View allAll Photos Tagged Inaction
This past weekend I was able to combine some work with some fun. I had to go to Portland for some meetings at the end of the week. Well, my husband came with me, and we spent a delightful weekend with our friend Kurt and his wife Shelly. They were great hosts and showed us around some of the coast and the gorge. Here's Kurt in action...I think maybe taking a shot of an eagle?
To read more of the story, check out this shot
Built in the 1930's, these riverside sheds represent the last remaining substantial un-developed sites on the Brisbane River waterfront. A number of development schemes have come and gone - defeated by government inaction, resident opposition and regular flood devastation. A new plan is currently progressing.
FOTD-13Dec COP25 - Official Award Citation For Colossal Fossil Award and Ray of the Year
Today the winner of the Colossal fossil may not come as a surprise to many. Yes there is a country that really outdone others in destroying the climate concretely on the ground and in the negotiations, attacking and killing the very people who are protecting unique ecosystems: indigenous people.
==Brazil is the winner of CAN´s COP25 colossal fossil.==
What a difference a year makes. Cradle of the UNFCCC and widely praised for impressive emission cuts in the last decade, Brazil has become a climate pariah. Eleven months into the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro, the South American country has joined the United States as one of the main threats to the Paris Agreement.
Bolsonaro, self-dubbed “Capitan Chainsaw”, has managed to kill environmental policies that helped Brazil achieve spectacular emission reductions in the past decade. The results were the highest Amazon deforestation rates in a decade, a spike in land invasions and the murder of three indigenous leaders just this week. The government is also cracking down on environmentalists – who Bolsonaro famously blamed for setting fire to the jungle.
Environment minister and climate denier Ricardo Salles led Brazil’s delegation at COP25, gagging diplomats and trying to blackmail rich countries into giving him cash to increase deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. That of course didn’t pan out, so Salles started criticizing his own country’s NDC.
Brazil had some bizarre behaviors in Madrid, such as blocking mention to human rights on article 6.4 and opposing language on “climate emergency” in the COP decision. And the usual ones, like insisting on lose accounting rules for article 6.4 and on flooding the market with rotten Kyoto credits in order to appease old lobbies that got pink badges for Madrid – unlike civil society. Jair Bolsonaro is a walking carbon bomb who no doubt deserves this great achievement, the Colossal Fossil.
And much more.
==Ray of the Year goes to Indigenous People and the Youth==
Despite continuous discrimination and risk, indigenous people have fought to save the environment since the beginning of time. Today more than ever and despite suffocating closing on their space, they continue to fight at the forefront of climate struggles. For this and for simply existing and challenging systemized monocultures, they systematically get oppressed - often having to hold space with patience, love, and resilience, despite all the violence they face on a daily basis. This COP25, which originally was supposed to be held in Chile, where access was easier, was a golden opportunity to express themselves. But another oppressive government decided to change that and the COP shifted to Madrid. Still, they showed up and raised their voices. Despite exclusion and silencing, they continue to safeguard environmental and cultural diversity and integrity..
Young people around the world have mobilized millions of people to march on the streets, fighting desperately for their lives and their future. It’s not inspiring - indeed it’s downright depressing - that they have to mobilise like this just to get a halfway decent future, but it’s their resilience, their courage, and their determination to never let politicians get away with destruction of their hopes and dreams that is truly inspiring. They have been called radical, yet what is truly radical is to continue blitzing the world with fossil fuels. What’s truly radical, is to pretend that the cost of action is somehow greater than the cost of inaction; the cost of the future, the cost of entire civilisations.
Young people’s mobilisation forced Governments to act, demonstrated the power of the people, and inspired so many.
These beacons of hope deserve CAN´s Ray of the Year. Power to the people.
About the fossils:
Every day at 18:00 local time you can watch the Fossil ceremony in Hall 4 during COP25.
The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress in the negotiations in the last days of talks.
About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.
Watch the Facebook livestream video
Attribution: John Englart/Climate Action Network
I read a book by a UK professional photographer. He visited New England and shot the autumn colour in the area. With the help of map and GPS, he visited all the lakes in the 50 km radius around the place he stayed. Finally he found one with perfect colour and reflection. He waited another day for the right light. Then he took the shot with his medium format camera which is published in the book. This is called professional approach.
The amateur approach on the other hand is that I never know what I am going to shoot when I pick up my camera. I shoot whatever is offered to me. That includes the subject, the scene, the light or the mood sometimes even the philosophical concept in it. It is not goal-oriented or so called purposeless. Also I don't care about technical quality and so I shoot with any camera.
But I can see more and more amateurs are actually shooting with professional grade equipment and taking the "professional" approach with careful planning and specific targets to shoot.
The amateur approach I described is close to the "Wu-Wei" 無為 concept mentioned by the book "Tao of Photography". It is translated as inaction or doing nothing or forceless and effortless. It is the approach not aiming to achieve a specific goal but rather to stay open to all creative possibilities.
There is not good fall colour landscape in the city area. The worst thing is that there will always be cars on the street when you see the color in the trees. I had my lunch in the nearby restaurant. I came out and saw the colours. I had only my compact camera with me and I decided to just let the car staying in the scene. Wu-Wei.
Happy Tuesday!
"I never look for a photograph. The photograph finds me and says, I'm here! and I say, Yes I see you. I hear you!"
- Ruth Bernhard
"Throughout my life I've never pursued anything. I just let things pursue me ... they just show up .... This is the way I've led my life, not just in photography, but in life."
- Manuel Alvarez Bravo
Quotes About Krishna
Quotes tagged as "krishna" (showing 1-30 of 39)
Christopher Pike
“It doesn't matter. You are what you are. I am what I am. We are the same-when you take the time to remember me.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna, red-dice 61 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Can't you ever be serious?' I said, mortified.
'It's difficult,' he said. 'There's so little in life that's worth it.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: divakaruni, krishna, life, palace-of-illusions, panchaali, seriousness 54 likes Like
Christopher Pike
“The truth is always simpler than you can imagine.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna 47 likes Like
“The only way you can conquer me is through love and there I am gladly conquered”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: krishna, love, mohit-k-misra, moht-misra 38 likes Like
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction- he is a wise man.”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: holy-bhagwat-gita, krishna, mohit-k-misra 16 likes Like
“It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinativefaculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too. — Krishna; Chapter 15, verse 15”
― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
tags: hinduism, krishna 11 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Christ attained the ultimate spiritual oneness through prayer and devotion, Moses and Mohammed through prayer, Buddha and all the Indian sages through intense meditation and so did I. And so can you.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 3 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Just like love becomes consummated upon the attainment of orgasm, all the faith and divinity in the world reach their ultimate existential potential upon the attainment of Absolute Unitary Qualia or simply Absolute Godliness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Alan W. Watts
“When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control, it proliferates law of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important than what has actually been done. [...] The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed.”
― Alan W. Watts
tags: democracy, esotericism, government, krishna, philosophy, politics, tao, zen 2 likes Like
“Gujarat is my home state, welcome to the land of Krishna, Gandhi, Sardar & now it's Narendrabhai”
― Mukesh Ambani Vibrant Gujarat 2015
tags: gandhi, gujarat, krishna, narendra-modi, sardar 2 likes Like
Manasa Rao Saarloos
“I haven’t been to a temple in years, never been forced. My folks always said, marry a nice human being, religion doesn’t matter. They said your god is inside you! Don’t you forget that. Krishna, Jesus, Allah, are all one. Follow vegetarianism as far as you can, but you can choose your own diet, doesn’t matter. Believe in god, but for you and not because the world asks you to. Forgive and forget to be at peace. Do not believe in revenge, believe in karma!!”
― Manasa Rao Saarloos
tags: allah, forgive-and-forget, god, hinduism, jesus, karma, krishna, marriage, parenting, religion-and-philoshophy, spirituality, vegetarianism 2 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause. And it is all because people never attempt to reach the fountain-head. They are content only to comply with the customs of their forefathers and instructions on some books, and want others to do the same. But, to explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, fundamentalism, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, religious-extremism, religious-faith, religious-terrorism, religious-violence, self-realization, terrorism, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Vikrmn
“Forgive all before you go to sleep, you'll be forgiven before you get up. – Lord Krishna.”
― Vikrmn, Corpkshetra
tags: 10-golden-steps-of-life, 10gsl, ca-vikram-verma, chartered-accountant, forgive, forgiven, get-up, golden, inspirational, krishna, life, lord-krishna, motivational, sleep, steps, vikram, vikram-verma, vikrmn, vv 2 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“But Krishna was a chameleon.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: identity, krishna, palace-of-illusions 1 likes Like
Padma Viswanathan
“Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace.”
― Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao
tags: arjuna, bhagavad-gita, enlightenment, fear, krishna, life-s-mysteries, mysteries, peace, terror 1 likes Like
Sandeep Sharma
“The moment when your heart’s rhythm synchronises with the chants of the holy temple, you find God in your soul. It was noisy yet peaceful. They were all dancing in the packed hall, with eyes closed and hands swinging up in the air. It was as if the motto of life was nothing but to enjoy this very moment and taste the love of the almighty.”
― Sandeep Sharma, Let The Game Begin
tags: god, krishna, life-and-living, mathura 1 likes Like
Vivian Amis
“All suffering is caused by one belief....the belief in separation”
― Vivian Amis, The Lotus - Realization of Oneness
tags: buddha, business, end-to, family, friends, god, harmony, home, jesus, krishna, love, missery, oneness, partnership, peace, quotes, realization, self, suffering, war, world 1 likes Like
“You don’t need validation or approval from anyone but yourself. Even if the entire world goes against, disagrees with or attempts to crush you, stand up for what you believe in, and stand up alone if you have to! It’s better to die while living your own truth than to live in the truth of another. Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagavad Gita pointed this out when he said;
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
Integrity is the key to freedom. It’s only your own truth that can ‘set you free.’ It’s perfectly fine if your truth doesn’t match that of others because the experience of physical reality is a completely subjective one. It doesn’t make either of you wrong, as long as you’re both being true to yourselves, that’s all that matters.”
― Craig Krishna, The Labyrinth: Rewiring the Nodes in the Maze of your Mind
tags: beliefs, believe-in, bhagavad-gita, destiny, identity, integrity, key, krishna, opinions, perfection, stand-up, truth 1 likes Like
“Show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in full. We are not after titles and designations. We must teach by personal example. Do this and the future of our movement will be glorious.”
― Prabhupada Dasa
tags: krishna 1 likes Like
“When you think you know Everything, you know NOTHING! When you think you know Nothing.. You become KRISHNA- THE UNKNOWN !”
― True Krishna Priya
tags: consciousness, krishna, soul 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you emerge from the state of absolute divinity, the self within you becomes Christ – it becomes Buddha – it becomes Moses – it becomes Krishna. The sage who emerges from the state of non-duality begins to perceive the self as Christ, not Christ as Christ – the self as Moses, not Moses as Moses – the self as Mohammed, not Mohammed as Mohammed – the self as Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
“Narada Muni says - Whether you consider the human to be an eternal jivatma or a temporary body, or even if you accept an indescribable opinion that he is both eternal and temporary, you do not have to lament in any way. There is no cause for lamentation other than the affection which has arisen out of delusion. (1.13.44)”
― Srimad Bhagavatam
tags: krishna, spiritual 1 likes Like
“To become free from sinful life, there is only simple method: if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the beginning of bhakti.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: beginings, bhakti, krishna, krishna-conciousness, method, sin, surrender 0 likes Like
“So it is our request that you try to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't try to distort it by your so-called education. Try to understand Kṛiṣṇa as He is saying. Then you will be benefited. Your life will be successful.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: benifit-of-doubt, education, krishna, krishna-consciousness, life, life-quotes, study, successful-living, understanding 0 likes Like
Chaitanya Charan Das
“Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought”
― Chaitanya Charan Das, Gita for Daily Enrichment
tags: chanting, god, krishna, meditation, spirituality, yoga 0 likes Like
“If by studying Bhagavad-gītā one decides to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately freed from all sinful reactions.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: freedom, karma, krishna, krishna-consciousness, reactions, sin, study, surrender 0 likes Like
“By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: consciousness, devotion, god, gods-grace, krishna, krishna-conciousness, scriptures, service, study, supreme-love 0 likes Like
Jarett Sabirsh
“being attached to any one philosophy or religion
dwelling on moot differences and wanting to fit in
despite the path all are led Home in time
following an alternative pathway is certainly no crime
Krishna, Buddha, Allah or Zohar Kabbalah
devoted nonviolently, one is led to Nirvana
Hindu Sages, Zen Masters or Christian Mystics
many tongues, but identical truth spoken from their lips
mentioning Self or no-self or God is Father or Mother
according to their culture emphasizing one method or another
allness vs. nothingness, meditation vs. prayer
devotion in practice is all you should care
when Truth reveals itself you're beyond all conception
then not a single man-made word will hold any traction”
― Jarett Sabirsh, Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem
tags: buddha, buddhism, god, krishna, meditation, religion, spirituality 0 likes Like
“The perfection of yoga, therefore, does not terminate in voidness or impersonalism; on the contrary, the perfection of yoga is attained when one actually sees the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a Roman Catholic cathedral from around 1175 to replace an earlier church on the site since 705, it became an Anglican cathedral when King Henry VIII split from Rome. It is moderately sized for an English cathedral. Its broad west front and large central tower are dominant features. It has been called "unquestionably one of the most beautiful" and "most poetic" of English cathedrals.
Its Gothic architecture is mostly inspired from Early English style of the late 12th to early 13th centuries, lacking the Romanesque work that survives in many other cathedrals. Building began about 1175 at the east end with the choir. Historian John Harvey sees it as Europe's first truly Gothic structure, breaking the last constraints of Romanesque. The stonework of its pointed arcades and fluted piers bears pronounced mouldings and carved capitals in a foliate, "stiff-leaf" style. Its Early English front with 300 sculpted figures is seen as a "supreme triumph of the combined plastic arts in England". The east end retains much ancient stained glass. Unlike many cathedrals of monastic foundation, Wells has many surviving secular buildings linked to its chapter of secular canons, including the Bishop's Palace and the 15th-century residential Vicars' Close It is a Grade I listed building.
The earliest remains of a building on the site are of a late-Roman mausoleum, identified during excavations in 1980. An abbey church was built in Wells in 705 by Aldhelm, first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Sherborne during the reign of King Ine of Wessex. It was dedicated to St Andrew and stood at the site of the cathedral's cloisters, where some excavated remains can be seen. The font in the cathedral's south transept is from this church and is the oldest part of the present building. In 766 Cynewulf, King of Wessex, signed a charter endowing the church with eleven hides of land. In 909 the seat of the diocese was moved from Sherborne to Wells.
The first bishop of Wells was Athelm (909), who crowned King Æthelstan. Athelm and his nephew Dunstan both became Archbishops of Canterbury. During this period a choir of boys was established to sing the liturgy. Wells Cathedral School, which was established to educate these choirboys, dates its foundation to this point. There is, however, some controversy over this. Following the Norman Conquest, John de Villula moved the seat of the bishop from Wells to Bath in 1090. The church at Wells, no longer a cathedral, had a college of secular clergy.
The cathedral is thought to have been conceived and commenced in about 1175 by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, who died in 1191. Although it is clear from its size that from the outset, the church was planned to be the cathedral of the diocese, the seat of the bishop moved between Wells and the abbeys of Glastonbury and Bath, before settling at Wells. In 1197 Reginald's successor, Savaric FitzGeldewin, with the approval of Pope Celestine III, officially moved his seat to Glastonbury Abbey. The title of Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury was used until the Glastonbury claim was abandoned in 1219.
Savaric's successor, Jocelin of Wells, again moved the bishop's seat to Bath Abbey, with the title Bishop of Bath. Jocelin was a brother of Hugh (II) of Lincoln and was present at the signing of the Magna Carta. Jocelin continued the building campaign begun by Reginald and was responsible for the Bishop's Palace, the choristers' school, a grammar school, a hospital for travellers and a chapel. He also had a manor house built at Wookey, near Wells. Jocelin saw the church dedicated in 1239 but, despite much lobbying of the Pope by Jocelin's representatives in Rome, did not live to see cathedral status granted. The delay may have been a result of inaction by Pandulf Verraccio, a Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England and Bishop of Norwich, who was asked by the Pope to investigate the situation but did not respond. Jocelin died at Wells on 19 November 1242 and was buried in the choir of the cathedral; the memorial brass on his tomb is one of the earliest brasses in England. Following his death the monks of Bath unsuccessfully attempted to regain authority over Wells.
