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benthejrporter · 7 months
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Oxford Graffiti 5
New HPANWO TV film: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2023/09/oxford-graffiti-5.html
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By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Published: Oct 14, 2023
I was raised to curse Israel and pray for the destruction of Jews, writes AYAAN HIRSI ALI... That's why I know all too well Hamas is another ISIS - whatever useful idiots in the West say
All across the West, there is no shortage of people blaming the horrors in Israel on Israel itself — and openly supporting the perpetrators.
The head of policy at the Community Security Trust, which monitors hate crimes committed against British Jews, has said: 'Anti-Semites are getting excited by the sight of dead Jews... Hamas murdering Israeli civilians has exhilarated them... We've had reports of people driving past synagogues shouting 'Kill the Jews'.'
Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain are currently three times higher than they were this time last year, the charity adds.
'Free Palestine' graffiti has been scrawled on a railway bridge in Golders Green, a Jewish area of north London, while in Oxford Street, one young woman — who may well have been radicalised in England — was filmed ripping down posters that pleaded for the safe return of the babies taken hostage by Hamas. 'Free Palestine, f*** you!' she screamed at an onlooker who dared to remonstrate with her.
On Thursday night in Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of people at a pro-Palestine rally, in which protesters chanted 'Israel murderer [sic]' and 'End the siege of Gaza.'
Outside the Sydney Opera House, about 1,000 protesters lit flares and waved Palestinian flags — and some were filmed chanting: 'Gas the Jews.'
In the U.S., meanwhile, 31 student groups at Harvard signed an open letter claiming that the 'Israeli regime' was 'entirely responsible for all unfolding violence', while California's Stanford University displayed a banner declaring that Palestine would be made free 'by any means necessary' — a sinister slogan that tacitly justifies Hamas's slaughter of children in pursuit of its aims.
Not to be outdone, the Chicago 'chapter' of the Black Lives Matter movement posted an image of a paraglider alongside the slogan 'I stand with Palestine'. The reference, of course, was to Hamas paragliders who descended on Israel's Supernova music festival last Saturday to rape and butcher at least 260 young people.
In short, anti-Semites the world over have been emboldened by this crisis, and Jews are once again being blamed for their own massacre. And I am not remotely surprised. In my childhood, I was steeped in the Islamist movement's noxious anti-Semitism — which has been on such ugly display this week.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, I spent my early years escaping political strife after my father was imprisoned for being an anti-government activist. We moved between countries before settling in Kenya.
The worst insult in the Somali community was to be called a 'Jew', not that any of us actually knew one. To be called a 'Jew' was so abhorrent, some felt justified in killing anyone who so dishonoured them with this 'slur'.
As a teenager in Nairobi in the 1980s, I joined the Muslim Brotherhood — the strict Sunni Islamist movement, founded in Egypt in 1928, from which Hamas ultimately descends.
I vividly remember sitting with my female fellows in mosques, cursing Israel and praying to Allah to destroy the Jews. We were certainly not interested in a peaceful 'two-state solution': we were taught to want to see Israel wiped off the map.
When I was 16, my school's teacher of religion was Sister Aziza. She read to us the Koran's lurid descriptions of the everlasting fire that burns flesh and dissolves skin — the place reserved for Jews.
Sister Aziza described Jews as physically monstrous, with horns coming from their heads, out of which flew devils that would corrupt the world. Jews controlled everything, she told us, and it was the duty of Muslims to destroy them.
It was a lot to take in for a teenager who read Western romance novels in secret, but I believed every word.
When the fatwa was issued against the British writer Salman Rushdie in 1989, a small crowd gathered in a Nairobi car park to burn a copy of his novel The Satanic Verses.
Sister Aziza urged us to join in the condemnations of Rushdie and I am ashamed to say I took part in the book-burning. I was certain Rushdie should be killed, but the scene nevertheless made me uncomfortable.
That seed of doubt grew over the next few years as I questioned why, if Allah was so just, women were treated as mere chattels in some Muslim families.
Over time, my questions turned into open rebellion against the Muslim Brotherhood, Islam and, ultimately, my family. 
My father sent me to relatives in Germany in 1992 so I could go from there to Canada to join the distant cousin he had married me off to. I ran away from that marriage and travelled to the Netherlands where I sought asylum.
Eventually, I became a member of the Dutch parliament, and later settled in America.
I abandoned my religion, but I have never lost my clear-sighted understanding, forged in my childhood, of Islamism's pathological hatred of Jews, as well as Muslims considered as heretics and non-Muslims in general.
The former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi — a one-time leader of the Muslim Brotherhood — declared that Muslims should 'nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred' of Jews. His organisation has done just that — and the despicable sentiment is the underlying context to Hamas's most recent attacks.
The truth, however, is that Hamas is no more a friend of the Palestinians than it is a friend of Israel.
Those who see the conflict as a simple territorial dispute between a colonial state and a dispossessed minority fail to recognise Hamas for what it really is: a gang of genocidal Islamist thugs backed by a theocratic, anti-Semitic regime in Iran.
Useful idiots on the far-Left in Western countries, who blindly support Hamas because they see it as a freedom-fighting group, harm the very people they claim to defend.
They say they want peace —and perhaps many of them do. But real peace talks based on the 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries have made painstaking but undeniable progress despite the efforts of Hamas.
Until Hamas's recent attacks, Saudi Arabia and Israel had looked set to normalise relations. This murderous incursion was an attempt to derail such talks — and thus ruin any chance of lasting peace.
Ordinary Palestinians want to build a prosperous, functioning society. Hamas, in its obsession with annihilating Israel, doesn't care about that. It wishes only to bring about a genocidal Islamist dystopia.
It is Hamas, after all, that holds Palestinians hostage in Gaza, setting up military installations in — and launching rockets from — civilian areas in the full knowledge that counterstrikes will kill innocent people.
It is Hamas that impoverishes Palestinians by stealing humanitarian aid to fund its terror. This is what 'by any means necessary' truly signifies: supreme callousness towards Palestinian life.
If you genuinely want to see peace between Israelis and Palestinians, or more generally between Muslims and Jews in the Middle East, then Hamas should be your enemy.
And even if — like many in the West, as we can now see — you don't care at all about Israeli or Jewish lives, even if you care only about the lives of Palestinians, Hamas is still your enemy. After all, Hamas ruthlessly persecutes any Palestinians who disagree with it: a 2022 U.S. State Department report found that, among other abuses, Hamas detained and assaulted critical journalists.
It is especially hostile to public figures associated with its rival Fatah, the Palestinian party voted out of office in Gaza in 2006, but which still runs the West Bank.
Hamas harasses its own dissidents, and has invaded the home of at least one young critical activist, telling his parents to keep their son under control — or else.
As a Dutch MP in 2004 and 2005, I travelled to the West Bank and met Palestinians.
In public, they spouted all the usual lines about Israel being their 'oppressor'. But once the cameras were switched off, they spoke more truthfully.
They complained bitterly about their treatment by Hamas and other radical groups, and told me how money meant to feed the people was being taken to fund those organisations' activities and their leaders' luxurious lifestyles. Arabs and Palestinians alike told me how fed up they were with conflict, and how ready they were for peace.
Hamas, like other Islamist groups, has done its best over the course of decades to stomp all over those wishes.
And it has been successful. The shocking rise in anti-Semitism in the West owes much to the entrenched Islamist networks that have spent years stirring up this ancient hatred.
Europe must now wake up to these fifth columnists who shamelessly celebrate violence and bigotry, promoting hatred of the Jewish minority in Europe.
