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armeniaitn · 4 years

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Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict: Reasons, Probable Results of Tension at Front Line

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/economy/azerbaijan-armenia-conflict-reasons-probable-results-of-tension-at-front-line-37692-17-07-2020/

Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict: Reasons, Probable Results of Tension at Front Line

Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict – The attack of the Armenian army with heavy weapons on the Tovuz Rayon of Azerbaijan suddenly changed the world agenda and caused the regional war scenarios to be brought to the agenda once again. It was announced that both sides suffered serious losses, especially in the mutual attacks that began at noon on July 12 and appeared to be weakened by July 15.

For the first time, Azerbaijan lost a general in the hot conflict. The outposts belonging to Armenia, where attacks were carried out on the Azerbaijani side, were destroyed by the counter-fire of Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, convened the National Security Council, then the Council of Ministers, with a special agenda, one day apart, and gave important messages on the attacks of Armenia.

The harshest response to Armenia’s attacks came from Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu condemned the attacks of Armenia and urged the occupying state to respect the international law and leave the territory it has occupied.

Remarks of Erdogan and Cavusoglu — that Turkey with all means will be with Azerbaijan in whatever way Baku chooses to save its territory — should be seen as statements that could change the regional balances.

Russia has invited the parties to abide by the cease-fire and said it can mediate between the parties if necessary. The US, Britain, and other Western countries have called on the parties for restraint. Pakistan strongly condemned the attacks of Armenia and expressed its support for Azerbaijan.

Ukraine and Moldova called on the parties for moderation, urging for the implementation of UN Security Council decisions, numbered 822, 853, 874, and 884, to stop the Armenian occupation in the Azerbaijani territories for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Furthermore, besides the implementation of the decisions mentioned above, Ukraine and Moldova said the problem should be solved under the fundamental principles of international law, and in particular, the territorial integrity principle. Also, due to this attitude of Ukraine, the Armenian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in Yerevan to express discomfort.

In its first statement, Iran expressed regret over the losses and invited the sides to a cease-fire. But also, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Iran in a phone call expressed their support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The UN, EU, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the NATO, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), with Armenia among its members, expressed their discomfort at the cease-fire violations and the start of the hot conflict. Contrary to Armenia’s expectation, the CSTO did not give it clear support. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned Armenia for its attacks and supported Azerbaijan.

– Fire never ceases at front line

Differing views are being raised on the causes of the border clashes. In fact, for those who know in detail the history of the problem, especially the current situation, the cease-fire, and the subsequent “peace process”, this conflict was no surprise.

As is known, Armenia, which was better prepared in the first phase of the war (having experienced cadres of the ASALA terrorist organization, as well as having very serious external support from a military, economic and diplomatic perspective), occupied about 20% of the Azerbaijani territory.

The UN Security Council and other international organizations had adopted resolutions condemning the occupation and calling for an immediate and unconditional end to the occupation. However, Armenia did not follow these resolutions nor the cease-fire agreement signed in May 1994.

Armenia believed that it would keep Azerbaijan under pressure with the possibility of a large-scale invasion and a new attack and that it could prevent the attempts to liberate Azerbaijan’s territory with Russian military support. Nearly all important forces in the region that have interests and influence on the problem have tried to take advantage of the lack of resolution and negotiate with the parties over the occupation problem.

For this reason, the problem of the occupation of the Azerbaijani territory by Armenia — shortly and commonly known as the Upper Karabakh problem — was described as a “frozen problem” like many problems in the former Soviet geography.

On the other hand, it was especially clear that after the intervention of Russia in Georgia in August 2008, the “frozen problems” were not actually frozen, and this was a great danger, and it was claimed that attempts to resolve the problem would intensify.

In fact, the agreement signed at Mein Dorf Castle near Moscow on Nov. 2, 2008, with Russian mediation, was expected to significantly guarantee a cease-fire. Because for the first time, the parties said they would stick to peaceful methods in solving the problem with a document signed by Russia. But interestingly, the cease-fire violations, which have caused huge losses in recent years, happened at the time or immediately after talks were held between the sides.

For example, in June 2010, August 2014, November 2014, December 2015 and in other periods, whenever the high-level talks were at issue, cease-fire violations caused significant losses from both sides and made the war scenarios take part in the agenda.

However, within a few days of each of these tensions, the previous order was restored. The most extensive clashes to date following the 1994 cease-fire agreement occurred in April 2016. Azerbaijan, which responded to the provocations of Armenia during those conflicts, saved part of its territory from the occupation of Armenia by inflicting great losses on the other side and took psychological advantage for the first time in the 30-year war. This seriously disturbed Armenia and its supporters.

Therefore, the fire never actually ceased after the 1994 cease-fire. The cease-fire violations are more likely to be the subject of the accusations from the opposing sides and an attempt to turn the balance in their favor in May 1994. As such, Azerbaijan was much stronger militarily, economically, and diplomatically than in the early 1990s. The figures also support this data.

