On street level at the Metrotown SkyTrain Station, there is information about TransLink's Accountability Centre

With the lovely Danelia Dust.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

May 21, 2013

 

Around 20 protesters rallied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. They called for more accountability in the banking industry, demanded the Obama administration prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis of 2008 and called for relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. This event was in solidarity with Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23.

 

Signs read:

STAND TOGETHER

STOP

FORECLOSURES

STOP EVICTIONS

occupyhomesmn.org

 

2013-05-21 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution for: Fibonacci Blue

 

BALTIMORE - The U.S. Marshals Service and task force partners conducted Operation Bless Baltimore is a large-scale, public safety initiative charged with operationalizing community policing strategies across all levels of government within the area of Baltimore. The U.S. Marshals Service partnered with federal, state, and local officials to support the Feds Feed Families (FFF) food drive and local charities via the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Additionally, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force provided operational support for the public safety partnership. In September 2022, the District of Maryland’s Silver Shield community-oriented policing unit

formed this partnership between the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore Police Department, and Maryland State Police.

 

“Our nation was founded on the concept that the government receives its power from the people and that the government works for the people,” said Johnny L. Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the District of Maryland.

 

“We embrace community policing because it aligns with the fundamental principles of our democracy. By taking care of each other, we give everyone hope.”

 

“The Baltimore Police Department is proud to partner with the U.S. Marshals Service and our state and federal partners in supporting Operation Bless Baltimore,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison. “We know that this community policing-led initiative helped in building relationships with law enforcement and our communities, and also enhanced the lives of those

who benefited from these efforts.”

 

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron provided the collective support of their offices. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Secret Service provided substantial support for the initiative.

 

“Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers in Maryland never stop caring, whether they are performing public safety services or gathering food, clothing, and toys for those in need,” said Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III. “Operation Bless Baltimore is a great example of the ongoing commitment of our public safety family to help others.”

 

Over the course of 90 days, the interagency partnership collected/donated over 10,000 pounds of sustenance, over $8,000 worth of clothing, and more than $7,000 worth of toys to help improve the lives of citizens from underserved communities throughout the area of Baltimore. As part of the joint problem-solving initiative, the interagency-community partnership reviewed public safety concerns facing local citizens. Working in partnership with the Baltimore Police

Department and other local officials, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force launched Operation Ignite the Light to serve as an enforcement component of Operation Bless Baltimore. During the final two weeks of the 90-day operation, the U.S. Marshals Service and law enforcement partners addressed

threats to the community by apprehending 68 violent offenders, recovering three firearms, and seizing dangerous drugs including heroin and cocaine.

 

“Through coordination and partnership, thousands of pounds of food, clothing, and toys have

been collected for Marylanders in need and 68 violent offenders have been arrested,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “Law enforcement will continue to support the community, while we also hold accountable those who commit violent crimes.”

 

Operation Ignite the Light was conducted in support of Operation Bless Baltimore. Participants of the two-week enforcement initiative include: Annapolis Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department, ATF, Carroll

County Sheriff’s Office, Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Frederick Police Department, Howard County Police Department, Howard County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Service, Division of Parole & Probation, Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and Westminster Police Department.

  

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Speakers included:

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

 

On Twitter: twitter.com/UN_Women/status/887383006268321792

On Monday, November 7, 2022, VA Secretary Denis McDonough spoke at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon.

McDonough discussed the impact of the PACT Act, a bill signed in August by President Biden that expands medical benefits to veterans exposed to toxins from burn pits on military bases, and delivered an update on the state of Americaâs veterans and their families. (VA/Robert Turtil)

 

The following is his speech: Good afternoon. Jen [Judson, 115th Pres., NPC], thanks for that kind introduction, and for leading this truly great, and important, organization. Let me recognize the Press Clubâs American Legion Post and its commander, Tom Young, and all the Veterans Service Organizations represented here. You are critical to helping us serve Vets, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.

 

In just a little bit, as the sun starts setting over the Vietnam War Memorial Wall, theyâll begin the solemn tradition of reading 58,281 names etched in those slabs of polished black granite. Among them, approximately 1,500 still Missing in Action. So, in this 40th anniversary year of the Memorial Wall, Iâm honored to welcome home Vietnam Veteran Corporal Jan Scruggs, and all the Vietnam Vets. Corporal Scruggs, Welcome home. And on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you.

 

Thank you for your courageous service, for opening hearts to Vietnam Vetsâ heroic service, and for so well-honoring your brothers- and sisters-in-arms who died for this country, and for each other. Corporal Scruggs, and all Vets here today, would you stand, if youâre able, and be recognized?

 

Words can never express the depth of our gratitude to you, our Vetsâyour courage, selflessness, service, and the sacrifices made by you and your families. But, there is virtue in trying, in reminding everyone how these courageous men and women put their lives on the line, for all of us; how much they gave, often their last full measure of devotion; how much each is willing to give so the highest of ideals of our nation might endure for all Americans. Veteransâ valor is a constant reminder of true loyalty, true courage, true patriotism.

 

Finally, to all you courageous journalists here today: many of you have gone to battlefields, to cities under siege, and risked great danger to tell servicemembersâ and Veteransâ stories. And in so doing, you help us serve Veterans better than we ever could do alone. Thank you for holding all of us accountable, to all of the Vets.

 

â¦

 

Itâs a privilege to be here as we prepare for Veterans Day. As we all know, Veterans Day is a day to honor Vets, to remember what theyâve done for our nation, and to recognize that when those Vets serve and sacrifice, so do their families, caregivers, and survivors.

 

But Veterans Day is something more. Itâs a call to action for all Americans to fulfill our sacred duty, as Americans, and serve Veterans as well as theyâve served us. Not just on Veterans Day, but every day. So, I want to talk about what weâve done at VA over the past year to serve Vets, and what we will do this next year to deliver for them.

 

With the Presidentâs leadership, Congressâs support, the work of VSOs, and many others, weâre stepping up for Vets. Since President Biden took office, weâve delivered more care and more benefits to more Veterans than at any other time in our nationâs history.

 

When it comes to benefits Vets have earned and deserve, weâre processing their claims faster than ever before. In fact, VA processed 1.7 million Veteran claims in Fiscal Year 22âshattering the previous yearâs record by 12%. And weâve gotten the claims backlog down to the lowest in yearsâdown to nearly 144,000 claims as of this month.

 

When it comes to honoring Vets with lasting resting places they deserve, weâre now providing almost 94% of Vets with access to burial sites within 75 miles of their homes. Thatâs possible by building and maintaining our 155 VA national cemeteries, and by funding construction, maintenance, and expansion of 121 state, territorial, and tribal Veteran cemeteries. And weâve expanded our online Veterans Legacy Memorial program to about 4.5 million Veterans, keeping Veteransâ stories alive long after theyâre gone.

 

When it comes to providing world-class healthcare to Veterans, study after study shows weâre delivering better health care for Veterans than the private sector, which is why 90% of Vets who come to VA for outpatient care trust that care to be, easy, effective, and based in respect for that Veteran.

 

And when it comes to advocating for Veterans, President Bidenâs leading the way. Heâs challenged all of us to make Vets a core part of a Unity Agenda that rises above partisanship and politics. And heâs hell-bent on fighting for Vets with the same kind of indomitable will and sheer determination they bring to the battlefields we send them to. When it comes to our Veterans and their families, heâs unyielding.

 

All of that work adds up to the one statistic that will always matter mostâVeterans lives saved, Veterans lives improved. Thereâs nothing more important than that.

 

Now, weâve made this progress by challenging ourselves every day with three questions.

 

First, âAre we putting Veterans at the center of everything we do?â That means making sure we meet Vets where they are, so they can access all we have to offer. It means making VA easy for Vets to use, with tools like new VA mobile apps that give Vets access to their benefits, right on their phones. It means making sure weâre delivering for Vets on time, every time, through initiatives like claims automationâcutting claims processing time for certain conditions from several months, to several days.

 

And as we approach the one year anniversary of the untimely death of Major Ian Fishback, let me underscore the vital importance of this questionâputting Vets at the center of all we do. Every door at VA has to be a front door, with multiple touch points for all of our services. And that means wherever a Veteran is treatedâat the local, state, or federal levelâthat care has to be integrated, it has to be coordinated, especially when it comes to mental health care. Vets and their families should expect that, demand it. And going forward, with the new tools we have in place in VISN 10, they will have that.

 

The second question, âAre we improving outcomes for Veterans with everything we do?â That means timely access to world-class health care, earned benefits, and the lasting resting places Vets deserve. No matter what. Because, ultimately, Vets will judge, not us, our success.

 

And the third goes back to something President Biden charged VA with the day I was sworn inââFight like hell for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.â Thatâs our North Starâare we fighting like hell for Vets. Thatâs what we seek to do, every day.

 

â¦

 

Let me give you a few examples.

 

First, weâre fighting like hell to maximize access to world-class care for Vets across America. Weâll stop at nothing to make sure Veterans have the best possible experience, wherever they access VA careâat home, in the community, or at VA. For those Vets getting care at home, weâre meeting them where they are, doubling down on tele-appeals, tele-health, and tele-oncology. VA clinicians have seen more than 9,000 Vets through tele-oncology, and we are expanding this life saving tool to include clinical trialsâmeaning that rural Vets are now getting opportunities previously unavailable to them because of their remote locations.

 

Weâre also supporting our caregivers by expanding the program of comprehensive assistance in October to cover all generations of Veterans, and by changing our policies so even more Vets get that support they need. For Vets getting care in their community, weâre working to make their experiences as timely and seamless as possibleâso they get the care they need, wherever they live, and when they need it. And for those getting care directly from VA, weâre going to modernize our facilitiesâbecause Vets in the 21st century shouldnât be forced to get care in buildings built in the early 20th century. We need a VA health care system with the right facilities, in the right places, to provide the right care for Veterans in every part of the country.

 

So, the bottom line with access is the same as ever. Vets who get their care at VA do better. Our VA clinicians know Veteransâin many cases those clinicians are Veteransâand thereâs nobody better at caring for Vets than them. Thatâs one reason why Vets who come to VA emergency rooms by ambulance are 20% more likely to survive in the following 30 days than those who were transported to private hospitals.

 

So, if anybodyâs asking where Vets should get their care, please, send Vets to us. Weâre going to get them the world-class care theyâve earned.

 

Next, weâre fighting like hell to end Veteran homelessness, a phrase that shouldnât exist in America. Our focus is on two simple goals: getting Veterans into homes, and preventing them from falling into homelessness in the first place. And weâre making real progress. Last year from this podium, I told you about two ambitious goals for 2021 to address Veteran homelessness in LAâwhere there are more homeless Vets than anywhere else in the United States.

 

The first goal was getting all of the roughly 40 homeless Veterans living on Veterans Rowâa homeless encampment out in LAâinto housing. The second goal was getting 500 Veterans in LA into housing by the end of the year. We not only accomplished those goals, we exceeded themâand used that to demonstrate that if we can tackle this problem in LA, we can tackle it anywhere.

 

So, we set another ambitious for this year. We will place 38,000 homeless Vets into permanent housing by the end of 2022. At the end of September, weâd already housed nearly 31,000 Vetsâover 81% of our goalâputting us on track to house even more Veterans than we anticipated.

 

And weâre not letting up. Weâre driving hard on homelessness prevention by increasing housing supply, making existing housing more affordable, and getting every Veteran the wraparound services they need to prevent homelessness in the first instance.

 

And last Thursday, we released the 2022 PIT Count results. It shows that the number of Vets experiencing homelessnessâon a single night last Januaryâwas 33,136, a decrease of 11% over January 2020, which was the last year a full PIT Count was conducted. Thatâs the biggest improvement in more than five years.

 

So, weâre not just taking our best shot at fighting Veteran homelessness. With the help of partners like HUD, USICH, VSOs, local communities, and front-line staff in VAâs Homeless Programs Office we are going to end Veteran homeless. Because no Veteran should be homeless in this country they swore to defend. Not now, not ever.

 

Third, weâre fighting like hell to prevent Veteran suicide. You saw VAâs recent report on Veteran suicides in 2020âthe most current data we have. A couple big things stand out from that report. First, more than 6,000 Veterans died by suicide that year. Thatâs devastating, unacceptable, and itâs why this work is so critical.

 

But that report also reminds us that suicide prevention is possible. There is hope. There were 343 fewer Veteran suicides in 2020 than in 2019âthe second year in a row weâve seen a decrease. Thatâs 343 Vets alive today, getting a second chance at life. Nothing matters more than that.

 

So, weâre building on that momentum. Weâre providing first-of-their-kind grants to suicide prevention organizations in communities, on the ground, across the country. Weâre ramping up our lethal means safety efforts to prevent warning signs from turning into tragedies. Weâre continuing to offer tele-mental health sessions to Vets who want them. Weâre making sure they get their mental health care exactly when they need itâand not a second later. And we rolled out 9-8-8, the new national suicide prevention lifeline thatâs connecting Vets quickly and directly to the Veterans Crisis Line by just dialing 9-8-8, then pressing 1. Because preventing Veteran suicide is our top clinical priority, and we will stop at nothingânothingâto ensure that Vets not only survive, but thrive.

 

Fourth, weâre continuing to fight like hell to make sure all Vets feel welcome and safe at every VA. Not some Veterans. All Veterans. Weâre doing that by helping non-citizen Veterans stay in the United States, where they belong, and making sure that eligible, deported Vets have access to VA benefits.

 

Weâre delivering care and benefits to those with Other-Than-Honorable discharges. Weâre eliminating any racial disparities that exist at VA, and setting up processes to prevent them in the future. Weâre making sure LGBTQ+ Vets are supportedâand well-servedâacross VA. Last month, for example, we closed a gap in benefits for surviving spouses of LGBTQ+ Vetsârighting a wrong thatâs a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages.

 

And weâre getting women Vetsâour fastest growing cohort of Vetsâthe care theyâve earned and deserve. A few weeks ago, I visited the Military Womenâs Memorial for their 25th Anniversary. Etched in the glass panes in the ceiling are powerful words of courageous women Vetsâwords the sun illuminates when the light hits that glass just right. None of those words are more illuminating than those of World War II Veteran Lieutenant Anne Brehm, words that always bear repeating. âLet the generations know,â she said, âthat women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom ⦠that our resolve was as great as the brave men who stood among us.â

 

My late colleague and friend, and a great friend of Americaâs Veterans, Secretary Ash Carter, was committed to that principle. It was Secretary Carter who opened all military roles to women. Heâd be proud that women Vets have been our fastest growing cohort, and weâre proud to serve them. But we havenât always done as well by women Vets as we should have. So, weâre fighting like hell to serve them as well as theyâve served us.

