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🚨When South Africa mocked Devon Malcolm’s concussion and unleashed the most terrifying 9-wicket revenge spell in Test history🚨 Devon Malcolm, usually the most mild-mannered man in the dressing room, walked out to bat as a tailender. South African pacer Fanie de Villiers hurled a brutal, spiteful bouncer straight into...

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sportified

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27,608 views • 11 days ago •via X (Twitter)

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BREAKING NEWS: Interpol’s most wanted Bulgarian crime boss and three others shot dead in Cape Town suburb A man who was shot dead along with three others in Constantia, Cape Town, on Thursday morning was a notorious Bulgarian crime boss who was wanted by Interpol for murder and extortion. Krasimir Nikolaev Kamenov (55), also known as Kuro, was the leader of a former Bulgarian crime syndicate called VIS-2, which was involved in various criminal activities such as car theft, drug trafficking and extortion. He was placed on Interpol's red notice in April 2023 for his suspected role in ordering the killing of a former police officer in Sofia, Bulgaria, in March 2022. Kamenov was also accused of being part of a conspiracy to discredit high-ranking magistrates and police officers in Bulgaria. He had been a fugitive since March 2023, when the prosecutor's office formally charged him in absentia. On Thursday morning, around 08:20 am, Kamenov was gunned down in his home in Evergreen Lane, Constantia, along with his wife, bodyguard and housekeeper. All four victims were Bulgarian nationals aged between 40 and 50. They were found with gunshot wounds and their hands bound with cable ties or handcuffs. The motive for the shooting is still unknown, but it is believed to be linked to Kamenov's ties to the Bulgarian underworld. No arrests have been made so far and the police are investigating the case. Kamenov's three children were at school when the murders took place. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining contact with the relevant authorities in South Africa. 4 Most wanted criminals who are on Interpol’s Red List were arrested in 4 days all in South Africa living a good life much better than South Africans.
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BREAKING NEWS: Interpol’s most wanted Bulgarian crime boss and three others shot dead in Cape Town suburb A man who was shot dead along with three others in Constantia, Cape Town, on Thursday morning was a notorious Bulgarian crime boss who was wanted by Interpol for murder and extortion. Krasimir Nikolaev Kamenov (55), also known as Kuro, was the leader of a former Bulgarian crime syndicate called VIS-2, which was involved in various criminal activities such as car theft, drug trafficking and extortion. He was placed on Interpol's red notice in April 2023 for his suspected role in ordering the killing of a former police officer in Sofia, Bulgaria, in March 2022. Kamenov was also accused of being part of a conspiracy to discredit high-ranking magistrates and police officers in Bulgaria. He had been a fugitive since March 2023, when the prosecutor's office formally charged him in absentia. On Thursday morning, around 08:20 am, Kamenov was gunned down in his home in Evergreen Lane, Constantia, along with his wife, bodyguard and housekeeper. All four victims were Bulgarian nationals aged between 40 and 50. They were found with gunshot wounds and their hands bound with cable ties or handcuffs. The motive for the shooting is still unknown, but it is believed to be linked to Kamenov's ties to the Bulgarian underworld. No arrests have been made so far and the police are investigating the case. Kamenov's three children were at school when the murders took place. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining contact with the relevant authorities in South Africa. 4 Most wanted criminals who are on Interpol’s Red List were arrested in 4 days all in South Africa living a good life much better than South Africans.

PSAFLIVE

756,720 views • 3 years ago

In conversation with some comrades a few weeks ago, we reflected on how the painful contradiction with those who use hate and violence against foreign nationals, in order to mobilise popular support, extort money or pursue votes, is that they are bound to commit an inhumane act towards their own self-destruction. All of them, their downfall is the inhumanity of what they do, because at the core of what they are doing, is cruelty and inhumanity, and it is then when they will know that South African people are not hateful people. In 2008 it was the burning and necklacing of foreign nationals in painful images. In early 2021 it was the raiding of homes of innocent people like Ntate Victor Ramarafe in Dobsonville, or the extortion of foreign nationals who were legal in Alexandra, otherwise they were evicted from their homes. In Diepsloot it was killing of people like Elvis Nyathi and burning him alive after stealing money from his wife. More recently it was the blocking of women and children at the gates of schools and clinics in Soweto, the birth of children at gates of clinics in Tshwane and the stopping of South Africans from healthcare because they could not readily produce an ID. People are now looting food in their names, men are beating women in hair salons all in a build-up of a hostel-centric hate groups’ activities. The more human rights atrocities they commit, the quicker they engineer their self-destruction, because South Africans have an irrefutable instinct to be human. South African people cannot reconcile their hearts with violence being committed against innocent human beings, and this is the lesson these hate groups will learn. The toxicity of Twitter is not reality, no South African mother will support a woman giving birth on a pavement because they don’t have a passport. No man or woman will cheer as a human being burns alive because they could not say elbow in Nguni. No sane South African will support looting of shops of the food that YOU claimed was poisonous, leaving them with no close and readily available access to food. There is a reason why political parties who campaign on violence against foreign nationals collectively and combined cannot surpass 5% in a national vote - South African people inherently are not monsters. It is just sad that the self-destruction of these hate groups, first requires tragedy and casualties, but it is alway inevitable.
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In conversation with some comrades a few weeks ago, we reflected on how the painful contradiction with those who use hate and violence against foreign nationals, in order to mobilise popular support, extort money or pursue votes, is that they are bound to commit an inhumane act towards their own self-destruction. All of them, their downfall is the inhumanity of what they do, because at the core of what they are doing, is cruelty and inhumanity, and it is then when they will know that South African people are not hateful people. In 2008 it was the burning and necklacing of foreign nationals in painful images. In early 2021 it was the raiding of homes of innocent people like Ntate Victor Ramarafe in Dobsonville, or the extortion of foreign nationals who were legal in Alexandra, otherwise they were evicted from their homes. In Diepsloot it was killing of people like Elvis Nyathi and burning him alive after stealing money from his wife. More recently it was the blocking of women and children at the gates of schools and clinics in Soweto, the birth of children at gates of clinics in Tshwane and the stopping of South Africans from healthcare because they could not readily produce an ID. People are now looting food in their names, men are beating women in hair salons all in a build-up of a hostel-centric hate groups’ activities. The more human rights atrocities they commit, the quicker they engineer their self-destruction, because South Africans have an irrefutable instinct to be human. South African people cannot reconcile their hearts with violence being committed against innocent human beings, and this is the lesson these hate groups will learn. The toxicity of Twitter is not reality, no South African mother will support a woman giving birth on a pavement because they don’t have a passport. No man or woman will cheer as a human being burns alive because they could not say elbow in Nguni. No sane South African will support looting of shops of the food that YOU claimed was poisonous, leaving them with no close and readily available access to food. There is a reason why political parties who campaign on violence against foreign nationals collectively and combined cannot surpass 5% in a national vote - South African people inherently are not monsters. It is just sad that the self-destruction of these hate groups, first requires tragedy and casualties, but it is alway inevitable.

