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South Sudan’s army has said it is committed to progressing and ensuring it meets its goals of having a child-free army. A senior military commander touring the construction of a Child Protection Office – a project supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – within South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces headquarters says the construction is on schedule, with the launch of a completed building expected in three months.
Once complete, there will be four offices, one meeting room, a reception area and a verandah.
Major General Chaplain Khamis Edward, Head of Child Protection, SSDF stressed: “We are tackling six things, and we don’t want these six grave violations to continue within the SSPDF or outside the SSPDF … we want to put an end into use and recruitment of children…”
Under a Quick Impact Project, which allows for UNMISS to improve the lives of communities across South Sudan, the UN Mission under its Child Protection Office has provided funds to ensure that the construction is a success.
Alfred Orono-Orono, Head of Child Protection Office, said: “Each stone here emphasizes the kind of unity that we have with the SSPDF, that each nail that goes here is a nail into the coffin of the death of issues of violations against the children of South Sudan.”
UN Photo: Isaac Billy
Jan Anderson, a committed Detroiter and poet, graciously collaborated with us on a projection series where she recited her poetry about Detroit. Text of the recited poems follows:
WHEN THE PEOPLE LEAVE
When the people leave
The siege begins,
And the windows fall
And the halls are spooked
And the roof rots
And the lot vacates
And the placated defacate
Until the weeds stand tall
And the ghetto palms appear
And the tears depart
And the garden grows
In the people’s hardened hearts.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Detroit sits motionless
Like a daughter with her mother’s lifeless body.
The place is a chamber eerily apart from space and time
A ball of light hovering above a hole.
Two forms unable to inhale the next moment or
To cling together to fill the hollow.
Only in perfect still can the echo of being still be felt
So the daughter turns to stone like the mound of clay on the table before her.
The corpse must be returned to the soil
Before energy can again be found –
The heat between them forging iron to last
Until she too is a mound bereft of anything.
Detroit is still
Like a mountain blocking the sun.
A cavern is inside, precious metals in sum.
But our loss is its loss
Such is the formlessness of grief that it blankets all things
The nothingness before it is a vacuum
Into which vitality is slowly drawn –
Such is the black hole of tragedy that all material is reformed.
When our lifeless generation is duly mourned and returned to the ages,
New life will be formed
And there will no weeping, no striking out,
Only the duty of remembering in a city that is no longer an innocent child.
THE LAST PACKARD COMPANY MAN
As a lover he didn’t read minds or chart the heart’s inner terrain with his hands.
Those hands were working hands, greasy leathery tools.
Steel was the vessel of his spirit, and everything he touched became this sort of flesh.
The last Packard Company man lived to work,
Strove to be a cog in the great machine.
His shift was the prayer that sanctified him to his wife and children,
Made them believe in God.
The City’s Committee on Plant Closings asked him who he was
and he told them that he fought two great wars building the planes that brought death to the first and second global conflicts.
The heat that forges memory is the same that bends metal.
What does a soldier do after the war is lost?
Is honor found in the hands or in the heart?
Is faith the whole, or only part?
Do you believe because it’s in your head, or is belief an act of defiance instead?
Fully Committed at Lost Nation Theater, August 5-22, 2010, stars Eric Love as 40 different characters. Set is by Ellen E Jones, lighting by Emily Crosby & Jared Nelson, sound design by Nicole Carroll and skillfully directed by Tara Lee Downs. photo by Francis Moran, Francis Moran Photography
French postcard by Publistar Marseilles, no. 953. Photo: André Nisak, Paris / Vogue.
French singer and composer Pierre Perret (1934) is a legend of French chanson. His repertoire ranges from children's songs to comic, erotic and politically committed songs full of humour and tenderness. He is recognised as an outstanding poet and he also appeared in French films
Pierre Perret was born Pierre Max in 1934 in Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne. His parents, Maurice and Claudia, ran the Café du Pont in Castelsarrasin, where he spent much of his childhood. Here he learned to use jargon and slang. As a child, he appeared in two films, the crime drama Dernier atout/The Trump Card (Jacques Becker, 1942) starring Mireille Balion and Raymond Rouleau, and the drama Le carrefour des enfants perdus/Children of Chaos (Léo Joannon, 1944) starring René Dary. At 14, he signed with the Conservatoire de Musique de Toulouse and the Toulouse Conservatoire of Dramatic Art. At 19 he won first prize for saxophone. From 1953 to 1956, he did his military service and was unable to take the final entrance exam to the Paris Conservatoire, in Marcel Mule's class, as he was in military prison that day. He set up his first music group and performed at balls, family gatherings and other regional events. In 1957, he was signed by producer Eddie Barclay and met his future wife, Simone Mazaltarim at Barclay's studio. His first single, 'Moi j'attends Adèle', was released that year. A recording at the Olympia for the radio programme Musicorama helped to put him on the map. In 1958, Perret toured Parisian cabaret bars and crossed France and Africa as the opening act for the American group The Platters. He also played a small role in Les étoiles de midi/Stars at Noon (Jacques Ertaud, Marcel Ichac, 1958). In November of that year, a pleurisy forced him to take two years off recuperating in a sanatorium.
In 1960 Pierre Perret released 'Le Bonheur conjugal', but it was not a big enough success and Barclay did not renew his contract. He married Simone Mazaltarim, renamed Rebecca, in 1962, Their daughter Julie was born in 1963. He moved to Gennevilliers with his family, where he stayed for eight years. Perret signed a six-year contract with Vogue and found a new impresario in Lucien Morisse. His first big hit came in 1964 with 'Le Tord-boyaux', which sold 75,000 copies. In 1966, the song 'Les Jolies Colonies de vacances' was a big hit, selling 200,000 copies. Perret enjoyed a string of successes and gave several concerts, opening for artists as diverse as Johnny Hallyday, Nana Mouskouri and the Rolling Stones on their first concert in France. In 1969, he left Vogue and decided with his wife to self-produce by founding Editions Adèle (named after his first song). In the same year, he returned to the cinema. He played the title character in Claude Autant-Lara's comedy-drama Les Patates/Potatoes with Rufus, for which he also wrote the music. The next year, he acted in the failure Un été sauvage/A Savage Summer (Marcel Camus, 1970) with Nino Ferrer and Katina Paxinou. In 1971 he played Judge Roy Bean in the Western parody Le Juge/Judge Roy Bean (Jean Girault, Federico Chentrens, 1971) with Silvia Monti and Robert Hossein. 1971 saw the release of 'La Cage aux oiseaux', which sold 300,000 copies. From 1974 onwards, Pierre Perret's records were arranged by Bernard Gérard, replacing Jean Claudric who had been orchestrating the singer since he joined Vogue. In 1975, he had his biggest hit with 'Le Zizi', which sold over 600,000 copies
Pierre Perret is a master of the subtleties of the French language and French slang. He even rewrote some of Jean de La Fontaine's fables. His songs are often cheeky, such as 'Le zizi' (The Willy). He asks pertinent questions in a seemingly naive child's tone, with a malicious smile, but always with humanism and candour. He also has written politically committed songs like 'La bête est revenue', 'La petite kurde', and 'Vert de Colère'. His song 'Lily' became a classic anti-racist song and won him the LICRA prize in 1978. Other politically committed songs followed, on abortion ('Elle attend son petit' in 1981), famine, excision and more generally the condition of women in Africa ('Riz pilé' in 1989), war ('La Petite Kurde' in 1992), ecology ('Vert de colère' in 1998) and the rise of fascism ('La Bête est revenue'). Released in 1998, this song against the Front National earned him many insulting letters. In 1995, Perret recorded a duet with Sophie Darel, 'Maître Pierre' for the album 'C'était les Années Bleues'. He participated in the committee for the simplification of the administrative language (COSLA). In 2020, Pierre Perret embarked on a major tour entitled 'Mes adieux provisoires', which was disrupted by the Covid pandemic, declaring that it would ‘surely’ be his last tour. In 2023, he released a new album, 'Ma vieille carcasse', accompanied by the video 'Paris saccagé', criticising the policies of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. Alongside his singing activities, Pierre Perret has published several biographical works since his first book 'Adieu Monsieur Léautaud' (1972) was published. In 2009, Manuel Poirier made a film about Pierre Perret's childhood, based on his autobiography, 'Le Café du point'. Perret himself could be seen in a bit role in the film Sous les étoiles de Paris/Under the Stars of Paris (Claud Drexel, 2020) starring Catherine Frot. He also wrote about another passion, gastronomy. Pierre Perret is married to Simone Mazaltarim. They have three children but their daughter Julie died in 1995. The couple lives in Nangis, France.
Sources: Wikipedia (French, German and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
New in 2018! The nation’s first seaside resort bursts forth this spring! Shown here, the grounds of the historic 1879 Emlen Physick Estate the setting for the inaugural “Sip Into Spring Festival” Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. presented by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC). Enjoy mimosas, Bloody Marys, wine, craft beers, nature and gardening demonstrations, crafts and collectibles, festival food including empanadas, a variety of cheeses, crepes and BBQ by local food vendors. Empanada Mama, Seaside Cheese, Crespella, and Matt’s BBQ will be on hand. There are spirits, wine and craft beer vendors available including Nauti Spirits, Cape May Brewery, Cape May Winery and Hawk Haven Winery and live music throughout the day. Special programs included a plant-inspired craft project and high energy food carving demos. The “Stylish Succulents for Your Home Garden” craft workshop and “Slicing & Dicing: Watermelons & More” with Master Chef Joseph Poon at the Carriage House Café & Tearoom. Chef Poon presented his popular and informative demonstration on healthy eating, including spectacular food carving and sculpture demonstrations, with additional demonstrations and displays that included Cape May County Technical High School’s plant sale, a beehive demonstration by Busy Bees, curing pickles with The Red Store, a recycling demonstration by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority (CMCMUA) and a flower arranging demonstration by Sunset Flower Farm. The Emlen Physick Estate is located at 1048 Washington St., Cape May, N.J. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) is a multifaceted not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the preservation, interpretation, and cultural enrichment of the Cape May region for its residents and visitors. MAC membership is open to all. For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org. For information about restaurants, accommodations and shopping, call the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May at 609-884-5508. For information about historic accommodations, contact Cape May Historic Accommodations at www.capemaylodging.com. For information about Chef Joseph Poon, visit www.josephpoon.com.
