El primer ministro de Turquía, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ha anunciado que su partido, el islamista AKP, ha sido el ganador de las elecciones municipales celebradas este domingo en el país y en las que ha obtenido, según los datos preliminares no oficiales, alrededor del 46 por ciento de los votos.
Su partido se ha llevado entre el 43 y el 46 por ciento de los apoyos, según los datos que ofrecen los medios turcos cuando el recuento supera el 80 por ciento de las urnas. Este resultado preliminar mejora el obtenido en los comicios locales de hace cuatro años, pero supone un descenso respecto al 50 por ciento que obtuvo en las generales de 2011.  Tanto Erdogan como la oposición habían planteado estos comicios como una moción de confianza a la gestión del Gobierno del AKP.
En las dos principales ciudades, Ankara y Estambul, el AKP parece haber logrado conservar las Alcadías, pese a la confusión en el recuento y el cruce de cifras entre este partido y el socialdemócrata Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP), proclamando ambos su victoria.

"El mensaje que nuestro pueblo ha dado es muy claro. Han dado el mensaje a Turquía y a todo el mundo de que la nación turca es imbatible", ha afirmado el mandatario en un discurso a una multitud de seguidores en Ankara, ante la que ha agradecido a Dios la victoria electoral.
La jornada electoral ha estado marcada por una alta participación y por peleas entre candidatos que han dejado ocho muertos y unos 30 heridos.
El mandatario ha cargado contra la oposición socialdemócrata del CHP, que quedó segunda en las elecciones con el 27 por ciento, al asegurar que sus líderes "no van a aparecer" este domingo para dar discursos.
"Qué os dije. Os dije que si no era el número uno, dejaría la política", ha declarado ante sus seguidores

Turquía "cada vez má

"Mañana comenzaremos a analizar por qué no hemos obtenido el 55 o el 60 por ciento. Pero la oposición no tiene ese problema. Vamos a evaluar los sentimientos de la gente que ha votado por nosotros. pero también la oposición tiene que hacer autocrítica", ha indicado Erdogan.
El primer ministro ha recalcado que Turquía "es cada vez más fuerte" y ha prometido fortalecer la economía y la democracia.
"Tenemos la democracia que no hay en Occidente", ha proclamado.
Erdogan ha criticado también al influyente predicador islamista Fethullah Gülen, exiliado en Pensilvania (EE.UU.), al que acusa de haber instigado las investigaciones de corrupción que han provocado la dimisión de cuatro ministros y de filtrar conversaciones que relacionan al primer ministro con prácticas ilegales y autoritarias.
"Aquellos que hacen titulares de odio, aquellos medios que apoyan a Pensilvania han perdido hoy. Hoy gana la democracia", ha sentenciado Erdogan

Buñol, bajo 125 toneladas de tomate.... 27 AGOSTO 2014

45.000 personas han participado en la 'batalla' - Varios kilómetros de retenciones en la entrada a la localidad

 

Algunas de las más de 40.000 personas que han participado en la fiesta de la Tomatina. Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

