text:
This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone.
Are you certain this article is inappropriate?
Excessive Violence
Sexual Content
Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id:
Reproduction Date:
The Salafi movement or Salafist movement is an ultra-conservative orthodox movement within Sunni Islam that references the doctrine known as Salafism. The doctrine can be summed up as taking "a fundamentalist approach to Islam, emulating the Prophet Muhammad and his earliest followers—al-salaf al-salih, the 'pious forefathers'...They reject religious innovation, or bida, and support the implementation of sharia (Islamic law)."[1] The movement is often divided into three categories: the largest group are the purists (or quietists), who avoid politics; the second largest group are the activists, who get involved in politics; the smallest group are the jihadists, who form a tiny (yet infamous) minority.[1]
The Salafi movement is often described as being synonymous with Wahhabism, but Salafists consider the term "Wahhabi" derogatory.[2] At other times, Salafism has been described as a hybrid of Wahhabism and other post-1960s movements.[3] Salafism has become associated with literalist, strict and puritanical approaches to Islam and – particularly in the West – with the Salafi jihadists, who espouse offensive jihad as a legitimate expression of Islam against those they deem to be enemies of Islam.[4]
In legal matters, Salafis are divided between those who, in the name of independent legal judgement (ijtihad), reject strict adherence (taqlid) to the four schools of law (madhahib) and others who remain faithful to these.
Salafism takes its name from the Arabic term salaf ("predecessors", "ancestors") used to identify the earliest Muslims, who, its adherents believe, provide the epitome of Islamic practice.[5][6] A hadith that quotes Muhammad saying "The people of my own generation are the best, then those who come after them, and then those of the next generation," is seen as a call to Muslims to follow the example of those first three generations, known collectively as the salaf[7] or "pious Predecessors" (as-Salaf as-Saleh).[8] They include Muhammad himself,[9] the "Companions" (Sahabah), the "Followers" (Tabi'un) and the "Followers of the Followers" (Tabi' al-Tabi'in). There are a number of records of the hadith[10] that is narrated in the Sahih al-Bukhari of `Abd Allah ibn `Umar (a companion of Muhammad)[11]
These have been revered in Islamic orthodoxy and by Sunni theologians since the fifth Muslim generation or earlier used their example to understand the texts and tenets of Islam, sometimes to differentiate the creed of the first Muslims from subsequent variations in creed and methodology (see Madhab),[12] to oppose religious innovation (bid'ah) and, conversely, to defend particular views and practices.[13][14]
Politics portal
According to at least one scholar, "temporal proximity to the Prophet Muhammad is associated with the truest form of Islam" among many Sunni Muslims.[15]
Ahl al-Hadeeth is possibly the oldest recorded term for these earliest adherents,[16] while Ahl as-Sunnah is overwhelmingly used by Muslim scholars, including non-Salafi scholars, such as the Ash'ari sect, leading to a narrower use of the term "Salafi".[17]
Salafis view the Salaf as an eternal model for all succeeding Muslim generations in their beliefs, exegesis, method of worship, mannerisms, morality, piety and conduct: the Islam they practiced is seen as pure, unadulterated and, therefore, the ultimate authority for the interpretation of the Sunnah.[18] The Imam Al-Dhahabi (died 748H / 1348) said:
It is authentically related from ad-Daaraqutnee that he said: There is nothing more despised by me than kalam. I say: He never entered into kalam nor argumentation. Rather, he was a Salafi.[19]
Salafis believe that the Qur'an, the Hadith and the consensus (ijma) of approved scholarship (ulama) along with the understanding of the Salaf us-salih as being sufficient guidance for the Muslim. As the Salafi da'wa is a methodology and not a madh'hab in fiqh (jurisprudence) as commonly misunderstood, Salafis can come from the Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali or the Hanafi schools of Sunni fiqh.[20]
Salafis condemn certain common practices as polytheism (shirk) and tawassul of religious figures, such as venerating the graves of prophets and saints or using amulets to seek protection.[21]
Salafis place great emphasis on following acts in accordance with the known sunnah, not only in prayer but in every activity in daily life. For instance, many are careful to always use three fingers when eating, drink water in three pauses with the right hand while sitting,[22]
In legal matters, Salafis are divided between those who, in the name of independent legal judgement (ijtihad), reject strict adherence (taqlid) to the four schools of law (madhahib) and others who remain faithful to these.[23] Salafi scholars from Saudi Arabia are generally bound by Hanbali fiqh and advocate following an Imam rather than understanding scripture oneself.[24] Other Salafi scholars however hold that taqlid is unlawful since from their perspective, following a madhab without searching for direct evidence leads Muslims astray.[25] These scholars include Rashid Rida,[26] al-Khajnadee, Muhammad Abduh,[27] Saleem al-Hilali and Nasir al-Din al-Albani.[28]
At the very end of the spectrum, some Salafis hold taqlid to be an act of polytheism.[29]
Modern day proponents of the Athari school of theology largely come from the salafi (or "wahhabi") movement who uphold the athari works of Ibn Taymiyyah.[30] For followers of the Salafi movement, the "clear" (i.e. zahir, apparent, exoteric or literal) meaning of the Qur'an, and especially the prophetic traditions, has sole authority in matters of belief, and to engage in rational disputation (kalam), even if one arrives at the truth, is absolutely forbidden.[31] Atharis engage in an amodal reading of the Qur'an, as opposed to one engaged in Ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an rationally, and believe that the "real" modality should be consigned to God alone (tafwid).[32] In essence, the meaning has been accepted without asking "how" or "Bi-la kaifa". Salafi scholars are in staunch opposition to the use of kalam, dialectics or speculative philosophy in theology. This is because it is seen as a heretical innovation in Islam which opposes the primordial aspiration to follow the original methodology of the Salaf us-Saliheen with regards to Aqidah. Statements of the early Imams of the early Muslims are in corroboration with this such as Abū Ḥanīfa who prohibited his students from engaging in kalam, stating that those who practice it are of the "regressing ones".[33] Malik ibn Anas referred to kalam in the Islamic religion as being "detested",[34] and that whoever "seeks the religion through kalam will deviate".[35] In addition, Shafi'i said that no knowledge of Islam can be gained from books of kalam, as kalam "is not from knowledge"[36][37] and that "It is better for a man to spend his whole life doing whatever Allah has prohibited – besides shirk with Allah – rather than spending his whole life involved in kalam."[38] Ahmad ibn Hanbal also spoke strongly against kalam, stating his view that no-one looks into kalam unless there is "corruption in his heart"[39] and even went so far as to prohibit sitting with people practicing kalam even if they were defending the Sunnah,[40] and instructing his students to warn against any person they saw practicing kalam.[41]
Landmarks claimed in the history of Salafi da'wah are Ahmad ibn Hanbal (died 240 AH / 855 AD), known among Salafis as Imam Ahl al-Sunnah and the three scholars commonly titled with the honorific Sheikh ul-Islam, namely, Taqi ad-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah (died 728 AH / 1328 AD) and Ibn al-Qayyim (died 751 AH / 1350).[42][43][44]
Modern Salafists consider the 18th Century scholar Muhammed bin 'Abd al-Wahhab and many of his students to have been Salafis.[52] He started a revivalist movement in the remote, sparsely populated region of Najd,[53] advocating a purging of practices such as the popular "cult of saints", and shrine and tomb visitation, widespread among Muslims, but which he considered idolatry, impurities and innovations in Islam.[20][54] His evangelizing in the Arabian Peninsula during the 18th century was a call to return to the practices of the early Muslims. His works, especially Kitab at-Tawhid, are still widely read by Salafis around the world today and the majority of Salafi scholars still cite them frequently.[55]
Salafis are often known as Wahhabis which is known as a "belittling" and derogatory term for them.[56][57][58]
Salafism is attractive to its adherents because it underscores Islam's universality.[59] It insists on affirmation of the literal truth as understood by its apparent meaning of Qur'anic scripture and Hadeeth.
Some who have observed trends in the Salafist movement have divided Salafis into three groups—purists, activists, and jihadis.[60][61] Purists focus on education and missionary work to solidify the tawhid; activists focus on political reform and re-establishing a caliphate through the means of evolution, but not violence (sometimes called Salafist activism); and jihadists share similar political goals as the politicians, but engage in violent Jihad (sometimes called Salafi jihadism and/or Qutbism).[60]
"Purists" are Salafists who focus on non-violent da'wah (preaching of Islam), education, and "purification of religious beliefs and practices". They dismiss politics as "a diversion or even innovation that leads people away from Islam".[62]
They never oppose rulers. Madkhalism, as an example, is a strain of Salafists viewed as supportive of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.[63][64][65] Taking its name from the controversial Saudi Arabian cleric Rabee Al-Madkhali, the movement lost its support in Saudi Arabia proper when several members of the Permanent Committee (the country's clerical body) denounced Madkhali personally.[66] Influence of both the movement and its figureheads have waned so much within the Muslim world that analysts have declared it to be a largely European phenomenon.[66]
Activists are another strain of the global Salafi movement, but different from the Salafi jihadists in that they eschew violence and different from Salafi purists in that they engage in modern political processes.[67] Due to numerical superiority, the movement has been referred to as the mainstream of the Salafist movement at times.[65] This trend, who some call "politicos", see politics as "yet another field in which the Salafi creed has to be applied" in order to safeguard justice and "guarantee that the political rule is based upon the Shari'a".[62]Al–Sahwa Al-Islamiyya (Islamic Awakening), as example, has been involved in peaceful political reform. Safar Al-Hawali and Salman al-Ouda are representatives of this trend. Because of being active on social media they have earned some support among more educated youth.[68][69]
"It's very simple. We want sharia. Sharia in economy, in politics, in judiciary, in our borders and our foreign relations."
— Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, the son of Omar Abdel-Rahman, Time magazine. October 8, 2012[70]
"Salafi Jihadism" was a term coined by Gilles Kepel[71][72] to describe those self-claiming Salafi groups who began developing an interest in (armed) jihad during the mid-1990s. Practitioners are often referred to as "Salafi jihadis" or "Salafi jihadists". Journalist Bruce Livesey estimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 0.5 percent of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims (i.e., less than 10 million).[71]
Another definition of Salafi jihadism, offered by Mohammed M. Hafez, is an "extreme form of Sunni Islamism that rejects democracy and Shia rule." Hafez distinguished them from apolitical and conservative Salafi scholars (such as Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen, Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz and Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh), but also from the sahwa movement associated with Salman al-Ouda or Safar Al-Hawali.[73]
An analysis of the Caucasus Emirate, a Salafi jihadist group, was made in 2014 by Darion Rhodes.[74] It analyzes the group's strict observance of tawhid and its rejection of shirk, taqlid, ijtihad and bid'ah, while believing that jihad is the only way to advance the cause of Allah on the earth.[74]
Despite some similarities, the different contemporary self-proclaimed Salafist groups often strongly disapprove of one another and deny the other's Islamic character.[75]
Arguably the most ambitious and intolerant modern emanation is the self-styled 'Islamic State' ISIL, which declared a caliphate in conquered parts of civil war-torn Syria and Iraq, where it established a sharia reign of terror, and vowes to extend this over all Islam worldwide.
Qutbism is a movement which has, at times, been described both as a strain of Salafism and an opposing movement,[56] providing the foil to Madkhalism in that the movement is typically found in radical opposition to the ruling regimes of the Middle East.[63] Qutbism has, at times, been associated with the above-mentioned Salafist Jihadist trend.[67]
In recent years, Salafi methodology has come to be associated with the jihad of extremist groups that advocate the killing of innocent civilians. The Saudi scholar, Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen considered suicide bombing to be unlawful[76][77] and the scholar Abdul Muhsin al-Abbad wrote a treatise entitled: According to which intellect and Religion is Suicide bombings and destruction considered Jihad?.[78] Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani stated that "History repeats itself. Everybody claims that the Prophet is their role model. Our Prophet spent the first half of his message making dawah, and he did not start it with jihad".[79]
Some Salafi scholars appear to support extremism and acts of violence. The Egyptian Salafi cleric Mahmoud Shaaban "appeared on a religious television channel calling for the deaths of main opposition figures Mohammed ElBaradei – a Nobel peace prize laureate – and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi."[80][81] The popular salafi preacher Zakir Naik speaking of Osama bin Laden, said that he would not criticise bin Laden because he had not met him and did not know him personally. He added that, "If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him," and that "If he is terrorizing America – the terrorist, biggest terrorist – I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don't know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong."[82]
Salafism is sponsored globally by Saudi Arabia and this ideology is used to justify the violent acts of Jihadi Salafi groups that include Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Al-Shabaab.[83][84] In addition, Saudi Arabia prints textbooks for schools and universities to teach Salafisim as well as recruit international students from Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Africa and the Balkans to help spreading Salafisim in their local communities.[83][84]
Some other Islamic groups, particularly some Sufis, have also complained about extremism among some Salafi. It has been noted that the Western association of Salafi ideology with violence stems from writings "through the prism of security studies" that were published in the late 20th century and that continue to persist.[85]
Wahhabism is a more strict, Saudi form of Salafism,[86][87] according to Mark Durie, who states Saudi leaders "are active and diligent" using their considerable financial resources "in funding and promoting Salafism all around the world."[88] Ahmad Moussalli tends to agree with the view that Wahhabism is a subset of Salafism, saying "As a rule, all Wahhabis are salafists, but not all salafists are Wahhabis".[89]
However, many scholars and critics distinguish between the old form of Saudi Salafism (termed as Wahhabism) and the new Salafism in Saudi Arabia. Stéphane Lacroix, a fellow and lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, also affirmed a distinction between the two: "As opposed to Wahhabism, Salafism refers […] to all the hybridations that have taken place since the 1960s between the teachings of Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab and other Islamic schools of thought". Hamid Algar and Khaled Abou El Fadl believe, during the 1960s and 70s, Wahhabism rebranded itself as Salafism knowing it could not "spread in the modern Muslim world" as Wahhabism.[90][91]
