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| Independence Day celebrations in Czechia - October 28th is Czechoslovak Independence Day, marking the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Czechs will commemorate the 104th anniversary of the birth of the Czechoslovak Republic with a host of events, including the traditional ceremony at the Vítkov Memorial, remembrance events for the country’s first president and an award giving ceremony at Prague Castle.
28.10.2022 radio.cz |
| Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers Dead at 74 - Phil Everly, who with his older sibling Don set the standard for harmony singing in rock ‘n’ roll in the Everly Brothers, died Friday in Burbank of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 74.
“We are absolutely heartbroken,” his wife Patti told the LA Times, saying the disease was due to the late musician’s lifetime of cigarette smoking. “He fought long and hard.”
Everly, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his brother in 1986 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, mastered the art of close harmony singing in his family’s country group as a child. With his brother, he recorded a string of unforgettable ballads and rockers for the Cadence and Warner Bros. labels in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. The list includes such enduring hits as “Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “When Will I Be Loved” (written by Phil Everly) and “Cathy’s Clown.”
The Everly Brothers’ pioneering blend of country and rock ‘n’ roll spread their influence on artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel and beyond. In November, singer Norah Jones and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day released “Foreverly,” a duets album featuring all Everly Brothers songs.
In later years, Phil and Don Everly had a famously rocky relationship. Following an acrimonious split in the early 1970s, the Everlys regrouped in 1983 for renewed recording and touring.
Phil Everly was born Jan. 19, 1939, in Chicago, to country performers Ike and Margaret Everly. With his brother, two years his senior, he began performing with the family act at the age of 10 on the family’s radio show on KVA in Shenandoah, Iowa. As youngsters, the Everly boys excelled at the close-harmony style of such country precursors as the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, and their contemporaries the Louvin Brothers.
With encouragement from guitarist Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers stepped out as a duo in 1955, following Don’s graduation from high school. They recorded unsuccessfully for Columbia and were subsequently rejected by most of the Nashville-based labels. However, on the advice of powerful Nashville publisher Wesley Rose, Archie Bleyer of New York-based Cadence Records decided to take a chance on the duo.
Their first session for the label in March 1957 led to an immense national hit: “Bye Bye Love,” a bouncy number penned by the husband-and-wife Nashville songwriting team of Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant, who would go on to write other smashes for the pair. Promoted to pop radio, the song rocketed to No. 2 nationally. It was quickly succeeded that year by the first of the Everlys’ four No. 1 singles, “Wake Up Little Susie,” which held the top of the chart for four weeks that spring.
Equally adept at up-tempo material and affecting balladry, the Everlys secured two more No. 1 hits in 1958 with “All I Have to Do is Dream” and “Bird Dog.” Other top 10 entries included “Devoted to You,” “’Til I Kissed You” and “Let It Be Me.” In 1958, the brothers also recorded a memorable collection of folk material, “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us.”
Segueing to major label Warner Bros. in 1960, they struck gold immediately with the stomping “Cathy’s Clown,” their last No. 1 release. Other classic top-10 singles followed: “So Sad,” “Walk Right Back,” “Ebony Eyes” and “Crying in the Rain.”
Though the hits dried up for the Everlys with the advent of the British invasion, they still made forward-looking music. In 1968, the pair released the progressive album “Roots,” produced by future Warner Bros. prexy Lenny Waronker; framed by snippets from one of their family’s ‘40s radio shows, it is considered by many to be one of the first legitimate country-rock albums.
After their exit from Warner Bros., the Everly Brothers made two unsatisfying albums for RCA. The act blew apart in public with an on-stage fight between the brothers during a show at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., on July 14, 1973.
Phil continued on as a solo act. He contributed songs to the soundtracks and appeared in Clint Eastwood’s country-flavored comedies “Every Which Way But Loose” and “Any Which Way You Can.” He also recorded for Curb and Capitol in the U.S. and scored a top 10 hit in England with “She Means Nothing to Me,” from a self-titled all-star album recorded in England in 1983.
The same year, at the urging of British guitarist Albert Lee, the Everly Brothers reunited for an emotional concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Released on an album and DVD, the performance led to renewed interest in the siblings’ music, and to a contract with Mercury Records. The lead-off single from the pair’s comeback album “EB ’84” was a Paul McCartney-penned ballad, “On the Wings of a Nightingale.” It became their final chart single, reaching No. 50.
