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An example of an older semi-detached home.
One of a series of negatives of properties in Belleville, Ontario, taken by members of the Belleville Camera Club on behalf of the Historic Structures Committee of the Hastings County Historical Society.
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Alvin Adam School of Communication, Public Relation Events, Public Relation Example, Public Relation Examples, Public Relation Executive Job Description, , Public Relation FirmPublic Relation For Government, Public Relation For Hospital, Public Relation For Hotel,...
Apeldoorn is a good example how McDonald's expanded in the Netherlands. The instore in the center opened in 1988 and this freestanding unit along the A1 opened in the ninetees during the big McDonald's boom in the Netherlands.
Recently remodelled in 2007.
/\/\cDonald's Apeldoorn-Zuid
Lange Amerikaweg 75
7332 BR Apeldoorn
Phone: 055 - 541.87.53
Featuring: Drive-Thru - Outdoor Playland
Store#: 1106
Date of opening: 10/03/1994
NOTE:
Burger King opened it's 56th restaurant in the Netherlands in Apeldoorn (near shopping center "De Voorwaarts") with Drive-Thru on 19/01/2015.
Fujifilm X-Pro1
XF35mmF1.4 R
RAW File converterEX ver3.2.23.0
ƒ/1.4
35.0 mm
SS 1/4000
ISO 200
Flash (off, did not fire)
DSCF6202MOTO
Another example of how IR photography can make a mundane or less than ideal scene look a little more surreal.
The days last bit of sunlight casts bands of shadows through the scene
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.
This listing is for a 2002 Mercedes Benz G500.
This truck is an extremely clean low mileage example. (75,000 miles)
This G500 is finished in brilliant silver metallic over black Napa leather interior.
This G500 is a 100% accident free truck.
The paint is all original.
Carfax is clean with no problems.
Title is clean and in hand.
Cosmetically the car is in excellent condition. The paint is scratch free and there is only a single small dent on the body. This truck looks brand new from every angle, close up or far away.
Interior of this car is in excellent condition. There is no damage and hardly any wear on any surface. Wood trim is not faded and is crack free.
100% of this car is fully functional. Everything from the navigation system and Bose stereo to the rear heated seats perform flawlessly.
There are however three small negatives to this truck:
-One rock chip on the windshield.
-One small dent on driver’s door.
-A few rock chips at the front of the hood.
This G500 has just gone through an extensive refurbishment and I am confident that this is the best looking and driving G500 on the market.
Recent services and restoration include:
Complete engine service - $2,000
-Synthetic oil change
-Coolant flush and refill
-Oil filter (OEM)
-Air filter (OEM)
-16 new spark plugs (OEM)
-New valve cover gaskets (OEM)
-4 new breather hoses (OEM)
-New crankshaft position sensor (OEM)
Complete transmission service - $700
-Transmission fluid flush
-New synthetic transmission fluid (OEM)
-New transmission pan gasket (OEM)
-New transmission filter (OEM)
-New transmission electronic harness plug (OEM)
Complete Brake Service - $1,100
-New brake pads front and rear (OEM)
-4 new brake pad sensors (OEM)
-New front brake rotors (OEM)
-Flush contaminated brake fluid
-New brake fluid (OEM)
New tires - $1,400
-5 new Capitol Precision Trac III tires (including spare)
-Tire mounting and balancing
-Front and rear suspension alignment
2 new lower ball joints and installation - $800
New SAM control unit and installation - $1,800
New exterior lights and lenses - $1,500
-New left and right taillights (OEM)
-New left and right front turn signals (OEM)
-4 new side marker light lenses (OEM)
-New brake light switch (OEM)
Miscellaneous items:
-New gas cap (OEM)
-New glove box (OEM) - …………………..………………………..$650
-New cup holder (OEM) - …………………………………………..$250
-Door control unit (OEM) - ………………………………………...$625
-New window regulator front right (OEM) - ……………….$800
-New window regulator rear right (OEM) - ………………..$900
-New door lock actuator (OEM) - ………………………………$500
-New floor mat set (OEM) - ……………………………………….$150
-New exhaust bracket and hangers (OEM)
-Additional sound insulation underneath door panels
-WeatherTech rear cargo liner
-Air conditioning service and Freon recharge
As you can see, no expense has been spared in maintaining this G500.