Armenia tries to provoke Azerbaijan

For Azerbaijan, the fact that its territory (the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and the seven Rayons surrounding it) is under Armenian occupation is both against the international law and not in line with the existing military, diplomatic, economic, and other capacities of the two countries.

In other words, Azerbaijan, at the time it deems appropriate, has signed Article 51 of the UN Convention. It has the right and capacity to liberate its territory from the occupation of Armenia within the framework of its right to self-defence based on its article.

Armenia considers this course too risky for itself and is trying to provoke Azerbaijan (as in the case of Georgia and Ukraine) to limit the growing capacity of Azerbaijan to a war involving Russia. This may be one of the main aims of the attack of Armenia this time from a different region on the border of the two countries.

The reasons for the cease-fire violations in general and the recent clashes, in particular, can be listed as follows: the opportunity for Armenia to eliminate the consequences of the April 2016 war and the psychological oppression, a reflection of the internal political struggle in Armenia, the purpose of the power to divert attention from social and economic problems, a reflection of the domestic military struggle, a reflection of the problems in foreign policy, the seclusion of Azerbaijan into a large-scale war (in which Russia will take side with Armenia in terms of the military), and making sure that its potential would receive a blow, etc.

Although Russia is not the only culprit in the emergence of the Upper Karabakh conflict, it is not wrong to emphasize the role of the support of this country to Armenia in the emergence of the current landscape and the failure of the solution process.

The Upper Karabakh conflict is an important tool for Russia to continue its activity in the Caucasus. So Russia does not want it to be fully resolved, that is, the disappearance of an intermediary. Until recently, despite Russia, it was always seen as a poor prospect for a serious conflict to begin and for one of the sides to gain a serious upper hand over the other.

The fact that Azerbaijan does not desire a war in which Russia will be involved at this stage, and that Russia does not wish to experience new problems because of Azerbaijan while it is dealing with so many problems, are the factors undermining the possibility of the growth of the conflict.

Determination of Turkey changes balances

On the other hand, with the active involvement of Turkey in the process, the situation of “neither peace nor war” is beginning to become a source of risk for everyone, but especially for the occupying Armenia and the foreign powers that support this country militarily and hope for a solution.

As it will be remembered, Cavusoglu, in his statement on June 20, had put forward a different perspective on the attitude of Turkey on this issue by saying that we would be on its side in the same way that Azerbaijan wants a solution to the Karabakh conflict. After the clashes, which began on July 12, this stance was emphasized more clearly and persistently at the level of President Erdogan and various ministers.

Therefore, on the one hand, the balance between the military, diplomatic and economic opportunities of Azerbaijan and Armenia changed very much in favour of Azerbaijan compared to the beginning of the 1990s, on the other hand, Turkey’s active military policy and the official statements changed the balance.

The problem of the occupation of the Azerbaijani territory by Armenia was once an opportunity for the powers that had interests in the region and influence over the countries of the region, but it is now beginning to be a source of risk.

As a result of this, the situation of “neither war nor peace” in terms of the Upper Karabakh conflict is no longer as healthy for the forces trying to profit from the lack of resolution of the problems in the South Caucasus. A large-scale war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, unlike the Syrian and Libyan problems, could further drain the possibilities of the major powers in the region (Russia, Turkey, and Iran), and these forces may have to lose important interests elsewhere.

This scenario would be better suited to the interests of the major powers outside the region. Important powers in the region need to take these into account and act quickly on the solution of the Upper Karabakh conflict. This could speed up the solution process of the Upper Karabakh conflict.

By Araz Aslanli. Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The EurAsian Times

Read original article here.

#Armenia #Caucasus #Karabakh #Yerevan #Economy

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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An insider’s tale of UPA’s success, failure, writes Karan Thapar - columns

