thus the first day in the 38 Plays: 38 Days challenge to read a Shakespeare play every day for the next thirty-eight days (or thirty-nine if we read on and bag The Reign of King Edward III).

The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more detail; forexample, it is the first of his plays in which a heroine dresses as a boy. Two Gentlemen also has the smallest cast of any of Shakespeare's plays.

The play deals with the themes of friendship and infidelity, the conflict between friendship and love, and the foolish behaviour of people in love. The highlight of the play is considered by some to be Launce, the clownish servant of Proteus, and his dog Crab, to whom "the most scene-stealing non-speaking role in the canon" has been attributed.

It is a year since the death of Anthony Minghella [well, he died in March 2008, so this has been on the BBC site for a wee while] had shocked and saddened those close to him as well as his fans.

Before his celebrated career


in film winning awards for The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley, the producer and director studied at the University of Hull and then became a lecturer at its drama department.

It was here that he produced his first piece of work, a musical stage adaptation of Gabriel Josipovici's Mobius the Stripper, which had broadcast on BBC Radio Humberside in 1976 (more...)

It is not only in Hamlet that Shakespeare presents us with the travails and terrors of madness: it is a recurrent theme in very many of his plays. (Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest... well, actually, every play of his that I know some little about reflects on madness in some way; I understand that Shakespeare uses the words 'mad' and 'madness' more(notion of a) coherent
self even as the most fully human character the stage has ever seen steps forth -- at the birth of subjectivity, Hamlet, our extreme contemporary, shows the
subject to be a kind of fiction. Hamlet validates and allows for the self's self-incoherence; the undoing of the self is the self's own self-making. My local
madness will pass. Our general madness will not. Something comforting therein is almost claimed.

A team working on the site where Shakespeare learned his trade has discovered a piece of 16th-century pottery that features a face resembling that of the great man.

It was found during excavation work in Shoreditch, east London, at the site of what used to be The Theatre, lost for more than 400 years and where Shakespeare performed as an actor,


as well as staging his earliest plays (more...)

Via the Telegraph, "a painting that may be the only surviving portrait of William Shakespeare made in his lifetime" will be unveiled later today:

The picture, from 1610, six years before the playwright's death, has been in the possession of the Cobbe family since the early 18th century.

It was initially kept at a property in Hampshire but more recently in Hatchlands, the family house in Surrey, which is run by the National Trust.

For three centuries the family was unsure of the identity of the figure in the portrait. According to Alec Cobbe, an art restorer, at one time it had been thought to be of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Although the painting has not been proven to be the bard, it has the backingof the world's foremost expert on Shakespeare, Stanley Wells, emeritus professor of Shakespeare studies at Birmingham University and chairman of the Shakespeare Birthday Trust.

Prof Wells believes it was painted when the writer was 46 years old, six years before his death in 1616 (more...)

The Royal Court is celebrating playwright Caryl Churchill’s 70th birthday with a series of readings of her plays. Mark Ravenhill is directing a reading of her British Civil War play Light Shining In Buckinghamshire, which I have a special fondness for as this is a rare cultural recognition of this heady period. Somehow the Civil War fails to register in our culture as a major historical moment – compare it with other revolutions and civil wars the world over. (It was because of its scrubbing


been fascinated by the thought of these two extraordinary figures encountering each other—the philosopher who had been a Nazi, the poet whose parents had been destroyed in a Nazi work camp—at the famous “hut” in the Black Forest. The meeting took place on July 25th, 1967, the day after a reading by Celan in Freiburg which Heidegger had attended. The conversation in the hut was not recorded, and neither man gave an account of it. Hans-Georg Gadamer, the philosopher, later reported that Heidegger had told him that “in the Black Forest, Celan was better informed on plants and animals than he himself was.” Besides the flora and fauna, did they talk about the war, about Nazism and Heidegger’s refusal publicly to account for, much less apologise for, hismembership of the Party? I could not resist speculating (more...)

Screenwriter Kay Mellor explores the legacy of Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of Honey, fifty years after it first shocked and enthralled audiences. The play brought social taboos and working-class reality to the London stage as never before. Interviews with the original cast and archive material shed new light on the play's importance for the evolution of British theatre.

Fans of The Smiths and Northerners (Delaney was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancs.) of a certain age and hue will understand my nostalgia for this slice of sociology (which was one of the first things I ever saw in the theatre).


downstream over the stubhorn. The can bodies are moved longitudinally over the stubhorn from a magazine by suitable conveyor means such as lugs of a chain conveyor which engage the rear edge of the can bodies and push the can bodies along the stubhorn or a magnetic conveyor wherein moving belts carrying magnets engage the metal cans to move them along the stubhorn. In the final stages of the movement of the can bodies over the stubhorn, the ends of the sheet metal are brought together and joined. The bodies are seamed together by a weld at a welding station. As the bodies pass off the stubhorn and onto rails, they are pushed through an inside striping station. At this station, a stripe of protective material is sprayedover the inside seam of the can. From the striping station, the can body is advanced along a series of rails for further processing such as curing of the coating.
The striping station includes an airless spray apparatus secured to the end of the stubhorn. This apparatus is so positioned that the can bodies pass over it before passing onto to the rails. The spray apparatus is secured to the stubhorn and extends from the downstream end of the stubhorn and includes a nozzle from which the coating material is sprayed along the seam of the can as it passes thereover.
Such can seam coating apparatus exist in commerce today. The flow of coating material through the apparatus is controlled by an air operated valve such that the liquid spray


Unless that happens, jobless workers may just have to hope that Congress returns for a lame-duck session after Election Day.The jobs situation looked bleak before the recent financial meltdown, and some expect that it will get worse. The national unemployment rate reached a five-year high (PDF) of 6.1 percent -- 9.4 million people -- in August. The federal Labor Department said the U.S. economy has shed 605,000 jobs this year. Some 3.5 million people currently draw jobless benefits. Business watchers have warned that job cuts will deepen as companies seek to offset higher borrowing costs in this credit crunch or simply downsize.The House approved a jobless benefits extension last Friday, as part of a broader economic stimulus package opposed by the White House and ultimately sunk by SenateThe latest casualty figures in the ancient war of man versus beast in Africa are in, and they look bad for both sides.

At least 25,000 elephants may have been slaughtered in Africa in 2011 — more than in any year since reporting began in 2002 — according to Kenneth Burnham, the statistician for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, an intergovernmental research agency.

Hundreds of humans have also died as a result of the elephant slaughter — not just from scattered maulings or tramplings, but from bullets fired by other humans fighting on the animals’ behalf.

Since the 1980s, under the mantle of conservation efforts and with funding from the European Union, governments, NGOs and private associations, African park guards have fought a rarely discussed low-level war against poachers. The