The end result is a truck that looks and drives identically to a brand new vehicle.
This vehicle needs absolutely nothing and is ready to go!
Nanotectonica design research seminar Jonas Coersmeier at Pratt Institute, Graduate Architecture, Spring 2020. Students: Valeria Cedillos, Victoria Tsukerman
I used Photoshop for ipad to create this. The original image comes from the movie trailer for the second "300" movie.
Check out the C2 Imaging blog for more projects, company info and to request a quote: www.c2spark.com
Coniston Water is an example of a ribbon lake formed by glaciation. The lake sits in a deep U-shaped glaciated valley scoured by a glacier in the surrounding volcanic and limestone rocks during the last ice age . To the north-west of the lake rises the Old Man of Coniston, the highest fell in the Coniston Fells group.
Average depth: 24.1 m (79.1 ft)
Location: Lake District, Cumbria
Max. depth: 56.1 m (184.1 ft)
Water volume: 1.133×10⁸ m³ (4.00×10⁹ cu ft)
History
Remains of agricultural settlements from the Bronze Age have been found near the shores of Coniston Water. The Romans mined copper from the fells above the lake. A potash kiln and two iron bloomeries show that industrial activity continued in medieval times. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Coniston Water was an important source of fish for the monks of Furness Abbey who owned the lake and much of the surrounding land. Copper mining continued in the area until the 19th century.
The lake was formerly known as "Thurston Water", a name derived from the Old Norse personal name 'Thursteinn' + Old English 'waeter'. This name was used as an alternative to Coniston Water until the late 18th century.
The Victorian artist and philosopher John Ruskin owned Brantwood House on the eastern shore of the lake, and lived in it from 1872 until his death in 1900. Ruskin is buried in the churchyard in the village of Coniston, at the northern end of the lake. His secretary the antiquarian W. G. Collingwood wrote a historical novel Thorstein of the Mere about the Northmen who settled on the island in the lake. The Victorian and Edwardian artist Henry Robinson Hall settled in Coniston during the Great War and is buried in the parish church graveyard.
Arthur Ransome set his children's novel Swallows and Amazons and the sequels Swallowdale, Winter Holiday, Pigeon Post and The Picts and the Martyrs around a fictional lake derived from a combination of Coniston Water and Windermere. The fictional lake resembles Windermere, but the surrounding hills and fells resemble those of Coniston Water. Some of Coniston Water's islands and other local landmarks can be identified in the novels. In particular the books' Wild Cat Island with its secret harbour is based on Peel Island. The Amazon River is based on the River Crake. The Swallows and Amazons series involve school holiday adventures in the 1930s. Historically, Coniston was part of Lancashire (North of the Sands), until Local Government reorganisation in 1974 when Cumbria was created.
Waterspeed record
In the 20th century Coniston Water was the scene of many attempts to break the world water speed record. On 19 August 1939 Sir Malcolm Campbell set the record at 141.74 miles per hour (228.108 km/h or 123.168 kn) in Blue Bird K4. Between 1956 and 1959 Sir Malcolm's son Donald Campbell set four successive records on the lake in Bluebird K7, a hydroplane.
In 1966 Donald Campbell decided that he needed to exceed 300 miles per hour (483 km/h) in order to retain the record. On 4 January 1967, he achieved a top speed of over 320 miles per hour (515 km/h or 278 kn) in Bluebird K7 on the return leg of a record-breaking attempt. He then lost control of Bluebird, which somersaulted and crashed, sinking rapidly; Campbell was decapitated by the K7's windscreen. The attempt could not be counted as a record-breaking run because the second leg was not completed. The remains of Bluebird were recovered from the water in 2001 and the majority of Campbell's body was recovered later in the same year.
Lady in the Lake
In recent times, Coniston Water has become known for a controversial murder case. Mrs Carol Park was dubbed the "Lady in the Lake" after the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name.
Boating
The lake is ideal for kayaking and canoeing and there are a number of good sites for launching and recovery. It is paddled as the second leg of the Three Lakes Challenge. The steam yacht Gondola tours the lake in the summer months, along with two smaller motorised launches.
