View allAll Photos Tagged Progressive
Shining Light on Secret TPP agreement & calling on Congress to
STOP Fast Track
For Immediate Release: Day before Wikileak of TPP Document - 13 Cities
Mobilized to Shine a Light on Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership "Trade"
Deal Telling Congress "Don't Fast Track a Train Wreck - FLUSH the
TPP!"
CONTACT: Bill Moyer 206-356-9980 | bill@backbonecampaign.org
| or Eric Ross 805-776-3882 | eric@backbonecampaign.org
| 805-776-3882 | VoteNoFastTrack.org
SEATTLE - On Tuesday evening citizens in Seattle and 12
other cities appeared on overpasses and roadsides to pull the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, aka TPP, out of the shadows and into the
light of public scrutiny. From Dallas to DC, San Diego to Seattle,
Tucson to Detroit, Baltimore to Bellingham, Spokane to Chicago
people took their messages to interstate overpasses, prominent
monuments, and busy city streets using coordinated daytime and
nighttime, high visibility tactics.
They deployed giant banners saying No New NAFTA, mobilized LED light
panels saying "(thumbs up) Democracy, STOP The TPP," and projected with
spotlights messages like "Don't Fast Track A Train Wreck." These
coordinated citizen's actions coincided with ongoing TPP negotiations
taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah from November 12-24
and today's anticipated release by Congressperson Rosa DeLauro and
George Miller detailing the growing opposition to "Fast Track" among
Congress, and preceded today's surprise release by Wikileaks of a leaked
chapter of the secretive "TPP" agreement. [Here
is Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch initial interpretations of the
chapter on intellectual property.]
The TPP has been called NAFTA on steroids, a "Corporate Coup," and
concerned citizens from across the nation are calling on Congress to
"Flush It!" and to oppose President Obama's request to renew "Fast
Track" authority to commit our country to this secretive agreement that
has less to do with trade, than it does with dismantling any domestic
policies that undermine future profits for transnational capital and
corporations.
Bill Moyer, Executive Director of the Backbone Campaign stated "Only a
bought a sold government would sign a treaty that sacrifices our
capacity as communities and country to pass laws for workers benefit,
and the protection of our communities and our natural resources."
The Trans-Pacific Partnership has been negotiated under secrecy for 3
years. Obama is now pushing to have it swiftly approved to much to the
dismay of members of Congress, most of whom haven't even been allowed to
see the text. While Congress is constitutionally required to negotiate
any international treaties, Fast Track or granting Obama Trade Promotion
Authority would forfeit the Congress' responsibility and the public's
right to weigh in on the TPP negotiations.
Perhaps in response to growing citizen outrage letters were release
today from both Democrats and Republicans challenging President Obama's
request for renewal of Fast Track authority. [From Today's Public
Citizen announcement: The
151-signature DeLauro-Miller letter, additional
letter from Democratic Ways & Means members, One
of two letters, this led by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC)]
One of the illuminated messages on Tuesday read "Corporate Tribunals
WTF?" This referred to how the TPP would give more power to corporate
interests including the ability for foreign companies to sue for
taxpayer compensation if any domestic law diminished the company's expected future profits.
Masked as a trade deal, the agreement has been negotiated under
supervision of 600 unelected corporate "trade advisors" while the text
has been hidden from members of Congress, the press, and the public.
What has been learned about the TPP has come through leaked texts, and
is alarming to members of Congress worried about sovereign powers being
negotiated away, public health officials, labor representatives,
environmental groups, and advocates of consumer issues.
"The TPP, the largest ever of it's kind, is a race to the bottom
international agreement on domestic and international policies of food
safety, internet freedom, medicine costs, financial regulation, and the
environment," says Kristen Beifus, executive director of Washington Fair
Trade Coalition."
Trade Justice organizations have declared December 3rd a "Global Day of
Action Against the TPP to resist toxic trade agreements." Citizens are
urged to take action in their own community, contact their
congressperson, and learn more about the TPP's dismantling of democracy
by visiting VoteNoFastTrack.org.
Citizens can find out where their congressperson stands and tweet them
Tuesday's coordinated actions were organized by the Backbone Campaign,
which specializes in "amplifying citizen engagement with creative
tactics and artful activism" in collaboration with Public Citizen's
Global Trade Watch, PopularResistance.org, Fair Trade Coalitions in
Washington and Oregon, and more.