Sinawo Thambo

19,673 views • 3 months ago

The pompous English buffoon that Bowen is grovelling to is a total clown show called Lord Turner — and the idiot is spewing complete and utter bullshit. "Look out the window?" Give me a break. How about he pulls his head out of his arse and actually educates himself and looks at the historical data? When has Australia NOT had droughts, heatwaves, and bushfires? Has this arrogant English clown ever heard of Australia’s Federation Drought that ran from 1895 to 1903? What about the catastrophic Black Thursday bushfires of 1851 that wiped out a quarter of Victoria? Or the savage heatwaves of the 1930s? Or Australia’s most intense and deadly cyclone on record — Cyclone Mahina in 1899, which killed over 400 people? This pompous, ignorant fool doesn’t have the faintest clue about Australia’s climate history — and yet he has the stinking hide to lecture us. If he bothered to check the long-term data, he’d see there’s been NO increase in droughts, NO increase in heatwaves, a clear DECLINE in wildfires, and since satellite records began in 1970, a steady DECLINE in both severe and non-severe cyclones. Yet we’re stuck with a brain-dead nincompoop in Bowen — a historically illiterate, a clueless fool who doesn’t even know his own country’s history. And these two absolute morons actually believe that if they piss away enough taxpayer money, they can stop bad weather. There aren’t enough curse words in the English language to describe their breathtaking incompetence, rank ignorance, and staggering arrogance. They are brainless, deluded idiots who are bankrupting their nations, driving up the cost of living, and causing real hardship — all while selling out Australia and the UK’s sovereignty to the Chinese Communist Party. Everyone of their policies to try and stop bad weather only hands a political, economic and military advantage to the Chinese Communists. Meanwhile, sitting up in Beijing, the Chinese Communists are laughing their heads off at these useful idiots as Australia and England commit economic treason, deliberately crippling our industries in the greatest wealth transfer in history — a suicidal handover of our national prosperity straight into their pockets.
0:15

The pompous English buffoon that Bowen is grovelling to is a total clown show called Lord Turner — and the idiot is spewing complete and utter bullshit. "Look out the window?" Give me a break. How about he pulls his head out of his arse and actually educates himself and looks at the historical data? When has Australia NOT had droughts, heatwaves, and bushfires? Has this arrogant English clown ever heard of Australia’s Federation Drought that ran from 1895 to 1903? What about the catastrophic Black Thursday bushfires of 1851 that wiped out a quarter of Victoria? Or the savage heatwaves of the 1930s? Or Australia’s most intense and deadly cyclone on record — Cyclone Mahina in 1899, which killed over 400 people? This pompous, ignorant fool doesn’t have the faintest clue about Australia’s climate history — and yet he has the stinking hide to lecture us. If he bothered to check the long-term data, he’d see there’s been NO increase in droughts, NO increase in heatwaves, a clear DECLINE in wildfires, and since satellite records began in 1970, a steady DECLINE in both severe and non-severe cyclones. Yet we’re stuck with a brain-dead nincompoop in Bowen — a historically illiterate, a clueless fool who doesn’t even know his own country’s history. And these two absolute morons actually believe that if they piss away enough taxpayer money, they can stop bad weather. There aren’t enough curse words in the English language to describe their breathtaking incompetence, rank ignorance, and staggering arrogance. They are brainless, deluded idiots who are bankrupting their nations, driving up the cost of living, and causing real hardship — all while selling out Australia and the UK’s sovereignty to the Chinese Communist Party. Everyone of their policies to try and stop bad weather only hands a political, economic and military advantage to the Chinese Communists. Meanwhile, sitting up in Beijing, the Chinese Communists are laughing their heads off at these useful idiots as Australia and England commit economic treason, deliberately crippling our industries in the greatest wealth transfer in history — a suicidal handover of our national prosperity straight into their pockets.

Craig Kelly:🇦🇺Foundation for Economic Education

19,714 views • 4 months ago

🚨 A SPARTAN BUSINESS OWNER: “I’D RATHER CLOSE MY BUSINESS THAN HIRE SOUTH AFRICANS”‼️ A business owner of Signarama refuses to hire South Africans after his illegal foreign workers left the country‼️ He straight up told March and March Movement members and the community: he will NOT employ locals🔥 He’d rather shut the business down than give jobs to South African citizens. This sparked a heated confrontation right outside the premises🔥 Business owners in South Africa face real pressures when hiring‼️ Immigrant workers has strong work ethic, accept lower wages, work longer hours and fill roles that are hard to staff locally‼️ Local black workers struggle with skills, are lazy and have high expectations around pay and conditions. They belong to powerful unions and rigid labour laws that makes it expensive and risky to manage underperformance, leading employers to perceive higher costs and lower flexibility‼️ In this environment, whom should you hire for your business⁉️ Run your business like a meritocracy where possible. Hire the person who shows up, works, doesn’t steal, learns and fits the team regardless of where they come from‼️
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🚨 A SPARTAN BUSINESS OWNER: “I’D RATHER CLOSE MY BUSINESS THAN HIRE SOUTH AFRICANS”‼️ A business owner of Signarama refuses to hire South Africans after his illegal foreign workers left the country‼️ He straight up told March and March Movement members and the community: he will NOT employ locals🔥 He’d rather shut the business down than give jobs to South African citizens. This sparked a heated confrontation right outside the premises🔥 Business owners in South Africa face real pressures when hiring‼️ Immigrant workers has strong work ethic, accept lower wages, work longer hours and fill roles that are hard to staff locally‼️ Local black workers struggle with skills, are lazy and have high expectations around pay and conditions. They belong to powerful unions and rigid labour laws that makes it expensive and risky to manage underperformance, leading employers to perceive higher costs and lower flexibility‼️ In this environment, whom should you hire for your business⁉️ Run your business like a meritocracy where possible. Hire the person who shows up, works, doesn’t steal, learns and fits the team regardless of where they come from‼️

RaiZel

28,234 views • 2 months ago

Shortly after 5 pm yesterday, Deputies responded to a call for a dog in distress in the area of 228th and Harney Street, just south of Waterloo. When they arrived they were informed by homeowners that a dog had fallen through the ice on the lake and was treading water. Deputy Kubik, a DCSO K9 handler, made use of a kayak that was on one of the homeowner's docks and quickly made his way across the ice, using his oar to break the ice as he paddled to the dog. About the time he reached the dog, Waterloo Fire & Rescue also arrived and assisted in pulling Deputy Kubik and Boomer the dog back to shore. Once on shore, Deputy Clark took the 'chilly dog' inside to warm him up with a hair dryer. We are happy to report that after a brief vet visit yesterday, Boomer is doing great. Thank you to our courageous Deputies and our partners at Waterloo Fire and Rescue for their assistance.
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Shortly after 5 pm yesterday, Deputies responded to a call for a dog in distress in the area of 228th and Harney Street, just south of Waterloo. When they arrived they were informed by homeowners that a dog had fallen through the ice on the lake and was treading water. Deputy Kubik, a DCSO K9 handler, made use of a kayak that was on one of the homeowner's docks and quickly made his way across the ice, using his oar to break the ice as he paddled to the dog. About the time he reached the dog, Waterloo Fire & Rescue also arrived and assisted in pulling Deputy Kubik and Boomer the dog back to shore. Once on shore, Deputy Clark took the 'chilly dog' inside to warm him up with a hair dryer. We are happy to report that after a brief vet visit yesterday, Boomer is doing great. Thank you to our courageous Deputies and our partners at Waterloo Fire and Rescue for their assistance.