Boats can be hired from the lakeside near the steam yacht, with various sizes of boat for hire, from small canoes and kayaks to large personal craft. Along with Ullswater and Derwentwater, Coniston Water has a mandatory waterspeed limit of 10 miles per hour (8.7 kn; 16 km/h). This is suspended temporarily for boats attempting new world waterspeed records during Records Week, usually the first week in November.
pfanderson: While Prezi is pretty and engaging, the more I am subjected to it from the audience view, the less I like it.
laurasolomon: @pfanderson Can you tell me why? Been looking at Prezi as potential tool.
greaterumbrage: @pfanderson You have to have a real creative/design spark to do prezi right. It's not good for presenting the way most people present.
biochembelle: I've yet to see Prezi used. mT @pfanderson: Prezi is pretty, engaging... more I am subjected to it from audience view, the less I like it.
pfanderson: @laurasolomon @greaterumbrage Exactly. Can be very good, can be beyond horrible. My big prob w/ @prezi is "queasy" in the front row phenom
doctorzen: @pfanderson But how do you feel about vanilla PowerPoint / KeyNote in comparison to Prezi? @biochembelle
laurasolomon: @pfanderson @pumpedlibrarian So I should skip Prezi if I'm a presenter?
pfanderson: @laurasolomon @pumpedlibrarian I would say explore, test it out, use with caution, be careful of transitions. #prezi
pfanderson: @laurasolomon @pumpedlibrarian Be especially sensitive to people with perceptual / cognitive disabilities/sensitivities #prezi
pfanderson: @pumpedlibrarian @laurasolomon Agreed! My fave example of good #prezi was done in form of a board game. Worked really well. Rare, tho.
pfanderson: I'm in presentations at #Google today, and most are using #prezi to present. I can't look at screen. Missing content trying to avoid swoop
pumpedlibrarian: @pfanderson @laurasolomon that sounds really interesting, definitely a prezi i would have liked to see
pfanderson: @pumpedlibrarian @laurasolomon Here it is: Playing to Learn prezi.com/rj_b-gw3u8xl/playing-to-learn/
alisha764: @pfanderson is it prezi or overkill with animation? Or just poor presentations?
pumpedlibrarian: @pfanderson how serendipitous, btw, this prezi will be useful to my emerging leaders group! our topic is video games/libraries
pfanderson: @alisha764 A bad PPT only bores you, it doesn't make you feel physically sick. A bad #Prezi does. Yes, overkill w/ animation, poor use.
laurasolomon: @pfanderson @pumpedlibrarian Good example! I will have to think on this before I make the jump to Prezi.
pfanderson: @mlrethlefsen I was a big fan of Prezi for a short time. There are some truly wonderful presentations built in it. Unfortunately, it's hard.
juliewbee: @pfanderson Prezi makes me so nauseous!
pfanderson: @juliewbee YES!!! I literally FLINCH away during transitions, and throw my hands over my eyes. #prezi
Main message to Rwanda is that “Good policies pay off.” Let me set this in a broader context by saying that I am very happy to have the opportunity to visit Rwanda at such a pivotal moment in its history. The horrific events that occurred 20 years ago tore the social and economic fabric of the country, and it is uplifting to see the progress in rebuilding, in peace efforts, and in improving the welfare of all Rwandans.
This truly is an example in terms of social and economic transformation. It proves that effective policies and inclusive growth can be transformational.
The economic performance has been remarkable, with strong annual growth for the past 15 years. This has helped Rwanda make progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The poorest have benefited from a focus on inclusive growth, with the poverty rate falling to 45 per cent of the population in 2011 from 60 per cent in 2000.
Of course, this rate is still high, but it is definite progress and we see the trend continuing. So, while there has not been a magic bullet or a single trigger, a holistic approach, that also included a focus on the agricultural sector, employment, and gender equality, has been instrumental in sharing the fruits of high growth more widely.
What is the status of IMF relations in Rwanda at present?
We have a very close economic policy dialogue and the IMF is currently supporting the government with a Policy Support Instrument (PSI) – designed for low-income countries that have graduated from financial support but still seek to maintain a close policy dialogue.
The PSI signals the strength of a country’s policies to donors, multilateral development banks, and markets. We also provide technical assistance as part of the Fund’s efforts to increase local capacity and know-how. We have an office in Kigali, where a resident representative, currently Mitra Farahbaksh, ensures our presence in the field.
