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Activists of Fridays for Future gathered at the POSTCITY from where they started a demonstration tour.
Credit: tom mesic
Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 1, 2012
Protesters marched for International Workers Day on May Day. They marched from Nicollet and Lake Street in south Minneapolis to Powderhorn Park. The people marched to call for workers' rights and to protest issues such as immigration raids and deportations that divide families.
2012-05-01 This is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Around two hundred activists from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Disabled Activists Network (DAN), WinVisible and anti-corporate tax-avoidance campaigners UK Uncut joined forces on 28.01.2012 to carry out a demonstration and acts of civil disobedience to protest against the ongoing savage cuts being made to disability benefits by the Coalition Government led by Old Etonian, ex-Bullingdon Club member and ex-PR man, prime minister David Cameron, who has overseen a concerted public attack on the weakest, most vulnerable members of British society - the sick, the disabled and the dying - who are seeing the welfare benefits they depend on to survive slashed at the same time as they have been publicly demonised and branded work-shy scroungers by a compliant right-wing press, in order to slash the welfare budget, which is the Cameron government's only solution to the economic shockwaves caused by the banking crisis of 2008.
Congregating first in Holborn Circus by organizers, the activists (many of whom were in wheelchairs, had guide dogs, or were accompanied by their Carers and Buddies), who had earlier been instructed to arrive with a valid Oyster travel card - were entertained by a samba drum troupe. Suddenly the signal was ,given, and everyone (except the wheelchair-users, who had to find other transport because of the woefully abysmal provision for the disabled on 90% of the Victorian rail system) entered Holborn Underground Station en-masse to reappear at their top-secret destination two short stops away - the large, busy junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street, where they proceeded to spill onto the new Tokyo-style pedestrian crossing before completely blocking all traffic from the North by chaining their wheelchairs together across the road, anchored at each end to the wrought-iron railings at the entrances to the Underground station.
Police looked on, almost powerless to act without being seen to physically manhandle many severely disabled people, and it's very doubtful if they have provision to load electric wheelchairs into police carriers and hold them in custody suites without a huge public relations disaster, so instead they sensibly adopted a pastoral role, doing what they could to keep the peaceful-but-very-vocal protesters safe for the three hours their act of civil disobedience lasted, after which they all calmly dissapated, vanishing back into the underground system and home for a well-earned rest after a triumphant protest.
This is the first time that Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) have had any significant support on one of their direct actions, and being joined by the extremely effective corporate tax-avoidance protesters from UK Uncut was a fantastic morale boost for the battle-hardened disabled activists. For well over a year DPAC has been fighting back against David Cameron's swingeing "austerity" cuts to the welfare budget, especially to provision for the disabled, which are only hurting the most vulnerable in our society. It seems as if the message is finally getting through to other single-issue protest groups that everything is related to everything else. Taking Disability Living Allowance from half a million disabled people, making them homeless and destitue with their considerable physical and/or mental health complications may save the Department of Work and Pensions' annual budget, but the burden of caring for all these people will now fall to local councils, already chronically stretched by huge government cuts to their budgets - and it is widely understood by everyone that it is much, much cheaper to keep a disabled person living independently with State help than it is to reinstate the Victorian Institutions and Hospitals, which past campaigners fought so hard for so long to abolish because of the inherent cruelty in institutionalising the disabled who previously had independent lives and employment but can no longer get to work because the Conservative government has taken away their mobility allowances...
All photos © 2012 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter or reblog my images without my written permission.
Hi-Res versions of these files are available for license on application. NUJ rates apply.
Activists stage a protest outside a local Seattle, Washington hotel early June 17, 2015. Royal Dutch Shell was meeting with shipping industry officials at the hotel. The activists are demanding that Shell stop it's oil drilling especially in the Arctic. This protest is just days as the Shell contracted Polar Pioneer left Seattle bound for the Arctic. Photo by Greenpeace
Climate activists in Edinburgh sent a message to world politicians who are meeting now in Lima, asking them to agree a deal to prevent catastrophic climate change.
They took to the streets on Saturday to collect signatures supporting the Edinburgh Climate Action Pledge which also calls on the City of Edinburgh Council to take urgent steps to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Matthew Crighton of Friends of the Earth Edinburgh commented
“To look after our planet and ourselves we have to stop burning fossil fuels – coal, natural gas and oil – and switch to renewables. It’s practical and can improve people’s lives at the same time. Transforming our energy system will create jobs, cut pollution and tackle dangerous climate change.
“Let’s take vigorous action now, rather than face the consequences of climate change- devastation to farming around the world, rising food prices and rising hunger, mass migrations and unrest, flooding of coastal areas; and disaster for the natural world.
“So we want a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions; and we also want action in Scotland to meet our emissions targets. We support Edinburgh Council’s target to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. We want to see action taken now to achieve and then exceed that target”.
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Men carry the coffin of a member of the activist , who was killed by "Al Chabiha", or armed civilians loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, Feb 2012
Activists in New York's Union Square braved pouring rain and wind to demonstrate their support for Edward Snowden, who is reportedly the source for explosive revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) routinely monitors virtually all personal electronic communications in the United States. The Obama administration is expected to seek criminal charges against Snowden but the issue has the potential to turn into a major crisis for the scandal-plagued White House.
Climate activists in Edinburgh sent a message to world politicians who are meeting now in Lima, asking them to agree a deal to prevent catastrophic climate change.
They took to the streets on Saturday to collect signatures supporting the Edinburgh Climate Action Pledge which also calls on the City of Edinburgh Council to take urgent steps to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Matthew Crighton of Friends of the Earth Edinburgh commented
“To look after our planet and ourselves we have to stop burning fossil fuels – coal, natural gas and oil – and switch to renewables. It’s practical and can improve people’s lives at the same time. Transforming our energy system will create jobs, cut pollution and tackle dangerous climate change.
“Let’s take vigorous action now, rather than face the consequences of climate change- devastation to farming around the world, rising food prices and rising hunger, mass migrations and unrest, flooding of coastal areas; and disaster for the natural world.
“So we want a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions; and we also want action in Scotland to meet our emissions targets. We support Edinburgh Council’s target to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. We want to see action taken now to achieve and then exceed that target”.
Minnie Bruce Pratt in support of students at April 16 rally to stop CEO of JP Morgan Chase deliver Syracuse University 2010 commencement address.
For more information:
www.flickr.com/photos/transgenderwarrior/sets/72157623763...
Image Courtesy: Joka Madruga (www.flickr.com/photos/jokamadruga/8642328391), Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic | Flickr
Watch this and stop letting the terror propaganda blind you ! -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjkLUcbJWo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZprVPKi-W6s
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3896996,00.html
עולם דפוק.
Andrew Lease (left), an assistant in NY Governor Cuomo's office, waits on the sidewalk with 160,000 petitions to ban fracking which had just been delivered by activists, Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY. 9 October 2012. Photo Credit: Adam Welz/CREDO ref: 20121009_AntiFrackDemoNY-0718
Alexei Navalny is a Russian political and social activist who in recent years gained great prominence amongst Russian bloggers and mass media due to his social campaingning activity. Moscow, Russia. 01.03.2011
Climate activists in Edinburgh sent a message to world politicians who are meeting now in Lima, asking them to agree a deal to prevent catastrophic climate change.