The coordinated day of action follows on the heals of an action in
September when to the surprise of secret service, members and allies of
PopularResistance.org and the Backbone Campaign "redecorated"
the United States Trade Representatives office by scaling the building
and unfurling giant banners demanding a release of the TPP text. The
Backbone Campaign is grateful to Wikileaks for beginning that process.
View the growing collection of photos from the 11-12-13 actions HERE.
To speak with organizers of yesterday's day of action please contact
Bill Moyer at 206-356-9980 or Eric Ross at 805-776-3882.
Info and Collaborator Web Sites:
Thanks to our many awesome collaborators both mentioned and not!
Watch
Coalition
Coalition
Brigade
Diego Overpass Light Brigade
Rising Tide
Talking Points
###
Backbone Campaign's mission is to provide creative strategies, artful
activism trainings, and creative action support to progressive
activists, organizers and organizations around the US and beyond in
order to invigorate and nurture a people-power, community-based, and
internationally-networked nonviolent social movement for human rights,
thriving communities, and ecological well being. Backbone Campaign's
vision is a world where human dignity, community resilience, and
ecological well being is built upon a foundation of democratic
economic and political systems and diverse, thriving culture where
human rights, the rights of communities and nature are truly
inalienable and honored.
Fractaltribe presents Timesphere: A Psychedelic Costume Ball ft Vibrasphere, Zentrix, & Progress
www.facebook.com/thefractaltribenetwork
www.soundcloud.com/fractaltribe
www.facebook.com/events/1543018839259549
Photos by Kyle Rober
KyleRober7@gmail.com
Atmosphere by: Fractaltribe, Dana Seaver/Dave Henshaw, Artemis, Bajrang Tea, Levitation Theory
Flyer Design: A Pixel-Manipulating Fractilian aka Hayley Carloni
_________________________________
Welcome to Timesphere, the official Fractalfest Reunion ft. Vibrasphere.
This is the second chance to catch the video mapped Spiral Sun 2.0. To pursue our mission of providing an atmosphere for you to explore your senses in, we offer a variety of international and regional musical guests, striking visual content & atmosphere, healthy food & fresh juice, a full tea lounge hosted by Bajrang Tea, and the intention to provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere to connect with individuals of similar interests. We ask you to come with an open & clean mind and a festive costume to be a part of the experience.
: An audibly visual tribadelic experience.
: An exquisite mix of art, music, and food.
: A growing family.
-Full vegan meals for everybody provided by Fractaltribe & Pot luck.
-Free hot and cold herbal tea sourced from local farms all night and morning provided by Bajrang Tea.
-Juice Bar will be provided by Supernova Superfoods! Flood your stomachs and brains with high nutrient juices and smoothies to keep your energy up and your brains happy way past sunrise.
-4 hour Crystal Singing Bowl serenade by The Conduit & Marissa Mary on Didgeridoo.
_________________________________
The Concept:
We’ve been living our lives at a rate of 24 hours per complete earth axis rotation at 365 days per complete circumference around the sun. We exist in our human form that is allowed at this speed of life. For one night, we will halt this speed to stop time; allowing our forms which hide between the threads of time to be released. In this timesphere, our alternate creatures celebrate their freedom from the clutches of passing time; relishing their freedom to finally come out of the shadows and explore. Come to “Timesphere” as your inner creature which exists deep in your timeless self.
_________________________________
The Intent:
We are putting all efforts into creating a reunion gathering to solidify the connections we all made with ourselves and others from Fractalfest, our 3 day gathering this summer. We invite you to part of an event which has both the wild and calming aspects. Together, let's find a balance in life and become as close to yin and yang, the Hunab Ku. Also to realize this balance is itself balanced with chaos. All we ask is you be respectful of yourself, of others, and of the space.
