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Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirts from the originators of Aloha Friday. The Hawaiian shirt born on the shores of Waikiki in 1956, Reyn Spooner symbolizes the warmth and spirit of the word "Aloha".
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Reyn Spooner has earned the reputation of producing some of the finest quality shirts in the Hawaiian Islands. It all started in 1956, with Spooner’s of Waikiki making custom aloha shirts & swim wear.
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A good piece on news reporting problems by Prof. Harper is here: link
And my two cents:
At 67, I have personally been involved in perhaps 15 or 20 news stories over the years, and in each and every one of those stories the press got it, or some significant part of it, wrong. Why should I expect that any of the stories they tell that I know nothing about personally would themselves be accurate? The young people are wise not to trust or believe the press without having the benefit of personal knowledge of the facts themselves.
From 1964, when Abe Rosenthal jump-started his editorial career, parlayed an imagined deplorable narrative into a Pulitzer, and ultimated in his rise to publisher of the Old Gray Lady on the literal body and blood of Kitty Genovese, cold-blooded murder victim in Kew Gardens, NY, the press has been more concerned with ambition and fame than with accuracy and truth or with good government and reform. That false story of 28 eye witnesses who refused to call police--a story that is now memorialized and repeated daily in college psychology textbooks and classes as if it was true--was really about how NYC's simplistic Sullivan Law disarms victims like Kitty Genovese, John Lennon, and thousands of other, innocent, law-abiding residents from lawfully carrying a concealed firearm for self-defense. Abe missed the real story, defamed the residents of a clean and responsible neighborhood, and did nothing to correct the law responsible for her death. It was at bottom a false story.
Significantly, the NYT story that caused the Sullivan Law in 1911 was itself inaccurate by describing a Gramercy Park killing with a revolver where all "seven shots" were discharged into the victim. There has never been a 7-shot revolver known to Man in NY or anywhere else on God's green Earth!
Even this week, we read an item from the London Independent about Kylie Minogue reporting to police a threatening message via Twitter. The story says Kylie is 43 years old. Kylie is 45 years old, a fact readily ascertainable in five seconds online. You may say "that is immaterial to the story," to which i say, "then why print it?" Someone will read that story and believe and say that the woman is 43. It's not true! It is false, isn't it?
What about Sam Donaldson's 20/20 expose of "Aggressive Drivers" on the GWMP? That was a total set up made possible only by driving his ABC Econoline van full of cameras spot on the 45 MPH speed limit (according to a non-calibrated Ford factory speedometer) in the left lane and refusing to give way to overtaking vehicles as required by the vehicle code and the Rules of the Road.
Didn't we see that pretty reporter, whose name I forget, from Miami ruin her first network assignment by faking an explosion and fire in a car that the crew rigged to blow up on a rear-ender? She was quickly sent back down to the minor leagues in Miami... But no apology. No retraction.
We hear reporters describe a perpetrator as an African-American, where nothing was spoken, and there is not one shred of evidence that the person was American at all.
Rumsfeld's autobiography discloses the reaction of "respected" and big wig Washington journalists when they were notified and corrected on false and inaccurate reports. They just don't care.
This profession has squandered all of its integrity. Putting Fred Friendly in Columbia University quickly became a mere a sales tool for colleges bursars. A PhD in "journalism!" How grandiose! Forgive me if anyone is offended, but this is not a "Profession." It's show business. It is advertising. It is retailing. They are assistants and support staff for used car salesmen, aren't they? The vast majority of so-called journalists are not writers at all. They are typists.
1. Decongest Your Chest The most common use of Vicks is to decongest your chest and throat area. When applied to the upper chest, it provides excellent relief of cough and congestion symptoms.
2. On Your Tootsies Applying Vicks to your feet provides nighttime cough relief. Generously rub VapoRub all over your feet and cover them with socks. Your cough will subside.
3. Achy Breaky Muscles Vicks relieves sore, overworked muscles. It increases circulation and provides almost instant aid. Use a generous portion and apply it over the aching area.
4. Get Rid of Nasty Nail Fungus Rub VapoRub on your toenails if you suspect you have a fungus. Within days, the nail will turn dark—this means the Vicks is killing the fungus. As your toenail grows out, the dark part will grow off and you will have fungus-free feet. Keep applying the ointment over a period of two weeks to fully cleanse nail beds of any remaining bacteria.