Following a second album, “Born Yesterday,” in 1986, the Everlys retreated from the studio. The pair appeared on the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Jim Steinman concept album “Whistle Down the Wind” in 1998.
As a soloist, Phil appeared in later years on albums by Dutch vocalist Rene Shuman and country star Vince Gill. A new duet recording of “All I Have to Do is Dream” by Phil and U.K. pop star Cliff Richard became a top 20 hit in 1981.
In addition to his wife, Phil Everly is survived by his brother and mother, sons Jason and Chris, and two granddaughters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| ANC in crisis after Dalai Lama visa move - By Jon Herskovitz
JOHANNESBURG | Wed Oct 5, 2011 10:04am EDT
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's decision to deny a visa to the Dalai Lama has touched off a search for the soul of the ruling African National Congress.
ANC supporters, leading newspapers and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said the move was symbolic of the failings of the party that helped end apartheid but was now failing to live up to the ideals of the liberation movement it had once been.
Under President Jacob Zuma, the ANC has already faced criticism for fostering cronyism, undermining the party's revered global image forged in the anti-apartheid struggle and doing little to help the masses of poor whose conditions have improved little since apartheid ended 17 years ago.
A furious Tutu twisted the knife over the visa affair, accusing the ANC of conduct "worse than the apartheid government," while other commentators took the ruling party to task for failing to live up to its illustrious past.
"The ANC is being torn apart with internal factional struggles and the basic nature of that struggle is fighting for the spoils of patronage," said political analyst Nic Borain.
"Why this is so painful for the ANC is that many are still living with the idea of the ANC representing a higher moral calling," he said.
The Dalai Lama's office on Tuesday said he was cancelling his planned visit this week to attend Tutu's 80th birthday party after the South African government sat on his visa application for weeks without making a decision.
South Africa had come under pressure from its biggest trading partner China not to issue the visa to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, derided by Beijing as a dangerous splittist. Last week, China pledged to invest $2.5 billion in South Africa during a visit to Beijing by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Tutu, a leading voice of moral authority, told the ANC to "watch out" because it had lost the plot.
"Mr. Zuma, you and your government don't represent me. You represent your own interests. I am warning you out of love, one day we will start praying for the defeat of the ANC government," a visibly emotional Archbishop Tutu told a nationally televised news conference.
The Dalai Lama was once embraced as a symbol of peace in post-apartheid South Africa and for many the visa move was symbolic of how the country has compromised its ideals as the giants of the liberation struggle have faded from the scene and been replaced by a new generation of leaders.
The ANC enjoys virtual one-party rule but Zuma's government has faced a record number of protests from the poor, angry that the ANC has been slow to provide schools, electricity and running water.
Zuma has had little to show for hefty welfare spending, while increasingly facing charges, even from his allies in organized labor, that he has allowed the politically connected to line their pockets through government contracts.
THE FALL FROM MANDELA
Since Nelson Mandela left office as president in 1999, South Africa has shown little improvement, or even slipped back, in areas that have been the top priorities of the ANC.
Education has represented the largest segment of state spending for years, accounting for about 20 percent of the budget, but there has been little to show for all the money And
Zuma has repeatedly begged teachers simply to show up to school and stay until the final bell.
South Africa ranked 130 out of 139 countries in the 2010 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.
When Mandela left office, nearly 75 percent of South Africans said the government was doing a good job in providing basic services. That figure is now at about 55 percent, according to a government survey.
DIPLOMATIC BLUNDERS
South Africa's diplomatic standing has suffered under Zuma, with a series of recent moves, including the Dalai Lama decision, undercutting the international credibility of Africa's largest economy.
South Africa, which benefited from global powers using their economic leverage to bring down apartheid, has backed a series of leaders accused of human rights violations, saying it wanted to maintain regional stability.
Critics said foreign policy has been more concerned with past alliances and trade than with advancing democracy and protecting human rights.
Pretoria has shown continued support for rulers with poor human rights records, such as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Swaziland's King Mswati III, while delaying recognition of Alassane Ouattara as the internationally acknowledged winner of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election.