The West must also wake up to the moral corruption of its own Hamas supporters, from Left-wing university students to flag-waving street thugs.
Meanwhile, elite human-rights organisations need to do far more to name terrorism when they see it.
It is horrifying to see Amnesty International claiming that one of the 'root causes' of the crisis is 'Israel's system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians'.
Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, should do more than merely equivocating in its insistence that no injustice can justify another.
This is not to argue that Israel should be immune from criticism. My point is that much of the criticism is at best misguided and at worst thinly veiled anti-Semitism.
Hamas, like Lebanon's Hezbollah, Isis in Syria and Iraq, Nigeria's Boko Haram, Somalia's Al-Shabaab and several other groups, are fighting not for the liberty and prosperity of Muslims but, ultimately, for the annihilation of Israel and the imposition of an Islamic state.
If Palestinians and other Muslims have to suffer for that aim, then so be it.
Well-meaning celebrities and broadcasters who, out of wilful ignorance and good intentions, hesitate to condemn Hamas as terrorists need to recognise this truth.
These are dark times for Israel and for the world, but there are some reasons to be hopeful.
This week's strong statement by America, Britain, France, Italy and Germany condemning Hamas while recognising the 'legitimate aspirations' of the Palestinians is a good sign.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's condemnation of Hamas is particularly welcome, given that, until recently, his party was led by a man who called these butchers his 'friends'.
And if Israel and the Arab states do not allow their worst instincts to rule them, talks may continue — and might just secure peace in the longer term.
Hamas is another Isis. They are the enemies of Israel; they are the enemies of all Jews; they are the enemies of Palestinians; they are the enemies of peace and freedom. They are the enemies of Western civilisation itself.
It is about time they were recognised as such.
To achieve a two-state solution — with free and prosperous Palestinians and a safe Israel — the first, fundamental step is for people to stop chanting slogans in support of terrorists and murderers, and for everyone to cry in unison: 'Down with Hamas!'
==
Remember two years ago when everyone was arguing about whether the terrorist assault and takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban was Trump's fault or Biden's fault? Today, people are scolding us not to call the same thing terrorism. It's "liberation" and "decolonization."
Remember in 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped the children and everyone was campaigning for their safe return because it was an unconscionable act of terrorism? Now kidnapping and murdering children is an act of legitimate revolution.
Remember when kids rushed to support ISIS the instant they rose, and people were appalled and argued over how could it could be possible to support a terrorist state that seized illegitimate power? Online radicalization was blamed, and many didn't want to believe that indoctrination had primed it well in advance. Now, if your Gender and Postcolonial Studies haven't activated you to support a terrorist state that has seized illegitimate power in the region, you're a bigot.
Remember when we cheered on the Iranians for finally fighting back against the regime of terror that hung over them, hoping for them to finally win the war against the regime? Now, Israel has to simply take whatever assaults of terrorism are dealt at them; it is, as Douglas Murray said, is the only country which is not allowed to win a war.
Remember when certain people liked to call everyone who disagreed with them "Nazis" and that punching them was the right thing to do? Now the extermination of all the Jews is the "Be Kind" position.
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How morally confused do you have to be, after all this, to side with the terrorists?
Hamas is to Palestine as ISIS is to Syria and the Taliban is to Afghanistan.
As I've posted about before, Islam is a supremacist ideology. Its goal is world domination. They tell us that. Loudly.
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https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-52/Hadith-196
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah 's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"
https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-1/Book-8/Hadith-387
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah."
Narrated Maimun bin Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
https://quranx.com/Hadith/Muslim/USC-MSA/Book-41/Hadith-6985
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
It has successfully weaponized intersectional shibboleths to trick useful idiots into thinking that the supremacist is the oppressed victim.
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toastydoll · 3 months
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Since rainbow high is getting extremely worrisome w the new line I’ve coped by making my own wave 6 (drumroll please):
Scarlet, Pumpkin, Mustard, Moss, Cornflower, Royal Purple!
Tbh I was just listing off colors I wished we had gotten in a gc and then realized a) they made a rainbow and b) they were all autumnal themed so I made an inadvertent autumnal wave! All with two outfits bc I’m allowed to dream. I want to make them eventually too bc hello my New Year’s resolution is to make more customs than last year.
Scarlett Connell (scarlet red/orange): a multimedia artist with a passion for eco-friendly graffiti, Scarlett Connell hails from the Pacific Northwest. Growing up on the Oregon coast, Scarlett fell in love with thrifting materials from old logging camps and cargo railroads. Her main outfit is a scarlet beanie, a scarlet plaid scarf, a white tank top, a pair of patchwork scarlet overalls, and graffitied scarlet doc martens. Her second outfit is a scarlet oversized flannel, faded rainbow dream t shirt, torn/cuffed scarlet jeans, and short scarlet rain boots. She keeps her makeup subtle save for a bold detail (scarlet tinged lip, blush, natural brows, graphic scarlet eyeliner) and her scarlet hair straight and chin length. Y’all…she’s the red/orange butch doll we’ve all been waiting for.
Paloma Gordon (pumpkin orange): a sweet-as-can-be baking and pastry major from Salem, Massachusetts. Growing up in such an autumnal region made Paloma fall in love with both the flavors and fashions of the season. Her primary outfit is a pair of cropped ankle pumpkin pants, pumpkin crocs, a white chef coat w pumpkin buttons, and a pumpkin orange neckerchief. Her second outfit is a pair of pumpkin plaid woolen pants, a white cable knit sweater w pumpkin detailing, and pumpkin suede booties. Her makeup is soft and warm yet very, very precise: much like her approach in the kitchen, and she keeps her hair in long curly pumpkin orange ringlets, tied back in a high ponytail. I always wished rh would do a baking major since culinary arts are some of the most impressive art forms in the world (we almost got there w poppy).
Amelie “Frenchie” du Mous (mustard yellow): always on point, Frenchie hones all of her high fashion skills from growing up in Paris into a neatly tailored fashion focus. Her primary outfit is a plaid mustard pinafore over a lace trimmed white blouse with bell sleeves, mustard yellow knee high socks, brown heeled oxfords with mustard laces, and a mustard beret trimmed in white lace. Her second outfit is a pair of knee length mustard plaid shorts w matching suspenders, platform mustard leather loafers, mustard mid calf socks, and a white puffed short sleeved blouse with a mustard plaid bow tie. Her hair is straight and long in two tails. We never got a dark academia girl so here she is to fall in love w scarlet
Ivy Pines (moss green): emerging from the woods for the first time in her life, Ivy is ready to bring her foraging gift to Rainbow High! Her art has always been from the forest around her and her family in Northern California, whether she’s crafting her own dyes or whittling intricate jewelry. Her first outfit is an ombré dip-dyed lace maxi dress (white into moss green) with thin straps, an oversized moss green cardigan, knit to texturally simulate moss (look up moss stitch w this specific rough spin yarn istg it looks just like moss), moss sandals, moss socks, and wooden jewelry with moss jewel accents. Her second outfit is moss green crochet pants, moss flats, and a white peasant top w moss embroidery. Her makeup is natural with mossy green eyeshadow, and her hair is loose beachy waves. She’d come w alt heeled feet but both her shoes would be flat :0. She’s the mori girl we deserved but never actually got.