Unlike the British, we do not write memoirs. Which is perhaps why Montek Ahluwalia begins his book Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years with the insistent disclaimer: “This book is not a memoir.” He wants to convince the reader it’s “a travelogue of India’s journey of economic reforms.” But, sophistry apart, this is definitely a memoir, and that’s the principal reason why you would want to read it. More important, it is the first insider account of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)’s decade in power, written by someone who served at the very heart of that government. Ahluwalia’s telling of the UPA’s 10 years raises an intriguing question: Why, after achieving so much, as he convincingly argues, did it crash out in disgrace? At the time, we thought the answer lay in the corruption scandals and policy paralysis that surrounded the government, made worse by the belief that Manmohan Singh was a weak leader and the country was yearning for a more decisive prime minister. Ahluwalia’s book suggests an interestingly different answer. First, however, let’s recall the key achievements of that decade. The UPA gave us Right To Information, the nuclear deal, the rural employment guarantee scheme, Aadhaar and the biggest-ever reduction in poverty. But it was on the economic front that it excelled. “The performance of this government in the first seven of its 10 years was outstanding. The economy clocked an average growth of 8.4% in this period, the fastest growth rate ever”, writes Ahluwalia. “Pulling 138 million persons above poverty was hailed internationally as a major achievement.” If I’ve understood Ahluwalia correctly, the first problem was that the UPA responded inadequately, even incorrectly, to the 2G and “Coalgate” controversies. In the process, it allowed them to become scandals that shrouded its successes. Ahluwalia says the UPA should have flagged a critical question about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s conclusion the exchequer lost money because spectrum and coal were sold cheaply. “The question to ask is whether the decision to charge a lower price was justified for achieving the broader objectives of policy. That is what a real performance audit would have done, but the CAG never attempted this.” Unfortunately, the government didn’t either. Yet, if it had, it could have made a convincing case. “The logic of the lower price was that it would stimulate a faster growth of telecom, which it clearly did,” Ahluwalia writes. “Faster expansion of telecom also led to a faster growth in GDP … (and) an additional flow of revenue.” All of this, he says, “needed to be taken into account … (but) no such effort was made.” To be fair, Kapil Sibal did try. But he only said it once and when his zero-loss explanation was ridiculed, he never repeated it. Yet, it was the truth and by failing to stand by it, the UPA forsook its most credible defence for a sullen silence. The second part of Ahluwalia’s answer is political. “Manmohan Singh never bragged about his achievements. He genuinely believed it was best to let the results speak for themselves. But because neither he, nor his party, projected these achievements, they never formed part of the political discourse.” And once they were taken for granted, they were soon forgotten. In fact, this reluctance to claim credit also infected the Congress. “I remain puzzled why the Congress party was unwilling to claim credit for reducing poverty”, comments Ahluwalia. Consequently, the Congress never established “the UPA (economic) strategy was working in a way that earlier strategies had not.” This silence cost the party recognition of its greatest achievement. Ahluwalia ends by revealing, “I have often urged Dr Manmohan Singh to write his memoirs but have had no luck so far.” The former PM is waiting for history’s verdict, confident it will be kinder than that of his contemporaries. Yet, that could be hampered by his refusal to leave behind his side of the story. Ahluwalia’s account of the UPA years will, no doubt, help but you do expect former PM’s to speak for themselves. In contrast, how different is the Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi? They’ve even claimed credit for what their predecessors did! Until Ahluwalia spoke out, the UPA’s silence helped them. Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story The views expressed are personal Read the full article

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joshuajacksonlyblog · 5 years

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McCormack Vs Wright – You Can’t Harm An Already Bad Reputation

Yesterday saw the release of ‘What Bitcoin Did’ podcaster, Peter McCormack’s legal defence against Craig Wright. Wright sued McCormack for libel over tweets suggesting that he wasn’t really Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. McCormack’s defence basically states that Wright’s suit is a cynical waste of the court’s time.

Craig Wright – Hoisted With His Own Petard

The legal notice to Wright’s lawyers is mired in legalese, but still manages to be quite an entertaining read. It states that the contention that Wright has or could suffer serious harm to his reputation is fanciful.

The allegation that he fraudulently claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, is purely the result of his own actions. In repeatedly publicly promising and conspicuously failing to provide proof to the contrary, he has built himself a negative reputation.

…within the bitcoin and cryptocurrency sector in particular, the allegation of lying is synonymous with your client and he has no reputation in that respect which can be damaged.

The (Impossibly) Reasonable Way Out Of This

The letter goes on to say that there is a way for Wright to get exactly what he says he has always wanted. McCormack will make a public statement withdrawing his allegations that Wright’s claim to be Satoshi is fraudulent. He will also walk away from the proceedings without any contribution to his legal costs so far incurred.

The kicker? The way for Wright to achieve this is to voluntarily provide the proof, within 21 days, that he and Calvin Ayre say they have. They have said that they intend to provide this proof during the proceedings anyway, and providing them voluntarily now would “avoid the wholly unnecessary costs and delay of litigation.”

However, Ayre tweeted in April that they were “just waiting for a volunteer to bankrupt themselves trying to prove a negative and then letting Craig show the proof.”

McCormack’s lawyer points out that:

It would obviously be highly unattractive for a claimant to seek to pursue a libel claim merely in order to ‘bankrupt’ the defendant… Moreover, that cynical posturing underscores the futility of pursuing the claim when the claimant claims he can readily dispose of the issue of truth.

Not Your Keys, You’re Not Satoshi

Failing Wright’s agreement to voluntarily provide the satisfactory and independently verifiable proof that he is Satoshi, McCormack will apply for the case to be struck out.

There were also questions raised as to what connections Wright had to the ‘plaintiff friendly’ jurisdiction of the UK. In his Particulars of Claim he says that he is ‘based’ and ‘domiciled’ in England, but gives a different address to the one he has provided in his other ongoing legal battle in Florida.

This is the line of defence used by Roger Ver, who had Wright’s defamation case against him struck down last week on these grounds.

Interestingly, McCormack only got into this legal argument after openly inviting Wright to sue him. Wright had previously been targeting community member Hodlonaut, known for starting the Lightning Network Torch. This caused many to react, including Binance CEO, CZ, who delisted Wright’s Bitcoin SV form the Binance exchange.