Its largesse funded an estimated "90% of the expenses of the entire faith", throughout the Muslim World, according to journalist Dawood al-Shirian.[92] It extended to young and old, from children's madrasas to high-level scholarship.[93] "Books, scholarships, fellowships, mosques" (for example, "more than 1,500 mosques were built from Saudi public funds over the last 50 years") were paid for.[94] It rewarded journalists and academics, who followed it and built satellite campuses around Egypt for Al Azhar, the oldest and most influential Islamic university.[95] Yahya Birt counts spending on "1,500 mosques, 210 Islamic centres and dozens of Muslim academies and schools" [96] at a cost of around $2–3bn annually since 1975.[97] To put the number into perspective, the propaganda budget of the Soviet Union was about $1bn per annum.[97]
This spending has done much to overwhelm less strict local interpretations of Islam, according to observers like Dawood al-Shirian and Lee Kuan Yew,[92] and has caused the Saudi interpretation (sometimes called "petro-Islam"[98]) to be perceived as the correct interpretation – or the "gold standard" of Islam – in many Muslims' minds.[99][100]
Salafis in Indian subcontinent countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh etc., are known as Ahl al-Hadith. They think that people are not bound by taqlid (as are Ahl al-Rai, literally "the people of rhetorical theology"), but are free to seek guidance in matters of religious faith and practices from the authentic hadith which, together with the Qur'an, are in their view the principal worthy guide for Muslim.[101][102]
Syed Nazeer Husain from Delhi and Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal are regarded as the founder of the movement. Folk Islam and Sufism, commonly popular with the poor and working class in the region, are anathema to Ahl al-Hadith beliefs and practices. This attitude toward Sufism has brought the movement into conflict with the rival Barelvi movement even more so than the Barelvis perennial rivals, the Deobandis. Ahle-e-Hadith consciously or unconsciously follow Zahiri Madhab.[103] The movement draws both inspiration and financial support from Saudi Arabia.[104][105]
There are 5 to 6 million Salafis in Egypt.[106] Salafis in Egypt are not united under a single banner or unified leadership. The main Salafi trends in Egypt are Al-Sunna Al-Muhammadeyya Society, The Salafist Calling, Al-Madkhaliyya Salafism, Activist Salafism, and Al-Gam'eyya Al-Shar'eyya.[107]
Al-Sunna Al-Muhammadeyya Society, also known as Ansar Al-Sunna, was founded in 1926 by Sheikh Mohamed Hamed El-Fiqi (d.), a 1916 graduate of Al-Azhar and a student of the famed Muslim reformer Muhammed Abduh. It is considered the main Salafi group in Egypt. El-Fiqi's ideas were resentful of Sufism. But unlike Muhammed Abduh, Ansar Al-Sunna follows the tawhid as preached by Ibn Taymiyyah.[107]
Muslim Brotherhood, a faction led by Mohammad Ismail al-Muqaddim, influenced by Salafists of Saudi Arabia established the Salafist Calling between 1972 and 1977.[108]
Salafist Call created the Al-Nour Party after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. It has an ultra-conservative Islamist ideology, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law.[109] In the 2011–12 Egypt parliamentary elections, the Islamist Bloc led by Al‑Nour party received 7,534,266 votes out of a total 27,065,135 correct votes (27.8%). The Islamist Bloc gained 127 of the 498 parliamentary seats contested,[110] second-place after the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Al‑Nour Party itself won 111 of the 127 seats. From January 2013 the party gradually distanced itself from Mohammad Morsi's Brotherhood government, and came to join the opposition in the July 2013 coup which ousted Morsi.[111] A lawsuit against the party was dismissed on 22 September 2014 because the court indicated it had no jurisdiction.[112] A case on the dissolution of the party was adjourned until 17 January 2015.[113] Another court case that was brought forth to dissolve the party[114] was dismissed after the Alexandria Urgent Matters Court ruled on 26 November 2014 that it lacked jurisdiction.[115]
In France, in 2015 police say that salafism is represented in 90 out of 2500 investigated religious communities, which is double the number compared to five years earlier.[116]
Salafism is a growing movement in Germany and estimates by German security police show that it grew from 3800 members in 2011 to 7500 members in 2015.[117] In Germany, most of the recruitment to the movement is done on the Internet and also on the streets,[117] a propaganda drive which mostly attracts youth.[117] There are two ideological camps, one advocates political salafism and directs its recruitment efforts towards non-Muslims and non-salafist Muslims to gain influence in society.[117] The other and minority movement, the jihadist salafism, advocates gaining influence by the use of violence and nearly all identified terrorist cells in Germany came from salafist circles.[117]
Salafism is opposed by a number of Hui Muslims Sects in China such as by the Gedimu, Sufi Khafiya and Jahriyya, to the extent that even the fundamentalist Yihewani (Ikhwan) Chinese sect, founded by Ma Wanfu after Salafi inspiration, condemned Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing as heretics when they attempted to introduce Salafism as the main form of Islam. Ma Debao established a Salafi school, called the Sailaifengye (Salafi), in Lanzhou and Linxia. It is completely separate from other Muslim sects in China.[118] Muslim Hui avoid Salafis, even if they are family members.[119] The number of Salafis in China are not included on percentage lists of Muslim sects in China.[120] The Kuomintang Sufi Muslim General Ma Bufang, who backed the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Muslims, persecuted the Salafis and forced them into hiding. They were not allowed to move or worship openly. The Yihewani had become secular and Chinese nationalists; they considered the Salafiyya to be "heterodox" (xie jiao) and people who followed foreigners' teachings (waidao). After the Communists took power, Salafis were allowed to worship openly again.[121]
Representatives from the mosque in Swedish United Dawah Center, abbreviated SUDC.[122] SUDC is characterised as a salafist group by a researcher of religious history at Stockholm University and it has many links to British Muslim Abdur Raheem Green.[122] According to professor Mohammed Fazlhashemi, salafists are opposed to rational theology and hate shia Muslims above all.[122] Further Fazlhashemi states that salafism requires women to be relegated to second class citizens as they would be forbidden from leaving the home without a male companion as well as being excluded from education and the workplace.[122]
Worldwide there are roughly 50 million Salafists,[123] including roughly 20 to 30 million Salafis in India,[124] 5 to 6 million Salafis in Egypt,[106] 27.5 million Salafis in Bangladesh[125] and 1.6 million Salafis in Sudan.[126] Salafi communities are smaller elsewhere, including roughly 10,000 in Tunisia, 17,000 in Morocco, 7,000 in Jordan, 17,000 in France and 5,000 in Germany.[127]
It is often reported from various sources, including the German domestic intelligence service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), that Salafism is the fastest-growing Islamic movement in the world.[128][129][130][131]
As opposed to the traditionalist Salafism discussed throughout the article, academics and historians have used the term "Salafism" to denote modernists, "a school of thought which surfaced in the second half of the 19th century as a reaction to the spread of European ideas" and "sought to expose the roots of modernity within Muslim civilization."[132][133] They are also known as Modernist Salafis.[134][135][136][137] However contemporary Salafis follow "literal, traditional […] injunctions of the sacred texts", looking to Ibn Taymiyyah rather than the "somewhat freewheeling interpretation" of 19th century figures Muhammad Abduh, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, and Rashid Rida.[138][139]
The origins of contemporary Salafism in the modernist "Salafi Movement" of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh is noted by some,[140][141] while others say Islamic Modernism only influenced contemporary [146][147][148] According to Quintan Wiktorowicz:
Inspired by Islamic modernists, groups like Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami etc. are called Salafis in this context.[149] Muslim Brotherhood include the term salafi in the "About Us" section of its website.[150]
In this context "in terms of their respective formation, Wahhabism and Salafism were quite distinct. Wahhabism was a pared-down Islam that rejected modern influences, while Salafism sought to reconcile Islam with modernism. What they had in common is that both rejected traditional teachings on Islam in favor of direct, 'fundamentalist' reinterpretation. Although Salafism and Wahhabism began as two distinct movements, Faisal's embrace of Salafi (Muslim Brotherhood) pan-Islamism resulted in cross-pollination between ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings on tawhid, shirk and bid'ah and Salafi interpretations of ahadith (the sayings of Muhammad). Some Salafis nominated ibn Abd al-Wahhab as one of the Salaf (retrospectively bringing Wahhabism into the fold of Salafism), and the Muwahideen began calling themselves Salafis."[151]
In a broad sense, Salafi (follower of [146] and even the Islamism of Taliban is totally irrelevant when Salafism is considered.
Some Salafi Muslims often preach disengagement from Western activities and advocate an apolitical stance opposed to any form of extremism, "even by giving them an Islamic slant".[153]
Salafi have been notable following insurrections in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. In the 2011–12 Egypt parliamentary elections, the Islamist Bloc led by the Al-Nour Party managed to receive 27.8% of the vote despite only "a few months of party politicking experience", gaining 127 of the 498 parliamentary seats contested and forming the second-largest bloc in the parliament.[110] According to Ammar Ali Hassan of al-Ahram, while Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood agree on many issues such as the need to "Islamize" society and restricting private property rights by legally requiring all Muslims to give alms, the former has nevertheless rejected the flexibility of the latter on the issue of whether women and Christians should be entitled to serve in high office, as well as its relatively tolerant attitude towards Shia Iran.[154]
Salafism has been recently criticized by Khaled Abou El Fadl of the UCLA School of Law. El Fadl argues that the Salafi methodology "drifted into stifling apologetics" by the mid-20th century, a reaction against "anxiety" to "render Islam compatible with modernity," by its leaders earlier in the century.[155] He attacks those who state "any meritorious or worthwhile modern institutions were first invented and realized by Muslims". He argues the result was that "an artificial sense of confidence and an intellectual lethargy" developed, according to Abou El Fadl, "that took neither the Islamic tradition nor" the challenges of the modern world "very seriously."[156]
Based on Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi's criticism of Athari-Hanbalis, Egyptian Muslim scholar Muhammad Abu Zahra, a Professor of Islamic law at Cairo University deduced that Salafi aqidah is located somewhere between ta'tili and tashbih.[157][158] According to the As-Sunnah Foundation of America, the Salafi and Wahhabi movements are strongly opposed by a long list of Sunni scholars. [159] The Saudi government has been criticised for damaging Islamic heritage of thousands of years in Saudi Arabia. For example, there has been some controversy that the expansion projects of the mosque and Mecca itself are causing harm to early Islamic heritage. Many ancient buildings, some more than a thousand years old, have been demolished to make room not only for the expansion of the Masjid al-Haram, but for new malls and hotels.[160][161][162][163][164] Though Salafis, when told about this, were as opposed to it as other Muslims.[165] The Salafi movement has been linked by Marc Sageman to some terrorist groups around the world, like Al-Qaeda.[166]
German government officials[167] have stated that Salafism has a strong link to terrorism but have clarified that not all Salafists are terrorists. The statements by German government officials criticizing Salafism were televised by Deutsche Welle during April 2012.[168][169]
The kind of Islam practiced at Dar-us-Salaam, known as Salafism, once had a significant foothold among area Muslims, in large part because of an aggressive missionary effort by the government of Saudi Arabia. Salafism and its strict Saudi version, known as Wahhabism, struck a chord with many Muslim immigrants who took a dim view of the United States' sexually saturated pop culture and who were ambivalent about participating in a secular political system.
There are others, the so-called Salafia. It's run along parallel lines to the Wahhabis, but they are less violent and less extreme – still violent and extreme but less so than the Wahhabis.
What is called Wahhabism – the official religious ideology of the Saudi state – is a form of Salafism. Strictly speaking, 'Wahhabism' is not a movement, but a label used mainly by non-Muslims to refer to Saudi Salafism, referencing the name of an influential 18th century Salafi teacher, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. ... The continuing impact of Salafi dogma in Saudi Arabia means that Saudi leaders are active and diligent in funding and promoting Salafism all around the world. If there is a mosque receiving Saudi funding in your city today, in every likelihood it is a Salafi mosque. Saudi money has also leveraged Salafi teachings through TV stations, websites and publications.
Hamid Algar […] emphasizes the strong influence of the Saudi petrodollar in the propagation of Wahhabism, but also attributes the political situation of the Arab world at the time as a contributing factor that led to the co-opting of Salafism. […] Khaled Abou El Fadl, […] expresses the opinion that Wahhabism would not have been able to spread in the modern Muslim world […] it would have to be spread under the banner of Salafism.8 This attachment of Wahhabism to Salafism was needed as Salafism was a much more 'credible paradigm in Islam'; making it an ideal medium for Wahhabism. […] The co-opting of Salafism by Wahhabism was not completed until the 1970s when the Wahhabis stripped away some of their extreme intolerance and co-opted the symbolism and language of Salafism; making them practically indistinguishable.
The proliferation of brochures, free qurans and new Islamic centres in Malaga, Madrid, Milat, Mantes-la-Jolie, Edinburgh, Brussels, Lisbon, Zagreb, Washington, Chicago, and Toronto; the financing of Islamic Studies chairs in American universities; the growth of Internet sites: all of these elements have facilitated access to Wahhabi teachings and the promotion of Wahhabism as the sole legitimate guardian of Islamic thought.
But over the last 30-odd years, since the oil crisis and the petrodollars became a major factor in the Muslim world, the extremists have been proleytizing, building mosques, religious schools where they teach Wahhabism […] sending out preachers, and having conferences. Globalizing, networking. And slowly they have convinced the Southeast Asian Muslims, and indeed Muslims throughout the world, that the gold standard is Saudi Arabia, that that is the real good Muslim.
It also reveals that Salafism was cited in 2010 as the fastest growing Islamic movement on the planet.
It is the fastest-growing movement within the fastest-growing religion in the world.
Though solid numbers are hard to come by, they're routinely described as the fastest-growing movement in modern-day Islam.
The service [German domestic intelligence service] said in its most recent annual report dating from 2010 that Salafism was the fastest growing Islamic movement in the world…
Quran, Arabic language, God, Muhammad, Shia Islam
Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Arabic language, Kuwait
Islam, Sharia, Quran, Muslim Brotherhood, Taliban
Quran, Islam, Hadith, Islam by country, Shia Islam
Islam, Quran, Shia Islam, Muhammad, Sunni Islam
Quran, Islamism, Islam, Politics, Hadith
Salafi movement, Islamism, Osama bin Laden, Taliban, Hamas
Syrian Civil War, Syria, Al-Qaeda, Afghanistan, Nato
Islam, Hadith, Saudi Arabia, Sunni Islam, Zakat


