View allAll Photos Tagged Commitment
I apologise for not contributing anything to Flickr for a few days. Sometimes life just gets too busy.
A pair of Arriva Trains Wales Class 142 'Pacer' multiple units heads towards Cardiff Queen Street station on Saturday 9th January 2016. I was waiting, along with many other people, to gain access to the building just out of view on the right. Unfortunately the security guard had failed to turn up at the appointed time to open up, so naturally I grasped the opportunity for some railway photography.
Incidentally, I didn't plan to get these passers-by in the shot; they just happened to be there at the moment the 'Pacer' rolled past.
The Corktown Footbridge, also referred to as the Somerset Street bridge or simply the Somerset Bridge, is a footbridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada built across the Rideau Canal. The 70-metre bridge is located about 400m south of the Laurier Avenue Bridge. It was opened on September 21, 2006.
While in Havana, I got to sit in on a boxing lesson...of course, I stayed out of their way when the punches were flying. No one was hurt in the course of this training...
115/365
I am getting over a cold and skipped actually taking a photo today in order to get some work done, but I figured it was as good a time as any to post one of my favorite photos from the wedding I shot a few weekends ago. The entire experience was amazing, incredibly stressful, and beyond worth it in so many ways. I am so grateful to this awesome couple for letting me into their lives for a few short, but extremely important, days of their lives, and I am excited to see where other photography like this will take me.
Maybe being together is just from habit. Perhaps the habit is just comfortable and you both grow weary together accepting all that comes your way. Perhaps we just don't have the energy to make changes. Best yet, maybe we just belong together no matter what.
Happy Fence Friday
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16 days in to my 365 and I'm feeling a little like this bee. I've got the tools, I've got the know-how, but there's also that nagging self-doubt hounding at me each and every day. Can I really do one [non-lame] photo every single day for an *entire year*? Do I have that kind of commitment, dedication, willpower and drive? Can I ever get even close to the level of some of my favourite photographers or will I spend the rest of my life continually coming up short? Will my life have meant something when I die, or will I be forgotten by everyone except those close to me? At the end of the day, do my photos even mean anything to anyone? Or even just to myself?
I don't know if I'll ever be an amazing photographer. But I guess I'm willing to give it a go. Besides, if nothing else, at least I enjoy my own photography, and I guess that's all that really matters :)
Resurrected from a pic created 12 years ago. A contemplative selfie - not Jesus. Just my Christ Consciousness hangin out.
Il. Title- ( - sang sur mains - ) Mike Mullen having a nice steak dinner with a 'clear conscience' ... ( On top of dead Afghani civilians & dead soldiers.. Egomaniac.. ) Yes Wikileaks shared this piece inspired by them & their work: twitter.com/wikileaks/status/21824111844 it & the entire Wikileaks series is not- for sale.
At some point there may be an exhibition with funds going towards WL & Bradley Manning.
But for now none of the pieces in the series are commercially available or for sale to private individuals.
They do have free use by Wikileaks however.
More work to be posted soon.
Dimensions: 18" x 24.5" acid free paper, acrylics, gouache & ebony pencil
"Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family," Mullen said."
www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/29/pentagon-wikileaks-bl...
MMm no- Mullen..How can we end these wars ASAP- & STOP you from getting any MORE blood on YOUR hands..
( News from Wikileaks Twitter feed, 8 - 19 - 2012: "In fact, being from another planet, he might even have picked up on something that most Americans would be unlikely to notice -- that, with only slight alterations, Mullen’s blistering comment about Assange could be applied remarkably well to Mullen himself. “Chairman Mullen,” that Martian might have responded, “can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he is doing, but the truth is he already has on his hands the blood of some young soldiers and that of many Afghan families.” "
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/06/opinion/main6748239.shtml )
War Diary - wardiary.wikileaks.org/ Timeline: wartimeline.haineault.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mullen#2007_Senate_testimon...
& from the Pentagon- "“We want whatever they have returned to us and we want whatever copies they have expunged… We demand that they do the right thing. If doing the right thing is not good enough for them, then we will figure out what alternatives we have to compel them to do the right thing." mashable.com/2010/08/05/pentagon-wikileaks-demand/
The NERVE.. -
Wikileaks - "What we didn't hear from the Pentagon last week: "killing all those innocent people is bad. Sorry. We will stop that" Thursday, August 05, 2010
YES.
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"Thousands of children and adults had been killed and the US could have announced a broad inquiry into these killings, "but he decided to treat these issues with contempt''.
He said: "This behaviour is unacceptable. We will continue to expose abuses by this administration and others."" - www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/30/us-military-wikileak...
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( From Wikileaks twitter- Aug 19 2010 _ ) -
Wikileaks vs the Pentagon: Phony Fingerpointing
Tom Engelhardt:: Who Really Has Blood On Their Hands?