ATLANTA - Children of Georgia National Guardsmen attend the Georgia National Guard Youth Programs film camp online and in-person in Ellenwood, Ga., July 19-23, 2021. The children learn about filmography by creating a sports commercial with professionals from a music production studio. Events like these and others from Georgia NG Family Programs provide additional resources to service members that benefit their family, possible future employers, and their community. Taking care of our youth is one example of how the Georgia Department of Defense is committed to taking care of our Guardsmen. (Georgia Department of Defense photo by Desiree Bamba)
LA Dogworks is a dog facility in Los Angeles, California committed to providing fun, exciting, and safe experiences for all dogs in their care. Owner, Andrew Rosenthal, transformed his passion and love for animals into a top of the line, superior dog care facility offering 24 hour dog care, pet grooming, canine training, and more. With his primary goal being to create a natural and safe environment well-suited for dogs, Andrew was sure to make the centerpiece of his facility a 2500 square foot dog park covered in K9Grass, the only artificial turf designed specifically for dogs. This has been the focal point of his facility for a decade now and when ForeverLawn created a new K9Grass product, Andrew couldn't stay away. With the help of the ForeverLawn Pacific Coast Team LA Dogworks received a brand new K9Grass installation.
South Sudan’s army has said it is committed to progressing and ensuring it meets its goals of having a child-free army. A senior military commander touring the construction of a Child Protection Office – a project supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – within South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces headquarters says the construction is on schedule, with the launch of a completed building expected in three months.
Once complete, there will be four offices, one meeting room, a reception area and a verandah.
Major General Chaplain Khamis Edward, Head of Child Protection, SSDF stressed: “We are tackling six things, and we don’t want these six grave violations to continue within the SSPDF or outside the SSPDF … we want to put an end into use and recruitment of children…”
Under a Quick Impact Project, which allows for UNMISS to improve the lives of communities across South Sudan, the UN Mission under its Child Protection Office has provided funds to ensure that the construction is a success.
Alfred Orono-Orono, Head of Child Protection Office, said: “Each stone here emphasizes the kind of unity that we have with the SSPDF, that each nail that goes here is a nail into the coffin of the death of issues of violations against the children of South Sudan.”
UN Photo: Isaac Billy
Three Barstow seniors committed to play collegiate athletics on April 14, 2022. Richey King will play tennis at Wichita State, Nora Larson will play volleyball at Swarthmore College and Luke Whitfill will participate in cross country and track at Trinity University. (Photo by Todd Race)
South Sudan’s army has said it is committed to progressing and ensuring it meets its goals of having a child-free army. A senior military commander touring the construction of a Child Protection Office – a project supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – within South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces headquarters says the construction is on schedule, with the launch of a completed building expected in three months.
Once complete, there will be four offices, one meeting room, a reception area and a verandah.
Major General Chaplain Khamis Edward, Head of Child Protection, SSDF stressed: “We are tackling six things, and we don’t want these six grave violations to continue within the SSPDF or outside the SSPDF … we want to put an end into use and recruitment of children…”
Under a Quick Impact Project, which allows for UNMISS to improve the lives of communities across South Sudan, the UN Mission under its Child Protection Office has provided funds to ensure that the construction is a success.
Alfred Orono-Orono, Head of Child Protection Office, said: “Each stone here emphasizes the kind of unity that we have with the SSPDF, that each nail that goes here is a nail into the coffin of the death of issues of violations against the children of South Sudan.”
UN Photo: Isaac Billy
Mark Setlock in FULLY COMMITTED (2001) by Becky Mode, directed by Nicholas Martin. Photo: Carol Rosegg
Alberta is investing $10 million into targeted serology testing that will help track the spread of COVID-19 across the province.
Serology testing is used to detect the presence of antibodies in a person’s blood, indicating that a person has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus in the past. This is different from the robust polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing already available to all Albertans, which is the most effective way to test if anyone currently has the virus.
Alberta Health is investing in four voluntary public health studies, which will serologically test specific groups of Albertans for the virus. Alberta Health Services (AHS) will also make serology testing available for specific clinical purposes where testing can inform treatment decisions.
Alberta is the first province in Canada to make this targeted serology testing available.
“We committed to investing in expanding COVID-19 testing as part of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy. Investing in these focused studies of select groups will help us get a better sense of the situation in Alberta and learn more about the virus. The more we know about how COVID-19 is spreading, the better we can protect Albertans.” said Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health, during a news teleconference from Edmonton on June 23, 2020.
“We anticipate that there are people in the province who have been infected with COVID-19 and either were not tested, or were unaware that they had the virus. Investing in these representative public health studies will help us understand what percentage of Albertans have a history of infection, and how to improve our health response.” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health.
The $10-million investment will fund two pediatric studies that will measure COVID-19 antibody prevalence among groups of Calgary and Edmonton children until 2022. A third study will test samples from blood collected for other purposes across the province, and a fourth will regularly test select Albertans over the age of 45 to help officials better estimate the number of people exposed to COVID-19.
By investing in serology studies, Alberta will be able to better estimate the number of people who have previously contracted COVID-19 and learn about how the virus is spreading over time.
As well, Alberta Precision Laboratories will offer serology testing for specific clinical purposes and funded population-level serology research studies.
(photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)
Jan Anderson, a committed Detroiter and poet, graciously collaborated with us on a projection series where she recited her poetry about Detroit. Text of the recited poems follows:
WHEN THE PEOPLE LEAVE
When the people leave
The siege begins,
And the windows fall
And the halls are spooked
And the roof rots
And the lot vacates
And the placated defacate
Until the weeds stand tall
And the ghetto palms appear
And the tears depart
And the garden grows
In the people’s hardened hearts.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Detroit sits motionless
Like a daughter with her mother’s lifeless body.
The place is a chamber eerily apart from space and time
A ball of light hovering above a hole.
Two forms unable to inhale the next moment or
To cling together to fill the hollow.
Only in perfect still can the echo of being still be felt
So the daughter turns to stone like the mound of clay on the table before her.
The corpse must be returned to the soil
Before energy can again be found –
The heat between them forging iron to last
Until she too is a mound bereft of anything.
Detroit is still
Like a mountain blocking the sun.
A cavern is inside, precious metals in sum.
But our loss is its loss
Such is the formlessness of grief that it blankets all things
The nothingness before it is a vacuum
Into which vitality is slowly drawn –
Such is the black hole of tragedy that all material is reformed.
When our lifeless generation is duly mourned and returned to the ages,
New life will be formed
And there will no weeping, no striking out,
Only the duty of remembering in a city that is no longer an innocent child.
THE LAST PACKARD COMPANY MAN
As a lover he didn’t read minds or chart the heart’s inner terrain with his hands.
Those hands were working hands, greasy leathery tools.
Steel was the vessel of his spirit, and everything he touched became this sort of flesh.
The last Packard Company man lived to work,
Strove to be a cog in the great machine.
His shift was the prayer that sanctified him to his wife and children,
Made them believe in God.
The City’s Committee on Plant Closings asked him who he was
and he told them that he fought two great wars building the planes that brought death to the first and second global conflicts.
The heat that forges memory is the same that bends metal.
What does a soldier do after the war is lost?
Is honor found in the hands or in the heart?
Is faith the whole, or only part?
Do you believe because it’s in your head, or is belief an act of defiance instead?
Locally committed to improving the quality of life for Coventry people
Council Plan 2013/14 End of Year Performance Report
Coventry City Council
Taken from the Council Plan end of year performance report (Cabinet, 8 July 2014) goo.gl/xwjm04
Find out more:
Council Plan: www.coventry.gov.uk/councilplan/
Performance: www.coventry.gov.uk/performance/
St Baldricks Brevard at The Avenue Viera by commercial photographer Rich Johnson of Spectacle Photo. Dedicated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation Events on the Space Coast of FL and raising awareness for Childhood Cancer. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.
Events on the stage of Shonan area of Japan, aimed at the development of the Hawaiian culture. Dancers of about 1,000 people gathered from Kanagawa prefecture, I committed showcase technology of hula daily, polished.
Above all, she is beautiful, smile was a very nice lady at all times.
St Baldricks Brevard at The Avenue Viera by commercial photographer Rich Johnson of Spectacle Photo. Dedicated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation Events on the Space Coast of FL and raising awareness for Childhood Cancer. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.
St Baldricks Brevard at The Avenue Viera by commercial photographer Rich Johnson of Spectacle Photo. Dedicated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation Events on the Space Coast of FL and raising awareness for Childhood Cancer. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.
"The Prefect" - Novel, Science Fiction - [0749 - 2017-06-25]
"The Prefect" (2007) by Alastair Reynolds is a science fiction novel and is also known as book 5 in the 5 book (so far) "Revelation Space" series published during 2000-2007. Curious readers may ask can this novel be read without reading the prior books: "Revelation Space"(2000), "Chasm City"(2001), "Redemption Ark"(2002) and "Absolution Gap"(2003). In truth yes it can but your enjoyment and the comprehension of story events would be greatly enhanced if you had read the other books. In lieu of reading the books I would research the extensive and detailed articles about these books in the Wikipedia.
This is a police procedural, a serious crime has been committed and the local law enforcement agency - the Panoply - is charged to apprehend the perpetrators. Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, an officer of the Panoply, and is leading the investigation. The crime is the destruction of an habitat in the Glitter Band resulting in 900 deaths. The Glitter Band is a ring of space born palaces circulating the planet Yellowstone. Each palace is an independent fiefdom and decadents is the prevailing life style. Against the background of Reynolds "Revelation Space" universe the investigation becomes a convoluted web that kept my interest to the last page.