text:
NKHR and Supporters Voice Their Concerns for the nine North Korean Youth Defectors
Nine orphaned North Korean defectors (ages 14 to 23) risked their lives to fight for their human rights. Their willpower and hope overpowered their fear. From North Korea to China, and China to Laos, they pushed on toward freedom – they were almost there.
However, all hope vanished on Friday, May 10, 2013.
The nine North Korean youth defectors, with the help of two South Koreans, were en route to South Korea when authorities in Muang Xay, Laos, captured them and sent them to the Immigration Detention Center in Bientiane, Laos. One of the South Korean leaders pleaded the South Korean embassy to provide the nine North Korean refugees with necessary protection, but the South Korean embassy did not take any emergency actions to help them. Instead, the South Korean embassy told the refugees to "wait." For seventeen days, neither the South Korean embassy nor its embassy in Laos visited or interviewed the young defectors while a North Korean diplomat, claiming to be a South Korean diplomat, visited the refugees, twice.
On May 27th, 2013, the North Korean diplomat succeeded in taking the nine North Korean youth defectors back to China.
The refugees were on the brink of being repatriated back to North Korea, where they will be punished - tortured and abused at political prison camps, and possibly face the risk of execution.
On Wednesday, May 29th, 2013, NKHR members along with other supporters, gathered in front of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appeal to the South Korean government to take action and stop the enforced repatriation of these young defectors. NKHR members and other supporters let their voices be heard on the streets of Seoul; "The South Korean government must take responsibility for its negligence and failure to protect the young North Korean refugees in Laos."
Ultimately, the nine North Korean youth defectors were deported back to North Korea. Even though the Laotian government knew the fatal fate of these refugees, it sent them back to North Korea. The Laotian government did not stand by its duty as a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. The Laotian government's actions were basically a violation of human rights.
On Friday, May 31st, 2013, NKHR held another street protest/press conference at the Embassy of Laos in South Korea to demonstrate against the Laotian government's inhuman practice and to urge the Laotian government never to send refugees back to North Korea again.
We need to keep in mind that Laos is one of the main routes for North Korean refugees to come to South Korea.
The fight isn't over yet.
We are talking about nine young lives – help us save these lives. Continue to support and pray for the nine young North Korean defectors; continue to support other future refugees; and continue to voice your opinion on the issue of human rights in North Korea.
Leave a Reply.
Rescue Fund
We are a group of volunteers fundraising for NKHR (Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights) to rescue
May 2017