 

Weâve done that by taking important steps to make our health care facilities and programs safe, respectful, and welcoming to women Vets; by providing Women Vet Coordinators in every regional office to help them access benefits and provide assistance specific to them; by having VBA dedicate one specially trained team to review each military sexual trauma claim, so we do not re-traumatize survivors who come forward to seek the benefits theyâve earned; and by listening to VA health care providers and Vets from across the country who sounded the alarm that abortion restrictions were creating a medical emergency for pregnant Vets. Thatâs why we made the patient safety decision to offer abortion counseling, andâin certain casesâabortion services to pregnant Veterans and eligible VA beneficiaries.

 

Because at VA we donât serve some Vets. We serve all Vets. For far too long, too many Vets who fought around the world to protect our rights and freedoms have had to fight brutal battles here at home for their own rights and freedoms. But at VA, those fights are over. In this administration, no Vet has to fight for the quality care and benefits that theyâve earnedâno matter who they are, where theyâre from, or who they love.

 

Last but in no way least, weâre fighting like hell to deliver for toxic-exposed Veterans. One of your own has led the country in that fightâVeteran and journalist Kelly Kennedy. About this time 14 years ago, Kelly started the thankless and rigorous task of holding people like me accountable when she published her first of dozens of articles on the casualties of burn pits.

 

Over the years, her work catalyzed the national conversation on burn pits, educated us on the effects of toxic exposure on the battlefield in stark terms we could no longer turn away from. She told painful stories of servicemembers deteriorating, dying, after exposure to poisons they breathed when deployed. She first introduced us to the enormous dangers of things we had never heard aboutâlike fine and superfine particulate matter, chemicals troops may have been ingesting that sound as horrific as they are: arsenic, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid.

 

Kelly told the human stories of Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and families who were suffering, so we as a nation would not, and could not, forget. Now, I imagine part of that was about being a good journalist, guided by the spirits of greats like Joe Galloway, Dickey Chapelle, and others. And I imagine a lot of it was about compassion, deep devotion to servicemembers and her fellow Vets.

 

And now, nearly a decade and a half later, as a result of her workâand, certainly, the hard work, heavy lifting, and persistent voices of many, many others in this roomâone of the biggest expansions of Veteran benefits in history was signed into law by President Biden, a law that will deliver care and benefits to millions of toxic exposed Veterans and their survivors.

 

With this new law, VA has recognized new presumptions of service connection for more than 20 health conditions related to toxic exposureâincluding exposures like Agent Orange, burn pits, and more. Weâll bring generations of new Vets into VA health care and increase the health care benefits of many moreâand that will result in better health outcomes, across the board. Weâll deliver benefits to more survivors of Vets who passed away from toxic exposure. And weâll invest in our workforce and our infrastructure to deliver those additional servicesâand modernize 31 more VA health care facilities.

 

This is a great thing. And I donât think it would have happenedâsurely not have happened nowâwithout Kellyâs dogged pursuit of the truth, with all our VSO partnersâ dogged pursuit of the truth. Thatâs what I mean when I say that you that you all make VA betterâtelling the stories that need to be told, and holding us accountable to Veterans and their survivors.

 

Like anything else of this importance and magnitude, implementing this law wonât be easy. So, weâre counting on you for your helpâto hold us accountable, yes, and especially, to communicate to Veterans, and their family members, what this law means for them.

 

This is what we want every Veteran to know about the new law on toxic exposure.

 

First, we want Veterans and survivors of Central Command from 1991 to 2021, 30 years of war, to apply for their toxic exposure benefits right now. So far, Veterans have filed nearly 137,000 claims under this law.

 

Second, and I want to be very clear here, because itâs important. We made all conditions outlined in this new law presumptive August 10, 2022âthe day the bill was signed into law, rather than phasing them in over years, as the law anticipated. VA will begin processing benefits claims filed under this new law on January 1st, the earliest date possible. And beginning tomorrow, weâre offering enrolled Veterans a new toxic exposure screeningâan important step toward making sure that all toxic exposed Vets get the care and benefits they deserveâeven if they donât know today that they were exposed.

 

Because Vets have waited too long. Weâre not going to make them wait any longer.

 

Third point. For Vets who file for a toxic-exposure-related condition before the one-year anniversary of the signing. That is, for those who file before August 9, 2023, their claim and benefit will be retroactive to the date of signing, August 10, 2022.

 

Fourth point. Iâm proud to announce for the first time today, on National Cancer Awareness Day, that weâre expediting benefits delivery for Veterans with cancer conditions covered by the law. This work is a part of President Bidenâs vision for the Cancer Moonshot, which will end cancer as we know it. And itâs a part of his broader efforts across the government to do so.

 

So, we will expedite Veterans claims if they have been diagnosed with melanoma, brain cancer, neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, glioblastoma, head cancer of any type, respiratory cancer of any type, reproductive cancer of any type, gastrointestinal cancer of any type, lymphoma of any type, and lymphomatic cancer of any type.

 

Fifth, any Veteran, family member, or survivor can learn more about this new law by visiting VA.gov/PACT, or by calling 1-800-MY-VA-411. 1-800-698-2411.

 

So, thatâs what every Vet needs to know about this law. And we need your help communicating it, so every Veteran gets the care they need, and the benefits they deserve. We wonât rest until they do.

 

â¦

 

So, from access, to ending homelessness, to suicide prevention, to toxic exposure, thatâs where weâre going. Thatâs how weâre going to keep fighting like hell for Vets, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

 

Now, let me say a final word to the Vets. Your honorable service in uniform set the example for the rest of us in this great country. In so many ways, youâre the keepers of our national ethosâthat deep and abiding sense of purpose you learned in serving, your camaraderie, your sense of teamwork that made you stronger, together, in combat and, now, in your communities. Itâs so unique in the country.

 

Looking around, thatâs exactly what we need today. Camaraderie. Truth. Togetherness. True service. True patriotism. And itâs something that all of usâeach of usâcan learn from. Because we all are stronger when weâre togetherâwhen we are one.

 

â¦

 

So, again, to all the Veterans here today and watching, thank youâfor everything. And, to the Press Club, my thanks for all that you do holding us accountable to Vets, their families, their caregivers and survivorsâtelling their stories in the powerful ways that you do.

 

God bless each of you, and God bless our nationâs servicemembers, our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

Zag - bit.ly/1Ohf1bl

 

Who's accountable?

Photo by Eric Ziegler (@ericzigus)

 

When I first joined my latest team, I specifically went and met with each team that reported up to me. As I did my introductions, I let my teams all know that I am a big fan of soccer, so much so that I even play.

Because I am who I am, I read many different blogs and listen to many different podcasts that cover topics that span topics such as leadership, soccer, and technology. I read and listen to podcasts to stay up on the latest trends and to keep abreast of the latest things happening on things I am passionate about.

Recently, I was listening to the soccer podcast, Men in Blazers (@meninblazers +Men In Blazers) .(btw, I highly recommend listening to these gentlemen if you like soccer. Not only are they informative, they are rather funny). During a recent podcast, they were interviewing Jose Mourinho, the current manager of Chelsea. As I listened to the interview, he provided insights that I believe apply to any team anywhere, especially teams that in companies.

These insights were about how the team is the most important thing, and that individuals are important as part of the team. This sentiment is absolutely important for any long running successful teams.

"It's about the team, not the individual"

"The manager is no more or less important than the individuals on the team"

 

Why would he say these statements? He hints at holding the individuals accountable for their actions, even the manager.

 

He uses an example in the podcast to get his point across, There is a section in the podcast where he talks about the bus leaving on time. You could take it as a control from the top, but listen carefully on how he talks about the situation. He says that the team has agreed that at 9 am the bus will leave. And if you are not on the bus at 9 am, the bus leaves without you, because the team agreed it would leave at 9am. And if the manager is not on the bus at 9am? the bus leaves without the manager.

While you might think this is a power game for Jose, I look at it differently. What he is saying is that the team is important, and to hold the team back because someone was not holding themselves accountable to being on time is not acceptable. Hence, each person is accountable for their actions and accountable for making sure the team meets the team goals.

Graffiti is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.

 

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions

 

"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".

 

The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.

 

The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.

 

Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.

 

Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:

 

Wet with cool dew drops

fragrant with perfume from the flowers

came the gentle breeze

jasmine and water lily

dance in the spring sunshine

side-long glances

of the golden-hued ladies

stab into my thoughts

heaven itself cannot take my mind

as it has been captivated by one lass

among the five hundred I have seen here.

 

Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.

 

Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.

 

There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.

 

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.

 

The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.

 

In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:

 

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".

 

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

 

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

 

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

 

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

 

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983

 

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

Main article: Commercial graffiti

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

 

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

 

Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.

 

Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.

 

Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.

 

Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.

 

There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.

 

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

 

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

 

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis

 

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

 

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.

 

Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"

 

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal

 

In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.

 

Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.

 

Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.

 

Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.

 

With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.

 

Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.

 

Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.

 

Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.

 

Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.

 

Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.

 

Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.

 

Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.

 

The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.

 

I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.

 

The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.

 

Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.

 

Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.

 

In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".

 

There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.

 

Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.

 

A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.

By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.

 

Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.

 

In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.

 

A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.

 

From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

 

In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.

 

Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.

 

Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.

 

Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.

  

In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.

 

Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.

 

In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.

 

In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."

 

In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.

 

In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.

 

In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.

 

In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.

 

In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.

 

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.

 

To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."

 

In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.

 

In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

 

Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".

 

Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.

 

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.

 

Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.

 

In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

 

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

 

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.

 

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.

 

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-248

 

MATERNAL MORTALITY: Trends in Pregnancy-Related Deaths and Federal Efforts to Reduce Them

 

Note: White, black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander women were non-Hispanic. Hispanic women might be of any race.

Accountability without authority. Work has driven me to Linkin Park on the way home and emergency donning of the soothing bedsocks upon my arrival.

Kamera: Olympus µ[mju:]-II Zoom 80

Linse: Olympus 38-80mm, f/4.5-8.9

Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 400

Kjemi: Fomadon Excel (stock / 9 min. @ 20°C)

 

Middle East Eye: Holding Israeli soldiers accountable worldwide for war crimes (Publ. 10 April 2025)

 

Bogotá / Brussels — April 23, 2025: The Hind Rajab Foundation has formally filed a criminal complaint with the Colombian Attorney General’s Office against Gabriel Ben Haim, an Israeli-French dual national and active-duty sniper in the Israeli military [Refaim sniper unit, 35th Paratroopers Brigade], for his alleged involvement in grave violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, and crimes against humanity perpetrated during Israel’s 2024–2025 military campaign in Gaza. *Last seen in Cartagena / Cocora Valley*- Read More -

 

Washington, D.C. / Brussels, April 17, 2025: The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a request for prosecution in the United States against Yuval Shatel, an Israeli soldier from the [exclusively jewish ultra-orthodox (Haredi)] 435th Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade accused of serious violations of international humanitarian law during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. *Last seen in Texas* - Read More -

 

London, April 16, 2025: - An arrest warrant is being urgently sought for a senior member of Israel’s security cabinet, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (b. 1966) during his visit to the UK. The charges focus in particular on the siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital at the end of 2024, which culminated in the abduction and torture of the hospital director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiyeh (b. 1973). - Read More -

 

Bucharest, March 31, 2025 - Today, the Hind Rajab Foundation, through its legal representative, has filed a criminal complaint before the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice against Orel Benyaish, an Israeli soldier from the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. He is accused of committing war crimes and acts of genocide during Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip. - Read More -

 

Brussels, March 29, 2025 – The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a criminal complaint in Germany against Barel Kriel, a German-Israeli dual national and a tank commander in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), for his involvement in serious war crimes committed during Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Despite the visual and testimonial evidence submitted, the German Prosecution has so far refused to open an investigation—failing to apply both German national law and its obligations under international law. - Read More -

 

24/3/2025 - Kathmandu, Nepal – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has officially filed a formal request with the Nepalese authorities to immediately arrest Lieutenant Amit Nechmya and extradite him to Argentina, where a legal case remains open against him for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. - Read More -

 

5/3/2025 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has officially filed a criminal complaint against Shay Friedman, an Israeli soldier suspected of participating in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The complaint, submitted to the German authorities, outlines serious allegations, including aiding and abetting murder, genocide, and other grave offences under both German and international law. - Read More -

 

16/2/2025 – The Hague / Brussels - The Hind Rajab Foundation has officially filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), seeking an arrest warrant for Gideon Sa’ar (b. 1966), the Foreign Minister of Israel, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Sa’ar, a senior member of Netanyahu’s government and a key figure in Israel’s decision-making, has played a central role in shaping and implementing policies that have led to mass displacement, collective punishment, and systematic attacks on Palestinian civilians. His public statements and policy endorsements indicate direct and indirect participation in these crimes, as well as incitement to violence and obstruction of international justice mechanisms. - Read More -

 

11/2/2025 - Dossier: The Yuval Vagdani Case –– How Filming Home Demolitions in Gaza Forced Vagdani to Flee His Holiday Destination Brazil. This article recounts the key details of the international criminal case filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) in Brazil against Yuval Vagdani, tracing the pivotal moments and their aftermath. After participating in civilian home demolitions in Gaza—posing and smiling for pictures while planting explosives and laughing amid the destruction—Vagdani decided to take a vacation in Brazil. Despite his actions, which amount to war crimes under international law, he believed himself untouchable, far from the reach of accountability. Little did he know, what was to come. - Read More -

 

8/2/2025 - The HRF filed a case with the ICC requesting the issuing of an arrest warrant for one of the IDF's most notorious war criminals. The name of Brigadier General Yehuda Vach, commander of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) 252nd Division, has become synonymous with unrestrained brutality, sadism, and corruption. His deliberate and systematic targeting of Palestinian civilians, particularly in the Netzarim Corridor, amounts to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under the Rome Statute. - Read More -

 

