Presidential Profile: James Monroe (1758-1831).  5th President of the United States.

Pre-Presidency (1758-1816):

- James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

- Monroe’s parents were Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, he had 4 other siblings.  His father was a modestly successful farmer and carpenter.

- His ancestry is Scottish, Welsh and French Huguenot, making him the first President to not be of English descent.

- Orphaned at age 16, he inherited his parent’s land and property and gradually under patronage from his maternal uncle who was a member of Virginia’s House of Burgesses, through here he first made connections with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

- He dropped out of college to take part in the American Revolution.  Due to lack of literacy among enlisted men, Monroe was literate through his schooling became an officer.  He along with regiments of fellow Virginians took part in Washington’s New Jersey Campaign, partaking in the Battle of Trenton against the British allied German Auxiliaries the Hessians.  Monroe was seriously wounded with a gunshot to the shoulder that severed an artery, he was saved due to quick action by his fellow soldiers.

-Monroe’s service in the war continued off and on, he was present at Valley Forge and took part in the Battle of Monmouth.  He was often sent back to Virginia to raise more troops but often suffered frustration through low recruitment.  Eventually he was sent to Williamsburg, Virginia to study law under his friend and mentor, Thomas Jefferson.  His interest in being a lawyer was said to be mostly motivated by its path to social connections for better social and political advancement rather than borne out a love of law itself.

- On February 16, 1786 he married New Yorker Elizabeth Kortwright, a member of a wealthy New York merchant family of Dutch and English background, her father had once been a British officer.  They had three children, 2 daughters to survive into adulthood and one son who died in infancy.

- He sold his inherited plantation in 1783 and later purchased large plantations and real estate.  Though he became wealthy, his plantations were not very profitable and financial losses compounded by some expensive French influenced tastes caused financial hardship.  He often had to sell land and his own slaves from time to time just to break even.

- He became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and later part of Virginia’s delegation to the Continental Congress, where befriended James Madison.  Monroe here asserted his belief in the future Jeffersonian philosophy that became the basis for the future Democratic-Republican Party, or Anti-federalist philosophy as it was this known.  He was a proponent of states rights and outspoken against the passing of the US Constitution though he was somewhat in favor of reforming the Articles of Confederation.

-His political career would see him serve as a US Senator from Virginia in the 1790′s then later becoming George Washington’s appointed Minister to France (US Ambassador).  Monroe however was outraged by the Jay Treaty signed by Washington which established commerce with Great Britain.  He was firmly anti-British at this point and in support of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison’s increasingly pro-French anti-Federalist sentiment.  This put him in opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist stance.  His time as Senator lead to investigations of financial misdeeds which linked to Hamilton, this eventually lead to the public disclosure of Hamilton’s extramarital affair but not his link to financial impropriety.  Years later the two nearly arranged a duel but it was diffused by interesting future Vice President Aaron Burr who later killed Hamilton himself in a duel. 1799 saw him elected Governor of Virginia serving until 1802, a role he would briefly serve in again 1811.

- He helped support Thomas Jefferson’s candidacy for President in 1800, which Jefferson would win, defeating incumbent John Adams.  Monroe was subsequently involved in negotiating the Lousiana Purchase with Napoleonic France and later made Minister to Great Britain in Jefferson’s administration.  Monroe attended Napoleon’s coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804.  Notably during his tenure as Minister to Britain he signed the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty which would have updated the Jay Treaty for another ten years, seeing the Jay Treaty as largely a success with lucrative trade and a lasting peace with Britain, Jefferson however refused to submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification.  Relations with Britain soured leading to the eventual War of 1812.

- 1808 saw Monroe return to the US and consider running for President but Jefferson did not endorse him and he began to see this as a snub due to a preference for then Secretary of State James Madison.  Monroe and Jefferson repaired their friendship after Madison was elected in 1808, while Monroe refused to speak to Madison for two years.

- He was again elected to Governor of Virginia in 1811 but only served four months before being offered the Secretary of State position.  Madison did so for two reasons, he thought Monroe’s popularity with different factions within the Democratic-Republican party would be healed by Monroe’s personal appeal.  Secondly, he had much diplomatic experience and was viewed as improvement over his predecessor, Robert Smith.

-As Secretary of State, his primary goal was to make treaties ensuring neutrality and peace with both Britain and France, who lead opposing coalitions in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars.  However, ongoing British policy of impressment of US sailors into Royal Navy service eventually lead to a declaration of war by Congress and signed by President Madison in June 1812.  Monroe came round to supporting the war effort which went badly for both sides.  Madison removed his Secretary of War and couldn’t find a replacement, so it was offered to Monroe having had prior military experience.  He resigned as Secretary of State but when no replacement could be found he kept both Secretary roles at once running the War and State Departments simultaneously becoming the only person in any Cabinet to hold two Cabinet positions at once.  Monroe handled the last months of the war deftly, helping to improve financing for the war and the army in general.  He also, helped order General Andrew Jackson to New Orleans where Jackson famously repelled a British invasion at the war’s conclusion.  While the War of 1812 was officially a stalemate, Jackson’s victory gave the nation a new sense of patriotism and euphoria.  It also effectively ended the Federalist party for its anti-war stance and the attempt at New England’s secession with the Hartford Convention which was unpopular with the Federalist stronghold of New England it’s merchants who traded with Great Britain.

Presidency (1817-1825):

-Monroe was the successor to Madison much as Madison had been to Jefferson, helping to establish the Secretary of State as the most crucial and sought after position in the Presidential Cabinet.  He became the Democratic-Republican candidate in 1816 and along with running mate, Daniel Tompkins, Governor of New York became the 5th President and 6th Vice President of the United States respectively after defeating the Federalist candidate Rufus King.  Monroe won 68% of the popular vote and 183 electoral college votes to King’s 34.