subset: commoncrawl


text: Men have it easy. They wear running shorts and if they gotta pee, they just, well, you know, find the closest tree and do their business. Women's running shorts can have almost similar ease (just pull the liner to the side … and go), but it's not so easy for women who choose to wear running … Read More


text:
Is it real or is it rendered? Thousands of artists, designers and computer scientists attending SIGGRAPH, the world's top computer graphics conference, will be asking themselves this very question in Los Angeles next week.
We'll be showing how NVIDIA rendering and light simulation software, and our latest suite of design tools, make it virtually impossible to tell the real from the rendered. And how we'll enable designers to work faster — and more fluidly — while viewing their creations with unprecedented accuracy as they work.
That's crucial for designers. All too often, they can't confidently predict what their digital designs will look like in the real world. Until now, the digital approximations viewed on their workstations haven't accurately represented the final manufactured product. That's because they haven't had the tools to create accurate representations of their products and materials and render them interactively.
"Visualization allows us to explore more iterations and concepts in less time. More time means we can refine a good design into something truly great and timeless."
— Matthew Gueller, Senior Surface Designer, Harley-Davidson
So stop by — we're in booth 500 — and see how that's changing. Learn about our new technology that is changing how architects and product design teams bring their vision to reality. See live demonstrations showing how users can visualize their creations with physically based rendering. And learn how they're sharing materials between applications and collaborating with design teams on the other side of the desk or the other side of the world.
Plus, we'll have an area to show how companies are using our latest virtual reality technologies. See how Ford is using VR in product design. Strap on a headset to experience how WETA Digital is using VR to create deeply immersive movies.
While you're there, ask how to get a chance to win an NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV box by participating in our "Real or Rendered" competition.
In our booth's Best of GTC Theater, we'll feature a dozen talks each day, including NVIDIA experts, partners and customers like Dassault Systems, Harley-Davidson, Pixar and Saatchi & Saatchi. They'll share how they are incorporating NVIDIA's latest tools and technologies for design visualization.
Our Best of GTC Theater is open to all attendees Tuesday through Thursday.
Get the full schedule here.


text:
AUTUMN RIDGE - Mountain Village, CO
Estate with Spa, Theater, Bowling Alley and Arcade, Ski In/Out
HOOD PARK MANOR - Mountain Village, CO
Elegant Estate, Amenities Inside and Out, Ski Run Adjacent
CASTLEWOOD - Mountain Village, CO
Dreams do come true, Ski in-ski out, hot springs, home theatre, spa
COLUMBIA MANOR - Mountain Village, CO
8 bedroom ski access with a hot tub
Protected: SLEEPING INDIAN RANCH - Ridgway, CO
Sprawling private estate, 15,000 acres, 40,000 square ft, home theatre
HILLTOP HIDEAWAY - Mountain Village, CO
Expansive Views from this Private Estate, Hot Tub, Pool Table
SHEPARD'S RETREAT - Mountain Village, CO
7 Bedroom Walk to Ski with Hot Tub
ALPEN RIDGE - Mountain Village, CO
Elevated Luxury Estate with Slopeside Views and Access
SUNSET RIDGE - Telluride, CO
Beautiful Mesa Home, Sweeping Views, Pond, Gym, Theater, Game Room and More!
GOLD HILL - Mountain Village, CO
6 Bedroom Ski Access with Hot Tub
POLAR QUEEN - Mountain Village, CO
Destination Fun! Bonus Game Room, Ski Access And; Hot Tub
RIVER BLISS - Telluride, CO
Private, Convenient and Absolutely Perfect Accommodations, Walk to Ski and Hot Tub.
POSITIVE OUTLOOK - Mountain Village, CO
Mountain Village, Luxury Home, Close to Gondola, Walk to Ski
CLOUD NINE - Telluride, CO
6 Bedroom Walk to Ski
211 A SOUTH OAK - Telluride, CO
Luxury Home, Downtown Telluride, GREAT Location, Steps away from the GONDOLA!
THE PINNACLE - Mountain Village, CO
Game Room, Hot Tub and Theater, Perfect Ski Get-a-way
ALPENBLICK - Telluride, CO
4 Bedroom Walk to Ski
Protected: A MOUNTAIN MASTERPIECE - Telluride, CO
Spectacular, True Luxury Home Inside and Outside, Remote Location with Breathtaking Views and Hot Tub.
Protected: TRANSFER PENTHOUSE - Telluride, CO
5 Bedroom Walk to Ski
MOUNTAIN MODERN AT CORTINA - Mountain Village, CO
Ski In/Out in Mountain Village with Striking Views and Modern Design


text:
Our breeding dogs are tested to WALA All Star Breeder standards!
In addition to health, temperament is a huge priority for us. Three of our moms and many of their offspring have been certified as therapy dogs!
Please go to our labradoodles to learn more about the parents of our upcoming litters.
Interested in a puppy from one of our upcoming litters? Please click here to learn about our adoption procedures, prices, health warranty, and lifetime commitment to you and your doodle.
Leapfrog is a small breeding program known for its exceptional bloodlines, extremely high standards in health testing, and outstanding customer support.
Thank you for your interest in a Leapfrog Labradoodle!
We are a small breeder focused on quality versus quantity.
Please contact us if you would like to be considered for one of our puppies.
We look forward to hearing from you!


text:
Dallas — The little boy with his tongue stuck to the flagpole after a triple-dog dare, the whiney kid brother who won't eat, the reading lamp shaped like a woman's leg, and, above all, the child who longs for a "Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle"—all these have become part of the American collective conscience, thanks to the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. After an initial flop at the box office, Jean Shepherd's fond reimagining of American childhood moved from cult classic to cultural icon, thanks to home video release; for many Americans, an annual viewing of A Christmas Story on the living room flat screen is as much a part of the holiday season as presents under the tree and gaudy front-yard light shows.
Inevitably, the adventures of 9-year-old Ralphie and his cohort of family and friends in fictional Hohman, Indiana, circa 1940, made it to the Broadway stage in a musical version in 2012; that live edition, copiously decorated with song-and-dance numbers by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul—who would later win a Tony for Dear Evan Hansen and an Oscar for La La Land—tours the hinterlands annually at holiday time in a lavish version now playing in a short run through Sunday at Winspear Opera House on the AT&T Performing Arts Center Broadway Series.
As a good musical should, A Christmas Story: The Musical distills and enhances the best elements of its source material. In this case, the dream-like, episodic nature of the movie version, with its intense, child's-eye view of the world, translates naturally into music and choreography. The sets by Walt Spangler and Michael Carnahan further evoke this vision by placing Ralphie's world in a giant snow globe, evoking the self-contained, sometimes magical world of American childhood.
Part of the power of A Christmas Story lies in the engagingly honest portrayal of characters: Ralphie sees his father as a thundering, all-powerful presence, while the audience sees a low-level, Depression-era white collar worker, desperately clinging to self-esteem while trying to pay bills, keep a cranky furnace and decaying Oldsmobile operating, and maintain his manhood. In this production, Paul Nobrega maneuvers this shaky territory appealingly, particularly capturing the anxieties and exhilaration of his big number, "A Major Award."
The role of the mother is likewise beautifully fulfilled by Briana Gantsweg. The musical version goes the movie one better with its vision of a woman accepting her inescapable function as mother and housewife, and Gantsweg brings a vocally gorgeous and dramatically touching rendition of this concept in her song "What a Mother Does." Lauren Kent brings just the right level of exaggeration as Miss Shields, the elementary school teacher, playing up our childhood teachers not as they really were, but as the towering figures we all remember. Kent's memorable moment arrives when, in a dream sequence, she transforms into a threatening chanteuse in a 1930s-style speakeasy people by tiny mobsters and molls.
The biggest challenge of transferring A Christmas Story to the musical stage was undoubtedly that most major roles and much of the chorus has to be played by children. To that end, director Matt Lenz and choreographer Warren Carlyle succeeded in creating an efficient staging evoking a sense of childlike energy and impetus—nothing breathtaking here, but always visually engaging in a style appropriate for a work that is essentially a children's show aimed at grownups.
Ian Shaw, who will alternate with Michael Norman in the role of Ralphie for the Dallas run, held center stage winningly at the Wednesday night opening, personifying the catastrophes of pre-adolescence with insight and carrying the vocal demands with clear, confident Broadway styling; Jasper Davenport convincingly took on the role of the even more worry-ridden kid brother Randy. Chris Carsten brought the requisite balance of calm humor and affection as the narrator/Jean Shepherd.
The score by Pasek and Paul clipped along nicely Wednesday under the direction of Andrew Smithson with a small orchestra of winds, percussion, and keyboards; the lighthearted tunes didn't break any new ground in 2012, but carry the story neatly, with impeccable craftsmanship and momentum. As with many of the touring shows initially conceived for Broadway theaters, some of the intimacy (and about a third of the words) get lost in a room designed for the grand gestures of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner, but the tenderness, comedy, and humanity of the show came across well nonetheless. As with the original movie version, it's impossible to watch A Christmas Story: The Musical, without laughing out loud a lot and crying a little, too, at the foibles and follies of Ralphie and the flawed but profoundly loveable characters who populate his world.


