View allAll Photos Tagged Humiliation
hoops at each end were placed around two quarrelsome people's necks as they faced each other and one fist of each person placed in one of two hoops on the one side
The Military Trophy Park (Azerbaijani: Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkı), also referred to as War Trophies Park is a public park in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, containing war trophies seized by the Armed forces of Azerbaijan from the Armenian Army and the Artsakh Defence Army during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The park was condemned in Armenia due to its display of helmets of dead Armenian soldiers and wax mannequins of Armenian troops. Yerevan accused Baku of publicly humiliating the memory of those killed in the war, with Armenia's ombudsman calling it a "clear manifestation of fascism". Many international journalists called the park "barbaric". Several international observers also criticized the park. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concerns over the inauguration of the park and its display of "dehumanising scenes". Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, stated that "this practice exists in military museums in many countries of the world" and that "Azerbaijan has every right to perpetuate its victory through parades, parks, etc". The wax figures and the helmets were removed from main display in October 2021, though a couple of helmets were left in the trenches. The employees of the park were cited saying that the models and helmets had been sent for repairs, but that it was not clear when they would be returned. Armenia's representative at ICJ Yeghishe Kirakosyan emphasized this was done in the period after Armenia filed the lawsuit at the ICJ, adding that Armenia was still demanding the full closure of the park.
Large-scale hostilities between the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the armed formations of the unrecognized Artsakh Republic and Armenia, began on 27 September 2020, lasted 44 days and became the longest and bloodiest war in the region since 1994. On 9 November 2020, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia signed a ceasefire agreement. Armenian side was defeated. Azerbaijan regained seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh and about a third of the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR.
The park itself was established in January 2021. Information that the Azerbaijani authorities would open a park filled with war trophies obtained during the last conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in Baku appeared in February 2021. It was reported that construction work was underway on the territory, and some military equipment had already been brought to the site. Some of the equipment were demonstrated at the Victory Parade in Baku on 10 December. The creation of the entire exposition took about three months. The park was opened on 12 April 2021. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the park.
On 13 April, Baku hosted an international conference entitled "A New Outlook at the South Caucasus: Post-Conflict Development and Cooperation”, after which, 27 guests from 15 countries visited the newly opened park. A day later, it became open to the public.
The park displays mock-ups of the defense system, and more than 300 exhibits, including up to 150 pieces of heavy equipment. Among the exhibits are tanks, combat vehicles, artillery installations, anti-aircraft missile systems, small arms, and vehicles. In particular, the park includes T-72 tanks, lightly armored MT-LB tractors, 9K33 Osa and 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile systems. The park also displays fragments of missiles from Russia's 9K720 Iskander operational-tactical missile systems (OTRK) found in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).
The park also purports to recreate the Armenian defence network in Karabakh, which consisted of 10 lines, including concrete engineering structures, anti-tank trenches and hedgehogs, mined areas, tunnels, trenches, etc. The park, among other things, displayed hundreds of helmets taken from dead Armenian troops, as well as wax dummies of the Armenian military. The helmets belong to dead Armenian soldiers, but Azerbaijani authorities claimed that they were left behind by retreating Armenian soldiers.
The wax figures and the helmets were removed from main display in October 2021, though a couple of helmets were left in the trenches. The employees of the park were cited saying that the models and helmets had been sent for repairs, but that it was not clear when they would be returned. Armenia's representative at ICJ Yeghishe Kirakosyan emphasized this was done in the period after Armenia filed the lawsuit at the ICJ, adding that Armenia was still demanding the full closure of the park.
At the entrance to the park is a large plaque which was displayed at the parade with more than 2,000 Armenian licence plates, with the panel having the inscription "Karabakh is Azerbaijan!".
Ankara-based journalist Javid Agha wrote that the wax figures of Armenian military personnel were deliberately designed to show them as "ugly and cowardly".
The mannequins of the exhibit were made to be as ugly as possible, based on the sculptors' own imagining of Armenians, using sharp-hooked noses and abnormal skull shapes.