"Consider the following statement offered by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a news conference last week. He was discussing Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks as well as the person who has taken responsibility for the vast, still ongoing Afghan War document dump at that site. "Mr. Assange,” Mullen commented, “can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family.”
Now, if you were the proverbial fair-minded visitor from Mars (who in school civics texts of my childhood always seemed to land on Main Street, U.S.A., to survey the wonders of our American system), you might be a bit taken aback by Mullen’s statement. After all, one of the revelations in the trove of leaked documents Assange put online had to do with how much blood from innocent Afghan civilians was already on American hands.
The British Guardian was one of three publications given early access to the leaked archive, and it began its main article this way: “A huge cache of secret U.S. military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents. They range from the shootings of individual innocents to the often massive loss of life from air strikes...” Or as the paper added in a piece headlined “Secret CIA paramilitaries’ role in civilian deaths”: “Behind the military jargon, the war logs are littered with accounts of civilian tragedies.
The 144 entries in the logs recording some of these so-called ‘blue on white’ events, cover a wide spectrum of day-by-day assaults on Afghans, with hundreds of casualties.” Or as it also reported, when exploring documents related to Task Force 373, an “undisclosed ‘black’ unit” of U.S. special operations forces focused on assassinating Taliban and al-Qaeda “senior officials”: “The logs reveal that TF 373 has also killed civilian men, women, and children and even Afghan police officers who have strayed into its path.”
Admittedly, the events recorded in the Wikileaks archive took place between 2004 and the end of 2009, and so don’t cover the last six months of the Obama administration’s across-the-board surge in Afghanistan. Then again, Admiral Mullen became chairman of the Joint Chiefs in October 2007, and so has been at the helm of the American war machine for more than two of the years in question.
He was, for example, chairman in July 2008, when an American plane or planes took out an Afghan bridal party -- 70 to 90 strong and made up mostly of women -- on a road near the Pakistani border. They were "escorting the bride to meet her groom as local tradition dictates." The bride, whose name we don’t know, died, as did at least 27 other members of the party, including children. Mullen was similarly chairman in August 2008 when a memorial service for a tribal leader in the village of Azizabad in Afghanistan’s Herat Province was hit by repeated U.S. air strikes that killed at least 90 civilians, including perhaps 15 women and up to 60 children. Among the dead were 76 members of one extended family, headed by Reza Khan, a "wealthy businessman with construction and security contracts with the nearby American base at Shindand airport."
Mullen was still chairman in April 2009 when members of the family of Awal Khan, an Afghan army artillery commander on duty elsewhere, were killed in a U.S.-led raid in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. Among them were his "schoolteacher wife, a 17-year-old daughter named Nadia, a 15-year-old son, Aimal, and his brother, employed by a government department.” Another daughter was wounded and the pregnant wife of Khan's cousin was shot five times in the abdomen.
Mullen remained chairman when, in November 2009, two relatives of Majidullah Qarar, the spokesman for the Minister of Agriculture, were shot down in cold blood in Ghazni City in a Special Operations night raid; as he was -- and here we move beyond the Wikileaks time frame -- when, in February 2010, U.S. Special Forces troops in helicopters struck a convoy of mini-buses, killing up to 27 civilians, including women and children; as he also was when, in that same month, in a special operations night raid, two pregnant women and a teenage girl, as well as a police officer and his brother, were shot to death in their home in a village near Gardez, the capital of Paktia province. After which, the soldiers reportedly dug the bullets out of the bodies, washed the wounds with alcohol, and tried to cover the incident up. He was no less chairman late last month when residents of a small town in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan claimed that a NATO missile attack had killed 52 civilians, an incident that, like just about every other one mentioned above and so many more, was initially denied by U.S. and NATO spokespeople and is now being “investigated.” "
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/06/opinion/main6748239.shtml
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"What is interesting is who is responsible for the killings.
Of the 1,325 civilian deaths recorded by the Afghan human rights group, 23 per cent were attributed to Nato or Afghan government forces. The Taliban and their allies were responsible for 68 per cent of the deaths.
The UN study claimed the civilian death toll was slightly lower at 1,271 with anti-government forces blamed for 76 per cent of the casualties.
Chronicling precise figures is extremely difficult because most parts of the country are inaccessible.
Crucially, both studies suggested that the proportion of deaths attributed to Nato and Afghan government forces were down compared to last year because of fewer air strikes.
This is important because clumsy air strikes on innocent villages and unfair raids on their houses has been driving a lot of Afghans to pick up arms on behalf of insurgents."
by, Hamida Ghafour
More: www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100811/OP...
& -
"My countrymen called me a prostitute
(Filed: 26/10/2004)
Fourteen months ago, Hamida Ghafour went to Afghanistan to cover her native countrys postwar reconstruction for this newspaper. But, as a westernised Afghan, her homecoming wasnt as welcoming as she had hoped"
www.afghanistan.org/news_detail.asp?17220
I am skeptical about agendas.. It can be confusing, this is why for better or worse one must have THE FACTS - it would have been better if we had them from the START.