They took to the streets on Saturday to collect signatures supporting the Edinburgh Climate Action Pledge which also calls on the City of Edinburgh Council to take urgent steps to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Matthew Crighton of Friends of the Earth Edinburgh commented
“To look after our planet and ourselves we have to stop burning fossil fuels – coal, natural gas and oil – and switch to renewables. It’s practical and can improve people’s lives at the same time. Transforming our energy system will create jobs, cut pollution and tackle dangerous climate change.
“Let’s take vigorous action now, rather than face the consequences of climate change- devastation to farming around the world, rising food prices and rising hunger, mass migrations and unrest, flooding of coastal areas; and disaster for the natural world.
“So we want a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions; and we also want action in Scotland to meet our emissions targets. We support Edinburgh Council’s target to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. We want to see action taken now to achieve and then exceed that target”.
Darkness and peace activists
Speaking of: original. The battle for the trademark "Sachertorte" employed the courts of the Republic of Austria until 1963. Finally, the Wider-Sacher (sacher antagonists) agreed out of court on this settlement: Only the Hotel Sacher may use the name "Original Sacher-Torte", the Viennese confectionery Demel must offer their product as "Eduard Sacher-Torte".
Anna Sacher has not experienced the darkest years of her hotel. When she died in 1930, Austria had become the most popular tourist destination of the Germans. In 1933, the Nazi government stopped this trend with the so-called thousand mark barrier: every German citizen had to pay a fee of 1000 Reichsmark before traveling to Austria. The Austrian tourism industry suddenly lost 85 percent of its German guests, many businesses were ruined. In 1934, the Hotel Sacher filed for bankruptcy.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler proclaimed on the Heroes' Square in Vienna with a pathetically trembling voice "before history the entrance of my homeland into the German Reich". - More than 100,000 Austrians shouted: "Sieg Heil!". The swastika flag fluttered on the façade of the Hotel Sacher. From 1945 Vienna was controlled by the victorious powers similar to Berlin. Americans, Russians, British and French patrolled Vienna together, in doing so inspiring to the classic movie "The Four in the Jeep". However, the penicillin trafficker Harry Lime, depicted by Orson Welles, was staged in an artistically and commercially impressive manner.
No, "The Third Man" does not play in the Hotel Sacher. But English author Graham Greene stayed here while researching the film script in bombed Vienna. The British had lodged in the Sacher and ran a well-stocked bar there - gin, scotch, Irish whiskey - and a restaurant for the upper ranks.
During a joint lunch at the Sacher, a British secret service employee provided the novelist with the brilliant idea for a film backdrop. Ironically, in this atmosphere the location scout with Graham Greene aroused curiosity about the city's underground sewer system. Immediately after the meal, Greene and his informant visited this sewage underworld - ugh. But script fee does not stink.
20 years later, another Englishman immortalized himself with his peace-giving measure in the guest chronicle of the Hotel Sacher. In 1969, John Lennon and his newlywed wife Yoko Ono used the worldwide media interest in their bedroom activities to spread their message: "Give Peace A Chance!"
Ono-Lennon's bridal chamber was packed with journalists as John and Yoko - hidden under white cloth - chanted about the inability of the politicians, the secret wishes of the Queen and other world problems. Most of the attendees of this press conference in the Sacher Suite 312 did not or could not seriously question the meaning of the political happening. Only the former ORF reporter André Heller gave the impression that he could respect John and Yoko and understand their message: "peace".
With the supermarket bag to the Sacher
What the two peace apostles were doing there in the Sacher, the Beatles fans learned a few weeks later by the hit single "Ballad Of John And Yoko". For example, on their "Trip to Vienna", the honeymooners had eaten "chocolate cake in a bag". John and Yoko had crawled into a sack and ate a Sachertorte in it - maybe even today a recommended nightcap after a night of drinking.
It does not always have to be world peace. Also in the Sacher life is happening on a smaller scale. For example, it was enough for a Leonard Bernstein if he could immediately sit down at the piano and "compose" or rehearse on arrival "in his Viennese living room". The main thing, this schedule was meticulously met: In the morning, the movers brought his instrument - the composer of "West Side Story" never traveled without his own piano - in the amber room, then the piano tuner did his job, around noon, the maestro appeared.
Another habit: as a regular guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein booked the same suite on each of his visits to the world capital of music. The reason for this loyalty was revealed to the Sacher management only when Lenny missed his favorite picture on the wall during one of his hotel stays. No problem. Eduard Veit's painting "Black and Blonde" was immediately put back where it should be.
AC/DC, the Callas, Mireille Matthieu, Comedian Harmonists, Otto Waalkes, the BeeGees and Andi Borg - they all have stayed at the Sacher. But the most prominent permanent hotel guest was not a musician, but a professional music listener: Marcell Horace Frydman Knight of Prawy. Or just Marcel Prawy. Until his death in 2003, he was considered the Austrian "opera leader of the nation". His trademark was the plastic shopping bags of the supermarket chain "Billa", in which he dragged sheet music and notes around.
During the last ten years of Marcel Prawy's life, the hotel was the shortest walk to the back entrance of the Vienna State Opera as his permanent home address. This suggests the upscale lifestyle of a privileged, but it certainly leads to complications - especially when in Sacher once again descends a president, the entire hotel has been declared a high-security wing and opposite the uniformed sniper on the roof of the opera sit on lookout.
On the state visit of a ruler of the upper threat class Marcel Prawy was prevented by the police from entering his apartment. Protest futile. So he used the remedy that always works immediately in a foreign-friendly city like Vienna: Prawy explains in awkward English that he is an Arab sheikh and must necessarily visit his friend, the president - and he is waved by.
Luckily the Sacher regular had not claimed he was Marcel Prawy. The police would have taken him on suspicion that somebody was imitating his voice familiar to every ORF radio listener in order to get into the Hotel Sacher without authorization.
Finsternis und Friedensbewegte
Apropos: Original. Der Kampf um die Schutzmarke "Sachertorte" beschäftigte bis 1963 die Gerichte der Republik Österreich. Schließlich einigten sich die Wider-Sacher außergerichtlich auf diesen Vergleich: Nur das Hotel Sacher darf die Bezeichnung "Original Sacher-Torte" verwenden, die Wiener Konditorei Demel muss ihr Produkt als "Eduard Sacher-Torte" anbieten.
Anna Sacher hat die finstersten Jahre ihres Hotels nicht mehr erlebt. Als sie 1930 starb, hatte sich Österreich zum beliebtesten Reiseziel der Deutschen entwickelt. 1933 stoppte die Nazi-Regierung diesen Trend mit der so genannten Tausend-Mark-Sperre: Jeder deutsche Staatsbürger musste vor einer Reise nach Österreich eine Gebühr von 1000 Reichsmark zahlen. Die österreichische Tourismus-Branche verlor auf einen Schlag 85 Prozent ihrer deutschen Gäste, zahlreiche Betriebe wurden ruiniert. 1934 meldete auch das Hotel Sacher Konkurs an.