This is an elaborate and detailed "detective-type" science-fiction story that kept me up many evenings. Alastair Reynolds crams an encyclopedia of background in this novel that induced this reader to put aside many required tasks to finish this book. I am not exaggerating when I use the term encyclopedia. As mentioned the Wikipedia has numerous pages on the characters, factors and locations of Revelation Space. Readers are strongly encouraged to check out the information - I was impressed, indeed.
Mr. Reynolds, with his Ph.D in astronomy is a master at technological extrapolation. Therefore this story exhibits many "hard" aspects of hardware type science-fiction that will cause long time fans to weep with joy and others to whimper with annoyance as I have said before. I wept, oh yes I wept!
The Old Windmill Tower is culturally significant as the oldest surviving European structure in Queensland, and one of only two surviving convict-built buildings in Brisbane. It is a reminder of the early difficulties encountered in establishing the small convict settlement that developed into the present city of Brisbane. The Old Windmill Tower at Spring Hill was
constructed to support the needs of the convict penal settlement established in Brisbane in 1825. Maize and wheat were being cultivated in the area but there was no efficient way of grinding the grain into meal and flour. In 1827 Captain Patrick Logan, Commandant of
Moreton Bay, proposed construction of a treadmill that would serve as both a facility to grind grain and a means of punishment for convicts who committed offences while at the settlement. The mill tower was constructed during 1828 and included two sets of millstones, one linked to a treadmill and one driven by rotating wind-sails.
Work at the treadmill was usually carried out from sunrise to sunset, with a three-hour break in the middle of the day in summer, or a two-hour break in cooler months. Sixteen men were constantly on the wheel, with another ten providing relief. The work was repetitive, exhausting and dangerous. Convict, Michael Collins, died in 1829 when he became entangled in the treadmill wheels, but the treadmill continued to be used until 1839.
For more on the history of the Old Windmill Tower
Queensland State Archives ITM1009388
Brisbane's recorded history dates from 1799, when Matthew Flinders explored Moreton Bay on an expedition from Port Jackson, although the region had long been occupied by the Yugara and Turrbal aboriginal groups. First Nations Australians lived in coastal South East Queensland (SEQ) for at least 22,000 years, with an estimated population between 6,000 and 10,000 individuals before European settlers arrived in the 1820s.
At this time the Brisbane area was inhabited by the Turrbal people, (Turrbal also being the name of the language they spoke) who knew the area that is now the central business district as Mian-jin, meaning "place shaped as a spike". Archaeological evidence suggests frequent habitation around the Brisbane River, and notably at the site now known as Musgrave Park.
The first convict jail was built in Redcliffe in 1824 and that was moved to the site of the present-day CBD in 1825. Officials believed the natural bend in the river provided an effective barrier against escape.
Read more about the Moreton Bay convict settlement in this article: blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2021/10/05/moreton-bay-convict-...
Its suitability for fishing, farming, timbering, and other occupations, however, caused it to be opened to free settlement in 1838. Civilian occupation of the area began in 1842, and by the late 1880s Brisbane became the main site for commerce, and the capital-to-be began to develop distinct architectural features and culture.
With an abundance of sunshine and laid-back lifestyle, Brisbane quickly drew people eager to settle in its environs. The city grew steadily over the years and a turning point in its advancement was during World War II when it housed the main allied headquarters in the South Pacific for Australian and American service personnel.
The post-war population boom brought a spurt in industry and Brisbane staked a claim as the third-largest city in Australia.
Despite its rapid progress, Brisbane was often seen as lagging culturally behind Sydney and Melbourne. But two landmark events in the 1980s brought about a major change and accelerated Brisbane towards Australia’s new world city it is today.
The Commonwealth Games came to Brisbane in 1982, and this resulted in a massive injection of new infrastructure and sporting facilities. Then the eyes of the world turned to Brisbane in 1988 and thousands of visitors flocked to Expo 88. The subsequent birth of South Bank on the Expo site has resulted in a thriving cultural hub and Brisbane is more than matching it with its southern counterparts.
FIRST NATIONS HISTORY
Prior to European colonisation, the Brisbane region was occupied by Aboriginal tribes, notably clans of the Yugara, Turrbal and Quandamooka peoples. The oldest archaeological site in the Brisbane region comes from Wallen Wallen Creek on North Stradbroke Island (21,430±400 years before present), however, settlement would likely occurred well prior to this date.
The land, the river and its tributaries were the source and support of life in all its dimensions. The river's abundant supply of food included fish, shellfish, crab, and prawns. Good fishing places became campsites and the focus of group activities. The district was defined by open woodlands with rainforest in some pockets or bends of the Brisbane River.
A resource-rich area and a natural avenue for seasonal movement, Brisbane was a way station for groups travelling to ceremonies and spectacles. The region had several large (200–600 person) seasonal camps, the biggest and most important located along waterways north and south of the current city heart: Barambin or 'York's Hollow' camp (today's Victoria Park) and Woolloon-cappem (Woolloongabba/South Brisbane), also known as Kurilpa. These camping grounds continued to function well into historic times, and were the basis of European settlement in parts of Brisbane.
TOWN PLAN
Buildings were constructed for the convict settlement, generally at right angles to the river's shoreline in the direction of Queen Street, and along the shoreline south-east of today's Victoria Bridge. The outstanding surviving building is the Commissariat Store (1828-29), originally two storeys, in William Street. The street layout, however, developed from a thoroughfare from the river's edge running north-east to the prisoners' barrack near the corner of today's Queen and Albert Streets. When a town survey was done in 1840 that thoroughfare was chosen as the main street – Queen Street – and the grid pattern of square blocks moved out from the Queen Street axis. There were several versions of the town survey. The proposed streets varied in width from 20 to 28 metres but Governor Gipps, anticipating an inauspicious future for the settlement, trimmed them back to the lesser figure. Streets running parallel to Queen Street were named after British and related royalty, among them Queen Mary II, Queen Charlotte (wife of George III) and Queen Adelaide (wife of William IV). William, George, Albert and Edward Streets, running at right angles, had similar royal antecedents. Creek Street's position approximated the course of a minor stream, Wheat Creek.
The town survey occurred about three years after a select committee of the British Parliament had concluded that transportation had ceased to deter crime and, in any event, was tainted with inhumanity. By 1839 Moreton Bay was being transformed from a convict settlement to a free settlement, and in July 1842 the first sales of Brisbane land took place in Sydney. Nearly 60 allotments, each of 36 perches, in North and South Brisbane were offered. Twelve months later blocks in Kangaroo Point were sold. Little care was taken to reserve land or space along the river's edge for public purposes, but the government farm at the south-east end was kept and in time became the botanic gardens.
OUTER SETTLEMENTS
The scatter of urban land sales detracted from North Brisbane's role as a central place in Moreton Bay. Wharves were set up on both sides of the river, and there was an Ipswich-Cleveland 'axis' backed by rural interests which wanted the administrative centre and a port at those places. Probably it was the building of a customs house in 1849 on the river in North Brisbane which had a decisive effect: wharf interests moved, to be closer to the customs house, which in turn influenced the location of warehouses and merchandising. South Brisbane remained at a disadvantage until a permanent Victoria Bridge (1874) replaced ferry crossings.
Four years after the first land sales North and South Brisbane's populations were 614 and 346 respectively. The town was nothing much to look at: convict buildings were dilapidated, new structures had been roughly built and mainly it was the steady inflow of new inhabitants which held the best prospects for improvement. A Catholic school had been opened in 1845 and the Moreton Bay Courier weekly newspaper began publication in 1846, but it was not until the end of the decade that noticeable civic amenities emerged. Coinciding with the arrival of the Fortitude immigrants in 1849 (who were settled outside the town boundary, north of Boundary Street), an Anglican school was opened and a Wesleyan church built in Albert Street. A school of arts was established, moving into its own hall in Creek Street in 1851. Regular postal deliveries were introduced in Brisbane in 1852.
During the 1850s most Churches constructed substantial buildings: St Stephens Catholic in Elizabeth Street (1850), St Johns Anglican, William Street, Presbyterian, Ann Street (1857) and Baptist, Wharf Street (1859). There were three ferry services, to South Brisbane, Kangaroo Point and the 'middle' service from Edward Street, also to Kangaroo Point. The Brisbane Municipal Council was proclaimed, just before colonial self-government, in 1859.
There had been land sales well beyond the town boundaries, but in the early 1860s allotments were cut up for working-class cottages in Spring Hill, Petrie Terrace and Fortitude Valley. In 1861 a census recorded over 8000 people in Brisbane and another 5000 in adjoining areas. An Ipswich to Brisbane telegraph began operation and the unused convict windmill (1828) up in Wickham Terrace was converted to a signal station with a time ball.
TOWN IMPROVEMENTS
Municipal improvements were brought in with improved town lighting from the Brisbane gas works (1864) in Petrie Bight, north of the customs house, and the widely felt need for recreation space was officially recognised by a survey of Yorks Hollow (where the Fortitude migrants had been sent) for Victoria Park. Progress there was slow, with the council using the site for sewage disposal until 1886. Fires rid parts of Queen Street of time-worn commercial buildings in 1864, clearing the way for better structures built under the supervision of fire-protection bylaws. The council also found the need to divide its area into four wards, expanding it into six in 1865 (East, West, North, South, Valley and Kangaroo Point). The council also expanded to a new town hall in Queen Street (1866), by when a short-lived bridge to South Brisbane (1865-67) was in operation. The water supply ponds were hopelessly inadequate, and in 1866 a supply from Breakfast Creek, Enoggera, was turned on.
Gympie gold (1867) brought prosperity to the colony, but the rural-dominated legislature spent the money outside Brisbane, a prime example being the Darling Downs railway to Ipswich (1867) with the intent of having a port on the Bremer River. Legislative shenanigans could not stop the growth of the capital city's population (15,000 in 1871, 23,000 in 1881) nor that of the adjoining suburbs. Brisbane's 1881 population of 23,000 included South Brisbane. Ten years later, after South Brisbane had been made a separate municipality in 1887, their combined populations were 49,000. By 1891 Brisbane and suburbs had a population of over 100,000.