EP/LEVANTE-EMV.COM La fiesta de la 'Tomatina', que tiñó hoy de rojo las calles de la localidad valenciana de Buñol, finalizó esta mañana sin incidentes y con una asistencia que superó, con 45.000 personas, las previsiones iniciales de participación del Ayuntamiento, que calculaba unos 40.000 asistentes. Tras la 'guerra de tomates', los servicios sanitarios --del centro dispuesto por el consistorio y del ambulatorio-- atendieron a 22 personas, la mayoría por contusiones y cortes, según informaron a Europa Press fuentes de la Consejería de Sanidad.
Al grito de '¡tomate!, ¡tomate!', los 45.000 participantes se lanzaron las 125 toneladas de esta verdura que repartió el Ayuntamiento para unas fiestas que, en esta edición, se han prolongado durante tres días.
El alcalde de Buñol, Fernando Giraldós, valoró "positivamente" la edición de este año porque "han venido muchas personas, incluso más que el año anterior. La gente se lo ha pasado muy bien y ya estamos pensando en el año que viene", subrayó, y destacó "la gran afluencia de gente de todos los países" llegada "gracias a Internet y a los medios de comunicación que hacen que se muestre una imagen divertida de la fiesta".
"Es bueno que la fiesta repercuta en el pueblo. Gracias a la Tomatina, Buñol es conocido en todo el mundo", incidió el primer edil, quien destacó que se espera "seguir mejorando" la fiesta "para ofrecer servicios y seguridad a todos los asistentes y que, de esta forma, puedan divertirse de una forma segura como hasta ahora".
Un total de 70 miembros de Protección Civil, 50 de seguridad privada y 36 voluntarios --además de 40 agentes de la Guardia Civil-- formaron el dispositivo de seguridad desplegado junto a los camiones que reparten los tomates para facilitar su paso entre la multitud.
Además, 11 ambulancias, un centro de enfermería instalado en el Ayuntamiento, 13 médicos y un helicóptero de emergencia velaron por la salud de todos los asistentes a la Tomatina.
La "marea roja" de los tomates se esparcieron por las calles hasta las 12.00, justo cuando sonó el segundo chupinazo que señalaba el fin de la batalla. Los vestigios de la batalla de tomate desaparecieron "en muy poco tiempo, dejando el pueblo limpio y listo para continuar la fiesta".
Asimismo, la concejala de Fiestas del municipio, Pilar Garrigues, destacó a Europa Press que las expectativas de asistencia que se tenían en un principio, se han superado porque la localidad ha quedado "completamente invadida" de visitantes.
Garrigues destacó que no se han registrado incidentes de relevancia en una fiesta en la que también participan numerosos turistas extranjeros, procedentes de Inglaterra, Japón o Australia, entre otros. "Ayer ya comenzó a venir gente y esta mañana el municipio quedó totalmente invadido", señaló.
Del mismo modo, la edil hizo hincapié en que la zona de la 'Tomatina' "se ha despejado muy bien", al tiempo que valoró la "rapidez" de la actuación de los servicios de recogida que ha permitido que hacia las 13.30 horas el recorrido estuviera limpio. Así, Garrigues reiteró que la celebración ha salido "perfectamente" y destacó la situación de "normalidad" en el recinto, aunque "sigue habiendo gente por la calle", apuntó.
Esta tradicional batalla de tomates se celebra desde hace 64 años y se enmarca en los actos propios de las fiestas patronales del municipio, dedicadas a San Luis Beltrán y la Virgen de los Desamparados.
ASISTENCIAS SANITARIAS
Según los datos facilitados a Europa Press por la Consejería de Sanidad, en el centro de enfermería dispuesto por el Ayuntamiento se atendió, hasta las 13.00 horas, a siete personas que presentaba cortes y que requirieron puntos de sutura; dos hipotermias y una persona que había sufrido un golpe de calor.
En el centro de salud, se trató a dos participantes por intoxicación etílica; una mujer con un golpe de calor; cuatro asistentes con enfermedades comunes, entre ellos, una persona con una crisis de ansiedad; un participante que requirió una sutura en una herida; otro afectado por conjuntivitis y tres contusionados, uno de ellos remitido al hospital de Manises para que se le realizaran radiografías, que había sufrido una caída con luxación.

Buñol, under 125 tons of tomatoes .... 27 AUGUST 2014

45,000 people have participated in the 'battle' - Several miles of withholding at the entrance to the town