In 1245 the ongoing dispute over the title of the bishop was resolved by a ruling of Pope Innocent IV, who established the title as the "Bishop of Bath and Wells", which it has remained until this day, with Wells as the principal seat of the bishop. Since the 11th century the church has had a chapter of secular clergy, like the cathedrals of Chichester, Hereford, Lincoln and York. The chapter was endowed with 22 prebends (lands from which finance was drawn) and a provost to manage them. On acquiring cathedral status, in common with other such cathedrals, it had four chief clergy, the dean, precentor, chancellor and sacristan, who were responsible for the spiritual and material care of the cathedral.
The building programme, begun by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, Bishop in the 12th century, continued under Jocelin of Wells, who was a canon from 1200, then bishop from 1206. Adam Locke was master mason from about 1192 until 1230. It was designed in the new style with pointed arches, later known as Gothic, which was introduced at about the same time at Canterbury Cathedral. Work was halted between 1209 and 1213 when King John was excommunicated and Jocelin was in exile, but the main parts of the church were complete by the time of the dedication by Jocelin in 1239.
By the time the cathedral, including the chapter house, was finished in 1306, it was already too small for the developing liturgy, and unable to accommodate increasingly grand processions of clergy. John Droxford initiated another phase of building under master mason Thomas of Whitney, during which the central tower was heightened and an eight-sided Lady chapel was added at the east end by 1326. Ralph of Shrewsbury followed, continuing the eastward extension of the choir and retrochoir beyond. He oversaw the building of Vicars' Close and the Vicars' Hall, to give the men who were employed to sing in the choir a secure place to live and dine, away from the town and its temptations. He had an uneasy relationship with the citizens of Wells, partly because of his imposition of taxes, and he surrounded his palace with crenellated walls, a moat and a drawbridge.
John Harewell raised money for the completion of the west front by William Wynford, who was appointed as master mason in 1365. One of the foremost master masons of his time, Wynford worked for the king at Windsor, Winchester Cathedral and New College, Oxford. At Wells, he designed the western towers of which north-west was not built until the following century. In the 14th century, the central piers of the crossing were found to be sinking under the weight of the crossing tower which had been damaged by an earthquake in the previous century. Strainer arches, sometimes described as scissor arches, were inserted by master mason William Joy to brace and stabilise the piers as a unit.
By the reign of Henry VII the cathedral was complete, appearing much as it does today (though the fittings have changed). From 1508 to 1546, the eminent Italian humanist scholar Polydore Vergil was active as the chapter's representative in London. He donated a set of hangings for the choir of the cathedral. While Wells survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries better than the cathedrals of monastic foundation, the abolition of chantries in 1547 resulted in a reduction in its income. Medieval brasses were sold, and a pulpit was placed in the nave for the first time. Between 1551 and 1568, in two periods as dean, William Turner established a herb garden, which was recreated between 2003 and 2010.
Elizabeth I gave the chapter and the Vicars Choral a new charter in 1591, creating a new governing body, consisting of a dean and eight residentiary canons with control over the church estates and authority over its affairs, but no longer entitled to elect the dean (that entitlement thenceforward belonged ultimately to the Crown). The stability brought by the new charter ended with the onset of the Civil War and the execution of Charles I. Local fighting damaged the cathedral's stonework, furniture and windows. The dean, Walter Raleigh, a nephew of the explorer Walter Raleigh, was placed under house arrest after the fall of Bridgwater to the Parliamentarians in 1645, first in the rectory at Chedzoy and then in the deanery at Wells. His jailor, the shoe maker and city constable, David Barrett, caught him writing a letter to his wife. When he refused to surrender it, Barrett ran him through with a sword and he died six weeks later, on 10 October 1646. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the choir before the dean's stall. During the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell no dean was appointed and the cathedral fell into disrepair. The bishop went into retirement and some of the clerics were reduced to performing menial tasks.
In 1661, after Charles II was restored to the throne, Robert Creighton, the king's chaplain in exile, was appointed dean and was bishop for two years before his death in 1672. His brass lectern, given in thanksgiving, can be seen in the cathedral. He donated the nave's great west window at a cost of £140. Following Creighton's appointment as bishop, the post of dean went to Ralph Bathurst, who had been chaplain to the king, president of Trinity College, Oxford and fellow of the Royal Society. During Bathurst's long tenure the cathedral was restored, but in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, Puritan soldiers damaged the west front, tore lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows, smashed the organ and furnishings, and for a time stabled their horses in the nave.
Restoration began again under Thomas Ken who was appointed by the Crown in 1685 and served until 1691. He was one of seven bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign King James II's "Declaration of Indulgence", which would have enabled Catholics to resume positions of political power, but popular support led to their acquittal. Ken refused to take the oath of allegiance to William III and Mary II because James II had not abdicated and with others, known as the Nonjurors, was put out of office. His successor, Richard Kidder, was killed in the Great Storm of 1703 when two chimney stacks on the palace fell on him and his wife, while they were asleep in bed.
By the middle of the 19th century, a major restoration programme was needed. Under Dean Goodenough, the monuments were moved to the cloisters and the remaining medieval paint and whitewash removed in an operation known as "the great scrape". Anthony Salvin took charge of the extensive restoration of the choir. Wooden galleries installed in the 16th century were removed and the stalls were given stone canopies and placed further back within the line of the arcade. The medieval stone pulpitum screen was extended in the centre to support a new organ.
In 1933 the Friends of Wells Cathedral were formed to support the cathedral's chapter in the maintenance of the fabric, life and work of the cathedral. The late 20th century saw an extensive restoration programme, particularly of the west front. The stained glass is currently under restoration, with a programme underway to conserve the large 14th-century Jesse Tree window at the eastern terminal of the choir.
In January 2014, as part of the Bath film festival, the cathedral hosted a special screening of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. This provoked some controversy, but the church defended its decision to allow the screening.
In 2021, a contemporary sculpture by Anthony Gormley was unveiled on a temporary plinth outside the cathedral.
Since the 13th century, Wells Cathedral has been the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Its governing body, the chapter, is made up of five clerical canons (the dean, the precentor, the canon chancellor, the canon treasurer, and the archdeacon of Wells) and four lay members: the administrator (chief executive), Keeper of the Fabric, Overseer of the Estate and the chairman of the cathedral shop and catering boards. The current bishop of Bath and Wells is Peter Hancock, who was installed in a service in the cathedral on 7 June 2014. John Davies has been Dean of Wells since 2016.
Employed staff include the organist and master of choristers, head Verger archivist, librarian and the staff of the shop, café and restaurant. The chapter is advised by specialists such as architects, archaeologists and financial analysts.
More than a thousand services are held every year. There are daily services of Matins, Holy Communion and Choral Evensong, as well as major celebrations of Christian festivals such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and saints' days. The cathedral is also used for the baptisms, weddings and funerals of those with close connections to it. In July 2009 the cathedral undertook the funeral of Harry Patch, the last British Army veteran of World War I, who died at the age of 111.
Three Sunday services are led by the resident choir in school terms and choral services are sung on weekdays. The cathedral hosts visiting choirs and does outreach work with local schools as part of its Chorister Outreach Project. It is also a venue for musical events such as an annual concert by the Somerset Chamber Choir.
Each year about 150,000 people attend services and another 300,000 visit as tourists. Entry is free, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation towards the annual running costs of around £1.5 million in 2015.
Construction of the cathedral began in about 1175, to the design of an unknown master-mason. Wells is the first cathedral in England to be built, from its foundation, in Gothic style. According to art historian John Harvey, it is the first truly Gothic cathedral in the world, its architects having entirely dispensed with all features that bound the contemporary east end of Canterbury Cathedral and the earlier buildings of France, such as the east end of the Abbey of Saint Denis, to the Romanesque. Unlike these churches, Wells has clustered piers rather than columns and has a gallery of identical pointed arches rather than the typically Romanesque form of paired openings. The style, with its simple lancet arches without tracery and convoluted mouldings, is known as Early English Gothic.
From about 1192 to 1230, Adam Lock, the earliest master-mason at Wells for whom a name is known, continued the transept and nave in the same manner as his predecessor. Lock was also the builder of the north porch, to his own design.
The Early English west front was commenced around 1230 by Thomas Norreys, with building and sculpture continuing for thirty years. Its south-west tower was begun 100 years later and constructed between 1365 and 1395, and the north-west tower between 1425 and 1435, both in the Perpendicular Gothic style to the design of William Wynford, who also filled many of the cathedral's early English lancet windows with delicate tracery.
The undercroft and chapter house were built by unknown architects between 1275 and 1310, the undercroft in the Early English and the chapter house in the Geometric style of Decorated Gothic architecture. In about 1310 work commenced on the Lady Chapel, to the design of Thomas Witney, who also built the central tower from 1315 to 1322 in the Decorated Gothic style. The tower was later braced internally with arches by William Joy. Concurrent with this work, in 1329–45 Joy made alterations and extensions to the choir, joining it to the Lady Chapel with the retrochoir, the latter in the Flowing Decorated style.
Later changes include the Perpendicular vault of the tower and construction of Sugar's Chapel, 1475–1490 by William Smyth. Also, Gothic Revival renovations were made to the choir and pulpitum by Benjamin Ferrey and Anthony Salvin, 1842–1857.
Wells has a total length of 415 feet (126 m). Like Canterbury, Lincoln and Salisbury cathedrals, it has the distinctly English arrangement of two transepts, with the body of the church divided into distinct parts: nave, choir, and retro-choir, beyond which extends the Lady Chapel. The façade is wide, with its towers extending beyond the transepts on either side. There is a large projecting porch on the north side of the nave forming an entry into the cathedral. To the north-east is the large octagonal chapter house, entered from the north choir aisle by a passage and staircase. To the south of the nave is a large cloister, unusual in that the northern range, that adjacent the cathedral, was never built.
In section, the cathedral has the usual arrangement of a large church: a central nave with an aisle on each side, separated by two arcades. The elevation is in three stages, arcade, triforium gallery and clerestory. The nave is 67 feet (20 m) in height, very low compared to the Gothic cathedrals of France. It has a markedly horizontal emphasis, caused by the triforium having a unique form, a series of identical narrow openings, lacking the usual definition of the bays. The triforium is separated from the arcade by a single horizontal string course that runs unbroken the length of the nave. There are no vertical lines linking the three stages, as the shafts supporting the vault rise above the triforium.
The exterior of Wells Cathedral presents a relatively tidy and harmonious appearance since the greater part of the building was executed in a single style, Early English Gothic. This is uncommon among English cathedrals where the exterior usually exhibits a plethora of styles. At Wells, later changes in the Perpendicular style were universally applied, such as filling the Early English lancet windows with simple tracery, the construction of a parapet that encircles the roof, and the addition of pinnacles framing each gable, similar to those around the chapter house and on the west front. At the eastern end there is a proliferation of tracery with repeated motifs in the Reticulated style, a stage between Geometric and Flowing Decorated tracery.
The west front is 100 feet (30 m) high and 147 feet (45 m) wide, and built of Inferior Oolite of the Middle Jurassic period, which came from the Doulting Stone Quarry, about 8 miles (13 km) to the east. According to the architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor, it is "one of the great sights of England".
West fronts in general take three distinct forms: those that follow the elevation of the nave and aisles, those that have paired towers at the end of each aisle, framing the nave, and those that screen the form of the building. The west front at Wells has the paired-tower form, unusual in that the towers do not indicate the location of the aisles, but extend well beyond them, screening the dimensions and profile of the building.
The west front rises in three distinct stages, each clearly defined by a horizontal course. This horizontal emphasis is counteracted by six strongly projecting buttresses defining the cross-sectional divisions of nave, aisles and towers, and are highly decorated, each having canopied niches containing the largest statues on the façade.
At the lowest level of the façade is a plain base, contrasting with and stabilising the ornate arcades that rise above it. The base is penetrated by three doors, which are in stark contrast to the often imposing portals of French Gothic cathedrals. The outer two are of domestic proportion and the central door is ornamented only by a central post, quatrefoil and the fine mouldings of the arch.
Above the basement rise two storeys, ornamented with quatrefoils and niches originally holding about four hundred statues, with three hundred surviving until the mid-20th century. Since then, some have been restored or replaced, including the ruined figure of Christ in the gable.
The third stages of the flanking towers were both built in the Perpendicular style of the late 14th century, to the design of William Wynford; that on the north-west was not begun until about 1425. The design maintains the general proportions, and continues the strong projection of the buttresses.
The finished product has been criticised for its lack of pinnacles, and it is probable that the towers were intended to carry spires which were never built. Despite its lack of spires or pinnacles, the architectural historian Banister Fletcher describes it as "the highest development in English Gothic of this type of façade."
The sculptures on the west front at Wells include standing figures, seated figures, half-length angels and narratives in high relief. Many of the figures are life-sized or larger. Together they constitute the finest display of medieval carving in England. The figures and many of the architectural details were painted in bright colours, and the colouring scheme has been deduced from flakes of paint still adhering to some surfaces. The sculptures occupy nine architectural zones stretching horizontally across the entire west front and around the sides and the eastern returns of the towers which extend beyond the aisles. The strongly projecting buttresses have tiers of niches which contain many of the largest figures. Other large figures, including that of Christ, occupy the gable. A single figure stands in one of two later niches high on the northern tower.
In 1851 the archaeologist Charles Robert Cockerell published his analysis of the iconography, numbering the nine sculptural divisions from the lowest to the highest. He defined the theme as "a calendar for unlearned men" illustrating the doctrines and history of the Christian faith, its introduction to Britain and its protection by princes and bishops. He likens the arrangement and iconography to the Te Deum.
According to Cockerell, the side of the façade that is to the south of the central door is the more sacred and the scheme is divided accordingly. The lowest range of niches each contained a standing figure, of which all but four figures on the west front, two on each side, have been destroyed. More have survived on the northern and eastern sides of the north tower. Cockerell speculates that those to the south of the portal represented prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament while those to the north represented early missionaries to Britain, of which Augustine of Canterbury, St Birinus, and Benedict Biscop are identifiable by their attributes. In the second zone, above each pair of standing figures, is a quatrefoil containing a half-length angel in relief, some of which have survived. Between the gables of the niches are quatrefoils that contain a series of narratives from the Bible, with the Old Testament stories to the south, above the prophets and patriarchs, and those from the New Testament to the north. A horizontal course runs around the west front dividing the architectural storeys at this point.
Above the course, zones four and five, as identified by Cockerell, contain figures which represent the Christian Church in Britain, with the spiritual lords such as bishops, abbots, abbesses and saintly founders of monasteries on the south, while kings, queens and princes occupy the north. Many of the figures survive and many have been identified in the light of their various attributes. There is a hierarchy of size, with the more significant figures larger and enthroned in their niches rather than standing. Immediately beneath the upper course are a series of small niches containing dynamic sculptures of the dead coming forth from their tombs on the Day of Judgement. Although naked, some of the dead are defined as royalty by their crowns and others as bishops by their mitres. Some emerge from their graves with joy and hope, and others with despair.
The niches in the lowest zone of the gable contain nine angels, of which Cockerell identifies Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In the next zone are the taller figures of the twelve apostles, some, such as John, Andrew and Bartholomew, clearly identifiable by the attributes that they carry. The uppermost niches of the gable contained the figure of Christ the Judge at the centre, with the Virgin Mary on his right and John the Baptist on his left. The figures all suffered from iconoclasm. A new statue of Jesus was carved for the central niche, but the two side niches now contain cherubim. Christ and the Virgin Mary are also represented by now headless figures in a Coronation of the Virgin in a niche above the central portal. A damaged figure of the Virgin and Christ Child occupies a quatrefoil in the spandrel of the door.
The central tower appears to date from the early 13th century. It was substantially reconstructed in the early 14th century during the remodelling of the east end, necessitating the internal bracing of the piers a decade or so later. In the 14th century the tower was given a timber and lead spire which burnt down in 1439. The exterior was then reworked in the Perpendicular style and given the present parapet and pinnacles. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes it as "outstanding even in Somerset, a county famed for the splendour of its church towers".