DCSO - Omaha, NE

28,670 views • 6 months ago

Introducing: 𝐇o𝐧k𝐚k𝐮 ♾👀 Johnny won the Azurian crossword championship at age 12, but then completely dropped out of the scene. He went to a nondescript college, and later launched the Honkaku Detective Agency with his twin brother, Alf. Alf -- short for Alfred -- attended Doromere University, where he studied forensic pattern analysis. He has the uncanny ability to see patterns in the way that others see shapes and colors. He left school after a disagreement over authorship of a seminal research paper. Their office is in a particularly jungly back-corner building in The Sprawls, which used to house a lobster restaurant. They call the place “The Lobster Den.” The twins are credited with solving a number of the most baffling and seemingly impossible crimes in the history of Azurbala, including the mystery of the missing Vosace Crown Jewel, the marrow-hack murder, and -- perhaps most famously -- a locked-room heist that came to be known nationwide as the “Boar’s Tusk Caper.” They don’t take every case, but if you're in need, you can reach out to the 𝐇o𝐧k𝐚k𝐮 𝐃e𝐭e𝐜t𝐢v𝐞s. (And if you want to follow their adventures, please follow us, and collect the POAP below 👇) ~ Scott Kominers & LJW
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Introducing: 𝐇o𝐧k𝐚k𝐮 ♾👀 Johnny won the Azurian crossword championship at age 12, but then completely dropped out of the scene. He went to a nondescript college, and later launched the Honkaku Detective Agency with his twin brother, Alf. Alf -- short for Alfred -- attended Doromere University, where he studied forensic pattern analysis. He has the uncanny ability to see patterns in the way that others see shapes and colors. He left school after a disagreement over authorship of a seminal research paper. Their office is in a particularly jungly back-corner building in The Sprawls, which used to house a lobster restaurant. They call the place “The Lobster Den.” The twins are credited with solving a number of the most baffling and seemingly impossible crimes in the history of Azurbala, including the mystery of the missing Vosace Crown Jewel, the marrow-hack murder, and -- perhaps most famously -- a locked-room heist that came to be known nationwide as the “Boar’s Tusk Caper.” They don’t take every case, but if you're in need, you can reach out to the 𝐇o𝐧k𝐚k𝐮 𝐃e𝐭e𝐜t𝐢v𝐞s. (And if you want to follow their adventures, please follow us, and collect the POAP below 👇) ~ Scott Kominers & LJW

Scott Kominers

14,928 views • 3 years ago

𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 '𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁' 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗼. | 🇧🇫 🇷🇺 For those sitting at the back, here is a bit of history: In 1960 it was Russia under Khrushchev that opened up universities for African students who some later on became African Heads of States and Military Commanders. This was when Europe said Africans were 'half human and half animals.' Remember? When they had human zoos (France, Belgium, Germany etc), locking up Africans in cages? We haven't forgotten. In the 1970s and 80s Russia took political activists to be trained in the Army in Moscow and further their studies. Its 2025; Russia has never neglected Africa, always there to provide backup against imperialists and thieves. Therefore, there is no vicious colonizer that will tell Africans how to view Moscow. Russia never colonized Africa nor did they steal our mineral resources. Facts are facts! You can't erase history.
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𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 '𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁' 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗼. | 🇧🇫 🇷🇺 For those sitting at the back, here is a bit of history: In 1960 it was Russia under Khrushchev that opened up universities for African students who some later on became African Heads of States and Military Commanders. This was when Europe said Africans were 'half human and half animals.' Remember? When they had human zoos (France, Belgium, Germany etc), locking up Africans in cages? We haven't forgotten. In the 1970s and 80s Russia took political activists to be trained in the Army in Moscow and further their studies. Its 2025; Russia has never neglected Africa, always there to provide backup against imperialists and thieves. Therefore, there is no vicious colonizer that will tell Africans how to view Moscow. Russia never colonized Africa nor did they steal our mineral resources. Facts are facts! You can't erase history.

Evaluator.

128,358 views • 1 year ago

🚨When Ian Bishop reveals why 90mph pacers are born, not made🚨 Carlos Brathwaite🗣️: "Bish, how would you describe Ian Bishop the bowler back in those days?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "Very intense! My whole life was centered around being the best version of myself. I remember during my Test career, my wife argued with me, saying, 'You never celebrate five-wicket hauls , you’re just constantly pushing VHS tapes of past tours into the VCR at 1 AM trying to figure out how to get Mark Waugh or Steve Waugh out!' I had an eclectic mix: running up like Malcolm Marshall, jumping like Joel Garner, and following through like Michael Holding." Host (Nicholl)🗣️: "Can a bowler truly be taught to bowl fast from scratch?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "That's a polarizing question. Since retiring, I see so many biomechanists and fast-bowling coaches on social media. But I’ve yet to find ONE who took a kid from primary school and turned him into an out-and-out 90mph international bowler! They fine-tune fast bowlers who already exist, but you can't just take anyone off the street and teach 90mph. That fast-twitch fiber is raw athletic talent." Carlos Brathwaite🗣️: "What’s your take on bowling the Yorker in modern T20 cricket?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "The Yorker is gold! Look at Ben Stokes bowling that final over to you in 2016, he came hunting at your stumps and feet, and history wrote the rest. He should've gone wide outside off! A wide yorker is such a lethal defensive ploy because very few batters can hit sixes off it." Host: "Toughest batter you ever bowled to?" Ian Bishop: "Sachin Tendulkar! He used to stand on your good length ball and punch it down the ground for fun. You'd think, 'I didn't do much wrong there,' and he’d still send it to the boundary!"
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🚨When Ian Bishop reveals why 90mph pacers are born, not made🚨 Carlos Brathwaite🗣️: "Bish, how would you describe Ian Bishop the bowler back in those days?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "Very intense! My whole life was centered around being the best version of myself. I remember during my Test career, my wife argued with me, saying, 'You never celebrate five-wicket hauls , you’re just constantly pushing VHS tapes of past tours into the VCR at 1 AM trying to figure out how to get Mark Waugh or Steve Waugh out!' I had an eclectic mix: running up like Malcolm Marshall, jumping like Joel Garner, and following through like Michael Holding." Host (Nicholl)🗣️: "Can a bowler truly be taught to bowl fast from scratch?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "That's a polarizing question. Since retiring, I see so many biomechanists and fast-bowling coaches on social media. But I’ve yet to find ONE who took a kid from primary school and turned him into an out-and-out 90mph international bowler! They fine-tune fast bowlers who already exist, but you can't just take anyone off the street and teach 90mph. That fast-twitch fiber is raw athletic talent." Carlos Brathwaite🗣️: "What’s your take on bowling the Yorker in modern T20 cricket?" Ian Bishop🗣️: "The Yorker is gold! Look at Ben Stokes bowling that final over to you in 2016, he came hunting at your stumps and feet, and history wrote the rest. He should've gone wide outside off! A wide yorker is such a lethal defensive ploy because very few batters can hit sixes off it." Host: "Toughest batter you ever bowled to?" Ian Bishop: "Sachin Tendulkar! He used to stand on your good length ball and punch it down the ground for fun. You'd think, 'I didn't do much wrong there,' and he’d still send it to the boundary!"