Without facts no one cares what we do- or who we kill, because we simply don't have ANY concept of how a decade long war is going..
“The government is engaging in selective prosecution to ensure that employees keep their mouths shut,” says Stephen Khon, a lawyer specializing in whistleblowing cases. “All of a sudden the whistleblower becomes public enemy number one. There is no proportionality.” www.alternet.org/world/147778/how_the_military_destroys_t...
This- - you MUST watch-- It's of Afghani's asking for peace & for us to leave- "Wikileaks Assange, stand freely for love & we in Afg will stand with you.." From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9E_nXiPj9g
US war crimes: soldiers speak out. - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj6s1V0Dpuw
From Wikileaks Twitter- "UNAMA Human Rights Unit issued recommendations in the report including:
• The Taliban should withdraw all orders and statements calling for the killing of civilians; and, the Taliban and other AGEs should end the use of IEDs and suicide attacks, comply with international humanitarian law, cease acts of intimidation and killing including assassination, execution and abduction, fully respect citizens’ freedom of movement and stop using civilians as human shields.
• International military forces should make more transparent their investigation and reporting on civilian casualties including on accountability; maintain and strengthen directives restricting aerial attacks and the use of night raids; coordinate investigation and reporting of civilian casualties with the Afghan Government to improve protection and accountability; improve compensation processes; and, improve transparency around any harm to civilians caused by Special Forces operations.
• The Afghan Government should create a public body to lead its response to major civilian casualty incidents and its interaction with international military forces and other key actors, ensure investigations include forensic components, ensure transparent and timely compensation to victims; and, improve accountability including discipline or prosecution for any Afghan National Security Forces personnel who unlawfully cause death or injury to civilians or otherwise violate the rights of Afghan citizens."
unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1741&ctl=Deta...
From Wikileaks Twitter- CBC
"A bomb is found tucked into a school typewriter. Insurgents dressed in military uniforms attack an education chief. School guards are tied up while the building is bombed to smithereens. Teachers and students at an all-girls high school are poisoned through the drinking water."
"School attacks
Year Number of attacks against schools
2005 98
2006 220
2007 236
2008 348
2009 610
Source: UNICEF. Data for 2008 and 2009 are from the UN Country Task Force on Children, and previous years are from the Ministry of Education."
"Education for children up in Afghanistan since 2002- .
"Nine years ago, about 100,000 students were enrolled in schools. The figure now stands at more than seven million students, one-third of whom are girls, according to the Afghanistan Ministry of Education.
"It's one of those sectors where we've seen radical and dramatic progress since 2002," notes Rowell.
"No one knows where the country is going … but education is a beacon of success."
Read more: www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/06/f-afghanistan-education...
& www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/database-afghan-war-logs/
""
"New Petition Gains Prominent Signatures: “Defend WikiLeaks – End the Secret Wars” - Sign: seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/64042
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Jung.
Treating Soldier Stress: www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2008931_2172992,00...
"Afghan War Diary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Afghan War Diary (also called The War Logs) is a collection of internal U.S. military logs of the War in Afghanistan published by Wikileaks on 25 July 2010.
The logs consist of 91,731 documents, covering the period between January 2004 and December 2009. Most of the documents were classified as "secret", which The New York Times called "a relatively low level of classification".
As of 28 July 2010, only 75,000 of the documents have been released to the public, a move which Wikileaks says is "part of a harm minimization process demanded by [the] source". Prior to releasing the initial 75,000 documents, Wikileaks made the logs available to The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel in its German and English on-line edition which published reports per previous agreement on that same day, July 25, 2010."
&
"In June 2010, Guardian journalist Nick Davies and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange established that the US army had built a huge database with six years of sensitive military intelligence material, to which many thousands of US soldiers had access and some of them had been able to download copies, and WikiLeaks had one copy which it proposed to publish online, via a series of uncensorable global servers.
Wikileaks describes itself as "a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public."
In an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said that "we have a stated commitment to a particular kind of process and objective, and that commitment is to get censored material out and never to take it down." He contrasted the group with other media outlets by saying that "other journalists try to verify sources. We don't do that, we verify documents. We don't care where it came from." He denied that the group has an inherent bias against the Afghanistan War, saying that "We don't have a view about whether the war should continue or stop – we do have a view that it should be prosecuted as humanely as possible." However, he also said that he believes the leaked information will turn world public opinion to think more negatively of the war."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_War_Diary
"War has become a luxury that only small nations can afford." -
Hannah Arendt
"The leak of tens of thousands of Afghanistan war-related documents tells us more than the sum total of many official communiqués about the war. On balance, more disclosure is a good thing, but the leaking of raw military intelligence is a special case that requires a careful, rather than a cavalier, approach.