1938 verkündete Adolf Hitler auf dem Wiener Heldenplatz mit pathetisch zitternder Stimme "vor der Geschichte nunmehr den Eintritt meiner Heimat in das Deutsche Reich". - Mehr als 100.000 Österreicher schrien: "Sieg Heil!". An der Fassade des Hotel Sacher flatterte die Hakenkreuzfahne. Ab 1945 wurde Wien ähnlich wie Berlin von den Siegermächten kontrolliert. Amerikaner, Russen, Briten und Franzosen patrouillierten gemeinsam durch Wien und inspirierten damit zu dem Film-Klassiker "Die Vier im Jeep". Künstlerisch und kommerziell beeindruckender in Szene gesetzt wurde allerdings der Penicillin-Schwarzhändler Harry Lime, dargestellt von Orson Welles.
Nein, "Der dritte Mann" spielt nicht im Hotel Sacher. Doch der englische Autor Graham Greene logierte hier, als er für das Film-Drehbuch im zerbombten Wien recherchierte. Die Briten hatten sich im Sacher einquartiert und betrieben dort eine ordentlich sortierte Bar - Gin, Scotch, Irish Whiskey - und ein Restaurant für die gehobenen Dienstgrade.
Beim gemeinsamen Lunch im Sacher lieferte ein britischer Geheimdienst-Mitarbeiter dem Romancier die zündende Idee für eine Film-Kulisse. Ausgerechnet in dieser gepflegten Atmosphäre weckte der Location-Scout bei Graham Greene die Neugier auf das unterirdische Abwasserkanal-System der Stadt. Gleich nach dem Essen besichtigten Greene und sein Informant diese Kloaken-Unterwelt. - Igittigitt. Aber Drehbuch-Honorar stinkt nicht.
20 Jahre später verewigte sich ein weiterer Engländer mit seiner Frieden stiftenden Maßnahme in der Gästechronik des Hotel Sacher. John Lennon und seine frisch angetraute Ehefrau Yoko Ono nutzten 1969 das weltweite Medien-Interesse an ihren Schlafzimmer-Aktivitäten für die Verbreitung ihrer Botschaft: "Give Peace A Chance!"
Das Brautgemach der Eheleute Ono-Lennon war gerammelt voll mit Journalisten, als John und Yoko - versteckt unter weißem Leinen - über die Unfähigkeiten der Politiker, über die geheimen Wünsche der englischen Queen und über andere Weltprobleme schwadronierten. Die meisten Teilnehmer dieser Pressekonferenz in der Sacher-Suite 312 wollten oder konnten den Sinn des Polit-Happenings nicht ernsthaft hinterfragen. Einzig der damalige ORF-Reporter André Heller machte den Eindruck, als könne er John und Yoko respektieren und ihre Message verstehen: "Frieden".
Mit der Supermarkttüte ins Sacher
Was die zwei Friedensapostel da sonst noch im Sacher so trieben, erfuhren die Beatles-Fans ein paar Wochen später durch die Hit-Single "Ballad Of John And Yoko". Bei ihrem "Trip to Vienna" hatten die Hochzeitsreisenden zum Beispiel "chocolate cake in a bag" gegessen. John und Yoko waren also in einen Sack gekrochen und verspeisten darin eine Sachertorte - vielleicht heute noch ein empfehlenswerter Absacker nach einer durchzechten Nacht.
Es muss nicht immer gleich der Weltfrieden sein. Auch im Sacher geht es durchaus eine Nummer kleiner. Einem Leonard Bernstein genügte es zum Beispiel voll und ganz, wenn er sich bei der Ankunft "in seinem Wiener Wohnzimmer" sofort an das Klavier setzen und komponieren oder proben konnte. Hauptsache, dieser Zeitplan wurde penibel eingehalten: Morgens brachten die Möbelpacker sein Instrument - der Komponist der "West Side Story" verreiste niemals ohne eigenes Klavier - in das Bernstein-Zimmer, dann erledigte der Klavierstimmer seine Arbeit, gegen Mittag erschien der Maestro.
Noch so eine Angewohnheit: Als regelmäßiger Gastdirigent der Wiener Philharmoniker buchte Leonard Bernstein bei jedem seiner Besuche in der Welthauptstadt der Musik dieselbe Suite. Der Grund für diese Treue offenbarte sich der Sacher-Direktion erst, als Lenny bei einem seiner Hotel-Aufenthalte sein Lieblingsbild an der Wand vermisste. Kein Problem. Eduard Veits Gemälde "Schwarz und Blond" wurde sofort wieder dorthin gehängt, wo es hingehört.
AC/DC, die Callas, Mireille Matthieu, Comedian Harmonists, Otto Waalkes, die BeeGees und Andi Borg - sie alle übernachteten schon mal im Sacher. Doch der prominenteste Dauer-Hotelgast war kein Musikschaffender, sondern ein professioneller Musikhörer: Marcell Horace Frydman Ritter von Prawy. Oder einfach nur: Marcel Prawy. Bis zu seinem Tod im Jahre 2003 galt er als der österreichische "Opernführer der Nation". Sein Markenzeichen waren die Plastik-Einkaufstüten der Supermarkt-Kette "Billa", in denen er Noten und Aufzeichnungen herumschleppte.
Während der letzten zehn Lebensjahre von Marcel Prawy galt das Hotel mit dem kürzesten Fußweg zum Hintereingang der Wiener Staatoper als seine feste Wohnadresse. Das lässt auf den gehobenem Lifestyle eines Privilegierten schließen, es führt aber durchaus zu Komplikationen - vor allem dann, wenn im Sacher mal wieder ein Staatspräsident absteigt, das komplette Hotel zum Hochsicherheitstrakt erklärt worden ist und gegenüber auf dem Dach der Oper die uniformierten Scharfschützen auf der Lauer liegen.
Beim Staatsbesuch eines Machthabers der oberen Gefährdungsklasse wurde Marcel Prawy von der Polizei daran gehindert, seine Wohnung zu betreten. Protest zwecklos. Also wendete er jenes Mittel an, das in einer fremdenfreundlichen Stadt wie Wien immer sofort wirkt: Prawy erklärt in unbeholfenem Englisch, er sei ein arabischer Scheich und müsse unbedingt seinen Freund, den Präsidenten besuchen - und er wird durch gewunken.
Zum Glück hatte der Sacher-Stammgast nicht behauptet, er sei der Marcel Prawy. Die Polizei hätte ihn garantiert mitgenommen wegen des Verdachts, dass da jemand seine jedem ORF-Radiohörer vertraute Stimme imitiert, um ohne Befugnis hinein zu kommen in das Hotel Sacher.
www.merian.de/europa/oesterreich/wien/artikel/das-hotel-s...