It abstained from a U.N. vote to punish Syria, a long time ANC supporter, for its slaughter of anti-government protesters, tarnishing a visit this week to South Africa by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who has pushed for the measure.
And it backed down on the Dalai Lama despite the precedent of other China trading partners allowing visits and then suffering rhetorical attacks from Beijing but no loss of business.
"Is it really in South Africa's interest to send a message to the world that our principles are up for sale to the highest bidder?" financial daily Business Day said in an editorial.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
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| Oscar Niemeyer - Oscar Niemeyer was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 15th December 1907. Oscar Niemeyer graduated from the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro in 1934.
At this time Oscar Niemeyer joined a team of Brazilian architects collaborating with Le Corbusier on a new Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro. Oscar Niemeyer worked with Lucio Costa and Le Corbusier till 1938 on this project.
The corbusian influence is evident in the early works of Oscar Niemeyer. However, the architect gradually acguired his own style: the lightness of the curved forms created spaces that transformed the architectural scheme into something that was hitherto unknown; harmony, grace and elegance are the adjectives that are most appropriate to describe the work of Oscar Niemeyer. The adaptations produced by the architect to connect the baroque vocabulary with modernist architecture made possible formal experiences in spectacular volumes, executed by famous mathematicians including the Brazilian Joaquim Cardoso and the Italian Pier Luigi Nervi
The architecture of Brasilia, glimpsed in the sketches submitted by Lucio Costa for the international design contest for the new capital of Brazil, was the result of Oscar Niemeyer 's definitive impetus on the scene of the international history of contemporary architecture. The concave and convex domes of the National Congress and the columns of the Alvorada and Planalto palaces and the Supreme Court are highly original features. Combining these with the spectacular forms of the columns of the Cathedral and the palaces of Itamaraty and Justica, Oscar Niemeyer succeeded in closing the rectangular and symmetrical perspective formed by the repetition of the Esplanada and Ministry buildings.
The use of reinforced concrete to form curves or as a shell and the unique use of the aesthetic possibilities of the straight line were translated into factories, skyscrapers, exhibition centres, residential areas, theatres, temples, head office buildings for public and private sector companies, universities, clubs, hospitals and buildings for various social schemes. Of these, the following are worthy of special mention: the Obra do Berco and residence on the Estrada das Canoas in Rio de Janeiro; The Duchen factory, the Copan building and Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo; the Pampulha architectural complex including a casino, restaurant and the Temple of St. Francis of Assisi, in Belo Horizonte; the design for the Hotel de Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, the Caracas Museum in Venezuela, the headquarters building of the Communist Party in Paris, the head office of Editora Mondatori in Milan, the Constantine University in Algeria and the Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art, Rio de Janeiro.
related links
Oscar Niemeyer - Great Buildings Online
Oscar Niemeyer. A Legend of Modernism
The constant presence, of Oscar Niemeyer on the scene of international contemporary architecture from 1936 until the present time, has transformed him into a symbol of Brazil. Oscar Niemeyer has received numerous prizes and is the owner of a vast library containing books written by him and also by Stamo Papadaki, as well as editions of early editions of magazines on French and Italian architecture.
books about architecture
general books
bestsellers books
architects books
architectural standards books
building types & styles books
criticism books
drawing & modelling books
historic preservation books
history books
interior design books
international books
landscape books
materials books
project planning & management books
reference books
study & teaching books
urban & land use planning books While working on this project Oscar Niemeyer met the mayor of Brazil's wealthiest central state, Juscelino Kubitschek, who would later becom President of Brazil. As President, he appointed Oscar Niemeyer to be the chief architect of Brasilia, a project which occupied all of his time for many years.
In 1939 Oscar Niemeyer and Costa designed the Brazilian pavilion at the New York World Fair. The series of buildings Oscar Niemeyer created till 1942 were heavily influenced by the Brazilian baroque style in architecture.