- Monroe as 5th President was the last of the so called Virginia Dynasty that had dominated the Presidency since its inception.  Washington, Jefferson and Madison of his predecessors were fellow Virginians and part of the plantation land owner elite like Monroe.  Only John Adams had been from Massachusetts and was not a slave owner.

- Monroe would preside over the Era of Good Feelings.  A name given to America’s decade after the conclusion of the War of 1812 in which American politics on the surface appeared to be increasingly non-partisan and non-sectional and less divided into factions.  In fact the Federalist Party essentially ceased after 1816 and only the Democratic-Republican Party would exist for the next decade.  Monroe, notably undertook “goodwill tours” in 1817 and 1819 throughout the country.  This helped to heal factions and saw the Federalists now merge into the Democratic-Republican Party, a process know as amalgamation.

- Monroe’s personal hope was that this amalgamation would eventually lead to the cessation of political parties altogether.  His personal hope was to have what he saw as self-disinterested, virtuous and wise leaders who were non-partisan run the country rather than divide the country as Federalist and Anti-Federalist factions had done in the preceding decades.  During the course of the war, Monroe’s personal anti-federalism wavered and he came to appreciate some federal institutions in picking up the slack where the proponents of states rights had railed against previously.  He saw too much decentralization as inefficient just as he saw too much federalization as inefficient and immoral.  He now sought a balance and while he personally strove for nationalism over partisan politics like Washington before him, many within his party were ramping up the partisanship against one another.  Purists of states rights began to see Monroe as betraying the original vision he once espoused.  Meanwhile former federalists within the party began to infuse their beliefs as well.

- A sure sign of the underlying divides during Monroe’s administration was the recurring issue of slavery.  Since the country’s founding the issue of slavery of African-Americans was a contentious one.  Increasingly it was becoming a sectional divide along Northern and Southern states, with the Northern states largely banning slavery and the South allowing it.  Monroe, himself a slave owner was not disinterested in the issue.  However, he sought preservation of the Union among all states as highest priority.  This was to be a Presidential rallying cry in the coming decades.  in 1820, an election year, Monroe would pass the Missouri Compromise of 1820, it banned slavery  in all states and territories North of a geographic line and permitted slavery in states South of said line.  It also added a slave state to be balanced out by a free state, in this case Missouri became a slave state while Maine was admitted into the Union as a free state, having been previously part of Massachusetts.  This precedent would carry right on until the Civil War, it only further added to the sectional and later partisan divide within the country.

- Monroe would oversee adding a total of five states to the Union during his tenure.  Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine and Missouri.

-1819 also saw a financial depression, the so called Panic of 1819.  Brought on by a decline in prices of agricultural produce due declining import and export demand in the wake of the post Napoleonic era.  This coupled with speculative practices in public land sale lead to issuance of paper money which became worthless.  It lead to unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosures and distrust of banking practices.  Monroe combated this with a proposed tariff increase.  Tariffs of on other countries goods coming into the US and collections of these tariffs funded the federal government absent an income tax which funds the government in the modern era.  Monroe offered no specifics on the rates and Congress would not raise the tariff until 1824, five years after the initial proposal.

- 1820 saw Monroe run for a second term.  He ran unopposed, the third and final time this happened in American history.  Only George Washington ran unopposed during his two elections.  Monroe would have repeated Washington’s feat of being unanimously elected had one faithless elector not voted for his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams instead.  Giving Monroe a total of 231 electoral votes, he won all 24 states and 80% of the overall popular vote.

-Monroe, though a slave owner, was also a proponent of resettling freed former slaves elsewhere in the world.  he was a member of the American Colonization Society, dedicated to this project of resettlement of African-Americans in Africa.  The country of Liberia was founded as a result of this.  Becoming the only modern African country to founded by freed slaves from the Americas and never to be subject to European imperialism.  They named their capital after James Monroe, its name Monrovia, survives to this day.  Monroe, while an owner of slaves, much like Washington and Jefferson, privately criticized the institution as an evil and one they hoped in time would go away.  Even if they felt the government had no legal power to forcibly end it and their own personal profit resulting from slavery always colored their decision making.  Monroe was clear in his letters to others and in his own private writings that slavery was an evil and one that was inherited by Americans from their times as a British colony, it was a legacy they grew up conditioned with and from which they felt powerless to end by law.

- Monroe’s domestic agenda was largely defined by the so called Era of Good Feelings and the subsequent Panic of 1819 and Missouri Compromise of 1820.  Issues that in the moment showed the undercurrent of division, only to see it recede by compromise delaying the inevitable by kicking the cans of the slavery issue and resurfacing partisanship down the road.  Monroe also saw domestic proposal improvements which needed funding from Congress.  He wanted to pass laws to federally develop new highways and canals.  He didn’t think the Constitution at that time allowed for it and urged Congress to pass an amendment giving them the power to fund interstate roads and canals.  Monroe felt Congress could appropriate funds as needed but could not administer or construct the internal infrastructure themselves.  1824′s Supreme Court decision in Gibbons v. Ogden ultimately found that Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce.  It shortly thereafter passed laws which broke ground for the federal government’s involvement with interstate infrastructure funding.