Activists hang under the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon, In an attempt to block the Shell leased icebreaker, MSV Fennica July 29, 2015. The climbers are currently preventing the ship from passing underneath the bridge on its way to meet Shell’s drilling fleet. The climbers have enough supplies to last for several days. According to the latest federal permit, the Fennica must be at Shell’s drill site before Shell can reapply for federal approval to drill deep enough for oil in the Chukchi Sea.
A sculpture made from melted down, seized guns was unveiled yesterday to honour influential peace activist Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL.
Erinma co-founded the Community Alliance for Renewal, Inner South Manchester Area (CARISMA) to offer life chances for young people by giving them positive alternatives to street and gun crime. She was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to the community in 2008 and she has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2011. She is the subject of the opening chapter of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s book ‘Britain’s Everyday Heroes’, and recognised as one of the most influential people in Greater Manchester. Erinma is Executive Director of Chrysalis Manchester, a Rotary Peace Fellow and sits on the North West Regional Committee of Crimestoppers, UK.
The bust, made to immortalise the woman who fought to rid Moss Side streets of gun crime,was unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd at Manchester Cathedral on International Women’s Day to mark her contribution to Greater Manchester’s communities. It has been produced by Guns to Goods, an arts based initiative converting illegal firearms into sculpture to celebrate inspirational stories and champions of peace. It has been sculpted by Manchester-based artist Karen Lyons.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “It is totally appropriate to unveil this sculpture on International Women’s Day. Erinma is an inspiration to local people, showing what can be achieved when communities take a stand and work together with police and other agencies to make our neighbourhoods safer and stronger.
“I’ve seen the devastation gun crime leaves in its wake – it has no place on our streets. Today we celebrate how far we have come in taking firearms off our streets and how, thanks to the people of Moss Side and South Manchester, and people like Erinma, we are building a safer future for our children.
“This is an achievement we should remember, not just today, but every day.”
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The number of firearm-related incidents remains incredibly low in comparison to its peak in 2007/2008, and the public should be reassured that we are working hard every day to deter and dismantle this selfish and reckless criminal behaviour. We can’t do it alone however, which is why inspiring individuals such as Erinma are so crucial to supporting our communities, reducing gun crime and saving lives.
“The sculpture is symbolic, showing items that were once used in such a destructive way transformed into a representation of those who have fought to safeguard our future, one free from gun crime and violence.
“We will continue to work to make the streets safer. Community vigilance is pivotal in our work and we urge people to come forward and work with police and people like Erinma to help us tackle something that has no place in our towns and cities.”
Karen said: “I wanted to use my sculpture to honour the great work that women do. Erinma is an important example of the diverse and distinct voices of women in the city. We wanted to unveil the sculpture on International Women’s Day 2016 as the theme is ‘Women’s Voices – Changing Manchester’, and is a celebration of the enormous roles that women play. This seems like an incredibly fitting tribute to that theme.”
Guns to Goods received support from Arts Council England to produce the piece, which will be on display at Manchester Cathedral until May. It will then be exhibited at the Peoples’ History Museum and the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus later in the year.
The unveiling saw the artist talk about her motives and inspiration, Erinma Bell share her thoughts about her current and future work, Tony Lloyd recognise Erinma’s contribution and Chief Constable Ian Hopkins discuss the importance of celebrating activism within Greater Manchester’s communities.
For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk
To report crime call police on 101 the national non-emergency number.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
Former student activist leader Wong Yan Ke has claimed trial to a charge of allegedly disobeying a public servant when he recorded a police raid at the home of a fellow student activist. – The Malaysian Insight pic Najjua Zulkefli, November 13, 2020.
ARTICLE www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/284339
PHOTOGRAPHER Najjua Zulkefli
To purchase any of the photos featured, email editor@themalaysianinsight.com
Around two hundred activists from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Disabled Activists Network (DAN), WinVisible and anti-corporate tax-avoidance campaigners UK Uncut joined forces on 28.01.2012 to carry out a demonstration and acts of civil disobedience to protest against the ongoing savage cuts being made to disability benefits by the Coalition Government led by Old Etonian, ex-Bullingdon Club member and ex-PR man, prime minister David Cameron, who has overseen a concerted public attack on the weakest, most vulnerable members of British society - the sick, the disabled and the dying - who are seeing the welfare benefits they depend on to survive slashed at the same time as they have been publicly demonised and branded work-shy scroungers by a compliant right-wing press, in order to slash the welfare budget, which is the Cameron government's only solution to the economic shockwaves caused by the banking crisis of 2008.
Congregating first in Holborn Circus by organizers, the activists (many of whom were in wheelchairs, had guide dogs, or were accompanied by their Carers and Buddies), who had earlier been instructed to arrive with a valid Oyster travel card - were entertained by a samba drum troupe. Suddenly the signal was ,given, and everyone (except the wheelchair-users, who had to find other transport because of the woefully abysmal provision for the disabled on 90% of the Victorian rail system) entered Holborn Underground Station en-masse to reappear at their top-secret destination two short stops away - the large, busy junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street, where they proceeded to spill onto the new Tokyo-style pedestrian crossing before completely blocking all traffic from the North by chaining their wheelchairs together across the road, anchored at each end to the wrought-iron railings at the entrances to the Underground station.
Police looked on, almost powerless to act without being seen to physically manhandle many severely disabled people, and it's very doubtful if they have provision to load electric wheelchairs into police carriers and hold them in custody suites without a huge public relations disaster, so instead they sensibly adopted a pastoral role, doing what they could to keep the peaceful-but-very-vocal protesters safe for the three hours their act of civil disobedience lasted, after which they all calmly dissapated, vanishing back into the underground system and home for a well-earned rest after a triumphant protest.
This is the first time that Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) have had any significant support on one of their direct actions, and being joined by the extremely effective corporate tax-avoidance protesters from UK Uncut was a fantastic morale boost for the battle-hardened disabled activists. For well over a year DPAC has been fighting back against David Cameron's swingeing "austerity" cuts to the welfare budget, especially to provision for the disabled, which are only hurting the most vulnerable in our society. It seems as if the message is finally getting through to other single-issue protest groups that everything is related to everything else. Taking Disability Living Allowance from half a million disabled people, making them homeless and destitue with their considerable physical and/or mental health complications may save the Department of Work and Pensions' annual budget, but the burden of caring for all these people will now fall to local councils, already chronically stretched by huge government cuts to their budgets - and it is widely understood by everyone that it is much, much cheaper to keep a disabled person living independently with State help than it is to reinstate the Victorian Institutions and Hospitals, which past campaigners fought so hard for so long to abolish because of the inherent cruelty in institutionalising the disabled who previously had independent lives and employment but can no longer get to work because the Conservative government has taken away their mobility allowances...
All photos © 2012 Pete Riches
Do not reproduce, alter or reblog my images without my written permission.
Hi-Res versions of these files are available for license on application. NUJ rates apply.