The north porch is described by art historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "sumptuously decorated", and intended as the main entrance. Externally it is simple and rectangular with plain side walls. The entrance is a steeply arched portal framed by rich mouldings of eight shafts with stiff-leaf capitals each encircled by an annular moulding at middle height. Those on the left are figurative, containing images representing the martyrdom of St Edmund the Martyr. The walls are lined with deep niches framed by narrow shafts with capitals and annulets like those of the portal. The path to the north porch is lined by four sculptures in Purbeck stone, each by Mary Spencer Watson, representing the symbols of the Evangelists.
The cloisters were built in the late 13th century and largely rebuilt from 1430 to 1508 and have wide openings divided by mullions and transoms, and tracery in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The vault has lierne ribs that form octagons at the centre of each compartment, the joints of each rib having decorative bosses. The eastern range is of two storeys, of which the upper is the library built in the 15th century.
Because Wells Cathedral was secular rather than monastic, cloisters were not a practical necessity. They were omitted from several other secular cathedrals but were built here and at Chichester. Explanations for their construction at these two secular cathedrals range from the processional to the aesthetic. As at Chichester, there is no northern range to the cloisters. In monastic cloisters it was the north range, benefiting most from winter sunlight, that was often used as a scriptorium.
In 1969, when a large chunk of stone fell from a statue near the main door, it became apparent that there was an urgent need for restoration of the west front. Detailed studies of the stonework and of conservation practices were undertaken under the cathedral architect, Alban D. R. Caroe and a restoration committee formed. The methods selected were those devised by Eve and Robert Baker. W. A. (Bert) Wheeler, clerk of works to the cathedral 1935–1978, had previously experimented with washing and surface treatment of architectural carvings on the building and his techniques were among those tried on the statues.
The conservation was carried out between 1974 and 1986, wherever possible using non-invasive procedures such as washing with water and a solution of lime, filling gaps and damaged surfaces with soft mortar to prevent the ingress of water and stabilising statues that were fracturing through corrosion of metal dowels. The surfaces were finished by painting with a thin coat of mortar and silane to resist further erosion and attack by pollutants. The restoration of the façade revealed much paint adhering to the statues and their niches, indicating that it had once been brightly coloured.
The particular character of this Early English interior is dependent on the proportions of the simple lancet arches. It is also dependent on the refinement of the architectural details, in particular the mouldings.
The arcade, which takes the same form in the nave, choir and transepts, is distinguished by the richness of both mouldings and carvings. Each pier of the arcade has a surface enrichment of 24 slender shafts in eight groups of three, rising beyond the capitals to form the deeply undulating mouldings of the arches. The capitals themselves are remarkable for the vitality of the stylised foliage, in a style known as "stiff-leaf". The liveliness contrasts with the formality of the moulded shafts and the smooth unbroken areas of ashlar masonry in the spandrels. Each capital is different, and some contain small figures illustrating narratives.
The vault of the nave rises steeply in a simple quadripartite form, in harmony with the nave arcade. The eastern end of the choir was extended and the whole upper part elaborated in the second quarter of the 14th century by William Joy. The vault has a multiplicity of ribs in a net-like form, which is very different from that of the nave, and is perhaps a recreation in stone of a local type of compartmented wooden roof of which examples remain from the 15th century, including those at St Cuthbert's Church, Wells. The vaults of the aisles of the choir also have a unique pattern.
Until the early 14th century, the interior of the cathedral was in a unified style, but it was to undergo two significant changes, to the tower and to the eastern end. Between 1315 and 1322 the central tower was heightened and topped by a spire, which caused the piers that supported it to show signs of stress. In 1338 the mason William Joy employed an unorthodox solution by inserting low arches topped by inverted arches of similar dimensions, forming scissors-like structures. These arches brace the piers of the crossing on three sides, while the easternmost side is braced by a choir screen. The bracing arches are known as "St Andrew's Cross arches", in a reference to the patron saint of the cathedral. They have been described by Wim Swaan – rightly or wrongly – as "brutally massive" and intrusive in an otherwise restrained interior.
Wells Cathedral has a square east end to the choir, as is usual, and like several other cathedrals including Salisbury and Lichfield, has a lower Lady Chapel projecting at the eastern end, begun by Thomas Witney in about 1310, possibly before the chapter house was completed. The Lady Chapel seems to have begun as a free-standing structure in the form of an elongated octagon, but the plan changed and it was linked to the eastern end by extension of the choir and construction of a second transept or retrochoir east of the choir, probably by William Joy.
The Lady Chapel has a vault of complex and somewhat irregular pattern, as the chapel is not symmetrical about both axes. The main ribs are intersected by additional non-supporting, lierne ribs, which in this case form a star-shaped pattern at the apex of the vault. It is one of the earliest lierne vaults in England. There are five large windows, of which four are filled with fragments of medieval glass. The tracery of the windows is in the style known as Reticulated Gothic, having a pattern of a single repeated shape, in this case a trefoil, giving a "reticulate" or net-like appearance.
The retrochoir extends across the east end of the choir and into the east transepts. At its centre the vault is supported by a remarkable structure of angled piers. Two of these are placed as to complete the octagonal shape of the Lady Chapel, a solution described by Francis Bond as "an intuition of Genius". The piers have attached shafts of marble, and, with the vaults that they support, create a vista of great complexity from every angle. The windows of the retrochoir are in the Reticulated style like those of the Lady Chapel, but are fully Flowing Decorated in that the tracery mouldings form ogival curves.
The chapter house was begun in the late 13th century and built in two stages, completed about 1310. It is a two-storeyed structure with the main chamber raised on an undercroft. It is entered from a staircase which divides and turns, one branch leading through the upper storey of Chain Gate to Vicars' Close. The Decorated interior is described by Alec Clifton-Taylor as "architecturally the most beautiful in England". It is octagonal, with its ribbed vault supported on a central column. The column is surrounded by shafts of Purbeck Marble, rising to a single continuous rippling foliate capital of stylised oak leaves and acorns, quite different in character from the Early English stiff-leaf foliage. Above the moulding spring 32 ribs of strong profile, giving an effect generally likened to "a great palm tree". The windows are large with Geometric Decorated tracery that is beginning to show an elongation of form, and ogees in the lesser lights that are characteristic of Flowing Decorated tracery. The tracery lights still contain ancient glass. Beneath the windows are 51 stalls, the canopies of which are enlivened by carvings including many heads carved in a light-hearted manner.
Wells Cathedral contains one of the most substantial collections of medieval stained glass in England, despite damage by Parliamentary troops in 1642 and 1643. The oldest surviving glass dates from the late 13th century and is in two windows on the west side of the chapter-house staircase. Two windows in the south choir aisle are from 1310 to 1320.
The Lady Chapel has five windows, of which four date from 1325 to 1330 and include images of a local saint, Dunstan. The east window was restored to a semblance of its original appearance by Thomas Willement in 1845. The other windows have complete canopies, but the pictorial sections are fragmented.
The east window of the choir is a broad, seven-light window dating from 1340 to 1345. It depicts the Tree of Jesse (the genealogy of Christ) and demonstrates the use of silver staining, a new technique that allowed the artist to paint details on the glass in yellow, as well as black. The combination of yellow and green glass and the application of the bright yellow stain gives the window its popular name, the "Golden Window". It is flanked by two windows each side in the clerestory, with large figures of saints, also dated to 1340–45. In 2010 a major conservation programme was undertaken on the Jesse Tree window.
The panels in the chapel of St Katherine are attributed to Arnold of Nijmegen and date from about 1520. They were acquired from the destroyed church of Saint-Jean, Rouen, with the last panel having been purchased in 1953.
The large triple lancet to the nave west end was glazed at the expense of Dean Creighton at a cost of £140 in 1664. It was repaired in 1813, and the central light was largely replaced to a design by Archibald Keightley Nicholson between 1925 and 1931. The main north and south transept end windows by James Powell and Sons were erected in the early 20th century.
The greater part of the stone carving of Wells Cathedral comprises foliate capitals in the stiff-leaf style. They are found ornamenting the piers of the nave, choir and transepts. Stiff-leaf foliage is highly abstract. Though possibly influenced by carvings of acanthus leaves or vine leaves, it cannot be easily identified with any particular plant. Here the carving of the foliage is varied and vigorous, the springing leaves and deep undercuts casting shadows that contrast with the surface of the piers. In the transepts and towards the crossing in the nave the capitals have many small figurative carvings among the leaves. These include a man with toothache and a series of four scenes depicting the "Wages of Sin" in a narrative of fruit stealers who creep into an orchard and are then beaten by the farmer. Another well-known carving is in the north transept aisle: a foliate corbel, on which climbs a lizard, sometimes identified as a salamander, a symbol of eternal life.
Carvings in the Decorated Gothic style may be found in the eastern end of the buildings, where there are many carved bosses. In the chapter house, the carvings of the 51 stalls include numerous small heads of great variety, many of them smiling or laughing. A well-known figure is the corbel of the dragon-slaying monk in the chapter house stair. The large continuous capital that encircles the central pillar of the chapter house is markedly different in style to the stiff-leaf of the Early English period. In contrast to the bold projections and undercutting of the earlier work, it has a rippling form and is clearly identifiable as grapevine.
The 15th-century cloisters have many small bosses ornamenting the vault. Two in the west cloister, near the gift shop and café, have been called sheela na gigs, i. e. female figures displaying their genitals and variously judged to depict the sin of lust or stem from ancient fertility cults.
Wells Cathedral has one of the finest sets of misericords in Britain. Its clergy has a long tradition of singing or reciting from the Book of Psalms each day, along with the customary daily reading of the Holy Office. In medieval times the clergy assembled in the church eight times daily for the canonical hours. As the greater part of the services was recited while standing, many monastic or collegiate churches fitted stalls whose seats tipped up to provide a ledge for the monk or cleric to lean against. These were "misericords" because their installation was an act of mercy. Misericords typically have a carved figurative bracket beneath the ledge framed by two floral motifs known, in heraldic manner, as "supporters".
The misericords date from 1330 to 1340. They may have been carved under the direction of Master Carpenter John Strode, although his name is not recorded before 1341. He was assisted by Bartholomew Quarter, who is documented from 1343. They originally numbered 90, of which 65 have survived. Sixty-one are installed in the choir, three are displayed in the cathedral, and one is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. New stalls were ordered when the eastern end of the choir was extended in the early 14th century. The canons complained that they had borne the cost of the rebuilding and ordered the prebendary clerics to pay for their own stalls. When the newly refurbished choir opened in 1339 many misericords were left unfinished, including one-fifth of the surviving 65. Many of the clerics had not paid, having been called to contribute a total sum of £200. The misericords survived better than the other sections of the stalls, which during the Protestant Reformation had their canopies chopped off and galleries inserted above them. One misericord, showing a boy pulling a thorn from his foot, dates from the 17th century. In 1848 came a complete rearrangement of the choir furniture, and 61 of the misericords were reused in the restructured stalls.
The subject matter of the carvings of the central brackets as misericords varies, but many themes recur in different churches. Typically the themes are less unified or directly related to the Bible and Christian theology than small sculptures seen elsewhere within churches, such as bosses. This applies at Wells, where none of the misericord carvings is directly based on a Bible story. The subjects, chosen either by the woodcarver, or perhaps by the one paying for the stall, have no overriding theme. The sole unifying elements are the roundels on each side of the pictorial subject, which all show elaborately carved foliage, in most cases formal and stylised in the later Decorated manner, but with several examples of naturalistic foliage, including roses and bindweed. Many of the subjects carry traditional interpretations. The image of the "Pelican in her Piety" (believed to feed her young on her own blood) is a recognised symbol for Christ's love for the Church. A cat playing with a mouse may represent the Devil snaring a human soul. Other subjects illustrate popular fables or sayings such as "When the fox preaches, look to your geese". Many depict animals, some of which may symbolise a human vice or virtue, or an aspect of faith.
Twenty-seven of the carvings depict animals: rabbits, dogs, a puppy biting a cat, a ewe feeding a lamb, monkeys, lions, bats, and the Early Christian motif of two doves drinking from a ewer. Eighteen have mythological subjects, including mermaids, dragons and wyverns. Five are clearly narrative, such as the Fox and the Geese, and the story of Alexander the Great being raised to Heaven by griffins. There are three heads: a bishop in a mitre, an angel, and a woman wearing a veil over hair arranged in coils over each ear. Eleven carvings show human figures, among which are several of remarkable design, conceived by the artist specifically for their purpose of supporting a shelf. One figure lies beneath the seat, supporting the shelf with a cheek, a hand and a foot. Another sits in a contorted manner supporting the weight on his elbow, while a further figure squats with his knees wide apart and a strained look on his face.
Some of the cathedral's fittings and monuments are hundreds of years old. The brass lectern in the Lady Chapel dates from 1661 and has a moulded stand and foliate crest. In the north transept chapel is a 17th-century oak screen with columns, formerly used in cow stalls, with artisan Ionic capitals and cornice, set forward over the chest tomb of John Godelee. There is a bound oak chest from the 14th century, which was used to store the chapter seal and key documents. The bishop's throne dates from 1340, and has a panelled, canted front and stone doorway, and a deep nodding cusped ogee canopy above it, with three-stepped statue niches and pinnacles. The throne was restored by Anthony Salvin around 1850. Opposite the throne is a 19th-century octagonal pulpit on a coved base with panelled sides, and steps up from the north aisle. The round font in the south transept is from the former Saxon cathedral and has an arcade of round-headed arches, on a round plinth. The font cover was made in 1635 and is decorated with the heads of putti. The Chapel of St Martin is a memorial to every Somerset man who fell in World War I.
The monuments and tombs include Gisa, bishop; † 1088; William of Bitton, bishop; † 1274; William of March, bishop; † 1302; John Droxford; † 1329; John Godelee; † 1333; John Middleton, died †1350; Ralph of Shrewsbury, died †; John Harewell, bishop; † 1386; William Bykonyll; † c. 1448; John Bernard; † 1459; Thomas Beckington; † died 1464; John Gunthorpe; † 1498; John Still; † 1607; Robert Creighton; † 1672; Richard Kidder, bishop; † 1703; George Hooper, bishop; † 1727 and Arthur Harvey, bishop; † 1894.
In the north transept is Wells Cathedral clock, an astronomical clock from about 1325 believed to be by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of Glastonbury. Its mechanism, dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century and the original moved to the Science Museum in London, where it still operates. It is the second oldest surviving clock in England after the Salisbury Cathedral clock.
The clock has its original medieval face. Apart from the time on a 24-hour dial, it shows the motion of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, and the time since the last new Moon. The astronomical dial presents a geocentric or pre-Copernican view, with the Sun and Moon revolving round a central fixed Earth, like that of the clock at Ottery St Mary. The quarters are chimed by a quarter jack: a small automaton known as Jack Blandifers, who hits two bells with hammers and two with his heels. At the striking of the clock, jousting knights appear above the clock face.
On the outer wall of the transept, opposite Vicars' Hall, is a second clock face of the same clock, placed there just over seventy years after the interior clock and driven by the same mechanism. The second clock face has two quarter jacks (which strike on the quarter-hour) in the form of knights in armour.
In 2010 the official clock-winder retired and was replaced by an electric mechanism.
The first record of an organ at this church dates from 1310. A smaller organ, probably for the Lady Chapel, was installed in 1415. In 1620 an organ built by Thomas Dallam was installed at a cost of £398 1s 5d.
The 1620 organ was destroyed by parliamentary soldiers in 1643. An organ built in 1662 was enlarged in 1786 and again in 1855. In 1909–1910 an organ was built by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, with the best parts of the old organ retained. It has been serviced by the same company ever since.
Since November 1996 the cathedral has also had a portable chamber organ, by the Scottish makers, Lammermuir. It is used regularly to accompany performances of Tudor and baroque music.
The first recorded organist of Wells was Walter Bagele (or Vageler) in 1416. The post of organist or assistant organist has been held by more than 60 people since. Peter Stanley Lyons was Master of Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Director of Music at Wells Cathedral School in 1954–1960. The choral conductor James William Webb-Jones, father of Lyons's wife Bridget (whom he married in the cathedral), was Headmaster of Wells Cathedral School in 1955–1960. Malcolm Archer was the appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers from 1996 to 2004. Matthew Owens was the appointed organist from 2005 to 2019.
There has been a choir of boy choristers at Wells since 909. Currently there are 18 boy choristers and a similar number of girl choristers, aged from eight to fourteen. The Vicars Choral was formed in the 12th century and the sung liturgy provided by a traditional cathedral choir of men and boys until the formation of an additional choir of girls in 1994. The boys and girls sing alternately with the Vicars Choral and are educated at Wells Cathedral School.
