Lilies on Tuesday |
and four days later. |
Their fragrance is hoverflies' delight. |
Darwin’s theory of evolution has been excluded from the most recent draft of Turkey’s new national curriculum, which will be released following the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the head of the Education Ministry’s curriculum board, Alpaslan Durmuş, has said.
Durmuş told educators during an Ankara seminar on June 20 that the ministry had presented the draft to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has approved it.
More here.
Greenpeace Netherlands has released 205 pages of previously undisclosed chapters from secret talks for an EU-Japan trade agreement (known as JEFTA). Greater public access to JEFTA negotiating documents is good for democracy and will enable more balanced and transparent public participation by experts, politicians, civil society and the media.
The European Commission will be delighted, as it has frequently highlighted the importance of democratic principles and transparency.
The “house arrest” of a homeless man, who was previously unable to move outside the boundaries of a confined public area in Istanbul, has been lifted, Doğan News Agency reported on June 22.
More here.
Thus spake Leopold: If it were to honour Joyce it would be Joyceday. |
A Vision of a Queen of FairylandMy soul to ravish came to me last night, :
And never lady at my side did stand
To my undoing so unearthly bright.Last night she came, a bright and lovely ghost,
And rose before me, while I seemed to sleep,
And of that slumber where my soul was lost
My tongue shall tell while I my memory keep.Fair was as her face, her cheeks outblushed the rose;
There might you see the floods of crimson rise,
And dark unfaltering brows above disclose
The hyacinthine petals of her eyes.Her pretty mouth more sweet than honeycomb
Would with red lips the budding rose excel,
And each soft whisper that from thence did come
Would charm the sick and make the dying well.Between her lips like fallen rain of pearl
On scarlet cushions twain her teeth reposed;
How bright they shone, how sweetly spoke the girl;
Each languid word new loveliness disclosed.Between her arms that taper to the handAre set twin glories, beautiful to see.
Two snowy mountains in her bosom stand,
Mid golden thickets of embroidery.Gold-bordered slippers on her gentle feetDo guard her steps wherever she may move;
You'd swear that maid so radiantly sweet
Had them a present from the God of Love.Her purple mantle fringed with satin round,
Her golden shift with scarlet borders gay,
Her gilded bodice o'er her bosom bound
Did all her fairy loveliness display ...'I came to seek you: come away with me!'
Thus spake the lady, and her voice was low,
And in my ear she murmured secretly,
As softest notes from sweetest organs flow.'I will not go.' I answered like a fool,
For love had brought me to distraction,
And as I spake that vision beautiful
Had vanished in the darkness and was gone.And now my soul and body part in pain.
The queen with blushing check and brown-lashed eyes
Leaves me to pine and cometh not again,
Tho' she was kind and beautiful and wise ...The mound of Midhir with its rampart fair,
The fort of Sanbh, Abhartach's magic hill,
No lady in their castles can compare
With this sweet maid for whom I languish still.Not in Emania of the apple-trees,
Nor halls of Aonghus of the golden sword,
The fairy dwells that hath such charms as these,
So soft a beauty or so kind a word.
But she is gone, and I would follow fast'
To lands unknown, who languish in despair.
Would it were possible to find at last
That country and to dwell for ever there!
A little hour I loved her rosy cheek –
The ebb must follow ever on the flow –
The vision fled, the joy of love grew weak,
My spirit sank and I was left to woe.
Tadhg Dall O'Huiginn (d. 1591).
Thoughts are free, who can guess them? They fly by like nocturnal shadows. No man can know them, no hunter can shoot them with powder and lead: Thoughts are free! I think what I want, and what delights me, still always reticent, and as it is suitable. My wish and desire, no one can deny me and so it will always be: Thoughts are free! And if I am thrown into the darkest dungeon, all these are futile works, because my thoughts tear all gates and walls apart: Thoughts are free! So I will renounce my sorrows forever, and never again will torture myself with whimsies. In one's heart, one can always laugh and joke and think at the same time: Thoughts are free! I love wine, and my girl even more, Only her I like best of all. I'm not alone with my glass of wine, my girl is with me: Thoughts are free! |
Turkish prosecutors have demanded 3,623 aggravated life sentences for the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, as a total of all cases filed against him.
In addition to the aggravated life terms, the prosecutors also sought 2,923 years in jail for Gülen, widely believed to have been behind the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, daily Yeni Şafak reported on May 8.
A judicial fine equivalent to 2.2 million days was also imposed on Gülen, who was named as the prime suspect in 22 cases filed across Turkey regarding the thwarted coup that left 249 people killed and 2,193 wounded.
Full article here.