5/2/2025 - Bern, Switzerland – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) confirms that it has formally filed a criminal complaint before Swiss authorities, leading to the opening of an investigation into a suspected Israeli war criminal currently present in Switzerland. The complaint provides extensive evidence implicating the individual in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including attacks on civilians, destruction of homes and hospitals, forced displacement, and other grave violations of international law committed in the Gaza Strip. - Read More -

 

28/1/2025 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has initiated a groundbreaking legal action in Belgium by filing a formal criminal complaint against Amichai Chikli (b. 1981), Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and the Fight Against Antisemitism. The complaint, submitted by Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971), president of the foundation, accuses Minister Chikli of making terrorist threats against him, a Belgian national, with the intent to intimidate and suppress the foundation’s advocacy for justice and accountability for war crimes. - Read More -

 

23/1/2025 - The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a complaint with the ICC and called for the immediate arrest of Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, an Israeli soldier in the Givati Brigade, based on his individual criminal responsibility under Article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute. Zarbiv stands accused of committing grave war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023. - Read More -

 

22/1/2025 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has initiated legal proceedings against Dror Zvi Bauer, an Israeli soldier in the 614th Battalion, Engineering Corps, accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide during the ongoing onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

Legal complaints have been filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as with national authorities in Austria, Germany, and other European jurisdictions. These actions underscore the Foundation’s commitment to utilizing every available legal mechanism to ensure accountability for international crimes. - Read More -

 

18/1/2025 - Barcelona -- The Hind Rajab Foundation and the Palestinian Community in Catalonia have filed an urgent legal complaint against Sergeant Mori Keisar of the Israeli Defense Forces (Givati Brigade, 435 Battalion, Mitzvait Company, Retek Platoon). The complaint, filed under Spanish and international law, accuses Keisar of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes during the Israeli military operation in Gaza. The actions of Keisar and his platoon demonstrate systematic violations of international humanitarian law, targeting civilians and protected infrastructure. - Read More -

 

15/1/2025 - Thailand / The Hague - The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Guy Azran, a soldier from the 432nd Battalion of Israel’s Givati Brigade, for war crimes committed during military operations in Gaza City, July 2024. These crimes are substantiated by video and photographic evidence documenting his actions, which constitute serious violations of international law. Azran is currently vacationing in Thailand. A request for his arrest have been submitted to Thai authorities. - Read More -

 

13/1/2025 - Major General Ghassan Alian (b. 1972), Head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), is currently in Rome, Italy. The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed cases with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Italian authorities, urging his immediate arrest for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Alian, who publicly referred to Palestinians in Gaza as "human animals," has no immunity from prosecution. Time is of the essence to ensure accountability for his actions. - Read More -

 

9/1/2025 - Stockholm, Sweden - The Hind Rajab Foundation has taken another significant step in its quest for justice by filing a legal complaint against Boaz Ben David, an Israeli sniper from the 932 Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. The complaint, filed with Swedish authorities, accuses Ben David of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible acts of genocide during the recent military operations in Gaza. This move follows growing international calls to hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable, ensuring justice for victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. - Read More -

 

6/1/2025 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - On January 2, 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a legal case against Lieutenant Amit Nechmya, a platoon commander in the Latak Platoon of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion (435). Led by our lawyer Rodolfo Yanzón in Argentina, the case charges Nechmya with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. - Read More -

 

3/1/2025 - Brasilia, Brasil - In a historic legal development, Brazilian authorities have taken decisive action on a criminal complaint filed a week ago by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) against an Israeli soldier currently in Brazil on tourism. The Federal Court of the Federal District, following the Federal Prosecutor’s agreement, has issued an urgent order for the police to investigate and take action against the suspect, marking a pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza. - Read More -

 

31/12/2024 - On December 31, 2023, Omri Nir, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces' Combat Engineering Battalion 601, posted a photo on Instagram where he is seen posing inside a house in Gaza—a house that once belonged to a Palestinian family killed or displaced during Israel's genocide. The photo, a chilling display of impunity, was meant to be a personal trophy of sorts, showcasing his role in the Gaza genocide.

Fast forward to this year, as Omri Nir travels to Thailand to celebrate New Year’s Eve once again, the world looks very different for him. The Hind Rajab Foundation, committed to bringing perpetrators of war crimes to justice, has detected his presence in Thailand and acted decisively. - Read More -

 

26/12/2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has initiated legal actions in Argentina and Chile against Saar Hirshoren, a member of Israel's 749 Combat Engineering Battalion who is currently present there. Mr. Hirshoren is accountable for war crimes committed in Gaza, the HRF is demanding his immediate arrest. Simultaneously, a comprehensive complaint has been filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting the entire battalion and its leadership for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. - Read More -

 

20/12/2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has formally filed a detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli war criminal Lidor Kandalker, demanding his immediate arrest and prosecution. Kandalker, currently in Thailand, is a member of the Rovait Gaesh (Volcano Company), a combat engineering unit notorious for the systematic and deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza.

Key evidence submitted to the ICC includes a video in which Kandalker is seen counting down before detonating explosives that destroy a civilian home in Gaza. The footage captures him celebrating with his comrades afterward, boasting about the destruction. This shocking display underscores his direct involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In addition to filing the ICC complaint, the Hind Rajab Foundation has notified Thai authorities, including the police, the Ministry of Justice, and the Thai Embassy in The Hague. The foundation has urged them to apprehend Kandalker, prevent his escape, and fulfill their international obligations to ensure accountability for his crimes. - Read More -

 

17/12/2024 - Colombo, Sri Lanka - The Hind Rajab Foundation has located Gal Ferenbook, an Israeli soldier responsible for the death of a Palestinian civilian and the degrading treatment of their body, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Foundation has formally demanded that Sri Lankan authorities arrest him immediately and cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). A formal complaint has also been submitted to the ICC, and the case has been communicated to Interpol to issue an international Red Notice for his apprehension. - Read More -

 

6/12/2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation is filing an urgent legal complaint in France against Roi Hakimi, an Israeli soldier implicated in acts of torture and enforced disappearances during the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. Mr. Hakimi is currently on a tourism visit in France. - Read More -

 

3/12/2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation, in collaboration with the March 30 Movement, has taken a firm stance against the appointment of Colonel Moshe Tetro as Israel’s military attaché to Belgium. Citing his direct involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide during his tenure as the head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Gaza Strip (CLA), the foundation is calling on the Belgian government to deny his accreditation. The Hind Rajab Foundation has also filed a detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), demanding immediate action against Tetro. - Read More -

 

29/11/2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation, in partnership with the March 30 Movement and through the office of attorney Haroon Raza, has filed a complaint demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of three IDF soldiers who entered Amsterdam yesterday. The individuals involved are Yehuda Tsfa, Yotam Shmuelevich, and Liran Magal, members of the Latak Unit of the 932 “Granit” Battalion, accused of engaging in the destruction of civilian properties in Gaza without any military necessity. - Read More -

 

27/11/2024 - Rotterdam, 27 November 2024 – The Hind Rajab Foundation, in partnership with the March 30 Movement, has filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli soldier Liam Shkedi. The complaint alleges Shkedi’s involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression, calling for his immediate arrest and prosecution. - Read More -

 

18/11/2024 - Brussels, November 18, 2024 – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) is actively investigating reports from journalistic sources of a possible detention in Cyprus related to Elisha Livman, an Israeli reserve officer accused of war crimes in Gaza. Despite this development, Livman managed to flee Cyprus with direct assistance from the Israeli state, according to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom. This brazen intervention is a stark example of state-sponsored impunity, undermining international law and obstructing justice. - Read More -

 

14/11/2024 - Limassol, Cyprus, 14 November 2024 – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has lodged an urgent complaint with Cypriot authorities, calling for immediate action against Elisha Livman, a lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), currently visiting Cyprus on a tourist visa. Livman, an officer in the T80 Infantry Unit, Sayeret Givati, have committed serious war crimes and exhibited genocidal intent in recent military operations in Gaza. - Read More -

 

Amsterdam, November 10, 2024 — The Amsterdam Police have officially opened an investigation into recent violent incidents involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters following a complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the March 30 Movement. These disturbing events, which unfolded in the city center, have sparked widespread concern across the Netherlands and internationally. - Read More -

 

Amsterdam, November 9, 2024 – The Hind Rajab Foundation, in partnership with the March 30 Movement, has taken an urgent legal step to combat rising instances of hate-fueled violence in Europe. Following disturbing incidents in Amsterdam, the two organizations have submitted a formal criminal complaint to the Amsterdam Public Prosecutor’s Office, seeking immediate action against supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv who have reportedly engaged in acts of incitement, violence, and vandalism. - Read More -

 

7/11/2024 - London, United Kingdom – November 6, 2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation has taken a significant step in the pursuit of international justice by submitting a formal request to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in the United Kingdom. The letter calls for a comprehensive investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Alon Elgali, Chief Executive Officer of Meshek Afar Limited, a company contracted by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Mr. Elgali is currently present in the United Kingdom, where he is alleged to be involved in actions that may constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law. - Read More -

 

24/10/2024 - Guayas, Ecuador – The Hind Rajab Foundation, in partnership with the March 30 Movement, has filed a ground-breaking legal complaint with the Ecuadorian authorities. The complaint targets Ecuadorian citizen Sahar Enrique Cohen for his involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Israeli military’s assaults on Gaza. The complaint, submitted to the Criminal Court of Guayas, seeks prosecution under Ecuadorian and international law for Cohen’s participation in systematic attacks on Palestinian civilians and medical facilities. - Read More -

 

8/10/2024 - The Hague – October 8, 2024 - The Hind Rajab Foundation, a branch of the March 30 Movement, has filed an unprecedented and historic complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against 1,000 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza, Palestine. These individuals, all of whom have been identified by name, are accused of participating in systematic attacks against civilians during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

 

This complaint, supported by over 8,000 pieces of verifiable evidence—including videos, audio recordings, forensic reports, and social media documentation—demonstrates the soldiers' direct involvement in these atrocities. All of the named soldiers were located in Gaza during the genocidal assault, and the evidence reveals their participation in violations of international law. - Read More -

 

6/8/2024 - The March 30 Movement, represented by lawyer Haroon Raza, has officially filed a complaint with the Dutch judicial authorities against Dutch citizen and IDF soldier Liam V. A. The complaint accuses Liam V. A. of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza. - Read More -

 

3/7/2024 - The Hague, July 3, 2024 - This morning, the March 30 Movement, represented by attorney Haroon Raza, officially submitted a comprehensive complaint to the ICC against Benny Gantz (b. 1959), Ron Dermer (b. 1971), Gabi Eisenkot (b. 1960), and Aryeh Deri (b. 1959), all members of Israel's now dissolved War Cabinet. In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, these individuals cannot be allowed to escape responsibility through resignation. - Read More -

 

16/6/2024 - The March 30 Movement, represented by Mr. Haroon Raza, has filed a formal complaint and is calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of representatives of COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), a unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. This urgent action follows multiple documented instances where COGAT has been implicated in severe violations of international law, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war against the civilians of Gaza. Under the directive of Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (b. 1958), COGAT's actions have resulted in widespread suffering and death among the Palestinian population. - Read More -

 

4/5/2024 - The Hague - Advocaten voor de Vrede and the March 30 Movement, have lodged a comprehensive complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting Israel's actions in Gaza. This submission, deemed the most robust and detailed to date, aims to hold Israeli authorities accountable for alleged crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. - Read More -

 

19/4/2024 - A team of lawyers led by Gilles Devers has filed a complaint with the national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office for torture and war crimes in connection with the military attack on Gaza. This complaint "against X" is intended to determine the role played by Yoel Ohnona, the Franco-Israeli soldier whose testimony has been requested.

In a video that has gone viral, this soldier praised the violence and abuse inflicted on a Palestinian detainee, who can be seen, along with other detainees, in a distressed situation, shackled and blindfolded.

The outcry provoked by the broadcast of this video led the Quai d'Orsay to reaffirm the "competence of French justice to deal with crimes committed by French nationals abroad, including in the ongoing conflict in Gaza".

This video, and the many reports of torture of Palestinian detainees, have prompted widespread condemnation and demands from civil society that the perpetrators of flagrant human rights violations be held to account.

It is to satisfy this demand for justice and prevent further atrocities that this first complaint in France has been filed. - Read More -

 

30/3/2024 - THE HAGUE, MARCH 30 2024 – The March 30 Movement, represented by attorney Haroon Raza, filed a detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Dutch-Israeli illegal settler Akiva van Koningsveld, and other Israeli settlers. This action accuses them squarely of participating in or being complicit in land theft, colonization, acts of genocide, alongside their ongoing involvement in a broad spectrum of war crimes and crimes against humanity within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. - Read More -

 

22/3/2024 - Lawyers of the #March30Movement filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanding to initiate an urgent investigation and issue an arrest warrant for Yoel Ohnona (The French-Israeli soldier speaking in the torture video). - Read More -

 

7/3/2024 - Next week, President Isaac Herzog (b. 1960) of Israel is expected to visit The Netherlands, a visit that comes under the heavy shadow of the ongoing Gaza genocide. Mr. Haroon Raza, representing the #March30Movement, has lodged a detailed complaint highlighting President Herzog’s pivotal role in fostering a climate conducive to genocide in Gaza. The accusations stem from President Herzog's direct and indirect contributions to systematic atrocities against the Palestinian population, effectively breaching international humanitarian and criminal laws. - Read More -

 

16/2/2024 - The Hague - The March 30 Movement via attorney Mr. Haroon Raza has lodged a new formal complaint against Dutch citizen and IDF soldier Leah Rachmani, accusing her of involvement in grave violations during military operations in Gaza.

This complaint, presented to Dutch authorities, meticulously outlines allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and potential genocide, underscoring the critical need for accountability and adherence to international law.

Drawing upon detailed documentation and legal standards, the complaint seeks an investigation and subsequent prosecution, highlighting the alleged actions resulting in civilian casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and violations of the Geneva Conventions. This legal action is a call to the international community and Dutch authorities to uphold the principles of human rights and equality under the law, including the consideration of passport revocation measures. - Read More -

 

13/2/2024 - Amsterdam - Our research team have detected the presence of IDF soldier Meir Ben Hamou within Amsterdam today. Ben Hamou is actively taking part in the onslaught on Gaza.