There is not enough information about the war, and much official information is misleading. In Canada, the federal government's quarterly reports contain a few updates based on its goals in Kandahar, but little else that informs. The government has already shown itself to be an unreliable source on issues relating to Afghan detainees.
The situation is now too dangerous for the most trustworthy chroniclers – journalists, UN personnel – to go outside NATO-protected areas.
So reliable, independent information is lacking. The circumstances in this war make such information even more necessary."
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/we-neede...
"Instead, many eyes will now pore over this data from many different directions, looking for patterns and attempting to eliminate the noise, disinformation and fog of war.
Many will look to it to criticise and condemn the US presence in Afghanistan, but if those on the other side – those who support such military incursions – have any sense, they too will use it to understand better the war in which they find themselves and adapt their counsel to fit more accurately the facts on the ground.
That’s the benefit, usually, of an open society. We get to triangulate on the truth by gathering facts in the public space, then providing them to all sides to chew over. We use this against our own illusions and those of more closed societies who can only view the world through one narrow perspective.": www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0730/1224275801...
( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_ecology )
"The first phase was chilling, in part because the banter of the soldiers was so far beyond the boundaries of civilian discourse. “Just fuckin’, once you get on ’em, just open ’em up,” one of them said. The crew members of the Apache came upon about a dozen men ambling down a street, a block or so from American troops, and reported that five or six of the men were armed with AK-47s; as the Apache maneuvered into position to fire at them, the crew saw one of the Reuters journalists, who were mixed in among the other men, and mistook a long-lensed camera for an RPG. The Apaches fired on the men for twenty-five seconds, killing nearly all of them instantly."
Read more www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/07/100607fa_fact_khat...
"With the release of the WikiLeaks documents, Arab media may finally feel vindicated, as Western media finally start to give greater prominence to civilian casualties." newamericamedia.org/2010/07/wikileaks-documents-validate-...
"Wikileaks confirmed: A plan to kill American geologist with poison beer
The Wikileaks documents contain a claim that Pakistan and Afghanistan insurgents were working to poison alcoholic drinks in Afghanistan. While that's unproven, one US adviser in Afghanistan tells the Monitor he was almost poisoned that way in 2007." : www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0728/Wiki...
"This is duplicitous only if you close your eyes to the Pakistani reality, which the Americans never did. There was ample evidence, as the WikiLeaks show, of covert ISI ties to the Taliban. The Americans knew they couldn't break those ties. They settled for what support Pakistan could give them while constantly pressing them harder and harder until genuine fears in Washington emerged that Pakistan could destabilize altogether. Since a stable Pakistan is more important to the United States than a victory in Afghanistan—which it wasn't going to get anyway—the United States released pressure and increased aid. If Pakistan collapsed, then India would be the sole regional power, not something the United States wants."
www.billoreilly.com/site/rd?satype=13&said=12&url...
"How to read the Afghanistan war logs: video tutorial
David Leigh, the Guardian's investigations editor, explains the online tools we have created to help you understand the secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan": www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/video/2010/jul/25/afgha...
"Jonathan Foreman, writing for the right of center National Review's Corner blog, hopes the documents will force America to deal with the possible deceptions being made by ally Pakistan. "It is possible that the publication of documents that provide actual evidence — rather than rumors — of the role of ISI personnel in Taliban planning, logistics, and strategy will give the West greater leverage in dealing with Islamabad and might force Pakistan’s political elite to confront the reality of the ISI’s secret activities. If so, that would be a silver lining to what is otherwise a military disaster abetted by the U.S. and British media."
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/NATL-The-Importance-o...
"The real significance of the Afghan war diaries lies in what Wikileaks represents as a movement, as an evolution in journalism. One analyst has called it the emergence of open source journalism. Julian Assange makes it possible for anybody anywhere in the world to submit secret documents for publication." www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Sevanti_Ninan/article541...
A War Without End: www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708314,00.html
"Julian Assange on the Afghanistan war logs: 'They show the true nature of this war'
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, explains why he decided to publish thousands of secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan Afghanistan war logs expose truth of occupation": www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/25/julian-assange...
The history of US leaks: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10769495
Freedom of Information Act: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_...
"A long-delayed Afghanistan war funding bill, stripped of billions for teachers and black farmers, is back before the House and walking now into the storm over the Internet leak of battlefield reports stirring old doubts about U.S. policy and relations with Pakistan.": www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40254.html & www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40251.html
This is a large study/drawing, Assange/Wikileakers of the organization Wikileaks ( wikileaks.org ) uses 'matches from sources' to disclose US gov secrecy ( behind large black curtains ) & to also finally bring some much needed attention & closure to some of these revelations ( set ablaze ).
This ongoing series is dedicated to everyone who has needlessly had their lives destroyed, been injured or die in this almost past decade of war. For the sources, journalists & average citizens who risk their lives to inform us.