- In foreign policy Monroe made his mark with treaties with Britain and Russia.  The British treaty demilitarized the Canadian-American border, saw the naval arms race on the Great Lakes deescalate and a ten year joint occupation of Oregon Territory.  It also helped renew trade between the two and further a lasting peace.  With Russia, Monroe concluded a treaty that geographically defined the extent and limit of Russia’s sphere of influence in the Pacific, paving the way for later American forays into the region.  He also oversaw the purchase of Spanish Florida.  Initially, raids by Seminole tribe members into southern US states prompted General Andrew Jackson to invade Florida, then a Spanish colony to put down the source of these raids.  Jackson was criticized by Congress for almost starting an undeclared war with Spain.  However, Monroe supported Jackson’s moves against the Seminole, launching the Seminole Wars of Florida.  In 1821, John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State, negotiated the purchase of Florida from Spain, in the Adams-Onis Treaty.  It gave Spain much needed cash and freed them of the burden of maintaining an  increasingly difficult to manage colony.  For America is gave a geostrategic projection into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico and allowed for new settlement and investment and carte blanche to deal with the Seminole threat on their own terms.

- Monroe’s most lasting foreign policy accomplishment was again really written and defined by John Quincy Adams, but it was adopted as policy by Monroe and would forever be associated with his name.  The Monroe Doctrine would become a cornerstone and landmark declaration in American foreign policy, it stated the United States would no longer tolerate European foreign influence in the American hemisphere and would consider war or economic pressure if needed, specifically in the newly independent countries of the Americas.  Colonies belonging to Spain especially during this time were gaining independence, namely Mexico and Gran Colombia (Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia).  Colonies still part of European empires were excluded.  The move effectively served as notice that the United States would be the predominant power in the Americas and saw it was its own sphere of influence or “backyard”.  The Monroe Doctrine would be cited and influence later American foreign policy declarations in the Americas and the world over.  From the Roosevelt Corollary to the Truman, Kennedy and Reagan Doctrines.  in 1822 alone, Monroe recognized the independence of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile an Peru.  Monroe sought favorable trade with Latin American nations and upholding exchanges of “republican values” with these sister American republics in the new world as he saw it.

Post-Presidency and Legacy (1825-1831):

- Monroe ended his Presidency in 1825 after the 1824 election, having completed two terms like all his predecessors save for John Adams who only served one term.  Two terms was customary then as the precedent set by George Washington though not legally obligated until the mid 20th century with the passage of the 22nd Amendment.

- Monroe was succeeded by John Quincy Adams, his Secretary of State and son of former President John Adams.  Adams had a contentious four way race for President with Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Andrew Jackson.  While Jackson won a plurality of Electoral College votes necessary to the Presidency, he didn’t win the majority required.  The four way race dropped down to two when the contingency election held in the US House of Representatives as outlined in the Constitution determined the winner.  Adams won this election becoming the 6th President of the United States.  Jackson charged Adams with making a “corrupt bargain” to getting the Presidency.  By accusing Adams of making a deal with Henry Clay, Speaker of the House, to drop his candidacy and influence the House vote in exchange for becoming Secretary of State in Adams’ Cabinet, a perceived logical precursor to being President himself.  The allegations of this tarnished Adams in Jackson’s eyes and the geographic sectionalism and partisan factionalism that Monroe thought was so damaging to the republic came to the surface.  This killed the Era of Good Feelings effectively.  Adams would go on to serve one term without much support for his programs in Congress while Jackson worked behind the scenes to establish a new network of support for a rematch with Adams in 1828.  Jackson along with Martin Van Buren of New York laid the groundwork during this time for the modern Democrat Party.  This effectively ended the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party, with Jacksonian Democracy and the Democrat Party seeing itself as ideological successor to the original doctrine of Jeffersonian Democracy while the amalgamated wings of the party espoused by Adams and even Monroe were repudiated.  Eventually the Whig party would form from the ashes of these amalgamated wings of the Democrat-Republican Party in opposition to Jackson’s policies.

- Monroe’s hoped legacy of nationalism and diffusing partisan politics were ultimately undermined.  One party functioned during his Presidency, his election was the death knell of one opposing party but in his adoption of certain institutions from his former opponents he unknowingly contributed to the development of new parties despite his hope that parties would disappear altogether.  Some events were beyond Monroe’s control, the ego of subordinates, the geographic sectionalism and the issue of slavery were not something one person could control forever.

-Monroe would live until 1831 in retirement on his farms.  He continued to face financial problems and was preceded in death by his wife in 1830.  He moved in with youngest daughter and son in law (also his nephew and daughter’s cousin) in New York City where he died on July 4th 1831 at age 73 from a tuberculosis and heart failure.

- Monroe was the last of Presidents who served in the American Revolution if one does not count Andrew Jackson’s service as a courier for Patriot militia in the Carolinas.

- In most historical rankings of Presidents in the modern era James Monroe is ranked as an above-average President.  He shifted alot of focus to domestic issues after foreign policy dominated politics for so long.  He also made one of the most long lasting and influential cornerstones of American foreign policy with the Monroe Doctrine.  He also oversaw the expansion and consolidation of the US east of the Mississippi River and presided over one of the few times in American history where one party functionally existed on a national level.  He was viewed as a more decisive executive than either James Madison or John Adams, two men regarded for their legislative brilliance and intelligence but often regarded and indecisive and emotionally complex executives.  Monroe in terms of temperament was more decisive, regarded as relatively intelligent if not outright brilliant in terms of mental capacity.  He was formal in most manner but not condescending and usually disarming with his personal warmth and charm as a character towards almost all who met him.  This became his chief political strength, he could have detractors who questioned his wisdom but were always disarmed by his friendly disposition and earned him a sort of personal charisma other politicians lacked. He could transcend factions within the party and appeal to the everyday citizen too.  Helping to push his agenda along by force of personality alone sometimes.

- Monrovia, Liberia is the only national capital city other than Washington DC named after a President.  Monroe also has 17 counties named after him in various US states, along with various cities and townships across the country too.

- In terms of fashion he was end of era too, the last to wear his a powdered wig, tricorne hat and knee high breeches as was the norm during the late 18th century.  He was also the last President never to be photographed, his successor John Quincy Adams would be the first.