5. Stop Your Cat from Scratching To prevent Miss Kitty from ruining your doors, walls, and windows, apply a small amount of VapoRub to these areas. Cats detest the smell and will steer clear. Vicks can also be applied to your arms and legs if your kitty is prone to scratching you.
6. Pet Pee-Pee Deterrent If your dog or cat is not yet potty trained, put an open bottle of Vicks on the area he or she likes to mark as their territory. The smell will discourage them from lifting their legs and wetting your rug.
7. Headaches Be Gone Rub a small amount of Vicks VapoRub on your temples and forehead to help relieve headaches. The mentholated scent will release pressure in your head and instantly relieve pain.
8. Humidify Your Sleep Vicks VapoRub can be used in special types of humidifiers and vaporizers. Ensure your humidifier has an aromatherapy compartment before using. The humidifier will circulate Vicks throughout the air and keep you breathing easy all night long.
9. Paper Cuts and Splinters To prevent infection and speed up healing time, dab a small amount of Vicks on any small cut or splinter.
10. Ticks and Bugs If you get bitten by a tick, apply Vicks immediately. The strong odor might help get the critter to release itself and stop bugging you.
11. Reek-free Racehorses Professional racers smother VapoRub under the nostrils of racehorses on race day. The strong stench deters the stallions from the alluring odor of the female pony and keeps them focused on the race.
12. Go Away Mosquitoes (love this one!!!) Apply small dabs of Vicks VapoRub to your skin and clothes and mosquitoes will steer clear. If you do get bitten, apply Vicks to the area and cover it with a Band-Aid to relieve itching. To SAVE this tip for use later, be sure to click this photo and SHARE so it will store on your personal page.
link
The more i learn, the more incorrect, flawed, distorted, and unjust seems the method of making decisions, governing, and settling things by the process of "democracy!"
More later, but examples include:
Brooklyn
Limited gambling
Standard distribution of the IQ Scale
Odd lot ratio
Qualification and diqualification of voters
Polls and early projection of results
Gerrymandering
Union racketeering
Incorrect voter rolls
No detection, surveillance, or enforcement whatsoever
The story of Rebecca (Rebekah) at the well is one of the greatest Bible stories of all time. It begins with Abraham in his old age (Gen 24:1) and his servant Eliezer. Abraham makes an oath with Eliezer to go and find Isaac (Abraham’s son) a wife. Abraham did not wish Isaac to marry any woman of the people in the land where he was living, for they were all worshipers of idols, and would not teach their children the ways of the Lord.
"…He (the Lord) will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there (Abraham’s Home Land). If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine…Gen 24:7-8
When Eliezer reaches Abraham’s home land he said a prayer, one of the greatest in the entire Bible.
Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Gen 24:12-14
Before he (Eliezer) had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder… The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. Gen 24:15-21
This prayer from Eliezer is one of great faith, but also because the prayer was answered before it was finished by the Servant.
Eliezer then goes to Rebekah’s home and meets Laban (Rebekah’s brother) to discus the possibility of Rebekah becoming a bride for Isaac.
Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master." But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go." But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master." Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said. Gen 24:53-58
Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left. Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Gen 24:61-67
What a wonderful Bible story.
Please note: These bible quotes come from the NIV and some are paraphrased and condensed for convenience. This is not biblical verbatim with respect to Rev 22:18-19.
Dalida (17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), birth name Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a singer and actress who performed and recorded in more than 10 languages including: French, Arabic, Italian, Greek, German, English, Japanese, Hebrew, Dutch and Spanish.
She was born in Cairo, Egypt, to Italian (Calabrian) parents, and spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptiancommunity, but she lived most of her adult life in France.[1][2] She received 55 gold records and was the first singer to receive a diamond disc.[3][4] A 30-year career (she debuted in 1956 and recorded her last album in 1986, a few months before her death) and her death led to an iconic image as a tragic diva and renowned singer....
Iolanda Christina Gigliotti was born in Shubra, Cairo, Egypt. Her family was from Serrastretta, Calabria, Italy, but lived in Egypt, where Dalida's father, Pietro Gigliotti, was first violinist (primo violino) at the Cairo Opera House.
Iolanda Gigliotti was the cousin of Attilio Notaro of Tiriolo, a theatre director from Calabria. Attilio, maybe inspired by Iolanda's success started writing. The Associazione Filodrammatica “Attilio Notaro” is today dedicated to him.
She was the middle child between two brothers, Orlando and Bruno (who would later in Dalida's career change his name to Orlando like his brother and become her manager). Dalida's early life was spent in the district of Shoubra, where she attended the Scuola Tecnica Commerciale Maria Ausiliatrice, an Italian Catholic school.