In an interview with Azvision.az, Kamran Asadov, one of the three sculptors of the wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers on display at the park, said he and the other sculptors used "aquiline (hooked) nose forms," with "skull bases absent" in crafting the mannequins.
Another sculptor, Rəşid Məhərrəmov, told in an interview with the journal Xəzər Xəbər, that before making the models he researched images "typical of Armenians" and adopted his mannequins to these images. He added that similar museums are built in such parks in "most countries of the world" which depict the military of the defeated side and that these depictions may not necessarily resemble real people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in response to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia's response to the opening of the park, stated that Azerbaijan has every right "to perpetuate" its victory through parades, parks, etc. Referring to the demonstration in the park of wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers who participated in the war, the Ministry stated that "this practice exists in military museums in many countries of the world." Member of the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Zahid Oruj said that he saw nothing wrong with showcasing the trophies, and referred to military history museums found in others countries in the world.
Opposition activist Bahruz Samadov argued that the park dehumanizes Armenians and "reflects the logic of exclusion that has dominated in Azerbaijan for decades: The enemy, internal or external, must be eliminated."
Azerbaijani historian Dr Altay Goyushov, one of the leaders of the opposition Republican Alternative Party (REAL), criticized the helmets corridor, and was subsequently criticized by local journalists and bloggers who justified demonstrating the helmets, considering it "widespread practice in war museums around the world", one of them going as far as inviting "all who do not feel well looking at them to go and drown in the Caspian Sea".
Some Azerbaijani social media users criticised the park, most notably the mannequins and helmets on display. Nevertheless, many people in Azerbaijan expressed admiration for the park's exhibits.
Azerbaijani political scientist Zardusht Alizadeh said that the helmets and wax mannequins of the soldiers do not refer to the peaceful Armenian residents of Azerbaijan, but rather to "the invaders who illegally entered the territory of Azerbaijan, destroyed and killed." At the same time, he noted that after the victory "these techniques could be left in the past, they are unnecessary and counterproductive."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia accused Azerbaijan of "dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families". According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the display of wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers, their personal belongings and helmets contradicts "Azerbaijan's statement on the post-conflict situation, regional peace and reconciliation." The Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan made a similar statement calling it a "clear manifestation of fascism." Addressing the park's opening during a meeting with an EU representative, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that "Azerbaijan's policy of Armenophobia must be condemned by the civilized world".
The park was mentioned by Armenian opposition politicians Edmon Marukyan and Naira Zohrabyan during their speeches at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), with Zohrabyan showing the members of the assembly an image of an Azerbaijani child choking the wax mannequin of an Armenian soldier at the park.
In a letter to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concerns over the inauguration of the park, the display of "dehumanising scenes" and wax mannequins "depicting dead and dying Armenians soldiers." She said she considered such images "highly disturbing and humiliating," and promoted long-standing hostile sentiments, hate speech, and manifestations of intolerance. The commissioner called on Aliyev to provide his support for promoting peace and reconciliation between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
On 20 May 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, which condemned the park as "a glorification of violence and risks inciting further hostile sentiment, hate speech or even inhumane treatment of remaining POWs and other Armenian captive civilians, thereby perpetuating the atmosphere of hatred and contradicting any official statements on reconciliation" and urged that it be closed without delay.
On 23 June 2021, the Dutch Parliament adopted a resolution condemning, among other things, the park in Baku: “Given that the ceasefire agreement and international law of war have been violated after the 40-day war in Nagorno Karabakh in 2020, that more than 200 Armenian prisoners of war are still being held in Azerbaijan, among other places also in Baku, and that there is also a "Trophy park" in Baku with, among other things, the helmets of fallen Armenians, in view of the political-military situation in Azerbaijan, calls on the government not to send a delegation to Baku if the Dutch national team comes to play there”.