Our legal division, through attorney Haroon Raza, has formally requested his immediate detention. This request is based on allegations of Mr. Ben Hamou's involvement in actions constituting violations of international and Dutch law, specifically pertaining to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

We call upon Dutch authorities to act with urgency in response to this matter, reinforcing the principles of justice and accountability. - Read More -

 

27/1/2024 - The March 30 Movement, represented by attorney Haroon Raza, has initiated a legal action against IDF members involved in the genocide in Gaza. These members, identified as Major Noy Leon, General-Major David Negesh, Major Amit Deri, and Reserve Captain Meir Rapoport, are currently in the Netherlands for an ICJ protest. They are scheduled to depart for Tel Aviv tomorrow, intending to return to Gaza. In the picture above, one of them, Captain Meir Rapoport is seen boasting on a Gazan destroyed house while writing the genocidal call " We will erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens...". The March 30 Movement is urgently requesting the Dutch authorities to intervene, preventing their departure, and by doing that preventing the committing of more crimes and ensuring they are held responsible for their actions. - Read More -

 

30/12/2023 - The legal team of the #March30Movements has intensified its efforts to address serious allegations of international law and human rights violations. Following our initial complaint against Jonathan Ben Hamou, we have now extended our legal actions to include four other IDF soldiers of Dutch nationality. - Read More -

 

26/12/2023 - The March 30 Movement, represented by attorney Mr. Haroon Raza, has officially filed a complaint in the Netherlands, actively seeking accountability for the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in Gaza. This complaint targets Jonathan Ben Hamou, a Dutch-Israeli citizen who participated in the ongoing genocidal actions of the IDF in Gaza. - Read More -

A slide from my presentation at TCEA in February 2006, "Cultivating Digital Literacy Through Blogging and Podcasting." (Available as an audio-only podcast and enhanced podcast.)

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-26SP

 

5G WIRELESS: Capabilities and Challenges for an Evolving Network

3 May 2019 - Panelists discussed the experiences of the past 3 years documented in the 2018 Learning Report on Implementation of the Accountability Mechanism Policy at the 52nd ADB Annual Meeting.

 

Visit the event page for more information on this event and the list of speakers.

This image is related to a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-7

 

Combating Wildlife Trafficking: Agencies Are Taking Action to Reduce Demand but Could Improve Collaboration in Southeast Asia

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Speakers included:

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-128SP

 

Irrigated Agriculture: Technologies, Practices, and Implications for Water Scarcity

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report: www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-123

DOD Financial Management:

Ineffective Risk Management Could Impair Progress toward Audit-Ready Financial Statements

Excellent journalism, after all, has never been simply about information. It’s information provided to enable knowledge, published or broadcast as a public exchange by people accountable for its accuracy. Networks can enhance quality by linking the work of newspeople and many others to support journalism’s public service functions: accountability, timeliness and accessibility.- Melanie Sil, The Case for Open Journalism Now

www.annenberginnovationlab.org/OpenJournalism/

www.annenberginnovationlab.org/OpenJournalism/SillOpenJou... (PDF)

www.melaniesill.com

 

Slideshare

www.slideshare.net/planeta/journalism-notebook

Paul Nyberg, Army Africa G-2 sub-hand receipt holder gets guidance from Staff Sgt. Tasha Falcon on Caserma Ederle Aug. 25.

 

This year’s U.S. Army Europe Supply Excellence Award winners are at it again, and they haven’t got much to show for it.

 

Not much, that is, in terms of the excess equipment and supply backlog that U.S. Army Africa, Headquarters Support Company, Supply team has just about eliminated since the command came into being in late 2008.

 

“Nobody really sees what it was like here two and a half years ago,” said Staff Sgt. Tasha Falcon, HSC Supply Seargent.

 

In that time, Falcon and her staff have accounted for, documented and removed 3,000 pieces of various equipment valued at $1.6 million from Army Africa’s inventory: military end items, computers, digital printers — a small mountain range of diverse material that wound up on the supply company’s to-do list in mid-2009.

 

“Nobody ever knew how to turn in equipment, I suppose,” Falcon said.

 

“When I first got here, there was nothing. The supply room had no system at all. We built this from scratch. It’s been about two and a half years of working on it. Now it’s a question of maintaining,” she said.

 

Whatever the source of the landslide of stuff that has made its way through the company’s motor pool on Caserma Ederle since then, Falcon and her crew have cleaned house with flying colors. HSC Supply has two back-to-back, first-place finishes in the annual Army Supply Excellence Award competition at the USAREUR level to prove it.

 

With any luck, the HSC Supply Company may go all the way to the winner’s circle at the Army level later this year.

 

“By winning, the Department of the Army will now come down to inspect us. That should be in the November-December timeframe. We don’t have an exact date yet,” Falcon said.

 

“Once they come, they do the evaluation. It’s not really an inspection; they just talk to you like normal people and evaluate you. But your adrenaline’s running. Even just getting put into the system, to be evaluated by DA, is an accomplishment. To be able to call home and say, ‘Hey, Mom, I won this.’ They’re so proud. It’s great.”

 

Though the big bulge in the python’s belly may have passed, there’s always something to prepare for removal from Army Africa’s inventory. Falcon and her staff of two soldiers and two contractors have another deadline looming Oct. 1.

 

“That’s a date we set on the heels of the DA Campaign Plan on Property Accountability to get rid of our excess,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joachim Consiglio, USARAF G-4 Supply Division chief.

 

In the past week alone, HSC Supply accounted for and emptied three 20-foot cargo trailers, making the property available for removal to the Lerino Supply Support Activity, said Daniel Brown, G-4 Property Book Office.

 

“There were lots of technical inspections to turn in the paperwork. My main priority is — still to do my job, but focus on deadlines,” Falcon said.

 

“They’ve done an outstanding job; in fact, we’re ahead of schedule,” said Consiglio. “Our end state was Oct. 1, and at the rate the team has been executing, they will exceed the milestone date,” he said.

 

A visit to the supply company by USARAF Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, in August had a positive effect on the overall process, Falcon said.

 

“We’ve always had support, but he put the word out. Everybody was . . . ‘What can we do to help?’ So now it’s a focus,” Falcon said. “By Oct. 1: everything gone. We can take care of it, we can do it right here ourselves.”

 

And with a little help from Army Africa’s friends in USAG Vicenza Directorate of Logistics, said Consiglio.

 

“Since requesting support from DoL, their director made us the priority for our excess turn-in, and this has been the key enabler in allowing us to surge at such a higher rate. Their staff has been fantastic, from the SSA support to doing technical inspections for us during the 45-day process,” he said.

 

What’s next after the Oct. 1 finish line?

 

“Just keeping up on the daily paperwork and the filing system,” said Spc. Benjamin Roalson. “Just the day-to-day thing that keeps us rolling.”

 

“The next benchmark is preparation for the DA CSA Supply Excellence competition, continual cultural awareness of supply discipline across the command, and monitoring lifecycle replacement,” said Consiglio.

 

Whatever follows, Falcon will be on the job and taking the lead. The Houston, Texas, native has taken to the trade, and to the Army too.

 

“I’m extending. I just got my grade,” Falcon said.

 

“I really enjoy working supply and logistics. It’s hard work; it’s long hours. I go home at the end of the day thinking there’s not enough hours in the day,” she said.

 

“Logistics is constant, constant, constant.”

  

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

   

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Speakers included:

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

 

On Twitter: twitter.com/UN_Women/status/887388056600399873

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW

 

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

 

On Twitter: twitter.com/UN_Women/status/887394069361680385

Continued from: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52652408863/in/datepos...

 

My Master’s Wrath and Mercy

 

رَبَّنَاۤ إِنَّكَ مَن تُدۡخِلِ ٱلنَّارَ فَقَدۡ أَخۡزَیۡتَهُۥۖ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِینَ مِنۡ أَنصَارࣲ

Our Lord! Indeed [You] whom You admit in the Fire then surely You (have) disgraced him, and not for the wrongdoers (are) any helpers.

Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 192

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Rabbana innaka man tudkhil in-naar: O my Lord! Indeed You are the one who admits into the Fire, so surely…

 

Akhzaytahu: you have disgraced him and made him (stuck) in the narrowness of imkaan, possibilities, imprisoned, punished, exiled (from Your Self), because they wronged themselves with their focus upon those other than You…

 

Wa ma lid-daalimeen: and there isn’t for the transgressors, the ones who have firmly placed themselves in the shadows of imkaan, possibilities…

 

Min ansaar: any helper who can help them and make them exit from those possibilities, except for the one who received permission from You to (be a helper) and make them exit from the possibilites from amongst the Prophets and the Auliya, Your Friends, after Your granting ability to them by the sending of the Messengers.

 

On the evening of that second day of hell, I went to the shrine near my house. I did not ask the blessed person of the shrine for anything. Not for relief, not for some understanding of how I had become so entrapped in a thought that only appeared to be nonsensical. I couldn’t even discuss it with anyone. Not that there was anyone to discuss it with! I sat there like a zombie for a while and then left. I knew in my silence, I had surrendered the matter in any case.

 

When I entered my bedroom, I saw a copy of Al Fath Ar Rabbani that I didn’t use for my regular reading. Qari Sahib had gifted it to me but it was much heavier and larger than my Urdu copy. This one had a side by side Arabic to Urdu translation on each page. I prayed the prayer of the istakhara and pried the book open to a random page.

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani:

 

It started with a verse:

 

وَمَن یَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ یَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ مَخۡرَجࣰا

 

And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out,

 

وَیَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحۡتَسِبُۚ

 

And He will provide for him from where he doesn’t think (it is possible).

 

Surah At Talaq, Verse 2-3

 

I didn’t look up the exegesis of the verse then. Qari Sahib wasn’t there anyway and I really wanted to know what the rest of the page said.

 

“(The above verse) closed the door of depending on means. It closed the door of the wealthy and the kings and opened the door of tawakkul, reliance. The one who was mindful, the reward for him is that He, Subhanahu, will make relief for him and a way out from what is constricted for (other) people.”

 

The first two lines gave me pause. Doors had been spoken about earlier. Now Ghaus Pak (ra) was closing them. Two of the people I happened to be thinking of were in fact rich. They were wealthy. That had never played into our interaction in terms of a factor. There wasn’t a remarkable difference in our life styles. But the mention was specific for a reason. That was not lost on me.

 

I continued to read each word, carefully going back and forth from the Arabic to the Urdu.

 

“What should I do with you, say to you? You would have been heard if you called the living but he is not alive, the one you call.”

 

From the word “alive” I knew again that I had already been told, warned, alerted by all those verses about the dead and the graves, the deaf and the blind. Not once but repeatedly. Each time gently. After translating the verses I had always felt calm. Then just like that I would forget them as if they had never even appeared.

 

Then in the next line, Ghaus Pak (ra) expressed his fury at my own “prolonged” state of stubborn-ness and ignorance and he didn’t mince his words.

 

“Your heart is empty of islam, surrender and imaan, faith and iqaan, certainty. There is no Ma’rifat, Divine Recognition, for you. There is no ilm, knowledge, for you. For you are only hawas, indulging in foolish behaviour that is dangerous, therefore speaking to you is a waste.”

 

That’s when my heart first felt fear. Never ever before had Ghaus Pak (ra) said anything remotely harsh to me. Speaking to me was a waste of his time? I just stared at the words in disbelief.

 

“O hypocrites! You were contented with words about tawakkul, reliance upon Allah, with your tongues while your hearts are mushrik, worshippers of other gods in Creation. My heart is filled with anger towards you out of ardency (of love) for Allah Azzo Jal. If you are silent and you leave your rivalry (with Him), it is better, otherwise your houses will be burned.”

My heartbeat increased. I stopped reading.

 

“Your houses will be burned.” “My heart is filled with anger.” I felt scared to read the next line.

 

But then I saw that it was a prayer. For it was addressing Subhanahu and it started with the words, “Ya Haailo…”

It was a new Name of Allah for me. The word existed in Urdu as well. I knew what it mean. Haa’il, that which comes in between. I peered at the next words closely, fearfully. And it said:

 

يا حائل بين الماء المالح والعذب،

 

“Ya Haail-u! O One who protects, stops and obstructs and causes not to happen, by coming in between the water salty and fresh.”

 

The appearance of the words from the verse I had just translated was uncanny.

 

حل بيننا وبين التسخط عليك والمنازعة لك في أقدارك،

 

“Come between us and between discontentment towards You and quarreling with You about fate decreed.

 

حل بيننا وبين معاصيك ببرزخ من رحمتك

 

Come between us and between resistances to Your Authority with the barzakh, the protective partition, of Your Rahma, Mercy!

آمين

 

Ameen…”

 

Each time I moved to the Urdu the words had a pounding effect on me. To be sure of the meaning, I started looking up each Arabic word.

 

التسخط : displeasure, irritation, anger.

 

المنازعة : opposition, disagreement, conflict, dispute.

 

معاصي : resistance to authority.

 

I was left dumbfounded.

 

He continued:

 

“O listener! If you were Muttaqi, the one who is mindful and conscious of your Rabb, who raised you, Azzo Jal, Dakir, in remembrance of Him, as Muwwahidan, in union only with Him, Musheeran, pointing towards Him, before the trial, then when you are dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He will order,

 

یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا

 

O fire! Be coolness and safety.

 

After that it was a crazy day.

 

Ghaus Pak (ra) had exactly followed the Sunnah of the Quran. First had come the admonition, then the mercy. For an hour, I stared at the page and read it over and over. My heart sank every time I came to the words of his wrath. It was the first time in my life that my Master was angry with me.

 

I couldn’t get over it. Obedience was woven, no, kneaded into my nature. But all my efforts that had to do with changing the fabric of my nafs were superficial. Giving charity was easy. It was the expression of gratitude. As promised it brought me a serene state of peace. Why wouldn’t I do it only sincerely, in utter obedience? Why wouldn’t I increase it? I was the recipient of all its rewards which were truly indescribable in terms of rendering me a joy.

 

It was the changing of the nafs that was impossible.

 

I decided to immediately memorize the prayer. It was about to entail for me the most perfect expression of fear and sincere need for deliverance. That was something that I had never experienced before.

 

First I went back to re-read the verse of the seas salty and sweet.