Corinne St. Germaine (cornflower blue): traveling all the way from Middle-of-Nowhere, Nebraska, Rainbow High is Corinne’s first interaction outside of her hometown’s sixty people. She’s not totally ignorant of the world though—she’s actually huge on the internet! Her fashion style has been dubbed Lolita Americana: gold rush pioneer outfits through a cute girly lens. Her first outfit is a cornflower blue pioneer dress with a knee length hem, high neck collar, long slightly puffed sleeves, and white apron, as well as lace knee high cornflower stockings, cornflower leather ankle boots, and a cornflower bonnet trimmed in white lace. Her second outfit is a cornflower wool coat, long cornflower wool skirt, and knee high cornflower riding boots. Her hair would have a soft wave and probably be in a half up style, and her makeup would be soft. In a perfect world she’s also got a parasol >:3
Leanna Royale (royal purple): Known for clothing real life royals and only the most fashionable celebrities, the prestigious House Royale has unveiled its latest stride into the fashion world: a daughter named Leanna. Raised from birth on fine art and livery, Leanna is a princess in all but political power. Her first outfit is a polished royal purple velvet pantsuit with a royal satin shirt and purple velvet heeled pumps. Her second outfit is a silk bejeweled minidress, royal purple bejeweled strap heels, and a royal purple fur stole. Her makeup is elegant and refined, complete with a royal purple lip. Her hair is long royal purple locs in an elegant updo, and yes: she has a tiara. She’s every bit of posh violet wishes she could be (/hj)
I’m gonna try and make these! Bases would probably be whatever I can find that’s cheap, though a good visualization I’m going on rn is based on the color create dolls (scarlet and mustard for green eyes, pumpkin and royal for purple eyes, cornflower and moss for blue eyes). Maybe I won’t go so far to do two outfits but I’ll try and at least make one for each :)
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LA SQUADRA'S CRACK FILES
Things La Squadra Members are Not Allowed to do
Part 3
1. Applications forms with the subject 'Respectfully requesting a bullet to head' will be rejected.
2. Please don't fart and say, "Y'all smell popcorn?"
3. Avoid slapping each other to 'equalize' the pain.
4. Discussions regarding 'Who put those two 'ass' in assassination' is forbidden, especially during team meetings.
5. Not allowed to polish Pesci's head.
6. The teddy bear is not your second in command in the army of darkness.
7. Do not place your fellow members in the giant hamster ball.
8. Do not place your Stand in the giant hamster ball.
9. Do not wrap your arms around your fellow member's waist while you're on a motorcycle.
10 Even if they consent to it.
11. 'I've learnt this in the military' is not an excuse to serve your team members a bowl of banana and ketchup for breakfast.
12. Or ketchup filled hard boiled egg.
13. Risotto and Prosciutto are restricted from going undercover as anyone's 'Sugar Daddies' ever again.
14. Lowering the volume of the radio in the car does not help you see better, no matter what Ghiaccio says.
15. Not allowed to sing 'We're off to see the wizard' while heading to Risotto's office.
16. Retire to the bathroom when you need to, without declaring your 'desire to sacrifice your children'.
17. Glittery/Chime sound effects from Power Point are not acceptable whenever Risotto walks in.
18. In case someone is nauseous, you are not allowed to ask the whereabouts of the 'father'.
19. Members with long hair are requested not to scare the members with short hair using that snake thing you do on the bathroom tiles.
20. You are not allowed to randomly pull out a fish from the fish tank to cook it.
21. Say 'I need my share of the loot' instead of 'I need my share of the booty' like a normal person. (Booty Definition according to Oxford Dictionary: valuable stolen goods)
22. Please do not spray graffiti saying 'Risotto Nero was here' on random cars.
23. Feeding cows chocolate bars does not produce chocolate milk.
Masterlist
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lgcbk · 3 months
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⸻ CHANGES.
( 12.23 ) He's greeted by the dim glow of a hall light as he enters the apartment.
He leaves his sneakers by the door. Doesn't bother to neatly place them next to his father's Oxfords. Not that it would matter if he did, anyway. His parents aren't home. Wouldn't be for at least a few more days.
The move is next week. You'll have to get your things.
The message read. The lack of explanation wasn't unusual. He doesn't bother to call. To clarify. What good would come of even asking? He knows now that he and his parents live completely separate lives. He likes to think he's known that for a while. Their contractual familial agreement had run its term long before he'd left home. He's stopped expecting there to be some soft of miraculous change in his absence. He's come to terms with it despite the thoughts that still cross his mind every now and again. If I just keep hoping, wishing, praying - it will be different. It has to be different.
Byeongkwan wanders around his childhood home first, stepping over haphazardly packed boxes and moving bags waiting for whatever service company would be arriving by the end of the week. The fridge is empty save for a few condiments and partially emptied takeout containers. The living room is devoid of any personal touches, plaques and certificates tucked away in safe foam wrapping. Their bedroom is already packed, closets laid bare leaving a few empty hangers and discarded undershirts in the far corner. His mother's trinkets swiped from the dresser.
He wonders where his parents are spending the the holiday. A work function? Some stuffy hotel toiling away at their laptops like last year? Their new place? For once he isn't angry. Doesn't long for some semblance of 'family togetherness' during the season that touted it as a time to be cherished.
His room is barely touched, though. Just as he'd left it. A desk littered with old textbooks, crumpled sheets of paper, and a soccer trophy that had fallen from its shelf, requiring a bit of superglue to repair it. The fan he'd kept in the corner of the room, coated with a layer of dust. His old keyboard with its tricky keys from overuse - and that one Red Bull incident.
His vinyl wall is still intact, its rows of cover art up on display like his own personal mural. Byeongkwan rolls in his empty suitcase reserved for the more fragile items, and begins to toss the rest into some leftover garbage bags. Jeans, uniforms, old shoes, yearbooks graffitied with designs and vulgar notes from his friends back in high school. He moves on to his other keepsakes. Scholarly certificates, awards from piano competitions, class rank notes. He wasn't a bad kid, he thinks.
It takes him longer than he'd expected to rummage through his old things - afternoon became night, night became a new day without sight of his parents. He'd managed to discard most of his belongings in between listening sessions on his old vintage record player and a few meal breaks. Soon, all that remained was a loosely wrapped box under his desk, unaddressed. He drops into a crosslegged seat and slides it over, shifting around some tissue paper to reveal a new soccer jersey, some loose leaf tea, and random convenience store snacks. A birthday gift for his grandfather. "From the family." Forgotten and tossed in with the rest of his things. He huffs in frustration - an understatement considering how his blood began to boil at the thought of yet another missed occasion. Another let down.
It has to be different.
And he could make it different. He could makes things better. Make them right.
He tucks the box under his arm, gathers up his bags and suitcase, and makes his way out of the apartment. Into the cold morning. He doesn't give the place a second glance. Doesn't wait for another wave of melancholy nostalgia.
This was a goodbye.
A good riddance.
A new start.
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2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize RAYMAR TRADITIONAL ART AWARD FINALIST: Ant Carver - “Holding On To Letting Go" [Oil paint on aluminium panel]
“Ant Carver graduated from Oxford Brookes with a degree in Fine Art and now works from a studio in Whitechapel, London. He is a figurative painter who combines traditional oil painting techniques with a contemporary style working on aluminium panel. Hipanelsntings connect realistic elements together with looser, more abstract mark-making and etched elements. His work explores life experiences, most recently linked to his own reflections on grief and loss. Alongside his colourful or monochromatic figures, he incorporates symbolism to ask questions about relationships, human interaction and the vulnerability of life. His interest in art originated from a passion for street art and graffiti.”