John Marshall Evans, a former US ambassador to Armenia, called the park "Racist, degrading, indeed, redolent of genocidal intent." Greek Member of the European Parliament Nikos Androulakis criticised the opening of the park, saying in a post on social media that it “insults the memory of the Armenian soldiers” and is a “monument to barbarism.” Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the "it is not normal to witness" a war trophy park in the 21st century: "Disrespect toward any victim is unacceptable, and no violence should be glorified." Finnish Member and European Parliament Heidi Hautala criticised the opening of the park in a post on social media: “This theme park in Azerbaijan is beyond disgusting. Primary school-age kids on the opening day exposed to such warmongering.”
Thomas de Waal, a long-time commentator on the Karabakh conflict, noted that the sculptures of Armenian soldiers resemble "hook-nosed" and greedy" stereotypes that echoed anti-Semitic tropes. Scottish journalist Alex Massie reacted to the park with a John Buchan quote on civilisation and barbarism. British journalist Jake Hanrahan called the park "hideous" and "barbaric" and argued that it is "essentially a war crimes theme park." Turkish commentator, vice-president of Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical company Nazim Can Okar opined that it is "barbaric" and "indefensible." American Journalist Lindsey Snell called the park a "Genocide Park" and stated that "If a society’s children are indoctrinated from birth, the cycle of hatred will never end" German political scientist and human rights activist Düzen Tekkal was outraged by the opening of the park; she said that "this park is hard to beat when it comes to tastelessness!", adding that "it is obviously not enough for Aliyev that he has won the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh militarily and that he can now set about emptying the areas inhabited by the Armenians and razing Armenian churches to the ground" Freedom House researcher Nate Shenkkan stated that the park is a "Clear and depressing description of the highly predictable death of hopes for liberalization in post-war Azerbaijan".
Bloomberg's Bobby Ghosh commented that that park is "deeply ghoulish" and that it "brings to mind the collection of helmets at the base of the "Victory Arch" in Baghdad, which Saddam claimed belonged to Iranian soldiers killed in the 1980–88 war." National Interest's Michael Rubin also compared the park to the Victory Arch created under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
A video by Armenian news channel Civilnet stated that Aliyev's actions were similar to Saddam Hussein's decision to open a monument displaying helmets of dead Iranian servicemen in the Iran-Iraq war and the caricatures were compared to World War II propaganda with exaggerated features of Jews and the Japanese.
In his speech at PACE Armenian politician Edmon Marukyan showed photos from the park, in one of them an "Azeri child playing playfully, innocently with a racist caricature of an Armenian soldier who is currently languishing, and likely being tortured in an Azerbaijani jail", calling it "true fascism" and declaring that the park puts Aliyev in "the list of other dictators such as Hitler and Saddam Hussein", driving parallels between what is going on in Azerbaijan now and "Iraq in the late 1980s, when another dictator [Saddam Hussein] utilized five thousand Iranian helmets of the killed soldiers extracted from the battlefield to complete the monument that he had called the “Victory Arch”
i happened to be walking by a baseball field on my way home from a morning of shooting in the park ... i felt sorry for this nice big doggie for having to put up with his owner's taste in fashion ...
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
Random inspections of people take place all the time. They may be a neccesity but they can also be very humiliating.
The Military Trophy Park (Azerbaijani: Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkı), also referred to as War Trophies Park is a public park in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, containing war trophies seized by the Armed forces of Azerbaijan from the Armenian Army and the Artsakh Defence Army during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The park was condemned in Armenia due to its display of helmets of dead Armenian soldiers and wax mannequins of Armenian troops. Yerevan accused Baku of publicly humiliating the memory of those killed in the war, with Armenia's ombudsman calling it a "clear manifestation of fascism". Many international journalists called the park "barbaric". Several international observers also criticized the park. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concerns over the inauguration of the park and its display of "dehumanising scenes". Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, stated that "this practice exists in military museums in many countries of the world" and that "Azerbaijan has every right to perpetuate its victory through parades, parks, etc". The wax figures and the helmets were removed from main display in October 2021, though a couple of helmets were left in the trenches. The employees of the park were cited saying that the models and helmets had been sent for repairs, but that it was not clear when they would be returned. Armenia's representative at ICJ Yeghishe Kirakosyan emphasized this was done in the period after Armenia filed the lawsuit at the ICJ, adding that Armenia was still demanding the full closure of the park.