Photos from our previous events:
_________________________________
The Music:
****Vibrasphere (Tribal Vision Records, Sweden) Rickard Berglöf 2 hr djset****
****Zentrix (Zenon Records, Montréal) Psytech set****
****Progress (AntiShanti Records, NYC/Russia) Chill & Psytrance sets****
www.facebook.com/pages/PROGRESS/46611308421
****ONDRASE (Fractaltribe, MA) Retro Vinyl Psytrance set****
****Mike Swells (RISE, Boston) Progressive Techno set****
_________________________________
Tea Lounge Hosted by Bajrang Herbal Tea
www.facebook.com/Bajrangherbaltea
Bajrang Herbal Tea is an artisanal tea company based in the Pioneer Valley of beautiful Western Massachusetts. Our mission is to offer you and your community a deeply nutritious cup of tea with a distinctly delicious taste.
Bajrang Herbal Teas offer deep nourishment that comes from well balanced, wide spectrum vitamin and mineral rich medicinal herbs. These tea blends are consciously created with herbal super foods to promote vitality and support your well-being with optimum nutrition to the organs and nervous system.
Thinking locally: we continue to manifest our vision to grow and source as many herbs as possible, in and around Western Mass. Our tea is brought to you with an abiding commitment towards being the change we'd like to see in the world.
"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the entire cosmos." Thich Nhat Hanh
****The Conduit (Hartford, CT) 4-hour Sound Meditation****
www.facebook.com/TheConduitGongs
The Conduit is a team of musicians who practice the art of performance-'sound-meditation' for individuals or groups to align, and ~find balance within~ specializing in the ancient art of sound meditation: a technique that creates a state of effortless relaxation and a natural environment for self-healing
Individual wellness and peace is the first step towards a utopian world. Only when one emanates the lifestyle of balance and harmony, can one expect to transfer some into the community surrounding themselves. We believe that the through the modality of meditation everyone has the power for introspection and growth. Sound, particularly from the gongs, has a unique ability to clear mental clutter, streamlining the meditation practice.
We utilize Gongs, singing bowls, and positive intention to decrease mental distraction, allowing the body the chance return to its natural resonance.
_________________________________
Previous events:
Fractalfest 2014:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.706734896065953.1073741...
Subculture Tribe of the Sun:
Fractal Fest 2013:
Science & Spirituality 3.9.13:
Tribal Technology 12.21.12:
Fractal Fest 2012 9.1.12:
Luminosity 9.29.12:
Subculture: Origins 11.11.11:
__________________
SD45m #43 on their Wisconsin Northern operation at Norma, WI on July 17, 2021, started life as a Union Pacific unit. (misc 60910b)
With some obvious mechanical issues, Progressive Rail switcher #36 (Ex-Soo 1400) sits in a parking lot next to the Progressive Rail Distribution facility in Bloomington, MN
ILS (Independent Locomotive Service) GP38-2 #1301 and GP15-1 #1402 are working the Rosemount branch at Eagan, MN on August 9, 2024. (misc60910r)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background
With the ending of World War II in 1945, the Valtion Lentokonetehdas and other state owned factories were merged into the company Valtion Metallitehtaat Lentokonetehdas (State Metal Factories, often abbreviated to V.M.T. or VMT). This company did not only focus on aircraft but on anything from general house-hold machinery to engines.
At that time the Ilmavoimat, the Finnish air Force, was left with Messerschmitt 109 Gs and some other obsolete types. The Finnish aircraft design declined during a number of years and it was not until 1947 when a new design was flown – the VMT
The aircraft was not completely new. It was based on the VL Pyörremyrsky (Hurricane) from 1944, a local evolution of the Me 109 G. The use of wood in the construction of the aircraft was maximised due to the sparseness of metals. The goal was to create a fighter with similar flight qualities to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G. The engine and the propeller were directly taken from the Bf 109G. The landing gear was significantly widened in order to address one of the German fighter's most noteworthy shortcomings, the handling on ground.
Like its stillborn progenitor, the VL Pyörremyrsky, the new Salama (‘Lightning’) would share most of its airframe with a proven model, and in fact the Salam's structure was by more than 60% based on the Bf 109G airframe. Unfortunately for the design team around Torsti Verkkola, the Salama's proposed DB 603A engine was not available anymore due to the Paris peace talks of 1947. These forbade the use of German technology and put other limitations on the FAF, so the Finnish designers and engineers had to look for an alternative and chose the French SNECMA 12H00 engine, ultimately a derivative of the German Jumo 213A engine from WWII.