Some of the more than 40,000 people took part in the Tomatina . Alberto Saiz / Associated PressEP / LIFT - EMV.COM The feast of the ' Tomatina ' now dyed red to the streets of the Valencian town of Buñol , finished this morning without incident and with an attendance that exceeded , with 45,000 people , the initial estimates of participation Hall , who estimated 40,000 attendees. After the ' tomato fight ' health services - the center provided by the session and the ambulance - 22 people attended , mostly for bruises and cuts , according to Europa Press reported sources from the Ministry of Health.Shouting 'Tomato! ,Tomato ! ' , The 45,000 participants with 125 tonnes of the vegetable that partitioned the City to a festival , this year , have been extended for three days was launched .The mayor of Buñol , Fernando Giraldós , rated " positive " issue this year because " many people have come , even more than the previous year . People has gone well and we are already thinking about next year ," stressed and stressed "the great influx of people of all countries " arrival " thanks to the Internet and media that make a funny picture of the party shows" ." It's good that the party impact on the people. Through the Tomatina , Buñol is known worldwide ," impacted the mayor, who noted that expects " further improve " the party "to provide services and security to all assistants and, thus , can have fun in a safe way so far. "A total of 70 members of Civil Protection, 50 private security and 36 volunteers - plus 40 officers of the Civil Guard - formed the security device deployed with bursting tomatoes to facilitate its passage through the crowd trucks.In addition, 11 ambulances, a nursing facility installed at City Hall, 13 doctors and an emergency helicopter watched over the health of all attendees at the Tomatina .The "red tide" of tomatoes spread through the streets until 1200 , just as the second loud bang rang signaling the end of the battle . The remains of the tomato battle disappeared " in no time , leaving clean and ready to keep the party people."Regional Councillor for Fiestas Township , Pilar Garrigues, Europa Press said that expectations of assistance had at first been overcome because the town has been " completely overrun " visitor .Garrigues said that there have been no incidents of significance in a party which also involved numerous foreign tourists from England , Japan and Australia , among others. " Yesterday is people began to come this morning and the town was completely invaded ," he said .Similarly, the mayor stressed that the area of ​​the ' Tomatina ' " has been cleared very well," while appreciated the "speed " of the performance of collection services that has allowed 13.30 to the be clean tour . Thus Garrigues reiterated that the celebration has gone "perfectly" and highlighted the situation of "normality " in the enclosure , but " there are still people in the street ," he said .This traditional tomato fight held for 64 years and is part of one's actions of the festivities of the town, dedicated to San Luis Beltran and the Virgin of the Helpless.HEALTH ASSISTANCEAccording to data provided to Europa Press by the Ministry of Health in the nursing facility arranged by the City were served until 13.00, seven people had cuts that required stitches , two hypothermia and a person who had suffered heatstroke .In the health center , two participants were treated for alcohol poisoning , a woman with a heat stroke , four assistants with common diseases , including a person with an anxiety attack , a participant who required a suture a wound; another affected by conjunctivitis and three bruised , one sent to hospital in Manises is to undertake radiographs, which had been dropped with dislocation.

 

Barcelona, Atlético y Real Madrid encaran un mes de abril decisivo

Cerrada la 31ª jornada de Liga para los tres, con sendas victorias, la clasificación queda con el Atlético líder (76 puntos), seguido del Barça (75) y del Madrid (73). Una situación totalmente diferente a siete días atrás, algo a lo que se aferran los blancos para no perder esperanzas.
Pero lo más inmediato es la Champions League, donde se verá el primero de los tres descartes: Barça o Atleti. Los tres enfrentamientos directos entre ambos esta temporada, a la espera del que se prevé decisivo en Liga, se han saldado hasta ahora con sendos empates.
En la Supercopa se vio beneficiado el Barça por la igualada con goles del Vicente Calderón. Marcar fuera de casa resultará una prioridad entre dos equipos que destacan por la intensidad de sus choques.
El duelo entre técnicos argentinos, Martino y Simeone, tendrá su primer capítulo este martes en el Camp Nou con La 1 de TVE y RTVE.es como testigos. Los culés buscan su séptima semifinal consecutiva, todo un hito en Europa.
Por su parte, los rojiblancos tienen el reto de volver a una ronda que no alcanzan desde 1974 en la máxima competición. Fue el año de la famosa final contra el Bayern de Múnich, la del infausto partido de desempate.

Otro 'clásico' en la final de Copa

Solo uno de los dos podrá pasar, y el que llegue al sorteo del 11 de abril después de los dos partidos puede encontrarse con otro rival español si se da el caso. La primera de las dos condiciones necesarias es que el Madrid supere al Borussia de Dortmund, una espina clavada desde el año pasado.
Ya eran favoritos los blancos la temporada pasada y les eliminaron los alemanes contra todo pronóstico. Pesaron mucho los cuatro goles de Lewandowski en la ida, pero el delantero polaco se pierde el primer partido por acumulación de tarjetas.
En caso de que el Madrid superara al Borussia y que el Barça hiciera lo propio contra el Atlético, las horas previas al sorteo del 11 de abril tendrían el morbo de saber si el bombo emparejaría a los eternos rivales españoles, sobre todo sabiendo que cinco días después tienen la final de Copa en Mestalla.
Esa situación ofrecería de nuevo un 'clásico' cada semana, una situación parecida a la del año 2011, que acabó saturando a unos y a otros; que terminó con un campeón de Copa blanco, otro de Champions azulgrana y varias cuentas pendientes.

