Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

CPT Spirits in the Sky - George Michael - Died on Christmas Day 2016 at age 53


Britain's musical icons lost yet another legend in 2016 on Christmas Day when George Michael, a powerful force in concert who sold over 100 million albums died of heart failure according to his manager at age 53.

Here is what some of his friends and fellow legends had to say about the electric George Michael.




Last Christmas (Over 224 million views)
Double click image to enlarge.




Stars pay tribute to 'truly brilliant' George Michael after singer dies on Christmas Day aged 53

Sir Elton John has led the tributes to his "beloved friend" George Michael, who died on Christmas Day aged 53.

The Rocket Man singer said he was "in deep shock" at Michael's death.


The pair famously collaborated on a rendition of Elton's classic Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, released in 1992, nearly two decades after the original.


Writing on Instagram, Elton said: "I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans."




The Wham! singer died at home (PA)


His partner in Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley, said he was heartbroken.


His Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley said he was devastated.


Heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend Yog. Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved. A xx https://t.co/OlGTm4D9O6

— Andrew Ridgeley (@ajridgeley) December 26, 2016

Pop stars from the former Wham! front man's heyday were joined by current chart-toppers in declaring their sadness.



Careless Whisper (Over 162 million views)
Double click image to enlarge.



Martin Fry, lead singer and songwriter with Look Of Love band ABC, said on Twitter: "Absolutely devastated to hear of the loss of GeorgeMichael Truly brilliant talent £sad £sad £sad."

Contemporaries Duran Duran referenced the so-called "curse of 2016" - which has seen the deaths of rock and pop behemoths David Bowie, Prince and Rick Parfitt - as they posted on their official Twitter account: "2016 - loss of another talented soul. All our love and sympathy to George Michael's family."




This year's X Factor winner Matt Terry said: "Noooooooooooooooo! I cannot believe this !!!! RIP George Michael".

Matt Lucas, who worked with the singer during a sketch for BBC comedy Little Britain, said: "Well 2016, you had to just take one more, didn't you?"


His Little-Britain co-star David Walliams said: "I pray George Michael finally finds peace. A deeply private man with an awe-inspiring talent that couldn't help but make him a superstar."


Entrepreneur and television personality Duncan Bannatyne said: "George Michael has now been taken by the curse of 2016. Please make him the last. RIP."




While former Radio One disc jockey Tony Blackburn said: "Unbelievable, George Michael has died at the age of 53. RIP.This dreadful year goes on and on.So sad, a real talent."




Somebody to Love with Queen
(Double click image to enlarge)


Former X Factor winner Shayne Ward said: "Absolutely shocked to hear that one of my vocal idols George Michael Has passed away. I adored his voice."


Alison Moyet, who performed at Live Aid in 1985 on the same bill as Michael, said: "I met George Michael a few times and he was ever a gentle, unassuming soul. A rare presence in a world full of self. Honest, genuine talent."


Eighties pop star Howard Jones, known for the song I'd Like To Get To Know You Well, said: "Can't believe George Michael has passed ....one of the greatest singers and writers the UK ever produced. I'm really saddened ..a lovely man."





                                              Star Trek actor William Shatner said: "Is this year over yet? Too many people are passing away. Rest In Peace, George Michael."

                                              Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "Very sad to hear the news about George Michael. An incredible talent who brought joy to millions of us with his music."


                                              Very sad to hear the news about George Michael. An incredible talent who brought joy to millions of us with his music.

                                              — Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) December 25, 2016


                                              Fellow politician Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, said: "This is just too awful. Such an amazing talent gone too soon. Wham was part of the soundtrack to my teenage years."


                                              Singer and stage actress Pixie Lott said: "Grew up listening to the beautiful and talented George Michael - my mama's favourite! was a pleasure to meet him so sad to hear the news."


                                              Fellow pop star La Roux said: "Another one gone.... What a voice, what a songwriter."





                                              Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me with Elton John
                                              (Double click image to enlarge)



                                              Producer and musician Mark Ronson said: "I bought (and worshipped) Listen Without Prejudice on my 15th birthday. This song readied me for Stevie Wonder... Other than a global pop phenom, George Michael was one of the true British soul greats. A lot of us owe him an unpayable debt. bye George xx"
                                              .

                                              Sunday, August 25, 2019

                                              America - A Nation of Immigrants - The Real Story - Melting Pot of Humanity



                                              Who are we?

                                              I feel comfortable writing about America a nation of immigrants because I have spent over 50 years trying to help the indigenous Native Americans like the Hopi nation, who are the only people in our country who are not immigrants.

                                              With the politics in Washington off the cliff, and the truth harder to find every day in the news media, I figured I could be a sort of voice in the wilderness explaining what most Americans think about immigrants.


                                              I wrote this article for the benefit of those outside of America forced to turn to the news media for truth about the the USA  and immigration reform.  Here is  little history often overlooked.