With population and export income from gold there came pressure for public buildings appropriate to the town's growing prosperity. The first of them was the general post office in Queen Street (1872), followed by the government printing office (1874) near the Commissariat Store in William Street. A torrent came in the 1880s, with the Queensland National Bank at the corner of Queen and Creek Streets, the Margaret Street Synagogue, Finney Isles Big Block emporium in Adelaide Street, and in 1889 the new Customs House, the Treasury Building in William Street and the Ann Street Presbyterian church. The legislature aspired to grandeur quite early, in 1868, with its Parliament House near the botanic gardens.
TRAINS AND TRAMS
The Ipswich railway line was joined to Brisbane by a bridge across the river at Chelmer and Indooroopilly in 1876. Ten years later a line to the South Coast was under construction, but the lines were at first organised with rural freight rather than suburban passengers in mind. Suburban transport services started with a horse tram out to New Farm (1885-86), and across the Victoria Bridge to West End. Electric powered trams began in 1887. Central Brisbane was crossed by a Queen Street tram, connected to termini at Newstead, West End and Logan Road at Buranda. The main shopping centre was around Queen, George and Adelaide Streets, competing with Brunswick and Wickham Streets in Fortitude Valley. The south side had shopping at Five Ways, Woolloongabba, and at South Brisbane, although the latter declined after the 1893 floods.
Northside tram lines from Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Clayfield and Hamilton were opened during 1897-1902, coming into the city via Edward Street in most cases. By 1890 there were also suburban railway lines, to Sandgate via Nundah (1882), to Enoggera and to Cleveland (1889). Brisbane Central station (1889) brought northside travellers right into Brisbane, as before then the Sandgate line had ended at Roma Street via a cost saving line through Victoria Park. The line to Brisbane Central station also passed through busy Fortitude Valley.
With the addition of a tram line to Lutwyche and Kedron in 1913 the pressure of traffic led to the construction of a line along Adelaide Street (1915), which in turn required the Council to widen Adelaide Street by four metres between George and Creek Streets in 1922-23.
HOUSE SIZES
Since 1885 minimum house allotments had been set at 16 perches (10m x 40m). Residents could therefore look forward to more airy, spacious houses outside the city and its adjoining suburbs such as Spring Hill and Petrie Terrace. The better-off population invariably sought out the higher ridges on elevated sites overlooking the river, making Hamilton (with a tram in 1899) one of the most sought after suburbs. It was the new upper-working and middle-class suburbs, however, that showed the change most clearly.
CENTRAL CITY SHOPPING
Central Brisbane had grand department stores, Finney Isles, and Allan and Stark, but not as many as Fortitude Valley. A third one came later in George Street, near the Roma Street railway station: McDonnell and East built a low-rise emporium there in 1912. Commercial and government buildings, usually of a modest height, sometimes had a massive footprint. An exception to the prevailing height practice was the Queensland (later Commonwealth) Bank administration building of eight storeys at the corner of George and Elizabeth Streets (1920) clad with sandstone and granite. The CML building, next to the GPO, went to the legal limit of 11 storeys in 1931 and was exceeded in height only by the Brisbane City Hall tower (1930).
The changing commercial centre was thought to need a distinctive civic space and an Anzac Square was proposed in 1915. It was completed in 1930, coinciding with the City Hall and the construction of a second bridge out of the city, across the river to South Brisbane. Named after William Jolly, first Lord Mayor of the amalgamated Brisbane Metropolitan Council (1925), the bridge was opened in 1932. A third bridge was opened in 1940 from the other (eastern) end of the city across to Kangaroo Point. Neither bridge had trams, but each integrated with the metropolitan council's planned arterial road system.
The opening of the Story Bridge was followed by 20 years of building quietude in central Brisbane. The war and postwar recovery explains part of the inactivity, but central Brisbane made do with its prewar building stock during the 1950s. Suburban expansion was the focus of activity, exemplified by Allan and Stark building a drive-in shopping centre at Chermside in 1957. Another change was the removal of the wholesale food market from Roma Street to Rocklea in 1962.
After recovery from the 1961 credit squeeze, commercial pressure and interstate example succeeded in raising the building height limit. The Pearl Assurance building (1966) at Queen Street was 15 storeys and the Manufacturers Mutual Insurance building (1967), also in Queen Street, was 22 storeys. The SGIO building (1970) in Turbot Street was an even more significant structure.
A lack of building activity in central Brisbane in the 1950s did not detract from its role as a retailing destination. Central city shopping boomed while there were low postwar car ownership and strong radial public transport services. The 1953 retail census for metropolitan Brisbane showed that the city and inner suburbs (Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills, South Brisbane etc) had 74% of total retail sales.
OFFICES AND SHOPS
Set against the decline in retailing was the growth in high-rise office and commercial buildings. By the late 1980s central Brisbane had about 1.75 million sq metres of office space, ten times the amount of retail floor space. Its share of metropolitan office space was over 70%, and fringe areas such as Spring Hill, Fortitude Valley, Milton and Woolloongabba had another 25%. The change in Brisbane's skyline was evident from across the river, an example being the view from Kangaroo Point to the Riverside Centre office building (1987) at Eagle Street. The eastern commercial end of Ann, Adelaide and Queen Streets began to resemble the closed in narrow streets of Sydney's office precinct.
In contrast to office high rise, the Queen Street retailing centre has kept many of its old buildings. The facades are partly concealed by pedestrian mall shade sails and other structures, but the shops and arcades generate plenty of activity. The most significant addition was the Myer Centre (1988) with eight cinemas and 200 other stores, bounded by Queen, Albert and Elizabeth Streets. It replaced Allan and Stark (Queen Street, opposite side) and McWhirters, Fortitude Valley, which had both been taken over by Myer several years before. When opened, the Myer Centre's retail floor area was nearly 108,000 sq m, 26% more than the largest competing regional drive-in centre, at Upper Mount Gravatt.
PARKS AND RESIDENTS
By the 1960s the growth of metropolitan population and motor traffic was putting central Brisbane's streets under strain. All three river bridges fed into the central business district, although the Centenary Bridge (1960) at Jindalee gave temporary relief. Closer in, relief came in 1969 with the widening of the Story Bridge approaches, and the opening of the fourth Victoria Bridge, often known as the Melbourne Street Bridge. The Riverside Expressway was completed in 1976, a close-in ring road along the western edge of central Brisbane, from Victoria Bridge to the new Captain Cook Bridge, and leading to the south-eastern suburbs. The Expressway decisively altered the appearance of Central Brisbane. The tram crossing had ceased to function when trams were replaced by buses, but a railway crossing came very belatedly with the Merivale Bridge, linking South Brisbane and Roma Street stations in 1978. Prior to that the lines from Beenleigh and Cleveland and the trunk standard gauge from Sydney terminated at the South Brisbane station.
Roma Street had been the site of the wholesale food market, and for decades the land had remained under-used. The central city had incrementally added open spaces to its fabric – King George Square enlarged in 1975 and the Post Office Square opened in 1984 – and in 2001-03 the largest addition, the 16 ha Roma Street Parkland was completed.
Along with Albert Park and Wickham Park, the Parkland gives inner city residents generous open space. The residential population of central Brisbane, however, changed little between 1981 and 2001. The inner city (approximately between Ann and Elizabeth Streets) had just 45 dwellings in 1981 and 689 in 2001. The resident populations for the respective years were 1174 and 976, a decrease. Apartments had replaced boarding houses and rooms. The rest of central Brisbane (including Petrie Terrace) also saw an increase in dwellings (758 to 1282) and a decrease in population (3511 to 1797). Single person apartments had increased, multi-person dwellings had decreased and some of each were not lived in full time, often being held for prospective capital gain. The boom in apartment building from 2001 has added thousands of apartments, many rented by overseas students.
The distinctive features of twenty-first century Brisbane are its increasing resemblance to other capital city office precincts, with forecourts, sub-tropical decorative plants and outdoor cafes. Queen Street's signature silver bullet trams last ran in 1969, but the street's unusual width (Andrew Petrie apparently persuaded Governor Gipps on this point) has provided for a signature shopping mall with generous outdoor seating and dining areas. Out of the central retail area elegant sandstone government and commercial buildings have survived, surely an iconic architectural form. Some buildings have removed their clerks and accountants, substituting hotel patrons, tourists and casino visitors. The historic customs house was purchased by The University of Queensland from the federal government, and includes meeting, dining and gallery space. The City Hall (1930), once the tallest building, has been dwarfed by surrounding skyscrapers, so its clock tower no longer affords a commanding view over Central Brisbane. In 2008 the Brisbane City Council agreed to underpin City Hall which was in danger of gradual sinking on inadequate foundations.
The gothic-style St Johns Anglican Cathedral, commenced in 1901-06, was finally completed in 2009. Bounded by Ann and Adelaide streets, the cathedral roof and other buildings sustained extensive damage in a storm in 2014.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane & www.visitbrisbane.com.au/information/about-brisbane/histo... & queenslandplaces.com.au/brisbane-central
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead
1. Pamaname, 2. For our children’s sake…?, 3. MUNDO_UNO, 4. Caught in the act..., 5. Passing On Wisdom, 6. le idee sono colori, 7. Fish boy, 8. enjoying the story, 9. Hop Skip, 10. Untitled, 11. Taheerah, 12. Untitled, 13. Habib Koite and Bamada, 14. Mahamadou Kone of Bamada, 15. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 16. Funny, I woke up craving liver, 17. Lee & Valencia, 18. they should call it Coldorado, 19. Woman in Myanmar, 20. Queens, NY, 21. Dragonfly Zen Are Moments Of Magic Dsc03654, 22. U. Utah Phillips at the 2006 Kate Wolf Festival, 23. Closet Accordion Player ~ Barrybar, 24. L'imam de la mosquée, 25. the jaguar dance
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
"Eyes of the Afghan Hound". Author: Katsume Azusa
Michiko and Aizawa and was on a trip to the site of the murder committed 12 years ago. Quietly, to the residential development area of Kagoshima ash continues down for ever. Two people who together kill the lover of Michiko. At the time, share a secret, and of the strong ties, spent a thick night like crazy. However, long years has carved a deep groove between a man and a woman. This journey, but was to get back the crush fiery those days. .... Breathing hot men and women trailing a wounded soul. Like come hear. Masterpiece collection of romance novels.