What do think of these latest developments? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images via Shutterstock

The post McCormack Vs Wright – You Can’t Harm An Already Bad Reputation appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

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freebestbettingtips · 5 years

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La Liga 2018/19 Tactical Analysis: Getafe vs Barcelona

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La Liga 2018/19 Tactical Analysis: Getafe vs Barcelona

The winter break is finally over and football has returned back to Spain, and more importantly, to Catalunya. Barcelona had a really tough fixture with a trip to the capital to face Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. After a thrilling performance from both sides, it was the guests who took the full spoils of a truly even match.

As a result, the Blaugrana have been crowned winter champions of La Liga, topping it at the halfway mark for the second year in a row. Getafe’s failure to stop the Catalans also meant that the latter’s lead extends to five points over Atletico Madrid, seven over Sevilla, nine over Deportivo Alaves and even more impressively, 10 over Real Madrid. Yet the bookmakers are still not convinced that this Barcelona team is good enough to win the big one; the Champions League. Cast your eyes over the odds at a well-reviewed site like betDSI, find the best prices available on Barca taking the crown away from their big rivals.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to determine how Barcelona managed to break the second best defence in Spain to claim what feels like the most important three points of the first part of the season.

Line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Ter Stegen – Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba – Vidal, Rakitić, Arthur – Messi, Suarez, Dembele

Bench: Cillessen, Murillo, Semedo, Aleña, Coutinho, Busquets, Malcom

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Getafe (4-4-2)

Starting XI: Soria – Djene, Antunes, Cabrera, Mata, Portillo, Angel, Arambarri, Maksimovic, Damian, Doulquier

Bench: Chichizola, Bruno, Samu Saiz, Cristoforo, Flamini, Ibanez, Molina

Coach: Pepe Bordalas

Barcelona’s set-up

There were not many doubts about Ernesto Valverde’s preferred XI before the game, so the actual players that were fielded on Sunday didn’t surprise anyone. What could be described as his best available side graced the pitch in Madrid with only a couple of exceptions.

Sergi Roberto returned from injury which saw him immediately replace Nelson Semedo, raising a couple of eyebrows in the process. Ousmane Dembele was selected in front of Philippe Coutinho, chaining the Brazilian to the bench even longer. The Ant decided to rest Sergio Busquets who’s still on a slight recovery path. Instead, he selected Ivan Rakitić in his position to deputize for the Spaniard’s absence. New signing Jeison Murillo was on the bench but did not get to play.

On paper, Barcelona operated in the 4-3-3 system that they are so familiar and comfortable with. On the pitch, however, it was a mix of almost every trick Valverde had in the bag. The squad swapped between formations based on the situation, which ultimately resulted in a variety of different systems used. We’ll look at that a bit later.

Getafe’s set-up

The hosts played it safe, as they have done this season, with few changes to their first-choice XI. The defensive line remained completely the same so the back four that shielded David Soria was unchanged. The most interesting change happened up front.

Getafe’s prolific striker, Jorge Molina, was left on the bench. Instead, Jaime Mata joined Angel Rodriguez up front in the 4-4-2 system the hosts have used 24% of the time.

Some tactical changes were seen depending on whether the team was instructed to stay behind the ball, soak up the pressure or be the pressing team. In most cases, they did remain faithful to the 4-4-2 formation.

A “broken” game

If you are a neutral fan, there is nothing much more entertaining than a completely even game. In Spain, they refer to those as “broken” games. Far from being broken, Sunday’s thriller was right up that alley: fun, competitive, and even.

Getafe are currently on an incredible high point in their campaign, even after the home defeat to the winter champions. At the moment, alongside Atletico Madrid, they have the best defence in La Liga with only 15 goals conceded.

Bordalas decided to play it safe which saw the hosts yield 76% possession to the away team and wait for the right moment to strike. A very solid and compact 4-4-2 meant that the middle of the park was largely congested and ball progression through there was nearly impossible. This forced Barcelona out wide to the wings.

Still, this brings us to the first big tactical approach of the Catalans. Even though Messi and Dembele were out-and-out wingers on paper, on the pitch both of them played a more interior role. In general, they almost always occupied the half-spaces behind the striker, but that played right to their strengths.

Messi and Dembele occupied the half-spaces while the full-backs stayed extremely high up the pitch, serving as the only real wide men. In this scenario, Getafe deployed five defender so that Alba would be restrained.

The Argentine’s positioning is not surprising as Leo does this every game, but Dembele is the interesting one to note here. Instead of his usual wide positioning, the young Frenchman was placed at left midfield, similarly to Jordi Alba who’s been Barcelona’s biggest attacking outlet in recent times.

In order to let Alba do what he does best – overlap with his high pace – Dembele had to adopt a different approach. By dropping just slightly deeper to this left half-space, he not only got to cut inside, which he is also prone to doing, but he also intentionally freed Alba of one of his markers.

Dembele dropping a bit deeper into his half-space and even closer to the middle of the park meant that one of the five-man defence had to follow. This freed Alba in the process and left him in a 1v1 situation.