La Liga, frenética

Mientras, de domingo a domingo se sigue jugando la Liga, por si a alguien se le había olvidado. El Madrid, a priori más desfavorecido por el calendario, tiene una salida difícil ante la Real Sociedad, otra engañosa contra el Valladolid y dos compromisos en teoría cómodos en casa ante Osasuna y Almería.
Por su parte, el líder no lo tiene nada fácil ni en casa, recibiendo al Villarreal, ni visitando a Getafe y Valencia. Teóricamente lo menos complicado para el Atlético es recibir al Elche entre medias.
Mejor se le presenta el calendario liguero de abril al Barça con el Betis en casa y el Granada fuera, pero luego se le complica al recibir al Athletic y visitando Villarreal. Dentro de un mes se sabrá si sigue todo por decidir o está todo decidido.

Peace in Mindanao at Last! Peace Activist Manhee Lee

For a long time, people living in Mindanao island was suffered because of cultural and religious differences.

And there were a lot of agreements between the Government and Religious leaders and Moro National Liberation Front(MILF) to bring peace and freedom to Mindanao, but did not came true. 

Meanwhile, those two leaders signed a peace deal aimed at ending four decades of deadly conflict that has dominated millions of people living in the island's to brutal poverty.

Peace advocate Manhee Lee

This agreement was held by a peace advocate Manhee Lee from south Korea. In his 8th trip across the world working for the world peace, this was the third visit to accomplish this peace agreement and bring peace to this island.

The archbishop of Mindanao Island in the Philippines continued to request the visits of the Korean civilian peace activist(Representative Lee), and he visited and signed the peace treaty with them.

The Philippines is now more eager to find peace than any other countries are. And God answered their prayer at last!

On the next day of this peace deal, the government of the Philippines and MILF signed the peace agreement that they would not have any conflicts between each other.

* Mindanao Island

Mindanao is the second largest island in the Philippines at 104,630 square kilometers, and is the eighth most populous island in the world. The island of Mindanao is larger than 125 countries worldwide, including the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ireland. In this Island, Roman Catholic was still the dominant religious affiliation in Mindanao with 60.9 percent of the household population while Islam comprised 20.44 percent. Other religions were Evangelical (5.34%), Aglipayan (2.16), Iglesia ni Cristo (1.66%), and Seventh Day Adventist (1.65%).

Peace activist Manhee Lee on PTV Good Morning Boss

Must See Video!

Peace Activist Man Hee Lee on TV interview in PTV in Philippines.

With his ceaseless effort, on his 3rd visit in Philippines, he gave peace to Mindanao region.

Mindanao Island was suffered by religious conflict between Catholic and Islam for more than 40 years. Many of officers and archibishops tried to bring peace to this island, but could not make it. At last their dream came true.

On his third march to Philippines, both leaders between Catholic and MILF(Islam) agreed to sign the peace agreement and disarmament.

Still there are wars and conflicts started from misunderstandings, but we do know there is no one who doesn't want peace. I think in our age, these kind of peace leader is necessary to bring peace to the world.

Sweet Jesus: Why Religious People Make Better Volunteers

It was a few hours into our mission, after the temperature had dropped to around minus 20 and my toes went numb, that I started to think of Amit Robson as a saint.

On a February afternoon I and the two other volunteers huddled near the van door. Our group leader smoked cigarettes with homeless people like it was a spring day. He said we could wait inside, but no one wanted to look weak. We were bringing sandwiches and coffee to people without gloves or hats. Some slept on concrete beds.

My religious colleagues were practising "Tikkun olam," the Hebrew term for repairing the world. Agnostically, I was doing the same.

When I signed up for the ride-along in Toronto, I hadn't considered that there would be any religious affiliation. I was referred to Amit, who drives the van a few days a week, by a friend. We corresponded over email. Religion never came up. So I was a little surprised when the black minivan pulled up outside my house with a the black and yellow "Ve'ahavta" logo painted on the side.

Most non-believers are too busy hating religions to think of the good work they do. I'm one of them. Trust me, this is not a Jehovah's Witness-type plea disguised as a column. I'm as faithless as they come. I'm no fan of the dubious science of creationism, the hypocrisy of abstinence with a side of sexual abuse and the oppressive social constructs that lead people to say "God Made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," with a straight face. It's enough to lead anyone off the holy path.

But when it comes to helping others, atheists and agnostics should take religious notes. As we work longer hours and live lonelier lives, we've become worse at dedicating ourselves to a cause.

Religion is a drill sergeant for charity. Whether the officer is Jesus, Buddha or Muhammad, helping others is fundamental to all faiths. And while those who go to public school learn the same, religion has institutionalized altruism with gatherings, scripture and prayer. If you've volunteered at a soup kitchen, it likely was named after a saint.