Friends To Lovers (6) Masterlist

Links Last Checked: April 6th, 2022

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven

7 Minutes In Heaven - interrupted-by-fireworks

Summary: Dan and Phil have to play 7 Minutes in Heaven at a party.

A Kiss Before Bed (ao3) - loveandpride1895

Summary: When the Earth is set to be dust and ash, there's no point in things being left unsaid.

Or, an asteroid may just be the catalyst for something that's been brewing for a long time.

All Because of Him (ao3) - Howellsprincess

Summary: Someone leaves a baby at Dan and Phil's flat. Dan doesn't know what to do with a baby, he can barely take care of himself.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (to change a life)  - wavydanrises

Summary: Dan Howell is a rising star in theatre, Phil Lester is an actor acclaimed by the audience and the critique. They both get a role in the same play.

Blue Eyes and Paper Doves - pseudophan

Summary: Dan Howell doesn’t have a lot of friends. None, to be precise. This doesn’t bother him, but it does seem to bother a certain blue eyed Hufflepuff who’s made it his life’s mission to get to know him.

Blurry Strangers (ao3) – Phantropolis

Summary: Set in August of 2015, Phil is invited to his high school’s reunion. Afraid of being the only single one in attendance, he convinces Dan to accompany him as his fake ‘boyfriend’ for the week. It’s only when Phil allows his best friend into his childhood life and begins to see him in a romantic light that actual feelings start developing - but it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be reciprocated.

Coming Home To You - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan has been working for Phil as his nanny ever since his son was born. Phil travels for a living so he’s hardly ever home. However, they’ve gotten close over the past few months and Dan can’t help but want to be more than what they are.

Cute - cafephan

Summary: Bored of London and in need of new clothes for a premiere, Dan and Phil head to Manchester for an impromptu shopping trip, resulting in more than they bargained for...

Ghostly - fiction-phan

Summary: Dan Howell has been able to see ghosts his whole life. Things have gone from bad to worse now that his mother remarried and he finds himself sharing his new room with Phil, avery good looking guy. A guy, who happens to be dead.

It Happens - phananddragonsfics

Summary: Phil Lester is one of the brightest students in his class, with good friends, good grades, and a good reputation. When he gets an assignment to complete ten hours of service during a semester of class, he gets asked to tutor someone in his grade, Dan Howell. But there’s something Dan isn’t telling him: a reason for why he always shows up late (if he shows up at all), why he gets sick all the time, and why in the world he carries around a giant bottle of hand sanitizer wherever he goes.

It’s In The Eyes – clumsyphilip

Summary: Hiding that you’re in love with your best friend can be difficult at the best of times, add in the fact that every time you’re together the internet makes endless gifs of your “heart eyes” and it can be impossible.

Jealousy in a Less Obvious Form (ao3) - picantesalsa

Summary: Phil looked at his door briefly and then back at the camera. "Also," he said, pausing for a few seconds and taking another big breath. "I'm in love with someone. Though, they don't know it." Phil looked slightly sad in this moment, glancing at the ground. "And they'd hate me forever if they found out."

oh my, my, my - lesbiandannie

Summary: dan and phil growing up together from kids to teenagers to their wedding day.

Sea Glass (ao3) - kae_karo

Summary: Phil arrives on the Isle of Man to house-sit at his family's cabin while it's repaired and sold. Except the cabin's in far worse shape than expected, and Phil's got to find somewhere else to stay (Phil POV)

Secrets We Didn't Need To Keep (ao3) - Ablissa

Summary: Dan Howell. Twenty-four. In love with his best friend and flatmate, Phil Lester, for the past five years.

Dan usually gets by, he does. He won't tell Phil, obviously not. But he can't even picture seeing the man with somebody else, and it seems like this time around, there is a somebody else.

In the middle of the night, we are all suspended in a strange void. In this suspension, secrets become hard to keep.

And that's not always a bad thing.

The Great Colin Conundrum - gorgeousdan

Summary: Dan’s boyfriend breaks up with him, and Phil does his very best to get Dan to realize they’re perfect for each other. Unfortunately, Dan’s oblivious and his dog, Colin, is out to ruin Phil’s plans.

The Parent Project (ao3) - ATEEZpresent (orphan_account)

Summary: Dan and Phil get paired to take care of a realistic baby doll for a few days. Feelings arise.

The Sun, The Snow, And Everything In Between - chocolatesaucelester

Summary: A lot can happen in the span of one year, or a cycle of four seasons, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds. In that common amount of time Phil met Dan at bonfire night in the fall and over the course of a year, realizes he found a person he would’ve never guessed he’d found that night.

Wishing I Could Make This Mine - melancholymango

Summary: Phil has been recovering from his last break-up for a very long time, to the point that it’s more about not wanting to put himself out there again than it’s about wanting to go back to what he had before. His friends pick up on this and he ends up being dragged to a strip club, only to run into his childhood best friend (and lifelong crush) Dan Howell, at the bar. Dan Howell, the bashful and shy teen he’s been out of contact with for years now, who then proceeds to prance onto the stage and strip with all the confidence in the world.

“Lemma the Librarian - The Last Dance”

Published: 14 April 2018*

http://www.mcstories.com/LemmaTheLibrarian/index.html

“The Last Dance” brings an end to the episodic nature of the series. Everything from here on out is welded quite tightly into the main plot - or, rather, the main plot constitutes what happens in the last three stories. Spoilers for “The Last Dance” from here on out. What seems like a straightforward get-the-book smash-and-grab (which involves Lemma and Iola going undercover in a harem, because @midorikonton knows which side her bread is buttered on) turns into the return of fairy murdergoblin “Red” for his third and final confrontation with Lemma. Red loses, although mostly thanks to Iason and Rhoda and Rhoda’s Machamp rage-demon Sonneillon. (Rhoda being, of course, the person Lemma used the ghost last time to call for.)