The 2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is proudly sponsored by:GOLD SPONSORS: Raymar Art, INPRNT, iCanvas, Yasha Young Projects, ArtStation SILVER SPONSORS: SmArt School, PoetsArtists, Digitalprintmaker, Static Medium Print & Photo, Rosemary & Co Artists Brushes See all 50 Traditional Art Award Finalists at https://buff.ly/2F2oww9 [link in our profile]
...
#beautifulbizarre #beautifulbizarreartprize #internationalartprize #artprize #painting #traditionalart #painter #lowbrowart #alternativeart #artwork #style #contemporaryart #newcontemporary #art #artist  #visualart
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staarnews · 3 years
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The Very Messy Story of a Celebrity Nightclub Gone Wrong
War has broken out in London’s clubland with swastika graffiti, claims of death threats and “mercenaries” fighting for control of a legendary nightspot.
Since it reopened in 2012, The Scotch of St. James has become a haunt for A-listers and aristocrats including Rihanna, Harry Styles and Prince William, hosting private parties for fashion brands and album launches.
Back in its heyday in the 60s, it was famed for attracting rock-and-roll royalty – including Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix – as well as drug-fuelled punch-ups. But today, it's the owners not the celebrity patrons who are fighting.
The recent hostilities have spilled out of the courtroom and into the streets, leading one of the club’s partners, Tim Lalic, to flee abroad in apparent fear for his life and the other to hire bodyguards.
Before Lalic, 37, abandoned his Hampstead home, he sent the Metropolitan Police a lengthy dossier claiming that his millionaire business partner, Vahram Papazyan, was using thugs to intimidate and blackmail him into handing over the club.
CCTV footage attached to Lalic’s police complaint shows semi-hooded men delivering legal letters on one day and on another, spraying a swastika on his parents’ front door.
Lalic, who is originally from Croatia and now has a British passport, also claims a swastika and the word “PEADO” [sic] were daubed in the same yellow paint on either side of his black Range Rover.
Papazyan, 34, told World News that Lalic’s accusations were “completely false”, and that he was not behind any of these threats. He said that his family’s company in the United Arab Emirates is owed £3.6 million from bankrolling his push to be a behind-the-scenes club owner, with Lalic as the day-to-day manager. But Lalic, who he described as his best friend, had “fraudulently” taken control of The Scotch.
During the period just before Christmas, when the COVID lockdown in England was briefly lifted, Papazyan arrived with heavies at the entrance to the club in Mason’s Yard, a cobbled cul-de-sac behind Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, central London.
Doormen at The Scotch refused him entry, which led to a tense stand-off in front of regular guests. Pulling heavily on his cigarette, a “fuming” Papazyan leaned towards a doorman and outlined what sounded like a plan to storm the door and take over the club if Lalic, who was inside, didn’t cede control.
The exchange, recorded on the bouncer’s body-worn camera, captures Papazyan saying he'd hired “mercenaries [on] 10K per day.”
Door storming is a tactic rival security companies use to take the contract from a sitting company by showing up their weakness. Alternatively, a rival club owner can send in thugs to provoke violence in the hope that the club’s licence will be revoked. Door storming to take outright control of a club is rare.
“I had security with me because I was worried about what was going to happen when I got inside. They were paid. I was trying to as much as possible create a storm outside.
He was eventually allowed in on his own to talk to Lalic. The sit-down was heated. “I told him I was very upset and would see it through to the end,” Papazyan said.
The Scotch of St. James opened its doors on the 14th of July 1965 with a launch attended by both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and many other celebrity guests. Unlike many of its rock patrons, The Scotch survived the 70s but was in terminal decline as tastes changed in the 80s, when it became an upmarket strip club.
It could have remained another dance floor death in clubland had two best friends, who met at Oxford Brookes University, not decided to make a move on London in 2011.
At the time, Lalic was running Papazyan’s martial arts-gym business in Oxford. Keen to move into the world of posh London clubs and bars, the pair were introduced to Freddie Achom, who ran the successful Mayfair nightclub Jalouse – formerly the Hanover Grand. Alongside his A-list contacts, Achom had a fraud conviction for a wine scam that cost him a year in prison.
Papazyan and Lalic formed an uneasy alliance with Achom and in October 2011, they took over The Scotch lease for £275,000. The trio knew nothing about the venue’s seminal place in 60s London. But when Achom learned of the history, he suggested resurrecting The Scotch brand to “bring back some old names too."
After a £300,000 refurbishment, the club re-opened on the 19th of January 2012. Achom effectively ran it with his team from Jalouse. A new rock royalty flocked to The Scotch, along with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Stella McCartney had a private party there, and soon Lalic and Papazyan found that their own guests were being turned away from the nightspot they owned, according to a source.
In September 2012, the pair took back control and barred Achom from The Scotch. But he sued and won a payout two years later.
Having lost their celebrity pied piper, Papazyan and Lalic went into partnership with Carl Hirschmann, a 32-year-old Swiss millionaire. Hirschmann was heir to the Jet Aviation fortune and already had quite a reputation on the international party circuit. He was linked to a former Miss Switzerland, hotel heiress Paris Hilton and model Noemie Lenoir.
Hirschmann also owned Le Baron, an exclusive Zurich nightclub for the Swiss elite, but wanted to move away from that scene when Papazyan and Lalic approached him through a mutual friend.
“They needed cash, basically. I said I don’t want anything to do with nightclubs but if I can come in and out of that little spot and have a place where I’m known and I don’t have to worry about the door – that’s how I came to be involved indirectly,” Hirschmann, speaking in 2016, said. According to court documents, he put £650,000 into The Scotch through his Malta-based company Heaven Holdings Limited.
The Swiss playboy saw The Scotch as a “little speakeasy” where he could entertain close friends and relax in “a civilised environment where you don’t have little kids spraying Champagne around and jumping to bad music.”
However, in May 2016, Hirschmann was arrested for assaulting a Scotch punter who was hospitalised with a cut to the head from a flying glass. He emailed his victim begging him not to “destroy” his life by pressing charges. But a trial went ahead and Hirschmann pleaded guilty to the assault.
At the time of the assault, Hirschmann had only recently left prison for having a 15-year-old girl perform oral sex on him in the toilet of his Swiss nightclub. He claimed lies were told about her age and he was targeted because of his fame and fortune, but pleaded guilty and served one year in open prison conditions where he was allowed out during the day.
Papazyan and Lalic bought out Hirschmann in 2017. Documents show he was paid £520,000. But Papazyan claims his family personally paid another £400,000 to seal the deal.
At around the same time, HM Revenue and Customs began a criminal investigation into The Scotch and other venues owned by Papazyan and Lalic, including the Match Bar and B Soho. The taxman eventually agreed on a £1.2 million payment to settle the case.
Steven Miley
0 notes
rmlnewss · 3 years
Text
The Very Messy Story of a Celebrity Nightclub Gone Wrong
War has broken out in London’s clubland with swastika graffiti, claims of death threats and “mercenaries” fighting for control of a legendary nightspot.
Since it reopened in 2012, The Scotch of St. James has become a haunt for A-listers and aristocrats including Rihanna, Harry Styles and Prince William, hosting private parties for fashion brands and album launches.
Back in its heyday in the 60s, it was famed for attracting rock-and-roll royalty – including Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix – as well as drug-fuelled punch-ups. But today, it's the owners not the celebrity patrons who are fighting.
The recent hostilities have spilled out of the courtroom and into the streets, leading one of the club’s partners, Tim Lalic, to flee abroad in apparent fear for his life and the other to hire bodyguards.