Although associated primarily with his major masterpiece, Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, Oscar Niemeyer had achieved early recognition from one of his mentors, Le Corbusier, going on to collaborate with him on one of the most important symbolic structures in the world, the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
In the 1950's, Oscar Niemeyer designed an Aeronautical Research Center near Sao Paulo. In Europe, Oscar Niemeyer did an office building for Renault and in Italy, the Mondadori Editorial Office in Milan and the FATA Office Building in Turin. In Algiers, Oscar Niemeyer designed the Zoological Gardens, the University of Constantine, and the Foreign Office.
From 1957 till 1959 Oscar Niemeyer was appointed architectural advisor to Nova Cap- an organisation charged with implenting Luis Costa's plans for Brazil's new capitol. The following year Oscar Niemeyer become Nova Cap's chief architect, designing most of the city's important buildings. The epoch of Niemeyers career, these buildings mark a period of creativity on modern symbolism.
Five years later, in 1964, his political affiliation with the communist party forced him into exile in France. There Oscar Niemeyer constructed the building for the French communist party. With the end of the dictatorship Oscar Niemeyer returned to Brazil, teaching at the university of Rio de Janeiro and working in private practice.
Recognized as one of the first to pioneer new concepts in architecture in this hemisphere, his designs are artistic gesture, with underlying logic and substance.
His pursuit of great architecture linked to roots of his native land has resulted in new plastic forms and a lyricism in buildings, not only in Brazil, but around the world. For his lifetime achievements, the Pritzker Architecture Prize is bestowed.
Although semi-retired, Oscar Niemeyer still works at the drawing board and welcomes young architects from all over the world. Oscar Niemeyer hopes to instill in them the sensitivity to aesthetics that allowed him to strive for beauty in the manipulation of architectural forms.
Catedral- Metropolitana - '60
Its symbolic is altercated. Some say it is the thorncrown of Jesus, others think it's a blossom an others again say it looks like praying hands. But it is sure a masterpiece of Oscar Niemeyer. In front of the subsurface entrance there are modern stone-sculptures posed who should depict the "Four Disciples".
The Entrance lies in the shadow to lead the believers from the darkness into the light. The interior is kept very artless, no embellishments and decoration destroy the ruminant atmosphere. One Altar, bright chairs and three big angelfigures made of Joao Ceschiatti which are hanging under the astrodome - that's all.
Congresso Nacional - '72
The Congresso Nacional is Niemeyer's masterpiece. Here you can see the architectural concept of the convex and concave lines. The Utopian element of the flying saucers prove his aversion about the straight models of architecture. In the interior you can see numerous works of art and valuables.
related links
Oscar Niemeyer - Great Buildings Online
Oscar Niemeyer. A Legend of Modernism
Palacio do Itamaratv - '43
The State Department is one of the most stylish buildings of Brasilia. Thin bows come up out of the water and seem to become larger in the refleaing water. In the bassin a sculpture of a meteor depicts the five parts of the world. At one side of the Itamarati appears a small, longish building which is made of hundreds of yellow, orange and brown tiles,, This was made of Sergio Bernades, the most liked architect of the president. Bernades was not afraid that Oscar Niemeyer became the only architect of Brasilia.
books about architecture
general books
bestsellers books
architects books
architectural standards books
building types & styles books
criticism books
drawing & modelling books
historic preservation books
history books
interior design books
international books
landscape books
materials books
project planning & management books
reference books
study & teaching books
urban & land use planning books His own House - '53
The house that Oscar Niemeyer built for himself in 1953 is an excellent example of Freeform Modernism, and an example that could only exist in Brazil. While the thin, flat roof slab and floor-to-ceiling glass walls are certainly central elements of many classic Modernist buildings particularly Mies's Famsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House, the curvilinear outlines in Niemeyer's residence are uniquely expressive of Brazilian heritage. The Colonial Baroque architecture that dominated Brazil before is very curvaceous, as is its local artwork. Moreover, the eroded hills, winding rovers and shorelines, and rolling landscape of Brazil itself are a clear inspiration for the forms in Niemeyer's work. As the architect himself states, 1943: Residencia Peixoto, 1943: Itamatary Palace, 1959: Pantheon, 1960: Catedral Metropolitana, 1960: Congreso Nacional, 1972: Le Havre Cultural Centre,1996: Apartamentos Building (Rio), 1996: Lady of Fatima
The Creator's Words
"Architecture must express the spirit of the technical and social forces that are predominant in a given epoch; but when such forces are not balances, the resulting conflict is prejudicial to the content of the work and to the work as a whole. Only with this in mind may we understand the nature of the plans and drawings which appear in this volume. I should have very much liked to be in a position to present a more realistic achievement: a kind of work which reflects not only refinements and comfort but also a positive collaboration between the architect and the whole society."