Lemma’s desire to be enslaved is something she’s been dealing with, more or less successfully, up until this point, but it’s something Iason and Iola don’t actually know about yet. That reticence is now coming back to bite her in the ass. The most important conflict in this story isn’t the fight against Red, or Lugal’s** magic clothes; it’s between Lemma and Iola over what the right course of action while trapped in the palace is. Lemma wants to give in, of course, but Iola’s experience with mind-control has been a lot more traumatic than Lemma’s, and she has a very strong personal/cultural “go down fighting” ethos, and she doesn’t seem to have this particular kink on any level anyways. We were reminded just last story of all of Iola’s trauma around the whole magical mind-controlled sex thing. But unlike that time, Lemma, for strategic reasons, doesn’t feel like she has to room to let Iola do her own thing. So she doesn’t just go along with the enchantments, she actively throws her magical weight behind glamouring Iola too. Iola doesn’t know the actual reasons Lemma did this, but I’m not sure it’d make a difference anyways: she would understand it, correctly, as just as awful a betrayal either way.

The party - now up to four with the addition of Rhoda - is off to Hattush to find the last, most apocalyptic book, and it’s all very dramatic. But what sticks with me the most about the end is Iola’s refusal to tell Lemma everything’s ok.

*Look, it was supposed to be out this week, but the EMCSA (my canonical reference for links and dates) is on a one week break, I’m travelling next week, and its been posted to Tumblr now. Also it’s been burning a hole in my drafts folder for nearly a month now. ;P

**His death at the hands of Red is a little abrupt, but he’s enough of a controlling jerk I can’t brink myself to feel too sorry for him. Plus, you know, dying abruptly is a peril of kingship. (If Red had murdered, say, poor Simta, I’d be a lot angrier; but Jenny seems to have learned her lesson since the Vamp!Brea business***.)

***Yes, I’m still mad. ;P

When The Fuck Are We? 🤷

For the first time, we’re further back in time than the Bronze Age Collapse! “Possession with Intent” is set in Khemeth, which is clearly K•m•t, Egypt*. Ancient Egypt is one of those things everyone at least knows a little about** so I’ll focus on two slightly more obscure points.

The first is Iason’s reference to Khemeth being “the breadbasket of the Inner Sea”, which is both true and false in an interesting way. Egypt, being spectacularly fertile, essentially one-dimensonal, and laid out on a lazy, easily navigable river, is indeed just about the optimum imaginable setting for extracting massive food surpluses with ancient technology and governance. But it wasn’t a big export from Egypt (Egypt’s main ancient export was papyrus, thanks to its ecologically-enforced monopoly). Rather, it was mostly used to pump up Egypt’s own population, and in particular the showpiece capital cities such as Memphis, Thebes, or Alexandria. In the ancient world, having an unnecessarily - nay, infeasibly - large capital was a point of pride, which is where Egypt’s actual role as a breadbasket comes in: after it lost its independence in 30BCE, the Romans told Alexandria to get stuffed and began exporting Egypt’s wonderful easy grain surpluses to Rome, instead***. But of course, there’s not much here to imaginably suggest that we’re in the Roman Empire, timeline-wise.

Which brings us to the other point: the party being around for the invention of pyramids is obviously just for the joke, but even discounting that Egypt is old. The usual comparison is to note that when Augustus began redirecting the Egyptian grain surplus to Rome, the pyramids at Giza were already older than Augustus is now. The Egyptian state that survived the Bronze Age Collapse was the already declining New Kingdom, third of the traditional old/middle/new kingdoms division of ancient Egyptian history; it’s the heir to a polity stretching back into the 31st C BCE. Egypt is old. 

“The Last Dance” takes us to the one city-dwelling society even older than Egypt. Lagasch/Lagash is a Sumerian town, and Sumer (the south end of Mesopotamia, so modern-day south-central Iraq) has recognizable cities all the way back into the fifth freakin’ millennium BCE, and a historical record stretching patchily into the late fourth. Lagash ceased to exist as in independent city-state in the late third millennium*****, so about as long before our stop in Etruria as that was before Mercia, or Mercia is before the present day (and this story doesn’t seem to be taking place at the end of Lagash’s time as an independent polity, either). Based on some truly shoddy historical research******, we might slap this with a date of 2500 BCE - old enough to actually start getting close to the invention of the pyramids.

Sumerian, like Etruscan, is a language that seems to be unrelated to every other known language. (Before you come up with a brilliant theory that will revolutionize ancient history - no, they don’t seem to be related to each other, either.) Unlike Etruscan, we have such a huge corpus of text that we can translate it fairly reliably. (It helps that Sumerian remained in use as a record-keeping language for centuries after it had stopped being spoken - rather like Latin in Medieval/Early Modern Europe.) I’ve already mentioned the problems with king lists and such, but one of the great things about Mesopotamia is that unlike the logistical records of Mycenae, or the glorifying propaganda of Egypt, we have all of that and also preserved letters, and that lets us look so much further afield into the culture, you don’t even know. We even have recognizable preserved jokes: a regional administrator writes the central palace complaining that his requests for supplies to repair a dangerously deteriorating wall have been ignored, and it’s going to fall over and hurt someone. He demands supplies again, “and if you can’t send those at least send a doctor”.

Also, despite what Neal Stephenson will tell you, Sumerian is not glossolalic and you can’t use it to mind-control people.

*Look, you try transliterating Coptic into Latin characters! Like its distant relatives the Semitic languages, Coptic is based around consonantal root-words, into which vowels are slotted to make verbs, adjectives, and so forth. It makes for somewhat awkward transliterations.