Notice how the five-man back line is broken and is now a standard four-man defence. This is the result of Dembele constantly dragging Foulquier deeper to the centre of the pitch. What would usually be a marking tandem of Foulquier and Suarez turned into a one-man task for the latter defender. In a direct 1v1, Alba’s pace was often too much for the right-back to handle.

Seeing how that worked very well, Barcelona stuck to their guns and maintained the pressure on the left. In the end, they attacked through that side a dominating 44% of the time, as opposed to using the right (27%) and the middle (29%) far less.

Sometimes it was Damian being dragged with Dembele and sometimes it was Foulquier, but the results were mostly identical whichever was the case.

Getafe had a different approach. Yielding possession to Barcelona is not surprising but considering the amount they did get, the hosts used it almost perfectly. Looking solely at the heatmaps, we can immediately see that most of their touches were actually made in their own half.

Getafe’s and Barcelona’s heatmaps and the number of touches.

Although this was due to the high press and possession domination of Barcelona, it was also by design, at least to some extent. The idea was to get as many crosses as possible into the box and to do it quickly while both the opposition’s full-backs were still deep in enemy territory.

All of Getafe’s clear-cut chances were created on the break and with a long cross into the box, as can be seen below when the goal actually happened. They quickly change the side and find a free man on the flanks. A good cross that happens before Alba can cover his man means that Lenglet has two attackers to mark.

All of Getafe’s most dangerous chances came from crosses into the box, capitalising on the fact that both Barcelona full-backs were extremely high up the pitch.

Even though they scored just that one goal, the hosts were extremely close to more, hitting the post once, and rattling the net before that but getting the goal disallowed shortly after. Interestingly enough, those chances followed an extremely similar pattern to the one showcased above.

In attack, they would always build towards the wings but would then suddenly stop somewhere around the middle of the park. Progression was made extremely difficult with the setup they preferred. Numerical superiority was achieved in defence but not in attack.

Barcelona, on the other hand, swapped through a variety of systems. The default one was still the 4-3-3 but it was actually rarely that simple and straightforward.

Koeman incarnated

The most interesting thing was definitely Rakitić dropping in between the centre-backs in the lavolpiana position. This transformed the guests into a 3-4-3 formation that sometimes resembled a 3-5-2 when Dembele dropped deeper to make it a five-man midfield.

Rakitić would stay deeper when the opposition pressed but if progress was made, the Croat would naturally slide into the regular pivot position just behind Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal.

Rakitić would drop in between Pique and Lenglet in a “lavolpiana” position. Arthur Melo had a freer role and was tasked with getting the ball forward.

This was a win-win situation for Barcelona’s midfield as Rakitić was free enough from any real press and had the whole pitch in front of himself to orchestrate. Arthur meanwhile would be the one carrying the ball forward with his twists and turns.

As a result, both had an exceptionally great game and were crucial going both ways. Even though Getafe created lots of chances, Barcelona were firmly in control of the game. But still, considering the overall takeaways, the hosts did not do much wrong defensively.

Both goals that the Catalans scored were created out of nothing. One was Messi magic and the other a superb Suarez volley which was simply unstoppable. But defence wasn’t going to win them the game, or draw it, for that matter.

Bordalas had to take a leap of faith. And he did.

The Hail Mary

Getafe’s ace up the sleeve was none other than Jorge Molina, and the coach didn’t wait too long to introduce his striker onto the pitch. Molina replaced the more defensive oriented Dimitri Foulquier and the home team were in a do or die position.

This did bring some chaos into the game, and it seemed that Ernesto Valverde would have to react to re-establish control of the game. So he made his substitutions as Busquets, and eventually Coutinho and Alena, were introduced.

This new and more attacking Getafe had Molina and Angel up front while Mata and Portillo occupied the left and the right wings respectively. The plan was still the same, though: wait for the chance to break, and make quick transitions.

Unfortunately, the open goal miss from Mata meant that the Azulones would not share the points at the Coliseum. Barcelona got more possession back as the game dragged on, and eventually calmed down, and that resulted in the lack of any true chances for the hosts by the final whistle.

Conclusion

It’s difficult to not mention that a bit of luck was on Barcelona’s side as they secured the important three points to break away from the rest of the pack. Open goal misses, hitting the post, and having a goal disallowed is not really something that happens that often. Especially not all of it in one game.

Still, individual brilliance prevailed, as it so often does for the Catalans nowadays, and Getafe just couldn’t match that with any of their own. They did, however, give the hosts a run for their money, which was highly expected even prior to the game.

A hectic schedule for the winter champions means that we could see some interesting rotations and tactical changes implemented by Ernesto Valverde in the near future. The first part of the season is behind us but the fun is just starting.

Buckle up.

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lydiakirtoncop2 · 6 years

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A comprehensive timeline of men telling women what to wear

2016: BANNING THE BURKINI On the 28 July, 20 towns in the south of France decided to ban the ‘burkini’ and force Muslim women on beaches to remove their headscarves along the coast. Photos emerge of armed police surrounding one woman and forcing her to undress on the beach in front of hundreds of strangers, and protests take place all over the world in her defence. 2014: ISIS EXECUTES WOMEN NOT WEARING THE NIQAB WITH GLOVES Reports emerge from Iraq where ISIS claimed responsibility for stoning women to death because they weren’t wearing gloves with their niqabs.