Rwanda’s PSI, which is in its second year, supports Rwanda’s own policy priorities for strong and inclusive growth, with an emphasis on domestic resource mobilization, private sector development, export diversification, regional integration, and financial sector development.
We recently reviewed this programme and welcomed the country’s continued strong performance. We also agreed with the government that more work needs to be done to further reduce Rwanda’s reliance on aid and increase its resilience to external shocks.
What is your economic outlook for the country between now and 2020?
Our outlook for Rwanda is positive. The economy is recovering from a weak performance in agriculture and delays in related project implementation in recent years. Growth rebounded last year and inflation remains well contained. We expect GDP growth rates to rise gradually towards 7-7.5 per cent in the medium term, while inflation remains within the medium-term target of 5 per cent.
I am particularly impressed with the government’s continued commitment to poverty reduction.
As part of my stay here, I will be visiting the Agaseke Handicraft Cooperative and the ICT hub (knowledge Lab) in Kigali to see firsthand how the government has managed to improve the welfare of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups such as women and youth.
As your readers are aware, the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2013–18 focuses on economic transformation, rural development, and youth employment. The strategy is rightly aimed at further reducing poverty.
I think that the continued rollout of planned measures and the successful inclusion of the private sector in leading economic development will help make sizeable inroads in making growth even more inclusive and in reducing inequality.
In a recent advisory by the IMF Board, they encouraged Rwanda to widen its tax base and put emphasis on domestic revenue sourcing. What is your advice on this?
We are devoting a significant portion of our technical assistance to support Rwanda’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign aid. The focus is appropriately on widening the tax base – not higher taxes, but all paying a fair share.
The government has already made significant progress in the areas of revenue administration.
The push to increase the number of registered VAT payers through the introduction of electronic billing machines, and the switch in the collection of local taxes and fees from the local governments to the revenue authority, should be useful in bringing more businesses under the tax system.
The introduction of tax regimes for agriculture and mining, and improvements in property taxation, should also help achieve the goal of providing budgetary resources for key expenditures, particularly those aimed at scaling up social spending and infrastructure in a context where donor resources are likely to be limited.
Lately, Rwanda has taken to raising money through bonds, do you think this is viable?
Rwanda’s successful Euro-bond issuance in 2013 demonstrated that market financing can play a complementary role in financing investment plans. Several other African countries have followed suit over the past year.
The key is to ensure that Rwanda’s debt remains sustainable. I welcome the government’s commitment to fully explore concessional financing options and private sector participation before considering the use of non-concessional resources.
At the same time, the government’s decision to begin issuing domestic currency bonds in 2014 was an important step in the process of developing and deepening local capital markets.
www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-01-26/185319/
Creating jobs remains a high priority for this country, but as you know the private sector is also still young. What should Rwanda do to address these two issues?
On private sector development, Rwanda’s potential depends critically on full implementation of ongoing reforms to attract foreign investment and boost exports. These include reducing the cost of doing business; improving infrastructure; supporting skills development; and tapping into regional markets.
The increased provision of lower-cost electricity and improved transportation should help facilitate diversification and business development.
On creating jobs, the government has identified three key priorities: skills development, the fostering of entrepreneurship for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and supporting household enterprises. We at the Fund share this emphasis on building the capacity of Africa’s greatest resource–its people. Increased investment in infrastructure can help put people to work.
The IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa projects regional GDP growth to pick up from about 5 per cent in 2013/14 to 5.75 per cent in 2015. That isn’t a big leap, is it? Can you elaborate on this?
Sub-Saharan Africa has made impressive progress over the past two decades, with growth averaging around 5 per cent. We expect that to continue in 2015, despite the impact of lower oil prices on some of Africa’s major oil exporting economies.
So there has been real progress, as growth has allowed for reducing poverty and improving living conditions.
For example, the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day in Africa has fallen significantly since 1990. But extreme poverty remains unacceptably high and not all countries are making progress. Some countries are still facing internal conflict and/or fragility.
Looking ahead, there are a number of longer-term demographic, technological and environmental challenges that need to be addressed in order to realise the ‘big leap’ that you refer to.
For instance, how can we tap into the productive capacity of Africa’s youth? How can Africa take advantage of technological innovation?
And how can we address the implications of climate change? Three broad policy priorities are crucial: building infrastructure, building institutions, and building people. Africa must also strengthen its institutional and governance frameworks to better manage its vast resources.