sportified

23,842 views • 1 month ago

This is a statue of the only man in Troy who saw the trap. He tried to warn everyone, and this is what the gods did to him because of it... His name was Laocoön, a Trojan priest. When the Greek army vanished and left a giant wooden horse outside the city gates, all of Troy celebrated. Only Laocoön refused to believe it. He warned his people the horse was a trick and, to prove it was hollow, hurled his spear into its side. In Virgil's telling, he spoke a line that has outlasted almost everything else about Troy: "I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts." He was right. The horse was packed with soldiers, and Troy was hours from destruction. This sculpture shows what he got for it. Two enormous sea serpents rise out of the sea and coil around him and his young sons, dragging all three down together. The father's whole body is knotted in the struggle, every muscle straining, his face locked in a scream. The gods wanted Troy to fall, and Laocoön was in the way. The Trojans watched him die in agony and drew exactly the wrong conclusion: they decided the gods were punishing him for attacking a holy gift. So they pulled the horse inside their own walls, and that night, Troy burned... The statue is called Laocoön and His Sons. It is the work of three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes, Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, and dates to the Hellenistic period, making it well over two thousand years old. Buried for more than a thousand years, it was dug out of a Roman vineyard in 1506, and Michelangelo rushed across Rome to see it the day it was found. It has been called the single greatest depiction of human suffering in the history of art, but it endures because of what it is really about: the man who sees the truth, says it out loud, and is destroyed for being right while the crowd watches... It is one of the oldest patterns there is, and it has never stopped repeating. There is nothing new under the sun.
0:17

This is a statue of the only man in Troy who saw the trap. He tried to warn everyone, and this is what the gods did to him because of it... His name was Laocoön, a Trojan priest. When the Greek army vanished and left a giant wooden horse outside the city gates, all of Troy celebrated. Only Laocoön refused to believe it. He warned his people the horse was a trick and, to prove it was hollow, hurled his spear into its side. In Virgil's telling, he spoke a line that has outlasted almost everything else about Troy: "I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts." He was right. The horse was packed with soldiers, and Troy was hours from destruction. This sculpture shows what he got for it. Two enormous sea serpents rise out of the sea and coil around him and his young sons, dragging all three down together. The father's whole body is knotted in the struggle, every muscle straining, his face locked in a scream. The gods wanted Troy to fall, and Laocoön was in the way. The Trojans watched him die in agony and drew exactly the wrong conclusion: they decided the gods were punishing him for attacking a holy gift. So they pulled the horse inside their own walls, and that night, Troy burned... The statue is called Laocoön and His Sons. It is the work of three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes, Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus, and dates to the Hellenistic period, making it well over two thousand years old. Buried for more than a thousand years, it was dug out of a Roman vineyard in 1506, and Michelangelo rushed across Rome to see it the day it was found. It has been called the single greatest depiction of human suffering in the history of art, but it endures because of what it is really about: the man who sees the truth, says it out loud, and is destroyed for being right while the crowd watches... It is one of the oldest patterns there is, and it has never stopped repeating. There is nothing new under the sun.

James Lucas

499,570 views • 2 months ago

Can you really say he deserves this nomination? I doubt it. No doubt, Ronwen Williams isn't just one of the first eleven among the South African AFCON players. He was the best among them. He did not just play at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2024; he has redefined what it means to be a custodian between the posts. His performance wasn't merely exceptional; it was a masterclass in goalkeeping that will be talked about for years to come. In the quarterfinals against Cape Verde, Williams didn't just save penalties;he choreographed a dance of rebellion, stopping four out of five shots in the shootout. This wasn't just skill; it was as if he had peered into the future, knowing precisely where each ball would go. This feat alone would have been enough to etch his name in AFCON history, but Williams was just warming up. His journey through the tournament was marked by clean sheets and crucial saves, showcasing a blend of athleticism, intuition, and sheer willpower. Against Morocco, a team riding high on confidence, Williams stood tall, his presence in goal was like that of an immovable fortress. Each save was not just a stop; it was a statement, a declaration that on this day, in this tournament, he was unbeatable. The semifinals against Nigeria, laughs! The clash of the Titans. The real AFCON finals, no offence. A match where the stakes were as high as the tension, saw Williams concede but only after a battle where he seemed to stretch time itself, diving, parrying, and commanding his area with the authority of a seasoned general. His performance in the penalty shootouts wasn't just about stopping the ball; it was about breaking the spirit of the opposition, making them doubt their abilities with every save. When the tournament concluded, and the awards were handed out, there was no surprise when Williams was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. This wasn't just an award; it was an acknowledgment of a stellar performance that transcended the ordinary. That's an extraordinary performance. His stats - five clean sheets, six penalties saved, and an array of saves that defied physics - tell a story of dominance, of a goalkeeper who didn't just play the game but owned it. Bosso ke mang? Ke Williams! Oga na master! I celebrate Williams, not just for his individual brilliance but for how he carried an entire nation's hopes on his shoulders. In a tournament where every game was a battle, Williams was South Africa's greatest shield, their beacon of hope, and ultimately, their hero even while bowing to the Super Eagles. His performance at AFCON 2024 will be remembered not just for what he did on the field but for how he inspired a generation of goalkeepers and football fans across Africa. In the Hall of AFCON fame, many names will be remembered, but few will shine as brightly as Williams, whose gloves seemed to have a mind of their own, saving not just goals but etching moments into the hearts of football lovers everywhere. His was not just a performance; it was a phenomenon, a testament to what one individual can achieve when they rise to the occasion, not just as a player, but as a legend in the making. So, I DOUBT that he doesn't just deserve the nomination, especially being the first goalkeeper in history to be nominated for the Yashin Trophy while playing for a club in Africa. He deserves to win it. And I am very proud of him. I mean, watch these 👇🏾 God bless Ronwen Williams God bless South Africa God Bless Africa
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Can you really say he deserves this nomination? I doubt it. No doubt, Ronwen Williams isn't just one of the first eleven among the South African AFCON players. He was the best among them. He did not just play at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2024; he has redefined what it means to be a custodian between the posts. His performance wasn't merely exceptional; it was a masterclass in goalkeeping that will be talked about for years to come. In the quarterfinals against Cape Verde, Williams didn't just save penalties;he choreographed a dance of rebellion, stopping four out of five shots in the shootout. This wasn't just skill; it was as if he had peered into the future, knowing precisely where each ball would go. This feat alone would have been enough to etch his name in AFCON history, but Williams was just warming up. His journey through the tournament was marked by clean sheets and crucial saves, showcasing a blend of athleticism, intuition, and sheer willpower. Against Morocco, a team riding high on confidence, Williams stood tall, his presence in goal was like that of an immovable fortress. Each save was not just a stop; it was a statement, a declaration that on this day, in this tournament, he was unbeatable. The semifinals against Nigeria, laughs! The clash of the Titans. The real AFCON finals, no offence. A match where the stakes were as high as the tension, saw Williams concede but only after a battle where he seemed to stretch time itself, diving, parrying, and commanding his area with the authority of a seasoned general. His performance in the penalty shootouts wasn't just about stopping the ball; it was about breaking the spirit of the opposition, making them doubt their abilities with every save. When the tournament concluded, and the awards were handed out, there was no surprise when Williams was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. This wasn't just an award; it was an acknowledgment of a stellar performance that transcended the ordinary. That's an extraordinary performance. His stats - five clean sheets, six penalties saved, and an array of saves that defied physics - tell a story of dominance, of a goalkeeper who didn't just play the game but owned it. Bosso ke mang? Ke Williams! Oga na master! I celebrate Williams, not just for his individual brilliance but for how he carried an entire nation's hopes on his shoulders. In a tournament where every game was a battle, Williams was South Africa's greatest shield, their beacon of hope, and ultimately, their hero even while bowing to the Super Eagles. His performance at AFCON 2024 will be remembered not just for what he did on the field but for how he inspired a generation of goalkeepers and football fans across Africa. In the Hall of AFCON fame, many names will be remembered, but few will shine as brightly as Williams, whose gloves seemed to have a mind of their own, saving not just goals but etching moments into the hearts of football lovers everywhere. His was not just a performance; it was a phenomenon, a testament to what one individual can achieve when they rise to the occasion, not just as a player, but as a legend in the making. So, I DOUBT that he doesn't just deserve the nomination, especially being the first goalkeeper in history to be nominated for the Yashin Trophy while playing for a club in Africa. He deserves to win it. And I am very proud of him. I mean, watch these 👇🏾 God bless Ronwen Williams God bless South Africa God Bless Africa