The Vicars Choral currently number twelve men, of whom three are choral scholars. Since 1348 the College of Vicars had its own accommodation in a quadrangle converted in the early 15th century to form Vicar's Close. The Vicars Choral generally perform with the choristers, except on Wednesdays, when they sing alone, allowing them to present a different repertoire, in particular plainsong.
In December 2010 Wells Cathedral Choir was rated by Gramophone magazine as "the highest ranking choir with children in the world". It continues to provide music for the liturgy at Sunday and weekday services. The choir has made many recordings and toured frequently, including performances in Beijing and Hong Kong in 2012. Its repertoire ranges from the choral music of the Renaissance to recently commissioned works.
The Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir is a mixed adult choir of 25 members, formed in 1986 to sing at the midnight service on Christmas Eve, and invited to sing at several other special services. It now sings for about 30 services a year, when the Cathedral Choir is in recess or on tour, and spends one week a year singing as the "choir in residence" at another cathedral. Although primarily liturgical, the choir's repertoire includes other forms of music, as well as performances at engagements such as weddings and funerals.
The cathedral is home to Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society (WCOS), founded in 1896. With around 160 voices, the society gives three concerts a year under the direction of Matthew Owens, Organist and Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Concerts are normally in early November, December (an annual performance of Handel's Messiah) and late March. It performs with a number of specialist orchestras including: Music for Awhile, Chameleon Arts and La Folia.
The bells at Wells Cathedral are the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world, the tenor bell (the 10th and largest), known as Harewell, weighing 56.25 long hundredweight (2,858 kg). They are hung for full-circle ringing in the English style of change ringing. These bells are now hung in the south-west tower, although some were originally hung in the central tower.
The library above the eastern cloister was built between 1430 and 1508. Its collection is in three parts: early documents housed in the Muniment Room; the collection predating 1800 housed in the Chained Library; and the post-1800 collection housed in the Reading Room. The chapter's earlier collection was destroyed during the Reformation, so that the present library consists chiefly of early printed books, rather than medieval manuscripts. The earlier books in the Chained Library number 2,800 volumes and give an indication of the variety of interests of the members of the cathedral chapter from the Reformation until 1800. The focus of the collection is predominantly theology, but there are volumes on science, medicine, exploration, and languages. Books of particular interest include Pliny's Natural History printed in 1472, an Atlas of the World by Abraham Ortelius, printed in 1606, and a set of the works by Aristotle that once belonged to Erasmus. The library is open to the public at appointed times in the summer and presents a small exhibition of documents and books.
Three early registers of the Dean and Chapter edited by W. H. B. Bird for the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners – Liber Albus I (White Book; R I), Liber Albus II (R III) and Liber Ruber (Red Book; R II, section i) – were published in 1907. They contain with some repetition, a cartulary of possessions of the cathedral, with grants of land back to the 8th century, well before hereditary surnames developed in England, and acts of the Dean and Chapter and surveys of their estates, mostly in Somerset.
Adjacent to the cathedral is a large lawned area, Cathedral Green, with three ancient gateways: Brown's Gatehouse, Penniless Porch and Chain Gate. On the green is the 12th-century Old Deanery, largely rebuilt in the late 15th century by Dean Gunthorpe and remodelled by Dean Bathurst in the late 17th century. No longer the dean's residence, it is used as diocesan offices.
To the south of the cathedral is the moated Bishop's Palace, begun about 1210 by Jocelin of Wells but dating mostly from the 1230s. In the 15th century Thomas Beckington added a north wing, now the bishop's residence. It was restored and extended by Benjamin Ferrey between 1846 and 1854.
To the north of the cathedral and connected to it by the Chain Gate is Vicars' Close, a street planned in the 14th century and claimed to be the oldest purely residential street in Europe, with all but one of its original buildings intact. Buildings in the close include the Vicars Hall and gateway at the south end, and the Vicars Chapel and Library at the north end.
The Liberty of St Andrew was the historic liberty and parish that encompassed the cathedral and surrounding lands closely associated with it.
The English painter J. M. W. Turner visited Wells in 1795, making sketches of the precinct and a water colour of the west front, now in the Tate gallery. Other artists whose paintings of the cathedral are in national collections are Albert Goodwin, John Syer and Ken Howard.
The cathedral served to inspire Ken Follett's 1989 novel The Pillars of the Earth and with a modified central tower, featured as the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral at the end of the 2010 television adaptation of that novel. The interior of the cathedral was used for a 2007 Doctor Who episode, "The Lazarus Experiment", while the exterior shots were filmed at Southwark Cathedral.
An account of the damage to the cathedral during the Monmouth Rebellion is included in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1889 historical novel Micah Clarke.
The cathedral provided scenes for the 2019–2020 television series The Spanish Princess.
In the heart of Korea Town in Los Angeles, Shepard Fairey and his crew put up a massive 35' x 100' mural on the side of the Line Hotel. Check out our recap as we caught Shepard and the crew working on the final day of the mural.
Check out my post on 12ozProphet:
www.12ozprophet.com/index.php/news/shepard-fairey-peace-t...
27 April 2014. Same old location; same old problem?
Or is it?
For many years, a litter bin at the corner of Dowsett Road and Parkhurst Road in Tottenham has been a location for dumping. Why?
Here's a list based partly on my own observations. And also on guesses and speculations - including comments I've heard from other local residents.
Possible factors in causing the problem?
● Not enough litter bins on our streets.
● Too many residents using the bin.
● Not enough collections by Veolia, Haringey
Council's waste management contractors.
● Residents who treat litter bins as collection points
for any waste.
● People keep trying to add their rubbish until
a bin is stuffed full and overflows.
● People think a full bin means it's okay to
leave their waste on the pavement because it
will eventually be collected.
● Some residents don't use the household waste
and recycling bins outside their own homes.
● Kids litter on their way to and from nearby schools.
● Haringey Council changed from a weekly
to a fortnightly general waste collection.
● Some residents take no responsibility for the
waste they generate.
● Failure by the Government to introduce
a tax on plastic bags.
● Haringey Council and Veolia not engaging
effectively with residents to "nudge" us into
recycling, composting more, and using the
weekly food waste collection.
● People living in very cramped accommodation
who buy "convenience" foods and dispose of
waste in the easiest way.
You'll realise there is no single "right" answer. There may be some wrong answers as well. Plus other factors not listed.
I want to suggest that this isn't just a random list.
It points to different people "framing" the problem in
different ways. Which implies different possible
approaches and solutions.
Whose problem is it? Are we looking for someone to blame and to punish? If so how will this be done? (E.g. spot fines?)
Or will we get further by framing the problem as the need for more money and other resources? For example, to hire more cleaners and empty litter bins more frequently?
Do we take a "systems" perspective and look overall at what's happening in our partly unsuccessful waste collection arrangements?
Or is the most fruitful approach to find ways of making a "culture change" leading to different behaviour by local residents?
Go and Look
But before we theorise or even make guesses, there's an obvious place to start. Obvious if we want to find out what's actually happening, and how different people behave to cause these problems.
We can go to the place and look. Talking to
people who use the bins, or live nearby.
When I was an elected Haringey councillor, I was impressed to meet many Haringey staff - and a few councillors - who thought it was a good idea to do just this. Years ago I sometimes tagged along with our friend Lucy Craig - then also a Haringey councillor. Lucy would chat with residents and council staff who responded to her friendly low-key questions. She also showed me the advantage of taking a digital camera - persuading me to save up for my own.
Many Haringey staff go a lot further too. Click this link for some photos I took in 2009. They show Kelly Peck, then one of the Enforcement Staff in the Environment Department, opening rubbish bags in search of evidence of who dumped them on the street.
No-Go-No-See
When a councillor I also came across no-can-do staff. They used one or more of 101 reasons to explain why something wasn't possible. Why the bureaucracy was right and residents almost invariably wrong.
To be fair, sometimes bureaucrats are right. There are many sensible and sometimes excellent technical and professional reasons why something residents would like to happen cannot in practice be done. But if someone starts with a fixed bias and a refusal, it's not hard to find justifications. Especially if you're not willing even to look and ask and reflect.
Here's an example I've given before: a pedestrian zebra crossing in Endymion Road London N4. In this example residents who are members of a local community website shared their concerns online about what they saw as a dangerous crossing. They also contacted Haringey's professional Highways staff *.
But instead of going to the crossing and taking a look, the Highways staff wasted time and effort writing emails to excuse their inaction. So another local resident went and looked and took some photos. Doing the job which professional staff were paid for and were failing to do.
And guess what? Residents spotted that:
● Branches from park trees partly obscured drivers' line-of-sight.
● The flashing beacons at the crossing were dirty and dim.
● Some of the white colour had come off the beacon poles, so the black and white stripes didn't show up.
Table Talk
In 2008 I suggested a small project to find out more about what's happening near the Dowsett Road regular dumping spot. And potentially many other rubbish dumping 'hotspots'. My idea was that Haringey staff and councillors would engage with and learn from local people by talking to them and carefully listening, Asking what they thought and knew.
I gave this project a possible name: Table Talk.. Suggesting that the talk could be around a small table in the street - ideally in the the long summer evenings.
What was the response to my suggestion? Zero. (Though always a polite zero.)
London borough elections are held every four years. Many new councillors were elected in May 2014. With another bunch of newbies in May 2018. Not all of them were as closed-minded and incompetent as the leadership. One or two were willing to "go to the place" - to look, listen, and learn.
___________________________________________
§ One version of go-to-the-place-and-look approach is the Japanese notion of: "Genchi Genbutsu" here explained by the Economist magazine as: "More a frame of mind than a plan of action.
(webpage dated 13 October 2009. Accessed 4 February 2017.
§ Link to a helpful summary of the ideas in: Frame Reflection: Toward the Resolution of Intractable Policy Controversies by Donald A. Schon and Martin Rein, (New York: Basic Books, 1994).
§ Charlotte Pell's blog Freedom from Command and Control discusses systems ideas entertainingly and clearly. {Blog offline September 2016]
§ Wikipedia entry about Gemba - or Genba. N.B. "Gemba Walk".
§ In 2000 Lucy Craig brought her digital camera to Tottenham Hale station. She and I took photos of the litter, weeds, pavement parking and rat holes. After a lot of complaints, this helped achieve a successful clean-up.
§ My reading of Jane Jacobs suggests that she frequently invites her readers to reframe a problem by turning it around. As when she discusses parks and other green spaces.
"Conventionally, neighborhood parks or parklike open spaces are considered boons conferred on the deprived population of cities. Let us turn this thought around, and consider city parks deprived places that need the boon of the city conferred on them. This is more than nearly in accord with reality, for people do confer use on parks and make them successes – or else withhold use and doom parks to rejection and failure".
— From The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Chapter 5.
[§ (Note to self for additional material on Berlin; Tower Hamlets and Park View Road waste bins.)]
§ Highways staff * This team seems to have the fancy-schmancy fashionable new name of "Sustainable Transport". I can't keep up with the restructuring and name changes in Haringey Council. And frankly residents should not have to. Especially as each name change wastes time and money the Council hasn't got. As far as possible they should settle on something plain and understandable and stick with it.
Check out the full post on 12oz Prophet here: www.12ozprophet.com/news/12ozprophet-exclusive-risk-bio-m...
Beautiful Lamborghini LP700-4 Aventador driving around in french woods. Shot today during a charity event organized by EAP and Rotary Club.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
•** My YouTube videos - only the best supercars !!
•** Follow me on Facebook for more car-related stuff & trivia !
Quotes About Krishna
Quotes tagged as "krishna" (showing 1-30 of 39)
Christopher Pike
“It doesn't matter. You are what you are. I am what I am. We are the same-when you take the time to remember me.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna, red-dice 61 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Can't you ever be serious?' I said, mortified.
'It's difficult,' he said. 'There's so little in life that's worth it.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: divakaruni, krishna, life, palace-of-illusions, panchaali, seriousness 54 likes Like
Christopher Pike
“The truth is always simpler than you can imagine.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna 47 likes Like
“The only way you can conquer me is through love and there I am gladly conquered”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: krishna, love, mohit-k-misra, moht-misra 38 likes Like
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction- he is a wise man.”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: holy-bhagwat-gita, krishna, mohit-k-misra 16 likes Like
“It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinativefaculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too. — Krishna; Chapter 15, verse 15”
― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
tags: hinduism, krishna 11 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Christ attained the ultimate spiritual oneness through prayer and devotion, Moses and Mohammed through prayer, Buddha and all the Indian sages through intense meditation and so did I. And so can you.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 3 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Just like love becomes consummated upon the attainment of orgasm, all the faith and divinity in the world reach their ultimate existential potential upon the attainment of Absolute Unitary Qualia or simply Absolute Godliness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Alan W. Watts
“When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control, it proliferates law of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important than what has actually been done. [...] The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed.”
― Alan W. Watts
tags: democracy, esotericism, government, krishna, philosophy, politics, tao, zen 2 likes Like
“Gujarat is my home state, welcome to the land of Krishna, Gandhi, Sardar & now it's Narendrabhai”
― Mukesh Ambani Vibrant Gujarat 2015
tags: gandhi, gujarat, krishna, narendra-modi, sardar 2 likes Like
Manasa Rao Saarloos
“I haven’t been to a temple in years, never been forced. My folks always said, marry a nice human being, religion doesn’t matter. They said your god is inside you! Don’t you forget that. Krishna, Jesus, Allah, are all one. Follow vegetarianism as far as you can, but you can choose your own diet, doesn’t matter. Believe in god, but for you and not because the world asks you to. Forgive and forget to be at peace. Do not believe in revenge, believe in karma!!”
― Manasa Rao Saarloos
tags: allah, forgive-and-forget, god, hinduism, jesus, karma, krishna, marriage, parenting, religion-and-philoshophy, spirituality, vegetarianism 2 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause. And it is all because people never attempt to reach the fountain-head. They are content only to comply with the customs of their forefathers and instructions on some books, and want others to do the same. But, to explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, fundamentalism, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, religious-extremism, religious-faith, religious-terrorism, religious-violence, self-realization, terrorism, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Vikrmn
“Forgive all before you go to sleep, you'll be forgiven before you get up. – Lord Krishna.”
― Vikrmn, Corpkshetra
tags: 10-golden-steps-of-life, 10gsl, ca-vikram-verma, chartered-accountant, forgive, forgiven, get-up, golden, inspirational, krishna, life, lord-krishna, motivational, sleep, steps, vikram, vikram-verma, vikrmn, vv 2 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“But Krishna was a chameleon.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: identity, krishna, palace-of-illusions 1 likes Like
Padma Viswanathan
“Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace.”
― Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao
tags: arjuna, bhagavad-gita, enlightenment, fear, krishna, life-s-mysteries, mysteries, peace, terror 1 likes Like
Sandeep Sharma
“The moment when your heart’s rhythm synchronises with the chants of the holy temple, you find God in your soul. It was noisy yet peaceful. They were all dancing in the packed hall, with eyes closed and hands swinging up in the air. It was as if the motto of life was nothing but to enjoy this very moment and taste the love of the almighty.”
― Sandeep Sharma, Let The Game Begin
tags: god, krishna, life-and-living, mathura 1 likes Like
Vivian Amis
“All suffering is caused by one belief....the belief in separation”
― Vivian Amis, The Lotus - Realization of Oneness
tags: buddha, business, end-to, family, friends, god, harmony, home, jesus, krishna, love, missery, oneness, partnership, peace, quotes, realization, self, suffering, war, world 1 likes Like
“You don’t need validation or approval from anyone but yourself. Even if the entire world goes against, disagrees with or attempts to crush you, stand up for what you believe in, and stand up alone if you have to! It’s better to die while living your own truth than to live in the truth of another. Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagavad Gita pointed this out when he said;
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
Integrity is the key to freedom. It’s only your own truth that can ‘set you free.’ It’s perfectly fine if your truth doesn’t match that of others because the experience of physical reality is a completely subjective one. It doesn’t make either of you wrong, as long as you’re both being true to yourselves, that’s all that matters.”
― Craig Krishna, The Labyrinth: Rewiring the Nodes in the Maze of your Mind
tags: beliefs, believe-in, bhagavad-gita, destiny, identity, integrity, key, krishna, opinions, perfection, stand-up, truth 1 likes Like
“Show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in full. We are not after titles and designations. We must teach by personal example. Do this and the future of our movement will be glorious.”
― Prabhupada Dasa
tags: krishna 1 likes Like
“When you think you know Everything, you know NOTHING! When you think you know Nothing.. You become KRISHNA- THE UNKNOWN !”