**He says, and then panics trying to figure out how much people who aren’t actually historians have read about ancient Egypt. Tutankhamen’s weird Sun cultist dad is common knowledge, right?

***Rome’s peak in the Augustan period at a couple of hundred thousand, maybe a million****, was almost entirely on the back of the annona, a massive subsidized bread ration distributed to the Roman civic populace, and supplied in large part by Egypt. (It’s not terribly comparable to modern food stamps or other social welfare; in an ancient context, it’s more like spiking the football.) The population cratered between then and the burned-out husk the Goths and Byzantines squabbled over in the 6th C CE, but not because of the “fall of Rome”. Rather, the 4th C CE founding of Constantinople and the redirection of the Egyptian grain surplus there (so the new capital would bulk up to an appropriately prestigious population) was what really did it for Rome; and all of that happened when the Roman Empire was still riding high. The state of Rome was closer before and after the Visigoth sack than either was to Augustus’ city of marble. 

****The brilliant if wildly opinionated historian Colin McEvedy had a great turn of phrase arguing for 250,000. (He has a great turn of phrase for everything, you should read him.) After laying out the more archaeological arguments about land use and suchlike, he notes that the one solid literary record for the annona we have, around the time of Augustus, gives a little less than a quarter of a million rations, and “who ever heard of a dictator who put a smaller figure on his largesse than he needed to. If [Augustus] had fed a million Romans he would have said so.” 

*****We can peg it to exact years relative to related dates - the Mesopotamians were pretty through chroniclers, so we know how long kings ruled, in what regnal year they went on what campaign, and so forth, but they’re floating around in a little bit of a void. There are a couple of different possible chronologies depending on which recorded astronomical events you make line up with which calculated astronomical events.

******To wit, googling “Lagash king list dates” and looking for names that resemble “Lugal”. My historiography prof just shuddered and doesn’t know why.

~

Next time: the thrilling climax! Oh, man, does Lemma do some climaxing.