"I have always," says Oscar Niemeyer, "accepted and respected all other schools of architecture, from the chill and elemental structures of Mies van der Rohe to the imagination and delirium of Gaudi. I must design what pleases me in a way that is naturally linked to my roots and the country of my origin.
8.01.2011
www:architect.architecture.sk
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| Vatican gives Beatles compliment - 2010-04-13 05:14:25 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - News, Religious News, music news)
The church compliments the legendary band on the 40th anniversary of their breakup.
Vatican City (WiredPRNews.com) – The Vatican has changed its tune with regards to the Beatles, paying tribute to the band in commenoration of the 40th anniversary of their breakup. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published two articles about the band in its weekend editions.
The paper is quoted by the AP as stating of the Fab Four, “It’s true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives… They even said they were more famous than Jesus… But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless. Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels.”
L’Osservatore is further quoted as regarding the Beatles as “the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music.”
WiredPRNews.com – The latest in Entertainment News
Photo Found: Wikipedia public domain
Tags: anniversary, Beatles, Jesus, L'Osservatore, music, paper, tribute, Vatican, Vatican City
Tiffany Cherry - WiredPRNews.com Press Release Reporter · Filed Under News, Religious News, music news
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| Pope Benedict XVI paves way for thousands of disaffected Anglicans to cross over to Rome - Pope Benedict XVI has paved the way for thousands of Anglicans who are disillusioned by the church’s stance on female clergy and homosexuality to convert to Roman Catholicism.
By Martin Beckford and Nick Squires
Published: 2:11PM BST 20 Oct 2009
The historic move will allow groups of Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Holy See while allowing them to retain some of their traditions, and could see married Church of England clergy ordained as Catholic priests.
It has dealt a serious blow to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has tried to keep traditionalists in the fold despite their bitter disputes with liberals over the direction of the Anglican Communion, although he denied it was an “act of aggression”.
Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said: “Those Anglicans who have approached the Holy See have made clear their desire for full, visible unity in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the same time, they have told us of the importance of their Anglican traditions of spirituality and worship for their faith journey.”
In recent decades thousands of conservative priests and parishioners in England, America and Australia have left the 80 million-strong Anglican Communion in protest at the ordination of women and openly homosexual clergy, which they say go against scripture and church tradition. In England, more than 400 clergy resigned when women priests were introduced in the 1990s.
The unprecedented move, triggered by pleas from disaffected Anglo-Catholics and announced at joint press conferences in London and Rome, allows those tempted to desert Canterbury to become fully incorporated into the Roman Catholic Church instead of forming small breakaway churches, while retaining parts of their Anglican heritage that do not clash with Catholic doctrine.
The Apostolic Constitution approved by the Pope creates a new structure, which will allow Roman Catholic provinces such as England and Wales to have their own “Personal Ordinariate” for ex-Anglicans.
Parishes and individuals can go over to Rome en masse and join the Ordinariate. Although Catholic priests must be celibate, married former Anglican clergy who convert under the Apostolic Constitution could be ordained as Catholic priests although they would not be allowed to become bishops.
The Ordinariate could take the form of those created to care for Catholics serving in the Armed Forces and will be supervised by a senior cleric called an Ordinary, likely to be taken from the ranks of the former Anglican clergy.
It will provide spiritual care for the converts and they will be able to ask the Vatican to approve new liturgy based on their former Anglican readings, which they would hear at their own church services. They may be allowed to use Anglican prayer books.
However it is claimed there would be “formidable legal obstacles” to former Anglican parishes keeping hold of their old church buildings.
As many as 50 Anglican bishops worldwide are expected to convert under the new procedure and Cardinal Levada said the number of ordinary worshippers who had asked for such a provision was “in the hundreds”.
He added: "If there was a woman pastor in one of these groups, I would be surprised."
