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Cathedral Celebrates 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta with Immersive Art Installations
The Salisbury Cathedral in England has multiple claims to fame: it is home to Europe’s oldest working clock, tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, and also the world’s best kept original copy of the Magna Carta. The ancient Magna Carta has come to symbolise key ideas of human rights and equality—concepts that have caused both intellectual and physical ripples throughout the world. To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the document's signing, the Salisbury Cathedral has commissioned international art group Squidsoup to create two immersive installations within the historic architecture.
Enlightenment is a light display with over 6,000 individually controllable points suspended from the North Pole of the cathedral. The lights respond to the presence of visitors, creating an abstract physical space that envelops the viewer. The work is inspired by the ripple effect that the Magna Carta has had over time and space, and how its influence has changed and grown over time to encompass huge portions of the globe.
The second project, Power of Words covers a wall in the chapel with quotes and phrases from the Magna Carta. It grows organically, with the words projected on the walls, but can also be disturbed or destroyed as it reacts to gestures and movement. The disruption of the structure causes the words to move and morph, allowing new phrases to emerge, and is meant to encourage visitors to reflect upon the consequences of their actions, the meaning behind the Magna Carta, and its relevance today, through the power of words.
more
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/salisbury-cathedral-magna-carta
Bernie Sanders vs. the 1 percent’s propaganda machine
Can he convince Americans to stop voting against their self-interest?
For a generation, working class Republicans have been undermining themselves. This is Bernie's biggest challenge
In “America’s Bitter Pill,” Steven Brill’s masterful work on the passage and implementation of Obamacare, there is an interesting anecdote about an elderly couple from Kentucky, the Browns, who had gone through the ringer of America’s broken healthcare system before the Affordable Care Act was introduced. Unable to get insurance because of a pre-existing condition, they could not afford medication for their many afflictions, from heart disease to diabetes to pain sprouting from a crushed vertebrae. When Obamacare finally came around in Kentucky, with its state healthcare exchange (Kentucky was one of the few red states that complied), the Browns couldn’t believe their luck:
This short anecdote says a lot about American politics. It is an example of how political ignorance can be harmful, and how working class people, particularly the white working class, seemingly vote against their interests without even realizing it. The right wing propaganda machine — largely funded by the beloved Koch brothers (recall that creepy commercial with the Uncle Sam Gynecologist) and other special interests — created a panic that the government was “taking over” the healthcare system (if only) and that “death panels” (a Sarah Palin myth that remains in the minds of many to this day), made up of Orwellian bureaucrats deciding who is worthy of healthcare, would be introduced. (Because the private industry was so good at deciding who deserved coverage, after all.)
Had “Kynect” simply been called “Kentucky Obamacare,” some people who finally received the healthcare that they needed would have probably remained uninsured because of fear. (While campaigning for reelection, Sen. Mitch McConnell realized this ignorance, and said that he wanted to keep Kynect, which had become popular, but repeal Obamacare, even though Kynect was in reality Obamacare.) Now, after the election of ultra-conservative Matt Bevin as Kentucky governor earlier this month, people like the Browns may be facing more pain in the future, as he may shutdown Kynect.
more
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/16/bernie_sanders_vs_the_1_percents_propaganda_machine_can_he_convince_americans_to_stop_voting_against_their_self_interest/
Same-sex marriage is now legal in Republic of Ireland
Source: BBC
Same-sex marriage has now become legal in the Republic of Ireland, after new legislation came into effect on Monday.
The law was passed after a referendum in May, when the Irish state became the first in the world to legalise same-sex civil marriage by popular vote.
It is not yet known when and where the first same-sex wedding will be held.
But the first people to be affected are same-sex couples who have already wed legally abroad. Their marriages are now automatically recognised by the state.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34810598
Brazil mining flood could devastate environment for years
The collapse of two dams at a Brazilian mine has cut off drinking water for quarter of a million people and saturated waterways downstream with dense orange sediment that could wreck the ecosystem for years to come.
Nine people were killed, 19 are still listed as missing and 500 people were displaced from their homes when the dams burst at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil on Nov. 5.
The sheer volume of water disgorged by the dams and laden with mineral waste across nearly 500 km is staggering: 60 million cubic meters, the equivalent of 25,000 Olympic swimming pools or the volume carried by about 187 oil tankers.
President Dilma Rousseff compared the damage to the 2010 oil spill by BP PLC in the Gulf of Mexico and Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira called it an "environmental catastrophe."
more
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/15/us-brazil-damburst-environment-idUSKCN0T40PY20151115#ISsZeEcUchQlDWmH.97
Monday Toon Roundup 3- The Rest
Putin
Activism
History
Convenience
Climate
Trade
The Issue
Beer
Starbux
Sanders leads social media engagement during debate
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the second Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa, according to social media and Google data.
Sanders was the top-searched Democratic candidate on Google during Saturday night's debate, with 43 percent of searches going to him. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton followed closely behind with 40 percent.
Sanders also had the most follower growth on Twitter during the debate. He added 11,000 followers, compared to Clinton’s 4,800 and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 4,100 new followers, according to Twitter.
Sanders’s tweets about gun safety laws, Wall Street bailouts of the middle class and tuition-free college were the top three retweeted tweets from candidates during the debate.
more
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/260199-sanders-leads-social-media-engagement-during-debate
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