Reuters reporters Namir Eldeen, Saeed Chmagh & the good samaritan ( father ) who died trying to save them & of course his two surviving small children who will forever be impacted by the brutality of war for decades to come.
Please help Private Bradley Manning- www.bradleymanning.org/
"One surprising consequence of the war in Iraq is the surrender of postmodernism to a victorious modernism. This has been largely overlooked in North America.
In reaction to the U.S. intervention in Iraq, Jacques Derrida, a famous postmodernist, signed on as co-author of an article drafted by the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, previously an opponent of his, in an unmistakable endorsement of modernist Enlightenment principles. Derrida, the apostle of deconstructionism, is now advocating some decidedly constructive and Eurocentric activism.
The article appeared simultaneously in two newspapers on May 31, in German in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "After the War: The Rebirth of Europe," and in French in Libération, less triumphantly, as "A Plea for a Common Foreign Policy: The demonstrations of Feb. 15 against the war in Iraq designed a new European public space."
Other famous intellectuals joined in with supportive newspaper articles of their own: Umberto Eco (of The Name of the Rose) and Gianni Vattimo in Italy and an American philosopher, Richard Rorty. This provoked much discussion in Europe, but only a few comments so far in North America, the Boston Globe and the Village Voice being rare exceptions.
This week in Montreal, there was an anti-globalization riot in which windows were broken in protest against a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. But the Habermas-Derrida declaration praises the WTO and even the International Monetary Fund as part of Weltinnenpolitik: maddeningly hard to translate, but something like "global domestic policy" or "external internal policy."
Yet it is not much of a stretch to claim the young anti-globalists as disciples of postmodernism and Derrida, who has hitherto been a foe of "logocentrism" (putting reason at the centre), "phallologocentrism" (reason is an erect male organ and, as such, damnably central) and Eurocentrism (the old, old West is the homeland of all of the above).
Derrida added a note to the article, observing most people would recognize Habermas's style and thinking in the piece, and that he hadn't had time to write a separate piece. But notwithstanding his "past confrontations" with Habermas (Derrida had objected to being called a "Judaistic mystic," for one thing), he agreed with the article he had signed, which calls for new European responsibilities "beyond all Eurocentrism" and the strengthening of international law and international institutions."
More: www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php
"In early 2003, both Habermas and Derrida were very active in opposing the coming Iraq War, and called for in a manifesto that later became the book Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe for a tighter union of the states of the European Union in order to provide a power capable of opposing American foreign policy. Derrida wrote a foreword expressing his unqualified subscription to Habermas's declaration of February 2003, "February 15, or, What Binds Europeans Together: Plea for a Common Foreign Policy, Beginning in Core Europe,” in Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe which was a reaction to the Bush administration demands upon European nations for support for the coming Iraq War[25]. Habermas has offered further context for this declaration in an interview."
More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%c3%bcrgen_Habermas#Habermas_and_D...
Habermas: ”The asymmetry between the concentrated destructive power of the electronically controlled clusters of elegant and versatile missiles in the air and the archaic ferocity of the swarms of bearded warriors outfitted with Kalashnikovs on the ground remains a morally obscene sight
I consider Bush' s decision to call for a "war against terrorism" a serious mistake, both normatively and pragmatically. Normatively, he is elevating these criminals to the status of war enemies; and pragmatically, one cannot lead a war against a "network" if the term "war" is to retain any definite meaning.”
Derrida: “To say it all too quickly and in passing, to amplify and clarify just a bit what I said earlier about an absolute threat whose origin is anonymous and not related to any state, such "terrorist" attacks already no longer need planes, bombs, or kamikazes: it is enough to infiltrate a strategically important computer system and introduce a virus or some other disruptive element to paralyze the economic, military, and political resources of an entire country or continent. And this can be attempted from just about anywhere on earth, at very little expense and with minimal means. The relationship between earth, terra territory, and terror has changed, and it is necessary to know that this is because of knowledge, that is, because of technoscience.
It is technoscience that blurs the distinction between war and terrorism. In this regard, when compared to the possibilities for destruction and chaotic disorder that are in reserve, for the future, in the computerized networks of the world, "September 11" is still part of the archaic theater of violence aimed at striking the imagination. One will be able to do even worse tomorrow, invisibly, in silence, more quickly and without any bloodshed, by attacking the computer and informational networks on which the entire life (social, economic, military, and so on) of a "great nation," of the greatest power on earth, depends.”
www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php
I am incredibly- delighted at all the vital discussions about the war & US gov that are FINALLY taking place- & on a mass scale- as a result of this leak .. Simply miraculous..
FREEDOM & PEACE ( transparency, diplomacy & the evolution of such ) FOR ALL WAR NATIONS.