This different inverted V-12 engine required some reconstruction of the engine cowling. The supercharger intake was relocated to the starboard side of the cowling, and cooling system had to be adapted, too. Furthermore, the new aircraft featured an enlarged wing area, a taller tail, an Erla Haube-style canopy of later Bf 109G variants, a broad-track landing gear which improved ground handling considerably, and an annular radiator for the inline engine which gave the aircraft a superficial resemblance to a radial engine and to the very similar installation on the German WWII Focke-Wulf Fw 190D.
As the project progressed, the Salama I evolved from a simple, enhanced version of the Bf 109 to a progressively more capable fighter - a measure to keep up with the fast jet fighter development after WWII. The Salama I lacked the high turn rate and higher rate of roll of the Bf 109, but it was faster, however, with a maximum speed of more than 700km/h (434 mph) at 6,600 meters (21,650 ft), and it handled well.
Serial production started in December 1949. The Salama featured armament of one engine-mounted 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN 30 cannon with 65 RPG, plus two 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in the wing roots with 250 RPG. The machines also featured three weapon hardpoints: one under the fuselage, for a drop tank or bombs up to 500kg, one under each wing, for lighter bombs, unguided rockets or podded 20mm guns with 135 RPG each.
Only 55 Salamas I were built, and none survived the type's short career: after only 5 years it was clear that the piston-engined fighter was outdated. Together with the remaining Finnish Me 109 G the Salama continued in service until spring 1954 when the FAF entered the Jet Age. The last flight was on 21 March 1954.
General characteristics
Crew: One pilot
Length: 9.74 m (31 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 10.95 m (35 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 17.2 m² (185 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,050 lb)
Loaded weight: 4,085 kg (8,987 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA 12H00 inverted V-12 piston engine with 1,750 PS (1,726 hp, 1,287 kW); the engine could produce 2,100 PS (2,071 hp, 1,545 kW) of emergency power with MW 50 injection
Performance
Maximum speed: 724 km/h (450 mph)
Service ceiling: 11,600 m (38,030 ft)
Wing loading: 238 kg/m² (49 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.36 kW/kg (0.22 hp/lb)
Armament
1 × 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN 30 cannon, 65 RPG
2 × 20 mm (.78 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, 250 RPG
Up to 900kg (2.000 lbs) extrenal ordnance on three hardpoints under the wings and fuselage
The kit and its assembly
Finland is another country with a relatively rich aircraft industry and with one of the oldest air forces in the world. So, why not "contribute" a fictional whif aircraft?
Anyway, the pitfall is that the use of a German aircraft as a development basis in Finland after WWII was rather unlikely after the Paris peace talks of 1947. The Fins were inventive, though, and why shouldn’t they have taken the Pyörremyrsky fighter from 1944 further – only 1 prototype had ever been assembled? It would have certainly looked like the Me 209 V5. And the Fins could have used the import loophole for the Jumo 213 from France, so: why not?
The basic kit is HUMA’s German Me 209 V5 from WWII. In the real world only four prototypes were eventually built, and the design was superseded by the Focke Wulf Ta 152 and the evn more promising Me 262 jet fighter. Just in the whiffy outline above, a great aircraft just came to late.
HUMA's kit is simple, with recessed panel lines and a sprue with very fine injected styrene materials (instead of etched parts). Fit is average, though, the HUMA kit is more or less like a good Mtahcbox kit. You need some experience and dedication to make something from it, and for what you get it is IMHO overpriced, despite being an exotic aircraft.
I did not modify much, just the spinner was exchanged for a longer, more pointed piece (from a Matchbox Wellington), and the tail wheel received a well with covers - the original Me 209 V5 only had a semi-retractable tail wheel. The gun pods come with the original kit. I just added a pilot figure and cut the canopy open, and some struts were added inside of the landing gear wells. Other small changes include the omitted engine-mounted machine guns (just filled them with putty), as well as lowered flaps and slats for a non-static look.
Painting
I must admit that I love the unique, typical Finnish WWII camouflage scheme very much. Officially, the upper colors are called Oliivinvihreä (Olive Green), Musta (Black) and Vaaleansininen (Light Blue) or Vaaleanharmaa (Very Light Grey) for the undersides, separated by a wavy demarcation.