05-03-2020 | NewsPaper Analysis

05-03-2020 | NewPaper Analysis | StudywithDS

1. SC Frees trade in cryptocurrencies, annuls RBI curb 2. SC order on cryptocurrency will offer only temporary relief Ring-fencing regulated entities from virtual currencies Technological innovations, including those underlying virtual currencies, have the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of the financial system. However, Virtual Currencies(VCs), also variously referred to as cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity, and money laundering, among others. Reserve Bank has repeatedly cautioned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, regarding various risks associated with dealing with such virtual currencies. In view of the associated risks, it has been decided that, with immediate effect, entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling VCs. Regulated entities that already provide such services shall exit the relationship within a specified time. A circular in this regard is being issued separately. RBI's Concern on Virtual Currencies: Seeks to develop as a parallel system of payment. Challenges- regulatory, legal & operational risks. Risks of consumer protection, data security. Goes against global money laundering and terrorist financing rules. Will impact monetary policy of RBI and leads to tax evasion. Efforts of RBI and Govt. : Dec-2016- many central banks around the world, started examining the feasibility of creating their own VCs. GOI set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on 02-11-2017 April 2018-submitted first main report with draft crypto token & crypto asset(Banning, control, & regulation) Bill, 2018. Ban might be an extreme tool Objectives can be achieved through regulation Feb 2019-fresh Bill suggested -'Banning of cryptocurreny & regulation of official digital currency bill 2019. Proposes to ban mining, generation, holding, selling, dealing in, issuing, transferring, disposing of or using cryptocurrency in India. To create a digital rupee as a legal tender by GOI in constitution with RBI Recognize official foreign digital currency Why Supreme Court set aside RBI's Circular? It violates article 19(1)g of the constitution. RBI has not so far found, in the past 5 years or more, the activities of VC exchanges to impact RBI regulated entities adversely. Supreme Court asked RBI to direct the central bank of India to defreeze the current account of Discidum Internet Labs Pvt. Ltd and to release the funds. 3. River linking: CM writes to Andhra Govt. 4. State's outreach to neighbours raises river-linking expectations: National Perspective Plan(NPP): Envisages inter-basin transfer of water from surplus to deficit river basins: Optimal utilization of water resources. Raise the irrigation potential. Generation of additional hydro power. Other benefits like flod control, navigation Etc,. 2 Componenets: Himalayan Rivers Development Peninsular Rivers Development- 'Interlinking of Mahandi-Godavari-Krishna-Cavery rivers and build storages at potential sites in these basins'. National Water Development Agency(NWDA): Autonomous Society Setup in 1982. Ministry of Jal Shakti. Functions: To carry out a detailed survey and investigation of possible reservoir sites and interconnecting links in order to establish feasibility of the proposal of peninsular rivers development and Himalayan rivers development components forming part of the national perspective for water resources development prepared by the then Ministry of irrigation(now ministry of water resources, RD & GR) and Central Water Commission. To carry out detailed studies about the quantum of water in various peninsular river systems and Himalayan river systems which can be transferred to other basins/states after meeting the reasonable needs of the basin/states in the foreseeable future. To prepare a feasibility report of the various components of the scheme relating to peninsular Rivers development and Himalayan Rivers Development. To prepare detailed project report of river link proposals under a national perspective plan for water resources development after concurrence of the concerned states. To prepare pre-feasibility/detailed project reports of the intra-state links as may be proposed by the states. The concurrence of the concerned co-basin states for such proposals may be obtained before taking up their FRs/DPRs. To Undertake/ construct/ repair/renovate/rehabilitate/implement the projects either on its own or through an appointed agency/organization/PSU or company and the projects falling under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchal Yojana(PMKSY) of which projects under Accelerated irrigation benefits programme(AIBP) are also included and similar other projects. NWDA to act as a repository of borrowed funds or money received on deposit or loan given on interest or otherwise in such manner, as directed by MoWR, RD & GR and to secure the repayment of any such borrowed funds/money/deposits/loan, etc, by way of mortgage, pledge, change or lien upon all or any other property, assets or revenue of the society both present and future. To do all such other things the society may consider necessary, incidental, supplementary or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives. 5. Nuclear race, slow but steady: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons(NPT) Entered into force in 1970; extended indefinitely in 1995 Objactives: Prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and technology. Promote co-operatio in peaceful use of nuclear energy. Achieve nuclear disarmament and complete disarmament. 191 countries including permanent 5 of UNSC have joined the treaty. Nuclear weapon possessing countries like India, Pakistan and Israel sisi not sign. Allegations against NPT: It divides the world into nuclear weapon states(Nuclear haves) and non-nuclear weapon states(Nuclear have nots) Article-1: Prohibits transfer of nuclear weaponsor explosive devices or control of such weapons to non-nuclear weapon states. Article-2: Prohibits non-nuclear weapon states to manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons or explosive devices. NEWS: NPT's achievements in the last 50 years- no of nuclear warheads reduced from 70300 in 1986 to 14,000 in 2019. NPT helped to limit total no of nuclear states to 9 -> P5+India,Pakistan,Israel,N.Korea. Problems: Rate of reduction is falling in last 25years. China, Pakistan, India and North Korea are increasing their warheads 1800 warheads of US,UK,France and Russia- on high alert. 6. E-Waste recycling has doubled, says Centre: E-Waste: 'E-waste' means electrical and electronics equipment, whole or in part discarded as waste by the consumer or bulk consumer as well as rejects from manufacturing, refurbishment and repair processes. Why Recycling is important: Hazardous to Environment(Soil, water & air) and health - It contains toxic substances -> lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium Etc, Saving of Resources E-Wastes in India: 'Ranks 5th among e-waste producing countries after USA, China, Japan, and Germany'. E-Waste(Management Handling) Rules,2011 E-Waste(Management) Rules,2016 E-Waste(Management) Amendment Rules,2018 Responsibility Producer, Consumer/bulk consumer, collection centre, dismantler and recycler-extended producer responsibility(EPR) Has strengthened EPR. Manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and producer responsibility org(PRO) - E-Waste collection target did not set collection targets 30% collection of e-waste generated during first 2years. 40% during 3th and 4th years, 50% during 5th and 6th years, 70% from 7th year onwards. Relaxed the target 10% collection of e-waste generated in 2017-18 with a 10% increase every year untill 2023. Applicability Electrical and Electronic equipment mentioned in Schedule-I of the 2011 rules extended its purview to components or consumables or parts or spares of electrical and electronic equipment(EEE), along with thier products. - 7. Violence was one-sided, says delhi minorities panel: Delhi Minorities Commission(DMC): Setup by the Govt of NCT of Delhi under Delhi Minorities Commission Act, 1999. Objective: Safeguard rights and interests of minority Communities in NCT Delhi. Minority Communities- Defined so by the centre under National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Parsis, Buddhista and Jain are minorities in NCT Delhi Functions: Examine the working of the various safeguards provided in the constitution of India or laws enacted by parliament and the laws passed by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi for the protection of the minority communities, and to make recommendations to ensure their effective implementation. Monitor the implementation of the policies and schemes of the govt for the welfare of minority communities. Assess the representation of Minority Communities in the services of the Govt, semi-Govt Bodies and Govt. Undertakings, Municipal Corporations of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Council, Other local authorities, and in case of inadequate authorities for necessary action. Look into specific complaints regarding the deprivation of the rights and safeguards of the minority communities and to take up such matters with the appropriate authorities for necessary action. Conduct studies, research, analysis in order to make recommendations to promote socio-economic upliftment of Minority Communities and hols seminars, debates, discussions, etc. on the problems affecting the minority communities in Delhi. NEWS: Riots in N.E. Delhi killed more than 45 people DMC Report: Most damage was done to shops and houses of muslims. Riots were will planned and one sided. Riots caused irresponsible damage harmony Compensation announced by Delhi govt. was inadequate. Read the full article

New Post has been published on Best mobile phone shop

New Post has been published on http://bestmobilephone.kolonel.info/products/original-zte-nubia-z17-mini-lte-4g-mobile-phone-6gb-64gb-5-2-inch-snapdragon-653-dual-rear-camera-13mp13mp-fingerprint-nfc/

Original ZTE Nubia Z17 mini LTE 4G Mobile Phone 6GB 64GB 5.2 inch Snapdragon 653 Dual Rear Camera 13MP+13MP Fingerprint NFC

Original ZTE Nubia Z17 mini LTE 4G Mobile Phone 6GB RAM 64GB ROM 5.2 inch Snapdragon 652 OctaCore Dual Rear Camera Fingerprint NFC

Tips : Dear buyers, all product parameters are from the official website of the product, if the parameters are subject to change, please receive the actual product-based.

