Tree Huggers

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.... the real origin of the term.

The first tree huggers were 294 men and 69 women of the Bishnois branch of Hinduism, who, in 1730, died while trying to protect the trees in their village from being turned into the raw material for building a palace. They literally clung to the trees, while being slaughtered by the foresters. 

Their action led to a royal decree prohibiting the cutting of trees in any Bishnoi village. And now those villages are virtual wooded oases amidst an otherwise desert landscape. The Bishnois also inspired the Chipko movement (chipko means “to cling” in Hindi) that started in the 1970s, when a group of peasant women in the Himalayan hills of northern India threw their arms around trees designated to be cut down. 

Within years, this tactic, also known as tree satyagraha, had spread across India, ultimately forcing reforms in forestry and a moratorium on tree felling in Himalayan regions.

This article is from: earthisland.org

Hattie McDaniel

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Hattie McDaniel who played Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939) won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American to win an Academy Award. 

Her acceptance speech is still considered one of the finest speeches ever given on the Academy floor. "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honored guests: This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of their awards, for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble; and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you.”

— Hattie McDaniel: Acceptance Speech delivered on February 29, 1940, at the 12th Annual Academy Awards

Thou SHALT commit adultery:

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Incredibly rare 1631 'sinners' Bible' contains unfortunate typo in the Ten Commandments that forced publisher to BURN most of the 1,000 print run

There was uproar among conservative Anglican Britain when the blunder (pictured) was found a year after 1,000 copies were published. The King ordered them to be set alight - but some survived

Princess Margaret's Lotus Flower headpiece

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The Duchess of Cambridge wears the Lotus Flower tiara, also known as the Papyrus tiara, once owned by the Queen Mother and a favourite of Princess Margaret for her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace. See the Lotus Flower tiara and other crown jewels. continue

Princess Margaret wears the Lotus Flower Tiara on the top of her head, much as Kate does, at an official reception at the King's House, Jamaica, in 1962

Bobby Pickett

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

On this date in 1962, the novelty song "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett hit No. 1. It truly was a graveyard smash. 

Photo of Pickett from the L.A. Times files.

Peter Pan the Musical

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The beloved musical "Peter Pan," starring Mary Martin in the title role and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook, opened at the Winter Garden on Broadway on this date in 1954. The show continued until Feb.26, 1955. And on March 7, 1955, the cast reunited for the live television production. Some 65 million people tuned into the telecast. 

Photo from the L.A. Times files.

Cyd Charisse

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

heart emoticon

Eventide Home Tragedy

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Eventide Home: Jamaica’s Tragedy of Forgotten History

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR charred bodies of elderly women were removed from beneath the rubble in the wee hours of morning, May 20, 1980, after a fire completely destroyed the Myers Ward at the Ev…

JABLOGZ.COM

Taino Names of Islands

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Taino Names of the Caribbean Islands

Visit the post for more.

DECOLONIALATLAS.WORDPRESS.COM

America's Million Dollar Princesses

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Marriages between monied American women and noble Englishmen in the 19th and early 20th century produced many famous offspring, including Princess Diana and Winston Churchill. 

While some heiresses found love as well as peerage in crossing the Atlantic, others were marriages of convenience - 

 English Lords needed 'new money' to rescue crumbling fortunes.

New series, Million Dollar Princesses, on Britain's ITV3 reveals, some of these unions would change the course of history - including putting Queen Elizabeth on the throne. continue

Frances 'Fanny' Work, an American heiress, was Princess Diana's ancestor 

Jennie Jerome, a society beauty born in Brooklyn married Lord Randolph Churchill and is best known as the mother of British prime minister Winston Churchill

Lord Randolph Churchill was the second son of the Duke of Marlborough and died of the effects of tertiary syphilis. Winston Churchill and Princess Diana were related through the Spencer's, descendants of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough. Winston Churchill was a Spencer, his surname was Spencer-Churchill. 

Princes William and Harry are also descended from Windsor, Protestant German aristocrats or Hanoverian of the House of Welf, that dates back to Charlemagne, one of the oldest princely houses in Europe.

A clear genetic link to the world's most populous nation, India, was made through Eliza Kewark, Prince William's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, long described as Armenian, Kewark was of, at the least, half-Indian blood. Genetic ancestry testing company, BritainsDNA, announced its findings two years ago.

American Lady Nancy Astor, wife of Viscount William Waldorf Astor, became the first female MP in the House of Commons

Chicago-born Mary Leiter married Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India in 1895

Malcolm X letter up for sale

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Long-lost letter by Malcolm X to go up for sale for $1.25M

A handwritten, six-page letter by activist Malcolm X written just after his famed pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964 was discovered in a storage locker and is going up…

Baltimore's 1968 Riots

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The 1968 riot that erupted in that city in the wake of Martin Luther King's assassination on April 4th as grief and anger led to devastation in over 120 cities across the US. In Baltimore, riots lasted from 6 - 14 April with 6 fatalities, 700 injuries and 1000 businesses devastated. Images

Czechs Remember First Transport of Jews to Nazi Death Camps

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A man takes pictures of a giant postage stamp dedicated to Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds of Czech Jewish children from the Holocaust, in Prague, Czech Republic, Sept. 2, 2015.AP
Hundreds of people are beating drums in Prague to mark the 74th anniversary of the first Czech Jews sent to Nazi death camps during World War II.

The transports began Oct. 16, 1941, with the first of the five trains heading for Lodz in Poland, which was occupied by the Nazis, as was the former Czechoslovakia, where Prague was located. Of the 5,000 Jews in them, less than 300 survived. Further transports followed.
Nearly 120,000 Jews lived in the country before the war. More than 80,000 of them perished in the Holocaust.


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Humphrey Bogart

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The Great Depression

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 Sleeping on the streets in suits, long lines of men hunting for work and families relying on handouts to stay alive: Haunting images show...

The federal government sent photographers across the country to document the nation during The Great Depression. Dorothea Lange captured..

world's first sex change couple

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 Revealed: Incredible romance between Spitfire ace and aristocratic student who became the world's first sex change couple 

Robert Cowell's decision to become Roberta (pictured) was sparked by a meeting with Michael Dillon - the first woman in the world to become...

prison life in 1960s Texas

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Behind bars: Poignant photos reveal distressing reality of prison life in 1960s Texas featuring penitentiary where 'most dangerous' inmates lived

The photographs, taken by 73-year-old Danny Lyon, reveal a look inside the Texas penitentiary system in 1967 and 1968, including Ellis where the most dangerous prisoners lived. Lyon traveled to Huntsville, Texas and visited and photographed several prison units in the Texas Department of Corrections. The photo book, Conversations With the Dead, was originally published in 1971, however a new edition of the book was published last month.

Charlton Heston

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Charlton Heston made his Hollywood film debut in the noir "Dark City" and opened on this date 65 years ago.  

Photo of Heston courtesy of AP.

Earth's Oldest Trees

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Vintage

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Magic Chef circa 1935 with eight burners, two ovens and chrome trim.