Large-scale hostilities between the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the armed formations of the unrecognized Artsakh Republic and Armenia, began on 27 September 2020, lasted 44 days and became the longest and bloodiest war in the region since 1994. On 9 November 2020, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia signed a ceasefire agreement. Armenian side was defeated. Azerbaijan regained seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh and about a third of the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR.
The park itself was established in January 2021. Information that the Azerbaijani authorities would open a park filled with war trophies obtained during the last conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in Baku appeared in February 2021. It was reported that construction work was underway on the territory, and some military equipment had already been brought to the site. Some of the equipment were demonstrated at the Victory Parade in Baku on 10 December. The creation of the entire exposition took about three months. The park was opened on 12 April 2021. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the park.
On 13 April, Baku hosted an international conference entitled "A New Outlook at the South Caucasus: Post-Conflict Development and Cooperation”, after which, 27 guests from 15 countries visited the newly opened park. A day later, it became open to the public.
The park displays mock-ups of the defense system, and more than 300 exhibits, including up to 150 pieces of heavy equipment. Among the exhibits are tanks, combat vehicles, artillery installations, anti-aircraft missile systems, small arms, and vehicles. In particular, the park includes T-72 tanks, lightly armored MT-LB tractors, 9K33 Osa and 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile systems. The park also displays fragments of missiles from Russia's 9K720 Iskander operational-tactical missile systems (OTRK) found in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).
The park also purports to recreate the Armenian defence network in Karabakh, which consisted of 10 lines, including concrete engineering structures, anti-tank trenches and hedgehogs, mined areas, tunnels, trenches, etc. The park, among other things, displayed hundreds of helmets taken from dead Armenian troops, as well as wax dummies of the Armenian military. The helmets belong to dead Armenian soldiers, but Azerbaijani authorities claimed that they were left behind by retreating Armenian soldiers.
The wax figures and the helmets were removed from main display in October 2021, though a couple of helmets were left in the trenches. The employees of the park were cited saying that the models and helmets had been sent for repairs, but that it was not clear when they would be returned. Armenia's representative at ICJ Yeghishe Kirakosyan emphasized this was done in the period after Armenia filed the lawsuit at the ICJ, adding that Armenia was still demanding the full closure of the park.
At the entrance to the park is a large plaque which was displayed at the parade with more than 2,000 Armenian licence plates, with the panel having the inscription "Karabakh is Azerbaijan!".
Ankara-based journalist Javid Agha wrote that the wax figures of Armenian military personnel were deliberately designed to show them as "ugly and cowardly".
The mannequins of the exhibit were made to be as ugly as possible, based on the sculptors' own imagining of Armenians, using sharp-hooked noses and abnormal skull shapes.
In an interview with Azvision.az, Kamran Asadov, one of the three sculptors of the wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers on display at the park, said he and the other sculptors used "aquiline (hooked) nose forms," with "skull bases absent" in crafting the mannequins.
Another sculptor, Rəşid Məhərrəmov, told in an interview with the journal Xəzər Xəbər, that before making the models he researched images "typical of Armenians" and adopted his mannequins to these images. He added that similar museums are built in such parks in "most countries of the world" which depict the military of the defeated side and that these depictions may not necessarily resemble real people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in response to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia's response to the opening of the park, stated that Azerbaijan has every right "to perpetuate" its victory through parades, parks, etc. Referring to the demonstration in the park of wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers who participated in the war, the Ministry stated that "this practice exists in military museums in many countries of the world." Member of the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Zahid Oruj said that he saw nothing wrong with showcasing the trophies, and referred to military history museums found in others countries in the world.
Opposition activist Bahruz Samadov argued that the park dehumanizes Armenians and "reflects the logic of exclusion that has dominated in Azerbaijan for decades: The enemy, internal or external, must be eliminated."