Saturday, February 8, 2014, Shaw Univesity, Raleigh North Carolina. Under cold grey skies a broad, diverse coalition of around 35,000* social justice activists mobilized by the Moral Monday Movement rallied in downtown Raleigh. After gathering at Shaw University and marching to the front of the North Carolina State Capitol they were addressed by a number of speakers including the fiery Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II. A range of related Issues raised by the demonstrators and speakers included voting suppression and civil rights, racism, the impoverishment and corporate hijacking of the education system, poverty and the minimum wage, labor rights, LGBT rights, reproductive rights, immigration reform, access to healthcare for all and environmental justice. This watershed day in the evolution of the US civil rights movement was largely ignored by the corporate media. Thumbs up to the Raleigh Police Department for their civilized and respectful presence at the event. There were no arrests. The Raleigh officers wore dignified uniforms with cloth hats, not the ostentatious and threatening gear we're used to seeing on the overarmed militarized police in our hometown of Washington DC.
*My crowd estimates are usually very conservative; other commentators claim 80,000-100,000.
FORD Motor Company Fund, collaborating with the Los Angeles Chapter of the Freedom Sister’s and the National Veterans Transition Services, to address the many challenges women face as they leave the military back into civilian life. Presented a graduating class of 12 women at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in beautiful Beverly Hills California.
The Beverly Hills Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel was filled with an energy of excitement and encourage as 12 brave women who have served our nation entered the room for their graduation ceremony. These 12 woman embody intelligence, bravery, courage and sheer beauty.
The 2015 Freedom Sister’s Reboot Graduating Class #71 are as follows:
Eve Estrada (US Army Veteran), Doreen Ferris (US Army Veteran), Yolanda Franklin (US Navy Veteran), Tina Hammer (US Army Veteran), Yesenia Henshall (US Army Veteran), Heathra King (US Army Veteran), Lora Pietszak (US Airforce Veteran), Pamela Richardson (US Army Veteran), Monikkachelle Santos (US Navy Veteran), Rolanda Shells (US Army Veteran), Christina Silva (US Marine Veteran), Julienne Wills (US National Guard Veteran)
Freedom’s Sisters REBOOT Workshop takes its name from Ford’s earlier support of the Freedom Sister’s traveling exhibition, which celebrated the life of women civil rights pioneers, as well as present-day women who are making a difference in their communities. Several current members of the Freedom Sisters from the Los Angeles area will serve as mentors for the women’s’ REBOOT workshop in Los Angeles.
Freedom Sister’s REBOOT workshops are free, three week course for women veterans in Los Angeles. This program is specifically designed to address the many challenges and difficulties women face when returning to the uncertain future of being a civilian.
The courses ran for three weeks on the campus of National University where the women were able to attend free classes five days a week which focused on employment and career opportunities, personal well-being, goal achievement and makeover session to establish their overall style after their careers in the military.
As a group compared to men, women veterans are less likely to be married, and are more likely to be single parents and unemployed. In addition to higher rates of homelessness, they also often face gaps in medical care for women’s health issues as they enter a veterans system geared toward treating males. These issues are expected to grow as the number of women veterans increases. Women are expected to comprise 11 percent of the veteran population by 2020, up 9 percent.
“These brave women have served and sacrificed to defend our freedom, and yet there are few programs that address their unique needs as they return to the home front and to their families,” said Pamela Alexander, director of Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund. “It’s another opportunity to say thank you, while also helping them make a successful transition.”
“We designed this program to meet the unique needs of women, and the training builds upon the participants’ military training, skills and experience,” said Maurice Wilson, co-founder, REBOOT Workshop and retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer. “The workshop addresses the professional, social and personal aspects of life, along with connections to community resources that could also be of help.”
Ford’s support of military veterans dates back more than 90 years, when Henry Ford organized a cross-country caravan of 50 Model T Fords to take disabled veterans to the 1922 national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in San Francisco. Since 1974, Ford and Ford Fund have provided more than $8 million to veterans’ organizations. Today, Ford employs more than 7,000 veterans plus hundreds of active military personnel, reservists and guardsmen.
As a photographer and activist fighting for the rights and protection for the homeless and love income individuals here in Los Angeles, it was indeed a huge honor to once again serve as the sole and official photographer for FORD Motor Company.
It’s going to take some bold out of the box thinking, backed by people who truly care about overall well-being of humanity to effectively address and create positive change that affect the lives of these women and thanks to the bold thinking of FORD, the Freedom Sister’s and Maurice Wilson the ball is now moving forward in a direction of real change for women who need it right now.
I get to cover celebrity red carpet events all the time, but when I’m able to cover red carpet events such as these, my soul leaps because I am able to see first-hand just how much new ideas and positive thinking can truly change the lives of those who need it most.
Having the honor to see the smiles on the faces of these women as they walked onto the red carpet to cheering photographers congratulating them, thanking them for the service to this country and snapping their pictures was so amazing. Then hearing some of their personal stories and accomplishments and see just how very bright the future truly is for these courageous women was incredible.
Its red carpet events such as these that remind why I love photography so much. It’s companies such as FORD and organizations such as Freedom Sister’s that remind me, encourage me, implore me to continue my work for homeless individuals, low income families and individuals living with HIV or AIDS because it is the right thing to do.
Its phenomenal women such as Pamela Alexander, Angela Polk, Lynn Quigley, Beverly White, Cheryl Hudson, Phoebe Beasley, Valerie Blackburn, Daphne Bradford, Glenda Gill, Lawanda Hawkins, Rosie Lee Hooks, Denise Pines, Jessie Sherrod and KC Tuckness who encourage and remind us of what it means to be of service to those in need.
It’s events and red carpets like these where I have the honor and distinct privilege of capturing the true celebrities, the real stars and heroes who serve this country and defend our freedoms without fail. I commend and thank these brave women for their majesty and courage.
A sculpture made from melted down, seized guns was unveiled yesterday to honour influential peace activist Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL.
Erinma co-founded the Community Alliance for Renewal, Inner South Manchester Area (CARISMA) to offer life chances for young people by giving them positive alternatives to street and gun crime. She was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to the community in 2008 and she has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2011. She is the subject of the opening chapter of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s book ‘Britain’s Everyday Heroes’, and recognised as one of the most influential people in Greater Manchester. Erinma is Executive Director of Chrysalis Manchester, a Rotary Peace Fellow and sits on the North West Regional Committee of Crimestoppers, UK.
The bust, made to immortalise the woman who fought to rid Moss Side streets of gun crime,was unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd at Manchester Cathedral on International Women’s Day to mark her contribution to Greater Manchester’s communities. It has been produced by Guns to Goods, an arts based initiative converting illegal firearms into sculpture to celebrate inspirational stories and champions of peace. It has been sculpted by Manchester-based artist Karen Lyons.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “It is totally appropriate to unveil this sculpture on International Women’s Day. Erinma is an inspiration to local people, showing what can be achieved when communities take a stand and work together with police and other agencies to make our neighbourhoods safer and stronger.