But the focus must be on people—with programmes aimed at boosting health and education and other essential social services. In fact, Rwanda is one of the countries that are effectively implementing policies in many of these areas.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has dealt a major blow to several African economies in the region. Can the effects of this blow spread to other parts of the continent?
The Ebola outbreak is a severe human, social and economic crisis that requires a resolute response. And the focus must be on isolating the virus, not the countries.
Strong efforts are underway in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but it is unlikely to be brought under control before the second half of 2015.
The economic outlook for these countries has already worsened since September, when the IMF disbursed $130 million to the (three) countries to boost their response to the outbreak.
If the outbreak remains limited to the three countries, the economic outlook for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa remains favourable. Some neighbouring countries like The Gambia have seen an impact on tourism.
We are working with the governments of the three affected countries to provide additional interest-free financing of about $160 million, and expect our Board to make a decision in the next few days.
Following the endorsement by the G-20 leaders in Australia, we are also looking at further options to provide additional support to the Ebola-hit countries, including through the provision of donor-supported debt relief.
International oil prices have been tumbling, is this good for Rwanda and the other members of the EAC?
Indeed, oil prices have fallen recently, affecting both oil producers and consumers. Overall, we see the price decline as positive for the global economy. As an oil importer, Rwanda and indeed the East Africa region should benefit given that lower prices will most likely have a positive impact on growth whilst also easing inflation.
Countries can make use of this window of opportunity to reduce universal energy subsidies and use the savings toward more targeted transfers that benefit the poor.
Recently, the East African Community, a regional bloc to which Rwanda subscribes, reached a landmark Economic Partnership agreement (Epa) with Europe. Do you think that these countries need such agreements?
The EPA is designed to enhance commercial and economic relations, supporting a new trading dynamic in the region and deepening cooperation in trade and investment. It can serve as an important instrument of development in many respects.
It can promote sustained growth, increase the productive capacity of EAC economies, foster diversification and competitiveness, and, of course, boost trade, investment and employment. Rwanda is a key member of the EAC that has worked hard to create a conducive and transparent business environment. So it should benefit from this agreement.
All Photos: Jack Yakubu ( Jack Nkinzingabo)
Experimental Tipiṭaka e-card in Homage to the Teaching of the Buddha
This e-card with image printed from the World Tipiṭaka Project Archive 1999-2008 shows the 40-volume World Tipiṭaka Edition on display in front of the Buddha Statute, in the Maha Bodhi Vihara, Buddha Gaya, Republic of India.
The occasion was February 12, 2008, the opening day of the Annual Tipiṭaka Chanting organised by Maha Bodhi Society of India. The World Tipiṭaka Edition in Roman script which had been presented in 2007 to the Maha Bodhi Society of India by Princess Galayani Vadhana was this year chanted for the first time in India by the Venerable monks from all over the world.
600 sets of the World Tipiṭaka Edition "Chanting Version in Roman Script 2008" was also preseted as a Dhamma Gift to the Anuual Chanting Ceremony as a chanting manual this year.
The World Tipiṭaka Edition "Chanting Version in Roman Script 2008" was published by Dhamma Society with support from Princess Galyani' Tipiṭaka Endownment Fund.
Digital Archives from Dhamma Society's World Tipiṭaka Project in Roman Script, 1999-2008.
For more information :
บัตร e-card แสดงการนำเสนอภาพจากคลังจดหมายเหตุอิเล็คทรอนิกส์ในโครงการพระไตรปิฎกสากล อักษรโรมัน ดำเนินการโดยกองทุนสนทนาธัมม์นำสุข ท่านผู้หญิงมณีรัตน์ บุนนาค ในพระสังฆราชูปถัมภ์สมเด็จพระญาณสังวร สมเด็จพระสังฆราช สกลมหาสังฆปริณายก
ภาพประวัติศาสตร์นี้บันทึกการพระราชทานพระไตรปิฎกสากล อักษรโรมัน "ฉบับสังวัธยาย" ได้แก่ฉบับการพิมพ์ด้วยกระดาษมาตรฐานและปกอ่าน ซึ่งเป็นพระธัมมทานแก่พระสงฆ์เถรวาทนานาชาติที่มาร่วมสวดสังวัธยายพระไตรปิฎกในงานประจำปี จัดโดยสมาคมหาโพธิแห่งประเทศอินเดีย ณ พุทธคยา ระหว่างวันที่ 12-22 กุมภาพันธ์ 2551.