Azerbaijani historian Dr Altay Goyushov, one of the leaders of the opposition Republican Alternative Party (REAL), criticized the helmets corridor, and was subsequently criticized by local journalists and bloggers who justified demonstrating the helmets, considering it "widespread practice in war museums around the world", one of them going as far as inviting "all who do not feel well looking at them to go and drown in the Caspian Sea".
Some Azerbaijani social media users criticised the park, most notably the mannequins and helmets on display. Nevertheless, many people in Azerbaijan expressed admiration for the park's exhibits.
Azerbaijani political scientist Zardusht Alizadeh said that the helmets and wax mannequins of the soldiers do not refer to the peaceful Armenian residents of Azerbaijan, but rather to "the invaders who illegally entered the territory of Azerbaijan, destroyed and killed." At the same time, he noted that after the victory "these techniques could be left in the past, they are unnecessary and counterproductive."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia accused Azerbaijan of "dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families". According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the display of wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers, their personal belongings and helmets contradicts "Azerbaijan's statement on the post-conflict situation, regional peace and reconciliation." The Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan made a similar statement calling it a "clear manifestation of fascism." Addressing the park's opening during a meeting with an EU representative, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that "Azerbaijan's policy of Armenophobia must be condemned by the civilized world".
The park was mentioned by Armenian opposition politicians Edmon Marukyan and Naira Zohrabyan during their speeches at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), with Zohrabyan showing the members of the assembly an image of an Azerbaijani child choking the wax mannequin of an Armenian soldier at the park.
In a letter to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, expressed concerns over the inauguration of the park, the display of "dehumanising scenes" and wax mannequins "depicting dead and dying Armenians soldiers." She said she considered such images "highly disturbing and humiliating," and promoted long-standing hostile sentiments, hate speech, and manifestations of intolerance. The commissioner called on Aliyev to provide his support for promoting peace and reconciliation between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
On 20 May 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, which condemned the park as "a glorification of violence and risks inciting further hostile sentiment, hate speech or even inhumane treatment of remaining POWs and other Armenian captive civilians, thereby perpetuating the atmosphere of hatred and contradicting any official statements on reconciliation" and urged that it be closed without delay.
On 23 June 2021, the Dutch Parliament adopted a resolution condemning, among other things, the park in Baku: “Given that the ceasefire agreement and international law of war have been violated after the 40-day war in Nagorno Karabakh in 2020, that more than 200 Armenian prisoners of war are still being held in Azerbaijan, among other places also in Baku, and that there is also a "Trophy park" in Baku with, among other things, the helmets of fallen Armenians, in view of the political-military situation in Azerbaijan, calls on the government not to send a delegation to Baku if the Dutch national team comes to play there”.
John Marshall Evans, a former US ambassador to Armenia, called the park "Racist, degrading, indeed, redolent of genocidal intent." Greek Member of the European Parliament Nikos Androulakis criticised the opening of the park, saying in a post on social media that it “insults the memory of the Armenian soldiers” and is a “monument to barbarism.” Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the "it is not normal to witness" a war trophy park in the 21st century: "Disrespect toward any victim is unacceptable, and no violence should be glorified." Finnish Member and European Parliament Heidi Hautala criticised the opening of the park in a post on social media: “This theme park in Azerbaijan is beyond disgusting. Primary school-age kids on the opening day exposed to such warmongering.”
Thomas de Waal, a long-time commentator on the Karabakh conflict, noted that the sculptures of Armenian soldiers resemble "hook-nosed" and greedy" stereotypes that echoed anti-Semitic tropes. Scottish journalist Alex Massie reacted to the park with a John Buchan quote on civilisation and barbarism. British journalist Jake Hanrahan called the park "hideous" and "barbaric" and argued that it is "essentially a war crimes theme park." Turkish commentator, vice-president of Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical company Nazim Can Okar opined that it is "barbaric" and "indefensible." American Journalist Lindsey Snell called the park a "Genocide Park" and stated that "If a society’s children are indoctrinated from birth, the cycle of hatred will never end" German political scientist and human rights activist Düzen Tekkal was outraged by the opening of the park; she said that "this park is hard to beat when it comes to tastelessness!", adding that "it is obviously not enough for Aliyev that he has won the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh militarily and that he can now set about emptying the areas inhabited by the Armenians and razing Armenian churches to the ground" Freedom House researcher Nate Shenkkan stated that the park is a "Clear and depressing description of the highly predictable death of hopes for liberalization in post-war Azerbaijan".