 

That was the first moment I realized, I am both a Mo’min and I am a Kafir. All I could see in the state of being a Mo’min was the ill-will in my disposition. And all I could see in my state of Kufr was my carelessness and unawareness. There was no longer an “other.” In everything it was only me!

 

That was first forced the question; when am I which?

 

وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡبَحۡرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذۡبࣱ فُرَاتࣱ سَاۤىِٕغࣱ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلۡحٌ أُجَاجࣱۖ

 

And not are alike the two seas.

This (is) fresh, sweet, pleasant its drink, and this salty (and) bitter…

Surah Fatir, Verse 12

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then exemplified Subhanahu both of the groups, the Mo’min, the believer and the Kafir, the denier of truth, as two seas sweet and salty, so He said:

 

Wa ma yastawi al bahraane: And the two seas are not alike in advantage and benefit received from them both because…

 

Hada: the (state of the) Mo’min, the attester to the sea of Imaan, faith and Irfaan, Divine Recognition, the one upon whom is poured water from the Sea of the Essence of One-ness…

 

Adb-un: is like water fresh and delightful, giving pleasure to the mind, sweet in perfect sweetness…

 

Furat-un: sweet, it breaks the persistent feeling of ill will (to harm and avenge people) for those burning with thirst in the mirage of the world with the coolness of Yaqeen, certainty…

 

Saa’ighun sharaabuhu: easy is its drinking i.e. easy is its going down, for those set up on the nature of Tauheed, Allah Subhanahu’s One-ness.

 

Wa hada: And this (the other sea/group) i.e. the Kafir, the denier of truth or ungrateful, malevolent, unkind, is in the sea of ghaflat, unawareness and carelessness…

 

Milh-un: (is like water) salty, it does not reform a person who wants to reform themselves, whoever tastes from it, instead…

 

Ujaaj-un: (it is) burning, bitter, corrupting for the disposition. The one who tasted from it was destroyed, devastatingly, forever such that there is no rescue for him, instead…

 

Wa: the sea of bitterness, in it is still an advantage, but there is no benefit for the Kafir, the denier of truth, and the one who refuses to be guided at all.

 

The Kufr a Muslim most often imbues is that of ingratitude.

 

That is why the Quran says, it is a choice.

 

‏إِنَّا هَدَيْنَهُ ٱلسَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًۭا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا ‎

 

Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful and whether he be ungrateful.

 

Surah Al Insaan, Verse 3

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Allah Subhanahu made the way clear completely and perfectly. Now the human being has the choice:

 

Imma shakiran: Either he becomes grateful, occupied with the thankfulness of blessings and regularity upon fulfilling the rights of Divine Kindness, giving the reins of his determination and his choice to the rightful guidance and commands so that he may become of the Arbaab il Anayate wa Sadaad, the people of blessings and correct-ness and Al Mutana’imeena, the ones granted favours in the Heaven of Raza, God’s Pleasure and Tasleem, surrender.

 

Wa imam kafoor-an: Or he can be ungrateful for blessings (bestowed), being in denial of The One bestowing the blessings, following in the footsteps of the people of ghafalat, forgetfulness and enemity (towards Allah), disputing and being corrupt until he will become of the people of Hell.

 

“The people forever burning in the fire of possibilities!”

 

The intensity of the incident first exploded upon me once I started reciting the prayer. Each time I uttered the words, I broke down so severely, it was like someone beloved to my heart had died. Each time I heard the words in my ear that I was displeased, in opposition, resistant to my Lord, to His Authority, to His Being, I would cover my ears with my hands and almost wail.

 

One word entered my life like it had never done before. I had been saying a tasbeeh of it for years but my heart hadn’t felt the plea in the words even once till now.

 

Astaghfirullah! – I seek the forgiveness of my Lord!

 

I would repeat it incessantly through my tears. But the prayer had three lines and each line had in it a word that was the proof of my state of rebellion. The experience was intense and whatever I’m writing here to express it, the truth is that it is inexpressible. It cannot be related.

 

Only when the last line came,

 

ببرزخ من رحمتك

 

…with the barzakh, the protective partition, of Your Rahma, Mercy!

 

did I feel a tranquility come over me so instantly, every other feeling preceding it absolute vanished. Obviously I became hooked to the prayer.

 

I started saying it every single time an imkaan returned, those useless, worthless, mirages of possibilities bearing my ill-will towards others who were all absent and insignificant. I would say the prayer from the beginning till the end. Each time I spanned the cycle in the same way. I cried and cried, my tears trying to drown my self.

 

Then I would despise myself for being in such abominable state. How could I have the audacity to be displeased, quarreling, resistant? I would be pausing through the entire utterance with Astaghfirullah in repetition until I would reach the part of the barzakh, the partition. Then again I would be calm like nothing had happened. Instantly!

 

وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَۖ

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورࣱ رَّحِیمُۢ

 

And seek forgiveness (of) Allah. Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Surah Al Muzzammil, Verse 20

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And what happened to you in your past which came from the leaving of istighfar, the seeking of forgiveness…

 

Astaghfirullah: (so now it is time to) keep seeking the forgiveness of Allah, Al Mufaddil, The Bestower of Bounty, Al Mukarrim, The Granter of Forgiveness for what you did and become occupied with compliance to His Commands in the rest of your life as compensation for what has elapsed.

 

Innallaha: Indeed Allah, Al Muta’lliu, The Only One informed of your regrets and your intentions in it (that seeking of forgiveness and being in obedience of His Orders)…

 

Ghafoorun: is Forgiving, He forgives your sins from the past also…

 

Raheem-un: is All Merciful, He accepts your tauba, repentance, which is followed by your errors by His Favour and His Generosity (of which you are undeserving).

The prayer took over my life for the next few days. I didn’t speak about it to anyone. I continued my classes with Qari Sahib. In my next class, the first thing I did was look up the verse my page had opened to:

 

وَمَن یَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ یَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ مَخۡرَجࣰا

 

And whoever is in taqwa, conscious of Allah, He will make for him a way out,

 

وَیَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحۡتَسِبُۚ

And He will provide for him from where not he thinks (it is possible).

Surah At Talaq, Verse 2-3

 

Tafseer Jilani

 

Wa: And overall…

 

Mayyattaqillah: the one who is mindful of Allah Subhanahu and safeguards his nafs, self, from His Qahr, Wrath, and Ghadab, Displeasure and keeps watch over himself from crossing the limits of His Boundaries which are drawn by Him, (the boundaries created) for the safeguarding of the rights of the people, especially the rights of spouses and practice mutual love for each other and (the one who) relies upon Him in all his states and entrusted his matters, all of them, to Him…

 

Yaj’al lahu: He, Allah Subhanahu, makes for him…

 

Makhrajan: a way out from the narrowness of possibilities which give result to different kinds of khudlan, humiliation and khusraan, losses.

 

Wa yarzaquhu: And He gives sustenance and carries towards him all of his needs that he is needful of in the subsistence of his family…

 

Min haysu la yahtasibu: i.e. from a place not expected and where he doesn’t have to wish for it to come from.

 

Narrowness of possibilities, humiliation, losses! There was a way made out, unexpected, unforeseen, “where he doesn’t have to wish it from.” With sustenance, not livelihood in currency as rizq is most often translated, but sustenance, emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, not for one individual in question but the entire family.

 

For whom? The one who was in a state of consciousness of Subhanahu and who was mindful of the rights of others. The one who was watchful that His Displeasure and His Wrath did not reach him because of crossing boundaries set by Him.

Like the displeasure and wrath of my Master had reached me.

 

There was a time I used to pride myself on a relationship with my Lord that didn’t have fear in it. But two years ago, whilst writing a piece for the Urs Mubarik of Maulana Rum (ra), I had felt intense fear. I had been translating stories from the Masnavi and one of them had been about the Day of Judgement and how each person would have to fend for themselves. I had come across one of the verses alluding to that reality recently.

 

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةࣱ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰۚ وَإِن تَدۡعُ مُثۡقَلَةٌ إِلَىٰ حِمۡلِهَا لَا یُحۡمَلۡ مِنۡهُ شَیۡءࣱ وَلَوۡ كَانَ ذَا قُرۡبَىٰۤۗ

إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ ٱلَّذِینَ یَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَیۡبِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۚ وَمَن تَزَكَّىٰ فَإِنَّمَا یَتَزَكَّىٰ لِنَفۡسِهِۦۚ

وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡمَصِیرُ

 

And no bearer will bear burdens (of) another.

And if a call heavily laden (soul) calls another to (carry) its load, nothing will be carried of it anything even if he be (from) near of kin.

You can only warn those who are conscious of their Lord - unseen and who establish the prayer.

And whoever purifies himself, then only he purifies for his own self.

And to Allah (is) the destination.

Surah Fatir, Verse 18

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And after that you recognized the Qudra, Authority, of Allah and you heard of the perfection of His Being in no need of anything, so for all of you is compulsory, the executing of His Commands and staying away from what He has forbidden because…

 

La taziru: no nafs, self, will, bear …

 

Waaziratu-n: as the bearer of burdens for being sinful, resisting authority…

 

Wizra: the burden (of) a wrong action of the nafs, self, that is indisciplined…

 

Ukhra wa in tad’u: of another and if any nafs, soul, asks…

 

Musqalatu-n: heavily laden by burdens and resisting authority…

 

Ila himliha: to share its burden i.e. someone else carry some of the burdens received by it to lessen them…

 

La yuhmal minhu shay-an: he will not carry any thing from another’s burden even if he consents to carry the burden because it is the demand of Allah’s Justice…

 

Wa lau kana: And if the person who was called to carry the burden…

 

Da qurba: is the family i.e. from the family of the asker, still all of the selves on that Day pledged (to carry) what they earned from their resistance. Each nafs will carry for its own self and no accountability will be for it except what it earned.

 

Then said Subhanahu addressing His Beloved (sending salutations and greetings upon him and his family the whole while) in the matters of His Servants:

 

Innama tundiru alladina yakhshauna Rabba-hum bil ghaib: only will you warn those who surrender to their Lord Unseen: meaning they are not beneficial, your warnings, which you recite O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who perfects Messenger-hood (salutations and greetings upon you and your family are sent by Him who made you the Nazeer) upon those wayward, with the exception of the group who are fearful of Allah and His Wrath and His Punishment, even though He is unseen for them, hearing Him, in submission to what has descended from Him, fearful of what can come from Him suddenly…

 

Wa: and along with that…

 

Aqaamus salata: they established prayer commanded, bringing closeness for them to His Essence, Al Mukhlisoona, sincere in it, Al Muttaharreena, purifying their selves from the inclination of everything except Allah Al Haqq, The Only Truth.

 

Wa man tazakka: And the one who purified himself and he cleansed his self from the leaning towards the capacity to invent a deceitful practice and whims…

 

Fa innama yatazakka li nafsihi: so indeed he only purified his nafs for his own self because the benefit of his purification returned to him, beneficial for him in his beginning and his end.

 

Wa: And after his purification from the demands of being human and the demands of animalistic desires which block from reaching of the origin of his nature…

 

Ilallahi: towards Allah, Al Munazza, The One Above all shortcomings, Al Mubarra’, The One Above all things lowly…

Al Maseer-u: (who is) The Destination i.e. Al Munqallab, the place returned to and the final abode i.e. everything returns towards Him and everyone’s purpose is Him, Subhanahu.

 

I was reminded of the exaltedness of the Chosen before Allah by the word Al Muttaharreena, the ones pure. How everyone had to purify themselves. Only one group was purified by Subhanahu Himself. That was the family of His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his kin who were rendered void of any shortcoming at all).

 

The Name of Allah Subhanahu that Ghaus Pak (ra) used to begin the tafseer was an absolute favourite. I loved using it when calling out to Him in my prayers. It made no other words to follow the call even necessary. He was Al Musleh, The Reformer!

 

إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ ٱلرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًۭا

 

Indeed, Allah wishes to remove from you the impurity, (O) People (of) the House!

And to purify you (with thorough) purification.

Surah al Ahzab, Verse 33

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Innama yureedullahu: Indeed Allah Al Musleh, The Reformer of the states of His Worshipper, wishes for those who are chosen by Him, teaching them such advice and reminders which enter the heart and giving them warnings strange, unlike any other…

 

Liyudhiba ankum ar-rijsa: removing impurities from you, unattractive, loathsome by both the mind and by Jurisprudence (which can be in contradiction to one another), O…

 

Ahl e Bait: the people of the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), Al Majbooleen, who are raised upon honour and nobility..

 

Wa yutahhirakum: (and it is also His Will) to make you absolutely pure from the dirt of one’s nature and things that are hateful imperfections that exist from the beginning (from birth like the Shaitaan attached to each person), which are hurdles in the cleansing of personal nature (for e.g. menstruation or emissions)…

 

Tat-hirah: (to make you, O family of the Beloved, absolutely pure) in absolute purity. Such purity that nothing remains in you, any doubt of disfigurement and the disgrace of any shortcoming.

 

The verse of each person having to bear the consequences of their own actions had made me reflect on all the parallels I was drawing after Damascus of what I had thought was for that Day but seemed to exist and play out in our lives here. The nafs experiencing being Mutma’inna was the greatest of them all.

 

But no one could carry anyone’s burden in this world either.

Parents want to take on their child’s disease. Children want to give happiness to parents whose bitterness tells them that they will never come to possess it again. I have often wanted to give of the sight of one of my eyes to a cousin who lost it in both.

 

My nafs would ask me things like, “We won’t be able to drive again.”

 

I would consider it and say, “It’s ok. We don’t drive that much anyway.”

 

So on and so forth it goes. But it was not impossible. Each nafs had to pay the price for each decision in this world as well. Bear its consequence. Asking for forgiveness though, feeling repentant, held in it the promise of being forgiven. That existed for a relationship worldly or with Subhanahu. If it was sincere!

 

‏فَمَن تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ظُلْمِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِ ۗ

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ

 

But whoever repented from after his wrongdoing and reforms, then indeed,

Allah will turn in forgiveness to him. Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Surah Al Maidah, Verse 39

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

Faman ta’aba: So the one who repents and returns towards Allah mukhlis-an, sincere (in heart), khai’ifan, in fear (of reckoning)…

 

Min ba’ada dulmihi: after he transgressed boundaries set by Him …

 

Wa aslaha: and reformed themselves with repentance (by returning towards Allah with sincerity) for the corruption that they have brought upon their own nafs (self) by disobeying Allah’s Orders.