Italian collector card in the Hit Collection series by Panini. Photo: WEA / Filipacchi Music.
French singer and composer Pierre Perret (1934) is a legend of French chanson. His repertoire ranges from children's songs to comic, erotic and politically committed songs full of humour and tenderness. He is recognised as an outstanding poet and he also appeared in French films
Pierre Perret was born Pierre Max in 1934 in Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne. His parents, Maurice and Claudia, ran the Café du Pont in Castelsarrasin, where he spent much of his childhood. Here he learned to use jargon and slang. As a child, he appeared in two films, the crime drama Dernier atout/The Trump Card (Jacques Becker, 1942) starring Mireille Balion and Raymond Rouleau, and the drama Le carrefour des enfants perdus/Children of Chaos (Léo Joannon, 1944) starring René Dary. At 14, he signed with the Conservatoire de Musique de Toulouse and the Toulouse Conservatoire of Dramatic Art. At 19 he won first prize for saxophone. From 1953 to 1956, he did his military service and was unable to take the final entrance exam to the Paris Conservatoire, in Marcel Mule's class, as he was in military prison that day. He set up his first music group and performed at balls, family gatherings and other regional events. In 1957, he was signed by producer Eddie Barclay and met his future wife, Simone Mazaltarim at Barclay's studio. His first single, 'Moi j'attends Adèle', was released that year. A recording at the Olympia for the radio programme Musicorama helped to put him on the map. In 1958, Perret toured Parisian cabaret bars and crossed France and Africa as the opening act for the American group The Platters. He also played a small role in Les étoiles de midi/Stars at Noon (Jacques Ertaud, Marcel Ichac, 1958). In November of that year, a pleurisy forced him to take two years off recuperating in a sanatorium.
In 1960 Pierre Perret released 'Le Bonheur conjugal', but it was not a big enough success and Barclay did not renew his contract. He married Simone Mazaltarim, renamed Rebecca, in 1962, Their daughter Julie was born in 1963. He moved to Gennevilliers with his family, where he stayed for eight years. Perret signed a six-year contract with Vogue and found a new impresario in Lucien Morisse. His first big hit came in 1964 with 'Le Tord-boyaux', which sold 75,000 copies. In 1966, the song 'Les Jolies Colonies de vacances' was a big hit, selling 200,000 copies. Perret enjoyed a string of successes and gave several concerts, opening for artists as diverse as Johnny Hallyday, Nana Mouskouri and the Rolling Stones on their first concert in France. In 1969, he left Vogue and decided with his wife to self-produce by founding Editions Adèle (named after his first song). In the same year, he returned to the cinema. He played the title character in Claude Autant-Lara's comedy-drama Les Patates/Potatoes with Rufus, for which he also wrote the music. The next year, he acted in the failure Un été sauvage/A Savage Summer (Marcel Camus, 1970) with Nino Ferrer and Katina Paxinou. In 1971 he played Judge Roy Bean in the Western parody Le Juge/Judge Roy Bean (Jean Girault, Federico Chentrens, 1971) with Silvia Monti and Robert Hossein. 1971 saw the release of 'La Cage aux oiseaux', which sold 300,000 copies. From 1974 onwards, Pierre Perret's records were arranged by Bernard Gérard, replacing Jean Claudric who had been orchestrating the singer since he joined Vogue. In 1975, he had his biggest hit with 'Le Zizi', which sold over 600,000 copies
Pierre Perret is a master of the subtleties of the French language and French slang. He even rewrote some of Jean de La Fontaine's fables. His songs are often cheeky, such as 'Le zizi' (The Willy). He asks pertinent questions in a seemingly naive child's tone, with a malicious smile, but always with humanism and candour. He also has written politically committed songs like 'La bête est revenue', 'La petite kurde', and 'Vert de Colère'. His song 'Lily' became a classic anti-racist song and won him the LICRA prize in 1978. Other politically committed songs followed, on abortion ('Elle attend son petit' in 1981), famine, excision and more generally the condition of women in Africa ('Riz pilé' in 1989), war ('La Petite Kurde' in 1992), ecology ('Vert de colère' in 1998) and the rise of fascism ('La Bête est revenue'). Released in 1998, this song against the Front National earned him many insulting letters. In 1995, Perret recorded a duet with Sophie Darel, 'Maître Pierre' for the album 'C'était les Années Bleues'. He participated in the committee for the simplification of the administrative language (COSLA). In 2020, Pierre Perret embarked on a major tour entitled 'Mes adieux provisoires', which was disrupted by the Covid pandemic, declaring that it would ‘surely’ be his last tour. In 2023, he released a new album, 'Ma vieille carcasse', accompanied by the video 'Paris saccagé', criticising the policies of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. Alongside his singing activities, Pierre Perret has published several biographical works since his first book 'Adieu Monsieur Léautaud' (1972) was published. In 2009, Manuel Poirier made a film about Pierre Perret's childhood, based on his autobiography, 'Le Café du point'. Perret himself could be seen in a bit role in the film Sous les étoiles de Paris/Under the Stars of Paris (Claud Drexel, 2020) starring Catherine Frot. He also wrote about another passion, gastronomy. Pierre Perret is married to Simone Mazaltarim. They have three children but their daughter Julie died in 1995. The couple lives in Nangis, France.
Sources: Wikipedia (French, German and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
SPAIN/PORTUGAL:
Route 66 Experience cuenta con un staff profesional a su servicio, todos son expertos motoristas dedicados a hacer de su viaje una experiencia inolvidable. Cuentan con años de experiencia en organización de viajes, formación de conducción en grupo y técnica de alto nivel.
El staff de Route 66 Experience se encuentra ubicado en USA, UK, Francia, Bélgica y España, para poder dar un mejor servicio a nuestros viajeros desde cada país.
Sus conocimientos del lugar y su infraestructura propia en USA están a su disposición en nuestros tours, para sólo preocuparse de rodar y disfrutar de las carreteras y el entorno.
Ellos saben que un viaje en moto es muy distinto a cualquier tour típico turístico, por eso son ideales para organizar su viaje y contar con sus servicios de guía y asesoramiento.
.. Su objetivo es realizar el mejor viaje de tu vida ...
Contacto: Gon Castro, España/Portugal.
MAIL: ROUTE66EXPERIENCE@GMAIL.COM
TELEFONO: +34 667696661 ( SPAIN )
SKYPE: route66experience
UK:
The professional team at Route 66 Experience is at your service. All are expert bikers, committed to making your trip an unforgettable experience. They each have years of experience in organising trips, are trained in group motoring and are highly skilled.
Members of the Route 66 Experience team are located in the USA, Portugal, France, Belgium, UK and Spain, enabling them to offer travellers the very best service within each country.
Their knowledge of the USA location and its infrastructure is at your disposal during our tours, so all you have to do is simply enjoy your journey and the surroundings.
Our team knows that motorbike trips are very different from typical tourist trails. So they’re the ideal people to organise your journey and provide all the assistance and advice you need.
.. Your trip of a lifetime is their goal ...
Contact: Mark South, UK.
MAIL: ROUTE66EXPERIENCE.UK@GMAIL.COM
PHONE : +44 01642688053 ( UK )
texasrevs.com solaritystudios.com
The Texas Revolution is the Professional Indoor Football Team that plays at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas. Proud members of the CIF.
The Revolution are playing in their first season as an Indoor Football League Franchise. Based in Allen, Texas, the Revolution have been able to grow and build momentum as the season has progressed. Head Coach Billy Back, General Manager Tim Brown, and Owner Tommy Benizio have done an excellent job creating a positive, family oriented environment and a successful football team. The help of the front office, assistant coaches, players, sponsors, and fans should not go unnoticed. Each individual who has attended a Revs game, worked with the team, or has been a supportive member of Collin County has contributed to the success of the franchise both on and off the field.
The Texas Revolution are committed to making sure that we have the best fans and fan experience. We are more than willing to help you host an event for your business, club, organization, family, or friends. We also offer special birthday party events that will make your game day experience even more memorable!
There is always something happening over the course of the season. The Texas Revolution want to make sure that you are up to speed with everything, so be sure to like us on (Facebook.com/TexasRevolution) and like us on (twitter.com/TexasRevs.) Additionally, when the team is on the road, or if you are unable to attend any home games, be sure to watch along at AmericaOneSports.com for live streaming video of every Revolution game!
Stills by Solarity Studios. The official production company of the Texas Revolution professional indoor football team.
www.facebook.com/TexasRevolution
Canada’s Conservatives are committed to delivering real help in real time to Canadians. Very early this morning, after hours of negotiations, we passed measures to help get much needed benefits to you while stopping Justin Trudeau’s attempted power grab.
If you’re wondering why this photo looks a little different than usual it’s because we’re practicing careful social distancing — including during press conferences. The reporters and cameras were at the back of the room.
Les conservateurs du Canada s’engagent à offrir une aide réelle et opportune aux Canadiens. Très tôt ce matin, après des heures de négociations, nous avons adopté des mesures afin de vous aider à obtenir les prestations dont vous avez tant besoin tout en empêchant le coup de force tenté par Justin Trudeau.
Si vous vous demandez pourquoi cette photo est légèrement différente des autres, c’est parce que nous pratiquons la distanciation sociale — même durant les conférences de presse. Les journalistes et les caméras étaient au fond de la pièce.