Finding appropriate tones is not easy, manufacturers' recommendations are contradictive, so checking pictures of real life aircraft is IMHO the best way to go. My choice fell on Testors 2027 (FS 34096, a grayish-green tone, originally used on SAC B-52s!) and mix of Humbrol 66 with 33, for a very dark olive drab color with potential for some even darker shades. Pure black is just too dark, and many pictures show the dark tone in a very deteriotated state, yielding a greenish hue. For the lower sides I went for Testors 2078 - this is German RLM 65 from WWII, and the authentic tone for light blue Finnish aircraft underside. The Testors paint is not as bright as the Humbrol color, adding to a rather worn and faded look. This was further enhanced by some shading with lighter basic tones on the upper surfaces (including Humbrol 86 and some RLM 02 from Testors, plus some Humbrol 168, Hemp), as well as a light emphasis of panel lines with darker tones and a light black ink wash.
The interior was painted with Humbrol 225 (Mid Stone) and 81 (Chromate Yellow) - not certain if this would fit, but I know that Finnish P-36 had this color inside, and I did not want a uniform greyish tone like RLM 02, since the exterior bears a similar basic color.
The black and yellow spiral on the spinner is a fantasy detail, even though I found several Bf 109Gs with similar decorations, or with black spinner of which a 1/3 segment has been painted white. Anyway, it's a nice, colorful detail on the otherwise simple aircraft.
The Finnish roundels and the squadron emblem were puzzled together from the scrap box, from various MiG-21 kits. The bort numbers were improvised with single aftermarket decal letters/digits from TL Modellbau. Overall, the aircraft was supposed to look simple and reveal its whiffy nature only at second glance.
Not a spectacular whif, but IMHO a good story for an aircraft that failed to live up to its expectations.
During 1916 the British born Australian architect Walter Richmond Butler (1864 – 1949) designed a new Anglican Mission to Seamen to be built on an oddly shaped triangular block of land at 717 Flinders Street on the outskirts of the Melbourne central city grid, to replace smaller premises located in adjoining Siddeley Street, which had been resumed by the Harbour Trust during wharf extensions.
The Missions to Seamen buildings, built on reinforced concrete footings, are in rendered brick with tiled roofs. Walter Butler designed the complex using an eclectic mixture of styles, one of which was the Spanish Mission Revival which had become a prevalent style on the west coast of America, especially in California and New Mexico during the 1890s. The style revived the architectural legacy of Spanish colonialism of the Eighteenth Century and the associated Franciscan missions. The revival of the style is explicit in the Mission’s small, yet charming chapel with its rough-hewn timber trusses, in the bell tower with its pinnacles and turret surmounted by a rustic cross and in the monastic-like courtyard, which today still provides a peaceful retreat from the noisy world just beyond the Missions to Seamen’s doorstep. The chapel also features many gifts donated by members of the Harbour Trust and Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, including an appropriately themed pulpit in the shape of a ship's prow and two sanctuary chairs decorated with carved Australian floral motifs. Some of the stained glass windows in the chapel depict stories and scenes associated with the sea intermixed with those Biblical scenes more commonly found in such places of worship.
The adjoining Mission to Seamen’s administration, residential and recreational building shows the influence of English domestic Arts and Crafts architecture, with its projecting gable, pepper pot chimneys and three adjoining oriel windows. The lobby, with its appropriately nautically inspired stained glass windows, features a large mariner's compass inlaid in the terrazzo floor. Built-in timber cupboards, wardrobes, paneling and studded doors throughout the buildings evoke a ship's cabin.
Walter Butler, architect to the Anglican Diocese in Melbourne, had come to Australia with an intimate knowledge and experience of the Arts and Crafts movement and continued to use the style in his residential designs of the 1920s. The main hall has a reinforced concrete vaulted ceiling. Lady Stanley, wife of the Mission's patron, Governor Sir Arthur Lyulph Stanley, laid the foundation stone of the complex in November 1916. The buildings were financed partly by a compensation payment from the Harbour Trust of £8,500.00 and £3,000.00 from local merchants and shipping firms. The Ladies' Harbour Lights Guild raised over £800.00 for the chapel. Most of the complex was completed by late 1917 whilst the Pantheon-like gymnasium with oculus was finished soon afterwards. The substantially intact interiors, including extensive use of wall paneling in Tasmanian hardwood, form an integral part of the overall design.