2009: WOMEN ARE ARRESTED FOR WEARING TROUSERS Thirteen women – including journalist Lubna al-Hussein – were arrested in Khartoum, Sudan, because they wore trousers in public. Ten of the women were punished with a fine of 250 Sudanese pounds, and received ten lashes. Lubna was fines $200, but not flogged.

1998: AN ITALIAN JUDGE LETS A RAPIST WALK FREE BECAUSE HIS VICTIM WORE TIGHT JEANS When a 45-year-old driving instructor was accused of raping an 18-year-old girl in 1992, he was convicted and sentenced. Then six years later, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction – because his victim was wearing tight jeans. The defence argued that she must have helped the instructor remove her jeans – making the act consensual. The Italian Supreme Court said ‘it is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.’ 1979: IRAN REIMPOSES THE HIJAB The Islamic Revolution in Iran overturned the liberal laws that had been enforced over the last 40 years, and women were suddenly forbidden from appearing in public without a headscarf. Counterintuitively, this ruling was actually celebrated by many women – simply because they could leave the house for the first time without the objection of their husbands and fathers.

1942: WW2 RATIONING BRINGS ABOUT RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN’S CLOTHING While men’s clothing remained the same, the USA introduced ‘Regulation L85’ which set skirt lengths at 17 inches above the floor – no longer, and no shorter. At the same time, material for swimwear was restricted – so swimming costumes become smaller as a result. Within two years, the bikini had made its debut – but came accompanied by a the rule that women shouldn’t show their belly buttons. 1936: IRAN BANS THE HIJAB Iranian ruler Reza Shah made it illegal for all girls and women to wear the hijab in public, as part of a quick succession of liberal laws inspired by leaders in Afghanistan and Turkey. But the law was met with resistance from the religious majority, and many husbands and fathers began to forbid their daughters and wives from leaving the house so that they wouldn’t have to remove their headscarves.

1919: LUISA CAPETILLO IS SENT TO JAIL FOR WEARING TROUSERS Writer and activist Luisa Capetillo from Puerto Rico argues publicly that women should have the same rights as men. After wearing a man’s suit in public, she was sent to jail – although the judge eventually dropped the charges against her and set her free.

1890s: ANKLES ARE OUT. AND, ER, SO ARE TABLE LEGS… It was decided in the UK that women must cover their whole bodies in public – necklines were raised to just below the chin, and hemlines dropped to below the ankle. Diagrams were released to clarify what length of skirt was suitable for what age (four year old girls could wear dresses to just below the knee – but girls of 16 must wear dresses to the arch of their foot. Legs of wooden tables were covered up too, because they apparently resembled women’s legs. Which is insulting to say the least.

1800s: WOMEN GET POCKETS FOR THE FIRST TIME For the first time in British history, women’s dress patterns were allowed to include pockets. Until now, if women had access to money (which was significantly less often than men), they’d had to cut slits into the sides of their skirts. Sure, they could reach through to access two hanging drawstring pouches which they suspended on a belt underneath their dress, but it was considered vulgar for a woman to hide her hands (unless they were wearing gloves). Men, meanwhile, had pockets since the 1600s. And they worked just fine, by the way.

1600s: RICH WOMEN ARE MADE TO WEAR HIJABS Historians argue that during the Ottoman Empire and across the Middle East, male scholars began producing huge volumes of Islamic scripture and legal works to regain the patriarchal power that they’d lost in the centuries following Muhammad’s death. As a result, the hijab was deemed representative of female modesty and piety – while also symbolising the upper class. Poorer women, who worked as labourers, were able to avoid wearing it because of its impracticality while farming – meaning that ‘a veiled woman silently announced that her husband was rich enough to keep her idle.’

1550s: ‘THICK WAISTS’ ARE BANNED FROM COURTS IN FRANCE Those attending courts in France were forced to wear corsets made out of wood or whalebone – with guards checking upon entry. Laced tightly together, women worked to attain the smallest waist possible – often aiming for 14 or 16 inches. The trend soon spread overseas, and most women continued wearing them up until the 19th century.

1056: WOMEN IN GERMANY AREN’T ALLOWED TO WEAR SILVER, GOLD, OR PRECIOUS STONES Unless they’re married to a knight. Obviously.

900AD: CHINESE WOMEN START BINDING THEIR FEET In one of the cruelest fashions for women throughout history, women in China began being made to bind their feet during the sixth century. Seen as a symbol of beauty, legend has it that the Emperor at the time saw the dainty feet of one of his favourite courtesans, and enforced a ruling that all women in his court must make their feet tiny and curved too. The practise continued until 1949.