โครงการพระไตรปิฎกสากลได้บันทึกภาพคณะสงฆ์นานาชาติ ในเช้าตรู่ที่หนาวเย็นของวันที่ 13 กุมภาพันธ์ 2551 ซึ่งเป็นวันแรกของการมอบพระไตรปิฎกธัมมทาน โดยได้จัดขึ้นภายในวิหารของสมาคมมหาโพธิแห่งประเทศอินเดีย และได้เชิญพระสงฆ์ผู้รับพระไตรปิฎกสากลมาร่วมกันถ่ายภาพหน้าอาคารประวัติศาสต์ของสมาคมมหาโพธิ ซึ่งก่อตั้งโดยท่านธัมมปาละชาวศรีลังกา และได้จัดตั้งอนุสาวรียของท่าน ณ บริเวณด้านหน้าของอาคารมหาโพธิ ในวาระ 100 ปี แห่งชาติกาล
ภาพนี้ชวนให้อนุสรณ์ถึงเหตุการในการอนุรักษ์และเผยแผ่ที่สำคัญในพระพุทธศาสนา ได้แก่การที่พระเจ้าอโศกทรงอนุรักษ์สถานตรัสรู้ ณ ต้นพระศรีมหาโพธิ สังเวชนียสถาน ณ พุทธคยา และการพื้นฟูพระพุทธศาสนาในดินแดนพุทธภูมิตลอดศตวรรษที่ผ่านมาโดยท่านธัมมปาละ และปัจจุบันได้รับช่วงการศึกษาพระไตรปิฎกสากล ซึ่งเป็นพระธัมมทานจากสมเด็จพระเจ้าพี่นางเธอ เจ้าฟ้ากัลยาณิวัฒนาจากประเทศไทย
สิ่งสำคัญที่สมเด็จพระเจ้าพี่นางเธอได้ทรงสร้่างไว้ คือ การประดิษฐานพระไตรปิฎกสากล อักษรโรมัน ณ สถานที่ตรัสรู้ของพระบรมศาสดา อันเป็นการสร้างพระธัมมเจดีย์ คือ พระไตรปิฎก เคี่ยงคู่กับพระเจดีย์ศรีมหาโพธิที่พระเจ้าอโศกมหาราชได้ทรงสร้่างไว้เป็นเวลากว่า 2000 ปีที่แล้ว
พระธัมม์เจดีย์ย่อมบังเกิดขึ้นในจิตใจของบุคคล เมื่อมีการสวดสังวัธยายพระไตรปิฎกโดยพระสงฆ์ และอ่านสังวัธยายโดยประชาชนชาวโลกที่มีศรัทธาและปัญญา อันเป็นการรักษาพระพุทธศาสนาให้ยืนยาวตลอดกาลนาน
การมาร่วมชุมนุมของประชาชนเป็นจำนวนมาในทางที่เป็นกุศลย่อมนำความมั่นคงมาสู่สังคมส่วนร่วมได้
737 MAX8
A Boeing 737 Max 8, an example of a plane too far. The massive new engines don’t really fit, they have had to put them so far forward of the wing to stop them hitting the ground that they caused real problems.
Boeing have been manipulating the regulations for far too long. They know the 737 has reached the end of the line quite a while ago, but they also know that by keeping the 737 designation they can circumvent lots of regulations they would have to go through with a new design. If they produced a new design it would also mean operators would have to retrain their 737 pilots.
1968 Porsche 911 Soft-Window Targa
Chassis No. 11880191
Engine No. 3281118
The Porsche 911S Soft Window Targa was a true example of innovation for the German manufacturer. As an unprecedented addition, the 911 offered the first soft window Targa top, which also benefited from a foldaway back window and removable roof section. The vast majority of the models were actually optioned with hard windows, making this particular example one of the rarest and most desirable Porsche 911s.
With recent sales at their all time record-breaking highs, early 911s have become extremely popular among enthusiasts and collectors everywhere. The 911’s thrilling drivability and rakish good looks has proved great success for the marquee, and will continue to remain a strong investment for many years to come.