The Missions to Seamen buildings are architecturally significant as a milestone in the early introduction of the Spanish Mission style to Melbourne. The style was to later find widespread popularity in the suburbs of Melbourne. The choice of Spanish Mission directly refers to the Christian purpose of the complex. The Missions to Seamen buildings are unusual for combining two distinct architectural styles, for they also reflect the imitation of English domestic architecture, the Arts and Crafts movement. Walter Butler was one of the most prominent and progressive architects of the period and the complex is one of his most unusual and distinctive works.
The Missions to Seamen buildings have historical and social significance as tangible evidence of prevailing concerns for the religious, moral, and social welfare of seafarers throughout most of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. The complex has a long association with the Missions to Seamen, an organisation formed to look after the welfare of seafarers, both officers and sailors, men "of all nationalities". It had its origins in Bristol, England when a Seamen's Mission was formed in 1837. The first Australian branch was started in 1856 by the Reverend Kerr Johnston, a Church of England clergyman, and operated from a hulk moored in Hobsons Bay; later the Mission occupied buildings in Williamstown and Port Melbourne. In 1905 the Reverend Alfred Gurney Goldsmith arrived at the behest of the London Seamen's Mission to establish a city mission for sailors working on the river wharves and docks. The building reflects the diverse role played by the Mission with its chapel, hall and stage, billiards room, reading room, dining room, officers' and men’s quarters, chaplain's residence, and gymnasium. It is still in use to this day under the jurisdiction of a small, but passionate group of workers, providing a welcome place of refuge to seamen visiting the Port of Melbourne.
Walter Butler was considered an architect of great talent, and many of his clients were wealthy pastoralists and businessmen. His country-house designs are numerous and include “Blackwood” (1891) near Penshurst, for R. B. Ritchie, “Wangarella” (1894) near Deniliquin, New South Wales, for Thomas Millear, and “Newminster Park” (1901) near Camperdown, for A. S. Chirnside. Equally distinguished large houses were designed for the newly established Melbourne suburbs: “Warrawee” (1906) in Toorak, for A. Rutter Clark; “Thanes” (1907) in Kooyong, for F. Wallach; “Kamillaroi” (1907) for Baron Clive Baillieu, and extensions to “Edzell” (1917) for George Russell, both in St Georges Road, Toorak. These are all fine examples of picturesque gabled houses in the domestic Queen Anne Revival genre. Walter Butler was also involved with domestic designs using a modified classical vocabulary, as in his remodelling of “Billilla” (1905) in Brighton, for W. Weatherley, which incorporates panels of flat-leafed foliage. Walter Butler also regarded himself as a garden architect.
As architect to the diocese of Melbourne from 1895, he designed the extensions to “Bishopscourt” (1902) in East Melbourne. His other church work includes St Albans (1899) in Armadale, the Wangaratta Cathedral (1907), and the colourful porch and tower to Christ Church (c.1910) in Benalla. For the Union Bank of Australia he designed many branch banks and was also associated with several tall city buildings in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district such as Collins House (1910) and the exceptionally fine Queensland Insurance Building (1911). For Dame Nellie Melba Butler designed the Italianate lodge and gatehouse at “Coombe Cottage” (1925) at Coldstream.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the delegation from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats political group of the European Parliament led by its President Iratxe García Pérez.
The Head of State thanked the European Parliament and the European Council for the financial and political support provided to Ukraine since the very beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“Yesterday's allocation of 4.1 billion euros to Ukraine for this year under the Ukraine Facility program is very important for us. We are also looking forward to the 18-billion-euro macro-financial loan for Ukraine. These decisions are very important for us. All political decisions supported by the majority of the European Parliament during these almost three years have been very important for us,” the President said.
During the meeting, the parties discussed military support and strengthening of air defense to protect people and critical infrastructure in Ukraine from Russian attacks.
The use of frozen Russian assets for defense needs and strengthening air defense was one of the key topics of the talks. After all, this directly contributes to bringing Ukraine and the world closer to a just peace.
Special attention was paid to Ukraine's progress towards EU membership.
“Our goal is to move closer to the EU as soon as possible. We are committed to actively adopting the necessary laws and implementing reforms,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Iratxe García Pérez emphasized the importance of continued military, financial and humanitarian support for Ukraine.