In 1950, Dalida participated in the Miss Ondine beauty pageant and won the title, and shortly after began working as a model for Donna, a Cairo-based fashion house. In 1954, at the age of 20, Dalida competed in and won the Miss Egypt pageant, and was crowned Miss Egypt.[5] It was then that she was spotted by French director Marc de Gastyne and, much to the reluctance of her parents, she moved to Paris on Christmas Eve of the same year with the intention of pursuing a career in motion pictures. It was about this time she adopted the name Dalila, which was soon changed to the more familiar Dalida.
Dalida collected 19 number one hit singles to her name in four languages (French, Italian, German, and Arabic) and has a long list of top 10, and top 20 hits in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Arabic, and accumulated myriad top selling singles and albums largely, in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Canada, Russia, Japan, and Israel, spanning over forty years. Four of Dalida's English language recordings ("Alabama Song", "Money Money", "Let Me Dance Tonight", and "Kalimba de Luna"), gained moderate success primarily in France and Germany, without being widely distributed in the UK and US markets. Worldwide sales of her music are estimated at over 130 million,[6] establishing her as one of the most noteworthy multi-lingual recording artists of the 20th century.
Dalida's mother tongue was Italian. She learned Egyptian Arabic and French growing up in Cairo, and improved her French after establishing herself in Paris in 1954. She later achieved command of the English language as well as conversational skills in German and Spanish. Dalida also had the aptitude of greeting her fans in basic Japanese. She was considered as a pop and music icon in Japan and her concerts there were met with almost unprecedented enthusiasm. Once during a concert in Japan, Dalida felt ill and could not continue performing. The organisers expected an enraged reaction due to the cancellation of the concert, but when Dalida came onstage and explained to her fans that she could not perform, she was met with great applause and her name echoed everywhere. She promised to hold the concert again, a promise which she soon fulfilled.. . .
Despite enormous career success, Dalida's private life was marred by a series of failed relationships and personal problems.
On January 1967, Dalida took part to the Sanremo Festival with her new lover, Italian singer, songwriter and actor Luigi Tenco. The song he presented was "Ciao amore ciao" ("Bye Love, Bye"), which he sang together with Dalida. Tenco allegedly committed suicide on 27 January 1967, after learning that his song had been eliminated from the final competition. Tenco was found in his hotel room with a bullet wound in his left temple and a note announcing that his gesture was against the jury and public's choices during the competition. Only days earlier, Tenco's wedding to Dalida had been announced. It was Dalida who discovered his body. One month later, Dalida attempted to commit suicide by drug overdose at the Prince of Wales hotel in Paris. She spent 5 days in a coma and several months convalescing, only going back to the stage the following October.
In December 1967, just after her first suicide attempt, she became pregnant by an 18-year-old Italian student, Lucio. She decided to abort but the surgery left her infertile.[citation needed]
In September 1970, her Pygmalion, lover from 1956 to 1961 and former husband Lucien Morisse, with whom she was still on good terms, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
From 1969 to 1971, she had a relationship with philosopher and writer Arnaud Desjardins. However they split, because he was married.[citation needed]
In April 1975, her close friend singer Mike Brant leapt to his death from an apartment in Paris. He was 28. Dalida had contributed to his success in France and she had been the first to visit him in hospital after his first suicide attempt in November 1974.
In July 1983, her lover from 1972 to 1981, Richard Chanfray, committed suicide by inhaling the exhaust gas of his Renault R25 car.
Dalida, alone again, had brief encounters with a sound technician, a lawyer, an Egyptian jumbo jet pilot and a French doctor during the period 1983-1986.[citation needed]
1987 Trying to cope with her personal demons, Dalida is back in the studio recording new songs. One night coming home she finds her beloved bulldog dead.
On Saturday, 2 May 1987, Dalida committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates.[7][8] She left behind a note which read, "La vie m'est insupportable... Pardonnez-moi." ("Life has become unbearable for me... Forgive me.")
I don’t dream anymore, i don’t smoke anymore I don’t have a history anymore I am dirty without you I am ugly without you I am like an orphan in a dormitory
I don’t feel like living in my life My life stops when you leave I don’t have a life anymore and even my bed Turns into a platform (of a station) When you go away
I am sick Completely sick Like when my mother went out in the evening And that she left me alone with my despair
I am ill, fully sick You come, one never knows when You leave again, one never knows where And it will be soon two years Since you didn’t give a damn.