This Car: According to the Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, this rare Soft-Window Targa was completed at the factory on April 30, 1968, destined for US delivery. Originally finished in Irish Green over brown leatherette upholstery, the distinctive 911 was fully outfitted at the factory with the desirable 911 S instruments and oil tank, chrome wheels with Pirelli tires, headrests and a Blaupunkt “Frankfurt” radio.
Early service records dating back to 1977 indicate this car was a regularly used and cared for California car. It was eventually acquired by well-known Porsche enthusiast Frank Gallogly of Lime Rock, Connecticut. When it was discovered, the Targa was a beautifully maintained example wearing optional Fuchs wheels and classic blue and yellow California plates.
After some time with its new owner, the Porsche was sold to a Texas collector who had been searching for a well-kept early 911. Shortly after, it underwent a sympathetic restoration that aimed at making the car more presentable throughout, while taking care not to disturb its highly original character.
At this time, Autosport Designs Inc. of Huntington Station, New York, was commissioned to repaint the bodywork in the original Irish Green, an era-evoking shade that nicely compliments the of the short wheelbase 911. The engine and transmission were then rebuilt as needed to ensure that the car’s performance was in keeping with its freshened appearance.
Fortunately, the decision was made to retain the original upholstery, which displays a light consistent patina. The interior has a lovely period correct look, especially with the color-keyed Cocoa floor mats.
Since then, the Porsche has seen casual use and is poised for many more years of enjoyment. With a recent carburetor adjustments along with new plugs and wires, the car remains in excellent running and driving condition! The 911 ought to be an ideal companion for pleasant drives, the occasional Porsche gathering, rallies, slalom courses, and especially long-distance tours such as the Texas 1000, Northwest Passage, and Copperstate 1000 to name a few.
Not only is this a particularly rare and versatile 911, it is offered with owner’s manuals, tools, a substantial file of documentation and a Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche.
Combining the most enjoyable qualities of the early short-wheelbase 911 with a unique open-air experience, these Soft-Window Targas have earned a devoted following of Porsche enthusiasts. The example presented here exudes charm and represents an exciting opportunity to acquire a well-rounded 1960’s sports car.
A Rare and Versatile Early 911
Matching-Numbers Example
Well-Kept Original Interior
Distinctive Color Combination
Complete with Books, Tools and Service Records
Offered with Porsche Certificate of Authenticity
"We've decided, that it is worth the cost to set an example." quote from secretary of state Madeline Albright before a national audience.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright
"What we say, goes!" then President of the United States Geeorge Herbert Walker Bush.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush
Since the first gulf war till 2003 the official count of 1.3 million dead in Iraq from a population of fewer than 20 million in a decade after the gulf war ended as a direct result of sanctions including 800,000 iraqi adults the majority of wich were elderly or pregnant women.
150,000 (+/-) iraqi civilians referred to as "collateral damage" a half million iraqi children all under the age of 12
starved to death or forced to die through lack of basic sanitation and/or medical treatment over 10 years as a result of United States actions such as the systematic bombing of iraqs water purification systems, sewage treatment plants, medical facilities and pharmaceutical plants followed immediately by a decade long embargo ensuring iraq would be unable to repair or replace what had been destroyed due to trade sanctions.
"the policy of deliberate genocide" as quoted from high ranking UN official Assistant Secretary General Dennis Halliday who resigned in protest to these actions.
and the real answers to why 9/11 happened lie within these context.
compare the casualty rates from 9/11 to the systematic casualties inflicted upon the iraqi peoples through the coarse of the ten years of sanctions
5000 citizens, 78 british nationals, 300 undocumented aliens.
now we place sanctions on iran. do we not expect a retaliation as a result? a retaliation from a country whom we provided nuclear capability?
www.eurasiareview.com/201006092894/the-wests-unexamined-p...
www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16040
www.casi.org.uk/halliday/bio.html
"if you really want to put an end to terrorism, you have to begin by no longer participating in it." Dr. Naom Chomsky.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky
the manner in which iraqs cities were attacked clearly violated the 1923 Hague Rules of Airial Warfare (article 22) and the 1949 Geneva Convention IV relative to the protection of civilian persons in times of war (article 3)
bombardment of "undefended population centers which is exactly what iraqs cities were, once their triple a was supressed (triple a: antiaircraft artillery) has been formerly defined as a war crime since the Hague convention of 1907 (article 25)