text:
Our Mission
To help people achieve their homeownership goals.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create pathways to success for everyone. Our focus is to get you a loan and terms that fit your situation.
Our Core Values
We value integrity
We understand the benefits of holding to the highest standards of honesty. We are trust-builders and stake our reputation on straight, direct communication. We are committed to doing the right thing — even at a cost.
We value the handshake
US Lending will always value the handshake. A handshake is real, honest, and it is face-to-face. Even as we grow and adopt new strategies and technology for our services, we will always carry the spirit of "main street" to connect with our clients on a personal level.
We value teamwork
We desire to create a culture of family within our company where team members are empowered and supported. We work together and play together. Our environment is a product of our trust, respect, transparency, and integrity.
We value excellence
We hold ourselves to high standards. We value excellence in our personal lives and our company as a whole. We desire to provide high quality products and services while using the most up-to-date technology in order to stay ahead of the curve and make the process more efficient for us and less stressful for our clients.


text:
Matt Damon: 'Great Wall' Role Never Intended for Asian Actor
Matt Damon said Tuesday that his role in the new China-Hollywood production The Great Wall "was always intended to be European," responding to criticism that an Asian actor should have been picked for the part.
Some critics have said Damon's casting amounted to "whitewashing," when Caucasians are chosen for roles that should have gone to actors from other ethnicities.
Heat Vision breakdown
In an interview with The Associated Press, the American actor said he thinks of "whitewashing" as applying to Caucasian actors applying makeup to appear to be of another race, as was common in the early days of film and television, when racism was much more overt.
"That whole idea of whitewashing, I take that very seriously," Damon said, using the example of the Irish-American actor Chuck Connors, who played the lead character in the 1962 film Geronimo, about the famed Apache chief.
Damon was in China Tuesday with the cast of The Great Wall for a major press event in central Beijing. The film's stars and director, Zhang Yimou, walked the red carpet and interacted with fans before taking the stage to introduce their characters and discuss the experience of making the film, believed to be the most expensive Chinese-Hollywood co-production ever, with a budget of more than $150 million. The event was live-streamed across China by LeEco, the tech conglomerate whose film subsidiary, Le Vision Pictures, co-produced the movie.
"Everybody on the crew from all over the world felt lucky to be going to work with Zhang Yimou every day — it was a dream come true for all of us," Damon said. He was joined onstage by Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal and Chinese stars Lu Han and Jing Tian, Hong Kong's Andy Lau and Taiwan's Eddie Peng.
In the film, Damon plays a British mercenary in the Middle Kingdom. The Great Wall's first trailer sparked criticism in the U.S. that a white man had been chosen to play the lead in a film set in China meant to showcase Chinese culture.
Constance Wu, who stars in the U.S. comedy series Fresh off the Boat, which is centered on Taiwanese immigrants, posted on Twitter, "We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that a only (sic) white man can save the world."
The furor also came amid other accusations of a lack of diversity and opportunities for Asian actors in Hollywood.
Damon and Zhang told the AP that because of the demands of the story, Damon's role was never envisaged for a Chinese actor.
Damon said he thought the controversy would subside "once people see that it's a monster movie and it's a historical fantasy and I didn't take a role away from a Chinese actor...it wasn't altered because of me in any way."
Damon, star of the Bourne franchise and Interstellar, also questioned whether the critical stories on online news sites based on "a 30-second teaser trailer" would have existed before the era of fake news and social media.
"It suddenly becomes a story because people click on it, versus the traditional ways that a story would get vetted before it would get to that point," Damon said.
People fall for outrageous headlines, but "eventually you stop clicking on some of those more outrageous things because you just realize there is nothing to the story when you get to it," he said.
The Great Wall debuts in Chinese cinemas on Dec. 16 followed by other countries, including the United States in February.
- the Associated Press
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- Patrick Brzeski
- firstname.lastname@example.com
Sign up for Heat Vision's weekly newsletter for all things comics, sci-fi and more.
Thank you!
The scoops will hit your inbox every Friday.
Want more THR?
Sign up for our other newsletters.VIEW
by Graeme McMillan
by Aaron Couch
by Sharareh Drury
by Chris Gardner


text:
Back in September, after I finished a gift embroidery for my sister, I spotted this in a cross-stitch catalogue. You can imagine who came to mind, and I thought, "What a nifty Christmas present this would make!" and ordered it. When it came, I was massively disappointed: The thing is an "embellished cross stitch," which means it was screen-printed on 14-count Aida cloth, and you only stitch certain parts of it, leaving a stitchery with a whole lot of holes to be filled in.
I checked with my cross-stitch group, who agreed with me: If I went with the original design, it would bother me every time I looked at it. So I scanned the photo into my computer and ran it through a program I have that creates cross stitch out of any picture you care to reproduce, and since October I've been working on this picture called, "Maryland Mountain Express."
Needless to say, it wasn't done in time for Christmas. It may not even be done in time for Chris's birthday, in June. But I am much happier with the results.
Slowing me down has been, not just the trip to Pennsylvania (this was way too big to tote along on a train!), but another project I foolishly got involved in: The World Trade Center Quilt. Some woman in Kentucky conceived the idea of piecing together a quilt made up of black Aida-cloth rectangles, each cross-stitched with 18 names of people who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Sounds like a great idea, right? One problem: Working with that black cloth. I really have to pace myself so I don't get eye strain. It will be some time before I ever work with black cloth again, I can tell you!
And there is one last project I promised to start this year. The woman who sold me the pattern has since had second thoughts about it, since she isn't sure how it will work up as a cross stitch, and I told her I would "model-stitch" it for her, which means I'm committed to getting something done with it. I just tried uploading it, and it's not coming up, so you'll have to look it up: Google images, then enter "Boyarina Morozova."
Some people would just say I should be committed, period. And I'm beginning to agree.


text:
European Union
By Jason Anderson, Head of WWF's European Climate & Energy Policy and Regine Guenther, Director for Climate and Energy Policy for WWF-Germany
email@example.com email@example.com
EU leaders recently agreed the outlines of a new climate and energy package covering the period 2020-2030. They seem to have overlooked that there is still plenty of scope for improvement before 2020.
EU emissions actually look likely to drop below target levels – more than 24% below 1990 levels (target is -20%). This doesn't even include the additional off set credits purchased by government and industry. But unfortunately, by not acknowledging the likely over-achievement, Europe gives itself the option of reversing that trend. Or carrying tonnes over to dilute post-2020 goals. Neither of which is acceptable.
The obvious step would be to agree a tougher 2020 target, such as 30%, which has been shown to be both feasible and economically beneficial. EU officials seem reluctant to have this political battle, but we believe it's clearly the best option.
Despite the reluctance, there's a piece of legislation under discussion to improve the working of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which covers about half of Europe's emissions. A history of easy targets, overseas off set credits and the economic downturn has created far too many permits in the system, and the price is too low to sufficiently rein in big polluters like coal power.
The improvement under discussion, the 'market stability reserve,' will have no environmental benefit if these 'toxic tonnes' simply return to the system later. We need urgent parliamentary amendments to retire or cancel the unneeded tonnes.
On renewable energy, Europe has targets that support its climate goals, and is extending them beyond 2020. But in setting a renewable energy target for 2030, the EU should not overlook meeting or exceeding the 2020 target of 20%, which is divided into binding national targets. The 2030 goal is only 'at least 27%', and no longer binding at national level, which means the rate of progress on renewables would slow down post-2020.
Unfortunately the level of commitment and support for renewables growth seems to be on the wane in many European countries. Some member states might tend to hope they'll get away with underperforming on their 2020 commitments. This can't be allowed to happen – it would be illegal, for one thing.
When it comes to energy efficiency, more effort and commitment is needed to make sure buildings are better insulated and products more efficient, if we're to meet the 20% target for 2020. The recent upsurge in interest in energy security has added new urgency to the idea of saving energy.
In general member states need to be more open about communicating their positive actions, and make sure they lead to pre-2020 improvements. (Germany, for example, has an ambitious 40% greenhouse gas reduction goal.) Countries should also be prepared to cancel excess Kyoto and EU ETS allowances unilaterally.
Europe's role isn't limited to domestic efforts, but also helping finance reductions elsewhere. Some EU countries have made important contributions to the Green Climate Fund, but Europe's total effort is still far off -track from its fair share of the foreseen $100bn by 2020.
Europe needs to be careful not to simultaneously finance high-carbon energy, at home or abroad. Fossil fuel energy subsidies still exist in Europe, and need to be stopped, just as international finance needs to be redirected away from coal and towards clean energy.
For six years European politicians have been bending to the will of a handful of fossil-fuel-dependent EU countries and their industry allies, whose ideological opposition to climate action has held back economic transition.
Europe's goals for 2030 demonstrate this inadequacy – the 'at least 40%' cut in greenhouse gases should be 55%; the 27% renewable energy target should be 45%; and the efficiency goal of 27% should be 40%.
In this important year for climate and clean energy – and with a new European parliament and Commission in place – it's time for European leaders to show they can take the steps needed to close the gigatonne gap for 2020, set their sights higher for 2030, and guide Europe to nearly total decarbonization by 2050.