                                              Back when our Forefathers fought a war of independence against the most powerful empire in the world, the British, we were already debating the shape of things to come, in order to assure our freedom, and protect us from the threat of becoming an empire and exercising such control over a free people.


                                              There are a few things I believe were of significant influence on the Founding Fathers, more than we like to acknowledge.  First, I accept that Divine Providence guided them in their deliberations and debate.  Second, the colonists of that time were far more educated than most people believe.  Third, they employed either oracles or psychics to see far into the future.

                                              I believe the record since our Declaration of Independence 240 years ago is testament to the truth in what I say.  It would have taken the Hand of God to guide a bunch of farmers, aristocrats, religious fanatics, and outcasts from throughout the world with minimal money and certainly no army, to victory over the greatest empire in world history.


                                              As for education, many Americans were self-taught while those with resources made extensive use of tutors.  Innovation, initiative, and creativity were necessary characteristics of those attempting to tame a wild land and create a civilization in a foreign world.

                                              Now oracles, mediums, and psychics must have been available to help draft the framework of a Constitution that protected and preserved the United States through all the radical changes in world culture, religion, economy, war, and technology that would come in the not too distant future generations.


                                              Beyond the foresight, the founding documents also had to correct the flaws in the system that existed at the time, such as slavery, in order to guarantee freedom and equality to everyone.  The goal of the Constitution was to provide a pathway to achieve the lofty promises contained in the document whether they existed at the time or not.

                                              Three key items immediately come to mind in terms of lofty promises.  Of course, there was slavery, women's rights, and there was religious freedom.  At the time, slavery was legal, women had no rights, and religious freedom was non-existent though there were attempts to institute it in places like Maryland with little success.


                                              The Constitution also had to make it clear that America would always be a nation of immigrants like no other nation in the world.  Just think of the incredible growth that took place in America.  In 1776, there were about 10 million people.  Only forty years later, in 1816, there were 41 million people, four times as many.  During the next millennial, by 1916, we grew to 102 million and one millennial later we have reached 325 million people, from 10 million to 325 million in just 240 years.

                                              Today we have three million indigenous peoples, plus two million more indigenous of mixed race, so five million indigenous residents.  That means 98.5% of the population in America are immigrants or ancestors of immigrants.


                                              The roots of Americans are vast.  Here is the diversity of Americans as of 2010 represented by the ancestral ethnic mix as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.


                                              American Ethnic Mix 2010

                                              1.      49,206,934 Germans 
                                              2.      41,284,752 Black or African Americans
                                              3.      35,523,082 Irish
                                              4.      31,789,483 Mexican 
                                              5.      26,923,091 English 
                                              6.      19,911,467 Americans
                                              7.      17,558,598 Italian
                                              8.      9,739,653 Polish
                                              9.      9,136,092 French (except Basque)
                                              10.  5,706,263 Scottish
                                              11.  5,102,858 Scotch-Irish
                                              12.  4,920,336 American Indian or Alaska Native
                                              13.  4,810,511 Dutch
                                              14.  4,607,774 Puerto Rican
                                              15.  4,557,539 Norwegian
                                              16.  4,211,644 Swedish
                                              17.  3,245,080 Chinese (except Taiwanese) 
                                              18.  3,060,143 Russian
                                              19.  2,781,904 Asian Indian
                                              20.  2,625,306 West Indian (except Hispanic groups)
                                              21.  2,549,545 Filipino
                                              22.  2,087,970 French Canadian
                                              23.  1,888,383 Welsh
                                              24.  1,764,374 Cuban
                                              25.  1,733,778 Salvadoran
                                              26.  1,620,637 Arab
                                              27.  1,576,032 Vietnamese
                                              28.  1,573,608 Czech
                                              29.  1,511,926 Hungarian
                                              30.  1,423,139 Portuguese
                                              31.  1,422,567 Korean
                                              32.  1,420,962 Danish
                                              33.  1,414,551 Dominican (Dominican Republic)
                                              34.  1,319,188 Greek


                                              This is the percentage distribution of the top fifteen.

                                              49,206,934
                                              17.1%
                                              45,284,752
                                              14.6%
                                              35,523,082
                                              11.6%
                                              31,789,483
                                              10.9%
                                              26,923,091
                                              9.0%
                                              19,911,467
                                              6.7%
                                              17,558,598
                                              5.9%
                                              9,739,653
                                              3.0%
                                              9,136,092
                                              2.9%
                                              5,706,263
                                              1.9%
                                              5,102,858
                                              1.7%
                                              4,920,336
                                              1.6%
                                              4,810,511
                                              1.6%
                                              4,607,774
                                              1.5%
                                              4,557,539
                                              1.5%

                                                
                                              Religious Denominations

                                              Here is the diversity of Americans represented by their religious denomination beliefs.