“We know how important this is for all of us. You are defending your country and our common values, freedom. We know how important it is to continue working in this direction,” she said.
Made me think of the progressive dinner parties people used to have. Is there still such a thing? This started out as a reflective window shot and ended up as a bit of photo art...
Foucault's pendulum demonstrates, through conservation of momentum, that the Earth revolves on an axis.
Wrote this up a bit differently for a Seattlest Re:Take.
There's a story waiting to be told here, about racism.
Alki Beach opened on July 4th, 1911. You probably know that Alki means "by and by" or "before long", and that Seattle's first name was New York Alki. The first ship of pioneer settlers were both aspirational and willing to make fun of themselves. They joked to each other that the tents would be transformed into a new New York before long.
I opened up the digitized Seattle Times for the day before Alki opened. At the top of the page, above the Alki article, was a political cartoon. On the left, a big strong white man looks down on a tiny, scrawny black man with the caption "One Year Ago Today". On the right, that scrawny black man is now huge but still boney and goofy and with lips half the size of his head; the white man is miniscule but muscular, and the caption says "Today". It was a commentary on the one-year anniversary of Jack Johnson's defeat of James Jeffries. If you don't know what that means, do yourself a favor and look it up.
Alki was built in the image of New York City's public beach on Coney Island which was "following the trend of paternalism of municipal governments." Coney Island had bathing suits for rent, but the poor couldn't afford them so kids went into the water with "sawed off pants." And conservative immigrants couldn't bear to bare skin, so they went in with their clothes on, and changed into another pair. Most important to my point, though, was the purposeful, multiethnic, multiracial nature of the beach. The mayor of New York was quoted saying, "Everybody was having the time of his life. There were no racial lines."
I haven't found any comments about the mix of patrons at the beach in West Seattle. I do know that a week before the beach opened, the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle invited the Tulalip tribe to visit Alki and bake some clams for the church picnic. That's the closest I've come, though.
The story is still waiting. Was Seattle as progressive as New York? Or were we still backwards, longing to be like New York, Al-ki?
(Coney Island article in Seattle Times 8/24/1911, page 15.)
BWMC employees participate in a falls awareness campaign. Departments created a poster to educate and inspire patients, employees and visitors to do their part to prevent patients from falling and secure their safety.
One-and-a-half years and counting with progressive nerve and muscle disease to my lower legs. My feet have become strangers to me. They have a hard time holding me up and they don't do what I tell them to do. They have slowed me down but I will continue stomping the beaches and jungles of Saipan for as long as I can. I can now go for a couple hour hike on the weekend and then spend all my free time during the week in bed with my computer looking at the pictures I took on my previous hike. Taking pictures has become more important to me after I became disabled. My photography is not great, I just point and click, but I feel that the subjects of my pictures are important. I have lots of pictures and videos that I would like you to see and I would like to hear from you. Thank you.
The Progressive Field scoreboard, as seen during the Hot Dog Race.
May 21, 2011 / Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
DSC_0141
Raffle winner Mitch Nelson! Richmond SPCA Progressive Dinner, April 27, 2013
Presented by SPENCER, LLP
Engaging panel discussion on how to continue the political revolution with Michael Lighty, Jim Hightower, Steve Cobble, Mary Ellen Balchunis.
Taken during the third inning of the August 22, 2011, Indians vs. Mariners game.
This is the view from Section 169, Row U, Seat 9.
DSC_0227
Blogged: catnapkitty.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/progressive-left-thi...
Think Tank topic - likely to be regularly repeated:
What is the Progressive Left? What does this mean, what should our goals be, how should we go about achieving them?
For Americans, are we just the "Coffee Party" radical wing of the Democrats? Or something more?
How do we build unity and a cohesive way of taking on tactical and strategic action, rather than factional infighting over who's individual issue is more important, possibly resulting in none of them being carried forward (is that a true or false concern)?
Can we, or do we even need to, or have we already moved beyond each faction feeling it's own issue is so important that it has to be put above other Progressive issues first?
How do we find a way to advance a broad based Progressive Strategy? Can we embrace diverse inclusiveness in ideals as well as we do in membership?
Some links to consider:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism#Contemporary_mainstre...
www.organicconsumers.org/news/definition-progressive-are-...
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