text:
In an interview with TheTruth, Wizkid opened up on his recent beef with Davido. Below is what he said;
"That situation was just so funny to me because we were all on the same flight. I got back, I was really tweeting about my show. I was talking about myself. I had a show in New York before that, that was like a year ago, or two years ago, it was sold out, sound was bad, venue we used was crazy….it was f**ked up. I land for airport nah, I was going to my hotel, drove through the venue, I saw my name in lights, and I saw my venue and I was like "Wow! This is me?" Came down, took a picture , posted it – I do proper shows, proper venues. People started catching feelings"
"Everyone should be mad at that. If that was the case, then everyone like Iyanya, everyone that has done shows in the US should say something.
"When I saw that, it was funny. It was all just play. I no get time abeg. I do proper shows. So if you get mad at that, that means, why you mad? You don't do proper shows, proper venues? Why are you mad? I wasn't talking about nobody. I was promoting my show. I feel like if I'm doing something for myself, happy about my success and you are hating at my success, I don' know what to say to you. Should I consider you as a friend or foe? I don't know"
When asked if he would consider Davido as a friend, He said..
"Me I'm cool with everybody. I'm easy with everyone. If you don't come at me, I won't come at you. If you pray for me, I pray for you. If you swear for me, I go swear make God punish you!"
I have a 3 year old son. I have more important issues to deal with in my life. I have real life problems. I'm not into no beefs. I'm just trying to survive. Live my life!
He also said his new album will be his last with EME!


text:
Waymo's computers may not have been at the wheel during the Arizona car crash last Friday, but eventually autonomous car developers will have to figure out just how human they dare let their AI drivers behave. While plenty of attention has been given to the technological barriers to self-driving cars, and a reasonable amount to the insurance and regulatory implications, there's a big black hole in one other key element. That's driverless car ethics.
Despite initial suggestions by the Chandler Police Department, Waymo says that its car was in manual mode at the point of the collision. That is, the safety operator at the wheel was physically driving the car, rather than the systems Alphabet's company has developed. It certainly appears that there was little, if any, emergency maneuvering to avoid the oncoming vehicle by that operator, who sustained minor injuries in the crash.
The question that stands out to me is how the Waymo car might have handled the situation, had it been in autonomous, not manual mode. Indeed, I suspect it's the first aspect of a broader question that will become the most pressing issue around driverless vehicles as the technology matures. Effective driving isn't just following the rules of the road, after all; it's about the decisions we as human car operators make, almost without consciously thinking about them.
Waymo has released video from the front-facing cameras in its car, with the brief clip showing the silver Honda coming across the central median and approaching the autonomous vehicle almost head-on. Without footage from the side or rear of the car, however, it's hard to say what the broader road conditions were. That would likely have had a huge impact on how a self-driving system might have reacted.
Had the AI been at the controls, I wonder, would Waymo's car have swerved to the side to avoid that oncoming Honda? That would, I suspect, be the reaction many human drivers would have. An autonomous car, though, has 360-degree vision: it would know if there was another vehicle in the next lane.
Does the autonomous vehicle swerve, if it knows that doing so could put the adjacent car in increased danger? Or, does it stay in its lane, and do as much as possible there to minimize the impact of a crash without imperiling other vehicles around it? Braking hard, for instance, or making more cautious swerves within the limits of the lane.
The question is who, after all, does the car have responsibility to. The person inside it? Those other road users around it? Whoever the insurance policy says is liable?
Once you start to run through the mental exercise that is autonomous car crash ethics, it's easy to end up with a serious headache. My go-to thought exercise involves a self-driving car and a nun walking out into the road. Does the car swerve, if in doing so it puts its riders in jeopardy, but potentially saving the nun? Or, does it prioritize the passengers, but risk the pedestrian?
Perhaps, as a human driver, you'd weigh it in that split-second and figure that the nun is old, your kid in the back is young, and the contents of your car therefore more valuable. Just to properly bed the headache down and crank it up to a serious migraine, though, then you add more nuns. Or school children they're shepherding. Or somebody walking a cute little dog.
Is a middle-aged man being ferried by a driverless car more or less worth saving than a pair of schoolchildren? What are the relative values of a group of teenagers inside an autonomous taxi, versus a group of middle-aged women stepping out in front of the car? How about if the women are carrying kids, or pushing baby carriages?
According to J. Christian Gerdes, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and Director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), a self-driving vehicle has three objectives: safety, legality, and mobility. In an ideal world it would satisfy all three equally, but life on the public road is seldom ideal. Instead, at some point the car – or the ethics programming that car's AI uses – needs to decide which will take priority.
Autonomous vehicle ethics won't just be important when it comes to figuring out who to prioritize in a crash situation. Working out how "human" a robot driver should be will have an impact on every aspect of that car on the road. Too tight an interpretation of the letter of the law, for instance, and on encountering an obstacle in the lane the self-driving car will simply halt and stay there. It's only when you dial in a little moral looseness – a willingness to bend the rules, to some extent – that it would consider driving around that obstacle, even if that means momentarily entering the opposing lane, or driving onto the shoulder.
There will not, Gerdes has argued, be one single "ethical module box" that automakers will be able to buy from a supplier and plug into their self-driving cars. Indeed, in a chapter he co-authored with Sarah M. Thornton in the 2015 book "Autonomes Fahren," the suggestion is that different types of autonomous vehicles could end up prioritizing different levels of "good" driving.
"An automated taxi may place a higher weight on the comfort of the passengers to better display its virtues as a chauffeur," they theorize. "An automated ambulance may want to place a wider margin on how close it comes to pedestrians or other vehicles in order to exemplify the Hippocratic Oath of doing no harm."
Waymo has not released data on what its autonomous systems might have done, had they been in control during the incident last week. My guess is that, like other driverless car projects, even when the human operator is in control the AI is still watching as a data-collection exercise. From that, it should presumably be possible to work out how the computer would have reacted were the minivan not been in manual mode.
Predictability is one of the big advantages of a self-driving car over a human-operated version. A computer never gets tired; never gets distracted by the radio or their phone. Its sensors see everything around it, all at once.
Yet the data those sensors gather, and the way it's interpreted, has to be viewed through an ethical lens that I'm not sure we've given as much thought to as we ought to have. If driverless cars are to be deployed at scale on public roads, then we need to figure out what moral code we can accept them operating under. Waymo's car may not have swerved out of the way of the crash on Friday, but one day it may have to, and the implications of that could be a whole lot bigger than a fender-bender.


text:
*This post has affiliate links but all opinions are my own.
Designer Rachel Antonoff has built a cult following with her quirky and bold prints, theatrical presentation, and intricate themes. The following is her first exclusive capsule collection with Gwynnie Bee, the summer 2017 collection is filled with bold prints in feminine cuts, featuring lipstick swatches, watercolor cactuses, and even a hidden Dolly Parton. All styles are now available to closet exclusively at Gwynnie Bee.
This capsule collection is going on now through the end of July. Don't miss the chance to get these custom pieces designed just for Gwynnie Bee. If you are familiar with Rachel Antonoff you know she is an activist and likes to push the envelope with her fashion and designs. These pieces are perfect comfortable summer friendly styles with fabrics that make for good conversation you will love to mix and match.
Happy Summer and Happy Shopping!


text:
This listing is for the .pdf, digital copy and one physical, bound score, and bounc parts of the complete set of "Night, like velvet: in twelve letters" set, which is comprised of the following works:
Still and Brimming - Mirror
for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, & percussion
Cracked Looking Glass
for violin & 'cello
A Compass as my Planchette
for soprano, flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, 'cello, double bass, piano & percussion
Her Secret Drawer
for clarinet, tenor trombone, violin , viola, 'cello, piano & percussion
As the Crow Flies
for soprano, flute, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion
Burning a Name with Black Edges
for violin,'cello & piano
In Green Water
for flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano, & percussion
The Flickering of a Four-Cornered Eye
for soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, 'cello, & double bass
Watching the Dark Slowly Unfold
for clarinet, violin, viola, 'cello, & piano
A Stiffening Wound & the Pit of Red
for flute, clarinet, violin,'cello, piano & percussion
Open me or Readdress Me
for percussion
Rope at the Throat
for flute, violin, 'cello, & percussion
If you're interested in receiving a digital copy only, please see the listing "Night, like velvet: in twelve letters [Complete Collection] — (Digital ONLY)". There is also a listing for the full score (and digital) of the score alone. Additonally, if you would only like selected movements, each movement is listed separately on the site in both digitial and digital/hard copy form.
Night, like Velvet: in Twelve Letters [Collection]—(Digital/Copy of Score/Parts)
[Complete] Instrumentation:
Clarinet in Bb & Bass Clarinet in Bb
Tenor Trombone
Double Bass
Percussion: Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Finger Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Bongos (high-low), 5 metallic resonating instruments, Bass Drum, Triangle, Mark Tree (or Wind Chimes)
Duration: c.a. 1 hour, 20 minutes
Curious what it sounds like? Click to LISTEN to a recording from the premiere performance. A VIDEO of the premiere performance is also available for viewing.
There are no returns or refunds on digital score/part materials. Please ensure that you're ordering the correct score/part materials before purchasing.


text:
One of the biggest errors that businesses make is that they mistake an objection a prospect raises as a sign of disinterest. If a prospect raises an objection during a call, and the caller can't solve the problem on the spot, many businesses will dismiss the lead as 'dead', and move on.
In actual fact, if a prospect goes to the trouble to tell you why there is an issue, this shows an overall interest in reaching a positive outcome. It may not be possible to solve this issue on the call. However, by educating the prospect, everything can change. This is why one of the most useful things a business can do is to identify the 3 most common objections that arise in sales calls.
Let's assume that in a seminar business, the three most common objections for a business are:
- It costs too much
- I don't have time to attend the seminar
- I can see the value, but I'm not sure that I will get a result
The next step is to review your business and to come up with ways to overcome these objections. The seminar business might come up with the following replies
- It costs too much
- What is the value of the result that the attendee will achieve?
- How much will that result be worth in 3 years time?
- If you achieve this result, what other potential benefits and future results will stem from the original result?
- I don't have time to attend the seminar
- Will the seminar save you time?
- If you don't attend the seminar, how much time will be wasted?
- We all have time. It's not a question of time. It's a question of priorities. Here's how the seminar helps you with your priorities…
- I can see the value, but I'm not sure that I will get a result
- Other participants have got value. Here's what they said…
- Authorities in the field have said the following…
- Articles have been published in these credible publications…
Each of these bullet points need to then be converted into 1-3 discrete email messages so that after the call, the prospect is sent a series of high-value emails. These emails both help the prospect move towards the desired goal and simultaneously position your product as an indispensable tool to achieve this outcome.
LeadMachine helps you achieve this goal through the use of Task Outcomes.
You start by creating a Queue. Think of a Queue as a type of a task. For example, you might have a Queue for confirmation calls and a separate Queue for people who attend a free seminar but do not purchase.
Each Queue has its own set of task outcomes. Task outcomes would include 'Sale', 'Not interested' and your top 3 objections.
Then you can use a Task Outcome to trigger a Flow.
In this case, the Flow would be a series of email messages.
Here's how you can get a response from the email messages:
- At the end of each email, ask a question that encourages the prospect to reply to the email
- If a prospect clicks on the link of an email, you may wish to ….
- trigger a task to call the prospect to get feedback
- increment the prospect's Contact Rating and if at the end of the email series the Contact Rating is a certain score, you then trigger a task to call the prospect
- At the end of the series of emails, irrespective of clicks, you call the prospect
The way you structure it will depend on your business.
The great thing that happens now is that when the caller completes a call, the Task Outcome will trigger the Flow that you have nominated.
The caller then presses 'Take next Task' and moves on to the next call.
It's efficient, everyone gets followed up, and your business ends up with more sales.