 

Fa innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Musleh, The Reformer of all states of His Servant.

 

Yatubu alaihi: And Allah also turns towards Him and accepts his tauba, repentance, after giving him the ability for that repentance.

 

Innallaha: Without doubt, Allah is the One who is Al Muyassir, the One who gives ease in all matter for His Servants…

 

Ghafur an: He is the Forgiver of all their sins.

 

The identity of the one repenting, Ta’ib, was defined specifically:

 

Faman ta’aba: So the one who repents and returns towards Allah sincere (in heart), in fear (of reckoning)…

Fear was requisite.

   

The Necessity of Fear

 

‏وَءَاخَرُونَ ٱعْتَرَفُوا۟ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا۟ عَمَلًۭا صَلِحًۭا وَءَاخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ‎

 

And others who have acknowledged their sins.

They had mixed a deed righteous (with) other (that was) evil.

Perhaps Allah will turn (in mercy) to them.

Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Surah At Tauba, Verse 102

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And the people of Medina…

 

Aakharoona: others, not from the ones who were Al

 

Munafiqoona, persistent upon hypocrisy, Al Muttarraneena, and who practice it, but instead…

 

A’tarifu bi dhunobihim: acknowledge their sins which happened from them from mukhalifa, being against (someone) and bughz, grudges, and ta’an, being accusatory and

istikhfaaf, showing disregard and gheebat, back-biting, when sitting alone with the hypocrites and the ones who practice hypocricy.

 

And while they have the appearance of imaan, faith, and ikhlas, sincerity, but they…

 

Khalatu amalan salihan: mixed good deeds from ikhlas, sincerity and raza, seeking the pleasure of Allah and tasleem, submission…

 

Wa: and deeds…

 

Aakhara sayyan: others which were bad and those deeds were done while in the community of the hypocrites in their discourse and being accusatory. For this reason they are downgraded from the rank of the Mukhliseen, Sincere, in all their circumstances.

 

Asallaho an yatooba alayhim: And Allah will most likely accept their repentance i.e. He gives them ability upon tauba, repentance and nidama, regret and accepts from them their repentance after they become sincere in it.

 

Innallaha: Indeed, Allah Al Musleh, The One who corrects the states of His Servants…

 

Ghafooran: is Forgiving of the one who repents and regrets from the core of the qalb, the Station of Recognition of Allah in the heart…

 

Rahim: is The One who accepts their repentance when they are excessive (trangressors).

 

In writing that piece for Maulana’s Urs Mubarik I had been crying too. That crying was out of fear for a time yet to come. It was the first time I had learnt the purpose of fear in a relationship with my Lord. It was deemed essential for a believer. In that relationship fear was an element that was necessary for it to reach completion.

 

Verses attesting to that had appeared again and again.

The way out with an all encompassing rizq from the Divine was promised for whom? The one who was in a state of consciousness of Subhanahu and who was mindful of the rights of others. The one who was watchful that His Displeasure and His Wrath did not reach him because of crossing boundaries set by Him.

 

The Message could only be received by those “who are fearful of Allah and His Wrath and His Punishment, even though He is unseen for them, hearing Him, in submission to what has descended from Him, fearful of what can come from Him suddenly…”

 

Suddenly I understood why all those hours and days and weeks, months and years I spent trying to tell the ones I loved what might save them from pain were a waste of time. Theirs as well as mine. At the end of the day they never really cared if I might become angry with them or not. It never mattered. When it did, they always listened. When it didn’t that’s when they took me for granted.

 

Like I, God forbid, had been taking my Creator and His Benevelonce for granted. Astaghfirullah!

 

After the tafseer I returned to the page to re-read the next part which I had couldn’t focus on before. The incident of the fire was about the Prophet Ibrahim (as). How it was ordered to change its intrinsic nature and become cool for him by Divine Command. It was an incident only about him and for him. Not anyone else and certainly not the ordinary.

 

“…before the trial then, when you are dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He will order,

 

یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا

 

O fire! Be coolness and safety.

 

I had done the tafseer from before so I looked it up.

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Ya Naaro: O Fire, created on the nature of burning and heat…

 

Kooni bardan: become cool and leave your burning and heat…

 

Wa: and don’t harm Our Friend by your coolness as well but instead become…

 

Salaman: safety i.e. a glad reception and peaceful for him and don’t harm him.

 

How did that come to happen? If

1.I was a Muttaqi, the one who is mindful and conscious of their Rabb, who raised them, Azzo Jal,

 

2.I was sincere in my Zikr because it came from the heart. Not the mind and not the tongue.

 

3.I was Muwwahidan, in union only with Him forgetting the others,

 

4.Musheeran, pointing towards Him, feeling that nearness because I was aware that I was always being seen by Him,

 

5.then BEFORE the trial, when I was dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He would order for me,

 

یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا

 

O fire! Be coolness and safety.

 

It was unbelievable!

 

Shaitaan has endless tactics. Ways to enter lives and ruin then. His favourite tactic though is causing ghaflat.

 

Forgetfulness of obeying Divine Commands, forgetfulness of crossing boundaries in the rights of others, forgetfulness of Allah’s remembrance.

 

Fa ansaahum dikr Allah: so he made them forget the remembrance of Allah, Al Munqad, The Only Deliverer from deviation from the straight path, Al Murshid, The Only Guide towards guidance.

 

Hence ghaflat was the deadliest weapon. It naturally created the absence of repentance. That show of remorse was his worst nightmare because he possesses intimate knowledge of the Essence of Subhanahu. He knew what repentance could deliver when expressed with sincerity.

 

The incident from the Masnavi I had translated for that piece was about the waking of Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) by Iblis to say his prayers:

 

“Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) was asleep one day when he was awakened by someone. When he looked around he saw no one. Then he noticed a man skulking behind the door. He asked, “Who are you?” The man replied, “The world knows me. I am unfortunate Iblis.”

 

Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) asked him sternly, “Why have you woken me?” He responded, “The time for prayer is about to pass, O Amir.”

 

Then he quoted the Prophet of God (salutations and greetings be upon the one most distinguished in the blessings of Allah and his beloved family),

 

عجلوا ألطاعات قبل الفوت

 

Complete your worship before it (its time) expires.

 

You should run to the mosque before you miss it.”

 

Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) retorted, “You can never want such a thing so as to guide someone. You came in like a thief and now you tell me you are a well-wisher? Why would I believe a thief and then one who claims he wants to benefit me?”

 

Here Iblis uttered the words revealing his envy:

 

‘Once I was ranked amongst the angels and walked the path of obedience willingly. I was the knower of Divine Secrets and a companion of the ones who lived near Allah’s Throne. As travelers roam wherever they might go, the love of the homeland never leaves them. Who has ever forgotten their first love?

 

I have also drunk the waters from the rivers of The Divine’s Blessings and I have also walked in the Gardens of His Pleasure. He placed His Affection upon me as well, looked upon me with Favour. When I was a child, who fed me and guided me? He did.

 

Once I too was a lover of His Entity and Essence. If then that mighty Ocean of His Generosity rejected me, so what? When the heart is separated from what it once loved, then it learns to value the days where there was union.’

 

تا دهد جان را فراقش گوشمال

جان بداند قدر ايام وصال

 

When the separation from Him softly offers reproach,

then one is nostalgic for days passed.

 

Whether it was “kufr,” refusal or whether it was “imaan,” believing, both were made by that Power and both belong to Him.”

 

Hazrat Amir Muawaia (ratu) remained unmoved. “What you say is true but you have no part in it anymore. You misguided countless before me. You are fire, yet you expect me to believe you will not burn me? Who has not been deceived by you? Because of your cunning, the nation of Nuh (as) is still burning in regret. You caused the destruction of the nation of A’ad, drowning them in punishment and grief. The people of Lut (as) were stoned because of you.

 

You have created countless trials for Mankind. Firaoun, the philosopher, scholarly, his powers to reflect were blinded by you. Abu Lahab became ignorant because of you. Abul Hikm was rendered Abu Jahal because of you. You are the ocean of deceit, people but a drop. Answer truthfully. Why would you wake me to pray?”

 

Iblis replied, “Oh man of despair! You do not accept the truth despite a 100 arguments. My fault is only that one bad deed has made me renowned for sinfulness. The truth is that if you had missed your prayer, nothing of the world would have remained of value before your eyes. Tears of pain and loss would have been shed. This crying, this softness of the heart, this intense pain and sadness, would have become the reward of a 100 prayers. I did not want you to let out the sigh that would gain you the deep appreciation of Allah.

 

Remember the man who arrived at the Mosque late and was told by the congregation leaving it that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family by their Lord who gazes upon them) had already said the last “salam.”

 

The young man sighed so deeply, the sound of it shook the listeners’ hearts.

 

One of them said, ‘Give me your sigh and take the blessing of my prayer.’

 

The man accepted his namaz and presented his sigh to me in turn. The sigh was filled with such humility and submission, the one who traded his prayer for it attained a higher rank and more.

 

A voice of the Unseen said to him in a dream, ‘In your trade, you have received the best of life, so rejoice!’

 

Your fear, O Amir, of The Divine and my envy are the reason I woke you. I woke you from the fear that your cries of repentance would burn me with jealousy. I am the envier of Mankind. I can never want anything good for them. In this envy I did what I did. I am the enemy of humans. How can I want that any benefit comes to them?”

 

Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) listened to his words then said to Iblis, “Now you have told the truth, O thief. In reality, you do not want that I humbly plead before my Lord with sincerity, that I weep tears of regret and repentance because the rank of that sighing and distress is more dear to Allah than anything else.”

 

ﮐﮧ ﺑﺮﺍﺑﺮ می ﮐﻨﺪ ﺷﺎﮦ ﻣﺠﯿﺪ

ﺍﺷﮏ ﺭﺍ ﺩﺭ ﻭﺯﻥ ﺑﺎ ﺧﻮﻥ ﺷﮩﯿﺪ

 

In equal regard holds The Almighty,

the tears of the sinner, the repentant, and the blood of the martyr.

 

Subhan Allah! The story was exquisitely narrated by Maulana (ra). Was it any wonder that the Masnavi was given the honour of being called the Quran in Farsi.

 

Shaitaan knows what Subhanahu’s Exalted Name Al Ghafoor encompasses. That His Mercy prevails over everything else. So he’s worried that the expression of regret, if it is sincere, might yield a person instant forgiveness. Of not one sin but all of them in one go!

 

Bishar Haafi (ra) was the most extraordinary example of that:

 

Hazrat Bishr Haafi (ra) spent most of his life drinking alcohol and roaming the streets in a state of intoxication. He belonged to a very wealthy family and lived alone. Twice, sometimes thrice a day, he changed his clothes, each garment finer than the next.

 

One day upon reaching his house he came upon a piece of paper lying on the road. It had the words Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim written on it. When he saw his Lord’s Name thrown on the ground like that he started weeping. Then he picked up the paper, kissed it, put some itar (perfume) on it and placed it on a high spot.

 

That night he heard the voice of Allah Al-Afuww, The Supreme Pardoner, asking him, was he not tired yet of being so distant from Him. And just like that, overnight, he became a wali (saint). He left his all of his wealth and roamed the streets barefoot. That is how he got his title, Haafi, the one who walks barefoot.

 

He was one of the few people for whom Imam Hanbal (ra) rose from his seat to greet when he entered and one of the only he walked with out to the street when he left.

When asked why he treated a faqeer, one who had given up the world and its possessions for poverty and worship, with such honour, Imam Hanbal (ra) replied, ““Jiss Rab ko mein maanta hun, Bishr Haafi uss Rab to jaante hain – the Lord that I merely believe in, Bishr Haafi knows that Lord.”

 

Subhan Allah!

 

Shaitaan takes pride in the destruction of Man, declaring it often in the Quran. He thinks he’s fulfilling his promise, keeping his word. One of those is his announcing that he will take a share of everything a Servant of God is bestowed.

Before I read the verse, I thought that was in the context of worldly possessions. Taking control of their possessions to fulfill his general mission to destroy Mankind. The usual ways of doing it via the mechanics inherent in capitalism, endless dictatorships and such. I had written about those extensively because it played out all the time. How it guaranteed his success.

 

But Ghaus Pak (ra) explained it differently.

 

لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّهُۘ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنۡ عِبَادِكَ نَصِیبࣰا مَّفۡرُوضࣰا

 

Allah cursed him and he said, "I will surely take from Your Slaves a portion appointed."

Surah An Nisa, Verse 118

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

And how can we worship him and call him and indeed…

 

La’anaullahu: cursed Him Allah Subhanahu and expelled him from the Honour of His Presence and made him leave from (the list) of His Sincere Worshippers for the sake of deceiving the worshippers for the purpose of shirrk, associating others with Allah, and tughyan, oppression…

 

Wa: and after that he became hopeless of Allah’s Clemency and in despair of His Mercy…

 

Qala la’attakhidanna min ibadika: he said, “I will surely take from Your Servants, the ones because of whom you expelled me and because of whom you made me distant (from You)…

 

Naseeban: a portion, a share complete from what You made for him…

 

Mafroudan: appointed for them from Your Tauheed, Your One-ness, and honouring You by deluding them and deceiving them so that they commit shirrk (hoping and expecting from others except You) and associate others with You and say about You what is inappropriate for Your Majesty till they will fall by this from the binding of Your Safekeeping and Your Guardianship and become deserving of Your Displeasure and Your Anger.

 

The Displeasure and Anger would be coming one way or the other. It could be felt willingly or one would be made to feel it. Either way, it was unavoidable!

 

In each tafseer I was noticing what caused Allah Subhanahu’s Anger and Displeasure. Shaitaan had robbed me of my share for my entire life. I would have remained in that robbed state performing rote rituals even if some of them were above what was obligatory. I would have remained a Mushrik till my dying day had my Master not intervened in the manner that he did.

Ghaus Pak (ra) was the perfect manifestation of the undeniable truth that ends Surah Fatiha. Only following in the footsteps of the ones bestowed inaam, Divine Favours, was the path of least resistance. Least humiliation. Least agony.

 

For as I shockingly learnt from the Quran, even the infidels of Mecca who were proud of being Mushrikeen, it was their inherited tradition, believed in Subhanahu. After Him they worshipped those self-created idols of clay that they adorned the Ka’aba with.