― True Krishna Priya
tags: consciousness, krishna, soul 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you emerge from the state of absolute divinity, the self within you becomes Christ – it becomes Buddha – it becomes Moses – it becomes Krishna. The sage who emerges from the state of non-duality begins to perceive the self as Christ, not Christ as Christ – the self as Moses, not Moses as Moses – the self as Mohammed, not Mohammed as Mohammed – the self as Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
“Narada Muni says - Whether you consider the human to be an eternal jivatma or a temporary body, or even if you accept an indescribable opinion that he is both eternal and temporary, you do not have to lament in any way. There is no cause for lamentation other than the affection which has arisen out of delusion. (1.13.44)”
― Srimad Bhagavatam
tags: krishna, spiritual 1 likes Like
“To become free from sinful life, there is only simple method: if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the beginning of bhakti.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: beginings, bhakti, krishna, krishna-conciousness, method, sin, surrender 0 likes Like
“So it is our request that you try to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't try to distort it by your so-called education. Try to understand Kṛiṣṇa as He is saying. Then you will be benefited. Your life will be successful.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: benifit-of-doubt, education, krishna, krishna-consciousness, life, life-quotes, study, successful-living, understanding 0 likes Like
Chaitanya Charan Das
“Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought”
― Chaitanya Charan Das, Gita for Daily Enrichment
tags: chanting, god, krishna, meditation, spirituality, yoga 0 likes Like
“If by studying Bhagavad-gītā one decides to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately freed from all sinful reactions.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: freedom, karma, krishna, krishna-consciousness, reactions, sin, study, surrender 0 likes Like
“By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: consciousness, devotion, god, gods-grace, krishna, krishna-conciousness, scriptures, service, study, supreme-love 0 likes Like
Jarett Sabirsh
“being attached to any one philosophy or religion
dwelling on moot differences and wanting to fit in
despite the path all are led Home in time
following an alternative pathway is certainly no crime
Krishna, Buddha, Allah or Zohar Kabbalah
devoted nonviolently, one is led to Nirvana
Hindu Sages, Zen Masters or Christian Mystics
many tongues, but identical truth spoken from their lips
mentioning Self or no-self or God is Father or Mother
according to their culture emphasizing one method or another
allness vs. nothingness, meditation vs. prayer
devotion in practice is all you should care
when Truth reveals itself you're beyond all conception
then not a single man-made word will hold any traction”
― Jarett Sabirsh, Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem
tags: buddha, buddhism, god, krishna, meditation, religion, spirituality 0 likes Like
“The perfection of yoga, therefore, does not terminate in voidness or impersonalism; on the contrary, the perfection of yoga is attained when one actually sees the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A frozen statement on global climate change and inaction by the public and the Canadian government, while participating in the 2009 Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver, BC, Canada. What better time to raise the issue of the imminent threat facing Polar Bears (and the other environmental and societal impacts of climate change) than at the Polar Bear Swim?
Link to - Not in the Baseball Hall of Fame - #91. Darrell Evans - www.notinhalloffame.com/baseball/944-57-darrell-evans
Link to the top 100 - not in the Baseball Hall of Fame - www.notinhalloffame.com/baseball
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darrell Wayne Evans (b. May 26, 1947) is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1969 to 1989 with the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers. He is also the former manager and director of player personnel for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball League.
Overshadowed in his prime by fellow National League third baseman Mike Schmidt, he has been described by author Bill James as "the most underrated player in baseball history, absolutely number one on the list", primarily because his defensive skill, home run power, and ability to draw walks in a long career were offset by a low career batting average of .248. He remains one of the few players to have hit over 400 career home runs without being seriously considered for induction into the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Evans became the first player to hit 40 home runs in both leagues, and at age 38 became the oldest player ever to lead the American League in home runs (40 in 1985). Evans hit over 20 home runs in 10 different seasons and drew over 100 walks five times, with a career high 126 in 1974. He currently ranks 11th all-time in walks among major leaguers, ahead of the likes of Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron.
In 1988, Evans hit his 400th home run, becoming the 22nd player to reach that milestone. He retired after having joined Reggie Jackson in becoming only the second player to hit 100 home runs with three different teams, and ranking in 11th place among all-time walks leaders. Evans hit 60 home runs after reaching age 40, at the time a major league record. He later served as a coach with the New York Yankees in 1990.
A two-time All-Star (1973 and 1983), Evans was selected as the third baseman on the 1973 Sporting News National League All-Star team. He won the 1983 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership. He earned a World Series ring with the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
MLB debut - April 20, 1969, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance - October 1, 1989, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics:
Batting average - .248
Hits - 2,223
Home runs - 414
RBI - 1,354
Teams:
Atlanta Braves (1969–1976)
San Francisco Giants (1976–1983)
Detroit Tigers (1984–1988)
Atlanta Braves (1989)
Career highlights and awards:
2× All-Star (1973, 1983)
World Series champion (1984)
AL home run leader (1985)
Link to all of his issued baseball cards - www.tradingcarddb.com/Person.cfm/pid/1739/col/1/yea/0/Dar...
En photo et vidéo, rétrospective d'une connexion rouennaise sur le PGC blog : photograffcollectif.blogspot.com/2011/01/connexion-rouenn...
Jeepers creepers! Where d'you get those peepers? After a little inaction on the painting front I thought it would be best to get my hand back in with a little easy sunny painting on a sunny afternoon. With no idea on what I was going to paint, all i had was a blank door down the mews staring at me and eventually decided a face would see me right. After about half an hour of glaring at the door I decided I'd just pick up a paintbrush and start. The devil makes work for idle hands and all that jazz. A short time later, and after using a few spraycans (which i said i wouldn't use), I give you 'Peepers'. What exactly it's on about is for you to decide...
Cheers
id-iom
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992), Laws of Robotics from I. Robot, 1950
Quotes About Krishna
Quotes tagged as "krishna" (showing 1-30 of 39)
Christopher Pike
“It doesn't matter. You are what you are. I am what I am. We are the same-when you take the time to remember me.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna, red-dice 61 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Can't you ever be serious?' I said, mortified.
'It's difficult,' he said. 'There's so little in life that's worth it.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: divakaruni, krishna, life, palace-of-illusions, panchaali, seriousness 54 likes Like
Christopher Pike
“The truth is always simpler than you can imagine.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna 47 likes Like
“The only way you can conquer me is through love and there I am gladly conquered”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: krishna, love, mohit-k-misra, moht-misra 38 likes Like
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction- he is a wise man.”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: holy-bhagwat-gita, krishna, mohit-k-misra 16 likes Like
“It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinativefaculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too. — Krishna; Chapter 15, verse 15”
― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
tags: hinduism, krishna 11 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Christ attained the ultimate spiritual oneness through prayer and devotion, Moses and Mohammed through prayer, Buddha and all the Indian sages through intense meditation and so did I. And so can you.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 3 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Just like love becomes consummated upon the attainment of orgasm, all the faith and divinity in the world reach their ultimate existential potential upon the attainment of Absolute Unitary Qualia or simply Absolute Godliness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Alan W. Watts
“When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control, it proliferates law of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important than what has actually been done. [...] The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed.”
― Alan W. Watts
tags: democracy, esotericism, government, krishna, philosophy, politics, tao, zen 2 likes Like
“Gujarat is my home state, welcome to the land of Krishna, Gandhi, Sardar & now it's Narendrabhai”
― Mukesh Ambani Vibrant Gujarat 2015
tags: gandhi, gujarat, krishna, narendra-modi, sardar 2 likes Like
Manasa Rao Saarloos
“I haven’t been to a temple in years, never been forced. My folks always said, marry a nice human being, religion doesn’t matter. They said your god is inside you! Don’t you forget that. Krishna, Jesus, Allah, are all one. Follow vegetarianism as far as you can, but you can choose your own diet, doesn’t matter. Believe in god, but for you and not because the world asks you to. Forgive and forget to be at peace. Do not believe in revenge, believe in karma!!”
― Manasa Rao Saarloos
tags: allah, forgive-and-forget, god, hinduism, jesus, karma, krishna, marriage, parenting, religion-and-philoshophy, spirituality, vegetarianism 2 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause. And it is all because people never attempt to reach the fountain-head. They are content only to comply with the customs of their forefathers and instructions on some books, and want others to do the same. But, to explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, fundamentalism, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, religious-extremism, religious-faith, religious-terrorism, religious-violence, self-realization, terrorism, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Vikrmn
“Forgive all before you go to sleep, you'll be forgiven before you get up. – Lord Krishna.”
― Vikrmn, Corpkshetra
tags: 10-golden-steps-of-life, 10gsl, ca-vikram-verma, chartered-accountant, forgive, forgiven, get-up, golden, inspirational, krishna, life, lord-krishna, motivational, sleep, steps, vikram, vikram-verma, vikrmn, vv 2 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“But Krishna was a chameleon.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: identity, krishna, palace-of-illusions 1 likes Like
Padma Viswanathan
“Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace.”
― Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao
tags: arjuna, bhagavad-gita, enlightenment, fear, krishna, life-s-mysteries, mysteries, peace, terror 1 likes Like
Sandeep Sharma
“The moment when your heart’s rhythm synchronises with the chants of the holy temple, you find God in your soul. It was noisy yet peaceful. They were all dancing in the packed hall, with eyes closed and hands swinging up in the air. It was as if the motto of life was nothing but to enjoy this very moment and taste the love of the almighty.”
― Sandeep Sharma, Let The Game Begin
tags: god, krishna, life-and-living, mathura 1 likes Like
Vivian Amis
“All suffering is caused by one belief....the belief in separation”
― Vivian Amis, The Lotus - Realization of Oneness
tags: buddha, business, end-to, family, friends, god, harmony, home, jesus, krishna, love, missery, oneness, partnership, peace, quotes, realization, self, suffering, war, world 1 likes Like
“You don’t need validation or approval from anyone but yourself. Even if the entire world goes against, disagrees with or attempts to crush you, stand up for what you believe in, and stand up alone if you have to! It’s better to die while living your own truth than to live in the truth of another. Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagavad Gita pointed this out when he said;
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
Integrity is the key to freedom. It’s only your own truth that can ‘set you free.’ It’s perfectly fine if your truth doesn’t match that of others because the experience of physical reality is a completely subjective one. It doesn’t make either of you wrong, as long as you’re both being true to yourselves, that’s all that matters.”
― Craig Krishna, The Labyrinth: Rewiring the Nodes in the Maze of your Mind
tags: beliefs, believe-in, bhagavad-gita, destiny, identity, integrity, key, krishna, opinions, perfection, stand-up, truth 1 likes Like
“Show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in full. We are not after titles and designations. We must teach by personal example. Do this and the future of our movement will be glorious.”
― Prabhupada Dasa
tags: krishna 1 likes Like
“When you think you know Everything, you know NOTHING! When you think you know Nothing.. You become KRISHNA- THE UNKNOWN !”
― True Krishna Priya
tags: consciousness, krishna, soul 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you emerge from the state of absolute divinity, the self within you becomes Christ – it becomes Buddha – it becomes Moses – it becomes Krishna. The sage who emerges from the state of non-duality begins to perceive the self as Christ, not Christ as Christ – the self as Moses, not Moses as Moses – the self as Mohammed, not Mohammed as Mohammed – the self as Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
“Narada Muni says - Whether you consider the human to be an eternal jivatma or a temporary body, or even if you accept an indescribable opinion that he is both eternal and temporary, you do not have to lament in any way. There is no cause for lamentation other than the affection which has arisen out of delusion. (1.13.44)”
― Srimad Bhagavatam
tags: krishna, spiritual 1 likes Like
“To become free from sinful life, there is only simple method: if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the beginning of bhakti.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: beginings, bhakti, krishna, krishna-conciousness, method, sin, surrender 0 likes Like
“So it is our request that you try to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't try to distort it by your so-called education. Try to understand Kṛiṣṇa as He is saying. Then you will be benefited. Your life will be successful.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: benifit-of-doubt, education, krishna, krishna-consciousness, life, life-quotes, study, successful-living, understanding 0 likes Like
Chaitanya Charan Das
“Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought”
― Chaitanya Charan Das, Gita for Daily Enrichment
tags: chanting, god, krishna, meditation, spirituality, yoga 0 likes Like
“If by studying Bhagavad-gītā one decides to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately freed from all sinful reactions.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: freedom, karma, krishna, krishna-consciousness, reactions, sin, study, surrender 0 likes Like
“By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: consciousness, devotion, god, gods-grace, krishna, krishna-conciousness, scriptures, service, study, supreme-love 0 likes Like
Jarett Sabirsh
“being attached to any one philosophy or religion
dwelling on moot differences and wanting to fit in
despite the path all are led Home in time
following an alternative pathway is certainly no crime
Krishna, Buddha, Allah or Zohar Kabbalah
devoted nonviolently, one is led to Nirvana
Hindu Sages, Zen Masters or Christian Mystics
many tongues, but identical truth spoken from their lips
mentioning Self or no-self or God is Father or Mother
according to their culture emphasizing one method or another
allness vs. nothingness, meditation vs. prayer
devotion in practice is all you should care
when Truth reveals itself you're beyond all conception
then not a single man-made word will hold any traction”
― Jarett Sabirsh, Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem
tags: buddha, buddhism, god, krishna, meditation, religion, spirituality 0 likes Like
“The perfection of yoga, therefore, does not terminate in voidness or impersonalism; on the contrary, the perfection of yoga is attained when one actually sees the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Remarks
Dean Pittman
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
(As prepared)
Every year at this time, the State Department is in a particularly frenzied state, preparing for the annual spectacle that we lovingly refer to as UNGA – the UN General Assembly. For many of us who have ridden the UNGA roller coaster over the years, that acronym possesses a gratifying guttural quality – there’s a heavy dose of UGH in every UNGA. This year’s dose is complemented by the U.S. presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. A 2fer for us!
It’s true that every new General Assembly brings with it dozens of world leaders, as well as innumerable events, speeches, protests, media outlets, and traffic snarls. The atmosphere can at times seem more carnival than colloquium.
Also every year at this time, the State Department endeavors to illuminate in advance U.S. priorities for the new General Assembly, and I’m pleased to be assuming that task today. I do so in the confident knowledge that the United Nations remains crucial to many of our national interests, and that in spite of its carnival-like aspects, this annual gathering of UN member states can be concretely useful in advancing those interests.
I’ll speak a bit today about what I mean by that utility, and how the United States translates its goals and objectives at the General Assembly into tools, actions, and results. I’ll describe briefly how actions at the Security Council have real impact, and how inaction at the Security Council can have real implications. Because at the end of the day, the United Nations must be more than the sum of its parts: it must be the system that provides function to the collective aspirations of the world community. There simply is no other alternative.
First, though, a few words on the overarching objectives that will frame much of the work we undertake over the next few words. As in previous years, we approach each new General Assembly in the context under which the Assembly was established nearly 70 years ago: to foster a more peaceful world, and to promote development and human rights. In these categories fall the broadest range of issues you can imagine, from Ukraine to Syria to Afghanistan to nonproliferation to human rights to climate change. All of those issues and many, many more are present on this year’s UNGA agenda.
In addition to the peace and development themes, however, the United States approaches the new General Assembly with another enduring priority, to continue working for a more effective, efficient UN system. In this area – which really colors all of our work throughout the UN system – we will be unrelenting in our push for improved UN budget discipline and management reform to ensure that the UN is able to meet the demands posed by today’s global challenges, and do so accountably, transparently, and responsibly.
So, look, this is a challenging time for the United States and its partners on the world stage, and I think that might be understating the matter, to say the least. It’s hard to imagine a time of so many divergent challenges confronting the international community. We have the security and humanitarian situations in Syria and Iraq, and the serious threat posed by the terrorist group known as ISIL, which I will touch on in some more detail.
We have a conflict in Ukraine that poses a threat to European security. We have an acute regional health emergency in West Africa. The situation in Gaza remains a key concern. And these are just headline stuff. There also are a significant number of other issues that demand what the President refers to as collective action.
One obvious example: Climate Change. At this year’s UNGA, climate change will receive priority attention. High-level events will include a meeting of the Major Economies Forum to focus on Energy and Climate, and the Secretary General’s Climate Summit, which will feature discussion of concrete new actions to address the very real implications of climate change. President Obama and Secretary will speak at both. Secretary Kerry will also be reinforcing his own determined commitment to protecting the world’s oceans in a high-level event next week, which follows the very successful Oceans Conference he hosted here in Washington in June.
