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Here is something very interesting i thought its worth sharing.
Celeon visits a plague doctor in Assassin's Creed 2 , like they were described by german bookseller and artist Paul Fürst by a very widely known picture he painted in 1656.
Fürst called this picture and description of a plague doctor which he came across during a visit to Italy "Doktor Schnabel von Rom" Doctor Beak of Rome.
What i didn't knew is that what these doctors wore was not a silly bird costume but possibly the first example of protective clothing against airborne diseases.
It not just looks a bit like a gasmask , this bird mask was indeed one of the very first filtered masks (the beak being the filter), yet very primitive as they were based on the belief that foul odors coming from the sick and dead are transmitting the plague.
Their masks protected the doctors eyes with glass eyepieces and the air went through filters made up of different herbs which were supposed to neutralize the possible present "bad odors"
So while the doctors still lacked the true full understanding, their ideas were not that far off and so their clothing propably really protected them from being infected while treating their patients.
The cane he is holding on the picture was used to examine body areas of patients without touching them, another example of understanding about the way the plague must be transmitted.
All these were first significant signs of improvements in medical science during the Renaissance. Improvements over old methods like holding the bible over the infected while muttering prayers thinking this might cure them or protect others from infection.
At its peak ,the plague, or the Black Death as it was called killed around 1/3 of Europe's population between 1347 and 1353 , killing an estimated 25 million people.
Returning in the following centuries in dozens of smaller waves, it killed an overall of 100 million people worldwide and it took Europe's population almost 150 years to recover to its pre-plague size.
It is possible however that these plague waves were not one and the same disease but up to three different pandemic diseases which were just thought of to be reappearances of the original.
Plaque in Weymouth, England. The same year the plague hit Gaza aswell and quickly spread from there over the entire middle east.
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The last guy in line... Does it seem to anyone that he really wanted to participate in the raising, but sort of missed out?Originally posted by Foehammer-1:
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Actually no, couldn't be more wrong.
Mr. Hayes is one of the first to handle it during the raising. He is one of 3 of the 6 to survive the battle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...gwr8&feature=related
More info on him found here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Hayes
Senior Member
Protests of exile-Lybians in front of the Lybian embassy in Berlin.
The banners say : "All lybians have a heart for Lybia, except Ghadaffi" ,"Bloodbath in Lybia" "42 years of dictaroship are enough" and "Where is the press ?" The rest is self-explanatory
But the embassy itself seems to be pro Gadhaffi unlike many other of lybias embassies around the world.
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Wish they were that outspoken about Terrorism and Extremism amongst their own. Where is the Press?Originally posted by Celeon999:
Protests of exile-Lybians in front of the Lybian embassy in Berlin.
The banners say : "All lybians have a heart for Lybia, except Ghadaffi" ,"Bloodbath in Lybia" "42 years of dictaroship are enough" and "Where is the press ?" The rest is self-explanatory
But the embassy itself seems to be pro Gadhaffi unlike many other of lybias embassies around the world.
Gimme a break.
They'll protest the West, protest Democracy and anything else that doesn't involve speaking out against their own. Now, all of a sudden, the shoe is on the other foot and they still find a way to protest the West (Where is the Press?). I think there will be far reaching ramifications to all these uprisings in the Middle East, and not necessarily toward benevolent ends, though it may appear that way for awhile, initially.
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Gonna have to disagree with you there, Wernher. Not all muslims are fanatics or terrorists, that is a misguided perception the west has of a culture they don't fully understand.
Most muslims (and I know a few) are as horrified by the random acts of violence by the 'extremists' as we (white, anglo-saxon Christians) are. To lump all arabs/muslim into the same pot and label them 'terrorists and extremists' is only adding fuel to the fire.
The Middle-Eastern dictators of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya (Saudi Arabia?) have served their purpose for the western interest in oil and gas. It would be hypocritical of us to condemn the uprising against the brutal regime as the brave people of Libya are now proving.
Gaddafi's latest hate-filled dialogue:
"We shall destroy any aggression with popular will," he said. "With the armed people, when necessary we will open the weapons depots. So that all the Libyan people, all the Libyan tribes can be armed. Libya will become a red flame, a burning coal."
Remember the events of 1645 and 1776. The US and Europe have backed the wrong horses and will now pay the price. The US, just like the British Empire before, weilds it's diminishing global power blindly, unable to see the true picture that gave birth to your great nation in the first place. People have a right to stand up for their freedom. Mind you, the price of oil is bound to go up...
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Well, I never said they were all terrorists. At least, I didn't see that in my post. I know a lot of Muslims too, grew up with many as friends and neighbors, even went to school with a lot of Circassians. That's not to mention the ones I deal with on my job, those in my profession and those whose homes I respond to. What I was referring to was, their selective silence under specific issues involving their own and, which seem to do the most damage to their image. If these issues are affecting the way people view them, as various Imams and Muslim community leaders (at least) here in the States are claiming, don't you think it's odd that they aren't speaking out more against these issues that are harming them?Originally posted by Kielhauler2010:
Gonna have to disagree with you there, Wernher. Not all muslims are fanatics or terrorists, that is a misguided perception the west has of a culture they don't fully understand.
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I agree with you. We have (had) a minority of virulent Muslim clerics here in the UK, nor only failing to denounce terror but actually inciting it. However, in recent years, more moderate Muslims have made their voices heard and the extremist lobby has been driven underground, ie.. the 7/7 bombings in London when they fell off MI5's radar.
All I am saying is that it is difficult for the majority in the Middle east to express any kind of opinion under their current despotic regimes. They are only just now finding their voices and it's going to be a roller-coaster ride from here.
Gaddafi and similar tyrants have oppressed their own people for so long that basic freedoms we, in the West, take for granted, are only now being realised. Bigger, more complicated issues, such as extremism will no doubt come under the spotlight in good time.
As I learnt from living amongst Thais in Thailand, democracy as we know it is not part of the fabric of core ethics of many cultures. Corruption and nepotism are so rife as to be accepted and tolerated. Democracy cannot be imposed, the people have to find it for themselves, and learn to live with the fact that other people, who may hold opinions that differ from their own, have an equally valid case.
I believe the UN now puts the death toll at over 2,000 and rising. Let's hope Gaddafi has an ounce of humanity and leaves 'his' country soon.
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IMHO, I don't think Democracy, as we know it, is the final answer. By it's very nature, it is a kingdom divided and will not stand. Too much freedom is not necessarily a good thing. I agree completely with your view on their new found voice. I fear, however, that it won't be long before extremism creeps into these uprisings under the guise of sheep's clothing.Originally posted by Kielhauler2010:
I agree with you. All I am saying is that it is difficult for the majority in the Middle east to express any kind of opinion under their current despotic regimes. They are only just now finding their voices and it's going to be a roller-coaster ride from here.
Gaddafi and similar tyrants have oppressed their own people for so long that basic freedoms we, in the West, take for granted, are only now being realised. Bigger, more complicated issues, such as extremism will no doubt come under the spotlight in good time.
As I learnt from living amongst Thais in Thailand, democracy as we know it is not part of the fabric of core ethics of many cultures. Corruption and nepotism are so rife as to be accepted and tolerated. Democracy cannot be imposed, the people have to find it for themselves, and learn to live with the fact that other people, who may hold opinions that differ from your own, have an equally valid case.