Before Lalic, 37, abandoned his Hampstead home, he sent the Metropolitan Police a lengthy dossier claiming that his millionaire business partner, Vahram Papazyan, was using thugs to intimidate and blackmail him into handing over the club.
CCTV footage attached to Lalic’s police complaint shows semi-hooded men delivering legal letters on one day and on another, spraying a swastika on his parents’ front door.
Lalic, who is originally from Croatia and now has a British passport, also claims a swastika and the word “PEADO” [sic] were daubed in the same yellow paint on either side of his black Range Rover.
Papazyan, 34, told World News that Lalic’s accusations were “completely false”, and that he was not behind any of these threats. He said that his family’s company in the United Arab Emirates is owed £3.6 million from bankrolling his push to be a behind-the-scenes club owner, with Lalic as the day-to-day manager. But Lalic, who he described as his best friend, had “fraudulently” taken control of The Scotch.
During the period just before Christmas, when the COVID lockdown in England was briefly lifted, Papazyan arrived with heavies at the entrance to the club in Mason’s Yard, a cobbled cul-de-sac behind Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, central London.
Doormen at The Scotch refused him entry, which led to a tense stand-off in front of regular guests. Pulling heavily on his cigarette, a “fuming” Papazyan leaned towards a doorman and outlined what sounded like a plan to storm the door and take over the club if Lalic, who was inside, didn’t cede control.
The exchange, recorded on the bouncer’s body-worn camera, captures Papazyan saying he'd hired “mercenaries [on] 10K per day.”
Door storming is a tactic rival security companies use to take the contract from a sitting company by showing up their weakness. Alternatively, a rival club owner can send in thugs to provoke violence in the hope that the club’s licence will be revoked. Door storming to take outright control of a club is rare.
“I had security with me because I was worried about what was going to happen when I got inside. They were paid. I was trying to as much as possible create a storm outside.
He was eventually allowed in on his own to talk to Lalic. The sit-down was heated. “I told him I was very upset and would see it through to the end,” Papazyan said.
The Scotch of St. James opened its doors on the 14th of July 1965 with a launch attended by both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and many other celebrity guests. Unlike many of its rock patrons, The Scotch survived the 70s but was in terminal decline as tastes changed in the 80s, when it became an upmarket strip club.
It could have remained another dance floor death in clubland had two best friends, who met at Oxford Brookes University, not decided to make a move on London in 2011.
At the time, Lalic was running Papazyan’s martial arts-gym business in Oxford. Keen to move into the world of posh London clubs and bars, the pair were introduced to Freddie Achom, who ran the successful Mayfair nightclub Jalouse – formerly the Hanover Grand. Alongside his A-list contacts, Achom had a fraud conviction for a wine scam that cost him a year in prison.
Papazyan and Lalic formed an uneasy alliance with Achom and in October 2011, they took over The Scotch lease for £275,000. The trio knew nothing about the venue’s seminal place in 60s London. But when Achom learned of the history, he suggested resurrecting The Scotch brand to “bring back some old names too."
After a £300,000 refurbishment, the club re-opened on the 19th of January 2012. Achom effectively ran it with his team from Jalouse. A new rock royalty flocked to The Scotch, along with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Stella McCartney had a private party there, and soon Lalic and Papazyan found that their own guests were being turned away from the nightspot they owned, according to a source.
In September 2012, the pair took back control and barred Achom from The Scotch. But he sued and won a payout two years later.
Having lost their celebrity pied piper, Papazyan and Lalic went into partnership with Carl Hirschmann, a 32-year-old Swiss millionaire. Hirschmann was heir to the Jet Aviation fortune and already had quite a reputation on the international party circuit. He was linked to a former Miss Switzerland, hotel heiress Paris Hilton and model Noemie Lenoir.
Hirschmann also owned Le Baron, an exclusive Zurich nightclub for the Swiss elite, but wanted to move away from that scene when Papazyan and Lalic approached him through a mutual friend.
“They needed cash, basically. I said I don’t want anything to do with nightclubs but if I can come in and out of that little spot and have a place where I’m known and I don’t have to worry about the door – that’s how I came to be involved indirectly,” Hirschmann, speaking in 2016, said. According to court documents, he put £650,000 into The Scotch through his Malta-based company Heaven Holdings Limited.
The Swiss playboy saw The Scotch as a “little speakeasy” where he could entertain close friends and relax in “a civilised environment where you don’t have little kids spraying Champagne around and jumping to bad music.”
However, in May 2016, Hirschmann was arrested for assaulting a Scotch punter who was hospitalised with a cut to the head from a flying glass. He emailed his victim begging him not to “destroy” his life by pressing charges. But a trial went ahead and Hirschmann pleaded guilty to the assault.
At the time of the assault, Hirschmann had only recently left prison for having a 15-year-old girl perform oral sex on him in the toilet of his Swiss nightclub. He claimed lies were told about her age and he was targeted because of his fame and fortune, but pleaded guilty and served one year in open prison conditions where he was allowed out during the day.
Papazyan and Lalic bought out Hirschmann in 2017. Documents show he was paid £520,000. But Papazyan claims his family personally paid another £400,000 to seal the deal.
At around the same time, HM Revenue and Customs began a criminal investigation into The Scotch and other venues owned by Papazyan and Lalic, including the Match Bar and B Soho. The taxman eventually agreed on a £1.2 million payment to settle the case.
Wendy Carter
1 note · View note
harrymm · 3 years
Text
The Very Messy Story of a Celebrity Nightclub Gone Wrong
War has broken out in London’s clubland with swastika graffiti, claims of death threats and “mercenaries” fighting for control of a legendary nightspot.
Since it reopened in 2012, The Scotch of St. James has become a haunt for A-listers and aristocrats including Rihanna, Harry Styles and Prince William, hosting private parties for fashion brands and album launches.
Back in its heyday in the 60s, it was famed for attracting rock-and-roll royalty – including Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix – as well as drug-fuelled punch-ups. But today, it's the owners not the celebrity patrons who are fighting.
The recent hostilities have spilled out of the courtroom and into the streets, leading one of the club’s partners, Tim Lalic, to flee abroad in apparent fear for his life and the other to hire bodyguards.
Before Lalic, 37, abandoned his Hampstead home, he sent the Metropolitan Police a lengthy dossier claiming that his millionaire business partner, Vahram Papazyan, was using thugs to intimidate and blackmail him into handing over the club.
CCTV footage attached to Lalic’s police complaint shows semi-hooded men delivering legal letters on one day and on another, spraying a swastika on his parents’ front door.
Lalic, who is originally from Croatia and now has a British passport, also claims a swastika and the word “PEADO” [sic] were daubed in the same yellow paint on either side of his black Range Rover.
Papazyan, 34, told World News that Lalic’s accusations were “completely false”, and that he was not behind any of these threats. He said that his family’s company in the United Arab Emirates is owed £3.6 million from bankrolling his push to be a behind-the-scenes club owner, with Lalic as the day-to-day manager. But Lalic, who he described as his best friend, had “fraudulently” taken control of The Scotch.
During the period just before Christmas, when the COVID lockdown in England was briefly lifted, Papazyan arrived with heavies at the entrance to the club in Mason’s Yard, a cobbled cul-de-sac behind Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, central London.
Doormen at The Scotch refused him entry, which led to a tense stand-off in front of regular guests. Pulling heavily on his cigarette, a “fuming” Papazyan leaned towards a doorman and outlined what sounded like a plan to storm the door and take over the club if Lalic, who was inside, didn’t cede control.
The exchange, recorded on the bouncer’s body-worn camera, captures Papazyan saying he'd hired “mercenaries [on] 10K per day.”