My point here is that the annual frenzy that defines the UNGA high-level period often can conceal opportunities and real action on issues important to the United States and, of course, to the other UN member states. Only rarely is it possible to have all the right people in the right place to make strides on difficult issues. UNGA can be such a place. Just last year at UNGA, for example, constructive action was achieved on the challenge of Syria’s chemical weapons, and negotiations related to Iran’s nuclear program.
Many of you will recall that as my colleagues and I were heading to New York for the start of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, the conflict in Syria was reaching new dimensions, with recent evidence that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons on its own people. Russia and China had blocked Security Council action on Syria, but because the moment was right and the key players were all at hand at UNGA, a certain intangible momentum took hold, and the Council successfully adopted Resolution 2118, obligating the Syrian regime to take immediate action toward eliminating its chemical weapons.
Those weapons were subsequently identified and destroyed in what is a case study in the utility of collective action. We found a way to use the Security Council in spite of previous political failures; we had a competent technical organization ready to assume this difficult task, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and we had a coalition of nations, led by the United States, ready to provide the necessary means of destroying these weapons.
And, on Iran – opportunities at UNGA last year have led to significant action in addressing Iran’s nuclear efforts. Expect more this year. Pretty dramatic: calls by the President, world leaders negotiating around the UN Security Council table, Russians coming on board – it could have been a made for TV movie.
And so while much of UNGA is dedicated to broad conversations on global themes, much work is done on a more discrete basis, in bilateral conversations, in impromptu meetings, and sometimes in quite unanticipated directions. And when it happens, the results can be significant.
I thought I would continue by summarizing a bit further what will be among the key themes and activities during this year’s high-level week, and I hope to leave ample time to hear your thoughts and questions.
Tomorrow, I will be joining Secretary Kerry in New York when he chairs a session of the UN Security Council to demonstrate broad and unified international support for the new Iraqi Government, and to emphasize the need for serious political inclusivity as the new government pursues its agenda on behalf of the Iraqi people.
The Council session will provide a platform for the international community to underscore its support for Iraq’s new government as it fights ISIL. In recent days, the Secretary has been traveling extensively to issue what he has termed a “wake-up call” to world leaders on the threat posed by ISIL, and build a coalition of nations to address that threat. As tomorrow’s session will show, these efforts have had growing success and a global coalition is coming together.
We’ll see more next Wednesday when President Obama chairs a Security Council Summit to focus high-level international attention and action on the growing and dangerous related phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters.
Although the problem of terrorists traveling to foreign conflicts is not new, the threat recently has become grave, with an unprecedented flow of fighters and facilitation networks fueling multiple conflicts worldwide, such as in the Horn of Africa, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. These terrorist fighters not only exacerbate existing conflicts, but also often return to threaten terrorist attacks on the homefront.
As I said earlier, these are some of the headlines. But there will also be other events of importance to U.S. priorities. Next week for example will feature the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, which will strive to strengthen protections for indigenous cultural heritage and advance progress toward the goals of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In additional we’ll be discussing the post-2015 Development Agenda, the set of goals that will replace the Millennium Development Goals at the end of next year, and set the world’s development agenda for the next fifteen years or more. Heady stuff. Important stuff.
Peacekeeping will also be a major focus as we look to peacekeepers to carry out increasingly complicated and dangerous tasks around the globe. That aim was central to the Secretary General’s decision to launch a comprehensive strategic review of UN peacekeeping. And reinforce our own view that we need to work to improve UN peacekeeping mission logistics, planning, and force generation capabilities; to expand the pool of troop and police contributors; and to enhance the ability of peacekeepers to protect civilians, including from sexual and gender-based violence. The U.S. pays over $2billion a year in support of UN peacekeeping mission around the world – we’ve added two over the last year in Mali and CAR. We want to get them right.
These are just a few of the big ticket issues that will be under discussion during high-level week in New York. We can certainly discuss others, which include addressing gender-based violence in conflict settings, cementing progress made on the human rights of LGBT persons, country-specific events on Libya, South Sudan, DPRK, CAR and much more.
You may also be aware that tomorrow the Secretary will be making remarks at USAID’s Frontiers in Development Forum, where he is expected to elaborate his vision for American leadership on development issues, including the importance of the evolving post-2015 Development Agenda.
Finally, and as usual, world events shape UNGA in ways we could not predict even a few months ago. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa will of course be the feature of several high-level events at UNGA, and there is much happening now that will determine the agendas and outcomes of those events.
On Tuesday, the President spoke at the Centers for Disease Control, where he detailed our efforts to partner with the United Nations and other countries to help the Governments of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal respond to the outbreak just as we fortify U.S. defenses here at home. The President laid out four goals associated with this effort:
• control the epidemic at its source in West Africa;
• mitigate second-order impacts, including blunting the economic, social, and political tolls in the region;
• engage and coordinate with a broader global audience; and
• ortify global health security infrastructure in the region and beyond.
This effort, which includes assets from the Department of Defense, CDC, USAID, and other USG agencies, is built upon a crucial partnership with the World Health Organization and other international organizations that help coordinate and manage crises of this nature. In many ways, this is a unique international challenge, and only through maximum collaboration and communication can we ensure the greatest and most beneficial impact.
I’ve been all over the map I know, but that underscores the role of the UN in so many diverse and critical areas. And, I hope that gives you just a quick sense of some of the key events and activities that will constitute this year’s UNGA experience. It’s a little like spring break for foreign policy types – it’s non-stop action, just a little out of control, and guaranteed to leave you sleep-deprived and ready to go home. But another truth about UNGA is that it doesn’t end when all the heads of state depart and the high-level summits are concluded – the work, the initiatives, the collaboration, they are all just beginning.
This is a particular apt moment in time when we should pause to recognize that over the last 70 years, we have built an amazing – though admittedly flawed – international system designed to advance our human aspirations and respond to our human needs.
The UN and its agencies and organizations did not evolve from lesser entities, the nations of the world created them for specific purposes. While we member states may not value equally all the organizations in question, times such as these remind us of the utility of the World Health Organization, the World Food Program, UNICEF, and even those less known, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization. As many have said, if the United Nations did not exist, we would need to invent.
That utility requires investment by member states, and we all understand that the United States provides very significant support to the UN system. We do so because this system advances our interests and values, and because we accept that collective action on global issues offers the best path on a host of global issues. At the same time, we recognize that this varied and expansive bureaucracy is imperfect.
As we work to strengthen UN peacekeeping, UN capacity to respond to health crises, or advance access to quality education to all corners of the globe, we are determined to see improvements across the UN system in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, transparency and management reform. It is in this context that we support efforts such as the Secretary General’s peacekeeping review, efforts across the UN system to constrain staff costs, and elimination of redundant responsibilities. Vocal and active U.S. leadership on these issues is making a difference, but that leadership must be sustained, best practices amplified, and failures illuminated. In times of extraordinary challenges, business as usual is really not an option. We have to be tough because we expect so much from the UN.
So, criticisms aside – this is actually quite a remarkable time to be a UN watcher, and I encourage you to pay particular attention to this year’s UNGA. I have no doubt that the next week or two will feature some surprises, perhaps new ground will be broken on recurring issues. What will people be talking about after the summits and speeches have concluded? What event at UNGA will be best remembered at this time next year? I won’t offer a prediction here, but I will be very surprised if we aren’t all surprised in some manner, and that’s really what makes UNGA UNGA.
****************************
Washington, DC
September 18, 2014
Australian school students striking & organising to demand real action on the climate crisis
www.facebook.com/StrikeClimate/
www.instagram.com/schoolstrikeforclimate/
“We are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures
seriously and treat climate change for what it is - a crisis.” School Strike 4 Climate
Photo by Stephen Hass – Using Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
Over 330,000 strike on Friday in Australia doubling the March 2019 protests.
Students, workers and people all ages in 115+ Australian cities & towns.
Potentially over 4 million people globally will participate in world's largest climate mobilisation.
“The strike comes three days before world leaders meet in New York for the United Nations Emergency Climate Summit. Scott Morrison will not attend the UN summit despite being in New York at the same time meeting with Donald Trump.” www.schoolstrike4climate.com/post/biggest-climate-mobilis...
“Politicians can show us that they care by taking urgent action to meet our demands:
One: No new coal, oil and gas projects, including the Adani mine.
Two: 100% renewable energy generation & exports by 2030
Three: Fund a just transition & job creation for all fossil-fuel workers & communities.”
School Strike 4 Climate
7 continents
150+ countries
5000+ Strikes
90 Unions
4 Global Union Federations
School Strike 4 Climate
“Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world and it isn’t being addressed quickly enough.” School Strike 4 Climate
UPDATE BELOW: 25 September 2019
“Greenhouse gas emissions have been rising in Australia since the Coalition repealed Labor’s carbon price despite the country’s commitments to reduce pollution under the Paris agreement. Total national emissions have increased each year since 2014.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/morrison-r...
“Diplomatic officials from countries that I speak with see Australia as a denialist government,” he said. “It’s just accepted that’s what it is. It is seen as doing its own promotion of coal and natural gas against the science.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Scott Morrison is increasingly seen as running a “denialist government” that is not serious about finding a global climate solution and uses “greenwash” to meet its emissions commitments, analysts and former diplomats say.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Richie Merzian, a former climate diplomat who now works at progressive thinktank the Australian Institute, said Australia was seen by other countries as denying the severity of the problem and in engaging in “greenwashing” by using accounting tricks to meet targets while actual emissions increased.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“A report backed by the world’s major climate science bodies released on the eve of the summit found current plans would lead to a rise in average global temperatures of between 2.9C and 3.4C by 2100, a shift likely to bring catastrophic change across the globe.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
Critical News Update 21 July 2021 : Great Barrier Reef could soon be listed as ‘in danger’ by the World Heritage Committee.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/21/coalition-bel...
Critical News Update 23 July 2021 :
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/23/whether-or-no...
INACTION FIGURES!!
Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man, and James Rhodes, War Machine, taking their ease on China Beach at Đà Nẵng in Vietnam.
"Y'KNOW TONY, IS IT JUST ME, OR IS CHINA BEACH A LOT COLDER THAN IT WAS BACK IN THE DAY?"
"FUN-NY RHODEY. FUN-NY...JARVIS, OVERRIDE CODE: 'SIR PALOMIDES' - DEACTIVATE AIR CONDITIONING IN WAR MACHINE ARMOUR...."
"AWWW. SHOOT!! Y'KNOW STARK, FOR A PARTY DUDE YOUR'E A REGULAR BUZZKILL...MAN, DAMN, IT'S HOT!"
"YEAH MAN, BUT IT'S A WET HEAT!!"
"FUN-NY TONY, FUN-NY..."
If you've been following this photoset you know that the Iron Man character had his fictional origin in 1963 in Vietnam during the Second Indochina, or Vietnam, War. Which explains (of course!) why I took I.M toys with me on holiday there for the 49th anniversary of the comic book hero. (Or they took ME, as time passes I'm beginning to wonder...)
Well, James Rhodes is Tony Stark's best mate, personal pilot, sometimes employee, and, also the wearer of the formidable Stark-built War Machine armour.
Rhodey, then a U.S Marine Corps pilot, met Tony in Vietnam immediately after the billionaire, genius, inventor became Iron Man. After the war, Tony offered Rhodey a job at Stark Industries and they've had a long and turbulent friendship ever since.
War Machine, like Iron Man, is also a member of the superhero team, the Avengers, and the James Rhodes character has been featured in both the live action Iron Man movies and in I.M related animated series and movies.
For more about W.M see here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Machine
Although the War Machine armour is now most often associated with James Rhodes as its pilot, it actually was originally built by Tony Stark to wear in battle against a group of powerful foes back in 1992 in the Iron Man comic, issue #281. This particular action figure is a Hasbro 2010, 11 centimetre one, with 18 points of articulation, including the shoulder mounted weapons. It was #23 in the Marvel Universe line.
In the I.M comics Tony did later revisit Vietnam, and I'm certain he would have kicked back on China Beach during one trip or another. Rhodey, no doubt, would've spent R & R time there, by the same fictional logic. So it ticked several geek boxes for me to 'install' them there in a kind of hypothetical 'return trip'. (I'm sure it made sense to me at the time!)
Actually, I'm lucky we didn't spend much time at the Đà Nẵng beach on the day, the sand was hot enough that it felt like it could soften, if not melt, plastic! The sand, incidentally, as you can see, was remarkably fine. It doesn't look too out of scale with the toys. This really was a matter of just tossing the lads onto the beach and snapping a couple of fast piccys and hoping that it worked. A lot of the "I Am Iron Nam" photos were like that! It was actually ANZAC day when we were there (April 25th) which, if you're not an Aussie or a New Zealander, etc, translates into Veterans Day, or similar.
Australian school students striking & organising to demand real action on the climate crisis
www.facebook.com/StrikeClimate/
www.instagram.com/schoolstrikeforclimate/
“We are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures
seriously and treat climate change for what it is - a crisis.” School Strike 4 Climate
Photo by Stephen Hass – Using Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
Over 330,000 strike on Friday in Australia doubling the March 2019 protests.
Students, workers and people all ages in 115+ Australian cities & towns.
Potentially over 4 million people globally will participate in world's largest climate mobilisation.
“The strike comes three days before world leaders meet in New York for the United Nations Emergency Climate Summit. Scott Morrison will not attend the UN summit despite being in New York at the same time meeting with Donald Trump.” www.schoolstrike4climate.com/post/biggest-climate-mobilis...
“Politicians can show us that they care by taking urgent action to meet our demands:
One: No new coal, oil and gas projects, including the Adani mine.
Two: 100% renewable energy generation & exports by 2030
Three: Fund a just transition & job creation for all fossil-fuel workers & communities.”
School Strike 4 Climate
7 continents
150+ countries
5000+ Strikes
90 Unions
4 Global Union Federations
School Strike 4 Climate
“Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world and it isn’t being addressed quickly enough.” School Strike 4 Climate
UPDATE BELOW: 25 September 2019
“Greenhouse gas emissions have been rising in Australia since the Coalition repealed Labor’s carbon price despite the country’s commitments to reduce pollution under the Paris agreement. Total national emissions have increased each year since 2014.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/morrison-r...
“Diplomatic officials from countries that I speak with see Australia as a denialist government,” he said. “It’s just accepted that’s what it is. It is seen as doing its own promotion of coal and natural gas against the science.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Scott Morrison is increasingly seen as running a “denialist government” that is not serious about finding a global climate solution and uses “greenwash” to meet its emissions commitments, analysts and former diplomats say.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“Richie Merzian, a former climate diplomat who now works at progressive thinktank the Australian Institute, said Australia was seen by other countries as denying the severity of the problem and in engaging in “greenwashing” by using accounting tricks to meet targets while actual emissions increased.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
“A report backed by the world’s major climate science bodies released on the eve of the summit found current plans would lead to a rise in average global temperatures of between 2.9C and 3.4C by 2100, a shift likely to bring catastrophic change across the globe.” www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/25/australian...
Critical News Update 21 July 2021 : Great Barrier Reef could soon be listed as ‘in danger’ by the World Heritage Committee.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/21/coalition-bel...
Critical News Update 23 July 2021 :
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/23/whether-or-no...
Friday, February 9, 2018, a meeting was held in Auvers-sur-Oise entitled, Iranian people’s uprising, and international call for freedom of prisoners of the uprising. Maryam Rajavi and a number of European MPs from UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Malta, Lithuania, Switzerland and Poland participated.
Two plain-clothes policemen were surrounded and twice beaten up by protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday as officers tried to call an early end to a rally in the business district, resulting in several rounds of tear gas being fired and the arrest of the organiser of the demonstration.
Thousands took part in the police-approved protest in Chater Garden, Central, at 3pm, to demand electoral reforms for September’s legislative elections and urge the international community to impose sanctions on the Hong Kong government if their calls were snubbed.
But the day descended into mayhem when police declared the rally over after skirmishes between protesters and officers nearby.
The first scuffles broke out when police held a man to the ground in Des Voeux Road Central, drawing an angry response from protesters who then surrounded the officers.
Eight people were arrested in the area for possession of extendable batons, hammers and spanners. The force said it believed those detained had plans to create chaos.