Jan Anderson, a committed Detroiter and poet, graciously collaborated with us on a projection series where she recited her poetry about Detroit. Text of the recited poems follows:
WHEN THE PEOPLE LEAVE
When the people leave
The siege begins,
And the windows fall
And the halls are spooked
And the roof rots
And the lot vacates
And the placated defacate
Until the weeds stand tall
And the ghetto palms appear
And the tears depart
And the garden grows
In the people’s hardened hearts.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Detroit sits motionless
Like a daughter with her mother’s lifeless body.
The place is a chamber eerily apart from space and time
A ball of light hovering above a hole.
Two forms unable to inhale the next moment or
To cling together to fill the hollow.
Only in perfect still can the echo of being still be felt
So the daughter turns to stone like the mound of clay on the table before her.
The corpse must be returned to the soil
Before energy can again be found –
The heat between them forging iron to last
Until she too is a mound bereft of anything.
Detroit is still
Like a mountain blocking the sun.
A cavern is inside, precious metals in sum.
But our loss is its loss
Such is the formlessness of grief that it blankets all things
The nothingness before it is a vacuum
Into which vitality is slowly drawn –
Such is the black hole of tragedy that all material is reformed.
When our lifeless generation is duly mourned and returned to the ages,
New life will be formed
And there will no weeping, no striking out,
Only the duty of remembering in a city that is no longer an innocent child.
THE LAST PACKARD COMPANY MAN
As a lover he didn’t read minds or chart the heart’s inner terrain with his hands.
Those hands were working hands, greasy leathery tools.
Steel was the vessel of his spirit, and everything he touched became this sort of flesh.
The last Packard Company man lived to work,
Strove to be a cog in the great machine.
His shift was the prayer that sanctified him to his wife and children,
Made them believe in God.
The City’s Committee on Plant Closings asked him who he was
and he told them that he fought two great wars building the planes that brought death to the first and second global conflicts.
The heat that forges memory is the same that bends metal.
What does a soldier do after the war is lost?
Is honor found in the hands or in the heart?
Is faith the whole, or only part?
Do you believe because it’s in your head, or is belief an act of defiance instead?
April 22, 2022— Administrator Power met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal to discuss the United States’ ongoing support to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian Federation’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Administrator emphasized that the United States remains committed to Ukraine’s long-term development priorities while also working to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people.
War Child works toward a world in which no child’s life is torn apart by war. Armed conflict is a v
reality for millions of children today. War Child is committed to supporting these children to
overcome their experiences, and have a real chance at a better future.
Children and young people have the right to grow up free from fear and violence, to develop
to their full potential and contribute to a peaceful future – for themselves and for their
communities.
Because no child should be part of war. Ever.
dreads day 22 - I decided to take them out. I will be re-doing them. I didn't like how the sectioning was and I really want to give my hair a good washing before I got super committed.
Leading global companies and foundations committed millions in additional financing for gender equality at the Business and Philanthropy Leaders’ Forum organized by UN Women on 26 September 2016 and held at UN Women headquarters in New York.
Achieving gender equality is fundamental to realizing the transformative promise of the historic 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. But deep financing gaps for women and girls pose significant barriers to rapid progress.
Commitments at the Forum are aimed at closing these. They back a major global drive, championed by UN Women, to “Step It Up” for gender equality.
UN Women co-hosted the Forum with the Alibaba Group and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Jack Yun Ma, Executive Chair of the Alibaba Group; Melinda Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Gates Foundation; and UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka opened the event.
Read More: www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/9/press-release-busi...
Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown
sparkling clean engine..
We are committed to this project as our shop car. We are under the process of conducting the following:
-S52 engine swap
-body work (wrap/repaint, body kit, etc.)
-suspension (Lead Tech, Jason will be making one for this project)
-Tires/Rims
and we are open to suggestions, give us your feedback here or under the "Review" tab on our fan page www.facebook.com/brianjesselautohaus
Stay tuned for the latest updates on our launch party, and many exciting events.
Also a chance to vote and win prizes throughout the building process.
Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).
Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions
"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".
The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.
The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.
Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:
Wet with cool dew drops
fragrant with perfume from the flowers
came the gentle breeze
jasmine and water lily
dance in the spring sunshine
side-long glances
of the golden-hued ladies
stab into my thoughts
heaven itself cannot take my mind
as it has been captivated by one lass
among the five hundred I have seen here.
Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.
Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.
There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.
The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.
In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".
Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.
While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’
Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.
An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.
Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983
Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture
Main article: Commercial graffiti
With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.
In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".
Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.
Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.
Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.
Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.
There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.
The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.
Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.
Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis
Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.
Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.
Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"
Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal
In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.
Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.
Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.
Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.
With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.
Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.
Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.
Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.
Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.
Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.
Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.
Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.
The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.
I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.
The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.
Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.
Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.
In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".
There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.
Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.
A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.
By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.
Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.
In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.
A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.
From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.
Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.
In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.
Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.
In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.
In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."
In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.
In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.
In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.
In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.
In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.
To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."
In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.
In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.
Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".
Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)
In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.
Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.
Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.
In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.
Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.
To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.
When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.
B.C. is committed to going green. More than 130 UBCM delegates crowded the room for a Green Communities plenary session where they heard from Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, former Premier Mike Harcourt of Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow, as well as representatives from the District of Elkford, Port Coquitlam and Dawson Creek.
179 of B.C.'s local governments, including the Islands Trust, have signed the Climate Action Charter and are working towards becoming carbon neutral. Whistler and Harrison Hot Springs are leading by example, having already achieved carbon neutrality in their operations.
From left: Greg Moore, Mayor of POCO, and Corien Speaker, CAO, District of Elkford.
Chittorgarh Fort (Hindi/Rajasthani: चित्तौड दुर्ग Chittorgarh Durg) is the largest fort in India and the grandest in the state of Rajasthan. It is a World Heritage Site. The fort, plainly known as Chittor, was the capital of Mewar and is today situated several kilometres south of Bhilwara. It was initially ruled by Guhilot and later by Sisodias, the Suryavanshi clans of Chattari Rajputs, from the 7th century, until it was finally abandoned in 1568 after the siege by Emperor Akbar in 1567. It sprawls majestically over a hill 180 m in height spread over an area of 280 ha above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River. The fort precinct with an evocative history is studded with a series of historical palaces, gates, temples and two prominent commemoration towers. These monumental ruins have inspired the imagination of tourists and writers for centuries.
The fort was sacked three times between the 15th and 16th centuries; in 1303 Allauddin Khilji defeated Rana Ratan Singh, in 1535 Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat defeated Bikramjeet Singh and in 1567 Emperor Akbar defeated Maharana Udai Singh II who left the fort and founded Udaipur. Each time the men fought bravely rushing out of the fort walls charging the enemy but lost every time. Following these defeats, Jauhar was committed thrice by more than 13,000 ladies and children of the Rajput heroes who laid their lives in battles at Chittorgarh Fort, first led by Rani Padmini wife of Rana Rattan Singh who was killed in the battle in 1303, and later by Rani Karnavati in 1537 AD.
Thus, the fort represents the quintessence of tribute to the nationalism, courage, medieval chivalry and sacrifice exhibited by the Mewar rulers of Sisodia and their kinsmen and women and children, between the 7th and 16th centuries. The rulers, their soldiers, the women folk of royalty and the commoners considered death as a better option than dishonor in the face of surrender to the foreign invading armies.
GEOGRAPHY
Chittorgarh, located in the southern part of the state of Rajasthan, 233 km from Ajmer, midway between Delhi and Mumbai on the National Highway 8 (India) in the road network of Golden Quadrilateral. Chittorgarh is situated where National Highways No. 76 & 79 intersect.
The fort rises abruptly above the surrounding plains and is spread over an area of 2.8 km2. The highest elevation at the fort is 1,075 m. It is situated on the left bank of the Berach river (a tributary of the Banas River) and is linked to the new town of Chittorgarh (known as the 'Lower Town') developed in the plains after 1568 AD when the fort was deserted in light of introduction of artillery in the 16th century, and therefore the capital was shifted to more secure Udaipur, located on the eastern flank of Aravalli hill range. Mughal Emperor Akbar attacked and sacked this fort which was but one of the 84 forts of Mewar,but the capital was shifted to Aravalli hills where heavy artillery & cavalry were not effective. A winding hill road of more than 1 km length from the new town leads to the west end main gate, called Ram Pol, of the fort. Within the fort, a circular road provides access to all the gates and monuments located within the fort walls.
The fort that once boasted of 84 water bodies has only 22 of them now. These water bodies are fed by natural catchment and rainfall, and have a combined storage of 4 billion litres that could meet the water needs of an army of 50,000. The supply could last for four years. These water bodies are in the form of ponds, wells and step wells.
HISTORY
Chittorgarh Fort is considered to be the largest fort of India in terms of area. It is stated that the fort was constructed by the Mauryans during the 7th century AD and hence derives its name after the Mauryan ruler, Chitrangada Mori, as inscribed on coins of the period. Historical records show Chittorgarh fort as the capital of Mewar for 834 years. It was established in 734 AD by Bappa Rawal, founder ruler in the hierarchy of the Sisodia rulers of Mewar. It is also said that the fort was gifted to Bappa Rawal as part of Solanki princess’s dowry in the 8th century. The fort was looted and destroyed at the hands of Emperor Akbar in 1568 AD and subsequently never resettled but only refurbished in 1905 AD. Three important battles were fought for control of the fort; in 1303, Ala-ud-din Khilji besieged the fort; in 1535, Sultan of Gujarat Bahadur Shah besieged the fort; and in 1568, Mughal Emperor Akbar attacked the fort. Not that there were only defeats at the fort. Excluding the periods of siege, the fort had always remained in possession of the Sisodias of the Guhilot (or Gehlot/Guhila) clan of Rajputs, who descended from Bappa Rawal. There were also success stories of establishment of the fort and its reconstruction after every siege, before it was finally abandoned in 1568, all of which are narrated.
Chittor is cited in the Mahabharat epic. It is said that Bhima, the second of the Pandava brothers of Epic Mahabaharata fame, known for his mighty strength gave a powerful hit with his fist to the ground that resulted in water springing up to form a large reservoir. It is called Bhimlat kund, an artificial tank named after Bhima. Folk legend also mentions that Bhima started building the fort.