Door storming is a tactic rival security companies use to take the contract from a sitting company by showing up their weakness. Alternatively, a rival club owner can send in thugs to provoke violence in the hope that the club’s licence will be revoked. Door storming to take outright control of a club is rare.
“I had security with me because I was worried about what was going to happen when I got inside. They were paid. I was trying to as much as possible create a storm outside.
He was eventually allowed in on his own to talk to Lalic. The sit-down was heated. “I told him I was very upset and would see it through to the end,” Papazyan said.
The Scotch of St. James opened its doors on the 14th of July 1965 with a launch attended by both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and many other celebrity guests. Unlike many of its rock patrons, The Scotch survived the 70s but was in terminal decline as tastes changed in the 80s, when it became an upmarket strip club.
It could have remained another dance floor death in clubland had two best friends, who met at Oxford Brookes University, not decided to make a move on London in 2011.
At the time, Lalic was running Papazyan’s martial arts-gym business in Oxford. Keen to move into the world of posh London clubs and bars, the pair were introduced to Freddie Achom, who ran the successful Mayfair nightclub Jalouse – formerly the Hanover Grand. Alongside his A-list contacts, Achom had a fraud conviction for a wine scam that cost him a year in prison.
Papazyan and Lalic formed an uneasy alliance with Achom and in October 2011, they took over The Scotch lease for £275,000. The trio knew nothing about the venue’s seminal place in 60s London. But when Achom learned of the history, he suggested resurrecting The Scotch brand to “bring back some old names too."
After a £300,000 refurbishment, the club re-opened on the 19th of January 2012. Achom effectively ran it with his team from Jalouse. A new rock royalty flocked to The Scotch, along with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Stella McCartney had a private party there, and soon Lalic and Papazyan found that their own guests were being turned away from the nightspot they owned, according to a source.
In September 2012, the pair took back control and barred Achom from The Scotch. But he sued and won a payout two years later.
Having lost their celebrity pied piper, Papazyan and Lalic went into partnership with Carl Hirschmann, a 32-year-old Swiss millionaire. Hirschmann was heir to the Jet Aviation fortune and already had quite a reputation on the international party circuit. He was linked to a former Miss Switzerland, hotel heiress Paris Hilton and model Noemie Lenoir.
Hirschmann also owned Le Baron, an exclusive Zurich nightclub for the Swiss elite, but wanted to move away from that scene when Papazyan and Lalic approached him through a mutual friend.
“They needed cash, basically. I said I don’t want anything to do with nightclubs but if I can come in and out of that little spot and have a place where I’m known and I don’t have to worry about the door – that’s how I came to be involved indirectly,” Hirschmann, speaking in 2016, said. According to court documents, he put £650,000 into The Scotch through his Malta-based company Heaven Holdings Limited.
The Swiss playboy saw The Scotch as a “little speakeasy” where he could entertain close friends and relax in “a civilised environment where you don’t have little kids spraying Champagne around and jumping to bad music.”
However, in May 2016, Hirschmann was arrested for assaulting a Scotch punter who was hospitalised with a cut to the head from a flying glass. He emailed his victim begging him not to “destroy” his life by pressing charges. But a trial went ahead and Hirschmann pleaded guilty to the assault.
At the time of the assault, Hirschmann had only recently left prison for having a 15-year-old girl perform oral sex on him in the toilet of his Swiss nightclub. He claimed lies were told about her age and he was targeted because of his fame and fortune, but pleaded guilty and served one year in open prison conditions where he was allowed out during the day.
Papazyan and Lalic bought out Hirschmann in 2017. Documents show he was paid £520,000. But Papazyan claims his family personally paid another £400,000 to seal the deal.
At around the same time, HM Revenue and Customs began a criminal investigation into The Scotch and other venues owned by Papazyan and Lalic, including the Match Bar and B Soho. The taxman eventually agreed on a £1.2 million payment to settle the case.
Harry Morris
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ashnouriimageblog · 3 years
Text
The Very Messy Story of a Celebrity Nightclub Gone Wrong
A dispute between the owners of The Scotch of St. James has exposed the shady world behind London’s A-list nightspots.
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War has broken out in London’s clubland with swastika graffiti, claims of death threats and “mercenaries” fighting for control of a legendary nightspot. 
Since it reopened in 2012, The Scotch of St. James has become a haunt for A-listers and aristocrats including Rihanna, Harry Styles and Prince William, hosting private parties for fashion brands and album launches.
Back in its heyday in the 60s, it was famed for attracting rock-and-roll royalty – including Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix  – as well as drug-fuelled punch-ups. But today, it's the owners not the celebrity patrons who are fighting. 
The recent hostilities have spilled out of the courtroom and into the streets, leading one of the club’s partners, Tim Lalic, to flee abroad in apparent fear for his life and the other to hire bodyguards. 
Before Lalic, 37, abandoned his Hampstead home, he sent the Metropolitan Police a lengthy dossier claiming that his millionaire business partner, Vahram Papazyan, was using thugs to intimidate and blackmail him into handing over the club. 
CCTV footage attached to Lalic’s police complaint shows semi-hooded men delivering legal letters on one day and on another, spraying a swastika on his parents’ front door.
Lalic, who is originally from Croatia and now has a British passport, also claims a swastika and the word “PEADO” [sic] were daubed in the same yellow paint on either side of his black Range Rover. 
Papazyan, 34, told VICE World News that Lalic’s accusations were “completely false”, and that he was not behind any of these threats. He said that his family’s company in the United Arab Emirates is owed £3.6 million from bankrolling his push to be a behind-the-scenes club owner, with Lalic as the day-to-day manager. But Lalic, who he described as his best friend, had “fraudulently” taken control of The Scotch.  
During the period just before Christmas, when the COVID lockdown in England was briefly lifted, Papazyan arrived with heavies at the entrance to the club in Mason’s Yard, a cobbled cul-de-sac behind Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, central London. 
Doormen at The Scotch refused him entry, which led to a tense stand-off in front of regular guests. Pulling heavily on his cigarette, a “fuming” Papazyan leaned towards a doorman and outlined what sounded like a plan to storm the door and take over the club if Lalic, who was inside, didn’t cede control. 
The exchange, recorded on the bouncer’s body-worn camera, captures Papazyan saying he'd hired “mercenaries [on] 10K per day.” 
Door storming is a tactic rival security companies use to take the contract from a sitting company by showing up their weakness. Alternatively, a rival club owner can send in thugs to provoke violence in the hope that the club’s licence will be revoked. Door storming to take outright control of a club is rare. 
“I had security with me because I was worried about what was going to happen when I got inside. They were paid. I was trying to as much as possible create a storm outside,” Papazyan told VICE World News.
He was eventually allowed in on his own to talk to Lalic. The sit-down was heated. “I told him I was very upset and would see it through to the end,” Papazyan said.  
The Scotch of St. James opened its doors on the 14th of July 1965 with a launch attended by both the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and many other celebrity guests. Unlike many of its rock patrons, The Scotch survived the 70s but was in terminal decline as tastes changed in the 80s, when it became an upmarket strip club.
It could have remained another dance floor death in clubland had two best friends, who met at Oxford Brookes University, not decided to make a move on London in 2011. 
At the time, Lalic was running Papazyan’s martial arts-gym business in Oxford. Keen to move into the world of posh London clubs and bars, the pair were introduced to Freddie Achom, who ran the successful Mayfair nightclub Jalouse – formerly the Hanover Grand. Alongside his A-list contacts, Achom had a fraud conviction for a wine scam that cost him a year in prison.