( WARNING - links ( after excerpt ) are NOT for sensitive viewers- ) "Wikileaks have released over 150 supressed images. This is the tip of the iceberg, keep looking, keep publishing.In the last week Wikileaks has released over 150 censored photos and videos of the Tibet uprising and has called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the Chinese internet censorship regime — the so called “Great Firewall of China”The transparency group’s move comes as a response to the the Chinese Public Security Bureau’s carte-blanche censorship of youtube, the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and other sites carrying video footage of the Tibetan people’s recent heroic stand against the inhumane Chinese occupation of Tibet."
fortuzero.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/tibet-western-media-sa...
file.wikileaks.org/file/tibet-protest-photos/index.html
FREE TIBET!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also other dire & serious issues ( out of countless ) - that expose corruption by corporations & gov's:
"A documentary about intensive pig farming due to be screened at the Guardian Hay festival on Sunday is facing a legal threat from one of the companies it investigates. Pig Business criticises the practices of the world's largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, claiming it is responsible for environmental pollution and health problems among residents near its factories."
www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/may/29/pig-business-document...
"In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14, 2004,[79] it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization.[80]
In 2009, a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, released latest tests from a study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 38.6 times more pesticides than Indian standards."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
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The Blue Mask - Lou Reed - www.goear.com/listen/9960779/the-blue-mask-lou-reed ( & O Superman ) www.goear.com/listen/02cf55d/o-superman-(for-massenet)-la...
Lou Reed The Blue Mask
Lyrics:
They tied his arms behind
his back to teach him how to
swim They put
blood in his coffee and milk
in his gin They stood over the
soldier in
the midst of the squalor
There was war in his body and
it caused his
brain to holler
Make the sacrifice
mutilate my face
If you need someone to kill
I'm a man without a will
Wash the razor in the rain
Let me luxuriate in pain
Please don't set me free
Death means a lot to me
The pain was lean and it made
him scream he knew he was alive
They put a
pin through the nipples on his chest
He thought he was a saint
I've made love to my mother,
killed my father and my brother
What am I
to do
When a sin goes too far, it's
like a runaway car It cannot
be controlled
Spit upon his face and scream
There's no Oedipus today
This is no play you're thinking you
are in What will you say
Take the blue mask down from my face and
look me in the eye I get a
thrill from punishment
I've always been that way
I loathe and despise repentance
You are permanently stained
Your weakness buys indifference
and indiscretion in the streets
Dirty's what you are and clean is what
you're not You deserve to be
soundly beat
Make the sacrifice
Take it all the way
There's no won't high enough
To stop this desperate day
Don't take death away
Cut the finger at the joint
Cut the stallion at his mount
And stuff it in his mouth
---
-
"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder. "
Albert Einstein
IMAGINE THE HAPPINESS & GREAT WORK AHEAD OF US WE COULD HAVE AT THE END OF THE WARS!!!!!!!!!
www.goear.com/listen/48d6016/hora-de-la-mehedinti-romania...
NO MORE WAR & FREEDOM FOR ALL WAR NATIONS!!!!!!!!!
Peace.
By MAUREEN BYRNE
Published Sep 30, 2005
The Presbyterian church finishes a $1.3-million renovation. By doing so, it confirms its commitment to downtown Clearwater.
Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church, whose history spans more than 100 years in downtown Clearwater, recently completed a $1.3-million restoration project.
Work during the past 18 months included extensive remodeling of the administration wing, restoration of 65 stained-glass windows in the sanctuary, and installation of a new ceiling, sound system, and windows in the fellowship hall.
The extensive project reaffirms the historic church's ongoing commitment to a downtown ministry, the Rev. Mack Sigmon said.
Unlike other churches across the country that have either closed or moved to the suburbs, Peace Memorial has no plans to leave the spot it has been at since 1891. Several months ago, neighboring Calvary Baptist Church announced it was considering moving from downtown because it was outgrowing its property.
"Our mission is to downtown," Sigmon, 44, said during a recent interview.
The pink stucco Mediterranean Revival-style church at 110 S Fort Harrison Ave. has been an institution in downtown since 1921. But its presence has been felt throughout North Pinellas because the church was instrumental in the planting of new churches there.
Peace Memorial belongs to the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, which oversees 79 churches and 30,000 members in seven counties. "Downtown areas need the presence of the Gospel," said executive presbyter Gerry Tyer. "We have an example of that in Clearwater."
Ford Reagan, 41, has been a member of Peace Memorial since 1984. "Churches are the cornerstone of downtown America," he said. "We've survived 107 years and we're going to keep going. The restoration project is a good link to our future."
Though some work was done in the sanctuary, the bulk of the project focused on the two-story administration wing, which was built in 1921. Problems included water damage, a dangerous electrical system, inadequate restrooms, an inefficient work area, and a bad location for the nursery.
The solution: gut and rebuild the entire 6,500-square-foot wing.
Today, the new floor plan includes walls that match the color of the church's pink exterior; a new nursery that awaits babies and children; and a new elevator that carries parishioners from floor to floor. Additional improvements include a new reception area, parlor, library, and offices.