BAPPA RAWAL
The earliest history linked to the Bappa Rawal's fort is that of the Huna Kingdom of Sialkot (of Mihir Kula 515-540 AD) that was destroyed by Yashodharman. This was subsequently seized by a new dynasty of kshatriyas called Tak or Taxaka. According to historians, the Taxak Mori were the lords of Chittor from a very early period. After a few generations, the Guhilots supplanted them. From 725 to 735 AD, there were numerous defenders who appear to have considered the cause of Chittor their own, the Tak from Asirgarh. This race appears to have retained possession of Asirgarh for at least two centuries after this event and one of its chieftain Bappa Rawal was the most conspicuous leader in the lineage of Prithvi Raj. In the poems of Chandar he is called the "Standard, bearer, Tak of Asir."
SIEGE OF 1303
Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, rallied his forces against Mewar, in 1303 AD. The Chittorgarh fort was till then considered impregnable and grand, atop a natural hill. But his immediate reason for invading the fort was his obsessive desire to capture Rani Padmini, the unrivalled beautiful queen of Rana Ratan Singh and take her into his harem. The Rana, out of politeness, allowed the Khilji to view Padmini through a set of mirrors. But this viewing of Padmini further fired Khilji’s desire to possess her. After the viewing, as a gesture of courtesy, when the Rana accompanied the Sultan to the outer gate, he was treacherously captured. Khilji conveyed to the queen that the Rana would be released only if she agreed to join his harem. But the queen had other plans. She agreed to go to his camp if permitted to go in a Royal style with an entourage, in strict secrecy. Instead of her going, she sent 700 well armed soldiers disguised in litters and they rescued the Rana and took him to the fort. But Khilji chased them to the fort where a fierce battle ensued at the outer gate of the fort in which the Rajput soldiers were overpowered and the Rana was killed. Khilji won the battle on August 26, 1303. Soon thereafter, instead of surrendering to the Sultan, the royal Rajput ladies led by Rani Padmini preferred to die through the Rajput’s ultimate tragic rite of Jauhar (self immolation on a pyre). In revenge, Khilji killed thirty thousand Hindus. He entrusted the fort to his son Khizr Khan to rule and renamed the fort as 'Khizrabad'. He also showered gifts on his son by way of
a red canopy, a robe embroidered with gold and two standards one green and the other black and threw upon him rubies and emeralds.
He returned to Delhi after the fierce battle at the fort.
RANA HAMMIR & SUCCESSORS
Khizr Khan’s rule at the fort lasted till 1311 AD and due to the pressure of Rajputs he was forced to entrust power to the Sonigra chief Maldeva who held the fort for 7 years. Hammir Singh, usurped control of the fort from Maldeva by “treachery and intrigue” and Chittor once again regained its past glory. Hammir, before his death in 1364 AD, had converted Mewar into a fairly large and prosperous kingdom. The dynasty (and clan) fathered by him came to be known by the name Sisodia after the village where he was born. His son Ketra Singh succeeded him and ruled with honour and power. Ketra Singh’s son Lakha who ascended the throne in 1382 AD also won several wars. His famous grandson Rana Kumbha came to the throne in 1433 AD and by that time the Muslim rulers of Malwa and Gujarat had acquired considerable clout and were keen to usurp the powerful Mewar state.
RANA KUMBHA & CLAN
There was resurgence during the reign of Rana Kumbha in the 15th century. Rana Kumbha, also known as Maharana Kumbhakarna, son of Rana Mokal, ruled Mewar between 1433 AD and 1468 AD. He is credited with building up the Mewar kingdom assiduously as a force to reckon with. He built 32 forts (84 fortresses formed the defense of Mewar) including one in his own name, called Kumbalgarh. But his end came in 1468 AD at the hands of his own son Rana Udaysimha (Uday Singh I) who assassinated him to gain the throne of Mewar. This patricide was not appreciated by the people of Mewar and consequently his brother Rana Raimal assumed the reins of power in 1473. After his death in May 1509, Sangram Singh (also known as Rana Sanga), his youngest son, became the ruler of Mewar, which brought in a new phase in the history of Mewar. Rana Sanga, with support from Medini Rai (a Rajput chief of Alwar), fought a valiant battle against Mughal emperor Babar at Khanwa in 1527. He ushered in a period of prestige to Chittor by defeating the rulers of Gujarat and also effectively interfered in the matters of Idar. He also won small areas of the Delhi territory. In the ensuing battle with Ibrahim Lodi, Rana won and acquired some districts of Malwa. He also defeated the combined might of Sultan Muzaffar of Gujarat and the Sultan of Malwa. By 1525 AD, Rana Sanga had developed Chittor and Mewar, by virtue of great intellect, valour and his sword, into a formidable military state. But in a decisive battle that was fought against Babar on March 16, 1527, the Rajput army of Rana Sanga suffered a terrible defeat and Sanga escaped to one of his fortresses. But soon thereafter in another attack on the Chanderi fort the valiant Rana Sanga died and with his death the Rajput confederacy collapsed.
SIEGE OF 1534
Bahadur Shah who came to the throne in 1526 AD as the Sultan of Gujarat besieged the Chittorgarh fort in 1534. The fort was sacked and, once again the medieval dictates of chivalry determined the outcome. Following the defeat of the Rana, it is said 13,000 Rajput women committed jauhar (self immolation on the funeral pyre) and 3,200 Rajput warriors rushed out of the fort to fight and die.
SIEGE OF 1567
The final Siege of Chittorgarh came 33 years later, in 1567, when the Mughal Emperor Akbar invaded the fort. Akbar wanted to conquer Mewar, which was being ably ruled by Rana Uday Singh II, a fine prince of Mewar. To establish himself as the supreme lord of Northern India, he wanted to capture the renowned fortress of Chittor, as a precursor to conquering the whole of India. Shakti Singh, son of the Rana who had quarreled with his father, had run away and approached Akbar when the later had camped at Dholpur preparing to attack Malwa. During one of these meetings, in August 1567, Shakti Singh came to know from a remark made in jest by emperor Akbar that he was intending to wage war against Chittor. Akbar had told Shakti Singh in jest that since his father had not submitted himself before him like other princes and chieftains of the region he would attack him. Startled by this revelation, Shakti Singh quietly rushed back to Chittor and informed his father of the impending invasion by Akbar. Akbar was furious with the departure of Shakti Singh and decided to attack Mewar to humble the arrogance of the Ranas. In September 1567, the emperor left for Chittor, and on October 20, 1567, camped in the vast plains outside the fort. In the meantime, Rana Udai Singh, on the advice of his council of advisors, decided to go away from Chittor to the hills of Udaipur. Jaimal and Patta, two brave army chieftains of Mewar, were left behind to defend the fort along with 8,000 Rajput warriors under their command. Akbar laid siege to the fortress. The Rajput army fought valiantly and Akbar himself had narrowly escaped death. In this grave situation, Akbar had prayed for divine help for achieving victory and vowed to visit the shrine of the sufi saint Khwaja at Ajmer. The battle continued till February 23, 1568. On that day Jaymal was seriously wounded but he continued to fight with support from Patta. Jayamal ordered jauhar to be performed when many beautiful princesses of Mewar and noble matrons committed self-immolation at the funeral pyre. Next day the gates of the fort were opened and Rajput soldiers rushed out bravely to fight the enemies. Jayamal and Patta who fought bravely were at last killed in action. One figure estimates that 30,000 soldiers were killed in action. Akbar immediately repaired himself to Ajmer to perform his religious vow.
RETURN OF THE FORT TO MEWAR
But in 1616, Jehangir returned Chittor fort to the Rajputs, when Maharana Amar Singh was the chief of Mewar. However, the fort was not resettled though it was refurbished several centuries later in 1905 during British Raj.
PRECINCTS
The fort which is roughly in the shape of a fish has a circumference of 13 km with a maximum width of 3 km and it covers an area of 700 acres. The fort is approached through a zig zag and difficult ascent of more than 1 km from the plains, after crossing over a bridge made in limestone. The bridge spans the Gambhiri River and is supported by ten arches (one has a curved shape while the balance have pointed arches). Apart from the two tall towers, which dominate the majestic fortifications, the sprawling fort has a plethora of palaces and temples (many of them in ruins) within its precincts.
The 305 hectares component site, with a buffer zone of 427 hectares, encompasses the fortified stronghold of Chittorgarh, a spacious fort located on an isolated rocky plateau of approximately 2 km length and 155m width.
It is surrounded by a perimeter wall 4.5 kilometres long, beyond which a 45° hill slope makes it almost inaccessible to enemies. The ascent to the fort passes through seven gateways built by the Mewar ruler Rana Kumbha (1433- 1468) of the Sisodia clan. These gates are called, from the base to the hill top, the Paidal Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jorla Pol, Laxman Pol, and Ram Pol, the final and main gate.
The fort complex comprises 65 historic built structures, among them 4 palace complexes, 19 main temples, 4 memorials and 20 functional water bodies. These can be divided into two major construction phases. The first hill fort with one main entrance was established in the 5th century and successively fortified until the 12th century. Its remains are mostly visible on the western edges of the plateau. The second, more significant defence structure was constructed in the 15th century during the reign of the Sisodia Rajputs, when the royal entrance was relocated and fortified with seven gates, and the medieval fortification wall was built on an earlier wall construction from the 13th century.