Bloomberg's Bobby Ghosh commented that that park is "deeply ghoulish" and that it "brings to mind the collection of helmets at the base of the "Victory Arch" in Baghdad, which Saddam claimed belonged to Iranian soldiers killed in the 1980–88 war." National Interest's Michael Rubin also compared the park to the Victory Arch created under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
A video by Armenian news channel Civilnet stated that Aliyev's actions were similar to Saddam Hussein's decision to open a monument displaying helmets of dead Iranian servicemen in the Iran-Iraq war and the caricatures were compared to World War II propaganda with exaggerated features of Jews and the Japanese.
In his speech at PACE Armenian politician Edmon Marukyan showed photos from the park, in one of them an "Azeri child playing playfully, innocently with a racist caricature of an Armenian soldier who is currently languishing, and likely being tortured in an Azerbaijani jail", calling it "true fascism" and declaring that the park puts Aliyev in "the list of other dictators such as Hitler and Saddam Hussein", driving parallels between what is going on in Azerbaijan now and "Iraq in the late 1980s, when another dictator [Saddam Hussein] utilized five thousand Iranian helmets of the killed soldiers extracted from the battlefield to complete the monument that he had called the “Victory Arch”
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
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Spectators await the 2009 Kentville Grand Street Parade
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An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last major transportation humiliation to be forced onto a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from an outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? And so this long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? A cold hearted eviction had also left our young Air Cadets at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and the next generation will have to grow up without this valuable nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so what was once a thriving Aviation center that had taken decades to build and establish, was suddenly transformed into a barren lifeless plot of land where unsupervised children ride bikes on the deteriorating asphalt runway that had once served as a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, the calculated forced closure and loss of a very important member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that would greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and an uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end a devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a gain for Greenwood, and Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, the existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to now be bused to a nearby town of Canning ? This left only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify with Kentville as their home school, a student education situation that still remains in Kentville ? There is no movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and it was never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it was never replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now theres just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace Wandlyn's many hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a good exchange for the community ?
The July 1st Canada Day traditional town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is known to be one of the most identifiable entitlement provided by town utility services ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges customers 10,000 dollars just to turn their water on at roadside ? And then after this large up front financial layout by the brand new customer, he still has to handle all yard trenching and household plumbing work himself ? And in return for this large initial investment, the valued new customer is rewarded with the receipt of a water bill from Kentville each month ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge that traverses Cornwallis River ? And so now the local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created a safety hazard ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own parade returned home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom week ? No explanation was ever given and no replacement or apology ever offered by the Town for this devastating loss taken by the citizens of Kentville ? And Kentville has lost the most identifiable of all its citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess, after the newcomer ABF Directors showed uncommon disrespect, disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by many other nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or included in the Parade ? Kentville has lost yet another well known identifiable citizen as well as a wonderful Ambassador that performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, steps backwards, cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for the Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the ongoing absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys burgers, the loss of one of 2 Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and the heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and end of Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and has been symbolically married for decades to the Town name Kentville ? There also remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists that was created when the Wandlyn hotel complex had burned down and not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues was ever replaced ?