🏘️IamEri'Oluwa🇳🇬

67,780 views • 2 years ago

Discovering a Medieval well under your home was quite the surprise for an English couple from Plymouth, Devon. They stumbled upon this historical treasure in 1988, but it wasn't until two decades later that they decided to explore it further. Colin Steer, a former civil servant, made the initial discovery while replacing the floor joists in their home. He noticed a slight depression that seemed to be filled in with the house's foundations. After digging down about one foot, he confirmed it was a well. However, his wife, Vanessa, initially wanted him to cover it back up due to their three children running around. It wasn't until years later that Colin, with the help of a local man, spent three days clearing the well, which is approximately 30 inches wide. Historical plans of the site indicated that the well dates back to at least the 16th century, just after the end of the medieval period. During their excavation, at a depth of about five feet, they made another exciting discovery - an old sword. They decided to stop digging at around 17 feet, believing the well to be at least 33 feet deep. Colin Steer expressed his interest in finding someone to date the well and continue researching its history.
0:14

Discovering a Medieval well under your home was quite the surprise for an English couple from Plymouth, Devon. They stumbled upon this historical treasure in 1988, but it wasn't until two decades later that they decided to explore it further. Colin Steer, a former civil servant, made the initial discovery while replacing the floor joists in their home. He noticed a slight depression that seemed to be filled in with the house's foundations. After digging down about one foot, he confirmed it was a well. However, his wife, Vanessa, initially wanted him to cover it back up due to their three children running around. It wasn't until years later that Colin, with the help of a local man, spent three days clearing the well, which is approximately 30 inches wide. Historical plans of the site indicated that the well dates back to at least the 16th century, just after the end of the medieval period. During their excavation, at a depth of about five feet, they made another exciting discovery - an old sword. They decided to stop digging at around 17 feet, believing the well to be at least 33 feet deep. Colin Steer expressed his interest in finding someone to date the well and continue researching its history.

Historic Vids

10,145,434 views • 3 years ago

Less than one year in charge, on the 7 April 2023 the EFF were sworn in, in Ekurhuleni . Five MMC’s and the Speaker. An EFF puppet AIC's Sivuyile Ngodwana was elected mayor. Ekurhuleni was now FULLY controlled by the EFF, MMC of Finance and Gauteng EFF chair, Nkululeko Dunga,was fully running the show. They decimated the finances of the municipality. They looted like never before. They outsourced security guards they were previously insourced, so Malema could allegedly loot. The municipality was downgraded by rating agencies. A company in the JSE nearly get suspended from trading in the stock exchange because The EFF’s Dunga was hiding the Finances, cooking them. The municipality bill with Eskom jumped up to BILLIONS OWING. The finances were depleted to such an extent a day came when the municipality with the EFF’s Dunga in charge as finance head and defacto mayor. Then on a very dark day for South Africa, on the 29 February 2024, when a motion of no confidence was to be passed against the EFF puppet mayor, when the EFF saw they were going to lose, one of the most violent displays by politicians in democratic South Africa was shown live on TV prime time. When the EFF bashed, thrashed other councillors, they swore, they threw papers and in that fracas an EFF councillor was caught stealing the mayors phone. They are thieves thru and thru. When they don’t get their way they become violent. They completely destroyed the municipality in less than a year. Bankrupt. BILLIONS illegal tenders. We still not sure about the relationship they had with Vusi “cat” Matlala. A miracle happened on the 11 April 2024. Details to follow. These are some of the images we so used to from the EFF:
0:44

Less than one year in charge, on the 7 April 2023 the EFF were sworn in, in Ekurhuleni . Five MMC’s and the Speaker. An EFF puppet AIC's Sivuyile Ngodwana was elected mayor. Ekurhuleni was now FULLY controlled by the EFF, MMC of Finance and Gauteng EFF chair, Nkululeko Dunga,was fully running the show. They decimated the finances of the municipality. They looted like never before. They outsourced security guards they were previously insourced, so Malema could allegedly loot. The municipality was downgraded by rating agencies. A company in the JSE nearly get suspended from trading in the stock exchange because The EFF’s Dunga was hiding the Finances, cooking them. The municipality bill with Eskom jumped up to BILLIONS OWING. The finances were depleted to such an extent a day came when the municipality with the EFF’s Dunga in charge as finance head and defacto mayor. Then on a very dark day for South Africa, on the 29 February 2024, when a motion of no confidence was to be passed against the EFF puppet mayor, when the EFF saw they were going to lose, one of the most violent displays by politicians in democratic South Africa was shown live on TV prime time. When the EFF bashed, thrashed other councillors, they swore, they threw papers and in that fracas an EFF councillor was caught stealing the mayors phone. They are thieves thru and thru. When they don’t get their way they become violent. They completely destroyed the municipality in less than a year. Bankrupt. BILLIONS illegal tenders. We still not sure about the relationship they had with Vusi “cat” Matlala. A miracle happened on the 11 April 2024. Details to follow. These are some of the images we so used to from the EFF:

Goolam

25,375 views • 11 months ago

The vet had been honest with the Hollands. Baxter didn't have much time left, and the kindest thing they could do now was make whatever he had left count. So on a warm Saturday in June , instead of a normal quiet day at home, they loaded the old Bernese into the back of the van and drove him two hours to the coast. Baxter had never seen the ocean. He was 13, and his whole life had been the backyard and the same worn spot on the living room rug. The kids wanted him to see something big before he went. He moved slow getting out of the van. His back legs weren't what they used to be, and the boys had to help him down onto the sand. For a second he just stood there at the top of the beach, nose up, taking in all that salt air and open water like he couldn't quite believe it. Then something in him shifted. He started down toward the surf on his own, stiff and determined, the way he used to trot to the door when the kids came home from school. When the first cold wave washed over his paws, his whole face lit up. He didn't run, he couldn't, but he waded in up to his chest and stood in the shallow water with the sun going down behind him, and the whole family just watched. Nobody said much. They didn't need to. They stayed until the light was almost gone, taking pictures, letting Baxter rest against their legs, giving him one perfect afternoon to hold onto. The vet was right about the time. Baxter left them a few weeks later, at home, surrounded by the people who loved him. But he saw the ocean first. And every one of them is glad they gave him that.
0:12