The church's 5,000-square-foot fellowship hall, named Roebling Hall after philanthropist and former member Donald Roebling, also received a facelift. Workers installed a new ceiling, lighting and sound system, and windows. They also refurbished the room's original wood floor, which was once the town's skating rink.
"Up until we did the floor, kids would still come in and skate on it, and the church allowed it," Sigmon said. "Now they don't."
Inside the sanctuary, workers restored dozens of stained-glass windows, which are described as the largest collection of stained glass in the Tampa Bay area. Workers also refurbished the wooden pews, repaired the pipe organ, installed a new sound system, and painted the interior walls.
All of these physical improvements are evidence of the congregation's feelings about downtown, Sigmon says. "Here to stay _ Here to serve" is the theme of the stewardship campaign for the church's operating budget for 2000. Also, the restoration project is being funded entirely by pledges from parishioners.
"The downtown would be such a lesser place without a Peace Memorial," said Sigmon, who has been pastor there since 1994.
Sigmon cites the church's concert series, nursery school, and Child Development Center. The CDC, which opened 30 years ago, is a government-funded daycare program that serves low-income families. Other ministries sponsor refugees and missionaries.
Additionally, the Rev. Ann Marie Quigley-Swanson, associate minister of the church, oversees Peace Memorial's Christian education classes for preschoolers to seniors.
In 1891, a group of 17 people founded the church and called it Clearwater Presbyterian Church. It was renamed First Presbyterian Church of Clearwater and was known around town as the "little white church," according to church literature.
Dr. David Arthur Dunseith became the pastor in 1918. Under his leadership, the current pink stucco church was built, and in 1924 its name was changed to Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church.
At one time, the church had 1,500 members. Today, it serves a diverse flock of 650. "We have millionaires and we have people who don't know how they're going to get through the week," Sigmon said.
Increasing membership is desirable, he said, but it is not his main goal. Instead, he focuses on increasing the spiritual life of the people already worshiping at the church, whether it be 50 or 1,500.
This renovation may bring in people, but if it doesn't that's okay," Sigmon said. "Primarily, it's been done to enhance the lives of those who are here."
"I think it was wonderful," said Iris Stewart, a member of Peace Memorial since 1959. "We really needed it. There's something special about Peace Memorial.
www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/11/06/peace-memorial-finish...
digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/1058/
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
He's there every morning, catching the early sun rays when they are still bearable.
- Netanya, Israel (August 2017)
His commitment to putting animals at ease with him has meant that he’s needed to go to some extremes: “I once had a project with badgers that meant I needed to get rid of my ‘human’ scent. Before I set off, I went to a farm for the day and I lay around in the mud to lose my smell so I could get closer to the animals and earn their trust.”- Konsta Punkka
Read more bit.ly/KonstaP_wildlife
Nikon D5100 + NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 @ f/3.5 | 95 mm | 1/200s | ISO 400 © Konsta Punkka
Shot with my Fuji X100's, using a macro lens converter.
This is my second picture for my weekly theme 'Commit' and my 365 group.
This picture is sooc.
“It's not the destination, but the journey that matters”
Thomas Stearns Eliot
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“Non è la destinazione, ma il viaggio che conta”.
Thomas Stearns Eliot
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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… one month yes, and one no, my Provincial Health Authority of Messina sends me on a three-day mission (from Taormina) to the Civil Hospital of Lipari, located in via Sant'Anna…In my spare time, free from work commitments, I dedicate myself to my photographic passion; the photographs that I present here were all taken in the months of this year 2023; I made various photos according to the dictates of street photography (or street photography), I made some portraits, having always met people in the hand, very willing to let themselves be photographed (perhaps it will be ... that the people of the island are open-minded, eager and used to to communicate with strangers..?!), some portraits were made of people intent on their work; all the photos were taken in the city of Lipari, except for two taken in the port of Milazzo, the departure and arrival point of the hydrofoils (but there is also the ship) for the Aeolian Islands. I met (and photographed) the sweet lady, very good and appreciated American artist, Mrs Janette Little (photographed together with her affable and very nice husband, of Aeolian origins); of the talented artist mrs Janette in addition to her portrait I propose two of her works, I had noticed them some time ago, I had wanted to bring some photos of these works with me, now I propose them in black and white because this is a monochrome series, I note however that the originals are in color, for those wishing to see his works, I add the link to his web site below.