Besides the palace complex, located on the highest and most secure terrain in the west of the fort, many of the other significant structures, such as the Kumbha Shyam Temple, the Mira Bai Temple, the Adi Varah Temple, the Shringar Chauri Temple, and the Vijay Stambh memorial were constructed in this second phase. Compared to the later additions of Sisodian rulers during the 19th and 20th centuries, the predominant construction phase illustrates a comparatively pure Rajput style combined with minimal eclecticism, such as the vaulted substructures which were borrowed from Sultanate architecture. The 4.5 km walls with integrated circular enforcements are constructed from dressed stone masonry in lime mortar and rise 500m above the plain. With the help of the seven massive stone gates, partly flanked by hexagonal or octagonal towers, the access to the fort is restricted to a narrow pathway which climbs up the steep hill through successive, ever narrower defence passages. The seventh and final gate leads directly into the palace area, which integrates a variety of residential and official structures. Rana Kumbha Mahal, the palace of Rana Kumbha, is a large Rajput domestic structure and now incorporates the Kanwar Pade Ka Mahal (the palace of the heir) and the later palace of the poetess Mira Bai (1498-1546). The palace area was further expanded in later centuries, when additional structures, such as the Ratan Singh Palace (1528–31) or the Fateh Prakash, also named Badal Mahal (1885-1930), were added. Although the majority of temple structures represent the Hindu faith, most prominently the Kalikamata Temple (8th century), the Kshemankari Temple (825-850) the Kumbha Shyam Temple (1448) or the Adbuthnath Temple (15th- 16th century), the hill fort also contains Jain temples, such as Shringar Chauri (1448) and Sat Bis Devri (mid-15th century) Also the two tower memorials, Kirti Stambh (13th-14th century) and Vijay Stambha (1433-1468), are Jain monuments. They stand out with their respective heights of 24m and 37m, which ensure their visibility from most locations of the fort complex. Finally, the fort compound is home to a contemporary municipal ward of approximately 3,000 inhabitants, which is located near Ratan Singh Tank at the northern end of the property.
GATES
The fort has total seven gates (in local language, gate is called Pol), namely the Padan Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jodla Pol, Laxman Pol and the main gate named the Ram Pol (Lord Rama's Gate). All the gateways to the fort have been built as massive stone structures with secure fortifications for military defense. The doors of the gates with pointed arches are reinforced to fend off elephants and cannon shots. The top of the gates have notched parapets for archers to shoot at the enemy army. A circular road within the fort links all the gates and provides access to the numerous monuments (ruined palaces and 130 temples) in the fort.
During the second siege, Prince Bagh Singh died at the Padan Pol in 1535 AD. Prince Jaimal of Badnore and his clansman Kalla were killed by Akbar at a location between the Bhairon Pol and Hanuman Pol in the last siege of the fort in 1567 (Kalla carried the wounded Jaimal out to fight). Chhatris, with the roof supported by corbeled arches, have been built to commemorate the spots of their sacrifice. Their statues have also been erected, at the orders of Emperor Akbar, to commemorate their valiant deaths. At each gate, cenotaphs of Jaimal (in the form of a statue of a Rajput warrior on horseback) and Patta have also been constructed. At Ram Pol, the entrance gate to the fort, a Chaatri was built in memory of the 15 year old Patta of Kelwa, who had lost his father in battle, and saw the sword yielding mother and wife on the battle field who fought valiantly and died at this gate. He led the saffron robed Rajput warriors, who all died fighting for Mewar’s honour. Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) provides entry to the eastern wall of the fort. On the right of Suraj Pol is the Darikhana or Sabha (council chamber) behind which lie a Ganesha temple and the zenana (living quarters for women). A massive water reservoir is located towards the left of Suraj Pol. There is also a peculiar gate, called the Jorla Pol (Joined Gate), which consists of two gates joined together. The upper arch of Jorla Pol is connected to the base of Lakshman Pol. It is said that this feature has not been noticed anywhere else in India. The Lokota Bari is the gate at the fort’s northern tip, while a small opening that was used to hurl criminals into the abyss is seen at the southern end.
VIJAY STAMBHA
The Vijay Stambha (Tower of Victory) or Jaya Stambha, called the symbol of Chittor and a particularly bold expression of triumph, was erected by Rana Kumbha between 1458 and 1468 to commemorate his victory over Mahmud Shah I Khalji, the Sultan of Malwa, in 1440 AD. Built over a period of ten years, it raises 37.2 metres over a 4.4 m2 base in nine stories accessed through a narrow circular staircase of 157 steps (the interior is also carved) up to the 8th floor, from where there is good view of the plains and the new town of Chittor. The dome, which was a later addition, was damaged by lightning and repaired during the 19th century. The Stamba is now illuminated during the evenings and gives a beautiful view of Chittor from the top.
KIRTI STAMBHA
Kirti Stambha (Tower of Fame) is a 22 metres high tower built on a 9.1 m base with 4.6 m at the top, is adorned with Jain sculptures on the outside and is older (probably 12th century) and smaller than the Victory Tower. Built by a Bagherwal Jain merchant Jijaji Rathod, it is dedicated to Adinath, the first Jain tirthankar (revered Jain teacher). In the lowest floor of the tower, figures of the various tirthankars of the Jain pantheon are seen in special niches formed to house them. These are digambara monuments. A narrow stairway with 54 steps leads through the six storeys to the top. The top pavilion that was added in the 15th century has 12 columns.
RANA KUMBHA PALACE
At the entrance gate near the Vijaya Stamba, Rana Kumbha's palace (in ruins), the oldest monument, is located. The palace included elephant and horse stables and a temple to Lord Shiva. Maharana Udai Singh, the founder of Udaipur, was born here; the popular folk lore linked to his birth is that his maid Panna DaiPanna Dhai saved him by substituting her son in his place as a decoy, which resulted in her son getting killed by Banbir. The prince was spirited away in a fruit basket. The palace is built with plastered stone. The remarkable feature of the palace is its splendid series of canopied balconies. Entry to the palace is through Suraj Pol that leads into a courtyard. Rani Meera, the famous poetess saint, also lived in this palace. This is also the palace where Rani Padmini, consigned herself to the funeral pyre in one of the underground cellars, as an act of jauhar along with many other women. The Nau Lakha Bandar (literal meaning: nine lakh treasury) building, the royal treasury of Chittor was also located close by. Now, across from the palace is a museum and archeological office. The Singa Chowri temple is also nearby.
FATEH PRAKASH PALACE
Located near Rana Khumba palace, built by Rana Fateh Singh, the precincts have modern houses and a small museum. A school for local children (about 5,000 villagers live within the fort) is also nearby.
GAUMUKH RESERVOIR
A spring feeds the tank from a carved cow’s mouth in the cliff. This pool was the main source of water at the fort during the numerous sieges.
PADMINI´S PALACE
Padmini's Palace or Rani Padmini's Palace is a white building and a three storied structure (a 19th-century reconstruction of the original). It is located in the southern part of the fort. Chhatris (pavilions) crown the palace roofs and a water moat surrounds the palace. This style of palace became the forerunner of other palaces built in the state with the concept of Jal Mahal (palace surrounded by water). It is at this Palace where Alauddin was permitted to glimpse the mirror image of Rani Padmini, wife of Maharana Rattan Singh. It is widely believed that this glimpse of Padmini's beauty besotted him and convinced him to destroy Chittor in order to possess her. Maharana Rattan Singh was killed and Rani Padmini committed Jauhar. Rani Padmini's beauty has been compared to that of Cleopatra and her life story is an eternal legend in the history of Chittor. The bronze gates to this pavilion were removed and transported to Agra by Akbar.
OTHER SIGHTS
Close to Kirti Sthamba is the Meera Temple, or the Meerabai Temple. Rana Khumba built it in an ornate Indo–Aryan architectural style. It is associated with the mystic saint-poet Mirabai who was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna and dedicated her entire life to His worship. She composed and sang lyrical bhajans called Meera Bhajans. The popular legend associated with her is that with blessings of Krishna, she survived after consuming poison sent to her by her evil brother-in-law. The larger temple in the same compound is the Kumbha Shyam Temple (Varaha Temple). The pinnacle of the temple is in pyramid shape. A picture of Meerabai praying before Krishna has now been installed in the temple.
Across from Padmini’s Palace is the Kalika Mata Temple. Originally, a Sun Temple dated to the 8th century dedicated to Surya (the Sun God) was destroyed in the 14th century. It was rebuilt as a Kali temple.
Another temple on the west side of the fort is the ancient Goddess Tulja Bhavani Temple built to worship Goddess Tulja Bhavani is considered sacred. The Tope Khana (cannon foundry) is located next to this temple in a courtyard, where a few old cannons are still seen.
JAUHAR MELA
The fort and the city of Chittorgarh host the biggest Rajput festival called the "Jauhar Mela". It takes place annually on the anniversary of one of the jauhars, but no specific name has been given to it. It is generally believed that it commemorates Padmini’s jauhar, which is most famous. This festival is held primarily to commemorate the bravery of Rajput ancestors and all three jauhars which happened at Chittorgarh Fort. A huge number of Rajputs, which include the descendants of most of the princely families, hold a procession to celebrate the Jauhar. It has also become a forum to air one's views on the current political situation in the country.
WIKIPEDIA
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Read Coventry City Council's 2016/17 End of Year Performance report online at smarturl.it/CovPerf1617
Highway maintenance has improved, with increased public satisfaction for speed and quality of repair. The number of potholes reported has also reduced.
Fly-tipping has increased, which may be due to a combination of easier reporting, reduced enforcement action and increased disposal fees.
The city continues to have low rates of recycling for household waste and the recent growth in volume has seen a greater proportion sent to the waste-to-energy incinerator or to landfill.
Crime rates have gone up in the city, as has happened across the region. However, the city continues to have lower crime rates than Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the rate of increase has been lower than these areas.
There has been a decrease in the number of repeat incidents of domestic violence, suggesting that the support provided by the police and partner agencies and the management of repeat offenders is having an impact.
Coventry’s schools have made good progress, with primary schools being better than average and secondary schools having closed much of the gap and are more similar to comparator areas but there remain challenges to reach our target of being at or above the national average.
Healthy life expectancy is increasing. More adults are physically active. However, there are still challenges around levels of smoking and increasing rates of child obesity.
Children’s social care have seen fewer re-referrals and fewer children re-entering care. The recent Ofsted inspection highlighted the progress made, moving from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’.
More adults using social care are receiving self-directed support and more people are receiving direct payments. Additionally, the number of regulated services rated as inadequate has reduced and more adult social care service users feel the service makes them feel safe.