A group of radical black-clad protesters first set upon a police liaison officer about an hour after the rally started after he spoke to the organiser, Ventus Lau Wing-hong. He fell to the ground as heavy blows rained down on him, including from a protester’s metal baton. A colleague who came to his aid was also beaten. The pair managed to flee across the road but were again attacked as they tried to get into a nearby office tower.
“At around 4pm today, while two officers of the police community liaison office were liaising with the organiser of a public event in Chater Garden, Central, they were suddenly surrounded and beaten up brutally by a large group of rioters with wooden sticks and other weapons,” police said in a statement.
“They were left with bloody injuries to the head. Such appalling acts are not to be condoned. The police will endeavour to bring the assailants to justice.”
In another statement, the force said protesters threw water bottles at them when they were intercepting people in the area.
Hard-core protesters set up barricades on roads and dug up paving bricks, police said in explanation of their decision to shut down the rally.
Officers used pepper spray on protesters and several rounds of tear gas were fired. A police water cannon and armoured vehicle were moved into Central amid the chaos. But they were not used.
Lau, a spokesman for Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team, which organised the rally, was arrested immediately after speaking to reporters in the evening. Police accused him of inciting the crowd and violating one of the rules in the force’s letter of no objection for the rally, that protesters could not overcrowd Chater Garden, Lau’s group said.
Zion Lam, another spokesman from the group, denied the accusations and said there was still space in Chater Garden. The organiser had even asked those at the rally to leave to make room for other protesters to get in, Lam added.
Before his arrest, Lau said police should bear full responsibility for the day’s chaos.
He said a man in plain clothes who identified himself as an officer asked him to cut short the rally because there were clashes nearby. Lau demanded he show his warrant card.
“The officer refused to display his warrant card until the crowd became too emotional. By then, the situation had become too hard to control,” Lau said. “I told him that as long as he showed me his warrant card, I would end the rally.”
A large crowd of protesters surrounded the officer, who then showed his warrant card. He and another plain-clothes officer were then beaten up by radicals.
Lau claimed that at least 150,000 people took part in the rally, while police put the turnout at 11,680 at its peak. After the rally was brought to an end, police ordered those in the area to leave immediately or be arrested. Some were rounded up.
In a police briefing on Sunday night, Senior Superintendent Ng Lok-chun said the two assaulted officers were left with “serious and bloody injuries”.
“This happened in broad daylight, right in front of the event organiser himself. We once again strongly condemn rioters for launching such violent attacks on our officers,” he said.
He added that the rally organiser was acquainted with the officers, and so it was “ridiculous” that Lau claimed he did not know them. Lau was arrested for contravening the conditions on the police’s letter of no objection and for repeatedly obstructing the officers in carrying out their duties.
A total of four officers were injured on Sunday, Ng said. He did not elaborate on the other two officers.
Asked why officers held up the identity card of a Stand News reporter in front of his camera while he was doing a live broadcast on Sunday afternoon, Ng said he did not have information on the incident.
But Privacy Commissioner Stephen Wong Kai-yi said his office was looking into the incident in a fair manner along with a similar case in Tai Po earlier.
In a late-night statement, a government spokesman said it strongly condemned protesters’ “outrageous” attacks on officers with no anti-riot equipment.
Separately, the force said four petrol bombs were hurled at the reporting room and car park of Tai Po Police Station at about 8pm. No one was hurt but services at the reporting room were suspended.
Later on Sunday night, riot police were back on the streets, this time in Mong Kok, a popular shopping and entertainment area in Kowloon. In a game of cat and mouse, protesters tried to block traffic, throwing bags of rubbish and other items close at hand onto roads, as police raced through the streets after them.
Police raised a blue flag, warning protesters they were taking part in an illegal assembly, a number of times. Officers also used pepper spray, at one point firing on a group of people, including reporters, gathered on the pavement.
Sunday afternoon’s demonstration, the second in a row pushing for more democracy, was held as protests, sparked in June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, entered their eighth month.
The movement has morphed into a wider anti-government campaign, with protesters issuing five demands, including the establishment of a judge-led independent inquiry into the police’s use of force.
Lau said the government must scrap the functional constituencies of the Legislative Council, which return 35 lawmakers to the 70-seat legislature and have long been criticised. Voting for the functional constituencies, except for five “super seats”, is restricted to those from certain trades and professional sectors.
“The first time I heard about the calls for universal suffrage, that was in 2007 and 2008. People have then been calling for it in 2012, 2017, and we’re now already in 2020,” Lau, 26, told the crowd.
“We have had a lot of peaceful demonstrations … but has the government ever listened?” The protesters responded with a resounding “no”.
Lau added: “We’re not just here to protest today. We’re here to revolt, to exact revenge [for government inaction].”
Some rally-goers waved US national flags and banners calling for Hong Kong independence.
In November, US President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that could bring diplomatic action and economic sanctions against Hong Kong, waving off multiple warnings by China against such a move.
Protester Serah Kwong, a retired secondary school teacher in her late 50s, said she knew of teachers who were worried about retribution from their schools for supporting the protest movement.
“This oppression may happen to all professions. That’s why we hope there will be more interventions from foreign countries,” Kwong said, referring to sanctions from foreign governments.
“This is the only way to keep up with the pressure.”
Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung warned that teachers’ personal remarks on social media were regulated by the law and a professional code of conduct and those who behaved inappropriately should face consequences.
Another protester, office worker Andy Chan, joined the rally because he was angry at police’s use of force at previous protests.
“We have to make sure the five demands are fulfilled, in particular the demand to investigate police brutality,” the 25-year-old said, adding that international sanctions were the only solution left when the Hong Kong government had failed to respond.
Meanwhile, the Transport Department said repairs and testing of the e-payment facilities for all nine manual toll lanes of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel had been completed and would resume operation from 7am on Monday. The facilities were damaged two months ago amid violent protests.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3046726/hong...
【明報專訊】民間集會團隊昨發起中環集會，呼籲各國實施制裁法案，其間警方稱有示威者在中環一帶堵路和縱火，約下午4時派出便衣警員向主辦方要求終止集會，其間被示威者襲擊，負傷走至長江中心暫避，再被多名黑衣人圍毆，被人用棍及磚頭擊打，頭部流血，警方施放催淚彈驅散。警方昨午清場時，有市民亦被防暴警打穿頭，同樣血流披面。警方重案組昨晚拘捕活動發起人劉頴匡，指他違反集會不反對通知書條款，若有足夠證據會檢控。
主辦方稱15萬人 警：最高峰1.1萬
主辦單位稱有15萬人參加集會，警方稱最高峰時約有1.1萬人。政府昨發聲明回應對有集會者要求外國政府干涉香港事務及實施「制裁」表示極度遺憾，對於普選訴求，聲明又以1100多字重申政府明白市民爭取普選的訴求的立場。
警歸咎示威者堵路縱火 稱劉故意刁難
近期多次集會及遊行被腰斬，昨亦不例外，港島總區高級警司（行動）吳樂俊昨晚歸咎示威者剝奪市民集會權利，對此表示遺憾。他稱昨午集會場外有示威者堵路和縱火，警方安排多名便衣警員向劉頴匡要求終止集會，在場便衣警員一直與主辦方保持溝通，與劉頴匡互相認識，惟仍被劉質疑警員身分，認為遭故意刁難，後來更有警員被示威者襲擊至頭破血流，對此表示非常憤怒。他說，事件中最少有4名警員受傷，當中一人昨晚需留院治理。
警重兵截「流水」 集會前檢伸縮棍槌仔拘8人
吳樂俊又稱，警方未有使用催淚彈多時，惟昨防暴警員護送受襲便衣警員離去時，在長江中心外仍遭多名示威者追打，迫於無奈施放催淚彈驅散。他又稱集會前截查市民，結果拘捕8人，在他們身上搜出伸縮棍、士巴拿及槌仔，若不採取行動，可能會危害公眾安全，後果不堪設想。
警方對上一次施放催淚彈是今年1月5日，當日上水廣場舉行反水貨遊行。
民間集會團隊原定昨舉辦「天下制裁」遊行，由中環遊行至銅鑼灣，惟遭警方反對，警方只向遮打花園集會發出不反對通知書。昨午1時許，警方已於港島多處重兵佈防，並安排水炮車戒備，阻止集會者「流水式」離開中環遊行（見圖）。
昨午3時許遮打花園已站滿人，部分市民在場外站立。集會期間，警方在場外截查一名男子，指有人向警員掟水樽及疑似漆彈，一批防暴警衝前制服一名男子，其間向圍觀者施放胡椒噴霧。有示威者在中國建設銀行大廈外噴漆，以及在德輔道中及雪廠街交界設傘陣堵路及縱火焚燒雜物。
一名自稱警民關係科、無戴委任證的便衣警員，4時許在集會現場向劉頴匡公開要求劉終止集會，該警員在劉多次要求下才出示委任證，擾攘及理論一番後，警民關係科便衣警員及旁邊無表明身分、一直保護便衣警員的人遭示威者襲擊，其後這批人被揭發也是便衣警。現場場面混亂，他們跑至附近長江中心外，再遭一批黑衣人以棍及手持磚頭擊打身體，及後防暴警趕至。警方後來施放催淚彈驅散在場者。
劉：便衣遲遲不展證 應負責
民間集會團隊發言人劉頴匡之後見記者，宣布集會有15萬人參加，他稱若非警方無故腰斬集會，相信集會人數會更多。他又說，昨日警民衝突主要源於有便衣警遲遲不出示委任證，便要求他腰斬集會，激發群眾不滿，認為警方需為衝突負責。警方在劉見傳媒後，即以主辦單位違反「不反對通知書」的協定，沒有協助維持秩序，拘捕劉頴匡。
明報記者
news.mingpao.com/pns/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20200120/...
Statement of support from Zack de la Rocha:
There is nothing criminal about a family’s search for dignified work and housing. There is nothing illegal about the need to alleviate hunger and find peace and security for people in their communities, or find adequate health care. In my mind these are rights that are universal, transnational, and non negotiable. Displaced by corporate globalization and war, the more than 12 million undocumented workers within the U.S. in search of those rights are not only denied the fruits of their labor, but are beaten away from the tree of enormous wealth and services that their sweat has watered for generations.
No amount of hate filled rhetoric, unlawful racist detentions, or tear gas can mask these essential truths that were made so clear by the millions workers themselves. People whose courage in the face of repression, and the potential loss of jobs , continue to pour out from the shadows and into the streets. Not only to heroically defend their rights and dignity, but have also revitalized the historical relevance of May Day, in which migrant workers of years past fought and died for the rights of all workers as they helped established the eight hour work day.
Since the movement lead by the undocumented has re-emerged, the inaction and silence from congress has become deafening. Though the neo-fascist seinsbrenner bill was for the most part defeated, the inability of congress to draft a new more humane and sensible legislative solution has left an extremely repressive and violent vacuum. Most notably the arrogant abuse of power exemplified by Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputized vigilantes. His shame full application of the Homeland Security Departments ill conceived 287g agreements have forced entire communities of workers in Maricopa county to live in constant states fear and terror.
This series of prints designed by Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena originated from photographs taken during the historic 2006 may day march and to me reflect some of that determination and dignity that is driving this most important assertion of workers rights in recent history. I want to thank both of them for they’re work thoughout the years. I also want to thank Marco Amador from Produciones Cimarron for his work and consultation on the project and for his work along side the communities themselves.
¡La Lucha Sigue!
Hopefully see you in the streets.
Zack de la Rocha
I am an immigrant. My ancestors left England and Scotland to come to this land to create a better life for themselves and their families. America is a land of immigrants. Ironically, the people’s who this land was inhabited by before “Americans” were Native Americans North and South American descent. I bring up this history not to stir up controversy or animosity, but to simply point out the complexity of who is entitled to live here. Something that is not complex and should not be controversial is the right of all humans to be treated like humans. People coming to America for the same reasons our ancestors did deserve human rights. The United States was created by immigrants and now our country needs immigration reform. I collaborated on this project with my co-worker Ernesto Yerena who shot the photos and helped with the graphics. Zach De La Rocha and Marco Amador provided input and support. All the proceeds from these posters go to creating materials for the May Day marches and donations for immigration reform organizations. Thanks for supporting human rights!
-Shepard Fairey
Artists Who Are Reshaping America’s Immigration Debate
By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Sunday, July 1st, 2012
Given the debate recently, it might surprise you to know that illegal immigration from Mexico is actually down.
A report from the Pew Hispanic Center, a respected nonpartisan research group, found that migration from Mexico has come to a virtual standstill, and the number of illegal immigrants in the United States may even be in decline. But you wouldn't know that from the overheated debate, which makes it sound as if immigrants are coming in droves, committing kidnappings and then freeloading on food stamps.
When it comes to issues like Arizona's strict enforcement law, President Barack Obama's DREAM Act order, or arguments about border security, there are plenty of distortions, large and small, that enter the political discourse. PolitiFact, the national politics website of the Tampa Bay Times, has long been tracking and debunking inaccurate statements about immigration. We've found that immigration claims are especially prone to exaggerations and falsehoods. For example, 29 percent of all claims we check earn a False or Pants on Fire. But for immigration, 35 percent do. With that in mind, let’s find the border between truth and fiction.
Decapitated bodies in Arizona?
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled key portions of an Arizona immigration law that was considered one of the nation’s strictest. The court struck down provisions making it a crime for illegal immigrants to seek work and for local officials to jail illegal immigrants for acts that could lead to deportation. But it gave provisional approval to part of the law that required law enforcement officers to check immigration status if they had reasonable suspicions when stopping people for other reasons.
Supporters of the 2010 law said it was necessary because Arizona couldn’t afford the social costs of so much illegal immigration. It's true that illegal immigrants can enroll their children in public schools. When they show up with emergency conditions at hospitals, the hospitals are required to stabilize them.
But the law’s supporters -- including Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer -- went too far with several dramatic but unsubstantiated claims about crime. Brewer said the situation was so bad that law enforcement was finding decapitated bodies. "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert, either buried or just lying out there, that have been beheaded," she said.
It was a powerful story, but it wasn't true.
Medical authorities in Arizona, though, told PolitiFact that in the vast majority of border deaths, the cause was exposure -- extreme heat in summer, extreme cold in winter -- not criminal violence. The remainder of deaths, fewer than 5 percent, were related to the process of human smuggling, such as auto accidents. PolitiFact rated Brewer’s statement Pants on Fire.
Another inaccurate talking point was that Phoenix was "the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world."
We couldn’t find any evidence from law enforcement to prove this statistic. Meanwhile, private security companies told us that Phoenix was nowhere near the top of their lists for kidnappings. These firms were negotiating hostage releases from cities like Mexico City; Caracas, Venezuela; and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. When Arizona Sen. John McCain repeated the erroneous "kidnapping capital" statement in 2010, we rated his statement False.
‘Freeloaders’
Another theme we've seen: that illegal immigrants are freeloaders taking advantage of federal welfare programs. Those types of charges are often repeated in anonymous chain e-mails, on blogs and Facebook. "More than 43 percent of all food stamps are given to illegals," said a typical claim, this one from a Facebook post promoting "10 Illegal Alien Facts."
When PolitiFact researched the numbers, though, we found the claim ridiculously false and rated it Pants on Fire. About 46.4 million people receive food stamps, so 43 percent of that number would be just under 20 million. That significantly exceeds estimates for how many illegal immigrants are in the country. The Pew Hispanic Center put the number at 11.2 million in 2010.
On top of that, most social welfare programs bar illegal immigrants from receiving benefits and require proof of immigration status. That includes food stamps, as well as cash welfare assistance, Medicaid, and even the new health care law. It's true that some children of illegal immigrants qualify for benefits if they were born in the United States and are citizens. (Critics derisively call them "anchor babies.") But there aren't nearly enough of those types of children -- an estimated 4 million -- to account for 43 percent of food stamp recipients.
Another claim is that illegal immigrants dominate public housing run by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, or HUD. "Nearly 60 percent of all occupants of HUD properties in the U.S. are illegals," the Facebook post said. That statement too earned a Pants on Fire, because it would require half of all illegal immigrants in the country to live in that housing. And again, HUD requires proof of legal status.
Frank Sharry, executive director of the pro-immigration group America's Voice, said that these kinds of anonymous attacks aren't typical of the public's views of illegal immigrants, but they are out there. "Polling shows that attitudes toward immigration are improving. But the people who don’t like it are really nasty," he said. "The haters have gotten more intense."
Trick Dog
Trendy hangout in a converted warehouse w/ an array of craft cocktails & eclectic small plates.