“I’ve seen the devastation gun crime leaves in its wake – it has no place on our streets. Today we celebrate how far we have come in taking firearms off our streets and how, thanks to the people of Moss Side and South Manchester, and people like Erinma, we are building a safer future for our children.
“This is an achievement we should remember, not just today, but every day.”
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The number of firearm-related incidents remains incredibly low in comparison to its peak in 2007/2008, and the public should be reassured that we are working hard every day to deter and dismantle this selfish and reckless criminal behaviour. We can’t do it alone however, which is why inspiring individuals such as Erinma are so crucial to supporting our communities, reducing gun crime and saving lives.
“The sculpture is symbolic, showing items that were once used in such a destructive way transformed into a representation of those who have fought to safeguard our future, one free from gun crime and violence.
“We will continue to work to make the streets safer. Community vigilance is pivotal in our work and we urge people to come forward and work with police and people like Erinma to help us tackle something that has no place in our towns and cities.”
Karen said: “I wanted to use my sculpture to honour the great work that women do. Erinma is an important example of the diverse and distinct voices of women in the city. We wanted to unveil the sculpture on International Women’s Day 2016 as the theme is ‘Women’s Voices – Changing Manchester’, and is a celebration of the enormous roles that women play. This seems like an incredibly fitting tribute to that theme.”
Guns to Goods received support from Arts Council England to produce the piece, which will be on display at Manchester Cathedral until May. It will then be exhibited at the Peoples’ History Museum and the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus later in the year.
The unveiling saw the artist talk about her motives and inspiration, Erinma Bell share her thoughts about her current and future work, Tony Lloyd recognise Erinma’s contribution and Chief Constable Ian Hopkins discuss the importance of celebrating activism within Greater Manchester’s communities.
For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk
To report crime call police on 101 the national non-emergency number.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
A group of young activists hosted an inspiring Town Hall for a Green New Deal in Fairfax, to demand immediate action on climate change. Students from six different schools in Marin spoke about the impact of global warming, the corrupt billionaires and politicians who enable it, and solutions that match the scale of this crisis, such as the Green New Deal proposal.
This free community event took place at the Women's Club in Fairfax on May 26, 2019. It was organized by members of the Sunrise Movement in Marin, led by Zoe Vavrek (Drake High School), with Charlie de Belloy (Gate Academy), Oona Clark, Marcos Gulati,
Lucy London (Novato High School) and Milo Wetherall (San Domenico School). They were supported by adult allies Charlotte Hamilton, Renee Goddard and many other local activists.
The Green Change team supported their youth movement by taking videos and photos of their event, as well as interviewing some of their members for upcoming video stories. Thanks to crew members Fabrice Florin, Charles Siler, Marilyn Price and Doug Brown for their invaluable support of this important cause. In coming weeks, we will release a special video story featuring these young activists for Climate Heroes, our new series on the new leaders of the green revolution.
These young activists gave thoughtful and heartfelt presentations, and engaged dozens of adult participants and youth to discuss this issue with each other, write postcards and sign up for upcoming rallies. It was a pleasure to join forces with these young leaders to fight for climate action together, across generations! Change is coming.
View more photos of the Fairfax Town Hall for a Green New Deal:
www.flickr.com/photos/fabola/sets/72157708789650336
Learn more about this and upcoming events: www.facebook.com/fairfax.townhall.greennewdeal/
Learn more on GreenChange.net:
#activism #climateaction #climatechange #greenchange #greennewdeal #sunrise #youngactivists #youth
Islamic State survivors and Iraqi Yazidi activists Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar received today Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The two women were honoured by Parliament for standing up for the persecuted Yazidi minority and the victims of sexual violence by Islamic State. “More than 3,500 children and women are still held hostage as slaves under Daesh. Every day they die a thousand times,” Aji Bashar said in her acceptance speech.
Read our article here: www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20161209STO55334
This photo is free to use under Creative Commons licenses and must be credited: "© European Union 2016 - European Parliament".
(Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CreativeCommons licenses creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
For bigger HR files please contact: webcom-flickr(AT)europarl.europa.eu
Greenpeace activists don radiation suits and parade through some of Jakarta's most crowded locations to highlight the inherent dangers of nuclear energy, before assembling in front of Indonesia's Ministry of Research and Technology. During the Global Day of action to commemorate the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Greenpeace is urging the Indonesian government to drop their plans for nuclear energy and instead concentrate on enabling the rapid uptake of this region's abundant clean, safe, renewable energy resources.
Greenpeace is calling on the ASEAN to divert from the nuclear path it laid down in the Treaty of Bangkok and repeal the nuclear development provision in the ASEAN Energy Cooperation Plan for 2010-2015. It is also calling on the Japanese government to not restart any nuclear plants, and for a global phase out of inherently dangerous nuclear reactors.
Phillip Berrigan, a former Catholic priest, and Elizabeth McAlister, a former nun, both of whom were anti-Vietnam War activists, are shown in their Baltimore home July 31, 1973 a little over two months after they confirmed their marriage.
The two were defendants, along with six others, in a trial where they were charged with conspiracy to blow up government buildings in the District of Columbia and kidnap national security advisor Henry Kissinger.
Both were long-time Catholic activists who participated in the “hit and stay” movement and “plowshares” movement where activists would destroy military-related records and later conduct symbolic destruction of weapons related to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
A mainstay of these movements were staying in place and awaiting arrest after the property destruction so that they could put the government on trial during their own trials on criminal charges.
They disclosed their marriage May 28, 1973 at New York home of Phillip’s brother Daniel Berrigan.
The two had earlier exchanged private vows while Berrigan was in prison in the spring of 1969. This secret exchange of vows became more formal in January 1972 at the Danbury prison where they had an informal ceremony in front of friends.
The legal marriage was conducted in Montclair, N.J. by Rev. Paul Mayer, a former Benedictine monk who was also active in the Catholic antiwar movement.
Under Roman Catholic law, Berrigan was automatically excommunicated for not leaving the priesthood and becoming a lay person before marriage. McAlister was also expelled.
Elizabeth “Liz” McAlister is an American peace activist and former nun of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary who has served prison time for non-violent acts of civil disobedience.
While Berrigan was in federal prison for his involvement in the Catonsville Nine burning of draft records, McAlister and Berrigan communicated via a fellow inmate, Boyd Douglas, who was allowed furlough for work release.
Douglas was an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and turned over the contents of Berrigan and McAlister's letters to the authorities. These letters, \ led to the prosecution of McAlister, Berrigan, and six others, one of whom had their case severed from the others who became known as the Harrisburg Seven.
The result of the long trial was a hung jury on the most serious charges. Berrigan and McAlister were convicted on minor counts of violating the law with their prison letters. They were not re-tried on the serious charges and some of the minor charges were dismissed on appeal.
After Berrigan’s parole on the Catonsville 9 conviction, the two founded Jonah House—a Catholic Worker house of resistance and led actions of the Plowshare Movement.
From their 1969 vows until Berrigan’s death, they were separated by prison for 11 of their 33 years of marriage.