The Nubia Z17 Mini 6GB RAM 64GB ROM Highlights: 1. 5.2 inch 1920X1080 pixels (FHD ,1080P, LTPS 2.5D ) 2. CPU: Snapdragon MSM8976 Pro(653) Octa Core 64bit GPU:Adreno 510 3. OS: Nubia UI (base on Android M) 4. Storage : 6GB RAM + 64GB ROM 5. Front Camera : 16.0MP / Wide Angle: 80 angle Dual Rear Camera:13.0MP(Colorful ) + 13.0MP(Black and White) IMX258 RGB sensor + IMX258 MONO sensor 6. Battery : 2950mAh 7. Support Max SD Card : Support Micro SD TF card up to 200GB 8.Network: 2G : GSM: B2/3/5/8 (850/900/1800/1900MHz);CDMA 1x & EVDO 800 3G : WCDMA:B1/2/5/8 (850/900/1900/2100MHz)TD-SCDMA:Band 34/39 4G : FDD-LTE :Band 1/3/5/7 (1800/2100/2600MHz) TD-LTE:Band 38/39/40/41(2600/1900/2300/2555-2655MH)

Bundle

Package (What is in the packing box ? )

Official Standard with Gifts

Official Package

( Z17 mini Phone x1 + USB Type-C Cable x 1 + US Charger x1 + User Manual x 1+ Card Pin x 1+Waranty cardx 1)

add type c cable

standard package +1*type c cable

Add hp1001 earphone

Standard package+1*hp1001earphone original from Nubia

​

I need pay for customs duty?

You may be charged customs duties and taxes for something purchased online. Buyers are responsible for custom taxes.

For Russian: 1.The best option is “AliExpress Standard Shipping” method, free and normally no need pay tax. 2.The customer must be write the full name (first name,middle name ,last name) in your address, othewise , your order can not process in time.

What do you declare to customs?

We normally declare the lower price on the invoice/bill to help avoid custom duty, but if you have any request about declaration, please leave us a message in the order before delivery.

Google Services and Multi-language

Support

May I get repair warranty?

One-year Store warranty (China Warranty Service) or One-year Aliexpress warranty (Local Warranty Service).

How to check whether the phone can be worked in my country?

Please visit this webpage willmyphonework.net, you can find the answer.

Delivery

Average 15-45 days,95% parcels ship out within 7-25 business days.

About Tempered Glass Film

We will provide glass film (suitable adapter,for example: russian : eu adapter , not the eu charger)as gift,this glass film smaller than screen,due to curved edge of screen.We not accept any dipute about glass film size.

Basic Information

Model

Nubia Z17 Mini

Time To Market

April 6th,2017 (China Time)

OS

Nubia UI 4.0(base on Android M)

CPU

Snapdragon 652 Octa Core 64 bit

GPU

Adreno 530

SIM Card

Dual Nano SIM Card Dual Standby. (When one card choose 4G network, another only for 2G(GSM) network.Two CDMA SIM Cards can not work same time:when one choose 4G Network ,another SIM Card no Signal)

Baterry

mAh (non-detachable)

Memory Capacity

RAM

4GB/6GB(The actual available internal storage is less than the specification data as the System and Apps take space.)

ROM

64GB(The actual available internal storage is less than the specification data as the System and Apps take space.)

Max.

Support Micro SD TF card up to 200GB

About Storage

The actual available storage is not equal to the writen number,the reason we can explain is that the software configuration of your phone will occupy part of storage.The final acvaible storage you can check the Antutu scores screenshots.We can not accept the dispute over RAM/ROM difference.

Connectivity

Cellular and wireless

Supports 4G (FDD-LTE) 3G(WCDMA) and 2G(GSM) Network

2G

GSM: B2/3/5/8 (850/900/1800/1900MHz);CDMA 1x & EVDO 800

3G

WCDMA:B1/2/5/8 (850/900/1900/2100MHz)TD-SCDMA:Band 34/39

4G

FDD-LTE : Band 1/3/5/7 (1800/2100/2600MHz) TD-LTE : Band 38/39/40/41(2600/1900/2300/2555-2655MH)

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.1

WLAN

Yes, 802.11 b/g/n/ac,support 5GHz band and 2.4GHz band

GPS

Yes

Google Services

Support

–

–

Screen

Display

5.2Inch

Resolution

1920 x 1080 px

Camera

Front camera

16.0MP

Rear camera

13.0MP + 13.0MP

Auto Focus

Support, Dual Back Camera

Touch Focus

Yes

Multimedia

Audio format

FLAC/APE/AAC/MKA/OGG/MIDI/M4A/AMR

Video format

MP4/3GP/MOV/MKV/AVI/FLV/MPEG

Picture format

JPEG/GIF/BMP/ PNG

Sensors

G-sensor

Yes

Gyroscope

Yes

Light sensor

Yes

Proximity sensor

Yes

Package Contents

1 x Nubia Z17 Mini Cell Phone

1 x US Charger

1 x USB Type-C Cable

1 x Type-C Adapter

1 x User Manual

Buyer Agreement : 1. About the product: if the cellphone you received have any problem,please contact us at first and don’t FEEDBACK on your order,we will provide the best service help you to solve the problem. 2. About The System update:All the phones produced in China like the Letv/ ZTE/ Nubia/MEITU and so on ,when we get phones from factory, they only support English and Chinese.So we will open the Box to install the multi-language.if buyer update the system,it will lose multi-language,then cause the phone only support English and Chinese.Therefore,we don’t suggest you update the phone system. 3. About customs tax:We won’t bear the customs taxes.Normally,we will declare the lower price on the package/bill/invoice to help avoid customs tax . 4.About the Mobile Phone a parts of APP language: We sell Chinese brand mobile phone ZTE,Nubia,Huawei,LeEco(Letv),Oneplus,Vivo,360,Gionee,Koobee and so on, there built-in some Pre-install APPs from factory, because of these Apps are all locked by manufactor,can’t change the languages,only show the chinese,this is the normal phenomenon. We can’t accept the dispute about the”System language is not as described” Notice:If customer place the order,we think that the customer comply with all the agreement default.So please read the agreement clearly before you buy our phones. About the FAQ page , pls check this link >> About the Payment page , pls check this link.>> About the Shipment page , pls check this link.>> About the Warranty page , pls check this link.>>