Almost 40 per cent of charities in Canada have a religious affiliation, according to Imagine Canada. Research shows those who regularly attend religious services are more likely to become the ultra-dedicated volunteers that charities depend on. If you were active in a religious organization as a kid, you're almost 15 per cent more likely to volunteer as an adult.

Meanwhile, a new generation is ditching divinity. More than half of millennials never attend a religious service according to a Huffington Post Canada survey. And while we should reject oppressive values from outdated books, we should not be put off by the many religious charities and organizations that do secular work. Shepherds of Good Hope in Ottawa runs a soup kitchen, drop-in centre and shelter programs, all without proselytizing. Yet according to CEO Deirdre Freiheit, of their more than 400 volunteers, almost all are religious (the majority are Catholic, but some are also Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish) and 80 per cent are older than 40.

That's not to say you have to be a mid-life disciple to help people; many volunteers are more culturally than spiritually religious, anyway. The Millennial Impact report found that last year, 73 per cent of young people volunteered for a non-profit. But it also describes a more selfish attitude toward charity: "Their interactions with non-profit organizations are likely to be immediate and impulsive. When inspired, they will act quickly in a number of ways, from small donations to short volunteer stints, provided that the opportunities are present and the barriers to entry are low." Millennials want to help, just on their own terms.

Some good initiatives have come from this spontaneous approach. RAK nominations (Random Acts of Kindness) are a great example of viral volunteering. People upload videos of themselves doing a good deed to YouTube (giving food to the homeless is common) and nominate someone else to do the same. But volunteering should be a routine rather than an impulsive act.

Every Sunday I visit a 12-year-old girl at a convenience store right by my house. Her parents are Chinese immigrants and speak limited English. She needs help with homework, but also some mentorship. I've been showing up intermittently for a few years now, but it's only in the past couple of months that I've dedicated myself to going once a week (trust me, that felt hard). The more I go, the more she trusts me. She now talks about her period. Boys. How scared she is of what will happen when her parents die.

The best part about the Ve'ahavta van is its consistency. People can rely on it five times a week, and not just for bagels and caffeine. They rely on the company. Amit talks to his clients like friends. They call his cellphone when they need help. They see him more than their own social workers.

There's a lot about religious culture we should throw away, but the dedication to helping others is a keeper.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/angelina-chapin/religion-volunteering_b_5027427.html

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, or simply Gonzalo de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515), (Italian:Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova), Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria, Montalto and Sessa, was a Spanishgeneral who fought in the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. He reorganized the emerging Spanish army and its tactics, and was regarded as the "father of trench warfare". He was also called "The Great Captain" (Spanish: El Gran Capitán). Many influential men fought under him (including Francisco Pizarro's father), and he was admired by the generation ofconquistadors which followed.

De Córdoba was born at Montilla in what is now the province of Córdoba, the son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba (Count ofAguilar) and his wife Elvira de Herrera.^[1] He and his older brother, Alonso, were orphaned when they were young. As the younger brother Gonzalo could not expect much in the way of inherited wealth or titles, and of his two options – the church or the military – he chose the latter. He was first attached to the household of Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, the half-brother of KingHenry IV of Castile. After Alfonso's death in 1468 Córdoba devoted himself to Alfonso's sister, Isabella of Castile.

When King Henry IV died in 1474 Isabella proclaimed herself successor queen, disputing the right of Juana la Beltraneja (the king's 13-year-old daughter and her niece) to ascend the throne. During the ensuing civil war between the followers of Isabella and Juana, there was also conflict with Portugal since King Afonso V of Portugal sided with his niece Juana. Córdoba fought for Isabella under Alonso de Cárdenas, grand master of the Order of Santiago. After the battle of Albuera, Cárdenas praised him for his service.

**

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Enríquez de Aguilar (Montilla, Casa de Aguilar, 1 de septiembre de 1453 – Loja (Granada), 2 de diciembre de 1515) fue un noble, político y militar castellano, duque de Santángelo, Terranova, Andría, Montalto y Sessa, llamado por su excelencia en la guerra el Gran Capitán.