Most recently, McAlister is one of the Kings Bay 7 that entered the Navy Base near Brunswick, Ga. and held a symbolic disarming of the Trident submarine’s nuclear weapons.
The seven defendants, as of December 2019, face a possible 20 years in prison. Other defendants were Clare Grady, Martha Hennessy (Founder of the Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day’s granddaughter), Carmen Trotta, Patrick O’Neill , Fr. Steve Kelly, SJ, and Mark Colvill.
Phillip Berrigan was already a prominent antiwar activist when he and three others entered the Baltimore City draft board and destroyed draft records there.
The men became known as the Baltimore 4 and they launched the first of a series of what became known as “hit and stay” actions that damaged or destroyed military-related records as a form of antiwar protest. The tactic also involved staying at the scene to await arrest by police.
These radical actions were meant to draw attention to the “unjust” war in Vietnam.
All the defendants were convicted with Berrigan, Lewis and Eberhardt drawing jail time. Berrigan was sentenced to six years in prison.
While out on bail in 1968, he participated in a similar raid on the Catonsville, Md. draft board in a similar action that was known as the Catonsville 9. He was arrested and sentenced to jail for three years along with eight other predominantly Catholic activists.
He was later charged with seven others with conspiring to kidnap national security advisor Henry Kissinger and blow up government buildings. One of defendants had his trial severed from the others when he insisted on acting as his own attorney.
The trial of the seven remaining defendants resulted in a hung jury on the major charges and the case was not re-tried by the government.
Berrigan, while in prison, married Sister Elizabeth McAlister by consent in 1969l. They later formalized their marriage and were ex-communicated by the Catholic church.
Berrigan started the Plowshares Movement when he and nine others entered a General Electric factory and hammered on two reentry vehicles, poured blood on documents, and offered prayers for peace.
He again participated in a Plowshares Movement action when he and a group of other protesters hammered on A-10 warplanes.
He received jail time for both actions. All his prison time over his career amounted to about 11 years of his life for non-violent civil disobedience.
Phillip Berrigan died in 2002.
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHskfRSm1m
Photo by Brig Cabe. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.
A group of musicians and activists gathered at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Rock Against the TPP tour on Thursday, November 3.
A sculpture made from melted down, seized guns was unveiled yesterday to honour influential peace activist Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL.
Erinma co-founded the Community Alliance for Renewal, Inner South Manchester Area (CARISMA) to offer life chances for young people by giving them positive alternatives to street and gun crime. She was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to the community in 2008 and she has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2011. She is the subject of the opening chapter of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s book ‘Britain’s Everyday Heroes’, and recognised as one of the most influential people in Greater Manchester. Erinma is Executive Director of Chrysalis Manchester, a Rotary Peace Fellow and sits on the North West Regional Committee of Crimestoppers, UK.
The bust, made to immortalise the woman who fought to rid Moss Side streets of gun crime,was unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd at Manchester Cathedral on International Women’s Day to mark her contribution to Greater Manchester’s communities. It has been produced by Guns to Goods, an arts based initiative converting illegal firearms into sculpture to celebrate inspirational stories and champions of peace. It has been sculpted by Manchester-based artist Karen Lyons.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “It is totally appropriate to unveil this sculpture on International Women’s Day. Erinma is an inspiration to local people, showing what can be achieved when communities take a stand and work together with police and other agencies to make our neighbourhoods safer and stronger.
“I’ve seen the devastation gun crime leaves in its wake – it has no place on our streets. Today we celebrate how far we have come in taking firearms off our streets and how, thanks to the people of Moss Side and South Manchester, and people like Erinma, we are building a safer future for our children.
“This is an achievement we should remember, not just today, but every day.”
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The number of firearm-related incidents remains incredibly low in comparison to its peak in 2007/2008, and the public should be reassured that we are working hard every day to deter and dismantle this selfish and reckless criminal behaviour. We can’t do it alone however, which is why inspiring individuals such as Erinma are so crucial to supporting our communities, reducing gun crime and saving lives.
“The sculpture is symbolic, showing items that were once used in such a destructive way transformed into a representation of those who have fought to safeguard our future, one free from gun crime and violence.
“We will continue to work to make the streets safer. Community vigilance is pivotal in our work and we urge people to come forward and work with police and people like Erinma to help us tackle something that has no place in our towns and cities.”
Karen said: “I wanted to use my sculpture to honour the great work that women do. Erinma is an important example of the diverse and distinct voices of women in the city. We wanted to unveil the sculpture on International Women’s Day 2016 as the theme is ‘Women’s Voices – Changing Manchester’, and is a celebration of the enormous roles that women play. This seems like an incredibly fitting tribute to that theme.”
Guns to Goods received support from Arts Council England to produce the piece, which will be on display at Manchester Cathedral until May. It will then be exhibited at the Peoples’ History Museum and the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus later in the year.
The unveiling saw the artist talk about her motives and inspiration, Erinma Bell share her thoughts about her current and future work, Tony Lloyd recognise Erinma’s contribution and Chief Constable Ian Hopkins discuss the importance of celebrating activism within Greater Manchester’s communities.
For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk
To report crime call police on 101 the national non-emergency number.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
"Grace Abbott was a well-known American social reformer, teacher, and writer during the first half of the twentieth century. Abbott was born in Grand Island, Nebraska on November 17, 1878. Grace Abbott is the sister of Edith Abbott, who is also a well-know social reformer. Both sisters were influenced by their mother's avid belief in equal rights for women (Lengermann& Niebrugge-Brantly 1998). This gives obvious reasoning to the fact that both sisters made a tremendous impact on social welfare, during this time period when social living was not at it's highest standards.
Abbott attended the Grand Island Baptist College, and went on to teach high school in Grand Island and in Broken Bow, Nebraska. In 1907, she left for Chicago to continue her education at the University of Chicago. In 1909, Abbott received her master of philosophy degree from the University of Chicago.
Abbott began her social work career in 1908, working with immigrants at the Hull House in Chicago, where she was a resident from 1908-1917. For nine years, she worked as the director of the Immigrants Protective League, which was a program designed to help immigrants adjust to their new life, and protect them from mistreatment. She held this position until 1917. From this experience with working with immigrants, she wrote several books, including The Immigrant and His Community, which was published in 1917 (Lengermann& Niebrugge-Brantly, 1998).
Concerned about the welfare of children and infants, particularly the low pay and long hours required of children working in factories, Abbott became a leader in the fight for federal legislation protecting children's rights. In 1917, she became the director of the Industrial Division of the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor. This position made her responsible for developing enforcement plans for the first federal child labor law passed by Congress in 1916. After being given proper authority, Abbott directed an investigation of a majority of the shipbuilding plants on the Atlantic coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. This inspection was performed in 1919.
Her concern for the welfare of children also enabled her to get the Sheppard-Towner Act passed into law. This act allowed for federal and state aid for mothers and children. This law provided the first federal grants to aid the social welfare of children. This law also authorized government cooperation with the states in promoting maternal and child health. In 1921 President Warren Harding appointed Abbott as head of the Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor. As head of the Bureau, Abbott administered the Sheppard-Towner Act provisions. She continued as head of the Bureau until 1934 when she resigned and became a public welfare professor at the University of Chicago.