627AD: THE HIJAB IS IMPOSED FOR MUHAMMAD’S WIVES Originally, the word ‘hijab’ could mean ‘veiling’ or ‘seclusion’ – but it only became enforced when Muhammad began entertaining increasing numbers of male visitors in the mosque where he lived. The visitors would often sleep metres away from Muhammad’s wives’ quarters – so a ‘hijab’ was imposed to keep the women separate and ‘safe’ from the men. For a long time, historians believe that the phrase darabat al-hijab (donning the veil) was synonymous with ‘being Muhammad’s wife’. Wearing the hijab only entered the public sphere centuries after Muhammad’s death.

44BC: LAWS ENFORCE WOMEN’S CLOTHING As the Roman Republic transitioned into the Roman Empire, the whole toga-versus-stola thing became official, as a law was passed that officially forbade women from wearing the toga under any circumstances. At the same time, women’s rights were decreased. Again, just a coincidence.

200BC: MARRIED WOMEN ARE MADE TO DRESS DIFFERENTLY In Ancient Rome, women were made to start wearing a floor-length, modest gown called the ‘stola’ as soon as they were married. Up until this period, women had been allowed to wear the toga, just like men, but after 200BC it was considered ‘disgraceful’ for a woman to dress the same way as a man – and was often associated with prostitution or infidelity. Oh, and if you’re into facts – the Statue of Liberty wears a stola too.

400-500BC: MODESTY IS IMPOSED – KIND OF Nobody is completely certain why breasts suddenly started being covered up in Ancient Greece, but sculptures from that time show goddesses hiding their chests behind their hands, or dressing in over-sized, flowing robes that hung loosely over their upper bodies. Amazingly considering today’s approach to the female body, many paintings from this era still show women’s genitalia and upper thighs – although this eased off towards the turn of the millennium. Interestingly, as women became increasingly covered up, so Greece became an increasingly patriarchal society – as women were made to stay at home under the control of their fathers and husband. But clearly that’s just a huge coincidence.

1500BC: BREASTS ARE EVERYWHERE Historians reckon that women only began to cover their breasts in public about 3500 years ago – when men decided they were private, sexual body parts that needed to be tucked away. Prior to that, artwork from the era suggests that women were able to wander around topless without anyone batting an eyelid. Even during the days of Ancient Egypt, historians believe that women could choose whether to cover their breasts or not – often opting for elaborate dresses and designs that would leave one breast exposed. Read more at http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/reports/timeline-of-dress-codes-men-telling-women-what-to-wear-295043#2Sx8WwAsQ30rYypj.99

#http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/reports/timeline-of-dress-codes-men-telling-women-what-to-wear-2950432Sx8WwAsQ30rYypj.99

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legalseat · 7 years

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What We Can Learn About Criminal Justice From the Tragically Hip

Along with 4 million other Canadians, I watched the Tragically Hip end their tour with a nationally televised concert on August 20, 2016 from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario.

After learning of the news that the Hip’s poetic songwriter Gord Downie had brain cancer, I spent much of the summer of 2016 listening to the Hip. Many of the songs touched me deeply but as a criminal law professor two of them particularly stuck out. 38 Years Old deals with an 1972 prison escape from Millhaven Penitentiary and Wheat Kings explores David Milgaard’s wrongful conviction and its aftermath.

Shortly after the Kingston concert, I started writing the article recently published in a special edition of the Manitoba Law Journal. The article allowed me to re-visit issues- mandatory sentences and wrongful convictions- that I had previously written about. More importantly, it allowed me to think about criminal law in a different and more open way. It gave me a chance to borrow the words of Mohawk elder Janice Longboat “to think until I could feel”.

(To learn more about my analysis, )

38 Years Oldand Mandatory Punishment

38 Years Old is a sombre song about a 1972 prison break from Millhaven. The protagonist is “Mike” who has been in jail since he was 20 years old and had “never kissed a girl”. He killed the man who had raped his sister. He escapes and flees to his home only to be recaptured and returned to Millhaven which was an extremely violent prison opened prematurely to deal with the results of the infamous 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot.

In the article, I examine why Mike likely would not have a defence and how this reveals the limited ability of criminal law to determine blameworthiness. I also examine how Mike at the time would have been sentenced to death sentence for imprisonment, but have benefited by executive commutation of that mandatory sentence. Today the death sentence would not be available. It has been replaced by a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for murder. All murders. Progress of a sort.

The Mike of 38 Years Old is as realistic a hypothetical offender as the one recently used by the Court in Lloyd

to strike down a mandatory sentence for drug trafficking. But the Charter would probably not benefit Mike. The Supreme Court has already upheld mandatory life imprisonment under the Charter. (Disclosure, I unsuccessfully argued for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in R v Latimer in favour of justified exemptions from mandatory sentences).

More recently the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended that judges should be able to justify exemptions from all mandatory sentences and all mandatory restrictions on conditional sentences. Listening to 38 Years Old affirmed for me that this is a good idea and that the federal government should adopt escape hatches from all mandatory sentences.