The leading Anglo-Catholic group in the Church of England, Forward in Faith, has warned repeatedly of a mass exodus to Rome if women are introduced to the episcopate without proper provision for those who object to the innovation.
While the group has so far remained within the Church of England to defend its place as the battle continues over women bishops, the landmark move by the Pope is likely to tempt many parishes away.
Forward in Faith said it “rejoiced” at the initiative, which it called a “decisive moment” in the history of the movement.
The bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, whose secret talks at the Vatican in Easter 2008 were disclosed by The Sunday Telegraph, said: “Some Anglicans in the Catholic tradition understandably will want to stay within the Anglican Communion. Others will wish to make individual arrangements as their conscience directs. A further group of Anglicans, we think, will begin to form a caravan, rather like the People of Israel crossing the desert in search of the Promised Land.”
They said Anglo-Catholics should make an initial decision on what to do on February 22nd next year.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who has spoken previously of the need to keep the rich traditions of Anglo-Catholics within the Church of England, only learned of the Vatican’s plans two weeks ago and had no say in their development.
However he insisted they did not represent “anything new” and wrote in a statement sent to all Church of England bishops: “In the light of recent discussions with senior officials in the Vatican, I can say that this new possibility is in no sense at all intended to undermine existing relations between our two communions or to be an act of proselytism or aggression.”
Cardinal Levada was asked if he thought the initiative weakened the standing of the Anglican church.
He replied: "I would not dare to make a comment on that. After the long years of the British Empire, and the work of Anglican missionaries, the Anglican Communion is a diverse and very varied worldwide communion."
When another journalist suggested that Anglicanism was dying anyway, he replied: "No comment."
www.telegraph.co.uk |
| Maria Gulovich Liu dies at 87; helped American agents during WWII - She joined the underground resistance in Slovakia and helped several U.S. and British intelligence agents evade the Germans while fleeing to safety.
By Dennis McLellan
October 1, 2009
Maria Gulovich Liu, who as a young schoolteacher in Slovakia during World War II joined the underground resistance as a courier and later helped a small group of American and British intelligence agents evade the German Army as they fled through the frigid mountains to safety, has died. She was 87.
Liu, who received a Bronze Star for her "heroic and meritorious" service to the Office of Strategic Services, died of colon cancer Friday at her home in Port Hueneme, said Jim Downs, a family friend.
"I interviewed men who were with her, and they were flabbergasted by how brave she was," said Downs, who first met Liu when he interviewed her for his 2002 book "World War II: OSS Tragedy in Slovakia."
In the book, former U.S. Army Sgt. Ken Dunlevy, who escaped Slovakia with Liu and three other intelligence agents, called her "our little sweetheart for whom I am and will be grateful forever. To her, it is no doubt that I owe my safety and perhaps my life."
Liu was born Maria Gulovich on Oct. 19, 1921, in the village of Jarabina, near the Polish border.
She was attending the Greek Catholic Institute for Teachers in Presov when her homeland came under German dominance in 1939. The next year, she became a teacher, first in Jarabina and later in the farm community of Hrinova.
But her life began to change dramatically in early 1944.
A Jewish family friend, who operated a lumber mill and was considered useful to the Germans, had been hiding his sister and her young son. When he came under suspicion, he asked Liu to take in the woman and child.
She reluctantly agreed: If caught and arrested, as Downs noted in his book, Liu faced likely imprisonment or worse.
A few weeks later, according to Downs' account, a Slovak Army captain turned up at the school and confronted Liu with her "crime."
But the captain was secretly part of a rebel group conspiring against the Slovak fascist government and gave her a choice: If she would join the underground espionage operation against the Germans, he would find another hiding place for the woman and her son, and he would see that no charges were made against Liu.
"She didn't want to be a courier; it was very dangerous," said Downs. "But once she did, she went at it 100%."
As part of her bargain, Liu moved to Banska Bystrica, where she worked as a dressmaker for an underground sympathizer.
On her first mission, Liu was told to pick up a suitcase in a city 65 miles away. She had no idea what was in the suitcase -- years later, she learned it was a short-wave radio -- and had to contend with the Gestapo searching luggage on the return train trip.
"There was a bunch of Wehrmacht officers sitting in a compartment and one started flirting with me -- which I gladly returned," she told the Washington Post in 1989.
