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The Thuringian question ......
Left or right?
Tunnel branch in an abandoned ore mine under Thuringia / Germany
… and free association. Here are my notes and ruminations from Scott Page’s talk at the SFI Overview on Complex Adaptive Systems.
“Perspective is a way to encode the world. There is a perspective from which any problem is easy.”
“Bee hives must stay at 96 degrees for bees to reach maturity. Bees can cool with their wings or huddle together for warmth. Genetically homogenous bees all move together, and the temperature fluctuates widely. Genetically diverse bees keep the hive at a constant temperature.”
Page’s conclusion that diversity is as important as ability seems pretty profound.
His argument for diversity in complex adaptive systems seems to be to be the underpinning of that popular book by Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds.
I’d posit that diverse group performance comes not from convergence to the mean on a single parameter scale, but the factoring of diverse and orthogonal perspectives. Diversity brings more variables into the multivariate regression of teams.
According to Scott Page, “People in diverse groups are less happy. Their views are challenged, and they feel like the outcomes were manipulated. Based on their experiences, they will self-report that it was not better than when they were on a homogenous team.”
As you increase diversity, complexity goes up, but then it drops and you get the central limit theorem. There is a sweet spot with just the right interplay between agents. Also, there is not one dimension that perspectives lie along. Diversity captures orthogonal perspectives and more adjacencies. The better the perspective, the less rugged the landscape (in terms of finding the global optimum and not getting trapped in local optima). Consultants can hop across local peaks without being any smarter or more experienced in their client’s business. The goal is not regression to the mean.
Thinking about the wisdom of crowds as an emergence, this is the question I have been wrestling with:
Does the minimal threshold complexity for interesting emergent phenomena necessitate inscrutability of results by members of the system?
For example, if a group of diverse people routinely beats the experts, where does the learning occur? It seems to be at the system level, and not the individual level. The decision may make no sense to the individual members, but the decision making process does. The “wisdom” of the process could be taught to others, but not the outcomes.
This generalization about emergence seems to hold for evolution, brains & neural networks, hives, and cultural memetic drift (more on this). In interesting systems, the emergent phenomena are at a different layer of abstraction, and may only be recognized by “in-process” or nodal members by pattern or proxy.
Yuki and Makoto discuss the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday in their answer-a-question-with-a-question game…
- - - - -
Yuki: “What’s this bird?”
Makoto: “Have you never heard of the American turkey?”
Yuki: “Why is it here on a pedestal?”
Makoto: “Do you know about the American Thanksgiving holiday?”
Yuki: “Isn’t that the one that has no definite date?”
Makoto: “Yes, did you know it’s late this year?”
Yuki: “Interesting, so why the turkey?”
Makoto: “What do you think the Americans eat on Thanksgiving?”
Yuki: “How can they cook such a giant bird?”
Makoto: “Have you ever seen the size of the ovens in American kitchens?”
Yuki: “Aren’t they big enough that witches can roast children?”
Makoto: “When will you learn to distinguish fairy tales from fact?”
Yuki: “What else do the Americans do on this holiday?”
Makoto: “Would you believe there are parades, sports all day, and, after dinner, they run out to stores to start Christmas shopping?”
Yuki: “Where does the ‘thanks’ come in?”
Makoto: “You know how we say itadakimasu before we eat?”
Yuki: “Why wouldn’t I? Don’t I have manners?”
Makoto: “Can we leave your manners for another conversation? Anyway, would you believe that just before feasting that’s the moment when the thanks is given in American Thanksgiving?”
Yuki: “Don’t they do that at every meal?”
That is the question I asked myself when I found this old wagon and barrel(?) in the woods in botanic Garden Meise, Belgium
I don't know the answer, nor what we should do and I almost don't know what we should hope for; I just ask the question.
The leaf what hanging from what seemed to be a spider's thread, more than a meter (3 feet) long. Unfortunately the thread doesn't show up on the picture.
All rights reserved ©puppies8691
MY MOTHER'S GARDEN oo7
Takes my mind back to such question..."do flowers grow in heaven"...
Makes me ask one thing myself...is there a way to phone to the heavens? Sounds like the little girl's question make sense more than mine =[
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its 20,200 Agents[1] are primarily responsible for immigration and border law enforcement as codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Their duty is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States and to deter, detect, and apprehend illegal aliens and individuals involved in the illegal drug trade who enter the United States other than through designated ports of entry.