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….un mese si, ed uno no, la mia Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Messina, mi manda in missione per tre giorni (da Taormina) all’Ospedale Civile di Lipari, situato in via Sant’Anna …Nei ritagli di tempo, libero dagli impegni di lavoro, mi dedico alla mia passione fotografica; le fotografie che qui presento sono state tutte realizzate nei mesi di quest’anno 2023; ho realizzato varie foto secondo i dettami della fotografia di strada (o street photography), ho realizzato alcuni ritratti, avendo incontrato sempre persone alla mano, molto disponibili nel lasciarsi fotografare (sarà forse…che la gente isolana è di mentalità aperta, desiderosa ed abituata a comunicare con gli estranei..?!), alcuni ritratti sono stati eseguiti a persone intente nei loro lavori; tutte le foto sono state realizzate nella città di Lipari, tranne due realizzate nel porto di Milazzo, scalo di partenza e di arrivo degli aliscafi (ma c’è anche la nave) per le isole Eolie. Ho conosciuto (e fotografato) la dolcissima signora, bravissima ed apprezzata artista, di origini americane mrs Janette Little (fotografata insieme al suo affabile e simpaticissimo marito, di origini eoliane); della bravissima artista mrs Janette oltre al suo ritratto propongo due sue lavori, li avevo notati tempo fa, avevo desiderato portare con me alcune foto di queste opere, adesso le propongo in bianco e nero perché questa è una serie in monocromia, faccio notare però che gli originali sono a colori, per chi desiderasse vedere i suoi lavori, aggiungo sotto il link al suo sito sul web.
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stress, anxiety, insomnia, anger, issues, love, time, money, questions, performance, sex, fat, lose weight, solutions ...
didn't get as much snow as we thought we would. But the schools are still closed.
got my much needed sleep. so im pretty happy
A residential pool is a commitment to maintain for life. Water is heavy and expensive to filter daily. The only alternative is to remove the entire pool. How much do you think that would cost?
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I dedicate this image to Jay Daley for his effort and commitment on arriving on location at 7am, befriending a security guard (that looked like Pauly from Rockie) and then managed to get a special area roped off exclusively for us!
Great night out with the focus group with plenty of laughs and not a lot of drinking which makes for a great news years day.
Happy New Year everyone. Thanks for all your comments in 2021.
Not dressed for a while due to illness (just a bad cold) and family commitments over Christmas. So feeling a lot better and still on my holidays thought I would get Ann out for the day! F&F blouse, TU leather skirt. So love this blouse, very Fem, love the bow at the back (no I have not worn it the wrong way round!!). Decided to go shopping in this outfit, with a coat on! Had a great time, great to be out as Ann again. More photos to follow.
This has to be one of the best looking Boeing 737 special schemes so far unveiled by Seattle based carrier Alaska Airlines recently. Named "UNCF Our Commitment" is seen here landing from Sacramento in some fantastic light with Mt Rainer.
Was very fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph this amazing looking scheme this weekend. On this side it features a quote from the great Martin Luther King Jr, "The Time is Always Right to do What is Right." On the first officer side it features a quote from Nelson Mandela.
N492AS
Alaska Airlines
Boeing 737-990ER "UNCF Our Commitment"
KSEA - Seattle Tacoma International Airport
May 31, 2021
After a few weeks completely offline from Flickr due to lots of work & family commitments I am back. I have missed so many wonderful pictures from my Flickr friends so I promise to try to catch up and have a look at them all. Normality resumes so back to my normal routines and looking forward to seeing all the new images from my friends. :)
Still processing some older pics from 2017 I never got round to so hope you all like this wonderful Waterbuck from Kwandwe.
Waterbuck live in wide, separated ranges that are shared by many females and territorial and nonterritorial males. The size of a waterbuck's home range depends on the quality of the habitat, population, and the age and fitness of the waterbuck. Waterbuck that are in good health and are younger have the largest ranges. The home ranges of females may overlap, resulting in small herds that average 5 - 10 animals. Within these herds, there is no established rank order. Females, hovever, are most commonly found alone or in pairs, and it is believed that herds of waterbuck are random meetings of individual waterbucks. Horns begin to form on males at 8 - 9 months, which marks their separation from the females. These young males then form bachelor herds and remain in these until they mature.
The bachelor herds are composed of anywhere from 5 - 10 waterbuck. These are closed groups and the hierarchy is based on seniority. Upon maturation, the bulls become territorial. The activity of the waterbuck is affected by seasonal differences, habitat, grazing conditions, distance from water, and the number of predators in the area. When there is less water available and the conditions are dry, waterbuck need to rest more. While they have been found active at night, the waterbuck is more likely to be active in the daytime. Waterbuck are very water dependent. They eat a variety of grasses, both medium and short in length. Their diet is very rich in protein. When the amount of available grass is low, waterbuck eat other herbs to satisfy their needs.
Day 5 of #inktober - prompt: binoculars
The binoculars help me to bring closer what is far away and which I cannot get closer to. A landscape, a mountain, but especially birds or wild animals.
The inktober challenge is very simple. Just draw the prompt of the day in ink and publish it using the inktober hashtags. After a few years where I passed my turn, I am trying this 2024 edition even though it will be a month full of activities and commitments. I chose the free-style of the continuous line to represent the prompt, without fuss or colors.
I hope you like it!
#inktober2024 #sketchnotes #visualthinking #binoculars