 

Even they, when asked, who made these heavens and the earth, replied, “Allah.”

 

وَلَىِٕن سَأَلۡتَهُم مَّنۡ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ لَیَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُۚ

 

And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth? Surely, they will say, "Allah." Say, "Then do you see what you invoke from besides Allah?

Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 38

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then pointed Subhanahu towards elaborating on His Tauheed, Divine One-ness, indicating to the Mushrikeen, the ones who associate others with Him, registering their state of beguile and allurement and being foolish, so He said, addressing His Beloved (upon whom and whose family He sends greetings and salutations continuously):

 

Wa la’in sa’altahum: And if you ask them, O Akmal Ar Rusul, Messenger who perfects the Messengerhood (Allah sends greetings and salutations upon you and your family since always), the disbelievers of the Quresh…

 

Man khalaqas samawaati wal ard: who created the Heavens and the Earth i.e. the highest in creation and the lowest in creation and what is between them from their mixing and who has brought them into existence and who has constructed in them and who has made to appear what is in them from the natural wonders and peculiarities…

 

Layaqoolunna: so they say, for sure…

 

Allah: Al Muttafarrid, The Only One who creates and invents, Al Muttwaahid, The One All Alone in His being worshipped and His being The Sustainer, because they have no power to turn away from this answer with their backs.

 

Ghaus Pak (ra) too was displeased and angry with me. But only out of his love for His Lord. That was the way of His Friends. They only loved because of Him. They only had enemity because of Him. I was deserving of that wrath upon me. In hindsight I was fortunate that it came.

 

In a single page he had expressed his irritation, reprimanded me, then taught me a prayer that brought me before my Lord in utmost repentance and showed me how even suffering ordained could morph into the opposite, become a blessing.

Thus I began to see how the barzakh, that partition of the Divine’s Mercy, began to take form in my life.

 

In Lahore it was part of my daily routine to visit an elderly friend who had been unwell for years. There were good days and bad but as a result of ever increasing illnesses that brought with them acute pain, more and more they would be in the worst mood possible.

 

But they too had a Spiritual Master. So every so often, he would step in and lift them out of the bitterness they were drowning in. Like a breather to remind them of who they were and not who they had become. Then they would be let go again and sink. That was how it was playing out for now.

 

The Spiritual Master is the Arif. Since Ghaus Pak (ra) says that they can see destiny ordained, they decide when to step in, for how long and when to retreat to let the disciple’s journey play out. But they are always there, keeping their eye on those who are in their charge, looking into their hearts to see how rusted they have become.

 

Each day I entered the house not knowing what mood awaited me. Mostly I was greeted with intense sarcasm, mistrust which manifested in a poisonous tongue resulting in complete humiliation. Sometimes I was alone in the room, other times people were present who ignored the incidence. I always wondered why they were silent. I was about to find out.

 

I had been reciting the prayer gifted to me by Ghaus Pak (ra). Then I was uttering it as my own repentance but like all prayers, there were branches of other Divine Mercies emanating from it. A day or two later, I entered the room expecting a thrashing. We happened to be sitting right next to each other. It was early in the day. She was being served breakfast.

 

All I had said thus far was “How did you sleep?”

 

In response came a fire of reproaches. How I could not be relied upon. I was insincere. Selfish. And so on. On every other occasion, no exceptions, I would attempt to exercise patience as I had learnt it. Silent in the tongue, begrudging in the heart, angry in the mind. Even that didn’t always work. Sometimes I would lose it and say something curt, leaving earlier than I would otherwise. Only to be extremely disappointed in my failure of restraint, beating myself up about it before I even reached my car to head home.

 

On that day, as we sat so close to each other that our thighs almost touched, I listened to the sharpness of the words that normally sliced through my heart with a calm I had never experienced before. It was so eerie that I just sat there making sure what I was feeling was in fact real. I felt like they were speaking to someone else in the room. But there was no one else.

 

I focused on my heart. Did it feel a grudge, sorry for itself for being attacked without provocation? It didn’t. I honed in on my mind. Was it angry or rolling its eyes thinking, “Here we go again.” It wasn’t. There was a partition between us. The barzakh I had pleaded for with my weeping had appeared.

It was so unexpectedly crazy it felt like magic!

 

The truth, as it turned out, was that everyone followed Iblis. The believers, the non-believers. The grateful, the ungrateful. He turns each Mo’min into a Kafir. At some point or the other, everyone was taken in by his seduction. No one’s nafs was spared.

 

Except for one group!

 

وَلَقَدۡ صَدَّقَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ إِبۡلِیسُ ظَنَّهُۥ فَٱتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقࣰا مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ

 

And certainly, Iblis found his assumption about them to be true, so they (all) followed him except a group of the believers.

Surah As Saba, Verse 20

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then said Subhanahu taking an oath…

 

Wa: upon Himself…

 

Laqad saddaqa: indeed he, Iblis, authenticated…

 

Alayhim: upon those, Al Haalikeen, the ones who destroy themselves in the maze of khusraan, losses and kufraan, denial and ingratitude…

 

Iblis: the enemy for them, persistent, permanent in enemity with them from the beginning of their creation…

 

Dannahu: his belief, which was what he thought to be true for them when he said to their father, the Prophet Adam (as),

 

لَأَحۡتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّیَّتَهُۥۤ إِلَّا قَلِیلࣰ

 

I will surely destroy his offspring except a few – Al Isra, 62

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

La ahtanikanna durriyaatahu: Iblis said: I will make them wayward and trap them with vulgarity and by alluring them to do something wrong so that I can erase their names from the book of believers. So how can they become of the Arifeen, the ones who recognize Allah and the Al Mukaashifeen, for whom everything unveils, Al Mushahideen, the witnessing ones because what they are made from and their foundation, it demands different kinds of corruption and various kinds of sin and waywardness.

 

And for me there are many opportunities (through these demands) to create paranoia for them and allure them till they become misguided from the straight path of guidance and the way of correctness…

 

Illa qaleela: except a few amongst them for indeed they are Sabitoon, steadfast on what they are set up on. I have no power to persuade them towards wrongdoing because they are Muwwayadeen, assisted by You and they are Muwwafiqeen, granted ability by Your Power.

 

And he said:

 

وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَكِرِينَ ‎

 

And you will not find most of them to be grateful - Surah Al Araaf, Verse 17

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

La tajidu: You will not find, Ya Muizzu, O You who is The Bestower of Honour to everybody else in in humiliation and The One directing the astray to the Right Path…

 

Aksarahim Shakireen: most of them to be grateful when they will return towards You, they will be not be the grateful ones, spending from what You bestowed them of blessings on what You commanded them not to do.

 

And he said:

 

وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمۡ وَلَأُمَنِّیَنَّهُمۡ

 

And I will surely deceive them and surely arouse desires in them – An Nisa, Verse 119

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa laudillanahum: And I will surely deceive them by different deceptions and whisperings of doubt and paranoia from the Way of Your Tauheed, One-ness…

 

Wa layumanniannahum: and I will arouse desires in them by their concerns with their livelihood in this place of deception (the world) with hirs, greed and tool al amal, never ending hopes and all types of desires of their nafs, their egos, which arise from lust and (seeking of) pleasure and much else apart from this. And after that he misguided them from the path of

 

Shukr, Gratitude and Imaan, faith…

 

Fattaba’uhu: they followed him, ungrateful and denying of the blessings and Al Munim, the Bestower of those Blessings, all of them…

 

Illa fareeqan min al Mo’mineen: except a group from the

Mo’mineen, the believers, Al Mu’qineena, possessing certainy in the Tauheed, the One-ness of Allah, Al Musaddeqeena, attesting to His Prophets, Al Muttadakkireena, taking warning that he is their enemy forever, so they turned back from him and from his persuasion by deception, thus they remained Saalimeen, secure, from his persuasion to deceive.

 

No wonder a connection to that group was deemed essential to receive guidance. They were in a count, set apart from everyone else in Creation. They were the ones who were “an’amta alayhim.”

 

The inordinate focus on the prayer from Ghaus Pak (ra) brought my attention to the verses expounding on the etiquettes of the prayer in the Quran. I looked them up:

 

ٱدۡعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡ تَضَرُّعࣰا وَخُفۡیَةًۚ

إِنَّهُۥ لَا یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِینَ

 

Call upon your Lord humbly and privately.

Indeed, He (does) not love the transgressors.

Surah Al Araaf, Verse 55

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Udu’u: Call upon Him, those who have been set up on the true nature of Tauheed, One-ness…

 

Rabbukum: your Rabb, Al Mutafarraq, The One who is Unique in your raising and in making you appear…

 

Tadarru’an: (call upon Him) humbly as the ones who beseech Him…

 

Wa khufiatan: and quietly, as the ones hiding and the ones scared, and the ones submissive from the depths of the heart, not unstable in the edges of the tongue like the transgressors.

 

Innahu la yuhibbil Mu’tadeena: Indeed, He does not like the ones who cross the boundaries of what is right, the Al Mujawizeena, the ones who exceed limits, the Al Mujahireena, the ones who ask for things loudly, Al Maalliheena, the ones who ask for wrong things in their prayer because His Knowledge of their states is enough regarding their asking.

 

It was new word for me. Mu’tadeena! I knew already Subhanahu did not like the Kafireen, the deniers of truth. He did not like the Zalimeen, the unjust, the ones who crossed limits. He did not like the Faisqeen, those defiant in their disobedience. The Mu’tadeen were also transgressors. Overtly they seemed the same as the Kafireen.

 

Except in the tafseer, everything about them seemed to be related to those of us who were on the inside of the circle of Islam. For we the ones who were praying to Subhanahu. Except we were asking for things loudly. We were asking for things wrongly. We did not deny Subhanahu. We deluded ourselves that we were aspiring to be of the Mo’mineen, the believers. We didn’t even know we had become aligned with the disbelievers. Like them we were not scared of Him.

 

The most exalted of prayers in the Quran are the ones Allah Subhanahu Himself taught His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his blessed family and the utterance that came forth from them that lead the way to our salvation). It was as if He said to him, “Ask from me this and ask it like this.”

 

One of those prayers then appeared that seemed to be exactly for such a situation. For if one was being rendered a transgressor whilst in prayer, then clearly refuge was in need from Shaitaan who was prevailing in exactly that moment. A moment that one thought was intensely private and only between them and their Lord.

 

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنۡ هَمَزَتِ ٱلشَّیَـٰطِینِ

 

And say, "My Lord! I seek refuge in You from the suggestions (of) the evil ones,

 

وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن یَحۡضُرُونِ

 

And I seek refuge in You, My Lord! Lest they be present with me."

Surah Al Mu’minoon, Verse 97-98

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa qul Rabbi: So say, “O Lord who raises me by Your Kunf, Safekeeping and Jawaar, Watchfulness…

 

Audo bika min hamazaati Shayateen: I seek refuge in You from the promptings of the evil ones and their waswase, whisperings and the different kinds of seductions and

misleading.

 

Wa: And especially…

 

Aoudo: I seek protection and come into refuge…

 

Bika: with You, O…

 

Rabbi Ayyahdiroon: my Lord, lest they come near me and let my focus be upon You and when my heart is soft in its inclination towards You and I invoke You, especially during my prayer and during my recitation and during the time I present my needs to You.

 

It revealed to me why the recitation of the namaz, why the recitation of the Quran, all worship was made to begin with seeking of refuge from Shaitaan and his followers.

 

فَإِذَا قَرَأۡتَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ فَٱسۡتَعِذۡ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِیمِ

 

So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah from the Shaitaan, the accursed.

Surah An Nahl, Verse 98

 

Fasta’id: then seek refuge and invoke, first of all…

 

Billahi: Allah, Al Mutajalli, The One who unveils, by the attribute of speech, which makes others helpless before it, Al Hafeed, The Protector of His Sincere Servants from everything in useless sins and disobedience…

 

Min: (which occur) due to doubts and paranoia…

 

Ash Shaitaan ar rajeem: from Shaitaan the accursed one, Al Matrood, the one expelled and the one made distant from the court of the Presence of Allah Azzo Jal with the stoning of the effects of the Attributes of Allah’s Wrath and (seek refuge) from his delusions and rationalizations which are the armies of desire and forgetfulness and false imaginings and thrilling hallucinations which persuade different kinds of hopes and lust.

 

Basically possibilities!

 

Yet another revelation that came to me through the prayer Ya Haailo had to with the virtue of patience.

 

قُلۡ یَـٰعِبَادِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡۚ لِلَّذِینَ أَحۡسَنُوا۟ فِی هَـٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنۡیَا حَسَنَةࣱۗ

إِنَّمَا یُوَفَّى ٱلصَّـٰبِرُونَ أَجۡرَهُم بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابࣲ

 

Say, "O My slaves those who believe!

Be mindful of your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good,

Only will be paid back in full the patient ones their reward without account."

Surah Az Zumar, Verse 10

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Qul: Say, Ya Akmal Ar Rusul (Allah sends blessings and salutations upon you since the beginning of everything), O Messenger who completes the Messenger-hood, give this message on Our Behalf, calling out to the selected sincere amongst my Servants…

 

Ya ibadi: O My Worshippers, by attaching them with His Essence making them special and honouring them…

 

Alladina aamano: those who attained to faith from amongst you in the One-ness of My Essence and My Appearance according to My Affairs and My Ever changing-ness in accordance with My Names and Attributes, the requirement of your faith is taqwa, mindfulness from the demands of your desires…

 

Ittaqu Rabbukum: be conscious of your Lord and stay away from what is forbidden by Him and what He has ordered prevented for you and characterize yourself with His Commands and know that He…

 

Lilladina ahsanu: for the ones with spiritual excellence and beautiful regard with Allah…

 

Fi hadihi duniya: in this world, which is the place of gaining lessons and choosing…

 

Hasana: there is goodness, multifold and more than a thousand times more than that in the Hereafter which is the Dar al Qarar, the abode which is forever so take heed, O people of vision, both inner and outer.