The vet had been honest with the Hollands. Baxter didn't have much time left, and the kindest thing they could do now was make whatever he had left count. So on a warm Saturday in June , instead of a normal quiet day at home, they loaded the old Bernese into the back of the van and drove him two hours to the coast. Baxter had never seen the ocean. He was 13, and his whole life had been the backyard and the same worn spot on the living room rug. The kids wanted him to see something big before he went. He moved slow getting out of the van. His back legs weren't what they used to be, and the boys had to help him down onto the sand. For a second he just stood there at the top of the beach, nose up, taking in all that salt air and open water like he couldn't quite believe it. Then something in him shifted. He started down toward the surf on his own, stiff and determined, the way he used to trot to the door when the kids came home from school. When the first cold wave washed over his paws, his whole face lit up. He didn't run, he couldn't, but he waded in up to his chest and stood in the shallow water with the sun going down behind him, and the whole family just watched. Nobody said much. They didn't need to. They stayed until the light was almost gone, taking pictures, letting Baxter rest against their legs, giving him one perfect afternoon to hold onto. The vet was right about the time. Baxter left them a few weeks later, at home, surrounded by the people who loved him. But he saw the ocean first. And every one of them is glad they gave him that.

Gabriele Corno

119,678 views • 2 months ago

French colonialism in Vietnam : Two French women (wife and daughter of Governor-General Paul Doumer) throwing small cash coins in front of Annamite children... (Colorized) By late 1880s, France controlled modern-day Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which it collectively called Indochine Français or French Indochina. French colonialism in Vietnam would last for six decades. The champions of this colonialism justified it as their ongoing responsibility to ‘civilise’ the peoples of south-east Asia. In truth, French colonialism in Vietnam was chiefly driven by economic motives, like access to raw materials and cheap labour. Whatever the causes, outcomes for the people of Vietnam were dispossession, control, exploitation and brutality. French Empire dated back to 17th Century, when French explorers and settlers actively sought possessions around the globe, particularly in North and South America and India. By late 1800s, French Empire was concentrated in northern and western Africa, as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, as well as Indochine Francais in south-east Asia. To justify their imperialism, the French developed their own principle called the mission civilisatrice (or ‘civilising mission’). It was, in effect, a French form of the English ‘white man’s burden’. French imperialists claimed it was their responsibility to colonise undeveloped regions in Africa and Asia, in order to introduce modern political ideas, social reforms, industrial methods and new technologies. Without European intervention, these places would remain backward, uncivilised and impoverished. While many certainly believed in the mission civilisatrice, ultimately it was a facade: the real motive for French colonialism was profit and economic exploitation. French imperialism was driven by a demand for resources, raw materials and cheap labour. The development of colonised nations was scarcely considered, except where it happened to benefit French interests. In general, French colonialism was more haphazard, expedient and brutal than British colonialism. Paris never designed or promoted a coherent colonial policy in Indochina. So long as it remained in French hands and available to French economic interests, the French government was satisfied. The political management of Indochina was left to a series of governors. Paris sent more than 20 governors to Indochina between 1900 and 1945, each with different attitudes and approaches. French colonial governors, officials and bureaucrats had significant autonomy and authority, and many wielded more power than they ought have. This encouraged self-interest, corruption, venality and heavy-handedness. The Nguyen emperors remained as figureheads but from the late 1800s they exercised little political power. To minimise local resistance, the French employed a ‘divide and rule’ strategy, undermining Vietnamese unity by playing local mandarins, communities and religious groups against each other. The nation was carved into three separate pays (provinces): Tonkin in the north, Annam along the central coast and Cochinchina in the south. Each of these pays was administered separately. Under French colonialism, there was national identity or autonomy, and indeed, they were actively discouraged. According to one French colonial edict, it was even illegal to use the name ‘Vietnam’. 🎥© vibranthistory (IG) #archaeohistories
0:14

French colonialism in Vietnam : Two French women (wife and daughter of Governor-General Paul Doumer) throwing small cash coins in front of Annamite children... (Colorized) By late 1880s, France controlled modern-day Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which it collectively called Indochine Français or French Indochina. French colonialism in Vietnam would last for six decades. The champions of this colonialism justified it as their ongoing responsibility to ‘civilise’ the peoples of south-east Asia. In truth, French colonialism in Vietnam was chiefly driven by economic motives, like access to raw materials and cheap labour. Whatever the causes, outcomes for the people of Vietnam were dispossession, control, exploitation and brutality. French Empire dated back to 17th Century, when French explorers and settlers actively sought possessions around the globe, particularly in North and South America and India. By late 1800s, French Empire was concentrated in northern and western Africa, as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, as well as Indochine Francais in south-east Asia. To justify their imperialism, the French developed their own principle called the mission civilisatrice (or ‘civilising mission’). It was, in effect, a French form of the English ‘white man’s burden’. French imperialists claimed it was their responsibility to colonise undeveloped regions in Africa and Asia, in order to introduce modern political ideas, social reforms, industrial methods and new technologies. Without European intervention, these places would remain backward, uncivilised and impoverished. While many certainly believed in the mission civilisatrice, ultimately it was a facade: the real motive for French colonialism was profit and economic exploitation. French imperialism was driven by a demand for resources, raw materials and cheap labour. The development of colonised nations was scarcely considered, except where it happened to benefit French interests. In general, French colonialism was more haphazard, expedient and brutal than British colonialism. Paris never designed or promoted a coherent colonial policy in Indochina. So long as it remained in French hands and available to French economic interests, the French government was satisfied. The political management of Indochina was left to a series of governors. Paris sent more than 20 governors to Indochina between 1900 and 1945, each with different attitudes and approaches. French colonial governors, officials and bureaucrats had significant autonomy and authority, and many wielded more power than they ought have. This encouraged self-interest, corruption, venality and heavy-handedness. The Nguyen emperors remained as figureheads but from the late 1800s they exercised little political power. To minimise local resistance, the French employed a ‘divide and rule’ strategy, undermining Vietnamese unity by playing local mandarins, communities and religious groups against each other. The nation was carved into three separate pays (provinces): Tonkin in the north, Annam along the central coast and Cochinchina in the south. Each of these pays was administered separately. Under French colonialism, there was national identity or autonomy, and indeed, they were actively discouraged. According to one French colonial edict, it was even illegal to use the name ‘Vietnam’. 🎥© vibranthistory (IG) #archaeohistories