Papazyan and Lalic formed an uneasy alliance with Achom and in October 2011, they took over The Scotch lease for £275,000. The trio knew nothing about the venue’s seminal place in 60s London. But when Achom learned of the history, he suggested resurrecting The Scotch brand to “bring back some old names too." 
After a £300,000 refurbishment, the club re-opened on the 19th of January 2012. Achom effectively ran it with his team from Jalouse. A new rock royalty flocked to The Scotch, along with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Stella McCartney had a private party there, and soon Lalic and Papazyan found that their own guests were being turned away from the nightspot they owned, according to a source. 
In September 2012, the pair took back control and barred Achom from The Scotch. But he sued and won a payout two years later. 
Having lost their celebrity pied piper, Papazyan and Lalic went into partnership with Carl Hirschmann, a 32-year-old Swiss millionaire. Hirschmann was heir to the Jet Aviation fortune and already had quite a reputation on the international party circuit. He was linked to a former Miss Switzerland, hotel heiress Paris Hilton and model Noemie Lenoir.
Hirschmann also owned Le Baron, an exclusive Zurich nightclub for the Swiss elite, but wanted to move away from that scene when Papazyan and Lalic approached him through a mutual friend. 
“They needed cash, basically. I said I don’t want anything to do with nightclubs but if I can come in and out of that little spot and have a place where I’m known and I don’t have to worry about the door – that’s how I came to be involved indirectly,” Hirschmann, speaking in 2016, said. According to court documents, he put £650,000 into The Scotch through his Malta-based company Heaven Holdings Limited. 
The Swiss playboy saw The Scotch as a “little speakeasy” where he could entertain close friends and relax in “a civilised environment where you don’t have little kids spraying Champagne around and jumping to bad music.” 
However, in May 2016, Hirschmann was arrested for assaulting a Scotch punter who was hospitalised with a cut to the head from a flying glass. He emailed his victim begging him not to “destroy” his life by pressing charges. But a trial went ahead and Hirschmann pleaded guilty to the assault.
At the time of the assault, Hirschmann had only recently left prison for having a 15-year-old girl perform oral sex on him in the toilet of his Swiss nightclub. He claimed lies were told about her age and he was targeted because of his fame and fortune, but pleaded guilty and served one year in open prison conditions where he was allowed out during the day. 
Papazyan and Lalic bought out Hirschmann in 2017. Documents show he was paid £520,000. But Papazyan claims his family personally paid another £400,000 to seal the deal. 
At around the same time, HM Revenue and Customs began a criminal investigation into The Scotch and other venues owned by Papazyan and Lalic, including the Match Bar and B Soho. The taxman eventually agreed on a £1.2 million payment to settle the case. 
The Scotch continued to attract stars from Rihanna and Mark Ronson to Noel Gallagher and Harry Styles. But behind the scenes, a row was simmering between the owners, which exploded last September.  
Legal letters flew after Lalic removed Papazyan as co-director of the company that held the club’s licence to operate. By December, Lalic had gone to the police claiming thugs were threatening his life.  
The complaint described an encounter at a restaurant in Chelsea. Lalic was expecting Papazyan but instead found two men trying to make him sign a letter handing over all his shares in The Scotch and agree to pay £70,000.
Papazyan told VICE World News it was his idea to hire the debt collectors to approach Lalic at the restaurant. He declined to identify the debt collection agency or the security firm he uses, but denies hiring thugs to harass Lalic.  
Last month, the Papazyan family failed in an attempt to persuade Westminster City Council to grant their Dubai company a separate “shadow” licence for The Scotch.
Their barrister told the licensing committee Papazyan needed it because Lalic had “fraudulently” stolen shares in the club. That case is now heading to court. 
The Met Police said: “Police received an allegation of threats to kill relating to an incident at a restaurant in Chelsea. The victim subsequently reported an incident of harassment to police. Investigations into the allegations continue. There have been no arrests.” 
Papazyan said he welcomes the police investigation and has “nothing to hide”. But he promised that when lockdown is lifted on the 21st of June and The Scotch re-opens, he will “do everything legally to put a stop to it”.  
Until then, tumbleweed continues to roll through the wild West End. 
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benthejrporter · 2 years
Text
Oxford Graffiti 2
New HPANWO TV film: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2022/07/oxford-graffiti-2.html 
0 notes
gokitetour · 3 months
Text
The top 9 clubs and bars in Australia
Australia's nightlife is a dynamic reflection of the vibrant spirit of its cities, pulsating with energy, variety, and a distinct combination of cultural influences. Australia has a diverse range of clubs and pubs to suit every preference, from the energetic streets of Brisbane to the renowned harbour city of Sydney, the cultural center of Melbourne, and more. Down Under's nightlife culture is more than simply entertainment; it's a reflection of the country's unique character, drawing both residents and tourists to enjoy each venue's unique ambience, inventive settings, and catchy sounds.
The clubs and bars function as centres of social interaction, creative expression, and a celebration of many musical genres in this region of contrasts, where metropolitan refinement meets boho charm. Australia's nightlife offers an experience for those who enjoy the dark, whether it's through its luxurious rooftop pubs that overlook metropolitan skylines, its subterranean clubs that pulse with electronic sounds, or its small venues that feature independent artists. Come along as we investigate the best pubs and clubs around the continent, each adding a unique chapter to the fascinating tale of Australia's attraction after dark.
 Here are some clubs and bars in Australia.
1. Marquee Sydney: A Harbor City Nightlife Icon: Situated within the renowned Star Casino, Marquee Sydney is a vibrant symbol of nightlife in the harbour city. The state-of-the-art music system, amazing light displays, and top-notch DJs at Marquee provide for a really remarkable partying experience. For those looking for a stylish night out, the rooftop terrace is a must-visit location since it provides stunning views of Sydney's cityscape.
2. Melbourne's Revolving Upstairs: Underground Spirits in the Cultural Hub: Tucked away in the heart of Melbourne's famous Chapel Street, Revolvr Upstairs is a residents' and tourists' favourite. This club, which is well-known for its unique music selection, sophisticated décor, and underground atmosphere, provides a cozy environment for people who want to party all night.
 3. Electronic Beats and an Indie Spirit at Brisbane's TBC Club : In Brisbane, the TBC Club is a refuge for fans of electronic rhythms and indie music. Local and international DJs spin records at this small establishment, fostering a varied ambiance that draws a wide range of patrons. The vibrant energy of Brisbane's alternative sector is embodied at The TBC Club, which has walls covered in graffiti and a lively dance floor.
4. Chinese Laundry: An Electronic Music Institution in Sydney: The Chinese Laundry is now firmly established as a Sydney institution for fans of electronic music. House, techno, and bass music is played on numerous dance floors at this club, which is housed in the historic Slip Inn. For those wishing to fully immerse themselves in the world of electronic music, the Chinese Laundry is a highly recommended venue due to its cozy atmosphere and excellent sound system.
5. The Emerson, Melbourne: Stylish and Intense Rooftop: The Emerson, which is centrally located in Melbourne, is a rooftop venue that effortlessly blends sophistication with exuberant nightlife. The rooftop patio is a stylish place to enjoy pre-drinks, with panoramic views of the city. The club below becomes a vibrant dance floor as the night goes on, replete with well-known DJs.