text:
At the New York Times Travel Show on Sunday, March 2, meet the co-founders of offMetro.com and get inspired to get outta town. A group of travel experts will be offering the best Northeast day trip and weekend escape ideas, plus some of oM's favorite destinations and outfitters—including Lark Hotels, Woodloch Pines Resort, Discovery Bicycle Tours, and the Appalachian Mountain Club—will be offering exclusive travel show deals and giveaways you don't want to miss.
The panelists include Budget Travel's editor Robert Firpo-Cappiello, City Weekends author Alison Lowenstein, New York Times travel writer Brendan Spiegel, and Edge Media's National Style & Travel editor Matthew Wexler. Lauren Matison, oM's co-founder and editor, will moderate.
If you can't make the weekends longer, strive to make them better.
Use code OFFM14 to get 2 tickets for the price of 1.
Jacob Javits Center
Seminar Room 4
Northeast Getaways
March 2, 2014
11:00 a.m.


text:
I just finished uploading this Condominium Apartment for sale, 908 Legion Road, N., Toronto, ON
Welcome Home! This Spectacular Move-In Ready Suite At The Minto Skyy Offers Unobstructed Panoramic South West Views From The Oversized Windows & Generous Balcony. This Preferred Split Plan 2+1 Bedroom Suite Offers An Open Concept Layout Ideal For Entertaining. With Numerous Upgrades Throughout This Is A Must See!


text:
Ultrahck 2015 – part of the biggest hackathon in Europe!
Ultrahck 2015 – part of the biggest hackathon in Europe!
Posti challenges coders at Slush Hackathon
What kind of new logistics solutions are created for e-commerce when Posti challenges professionals and students in the field to develop solutions for real-world problems? Ultrahack 2015 gathers together the best coders under the same roof in November.
Ultrahack 2015 is a world-class coding event organized in Helsinki, involving an unequaled group of coders developing solutions for challenges received from Posti, among others, while competing for the opportunity to present their work to international investors at the SLUSH business event as part of the Slush Hacks concept.
"Posti is challenging the coders to find solutions to create smoother e-commerce logistics. Ultrahack 2015 offers both students and business teams a fantastic opportunity to combine coding skills, business creation and open-minded innovation," states Jaakko Kaidesoja, e-commerce Development Director at Posti.
For the first time ever, Posti provides participants with access to an unprecedented number of interfaces to its existing systems. API candy shop is open!!!
"We are looking for a solution that will in some way facilitate the logistics of e-commerce in the future. It could be related to supply chain IT systems, robot-assisted automated warehouses, opportunities for utilizing big data, parcel tracking, return logistics or using gamification to develop the customer experience of the online store," Kaidesoja explains.
See more on the Ultrahack 2015 event and Posti's challenge. We are looking for the winner!
Ultrahack 2015 is organized on November 8-9, which is the weekend just before the actual SLUSH event. The contest is organized by Teleforum ry and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries. Read more about the event.