Archaeo - Histories

28,849 views • 7 months ago

Imran Khan Pushed into Military Vehicle in Viral Video Pak Public Silence Draws Criticism In the video former Prime Minister of Pakistan and one of the most popular figures in the country Imran Khan can be seen being pushed with great disrespect and humiliation by soldiers of Pakistan’s military regime into a military vehicle. Imran Khan rendered tireless services for Pakistan and its people striving to elevate the country’s name on the global stage. He made every effort to free the people of Pakistan from the influence of the U.S. and what he described as an oppressive military establishment. Imran Khan sacrificed a life of comfort and privilege something only a few people in the world ever attain for the sake of the people of Pakistan. But now it appears that the people of Pakistan have betrayed him and they are not even able to come out raise their voices or ensure that he is taken to a hospital for treatment. It is a matter of great shame that when you needed him he sacrificed everything for you, but when he needs you, you only look for 100 excuses even to take him to a hospital. Shame.
0:11

Imran Khan Pushed into Military Vehicle in Viral Video Pak Public Silence Draws Criticism In the video former Prime Minister of Pakistan and one of the most popular figures in the country Imran Khan can be seen being pushed with great disrespect and humiliation by soldiers of Pakistan’s military regime into a military vehicle. Imran Khan rendered tireless services for Pakistan and its people striving to elevate the country’s name on the global stage. He made every effort to free the people of Pakistan from the influence of the U.S. and what he described as an oppressive military establishment. Imran Khan sacrificed a life of comfort and privilege something only a few people in the world ever attain for the sake of the people of Pakistan. But now it appears that the people of Pakistan have betrayed him and they are not even able to come out raise their voices or ensure that he is taken to a hospital for treatment. It is a matter of great shame that when you needed him he sacrificed everything for you, but when he needs you, you only look for 100 excuses even to take him to a hospital. Shame.

برهان الدین ‏| Burhan uddin

144,303 views • 5 months ago

Something that has knocked me for six is the fact that the hostages have only become stronger in their Judaism. Holding on to being a Jew. Even in the darkest most terrifying times. Rom Bravslevski refused to convert to Islam in captivity, even when offered food when he was starving as a treat if he read the Quran. His reply was ‘I am a strong Jew’. On coming out he laid tefillin.. an ancient morning ritual. Former hostage Eli Sharabi, who was not a religious Jew, recited the Shema prayer for the first time whilst in captivity and held on to scraps of stale pita bread and drops of water just to be able to make the holy Friday night shabbat kiddush prayers. Omer Shem Tov had conversations with G-d and tried to also observe shabbat traditions. Their faith helped to get them through. Thank you prayers to G-d have been recited on site of families reuniting with their returned loved ones… Taken for being a Jew. Tortured and starved for being a Jew. And yet… they are all stronger Jews now. The more anti Jew you are. The Jewisher we get
0:22

Something that has knocked me for six is the fact that the hostages have only become stronger in their Judaism. Holding on to being a Jew. Even in the darkest most terrifying times. Rom Bravslevski refused to convert to Islam in captivity, even when offered food when he was starving as a treat if he read the Quran. His reply was ‘I am a strong Jew’. On coming out he laid tefillin.. an ancient morning ritual. Former hostage Eli Sharabi, who was not a religious Jew, recited the Shema prayer for the first time whilst in captivity and held on to scraps of stale pita bread and drops of water just to be able to make the holy Friday night shabbat kiddush prayers. Omer Shem Tov had conversations with G-d and tried to also observe shabbat traditions. Their faith helped to get them through. Thank you prayers to G-d have been recited on site of families reuniting with their returned loved ones… Taken for being a Jew. Tortured and starved for being a Jew. And yet… they are all stronger Jews now. The more anti Jew you are. The Jewisher we get

Shelley Blond

29,880 views • 11 months ago

🚨 LIVE UPDATE: Army and settlers continue to lay siege to al-Mughayier Military forces and settlers raided the village, obstructed movement in and out of it, and assaulted residents throughout the day. The sole entrance to the village was first closed by a flying checkpoint shortly after 6 a.m., preventing laborers from leaving the village. The entrance remained intermittently closed throughout the day, with soldiers and settlers at times manning the checkpoint together. Throughout the day, settlers moved through the area with their flocks, grazing on privately owned Palestinian land under the protection of the soldiers. At around 9 a.m., soldiers entered the village and detained Mujahed Abu Alia at his scrapyard. They forced him into a military vehicle and took him to the Shaab al-Loz area, where a new settlement outpost was recently established. Once there, the soldiers ordered him to clear rocks from the road leading to the outpost. When he refused, the soldiers beat him, threw him back into the vehicle, drove him back to the scrapyard, and threw him to the ground. They then detained his brother, Muatassem, ordering him to clear the road as well. When he also refused, the soldiers beat him.
0:18

🚨 LIVE UPDATE: Army and settlers continue to lay siege to al-Mughayier Military forces and settlers raided the village, obstructed movement in and out of it, and assaulted residents throughout the day. The sole entrance to the village was first closed by a flying checkpoint shortly after 6 a.m., preventing laborers from leaving the village. The entrance remained intermittently closed throughout the day, with soldiers and settlers at times manning the checkpoint together. Throughout the day, settlers moved through the area with their flocks, grazing on privately owned Palestinian land under the protection of the soldiers. At around 9 a.m., soldiers entered the village and detained Mujahed Abu Alia at his scrapyard. They forced him into a military vehicle and took him to the Shaab al-Loz area, where a new settlement outpost was recently established. Once there, the soldiers ordered him to clear rocks from the road leading to the outpost. When he refused, the soldiers beat him, threw him back into the vehicle, drove him back to the scrapyard, and threw him to the ground. They then detained his brother, Muatassem, ordering him to clear the road as well. When he also refused, the soldiers beat him.

Andrey X

28,936 views • 15 days ago

A Roman emperor ate his meals in a sea cave, a few feet from a massive marble sculpture of the moment Odysseus blinds the Cyclops. Eventually it lay shattered in thousands of pieces on the floor of that cave, and stayed there until 1957... The emperor was Tiberius, who ruled Rome after Augustus, and the cave is at Sperlonga, on the coast between Rome and Naples. It was a natural grotto opening onto the sea, and he turned it into a private dining hall, with pools of water reaching into the mouth of the cave and a platform where he and his guests reclined to eat, the waves echoing off the rock around them... Definitely not a bad place to host dinner. The sculpture stood at the deepest point of the cave and it showed the most terrifying scene in Homer's poem, when Odysseus and his men are trapped inside the cave of Polyphemus, a one-eyed man-eating giant who has sealed them in with a boulder too heavy to move and is eating the crew alive, one by one. Odysseus cannot simply kill him in his sleep, or they will be entombed with the corpse forever. So he gets the giant drunk, waits for him to pass out, hardens the tip of an olive-wood stake in the fire, and drives it into the Cyclops's single eye. The sculptors depicted the instant just before the stake goes in... The colossal figure of Polyphemus sprawls backward, drunk and unaware. Odysseus, the one closest to the Cyclops, and three of his men strain upward with the spike. It was carved larger than life and set in shadow at the back of the grotto, so that as the lamplight shifted, the whole scene seemed to move over the emperor's dinner. The Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius both record that in the year 26 AD, while Tiberius was dining there, rocks fell from the roof of the grotto, crushing several of his attendants and nearly killing the emperor, who was shielded and dragged out. In that collapse, or in a later one, the great marble scenes were smashed into thousands of fragments. There they lay, at the bottom of the cave, until 1957, when workers building a coastal road cut into the ground and found them. Among the rubble they pulled out the colossal head of the giant himself, and slowly, piece by piece, the scene was put back together. The cave gave up two more secrets: the first was an inscription, ten lines of Latin verse, praising the grotto and saying that only a new Virgil could do justice to its statues of Scylla and the blinding of the monster by the man from Ithaca. It told the archaeologists exactly what they had found. The second was carved into the base of the neighbouring ship: three names, Athenodoros, Agesander, and Polydorus, the same sculptors the Roman writer Pliny had named as the creators of the Laocoön, the statue I wrote about yesterday. Homer's Odyssey is one of the oldest stories in the world, and it has outlived the emperor, the civilization that first told it, and every person who has ever loved it. Nearly three thousand years later, we are still telling the story of a man lost far from home, because some part of us always is... I started my newsletter because the past is full of stories like this one, and so few people ever stop to tell us why they matter. Every week I try to. If that is something you'd like to be part of, you can join through the link in my bio, and if you'd like to support my work, a paid subscription is what makes it possible. Thanks for reading.
0:16