Capitán castellano al servicio de los reyes Católicos. Familiar de Fernando el Católico y miembro de la nobleza andaluza (perteneciente a la Casa de Aguilar), hijo segundo del noble caballero Pedro Fernández de Aguilar, V señor de Aguilar de la Fronteray de Priego de Córdoba, que murió muy mozo, y de Elvira de Herrera y Enríquez, sobrina de Juana Enríquez, reina consorte de Aragón, ya que era hija de Pedro Núñez de Herrera, señor de Pedraza y de Blanca Enríquez de Mendoza, quien fue hija de Alonso Enríquez, almirante de Castilla (hijo de Fadrique Alfonso de Castilla) y de Juana de Mendoza «la Ricahembra».

Gonzalo y su hermano mayor Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba se criaron en Córdoba al cuidado del prudente y discreto caballero Pedro de Cárcamo. Siendo niño fue incorporado al servicio del príncipe Alfonso, hermano de la luego reina Isabel I de Castilla como paje y, a la muerte de éste, pasó al séquito de la princesa Isabel. La hermana de ambos cordobeses, conocida con el nombre de Leonor de Arellano y Fernández de Córdoba, casaría con Martín Fernández de Córdoba, alcaide de los Donceles.

The Backstory of ‘Noah’ Is Full of Giants, Horny Angels, and a Grieving God

The first few chapters of Genesis contain some of the strangest prose in the Bible, but the big reveal is a God making peace with man’s sinful nature.

In the beginning, the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, according to Genesis. Out of chaos, God created the universe and brought order. But fairly soon things started going very, very badly.

The first chapters of Genesis, what scholars call the Bible’s “primeval history,” depict a gradual distancing between God and his creation, a tour of man’s growing alienation. The Fall is followed by violence—the murder of Abel. Angels begin consorting with human women, and giants roam the earth. Then it started raining.

God created humans, in the biblical story, and he gave them each the ability to do right and wrong. When man chose wrong, and disrupted the Almighty’s design, the result was, as John Calvin said, “a perversion of the order appointed by God.” Despite God’s absolute power, a disruption from below began menacing his creation. And in the story of man’s beginnings—just five chapters in—God decided his creation was too bent on evil to continue.

The Los Angeles Times called Darren Aronofsky’s Noah—which opens today—“one of the most overtly spiritual movies any big Hollywood studio has made in years,” and said even though Russell Crowe plays the lead role, “the real star of the movie is the concept of original sin.”

Crowe himself stoked the religion angle by tweet-begging Pope Francis to screen the film. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told the AP last week that there would be no papal screening of Noah, nor would the pope meet with Crowe and Aronofsky privately.

That didn’t stop the film’s star and director from sitting in the pope’s weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. And later there were conflicting reports from Paramount Studios that said the Noah team did meet briefly with the pope.

There’s been no word from the Vatican about whether the pope plans to see Noah. But the governments of some Muslim countries reportedly have banned the film because it violates Islamic tradition by visually depicting a prophet, and some conservative Christian groups have asked that the movie come with a disclaimer that it doesn’t portray scriptural truth.

Anyone who does see the $130 million film, and who is familiar only with the ancient flood story from childhood, is likely to find it to be a big, loud movie with spectacular special effects. They may also see an unexpectedly sad movie. According to The Los Angeles Times, Aronofsky—who is an atheist but “can pass for an armchair religious scholar”—consulted with Jewish and Christian theologians in the course of making the film.

That means Aronofsky likely knows that modern scholars think the first five books of the Bible—called the Torah by Jews and the Pentateuch by Christians—were passed around orally, then written down by a number of sources, and finally stitched together by a later editor. One of those sources is an author that biblical scholars refer to as “J,” the Jahwist (or Yahwist), so called for his recurring use of the term YHWH, or “Lord,” when referring to God. It’s the Yahwist whose writing Aronofsky has adapted for the big screen.

Unlike those of his fellow Genesis scribes who were concerned with the law, genealogies, or the priesthood, the Yahwist is considered the Torah’s storyteller. He is thought to be the author of Adam and Eve’s herpetological encounter in the Garden of Eden. The tragic tale of Cain and Abel is attributed to him, as is the depiction of Noah’s predicament as the rains began to fall. Scholars believe that later in the Torah, the Yahwist is responsible for the story of the plagues, the Exodus from Egypt, and the wandering in the wilderness.

The Yahwist is widely assumed to have drawn on older traditions to write the earlier Genesis narratives, so in the Noah story, we may be reading the Yahwist’s own words for the first time, and they are among the saddest in the Bible. God realizes that his creation is irredeemably flawed. Evil and man are linked forever. Sin is endemic to the human condition, writes biblical scholar Sibley W. Towner, it is constant and it comes from deep within the human soul.