"They said, 'Fraulein' -- I spoke German at the time -- 'would you sit with us?' They made a seat for me in the compartment and the officer carried my suitcase into the compartment with him. The Gestapo came by, saluted, and went on."
Liu was fluent in five languages, and after a couple of months as a courier, she was assigned to work with a Russian military intelligence group translating messages from Slovak into Russian.
While working for the Russians in the rebel headquarters after the Slovak National Uprising broke out on Aug. 29, 1944, she met American OSS personnel, who were there to assist in the uprising and also rescue downed American airmen.
By the end of October, the Germans had overrun Banska Bystrica and crushed the uprising.
Liu then fled with the Russians into the mountains, where the Americans and several thousand rebel troops also had gone to evade the Germans.
Los Angeles Times |
| Uruguay mourns writer Benedetti - Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti, whose novels were widely translated and poems set to music, has died at the age of 88 at his home in Montevideo.
Benedetti's work chronicled the life of Uruguay's middle-class and was popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
He lived in exile from 1973 to 1983 during military rule in Uruguay and was well-known as a supporter of the Cuban government.
His readings of his work attracted sell-out crowds in Uruguay.
"I don't think we should be talking of a loss, because he will be with us forever," Uruguayan Culture Minister Maria Simon told local media.
Born to Italian immigrants, Benedetti wrote more than 80 novels, poems, short stories and essays during a career spanning six decades.
His 1960 novel The Truce was translated into 19 languages and made into a film.
Spanish singer Joan Manuel Serrat set Benedetti's poems to music, including The South Also Exists, an anti-US polemic.
A left-wing activist, Benedetti went into exile when the military came to power in Uruguay in 1973. He returned to his homeland 10 years later in what he dubbed his "unexile".
Benedetti died at home on Sunday morning. He had suffered from respiratory and intestinal problems and had recently spent some time in hospital.
18.05.2009 www.news.bbc.co.uk |
| Anniversary of Lenin's death sparks protest - United Press International - January 21, 2009 Written by Wayne · Filed Under Moscow News
Anniversary of Lenin's death sparks protest
United Press International - 2 hours ago
MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Moscow police detained several dozen young people dressed as mummies Wednesday after they attempted to hold a protest in Red Square ...
Lenin’s body shouldn’t remain on Red Square, the Moscow ... Interfax-Religion
Mummies calling for Lenin burial arrested on Red Square RIA Novosti
Protesters want Lenin's body out of Red Square Kyiv Post
Monsters and Critics.com - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
all 32 news articles
www.moscowvisit.com |
| Austrian author Johannes Mario Simmel dies at 84 - Fri Jan 2, 3:07 pm ET
ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) – Austrian novelist Johannes Mario Simmel has died at the age of 84, his lawyer announced Friday.
The author, whose most famous novel "It Can't Always Be Caviar" sold 30 million copies worldwide, died Thursday at a retirement home in the Swiss town of Zug, although no cause of death was given.
His work was translated into more than 30 languages, selling as many 73 million books in total over his career.
Simmel was born in Vienna on April 7, 1924. His father Walter Simmel, a German Jew, was a chemist while his mother Lisa worked for a local film studios.
Half of his family lost their lives in the Nazi concentration camps during the World War I.
After the end of the conflict, he worked for the US army as a translator in Austria, then as a journalist, before publishing a series of short stories.
"It Can't Always Be Caviar" was published in 1959 and brought Simmel international recognition, whose other works also include The Cain Conspiracy and The Berlin Connection.
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| Looking for love? Beware the online dating scams - Better watch out for the crook who will
steal your cash as well as your heart.
The Office of Fair Trading issued a warning about the dangers of online
dating scams, where criminals use
dating agency Web sites or chat rooms
to find potential victims.
... although the vast majority of those
who sign up to an online dating agency
are genuine, some scam artists are out to
trap the unwary.
The scammers take time to build up a
relationship with their online victims and
convince them it is true romance.
They then suggest a meeting as a natural
progression - but the catch is they need
cash in order to make this happen.
This lateshows how scammers use legitimate
services to prey upon people's
vulnerabilities and hopes for compa-
nionship to defraud them of their money
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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