So that is one law professor and frustrated law reformer’s take on 38 Years Old. But the Hip are not making that argument so part of the article tries to understand their message from the perspective of critical legal pluralism including the creation of belief systems that are alternatives to the law.

The message that come through for me is the importance of family and enduring bad times. When Mike escapes, he flees to his home. The song tells us that the family home has the “same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall. Been one seat empty eighteen years in all.”

Some historical research suggests that one of the 14 real escapees from Millhaven, like Mike, was captured at his parents’ home. The press speculated he may have returned to his Niagara home to cross the border to the US. Perhaps he simply wanted to see his family. The lesson I take from this is that even under a reformed criminal law, punishment remains something that must be endured and resisted by offenders and their families.

True to its rock roots, 38 Years Old allows us even for 4 minutes to imagine ourselves in the shoes of the offender. Bruce Springsteen has done important work in humanizing offenders and so has the Hip.

Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings is one of the Hip’s most popular songs. Like Springsteen’s Born in the USA, however, it can be misinterpreted by casual listeners.

It is vitally important to understand that Wheat Kings was released in 1992, the same year that theSupreme Court refusedto declare David Milgaard innocent while recognizing that his conviction was a miscarriage of justice.

The Court was not convinced on either a balance of probabilities or beyond a reasonable doubt that Milgaard was innocent. The Hip seemed to have a different opinion.

Wheat Kings recognized that wrongful convictions were “nothing new” at a time when the Canadian criminal justice system was still reluctant to admit it made mistakes. Interestingly in light of Gord Downie’s subsequent role in championing Indigenous issues, two of Canada’s better known wrongful convictions in 1992 involved Indigenous accused: Donald Marshall Jr. and Wilson Nepoose.

Wheat Kingsdeals with many still unaddressed issues about wrongful convictions. In its reference to “our Parents Prime Ministers” it evokes current controversies over the role of elected politicians in granting those who claim to be wrongfully convicted new trials and appeals. In its reference to “no one is interested in something you didn’t do”, it raises the issue of whether courts should make formal declarations of innocence.

Even after he was released from prison, David Milgaard suffered stigma both because of the Supreme Court’s failure to find him innocent and because the Saskatchewan Crown placed him in limbo by using a prosecutorial stay of proceedings. My article details how David Milgaard continued to fight in the courts to have his innocence recognized. He brought two civil actions but to no avail.

Milgaard’s innocence was only officially recognized when in 1997 advances in DNA testing revealed that Larry Fisher and not Milgaard was the real killer of Saskatoon nurse Gail Miller.

Although Wheat Kings can be interpreted as supporting various reforms of the law surrounding wrongful convictions, it, like 38 Years Old, also affirms the importance of resisting the law.

The Hip was prepared in 1992 to declare Milgaard innocent at a time when the Supreme Court was not prepared to do so. , I relate this interpretation of Wheat Kings to work on legal pluralism by a number of scholars including the late Robert Coverand the late Rod Macdonald. The article suggests that it is a good thing that alternative discourses whether they be in the media, science or art can exonerate people even when the justice system is unwilling to do so.

Conclusion

Although 38 Years Old and Wheat Kings are only 4 minute songs, we can learn much from them. Some of their wisdom relates the need to reform criminal justice in an attempt to minimize the human suffering depicted in the songs.

Some of the wisdom is an important reminder for those of us who live in the law, that the law is not everything. It is sometimes necessary to look outside of the law for strength to resist, mitigate and endure the inevitable errors and harms that any legal system will impose.

This is my 28th year of teaching criminal law, but during the summer and fall of 2016, I learned much about criminal justice by listening to Gord Downie and the Hip with my mind and with my heart.

What We Can Learn About Criminal Justice From the Tragically Hip published first on http://ift.tt/2vSFQ3P

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legalseat · 7 years

Text

What We Can Learn About Criminal Justice From the Tragically Hip

Along with 4 million other Canadians, I watched the Tragically Hip end their tour with a nationally televised concert on August 20, 2016 from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario.

(To learn more about my analysis, )

38 Years Oldand Mandatory Punishment

The Mike of 38 Years Old is as realistic a hypothetical offender as the one recently used by the Court in Lloyd

Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings is one of the Hip’s most popular songs. Like Springsteen’s Born in the USA, however, it can be misinterpreted by casual listeners.

The Court was not convinced on either a balance of probabilities or beyond a reasonable doubt that Milgaard was innocent. The Hip seemed to have a different opinion.

Milgaard’s innocence was only officially recognized when in 1997 advances in DNA testing revealed that Larry Fisher and not Milgaard was the real killer of Saskatoon nurse Gail Miller.

Although Wheat Kings can be interpreted as supporting various reforms of the law surrounding wrongful convictions, it, like 38 Years Old, also affirms the importance of resisting the law.

Conclusion

This is my 28th year of teaching criminal law, but during the summer and fall of 2016, I learned much about criminal justice by listening to Gord Downie and the Hip with my mind and with my heart.

What We Can Learn About Criminal Justice From the Tragically Hip published first on http://ift.tt/2vSFQ3P

0 notes