A Roman emperor ate his meals in a sea cave, a few feet from a massive marble sculpture of the moment Odysseus blinds the Cyclops. Eventually it lay shattered in thousands of pieces on the floor of that cave, and stayed there until 1957... The emperor was Tiberius, who ruled Rome after Augustus, and the cave is at Sperlonga, on the coast between Rome and Naples. It was a natural grotto opening onto the sea, and he turned it into a private dining hall, with pools of water reaching into the mouth of the cave and a platform where he and his guests reclined to eat, the waves echoing off the rock around them... Definitely not a bad place to host dinner. The sculpture stood at the deepest point of the cave and it showed the most terrifying scene in Homer's poem, when Odysseus and his men are trapped inside the cave of Polyphemus, a one-eyed man-eating giant who has sealed them in with a boulder too heavy to move and is eating the crew alive, one by one. Odysseus cannot simply kill him in his sleep, or they will be entombed with the corpse forever. So he gets the giant drunk, waits for him to pass out, hardens the tip of an olive-wood stake in the fire, and drives it into the Cyclops's single eye. The sculptors depicted the instant just before the stake goes in... The colossal figure of Polyphemus sprawls backward, drunk and unaware. Odysseus, the one closest to the Cyclops, and three of his men strain upward with the spike. It was carved larger than life and set in shadow at the back of the grotto, so that as the lamplight shifted, the whole scene seemed to move over the emperor's dinner. The Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius both record that in the year 26 AD, while Tiberius was dining there, rocks fell from the roof of the grotto, crushing several of his attendants and nearly killing the emperor, who was shielded and dragged out. In that collapse, or in a later one, the great marble scenes were smashed into thousands of fragments. There they lay, at the bottom of the cave, until 1957, when workers building a coastal road cut into the ground and found them. Among the rubble they pulled out the colossal head of the giant himself, and slowly, piece by piece, the scene was put back together. The cave gave up two more secrets: the first was an inscription, ten lines of Latin verse, praising the grotto and saying that only a new Virgil could do justice to its statues of Scylla and the blinding of the monster by the man from Ithaca. It told the archaeologists exactly what they had found. The second was carved into the base of the neighbouring ship: three names, Athenodoros, Agesander, and Polydorus, the same sculptors the Roman writer Pliny had named as the creators of the Laocoön, the statue I wrote about yesterday. Homer's Odyssey is one of the oldest stories in the world, and it has outlived the emperor, the civilization that first told it, and every person who has ever loved it. Nearly three thousand years later, we are still telling the story of a man lost far from home, because some part of us always is... I started my newsletter because the past is full of stories like this one, and so few people ever stop to tell us why they matter. Every week I try to. If that is something you'd like to be part of, you can join through the link in my bio, and if you'd like to support my work, a paid subscription is what makes it possible. Thanks for reading.

James Lucas

399,527 views • 2 months ago

There is a room in Málaga that was built to be the closest thing on earth to standing inside heaven. It is called the camarín of the Virgin of Victory, and it is hidden at the top of a tower inside the Santuario de la Victoria. To reach it, you climb and the ascent is the entire point... The building you are climbing through was completed in 1700, and it was designed as a single argument made in stone. At the bottom lies a crypt: a black chamber crowded with white plaster skeletons, a meditation on death and the brevity of life. From there a staircase rises, and as you climb it the light grows stronger and the imagery changes from bones to saints. The architects of the time understood this ascent as the soul's own journey, the dark crypt as the stage of penitence, the staircase as the stage of spiritual progress, and the room at the very top as the final stage: the union of the soul with the divine. That room at the top is the camarín, and its dome is one of the most extraordinary interiors in Spain... Every surface is covered in white and gold plasterwork. There is no empty space anywhere. The Baroque called this horror vacui, the horror of the void: the conviction that a space meant to represent heaven should not contain a single bare patch of stone. Out of that plasterwork emerge angels, flowers, birds, and mirrors. The mirrors are not decoration alone. They catch the light pouring in through the windows of the drum and throw it around the chamber, so that the gold seems to move and the whole room appears to shimmer and breathe. This wonder was built by people who believed that if you wanted to show a human being what heaven might feel like, you did not describe it to them. You built a room, and you let them climb into it... -- -- -- If you enjoyed this, I write a weekly newsletter read by over 50,000 people who love rediscovering the beauty of the past. You can join us here: If you'd like to support my work, a paid subscription is what makes it possible.
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There is a room in Málaga that was built to be the closest thing on earth to standing inside heaven. It is called the camarín of the Virgin of Victory, and it is hidden at the top of a tower inside the Santuario de la Victoria. To reach it, you climb and the ascent is the entire point... The building you are climbing through was completed in 1700, and it was designed as a single argument made in stone. At the bottom lies a crypt: a black chamber crowded with white plaster skeletons, a meditation on death and the brevity of life. From there a staircase rises, and as you climb it the light grows stronger and the imagery changes from bones to saints. The architects of the time understood this ascent as the soul's own journey, the dark crypt as the stage of penitence, the staircase as the stage of spiritual progress, and the room at the very top as the final stage: the union of the soul with the divine. That room at the top is the camarín, and its dome is one of the most extraordinary interiors in Spain... Every surface is covered in white and gold plasterwork. There is no empty space anywhere. The Baroque called this horror vacui, the horror of the void: the conviction that a space meant to represent heaven should not contain a single bare patch of stone. Out of that plasterwork emerge angels, flowers, birds, and mirrors. The mirrors are not decoration alone. They catch the light pouring in through the windows of the drum and throw it around the chamber, so that the gold seems to move and the whole room appears to shimmer and breathe. This wonder was built by people who believed that if you wanted to show a human being what heaven might feel like, you did not describe it to them. You built a room, and you let them climb into it... -- -- -- If you enjoyed this, I write a weekly newsletter read by over 50,000 people who love rediscovering the beauty of the past. You can join us here: If you'd like to support my work, a paid subscription is what makes it possible.

James Lucas

69,389 views • 3 months ago