According to another biblical scholar, Robert Davidson, these verses are the only time in the Bible the word “grief” is used in reference to God. In true Yahwist anthropomorphic form, we see that human beings have broken God’s heart. In the Old Testament, the heart is not an island of emotion, but the seat of understanding and will. In God’s heart there is profound disappointment in man, and a bewilderment and incomprehensibility at how his plans have gone so wrong, writes Towner. And, as a result, he resolves to wipe his creation from the face of the earth.

But what’s that you say about angels consorting with human women, and giants roaming the earth? No, that’s not George R.R. Martin, it’s four verses at the beginning of Genesis 6 immediately preceding the story of the Flood, and it’s presumably God’s final straw. The passage is a vision worthy of an epic Hollywood treatment, maybe by Guillermo del Toro.

The verses are thought to be a fragment of a myth from what would have been ancient history written for people we now consider ancient. It’s a story about fallen rebel angels, boundary-breaking sex, violent giants ranging the earth, heart-breaking divine grief and the coming decimation of the human race.

When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

Biblical scholars have called this passage among “the strangest,” “most obscure,” and “most difficult” in the Hebrew Bible. The verses have been called “atypical,” “puzzling” and—in language hilarious only outside exegetical academia—“controversial in the extreme.”

Genesis 6:1-4 foreshadows the Israelites repeated attempts later in Genesis to part with God in the wake of the covenant he’s made with them through Abraham (if they worship only God and obey his commandments, they will be his chosen people) and to become a great people without God’s help. But the children of Israel continually strive to become God-like, and each time they do, they fail. The Yahwist’s point is that Israel will always fail. Only God can be God. And to make that point, he borrows a myth from the ancient near east, molding it into a lesson for the people of ancient Israel about how those with a desire for power can breach their God-given, earthly responsibilities in an impossible attempt to seize the mystery of God’s divinity.

A story about the union of demi-gods and human women is completely foreign to the Hebrew Bible, a text that emphasizes monotheism—that, in fact, makes belief in one God a central component of the covenant between God and his people. But Israel did have neighbors, and as it developed as a nation, it became familiar with its neighbors’ myths.

Scholars say the story of sex between gods and women is similar to Hurrian myths found in Hittite texts from the second millennium suggesting that the Yahwist knew his audience would be familiar with such stories. In Canaanite mythology, even El, the supreme god, gets in on the action, fathering the gods Dawn and Evening after seducing two mortal women. When the sons of God came to earth, they came with one thing in mind: babes. Earth was where the women were beautiful, and the sons of God were angels, so they had their pick of the most beautiful.

“These angelic beings let themselves be enticed by the beauty of human women to grievous sin,” wrote Old Testament scholar Gerhard von Rad. “They fall from their ranks and mix with them in wild licentiousness.”

The Italian rabbi and biblical scholar Umberto Cassuto wrote that in Israelite tradition, angels were divided into different ranks—higher and lower; close to the Lord (ministering angels) and others (destroying angels) who were called “demons.” In Genesis 6:1-4, it’s the destroying angels who come to earth, Cassuto wrote, pointing out that according to the Talmud, “although the ministering angels do not beget offspring, the demons do procreate.”

Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis. By Tim Townsend ()

As a result of what some scholars have interpreted as angelic rape, the human women give birth to a new race of supermen—the Nephilim, whom, according to The Los Angeles Times, Aronofsky has incorporated into Noah. The meaning of the word is unclear, but it probably is related to the Hebrew word napal, meaning “to fall.” It comes up only once more in the Bible, in the book of Numbers, where the Nephilim are described as giants who make the Hebrew visitors to Canaan feel “no bigger than grasshoppers.” The word likely originally described mythical semi-gods who walked the earth, a bit like the Sumerian king Gilgamesh who was two-thirds god and one-third human.

In the view of some scholars, these children of angels and women constitute a mythical warrior class, infamous for cruelty, pride and wickedness. The names of the giants were synonymous with violence, and ancient peoples feared them. But, the Yahwist describes the Nephilim as “heroes that were of old, warriors of renown,” not as gods or even demi-gods. When the Lord says, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh,” he’s instructing his people not to believe that any creatures of flesh and blood can live on earth forever. The boundary—set by God—between God and man is untouchable and unconditional, the Yahwist was saying, divinity is the province only of the divine.