And in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments have been taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, in a recent Town election, it looks like most candidates that ran are relative newcomers to this area after recently moving here and as such might be unfamiliar with many of the Kentville traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates have even naively described the town as a kind of blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville type movie set location with busy happy go lucky villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and international eateries ? And apparently the new Mayor, also a newcomer, and new local business owner, appears to have befriended and may have been influenced by ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to illegally shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, skydiving academy, a national flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulations to himself on the enlargement of the size of his downtown retail store and his own personal happiness over having a new (taxpayer funded) sidewalk installed in front of it, while failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and unemployment, the opioid crisis, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the loss of Princess Kentville, tourists complaints of no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There has also been the recent sad eradication the historic all Valley Apple Blossom Festival and the local Parade, and also the current Town housing crisis and high rental increases, and the growing rate of downtown business bankruptcies, and the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum display ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also the severe deterioration in the quantity and quality of Kentvilles famous Grande Street Parade, and one unsafe situation where normal residents (incl Seniors) were perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also a plea to 'bring our local high school students back home' , and also the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events that exceed grade school level ? There was also the controversial hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance of the famed heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course their was the recent flood crisis ? There was also the question of why would a Provincial Government force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then not offer to replace it but just leave the area without one ? And there's also the urgent need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of unopposed takeovers of so many local small businesses by newly arrived foreigners when locals can't find work, and then there's the ongoing growing establishment in Kentville of an exclusive Ontarioville type town situated within a town ? And there's also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There were also concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that made some of the streets unfit to drive on, while a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that's smooth as a baby's bum, and then the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, is it now the time to stop the influence of newcomer mentality and unfamiliarity , and to make it mandatory that all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect and retain the Town's unique character, diversity, identity, and many of the longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ! ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Oh! the humiliation; new girl Vita won't be the same
To Horsman Limited, all I can say is, "Shame, shame, shame!"
International community must take into account the humiliation meted out to this hapless Kashmiri mother.
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
Fall from Grace by Danielle Steele
From New York to Hong Kong, Fall from Grace is a story about finding the courage and strength to build yourself back up when you’ve lost everything.
Sydney Wells’ perfect life vanishes when her husband dies suddenly. Widowed at forty-nine, she discovers that he has failed to include her in his will. With her vicious stepdaughters in control of his estate, Sydney is removed from her beautiful home of sixteen years.
In search of work, Sydney returns to the world of fashion she’d enjoyed as a talented young designer, but her own daughters worry she’s out of her depth. Naïve and alone in a dishonest business, she's exploited by her boss and finds herself faced with a criminal prosecution.
Humiliated, publicly shamed, destitute – Sydney hits rock bottom. There are two choices: give up or start over. With the support of a trusted colleague, she must forge a new life she and her daughters can be proud of.
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
"I know sometimes tragic or humiliating events propel you into a better life, I've experienced that for sure, but it still hurts. It still burns. I think sometimes it hurts more because you can't wish it had never happened. It improved your life in the long run."
Autumn De Wilde (Elliott Smith)
more sadness, black & white version: eranhakim.tumblr.com/post/521316991/if-you-have-never-fai...
2016/03/05(sat)
MALAYSIAS MILITARY DEATH METAL
HUMILIATION JAPAN INVASION 2016 OSAKA
at SOCORE FACTORY
HUMILIATION
DISTURD
SEX MESSIAH
SECOND TO NONE
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
Centuries of rain did this? An insane fuck thought he can finally get even by humiliating God? A war? A drunk tourist impressed his buddies with a burst of vigorous nihilism? I don't know, but it seems to me that an enduring symbol cannot be voided by a barbaric practice like defacement. Symbols are above that, untouchable. Kit.blog.
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.
This is piece is actually a working music box with a dancing ballerina that I placed in the bottom of a tomato sauce can. As the ballerina twirls the sound from the music box is erie and childlike.
This piece relates to a specific childhood memorie where I felt the smallest I have ever felt.
Materiols: Tomato sauce can, music box, spinning ballerina.
is the price I have to pay for a decent meal around here. This is inexcusable. I'm going to call my union! I demand living wages! Two cans of fancy feast an hour!
I love women very much, but even if I love to wear women's underwear and girdles, I don't want to simulate femininity and I don't have transsexual ambitions. (I don't own men's underwear since a long time.) I'm just a fat, effeminate loser, so I expose myself wearing bra, garter belt and women's stockings to my public humiliation. I do this, as seen in some pictures, also in the street and in parks.
Read more about me and my life on my website with lots of pictures, videos and texts (en/en). You can find the link on the info/start page on the right side under the showcase pictures.