Like to a rock Like to a sin I am locked on to you I am tired, I am exhausted To pretend being happy when they are here
I drink every night But all whisky For me, they have the same taste And all the boats carry your flag I don’t know anymore where to go, you are everywhere
I am sick Completely sick I pour my blood in your body And i am like a dead bird when you sleep
I am sick Perfectly sick You have deprived me of all my songs You have drained me of all my words And I have the heart completely sick Though i had talent before having your skin
This love is killing me If this goes on, i’ll die alone with me Near my radio, like an idiot kid Listening to my own voice singing
I am sick Completely sick Like when my mother went out in the evening And that she left me alone with my despair
I am sick This it is, i am sick You have deprived me of all my songs You have drained me of all my words And I have the heart completely sick Surrounded by barricades Listen! I am sick
A Dublin lawyer died in poverty and many barristers of the city subscribed to a fund for his funeral. The Lord Chief Justice of Orbury was asked to donate a shilling.
"Only a shilling?" said the Justice, "Only a shilling to bury an attorney? Here's a guinea; go and bury 20 of them."
The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, that took place in Gao between 26–27 June 2012.[1] followed the next day, with more fighting. By 28 June 2012, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
Two days later parts of the World Heritage Site of Timbuktu had started to be destroyed, amid condemnation byUNESCO, the OIC Mali and France. This was followed by criticism within the region and internationally withECOWAS suggesting it could send an armed intervention force into the country and the ICC following Mali's lead in terming the acts as "war crimes." While MNLA also criticised the Islamists for holding civilians and destroying the structures, Ansar Dine said that the destruction was due to violation of sharia and in reaction to UNESCO's labeling of the sites of Timbuktu and in Gao as "in danger."
Following previous Tuareg rebellions and the Libyan civil war, in early 2012 the MNLA and Islamist movementscaptured northern Mali. Tensions then started between the MNLA and Islamist movements over the use of thesharia within the territory. Clashes started to erupt between both sides after a merge attempt failed,[3] despite the signing of an accord to share power.[4] On 25 June, the Islamist Ansar Dine took control of Kidal.[5]
Protests broke out on 26 June in the city of Gao, the majority of whose people are not Tuaregs (as opposed to the MNLA), but rather sub-Saharan groups such as the Songhay and Fula peoples. The protestors opposed the Tuareg rebels and the partition of Mali. Two were killed as a result of the protests, allegedly by MNLA troops.[6] The protesters used both Malian and Islamist flags, and France 24 reported that many locals supported the Islamists as a result of their opposition to the Tuareg nationalists and the secession ofAzawad.[7]
Fighting began in the morning of 26 June, with both sides firing heavy weapons. MNLA Secretary GeneralBilal ag Acherif was wounded in the attack. After being extricated from the fighting, he was later taken to a hospital in Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou; while Colonel Bouna Ag Tahib, a defector from the Malian army, was killed. MOJWA soon took control of the Gao governor's palace as well as Ag Acherif's residence. A MOJWA spokesman stated that 40 MNLA troops had been taken prisoner.[8][9]
The MNLA's Azawad Vice President Mahamadou Djeri Maïga acknowledged that they lost control of the city but said that the fight would continue. He asked for international help against Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, who he stated was responsible for the attack.[9] The next day the MNLA were evicted from the city.[10] Two videos seen by the AFP showed the black flag of jihad groups and some members of the group saying "Long Live Mali" and singing the national anthem of Mali, respectively.[1]
Algeria's Ennahar TV reported that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founding member of AQIM, was probably killed during the battle.[11] A previous death toll of 20 was later revised by doctors who added the number of dead found in the Niger River and the wounded who succumbed to their injuries.[12] Thirty more Algerian fighters were said to have arrived in the city on 29 June to support AQIM and its leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar as the latter seeks to maintain a hold on the town and track MNLA fighters.[13]
Ansar Dine's Chief of Security for Gao, Omar Ould Hamaha, said that the group controls the region and would impose sharia.
Our fighters control the perimeter. We control Timbuktu completely. We control Gao completely. It's Ansar Dine that commands the north of Mali. Now we have every opportunity to apply sharia. Sharia does not require a majority vote. It's not democracy. It's the divine law that was set out by God to be followed by his slaves. One hundred percent of the north of Mali is Muslim, and even if they don't want this, they need to go along with it.