Abbott's concern for child welfare inspired her to write a book entitled Child and the State. This book, written by Abbott herself, concentrates on dependent children and the aid the state is liable to pay. Not only does it look at what the state was currently responsible for, but also how they can more adequately meet the needs of dependant children.
Another important aspect the book covers is state aid to single mothers' of dependant children. Abbott states the fact that aid should be provided for low-income women with children. She believed that with proper financial aid, women would be more likely to raise and educate their children (Abbott, 1938).
Abbott was also responsible for including social statistics and research into legislative policy- making. Her leadership helped fund more than one hundred social research investigations and publications, usually administered by the School of Social Service Administration. Some of the important research includes: "Maternal Morality in 15 States", " Children in Agriculture", " Children in Street Work"' " Illegally Employed Minors and Workmen's Compensation"' and " Youth and Crime". Abbott also took advantage of television and radio to make others informed about the best methods of childcare and kept the public informed about the state's responsibility for child welfare.
Another accomplishment achieved by Abbott was the development of systems for collecting data from the state child labor, juvenile delinquency, and statistics on the work of local private and public agencies. In 1920 Abbott responded to the depression by advocating for federal aid for relief, and was responsible for collecting and distributing relief reports from 203 cities, to national agencies.
From 1922 to 1934, Grace Abbott served as the official representative of the U.S. on the League of Nations' advisory committee on child welfare. She was the President of the National Conference of Social Work in Paris. This was the first conference on social work ever held. From 1930 to 1931, Abbott established wide spread support for the position as Secretary of Labor in the President's cabinet and in 1931 she was named one of the "Twelve Greatest Living American Women" in a nation wide poll conducted by a popular women's magazine.
In 1934, Grace Abbott resigned as chief of the Children's Bureau. Upon her resignation, Franklin D. Roosevelt portrayed her career as one of "inestimable value to the children, the mothers, and the fathers of the country, as well as to the Federal and State governments."
From 1934 until her death, Abbott remained active in the field of social work. She held a professorship at SSA and was the editor of the Social Service Review. During these years Abbott also served on President Roosevelt's council on economic security and helped to draft the Social Security Act. She also continued to chair international labor conferences and state committees dealing with the issue of child labor.
On June 19, 1939, Grace Abbott died in Chicago (Kirkland, 1989). For thirty years Abbott fought for child labor, juvenile delinquency, and for the immigrants in our country. Abbott had been named one of America's Most distinguished Women by Good Housekeeping in 1931. Also a children's playground park in Grand Island was named in the honor of Grace Abbott. Abbott was also voted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1976." - www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gabbott.html
In San Francisco there is never an end to a campaign. Someone is for this or against that. Here a handful of anti-circumcisionists are protesting the Jewish religion's mandate and the convention of most American doctors to circumcise male children early in their life. I wonder how many of these folks are pro-life, too.
A Stand for Congo activist walks along London's Regent Street holding a placard in solidarity with the population of Congo, who on the one hand are being exploited by British and other western multinationals for the country's rich resources - especially industrial scale mining of diamonds, gold, timber, copper, oil, and gas and cobalt, leading to massed evictions and also the exploitation of child labour. The continuing legacy of the country's shocking history of colonial exploitation. As if that wasn't enough to blunt the prospects for Congolese people, Rwanda, with its own eye on some of those same resources, is backing and arming M23 rebels within Congo who have committed wholesale human rights abuses, including rape. The UK, increasingly dependent on the goodwill of the Rwandan government for it's shameful crackdown on asylum seekers, refuses to recognise the extent of the catastrophe in Congo or to even consider sanctions against Rwanda.
A Congo activist sings outside the Apple Store - www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWvYMyiQdM
Although this image is being posted as creative commons non-commercial share alike, the following organisations and publications are welcome to reproduce it even if it is to raise money without the need for permission or any payment. Please see the link below - However they should still attribute and publish the image on a share alike basis. For more info please email me at alisdare@gmail.com.
A sculpture made from melted down, seized guns was unveiled yesterday to honour influential peace activist Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL.
Erinma co-founded the Community Alliance for Renewal, Inner South Manchester Area (CARISMA) to offer life chances for young people by giving them positive alternatives to street and gun crime. She was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to the community in 2008 and she has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester in 2011. She is the subject of the opening chapter of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s book ‘Britain’s Everyday Heroes’, and recognised as one of the most influential people in Greater Manchester. Erinma is Executive Director of Chrysalis Manchester, a Rotary Peace Fellow and sits on the North West Regional Committee of Crimestoppers, UK.
The bust, made to immortalise the woman who fought to rid Moss Side streets of gun crime,was unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd at Manchester Cathedral on International Women’s Day to mark her contribution to Greater Manchester’s communities. It has been produced by Guns to Goods, an arts based initiative converting illegal firearms into sculpture to celebrate inspirational stories and champions of peace. It has been sculpted by Manchester-based artist Karen Lyons.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “It is totally appropriate to unveil this sculpture on International Women’s Day. Erinma is an inspiration to local people, showing what can be achieved when communities take a stand and work together with police and other agencies to make our neighbourhoods safer and stronger.
“I’ve seen the devastation gun crime leaves in its wake – it has no place on our streets. Today we celebrate how far we have come in taking firearms off our streets and how, thanks to the people of Moss Side and South Manchester, and people like Erinma, we are building a safer future for our children.
“This is an achievement we should remember, not just today, but every day.”
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The number of firearm-related incidents remains incredibly low in comparison to its peak in 2007/2008, and the public should be reassured that we are working hard every day to deter and dismantle this selfish and reckless criminal behaviour. We can’t do it alone however, which is why inspiring individuals such as Erinma are so crucial to supporting our communities, reducing gun crime and saving lives.
“The sculpture is symbolic, showing items that were once used in such a destructive way transformed into a representation of those who have fought to safeguard our future, one free from gun crime and violence.
“We will continue to work to make the streets safer. Community vigilance is pivotal in our work and we urge people to come forward and work with police and people like Erinma to help us tackle something that has no place in our towns and cities.”
Karen said: “I wanted to use my sculpture to honour the great work that women do. Erinma is an important example of the diverse and distinct voices of women in the city. We wanted to unveil the sculpture on International Women’s Day 2016 as the theme is ‘Women’s Voices – Changing Manchester’, and is a celebration of the enormous roles that women play. This seems like an incredibly fitting tribute to that theme.”
Guns to Goods received support from Arts Council England to produce the piece, which will be on display at Manchester Cathedral until May. It will then be exhibited at the Peoples’ History Museum and the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus later in the year.
The unveiling saw the artist talk about her motives and inspiration, Erinma Bell share her thoughts about her current and future work, Tony Lloyd recognise Erinma’s contribution and Chief Constable Ian Hopkins discuss the importance of celebrating activism within Greater Manchester’s communities.
For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk
To report crime call police on 101 the national non-emergency number.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.