The Yahwist’s theme with these four verses is the divinely-established limits of acceptable human behavior—and the hazard of transgressing those limits. The story is not just about angels, demi-gods and giants. It’s about a human race, descended from Adam, that has chosen sin over God and will continue to obey the forces of evil until it is destroyed. The mythical nature of the story suggests evil’s chronic presence in the lives of human beings.

“It is the sign of a deep-seated corruption infecting all life,” writes Davidson. “Evil has a demonic dimension which fully warrants God’s stern reaction. Aptly, the story becomes part of the preface to the flood.”

Then, at the brink of what might have been the end of the story for all of us, the Yahwist introduces a note of hope. A little man who had a way with animals and boats “found favor in the sight of the Lord.” When the flood waters receded, Noah built an altar and offered God a sacrifice. The Lord returned to his recent place of grief—his own heart—and determined never again to destroy the world.

Sometime during the flood, it seems, God came to peace with the idea that his creation was predisposed toward evil. “The inclination of the human heart is evil from youth,” the Yahwist explains. God understood that the freedom of will, which made his human creation special, was both a fatal flaw and a benediction, according to Towner. That humans are capable of unthinkable good, as well as unthinkable depravity, was worth God’s mercy and protection.

Tim Townsend is the author of “Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis” (Morrow), published this month.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/28/the-backstory-of-noah-is-full-of-giants-horny-angels-and-a-grieving-god.html#url=/articles/2014/03/28/the-backstory-of-noah-is-full-of-giants-horny-angels-and-a-grieving-god.html

Jaime I

Jaime I de Aragón el Conquistador (Montpellier, 2 de febrero de 1208 – Alcira, 27 de julio de 1276) fue rey de Aragón (1213–1276), de Valencia (1239–76) y de Mallorca (1229–1276), conde de Barcelona (1213–1276), conde de Urgel, señor de Montpellier (1219–1276) y de otros feudos en Occitania.

Hijo de Pedro II el Católico y de María de Montpellier, era el heredero de dos importantes linajes: la Casa de Aragón y el de losemperadores de Bizancio, por parte de su madre. Tuvo una infancia difícil. Su padre, que acabaría repudiando a la reina, sólo llegó a concebirlo mediante engaño de algunos nobles y eclesiásticos que temían por la falta de un sucesor, y la colaboración de María, haciendo creer a Pedro que se acostaba con una de sus amantes. Estas circunstancias produjeron el rechazo de Pedro II hacia el pequeño Jaime, a quien no conoció sino a los dos años de su nacimiento.¹ A esa edad, el rey hizo un pacto matrimonial para entregar a su hijo Jaime a la tutela de Simón, Señor de Montfort, para casarlo con la hija de éste, Amicia, para lo cual el niño iba a ser recluido en el castillo de Carcasona hasta los 18 años.²

A la muerte de su padre, durante la cruzada albigense, en la batalla de Muret (1213), Simón de Montfort se resistió a entregar a Jaime a los aragoneses hasta después de un año de reclamaciones y sólo por mandato del papa Inocencio III. Durante su minoría de edad, estuvo bajo la tutela de los caballeros templarios en el castillo de Monzón, habiendo sido encomendado a Guillem de Mont-Rodon,³ junto con su primo de la misma edad, el Conde de Provenza Ramón Berenguer V. Mientras, actuaba como regente del reino el conde Sancho Raimúndez, hijo de Petronila de Aragón y Ramón Berenguer IV y tío abuelo de Jaime. Heredó el señorío de Montpellier a la muerte de su madre (1213).

Huérfano de padre y madre, tenía unos 6 años cuando fue jurado en las Cortes de Lérida de 1214. En septiembre de 1218 se celebraron por primera vez en Lérida unas Cortes generales de aragoneses y catalanes, en las cuales fue declarado mayor de edad.

En febrero de 1221 contrajo matrimonio en la población soriana de Ágreda⁴ , población fronteriza entre Castilla y Aragón,con Leonor de Castilla, hermana de la reina Berenguela de Castilla y tía de Fernando III . Tras la boda la pareja se trasladó a la Catedral de Tarazona , donde Jaime fue ordenado caballero . Anulado su primer casamiento por razón de parentesco en 1229, contrajo segundo matrimonio con la princesa Violante (8 de septiembre de 1235), hija de Andrés II, rey de Hungría. Por el testamento de su primo Nuño Sánchez, heredó los condados de Rosellón y Cerdaña y el vizcondado de Fenolleda en Francia (1241).