Paris-based MNLA spokesman, Moussa Ag Assarid, said that though the group had lost ground in the big cities "we control 90% of the Azawad."[14]
On 26 June 2012[15] the Tomb of Askia, which had been listed as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site,[16] was named by UNESCO as "endangered" at the behest of Mali amid fears of[17] damage to "important ancient manuscripts" from being "looted and smuggled abroad by unscrupulous dealers."[18] Two days later, the same was done for Timbuktu.[19] A statement by the World Heritage Committee also read that it "asked Mali's neighbours to do all in their power to prevent the trafficking in cultural objects from these sites."[20]
ECOWAS then met on 29 June in the Ivorian capital of Yamoussoukro in order to work towards "additional measures to prevent matters in Mali becoming bogged down," according to host President Alassane Ouattara. The meeting was also attended by the mediator for the Malian crisis following the 2012 Malian coup d'etat, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and Malian interim Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra. While the group was expected to call for negotiations with movements in the Azawad region, it was also expected to continue with plans to get a 3,300 personnel intervention force together to invade the region.[13]
By 2 July, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, along with its allies, were reported to have mined the periphery of the city. The MNLA spokesman, Mossa Ag Attaher, said that AQIM was "using the population as hostages, as a human shield to protect itself from an MNLA counter-attack...Many people are trying to escape, to take the bus to go to Bamako, but the Islamists are stopping them."[21]
The next day, Ansar Dine was reported to have taken control of Timbuktu after MNLA fighters followed their deadline to leave town. Residents confirmed the MNLA was no longer present,[23] as the Islamist movements confirmed their control over the entire northern Malian region of Azawad.[10][24]
At the same time, UNESCO responded to appeals from the Malian government in Bamako to declare several sites within the city as "endangered"[5] because it "aims to raise cooperation and support for the sites threatened by the armed conflict in the region."[25] On 30 June 2012, a local journalist said that he was told Ansar Dine would start destroying 13 more Sufi cemeteries and mausolea of saints after having destroyed three, including the mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud Ben Amar.[26] They were then said to have destroyed the mausolea of Sidi El Mokhtar, Alfa Moya and five other sites with pick-axes, hoes and Kalashnikovs.[20]
Despite earlier claims that they had stopped taking down the tombs,[20] on 1 July about 30 members of the group[27] were reported to have continued taking down four more sites with hoes and chisels at the cemetery of Djinguereber Mosque, including that of Cheikh el-Kebir,[28]Sidi Elmety, Mahamane Elmety[27] and Sidi Mahmoudou[28] by late afternoon.[29] Ansar Dine's Omar Ould Hamaha said that "the only tribunal we recognise is the divine court of shariah. The destruction is a divine order. It's our prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave, it needs to be pulled back to the ground. We need to do this so that future generations don't get confused, and start venerating the saints as if they are God...We are against tourism. They foster debauchery."[28]
. . .
ee also: http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/jan/28/mali-timbuktu-library-ancient-manuscripts
"They weren't religious men. They were criminals," said Maha Madu, a Timbuktu boatman, now in the Niger river town of Mopti. Madu said the fighters grew enraged if residents wore trousers down to their ankles, which they believed to be western and decadent. He alleged that some fighters kidnapped and raped local women, keeping them as virtual sex slaves. "They were hypocrites. They told us they couldn't smoke. But they smoked themselves," he said.
. . .
The recapture of Timbuktu is another success for the French military, which has now secured two out of three of Mali's key rebel-held sites, including the city of Gao on Saturday. The French have yet to reach the third, Kidal. Local Tuareg militia leaders said on Monday they had taken control of Kidal after the abrupt departure of the Islamist fighters who ran the town.
Reaction 'It's an absolute tragedy'
Essop Pahad, who was chairman of the Timbuktu manuscripts projectfor the South African government, said: "I'm absolutely devastated, as everybody else should be. I can't imagine how anybody, whatever their political or ideological leanings, could destroy some of the most precious heritage of our continent. They could not be in their right minds.
"The manuscripts gave you such a fantastic feeling of the history of this continent. They made you proud to be African. Especially in a context where you're told that Africa has no history because of colonialism and all that. Some are in private hands but the fact is these have been destroyed and it's an absolute tragedy."
He added: "It's one of our greatest cultural treasure houses. It's also one of the great treasure houses of Islamic history. The writings are so forward-looking on marriage, on trade, on all sorts of things. If the libraries are destroyed then a very important part of African and world history are gone. I'm so terribly upset at hearing what's happened. I can't think of anything more terrible."