text:
Society Members Area
Got a question? Contact your VPSA for support.
Some of the ways to promote your society and its events
Ask DUSA to promote your event on social media
If you would like DUSA to share your event, please read the following Social Media promotion guidelines, then complete the online form found on this page.
- DUSA's online social media presence can be used to help with advertising and promoting society events (cultural events, pub quizzes, social gatherings, etc.)
- Online promotion is approved and granted by the VPSA, Clubs & Societies Coordinator and Media & Communications Coordinator
- Events that are promoted through DUSA's social media should ideally be inside University Grounds or in DUSA. If they are out with these, VPSA, Clubs & Societies Coordinator and Media & Communications Coordinator will decide whether it is appropriate to promote the event
- All efforts will be made to ensure fair distribution of online promotion across societies, however on occasion events that tie into DUSA's charitable objectives or further our goals may receive incrementally more support. (Normally, an event will receive 1 Facebook post – more may be granted at our discretion. Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram are available as well)
- There is no guarantee of support, we will help when possible and will operate on a first come – first serve basis. If a 5-working-day deadline is adhered to, we will do our best to accommodate the request
- We reserve the right not to publish promotion requests which may conflict with our impartial status, charitable objectives, commercial activity and pastoral causes
Societies' booklet
This is your first chance to introduce the society before the Freshers' Fair. The booklet will be circulated all year round – Freshers' week, University's Opening Days and simply always there in the Enquiry Centre. So people will be able to know about you before even coming to the University. You never know, you may be the reason they choose this University over others and be a great asset to your society!
Stalls at The Union
Holding a stall at DUSA provides your society with another great opportunity to publicise itself/events to the students. Most of the time, the stall will be facilitated outside the level 2 reception or in front of the building. Just drop by/contact the VPSA in advance to ensure your stall will be well-equipped and attended.
Posters and flyers around campus
Postering and flyering around campus is a tried-and-tested method of promoting your events. It is important to put effort into a design that would send a clear message and contain all the necessary information. Just ensure that you receive permission from DUSA and/or University before filling campus with your posters (and remember – no metal pins to the trees!).
If you need any help designing or printing materials, contact VPSA. Bear in mind that design requests should be made 8-10 weeks in advance, print – 3 weeks before the posters have to be up.
Utilise online presence
Just creating a website or a social media page is not enough. You have to keep being active. Let everyone know what the society has been up to, post information that is not directly related to the society's activities but may be interesting for the members. Creating the event page for your events are also not enough. Make as many people as possible invite their friends, share the page and change the profile/cover photo. Make sure both the society and the event are all over the Internet.
Press Release
If you have planned a major or unique event then why not contact the press. A well-placed press release can do the same work as hundreds of posters. Contact the Vice President of Communications and Campaigns (email@example.com), who will be more than happy to walk you through the process and put you in touch with the right people.
This is one of the most effective ways to keep people updated. You can send information, newsletters and simply organise everything via e-mail. A good idea is to keep all the paper trace in case some misunderstandings arise. We strongly encourage you to use @dundee.ac.uk shared mailboxes – it is connected to your (and fellow committee members') university's e-mail account and makes the society look more professional. It is very easy to set up – just e-mail VPSA (email@example.com) with your name, position, matriculation number, university's e-mail address and what address would you like your shared mailbox to have. We will sort the rest for you.
Make sure your society is listed on our Society A-Z. This is where new students can discover your Society and become members. You will need to provide a timeless society description (by 'timeless' we mean content that will be accurate all year long. I.E. Do not mention upcoming events, as this will soon become out of date). You will also need to provide an image to represent your society (landscape), and links to any social media channels you have. Email this content to your VPSA (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Social Media
Living in the 21st century, you cannot get away from it. Create pages or groups (pick one – having multiples is highly confusing for an outsider!), tweet; use Instagram and Snapchat, if you wish. This is the least time-consuming means of communication. However, it has to be used wisely and be constantly updated. There is much more content freedom than in an ordinary website, so you can post not only about your own society but more broadly, too. Start discussions and share your thoughts. For a lot (not all!) of students social media is the main way to show off what your plans are and what has been happening in the society.
The post your society receives should be directed and delivered to DUSA. This is so that any member of your society's committee is able to collect the mail at any time throughout the week and so when you move house you don't have to worry about changing the address. All the mail should have society's name on it, not just a named person, as it is difficult to know what society it belongs to. Packages can be delivered here also, and will be stored in the VPSA's office. If you are expecting a package, please notify the VPSA; so Exec members are aware of any incoming packages which they may have to sign for. The address is:
Dundee University Students' Association
Airlie Place
Dundee DD1 4HP
How to book a stall at (Re)Freshers Fair
(Re)Freshers' Fair
The (Re)Freshers' Fair is held on the last Saturday of (Re)Freshers' Week and is the single best opportunity for societies to attract new members. There are thousands of new and returning students attending both fairs and it is your chance to show off and kick-start your year.
Want to book a stall? Fill in the form below. VPSA should send the confirmation within 3 working days; if you have not received it or having troubles submitting the information, contact email@example.com with all the details as per form.
Learn all about fundraising, both for your society or in support of a charity.
Download Our Fundraising Guide
The Funding Council
If you still find yourself in trouble, societies can also apply to receive funding from DUSA to support their activities. The Funding Council is facilitated by the VPSA and consists of the two Societies Representatives on the Student Representative Council and five ordinary members elected by the Societies Council. To request funding, Societies must submit a Funding Application via the online form below.
To fill the application, you will need the following:
- The most up to date bank statement for your Society, scanned
- Updated balance sheet on the finances of your Society or a financial statement explaining your financial situation
- Your Society's bank account number and sort code
- Last year's overview of events and finances
- The reason for applying and the specific breakdown of costs
- Please read the advice within the Society Guidelines to ensure you understand how the process works.
The application will be sent to the Societies Funding Council and you will hear about the decision shortly. Please read through the guidelines below on what DUSA does and does not sponsor.
Steps to a stress-free AGM:
- Agree on the date. Most of the societies hold the AGM towards the end of an academic year so the final-year students can do a proper handover. Make sure the date is not too close to the exam period so that the members are relatively stress-free and will attend the event (you need at least 10% of the registered paid members to attend the AGM for any decision to pass).
- You must announce about the AGM seven days before the meeting. Feel free to invite non-members as well; however, only paid members (that are UoD students) can vote in the AGM and run for the position on the committee.
- Make sure you have a room booked. It can be the room in which you hold your regular meetings or any other venue. For DUSA rooms e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, for University's: firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Create your agenda and decide who will chair the AGM and take minutes. The President usually takes on the former and secretary – the latter.
- The Secretary and Treasurer will give an oral or written report summarizing the society's achievements and any other relevant news.
- Elections will be held for all Committee positions, regardless of anyone re-standing.
- Voting is either via a show of hands or a secret ballot; it is advised that you discuss the method prior to the AGM.
- The minutes shall be submitted for approval to the whole society and sent to VPSA within 30 days after the AGM.
In some cases an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called. The rules are identical to those of the AGM with the exception being the VPSA should be present if the EGM is for re-election to act as returning officer for a secret ballot.
Annual Re-Affiliation
For a society to resume having access to Societies privileges, they need to undergo a process of re-affiliation. The society is required to submit (i.e. send to firstname.lastname@example.com) the following documentation:
- updated constitution;
- information of the new committee (names, positions, matriculation numbers and contact details (e-mail and/or phone number));
- societies accounts (bank statement and/or balance sheet).
Handover is incredibly important for successful continuation of the society. The incoming committee really wants to know how you got the society to where it is now, what mistakes you made, how to improve performance and generally, what it takes to be on the committee. Don't leave them just hanging there!
- Make sure that the new Committee is given all the banking details and that the signatures on the account are changed. This way, any early-semester plans can not only be funded but are also realistic; there's nothing worse than having big ideas only to discover that the cupboard is bare.
- Make sure that any society mailing list and/or society e-mail account is in the hands of the new Committee. This will ensure some level of continuation and allow efficient communication, especially over summer (particularly regarding Societies' booklet and the Freshers' Fair).
- Most importantly, go for a coffee or a pint with the next year's Committee and answer any question or concerns they may have. Give them the low-down on everything committee – funding, events promotion, share anecdotes, give friendly warnings, and generally impart your worldly wisdom.
Best New Society
This Award goes to the society that has been affiliated in the last year and who we believe has made an impressive mark on campus life by organising engaging events and activities, and has brought a new wealth of knowledge to the University.
Most Progressive Society
This award goes to the Society that has made the most progress throughout the year, improved their society as a whole, involving more members, having more events and bigger events thaen they have had in the past.
Most Active Society
This award goes to the society that has been the most active in the past year throughout the University student body and has involved a large amount of the University's community through various events, information sessions and other activities.
Best Society Event
DUSA has had this award since 2008, it goes to the society who has planned and executed an extremely successful event which has stood out in the past year.
Society of the Year
This title is awarded to the society that has made the greatest effort over the past year. Interacting with the student community, organising a range of events aimed at involving a diverse range of student demographic. This goes to the society that has really put the effort into everything they have done this year and tried to make the most of every event. This society would have also engaged significantly in DUSA led events such as the Raising and Giving Week.
Society Achievement Award
This award goes to a member of a society that has gone above and beyond the call of duty within their society and that have shown themselves to be an outstanding asset to their society. Members of each society can nominate any member of their society.
Volunteer of the Year Award (in association with Volunteer Friendly)
This award is to celebrate an individual who has made an outstanding commitment to voluntary activities within DUSA, The University and/or the wider community. The winner will have demonstrated their ability to spare time for the benefit of others, whilst remaining dedicated to their academic activities.
The below form allows society tresurers to make payments from their society account. If you would like to bank on behalf of your Society, you must first register using the previous tab on this page.
Hello and welcome to the society guidelines! I'm Kellie, your Vice President of Student Activities – my role here at DUSA is to oversee all of our student societies and extracurricular activities. I'm your go-to person for any society questions you may have, but this handbook is here to help you in the running of your society and hopefully get your questions answered faster! It offers hints, tips and information on a number of issues, including banking, room bookings, fundraising and anything and everything else.
Hopefully, we've covered everything here, but if there is any other information you think we should include, please let us know and we'll add it!
If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to email me at email@example.com. You can also pop in and see me for any quick questions you may have on Mondays between 11:00-13:00, and Tuesdays between 13:00-15:00 at the Hive reception. If its something that may turn into a bit of a lengthy discussion, please email me to book an appointment. Looking forward to working with you all throughout this year!
Kellie Ioannou
Vice President of Student Activities 19/20
Members FAQ
How do I open a bank account with DUSA for my society?
All affiliated societies are invited to join our banking system. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com to arrange an appointment. All four core committee members (President, Deputy President, Secretary and Treasurer) are required to attend and must bring their matriculation cards. Additional committee members cannot act as signatories on the account. When paying by check into your society account, please make them payable to 'Dundee University Students Asociation Societies Account'
How can I apply for funding for my society?
Please complete the online form found in the 'Funding' tab on this page. Make sure you have read the guidelines and include as much information as possible in your application as this will speed up the process and increase your chances.
How do I organise a society fundraising event?
Before making any plans, please discuss your ideas with the other society members. Once you have decided on a few options, email firstname.lastname@example.com to make an appointment to discuss these in more detail.
How do I book a meeting/rehearsal space in DUSA for my society?
For regular meetings and rehearsals, EGMs and AGMs held in DUSA, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com specifying the time, date, number of people and set up you would require and we will have a look at what's available. For University buildings and rooms, please contact email@example.com.


text:
Photographer Video and Drone
Offering our services to Ireland and abroad
Inspire Group is leading the way with John Daly of the main photographer and videographer.
Inspire studio is an 18th century converted church just two km from Cork airport its large with all the mod-cons including cooking and kitchen facilities. The photography and video studio can facilitate large photoshoots and the spacious kitchen has been designed to accommodate food photography. The studio can accommodate food styling as well as provide a unique backdrop for sets.
His use of high tech lighting and digital camera system enables clients to view and give feedback on images during the photo-shoot and images can also be instantly viewed anywhere without having to physically be at the shoot, this equipment is equally suited to location shooting still offering wifi viewing.
John is passionate about photography and filmmaking and his images can make even the mundane look amazing, his energy and attention to detail are astounding, yet he works quickly creating unique images.
An image maker with a difference.


text:
Air & Space Museum closed by demonstrators
Washington's National Air and Space Museum is closed after demonstrators tried to enter the building with signs and at least one person was pepper-sprayed.
Smithsonian spokesman John Gibbons says a group of demonstrators, estimated between 100 and 200 people, arrived at about 3 p.m. Saturday and tried to enter the free museum.
Gibbons says when a security guard tried to stop them, saying they could not enter with the signs, he was apparently held by demonstrators. A second guard used pepper spray on at least one person and the crowd dispersed. One woman was arrested.
A number of groups have been demonstrating in the city in the past week, including members of Stop The Machine and Occupy D.C., a group modeled on the Occupy Wall Street movement.


text:
(10 blocks due east of the Calgary Tower on 9 Ave SE)
This is a very strong community who is focused on the arts and crafts, is hippy and eclectic. There is great promise for long-term growth. It's also close to the Bow river and pathways!
When there be sure to visit:
Bite groceria...beautiful things, beautiful food, every product has a story – ask if Julie the owner is there and tell her I sent you!
Spolumbo's...a classic Calgary favourite for their sausage.
WOP (without papers)...the latest edition to Inglewood – the BEST thin crust pizza in town.
Modern Country Home Interiors...owned by my friends Jan & Cindy Shockey. Canadian made, real wood furniture and fantastic accessories and light fixtures!
After all that cruising around, you'll have to stop for a coffee at Starbucks to recharge!
Read this great article about Inglewood from The Star.
Also this article in Avenue Magazine.


text:
Ledesma names six new names in extended Rugby Championship squadComments
(Reuters) – New Argentina coach Mario Ledesma has wasted little time in making his mark on the side by naming six uncapped players in an extended squad for the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship.
Ledesma was named Pumas coach in June following Daniel Hourcade's decision to step down after they won just two of their last 17 games.
Ledesma, 45, played in four World Cups for Argentina between 1999 and 2011 and has coached at French clubs Stade Francais and Montpellier, as well as Super Rugby sides New South Wales Waratahs and the Jaguares.
Ledesma had named uncapped front rowers Marco Ciccioli, Diego Fortuny, Lucas Favre and Mayco Vivas, lock Franco Molina and loose forward Santiago Grondona in the squad, the UAR said on their website.
Key to success for Ledesma will be ensuring that players carry their form from the Jaguares, who reached the Super Rugby playoffs for the first time in the just-ended season, onto the international stage with the Pumas.
Argentina have typically been competitive for about 60 minutes of most of their Rugby Championship games but do not have the same depth of squad as their rivals when an injection of fresh legs is needed.
The extended squad are training in Buenos Aires before they open the tournament against South Africa in Durban on Aug. 18.
Argentina squad:
Forwards – Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Marco Ciccioli, Agustin Creevy, Lucas Favre, Diego Fortuny, Santiago Garcia Botta, Santiago Grondona, Marcos Kremer, Ignacio Larrague, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pablo Matera, Vivas Mayco, Santiago Medrano, Franco Molina, Julian Montoya, Javier Ortega Desio, Guido Petti, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Juan Zeiss.
Backs – Gonzalo Bertranou, Emiliano Boffelli, Sebastian Cancelliere, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Bautista Delguy, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Bautista Ezcurra, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Martin Landajo, Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni, Ramiro Moyano, Matias Orlando, Nicolas Sanchez.
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Peter Rutherford)