                                              Denomination name
                                              Members
                                              (thousands)
                                              1. The Roman Catholic Church
                                              68,202
                                              1. Southern Baptist Convention
                                              16,136
                                              1. United Methodist Church, The
                                              7,679
                                              1. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The
                                              6,157
                                              1. Church of God in Christ, The
                                              5,499
                                              1. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc
                                              5,197
                                              1. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
                                              4,274
                                              1. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc
                                              3,500
                                              1. Assemblies of God
                                              3,030
                                              1. Presbyterian Church (USA)
                                              2,675
                                              1. African Methodist Episcopal Church
                                              2,500
                                              1. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
                                              2,500
                                              1. Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod (LCMS),
                                              2,278
                                              1. Episcopal Church
                                              1,951
                                              1. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc Churches of Christ 
                                              1,800
                                              1. Churches of Christ
                                              1,639
                                              1. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
                                              1,500
                                              1. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
                                              1,400
                                              1. American Baptist Churches in the USA
                                              1,308
                                              1. Jehovah's Witnesses Baptist Bible Fellowship International
                                              1,184
                                              1. Church of God
                                              1,074
                                              1. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
                                              1,071
                                              1. Seventh-day Adventist Church
                                              1,060
                                              1. United Church of Christ
                                              1,058
                                              1. The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc
                                              1,010

                                              NOTE: Includes the self-reported membership of religious bodies with 650,000 or more as reported to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Groups may be excluded if they do not supply information. The data are not standardized so comparisons between groups are difficult. The definition of "church member" is determined by the religious body.
                                              Source: 2012 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, National Council of Churches.


                                              This is a more detailed breakdown of the same religious information.



                                              Religions

                                              Explore religious groups in the U.S. by tradition, family and denomination

                                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              • Non-Christian Faiths 5.9%
                                              • Jewish 1.9%
                                              • Muslim 0.9%
                                              • Buddhist 0.7%
                                              • Hindu 0.7%
                                              • Other World Religions 0.3%
                                              • Other Faiths 1.5%

                                              Finally, here is an article discussing the Pew research polling on the political preference of the various religious denominations in the last (2012) presidential election.


                                              FEBRUARY 23, 2016

                                              U.S. religious groups and their political leanings

                                              Mormons are the most heavily Republican-leaning religious group in the U.S., while a pair of major historically black Protestant denominations – the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the National Baptist Convention – are two of the most reliably Democratic groups, according to data from Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study.

                                              Seven-in-ten U.S. Mormons identify with the Republican Party or say they lean toward the GOP, compared with 19% who identify as or lean Democratic – a difference of 51 percentage points. That’s the biggest gap in favor of the GOP out of 30 religious groups we analyzed, which include Protestant denominations, other religious groups and three categories of people who are religiously unaffiliated.


                                              At the other end of the spectrum, an overwhelming majority of members of the AME Church (92%) identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while just 4% say they favor the Republican Party (an 88-point gap). Similarly, 87% of members of the National Baptist Convention and 75% of members of the Church of God in Christ (another historically black denomination) identify as Democrats.

                                              These patterns largely reflect data from exit polls during the 2012 general election. In that year, 95% of black Protestants said they voted for Democrat Barack Obama, while 78% of Mormons said they voted for Republican Mitt Romney, who also is a Mormon.



                                              White evangelical Protestants also voted heavily Republican in 2012 (79% for Romney), which mirrors the leanings of many of the largest evangelical denominations. Members of the Church of the Nazarene are overwhelmingly likely to favor the GOP (63% Republican vs. 24% Democrat), as are the Southern Baptist Convention (64% vs. 26%) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (59% vs. 27%), among other evangelical churches. (In our survey, members of these groups can be of any race or ethnicity, while exit polls report totals for white evangelicals in particular.)

                                              Catholics are divided politically in our survey, just as they were in the 2012 election. While 37% say they favor the GOP, 44% identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party (and 19% say they do not lean either way). In the 2012 election, 50% of Catholics said they voted for Obama, while 48% voted for Romney.



                                              Members of mainline Protestant churches look similar to Catholics in this regard. For example, 44% of members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) identify as or lean Republican in the survey, compared with 47% who are Democrats or Democratic-leaning. United Methodists and Anglicans are slightly more likely than other mainline groups to say they are Republicans, while members of the United Church of Christ are more likely to be Democrats.

                                              About seven-in-ten religiously unaffiliated voters (70%) and Jews (69%) voted for Obama in 2012. A similar share of Jews in our survey (64%) say they are Democrats, while all three subsets of religious “nones” (atheists, agnostics and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular”) lean in that direction as well.



                                              Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are taught to remain politically neutral and abstain from voting, stand out for their overwhelming identification as independents who do not lean toward either party. Three-quarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses put themselves in that category.

                                              .