3010 20th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 471-2999
"liberate Hong Kong, revolution now" 光復香港 時代革命
"5 demands not one less"
****************
Two plain-clothes policemen were surrounded and twice beaten up by protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday as officers tried to call an early end to a rally in the business district, resulting in several rounds of tear gas being fired and the arrest of the organiser of the demonstration.
Thousands took part in the police-approved protest in Chater Garden, Central, at 3pm, to demand electoral reforms for September’s legislative elections and urge the international community to impose sanctions on the Hong Kong government if their calls were snubbed.
But the day descended into mayhem when police declared the rally over after skirmishes between protesters and officers nearby.
The first scuffles broke out when police held a man to the ground in Des Voeux Road Central, drawing an angry response from protesters who then surrounded the officers.
Eight people were arrested in the area for possession of extendable batons, hammers and spanners. The force said it believed those detained had plans to create chaos.
A group of radical black-clad protesters first set upon a police liaison officer about an hour after the rally started after he spoke to the organiser, Ventus Lau Wing-hong. He fell to the ground as heavy blows rained down on him, including from a protester’s metal baton. A colleague who came to his aid was also beaten. The pair managed to flee across the road but were again attacked as they tried to get into a nearby office tower.
“At around 4pm today, while two officers of the police community liaison office were liaising with the organiser of a public event in Chater Garden, Central, they were suddenly surrounded and beaten up brutally by a large group of rioters with wooden sticks and other weapons,” police said in a statement.
“They were left with bloody injuries to the head. Such appalling acts are not to be condoned. The police will endeavour to bring the assailants to justice.”
In another statement, the force said protesters threw water bottles at them when they were intercepting people in the area.
Hard-core protesters set up barricades on roads and dug up paving bricks, police said in explanation of their decision to shut down the rally.
Officers used pepper spray on protesters and several rounds of tear gas were fired. A police water cannon and armoured vehicle were moved into Central amid the chaos. But they were not used.
Lau, a spokesman for Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team, which organised the rally, was arrested immediately after speaking to reporters in the evening. Police accused him of inciting the crowd and violating one of the rules in the force’s letter of no objection for the rally, that protesters could not overcrowd Chater Garden, Lau’s group said.
Zion Lam, another spokesman from the group, denied the accusations and said there was still space in Chater Garden. The organiser had even asked those at the rally to leave to make room for other protesters to get in, Lam added.
Before his arrest, Lau said police should bear full responsibility for the day’s chaos.
He said a man in plain clothes who identified himself as an officer asked him to cut short the rally because there were clashes nearby. Lau demanded he show his warrant card.
“The officer refused to display his warrant card until the crowd became too emotional. By then, the situation had become too hard to control,” Lau said. “I told him that as long as he showed me his warrant card, I would end the rally.”
A large crowd of protesters surrounded the officer, who then showed his warrant card. He and another plain-clothes officer were then beaten up by radicals.
Lau claimed that at least 150,000 people took part in the rally, while police put the turnout at 11,680 at its peak. After the rally was brought to an end, police ordered those in the area to leave immediately or be arrested. Some were rounded up.
In a police briefing on Sunday night, Senior Superintendent Ng Lok-chun said the two assaulted officers were left with “serious and bloody injuries”.
“This happened in broad daylight, right in front of the event organiser himself. We once again strongly condemn rioters for launching such violent attacks on our officers,” he said.
He added that the rally organiser was acquainted with the officers, and so it was “ridiculous” that Lau claimed he did not know them. Lau was arrested for contravening the conditions on the police’s letter of no objection and for repeatedly obstructing the officers in carrying out their duties.
A total of four officers were injured on Sunday, Ng said. He did not elaborate on the other two officers.
Asked why officers held up the identity card of a Stand News reporter in front of his camera while he was doing a live broadcast on Sunday afternoon, Ng said he did not have information on the incident.
But Privacy Commissioner Stephen Wong Kai-yi said his office was looking into the incident in a fair manner along with a similar case in Tai Po earlier.
In a late-night statement, a government spokesman said it strongly condemned protesters’ “outrageous” attacks on officers with no anti-riot equipment.
Separately, the force said four petrol bombs were hurled at the reporting room and car park of Tai Po Police Station at about 8pm. No one was hurt but services at the reporting room were suspended.
Later on Sunday night, riot police were back on the streets, this time in Mong Kok, a popular shopping and entertainment area in Kowloon. In a game of cat and mouse, protesters tried to block traffic, throwing bags of rubbish and other items close at hand onto roads, as police raced through the streets after them.
Police raised a blue flag, warning protesters they were taking part in an illegal assembly, a number of times. Officers also used pepper spray, at one point firing on a group of people, including reporters, gathered on the pavement.
Sunday afternoon’s demonstration, the second in a row pushing for more democracy, was held as protests, sparked in June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, entered their eighth month.
The movement has morphed into a wider anti-government campaign, with protesters issuing five demands, including the establishment of a judge-led independent inquiry into the police’s use of force.
Lau said the government must scrap the functional constituencies of the Legislative Council, which return 35 lawmakers to the 70-seat legislature and have long been criticised. Voting for the functional constituencies, except for five “super seats”, is restricted to those from certain trades and professional sectors.
“The first time I heard about the calls for universal suffrage, that was in 2007 and 2008. People have then been calling for it in 2012, 2017, and we’re now already in 2020,” Lau, 26, told the crowd.
“We have had a lot of peaceful demonstrations … but has the government ever listened?” The protesters responded with a resounding “no”.
Lau added: “We’re not just here to protest today. We’re here to revolt, to exact revenge [for government inaction].”
Some rally-goers waved US national flags and banners calling for Hong Kong independence.
In November, US President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that could bring diplomatic action and economic sanctions against Hong Kong, waving off multiple warnings by China against such a move.
Protester Serah Kwong, a retired secondary school teacher in her late 50s, said she knew of teachers who were worried about retribution from their schools for supporting the protest movement.
“This oppression may happen to all professions. That’s why we hope there will be more interventions from foreign countries,” Kwong said, referring to sanctions from foreign governments.
“This is the only way to keep up with the pressure.”
Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung warned that teachers’ personal remarks on social media were regulated by the law and a professional code of conduct and those who behaved inappropriately should face consequences.
Another protester, office worker Andy Chan, joined the rally because he was angry at police’s use of force at previous protests.
“We have to make sure the five demands are fulfilled, in particular the demand to investigate police brutality,” the 25-year-old said, adding that international sanctions were the only solution left when the Hong Kong government had failed to respond.
Meanwhile, the Transport Department said repairs and testing of the e-payment facilities for all nine manual toll lanes of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel had been completed and would resume operation from 7am on Monday. The facilities were damaged two months ago amid violent protests.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3046726/hong...
【明報專訊】民間集會團隊昨發起中環集會，呼籲各國實施制裁法案，其間警方稱有示威者在中環一帶堵路和縱火，約下午4時派出便衣警員向主辦方要求終止集會，其間被示威者襲擊，負傷走至長江中心暫避，再被多名黑衣人圍毆，被人用棍及磚頭擊打，頭部流血，警方施放催淚彈驅散。警方昨午清場時，有市民亦被防暴警打穿頭，同樣血流披面。警方重案組昨晚拘捕活動發起人劉頴匡，指他違反集會不反對通知書條款，若有足夠證據會檢控。
主辦方稱15萬人 警：最高峰1.1萬
主辦單位稱有15萬人參加集會，警方稱最高峰時約有1.1萬人。政府昨發聲明回應對有集會者要求外國政府干涉香港事務及實施「制裁」表示極度遺憾，對於普選訴求，聲明又以1100多字重申政府明白市民爭取普選的訴求的立場。
警歸咎示威者堵路縱火 稱劉故意刁難
近期多次集會及遊行被腰斬，昨亦不例外，港島總區高級警司（行動）吳樂俊昨晚歸咎示威者剝奪市民集會權利，對此表示遺憾。他稱昨午集會場外有示威者堵路和縱火，警方安排多名便衣警員向劉頴匡要求終止集會，在場便衣警員一直與主辦方保持溝通，與劉頴匡互相認識，惟仍被劉質疑警員身分，認為遭故意刁難，後來更有警員被示威者襲擊至頭破血流，對此表示非常憤怒。他說，事件中最少有4名警員受傷，當中一人昨晚需留院治理。
警重兵截「流水」 集會前檢伸縮棍槌仔拘8人
吳樂俊又稱，警方未有使用催淚彈多時，惟昨防暴警員護送受襲便衣警員離去時，在長江中心外仍遭多名示威者追打，迫於無奈施放催淚彈驅散。他又稱集會前截查市民，結果拘捕8人，在他們身上搜出伸縮棍、士巴拿及槌仔，若不採取行動，可能會危害公眾安全，後果不堪設想。
警方對上一次施放催淚彈是今年1月5日，當日上水廣場舉行反水貨遊行。
民間集會團隊原定昨舉辦「天下制裁」遊行，由中環遊行至銅鑼灣，惟遭警方反對，警方只向遮打花園集會發出不反對通知書。昨午1時許，警方已於港島多處重兵佈防，並安排水炮車戒備，阻止集會者「流水式」離開中環遊行（見圖）。
昨午3時許遮打花園已站滿人，部分市民在場外站立。集會期間，警方在場外截查一名男子，指有人向警員掟水樽及疑似漆彈，一批防暴警衝前制服一名男子，其間向圍觀者施放胡椒噴霧。有示威者在中國建設銀行大廈外噴漆，以及在德輔道中及雪廠街交界設傘陣堵路及縱火焚燒雜物。
一名自稱警民關係科、無戴委任證的便衣警員，4時許在集會現場向劉頴匡公開要求劉終止集會，該警員在劉多次要求下才出示委任證，擾攘及理論一番後，警民關係科便衣警員及旁邊無表明身分、一直保護便衣警員的人遭示威者襲擊，其後這批人被揭發也是便衣警。現場場面混亂，他們跑至附近長江中心外，再遭一批黑衣人以棍及手持磚頭擊打身體，及後防暴警趕至。警方後來施放催淚彈驅散在場者。
劉：便衣遲遲不展證 應負責
民間集會團隊發言人劉頴匡之後見記者，宣布集會有15萬人參加，他稱若非警方無故腰斬集會，相信集會人數會更多。他又說，昨日警民衝突主要源於有便衣警遲遲不出示委任證，便要求他腰斬集會，激發群眾不滿，認為警方需為衝突負責。警方在劉見傳媒後，即以主辦單位違反「不反對通知書」的協定，沒有協助維持秩序，拘捕劉頴匡。
明報記者
news.mingpao.com/pns/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20200120/...
On National Day of Action, Hundreds of New Yorkers Say: Washington Must Move Now on Immigration Reform, Halt Deportations
Statewide Campaign Demands Fairness and Equality for Immigrants in New York and Nationwide
(New York, NY) On a warm spring day, New York’s Foley Square was packed with New Yorkers - old and young, workers and students, families and faith leaders, elected officials and labor, immigrants and their allies - united with one message: inaction is not an option. New Yorkers for Real Immigration Reform, the statewide campaign organized by the New York Immigration Coalition, coordinated the rally as part of a national “Day of Action” for immigrants’ rights. In Los Angeles and in New York, advocates made clear that Congress needs to move immediately to pass immigration reform, that the Administration must stop deporting over a thousand people every day, and that immigrant communities refuse to wait any longer.
With deportations reaching over 2 million in the last six years – approximately 400,000 deportations a year since 2008 – New York’s immigrants and their families have suffered immensely while our Federal elected officials have failed to reach a fair and workable solution to our broken immigration system. At the rally, speakers representing New York’s diverse communities urged the Administration and members of Congress to act immediately to pass immigration reform and bring an end to the deportations that have torn immigrant families apart. Throughout the rally, speakers shared the same sentiment: that our communities will not stop fighting until we pass comprehensive immigration reform that honors family, bolsters the economy, serves the public interest, and provides a path to citizenship for undocumented Americans –our patience is running out.
Top left: Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal addresses rally participants, Top right: Almost 500 supporters congregate in Foley Square in Manhattan,
Bottom Center: Steven Choi emcees the rally
Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, opened the rally by saying, “There is a crisis in our immigrant communities, with our families continuing to be ripped apart and hope torn asunder by destructive immigration policies. It is high time that Congress get on the right side of history and pass a bill that allows people to come out of the shadows and become citizens. It is high time that the Administration brings an end to the deportations that have decimated our communities. The level of inaction from Washington on the issue of immigration reform is a national disgrace. We will do what we can in the meantime to support our immigrant communities – like pushing forward municipal IDs for all New Yorkers regardless of status, or fighting for the New York State DREAM Act – but our Federal elected leaders must step up immediately and provide relief for the millions of immigrants waiting for solutions. Our communities will not - and cannot – simply wait any longer, and we demand that our politicians step up and show true courage and leadership.”
New York’s top elected officials, faith and labor leaders, immigrant advocates, and members of affected communities also came together to share stories highlighting the suffering that New Yorkers have faced in light of Congress’ stalemate.
“I am proud to stand side by side with advocates on this immigrant day of action, urging Congress to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” said Councilmember Carlos Menchaca, chair of the Immigration Committee in City Council. “At the local level, I will fight for a reform package that doesn't undercut important immigrant community needs. Congress needs to come together to end the suffering of our immigrant families and put them on a path to real security.”
“Comprehensive Immigration Reform isn't some passing political issue, it is a movement that will define a generation,” said Byron Silva, assistant business manager at Laborers’ Local 78.
“Immigration reform has been used as a political football for long enough,” said Janet Baharona, a cleaner in Manhattan who is a member of 32BJ SEIU. “Congress’ inaction – and the silence of my Congressman Michael Grimm – is tearing families in my community apart and pushing more and more hard working immigrants into the shadows and into poverty. Voters will hold Rep. Grimm and accountable for his actions.”
“For too long House Speaker John Boehner has let a small faction in the Republican party hold immigration reform hostage,’’ said S.J. Jung, president of MinKwon Center for Community Action. "Our NY Republican Congress Members now have a chance to break this stonewall by signing on to the discharge petition. We are done with lip service and delaying tactics! The Asian American and immigrant communities across the nation demand real immigration reform now!”
"Immigration reform is just as important to American citizens as it is to those whom are undocumented," said Magdolyn Kawas, member of the Arab American Association of New York. "Many of us were born and raised here, and still our communities continue to suffer from a broken immigration system. My father came to the U.S. for a better future for his family but, because of his immigration status, we are forced to live apart. As someone impacted and as a voter, I'm calling on Congress to take action. We need real reforms that will reunite me with my father and bring thousands of families back together."
“While we are resolved more than ever to put pressure on the House to act on comprehensive immigration, we are seriously concerned by the devastating impact of the deportations that have been tearing apart our communities,” said Imam Souleymane Konate with African Services Committee. “Seizing on the anniversary of the historic April 10th rally, we are appealing to the administration help build families, but not to destroy them.”
"Immigration reform is absolutely necessary. As a Catholic and a DREAMer, I strongly believe that immigrants need to be treated equally and recognized as part of this nation in soul, heart and mind. Let's make humane reform a reality,” said Dennisse Pizarro, an undocumented youth with Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC. “To congress and the white house: it is is said that we can make a change if we all work together"
"This is not a political issue for pundits to opine over, this is an issue of civil rights, respect, and basic human dignity. Washington has procrastinated for far too long, the need for reform is urgent and the time is now!" said Don Elisa-Garcia, member of La Fuente.
New Yorkers for Real Immigration Reform mobilization committee: 32BJ SEIU, Adhikaar, African Services Committee, Arab American Association of NY, Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement, La Fuente, Latino Justice PRLDEF, Make the Road NY, MinKwon Center for Community Action, New York Immigration Coalition, The Black Institute
April 10th Rally Endorsing Organizations: Alliance of South Asian American Labor, American Immigration Lawyers Association-NY Chapter, Asian American Bar Association of New York, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance NY Chapter, Central American Legal Assistance, Chhaya CDC, Chinese Progressive Association, Churches United to Save and Heal, Coalition for Asian American Children & Families, Comite Guadalupano Ascension, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, Interfaith Center of New York, Long Island Civic Engagement Table, Long Island Immigrant Alliance, Long Island Wins, LIUNA, Local 78, Metropolitan District United Methodist Women, MRAPA & RAVEL, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, NYC Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, NYS Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform, OCA-NY, Out4Immigration, United Neighborhood Houses of New York, Violence Intervention Program, Worker Justice Center of New York, YWCA of Queens.