…

Innama yuwaffa as sabiroon: Only the steadfast are given in full as the Al Mutahammiloona, the ones who carry their burdens with the different kinds of difficulties and toiling with patience in the practice of Imaan, faith…

 

Ajrahum: their reward and in abundance upon them will be goodness and different kinds of recompenses and honours…

 

Bighairi hisaab: without count, for all of it and exceeding it, with no possibility of measure and enumeration and without any number, merely by His Bounty for them and His Honour upon them.

 

My way of practicing it was about to change.

 

Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52649820039/in/datepos...

 

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

 

On Twitter: twitter.com/UN_Women/status/887394403370905601

The driver of this Honda Accord hit my car while attempting to parallel park near Eastern Market in DC. They did not leave a note, or call back after I left them a note.

 

So much for person responsibility and accountability.

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

May 21, 2013

 

Around 20 protesters rallied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. They called for more accountability in the banking industry, demanded the Obama administration prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis of 2008 and called for relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. This event was in solidarity with Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23.

 

2013-05-21 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution for: Fibonacci Blue

 

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Speakers included:

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Scenes from the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Side Event: A Feminist Accountability Framework: What the World Needs to Achieve Gender Equality and All the Sustainable Development Goals, co-sponsored by ICRW and its partners Equal Measures 2030, Save the Children, Global Citizen, Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), UN Women, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Government of Zambia. Held at the Church Centre in New York on 18 July 2017.

 

Pictured Above: Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Speakers included:

Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director and Head of Office at WEDO, Women’s Major Group Chair

 

Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, at the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University

 

Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

 

Ambassador Rolando Castro, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 

Wallace Nguluwe, Gender Specialist, Ministry of Gender, Zambia

 

Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Program Director, ARROW (representing Women’s Major Group)

 

Alison Holder, Director, Equal Measures 2030

 

Jenny Ottenhoff, Policy Director, Global Health at ONE

 

Grace Choi, Associate Director for Global Gender Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children USA

 

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

 

On Twitter: twitter.com/UN_Women/status/887388242462613504

With the lovely Danelia Dust.

In order to complete their duties, peacekeepers must remain fit, agile and ready to deploy on short notice.

 

UNFICYP military personnel, including Force Commander Maj Gen. Cheryl Pearce, recently completed a competitive training exercise to stay in top shape.

Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).

 

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions

 

"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".

 

The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.

 

The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.

 

Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.

 

Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:

 

Wet with cool dew drops

fragrant with perfume from the flowers

came the gentle breeze

jasmine and water lily

dance in the spring sunshine

side-long glances

of the golden-hued ladies

stab into my thoughts

heaven itself cannot take my mind

as it has been captivated by one lass

among the five hundred I have seen here.

 

Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.

 

Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.

 

There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.

 

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.

 

The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.

 

In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:

 

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".

 

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

 

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

 

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

 

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

 

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983

 

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

Main article: Commercial graffiti

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

 

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

 

Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.

 

Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.

 

Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.

 

Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.

 

There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.

 

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

 

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

 

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis

 

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

 

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.

 

Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"

 

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal

 

In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.

 

Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.

 

Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.

 

Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.

 

With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.

 

Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.

 

Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.

 

Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.

 

Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.

 

Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.

 

Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.

 

Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.

 

The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.

 

I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.

 

The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.

 

Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.

 

Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.

 

In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".

 

There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.

 

Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.

 

A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.

By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.

 

Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.

 

In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.

 

A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.

 

From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

 

In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.

 

Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.

 

Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.

 

Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.

  

In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.

 

Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.

 

In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.

 

In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."

 

In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.

 

In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.

 

In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.

 

In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.

 

In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.

 

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.

 

To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."

 

In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.

 

In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

 

Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".

 

Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.

 

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.

 

Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.

 

In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

 

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

 

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.

 

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.

 

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

May 21, 2013

 

Around 20 protesters rallied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. They called for more accountability in the banking industry, demanded the Obama administration prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis of 2008 and called for relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. This event was in solidarity with Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23.

 

2013-05-21 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution for: Fibonacci Blue

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

May 21, 2013

 

Around 20 protesters rallied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. They called for more accountability in the banking industry, demanded the Obama administration prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis of 2008 and called for relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. This event was in solidarity with Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23.

 

2013-05-21 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution for: Fibonacci Blue

 

This infographic is related to a U.S. GAO report: www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-205

 

Illicit Opioids: While Greater Attention Given to Combating Synthetic Opioids, Agencies Need to Better Assess their Efforts

The Inspection Panel is completing 25 years in its role, as an accountability mechanism of the World Bank. As you are aware, the Bank’s failure to comply with its operating policies was seen by the entire world in the Bank’s financing with the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on River Narmada. The tenacity of massive grass-roots uprisings from our communities in the 80’s and the sustained hard work of our social movements along with our resoluteness to link it with international coalitions to question the hegemony of the Bank, subsequently led the Bank, for the first time, to commission an independent review of its project. The Independent Review Committee (Morse Committee) constituted by the Bank in 1991 to review the social and environmental costs and benefits of the dam, after years of consistent struggle by Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement) and its allies led to a demand from the civil society around the globe for the creation of a grievance redressal system for project-affected communities, which ultimately pressurized the Bank to constitute the Inspection Panel in 1993. We expected this might be a crucial backstop and an opportunity for us to raise our issues of livelihoods, economic loss, displacement from our lands, alienation from natural resources, destruction of environment and threat to our biodiversity and cultural hotspots, where Bank invested in large, supposedly ‘development’ projects like mega dams, energy and other infrastructure projects. Yet, the outcome we expected rarely delivered sufficient remedy for the harm and losses people have experienced over the years.

 

A number of accountability mechanisms over the next couple of decades in several development finance institutions were formed following the model of World Bank, commonly known as ‘Independent Accountability Mechanisms’[IAMs]. Each year the number of complaints rise which is an indication of the increasing number of grievous projects happening around the world. While IAMs of most MDBs are advertised to provide strong and just processes, many of our experiences imply that the banks are accommodating practices which suit their own needs and their clients, which are borrowing countries and agencies, and not the people for whom the IAMs were built to serve.

 

Many a time, we have been disappointed by these mechanisms, since these are designed by the banks who are lending for disastrous projects in our lands. And as a result, the already existing narrow mandate of IAMs is further restricted.

 

In our efforts to hold the lending bank accountable, the communities are always presented with the arduous process of learning the complex formalities and detailed procedures to initially approach the IAMs and get our grievances registered. Our many years’ time and energy then is channelised into seeing through the various cycles of these complaint handling mechanisms, that our entire efforts go into this process, and often our complaint gets dropped off in midst of the procedural rules of the IAMs. People are made to wait many months to clear procedural levels and our cases with the IAMs get highly unpredictable. Further, we face intimidation and reprisals from the state and project agencies for having contacted the IAMs who themselves do not possess any authority to address the violations hurled out to us when we seek dignity, fair treatment and justice from them. There are many of us who feel a loss of morale after long years of struggling with lenders when we fail to see concrete benefits or changes in our circumstances, by which time considerable irreplaceable harm is already done to our lives, environment and livelihoods.

 

In this manner, our immediate and larger goal of holding banks for their failure to consult with and obtain consent from communities before devising action plans for our lands, water and forests is deflected in the pretext of problem-solving and grievance hearing offered to us in the name of IAMs.

 

With over 50 registered complaints sent to different IAMS from India in the past 25 years, many more left unregistered due to technical reasons and only a few got investigated, assessed and monitored at different levels, we have a baggage of mixed experiences with the IAMs. A few of the prominent cases from India apart from Narmada project are Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project [WB’s IP], Tata Mega Ultra-01/Mundra and Anjar [IFC’s CAO & ADB’s CRP], India Infrastructure Fund-01/Dhenkanal District [IFC’s CAO], Allain Duhangan Hydro Power Limited-01/Himachal Pradesh [IFC’s CAO] and Mumbai Urban Transport Project (2009) [WB’s IP].

 

As we now know, what is being witnessed recently is an influx of approved and proposed investments majorly in energy, transport, steel, roads, urban projects, bullet trains, industrial zones/corridors, smart cities, water privatization and other mega projects in India. This has been financed from different multilateral and bilateral sources, foreign corporations, private banks as well as Export-Import Banks (ExIm Banks). It has become a brutal challenge for communities, social movements and CSOs, with lenders and governments constantly shutting their eyes and ears to us who demand accountability for their actions. A compelling and timely need has arisen among diverse groups amongst us to gather together and critically analyze the various trajectories of our engagements with accountability mechanisms of MDBs in order to bring together past 25 years’ learning, insights and reflections of various actors of this accountability process. This urging demand is also an attempt to define the collective experiences in India among our social movements, projected-affected communities and CSOs with IAMs and lending banks, especially appropriating the global political opportunity of Inspection Panel celebrating its 25 years this year.

 

Speakers:

Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary, AlI India Bank Officers’ Confederation

Arun Kumar, Eminent scholar, Former Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University

C.P. Chandrashekar, Economist, Professor Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Sucheta Dalal, Managing Editor, Moneylife

Soumya Dutta, National Convener, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha

Dunu Roy, Hazards Center, New Delhi

Medha Patkar, Senior Activist, Narmada Bachao Andolan

Tani Alex, Centre for Financial Accountability

M J Vijayan, Activist and Political commentator

Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability

Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel

Madhuresh Kumar, National Alliance of People’s Movements

A J Vijayan, Chairperson, Western Ghats and Coastal area Protection Forum

Meera Sanghamitra, National Aliance of People’s Movements

Vimal bhai, Matu Jan Sangathan, Uttarakhand

Daniel Adler, Senior Specialist, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman

Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability

Birgit Kuba, Operations Officer, Inspection Panel

Anuradha Munshi, Centre for Financial Accountability

Bharat Patel, General Secretary, Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan,Gujarat

Awadhesh Kumar, Srijan Lokhit Samiti

Amulya Kumar Nayak, Odisha Chas Parivesh Surekhsa Parishad, Odisha

Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Legal Scholar

Manshi Asher, Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

May 21, 2013

 

Around 20 protesters rallied outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. They called for more accountability in the banking industry, demanded the Obama administration prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis of 2008 and called for relief for families and communities devastated by foreclosures. This event was in solidarity with Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23.

 

The speaker is Ty Moore, Socialist Alternative candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 9

 

Signs read:

STAND TOGETHER

STOP

FORECLOSURES

STOP EVICTIONS

occupyhomesmn.org

 

2013-05-21 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution for: Fibonacci Blue

 

A slide from my presentation at TCEA in February 2006, "Cultivating Digital Literacy Through Blogging and Podcasting." (Available as an audio-only podcast and enhanced podcast.)

 

Also see www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/06/05/nclb-damages-us-educ...

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes topped with an "Accountability" logo

A Shameful Joint Enterprise!!

High Level Event co-organized by Estonia, Georgia, the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of the 71st UN General Assembly

 

19 September 2016

 

Prime Minister of Georgia George Kvirikashvili, President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea Yun Byung-se and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark discussed how effective, accountable, inclusive and transparent institutions are playing a critical role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

Click here for Helen Clark's remarks: www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/speeches/20...

 

Photo: UNDP

  

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-204

 

IMMIGRATION STATUS VERIFICATION FOR BENEFITS: Actions Needed to Improve Effectiveness and Oversight

 

Drew Wheelan -- Seattle, WA

 

©Vanishing America/Holt Webb

 

www.VanishingAmerica.net

With the lovely Danelia Dust.

a piece that i made in response the the immense greed in washington

Shri narayan sewa prewar chairman parhlad Kumar aggarwal with activists protest against the Delhi police on the law and order and pray for nithari victim’s situation at the PHQ in New Delhi on Monday

And concerned

photographs and press release may be obtained from our blogs for

publication purposes.

 

FOR protest PHOTO and Hindi release

www.flickr.com/photos/7368539@N02/

 

aggarson.eyefetch.com/

Protest for NITHARI victims - 29-12-2008

 

for protest photo plese wait or call +919911099737

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Ekks0 vgen ds firk dk Qksu ua- % 9818243237

 

Protest for NITHARI victims - 29-12-2008

LET US MEET AT Delhi PHQ ON 29-12-2008 time 11:00 TO LIGHT CANDLES FOR THE VICTIMS OF NITHARI.& Delhi missing children who waiting F.I.R For justice last 17 month

 

The year 2006 ended with the shocking revelations of "NITHARI'S GRUESOME KILLINGS" – appropriately being labeled as 'India's shame' - the blot that may never be easy to erase from our history.

The Nithari murders have shocked the world and generated unparalleled anger among the citizenry. What is making us ashamed and angry is that for two years the media kept on bringing out stories of missing children of the deprived and marginalized people and we failed to raise our voice - and if we did it was not 'loud enough' to save the lives of many innocent poor children. In any case, we should have never left it to our netas, babus and police, who slept over it.

 

We must no longer watch from the sidelines silently. Along with the media the citizens of this country have a moral responsibility to launch a sustained campaign for accountability.

 

Let us all meet at PHQ on Monday, 29-12-2008 at 11:00 p.m. to launch a sustained 'campaign for accountability of the authorities' and express our solidarity with the bereaved families of DELHI We want to seek information and explanation for the callousness of the authorities who are there to protect the citizens, especially innocent children and who failed in their duty for two long years.

The time has come to fight for upholding our constitutional rights in letter and spirit.

 

Coordinated by:

 

SHRI NARAYAN SEWA PRIWAR

 

INFOFFCM@gmail.com

Prahlad kumar aggarwal - 9911099737

Abdul samad 9818243237

Riyajudin- 9350412636

 

Demonstrators protested across Brazil on Sunday to denounce corruption and a congressional vote perceived as an effort to intimidate judges and prosecutors leading graft probes.

 

Dressed mostly in the national colors of yellow and green, thousands marched to demand accountability at a time when Latin America's biggest country is reeling from corruption scandals, political gridlock and a prolonged economic recession.In São Paulo, the country's largest city, about 15,000 people, according to state police, marched down the business thoroughfare of Avenida Paulista, unfurling a long banner reading "Corrupt Congress."

Thousands of protesters fanned out on the streets of Brazilian cities on Sunday to voice indignation with political leaders who are trying to stymie anticorruption investigations.

The protesters focused much of their ire on the politicians at the helm of Brazil’s scandal-ridden Congress, including Rodrigo Maia, the speaker of the lower house, and Renan Calheiros, the powerful head of the Senate, after lawmakers gutted an anticorruption bill last week.(Reuters / New York Times)

 

São Paulo

Avenida Paulista

Brasil

Dezembro,2016