6. ARQ Sydney: A Glamour-Filled LGBTQ+ Hub: Nestled in the heart of lively Oxford Street, ARQ Sydney is a glamorous LGBTQ+ center. With many floors, themed evenings, and an impressive light display, ARQ fosters a welcoming and energetic environment. The club is a must-visit for a fun night out in Sydney because it has long been a favourite among the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
7. The Family: Multi-Camera Entertainment Complex, Brisbane: In Brisbane, The Family is more than simply a club—it's an entertainment complex with several venues that suit a variety of preferences. The Family provides a range of atmospheres under one roof, from the lively main area to the more relaxed Garden Bar. Focusing on elite DJs and striving to provide an unforgettable experience, The Family has emerged as a major player in Brisbane's nightlife.
8. Cloudland, Brisbane: Luxurious Elegance and Multifaceted Areas: Situated in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, Cloudland is a venue that skillfully combines a variety of rooms with extravagant grandeur. With different themes for every story—from the opulent Crystal Palais to the verdant Garden Terrace—each floor is spread across many stories. Cloudland appeals to a refined audience looking for a decadent evening with its stylish décor and wide selection of music.
9. Melbourne's Revolver Upstairs: A Legendary Late-Night Spot: Not to be overlooked is Revolver Upstairs, a legendary late-night spot-on Chapel Street in Melbourne, which offers a unique experience from day to night. Renowned for its extended weekend events and varied musical lineup, Revolver Upstairs is a Melbourne cultural fixture. This iconic institution offers something for everyone with its various rooms, each having its own unique ambiance. The enormous club is sure to please.
                To sum up, Australia's pubs and clubs provide an immersive experience into the heart of the country's energetic nightlife, which is distinguished by variety, inventiveness, and infectious joy. Every city creates a different tapestry of after-dark experiences, from the sophisticated rhythms of Sydney's famous harborside venues to Melbourne's distinctive laneways and Brisbane's vibrant nightlife areas.
A seamless entry into the nation is crucial for anybody planning to go on this nighttime adventure, and getting an Australia visa is a critical first step. Obtaining a visa enables easy access to Australia's diverse nightlife, whether you're there for the underground allure of secret jewels, the artsy atmosphere of stylish rooftop pubs, or the throbbing rhythms of well-known DJs.
The clubs and bars transform from being just somewhere to go when the lights go down on the dance floors and the sounds reverberate through the streets into cultural hubs where visitors and locals join together to make memories and build friendships. With its wide range of locations and musical styles, Australia's nightlife exemplifies the country's inclusive and celebratory culture and invites guests to experience the after-dark enchantment that characterizes this vibrant and hospitable country.
0 notes
totallyhussein-blog · 3 months
Text
Mightier than the sword. Discover the history and power of words
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Evidence suggests that writing was invented in southern Iraq sometime before 3000BC. But what happened next? Anyone interested in this question will find How Writing Made Us Human by Walter Stephens both an enjoyable and stimulating read. It offers what it calls an “emotional history” of writing, chiefly referencing academics and writers in the western tradition.
As Martin Worthington reviews in The Conversation, The most detailed sections of the book are those on the Renaissance and Early Modern periods, where the author’s expertise and wide engagement with the sources is palpable. Topics that range beyond his expertise are served by well-chosen case studies.
Lots of interesting things – such as ancient and modern graffiti, or ancient scholars’ efforts to reconstruct even older forms of writing – fall outside of the book’s scope. But its range, from Uruk (modern day Warka, Iraq) in the 4th millennium BC to the present day, is enormous.
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The director of the famed Bodleian Libraries at Oxford narrates the global history of the willful destruction—and surprising survival—of recorded knowledge over the past three millennia. Libraries and archives have been attacked since ancient times but have been especially threatened in the modern era.
Today the knowledge they safeguard faces purposeful destruction and willful neglect; deprived of funding, libraries are fighting for their very existence. Burning the Books recounts the history that brought us to this point.
Richard Ovenden describes the deliberate destruction of knowledge held in libraries and archives from ancient Alexandria to contemporary Sarajevo, from smashed Assyrian tablets in Iraq to the destroyed immigration documents of the United Kingdom’s Windrush generation.
He examines both the motivations for these acts—political, religious, and cultural—and the broader themes that shape this history. He also looks at attempts to prevent and mitigate attacks on knowledge, exploring the efforts of librarians and archivists to preserve information, often risking their own lives in the process.
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beardedmrbean · 7 months
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1. State of the Union 2023: What did von der Leyen say in her annual address?
Like every year in mid-September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered the State of the Union to a full Parliament on Wednesday. Read more.
2. Record number of 'new' Belgians likely to be broken in 2023
Following the earthquake in which at least 2,862 people died in Morocco last week, the country is only accepting limited aid from other countries to avoid aid workers getting in each other's way, according to Mohammed Ameur, the ambassador of Morocco to Belgium. Read more.
3. Belgium is among the countries at highest risk of extreme heatwaves
Belgium is one of the world's "most at-risk regions" for high-impact heatwaves, a study conducted by researchers from the universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, and Oxford has concluded. Read more.
4. Belgians once again saving more money, driven by automatic wage indexation
Belgians this year have already saved €5 billion more than before, driven first by the pandemic and then by the automatic wage indexation as a result of rising living costs. Read more.
5. Drunk Irish tourist damages newly renovated statue at Bourse in Brussels city centre
The Bourse in Brussels city centre recently reopened after a big renovation, but has already been damaged again by an intoxicated tourist on Sunday night. Read more.
6. Controversial sex education policy thought to be behind school arson attacks
A number of schools around Charleroi were targeted by arson attacks on Tuesday evening, RTL Info reports, with several graffiti tags found at the sites of the fires, all of which were extinguished quickly. Read more.
7. Le Chou: Here Comes The European Brown Deal
Le Chou is Europe's most dedicated source of news. Catch up weekly on the biggest headlines with our roundup, all with an intentionally inaccurate and satirical streak. Follow live updates on Twitter and watch Le Chou TV on Instagram. Read more.
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wordofthewolf · 9 months
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Legally Fae: The State of NY v. Caleb Thomas
Graffiti is defined by Oxford Languages as “writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place”. What is most commonly referred to as graffiti is the act of spray painting private or public property. It is a very polarizing art form. People seem to either love it or hate it. Personally, I hated it as a kid but as I got older and got more…
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frannyflaneur · 9 months
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30 June 2023
With the promise of Turkish food, I’ve been ready to visit Harringay all week. I was surprised to see just how residential it was, especially when I was expecting something similar to Brick Lane as both places are hubs for different cultures. Instead of graffitied walls and shops though, I instead walked my way through a very typical (and very American looking) community. This was the first time since I arrived in May that I’ve seen a gas station or local strip-mall equipped with a grocery store and pharmacy! It was kind of silly how excited I got over that, but I’ve been in the city mentality for so long that I kind of forgot that those were the norm-- at least, versus long streets of designer and souvenir shops like Oxford Street. It was especially interesting to see this area so quiet when it’s right next to Finsbury Park, a common venue for music festivals and concerts (it was even setting up for a festival to take place on the 2nd!) I am so used to venues like these being in more central city areas to provide food, entertainment, and shopping to concert goers before and after the show, and I can’t imagine how an influx of people attending these shows would disrupt the quiet community. On the other hand, this aspect of commodifying a public space like Finsbury Park for shows also gives the opportunity for outsiders to explore the town and eat at these local restaurants, but unlike Brick Lane, Harringay is not so much known to tourists as a place to dine in at delicious Turkish restaurants. Thus, Harringay can definitely be used as an example to weigh the pros and cons of urbanization, and as a result, gentrification, in smaller spaces. 
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