Additionally, the CBP enforces federal controlled substances laws (as codified in the Controlled Substances Act) when violations occur or are found during the enforcement of federal immigration laws, via delegated authority from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Note that there are two personnel segments of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that people often confuse with each other, the CBP Officer [1], who wears a blue uniform and the Border Patrol Agent [2] who wears a green uniform.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Strategy
2.1 1986: Employer sanctions and interior enforcement
2.2 Inspection stations
2.2.1 El Paso Sector's Operation Hold the Line
2.2.2 San Diego Sector's Operation Gatekeeper
2.2.3 Tucson Sector's Operation Safeguard
2.3 Northern border
2.4 Border Patrol moves away from interior enforcement
2.5 The new strategy
3 Capabilities
4 Expansion
5 Special Operations Group
5.1 Other specialized programs
6 Border Patrol organization
6.1 Border Patrol Sectors
7 Training
7.1 Uniforms
7.2 Border Patrol (OBP) Ranks and Insignia
7.2.1 Border Patrol Shoulder Ornaments
8 Awards
8.1 Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism
9 Border Patrol Uniform Devices
10 Equipment
10.1 Weapons
10.2 Transportation
11 Line of duty deaths
12 Armed incursions
13 Ramos and Compean
14 Criticisms
14.1 Ineffective
14.2 Allegations of abuse
14.3 Corruption
15 National Border Patrol Council
16 National Border Patrol Museum
17 In popular culture
17.1 Books
17.2 Film
17.2.1 Documentaries
18 See also
19 References
20 External links
21 External Video
21.1 GAO and OIG Reports
[edit] History
Immigration inspectors, circa 1924Mounted watchmen of the United States Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called "mounted guards", operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than 75, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration.
In March 1915, Congress authorized a separate group of mounted guards, often referred to as "mounted inspectors". Most rode on horseback, but a few operated automobiles, motorcycles and boats. Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the National Origins Act and Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. These patrolmen were Immigrant Inspectors, assigned to inspection stations, and could not watch the border at all times. U.S. Army troops along the southwest border performed intermittent border patrolling, but this was secondary to "the more serious work of military training." Non-nationals encountered illegally in the U.S. by the army were directed to the immigration inspection stations. Texas Rangers were also sporadically assigned to patrol duties by the state, and their efforts were noted as "singularly effective".
The Border Patrol was founded on May 28, 1924 as an agency of the United States Department of Labor to prevent illegal entries along the Mexico–United States border and the United States-Canada border. The first two border patrol stations were in El Paso, Texas and Detroit, Michigan.[2] Additional operations were established along the Gulf Coast in 1927 to perform crewman control to insure that non-American crewmen departed on the same ship on which they arrived. Additional stations were temporarily added along the Gulf Coast, Florida and the Eastern Seaboard during the sixties when in Cuba triumphed the Cuban Revolution and emerged the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Prior to 2003, the Border Patrol was part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), an agency that was within the U.S. Department of Justice. INS was disbanded in March 2003 when its operations were divided between CBP, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The priority mission of the Border Patrol, as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its merging into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States of America. However, the Border Patrol's traditional mission remains as the deterrence, detection and apprehension of illegal immigrants and individuals involved in the illegal drug trade who generally enter the United States other than through designated ports of entry. The Border Patrol also operates 33 permanent interior checkpoints along the southern border of the United States.
Currently, the U.S. Border Patrol employs over 20,200 agents (as of the end of fiscal year 2009),[3] who are specifically responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international land borders and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida Peninsula and the island of Puerto Rico. Agents are assigned primarily to the Mexico–United States border, where they are assigned to control drug trafficking and illegal immigration.[4] Patrols on horseback have made a comeback since smugglers have been pushed into the more remote mountainous regions, which are hard to cover with modern tracking strategies.[5]
[edit] Strategy
[edit] 1986: Employer sanctions and interior enforcement
Border Patrol Agents with a Hummer and Astar patrol for illegal entry into U.S.The Border Patrol's priorities have changed over the years. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act placed renewed emphasis on controlling illegal immigration by going after the employers that hire illegal immigrants. The belief was that jobs were the magnet that attracted most illegal immigrants to come to the United States. The Border Patrol increased interior enforcement and Form I-9 audits of businesses through an inspection program known as "employer sanctions". Several agents were assigned to interior stations, such as within the Livermore Sector in Northern California.
Employer sanctions never became the effective tool it was expected to be by Congress. Illegal immigration continued to swell after the 1986 amnesty despite employer sanctions. By 1993, Californians passed Proposition 187, denying benefits to illegal immigrants and criminalizing illegal immigrants in possession of forged green cards, I.D. cards and Social Security Numbers. It also authorized police officers to question non-nationals as to their immigration status and required police and sheriff departments to cooperate and report illegal immigrants to the INS. Proposition 187 drew nationwide attention to illegal immigration.
[edit] Inspection stations
United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints are inspection stations operated by the USBP within 100 miles of a national border (with Mexico or Canada) or in the Florida Keys. As federal inspection stations are also operated by the Mexican government within 50 km of its borders where they are officially known as a "Garita de Revisión." or Garitas, they are known also by that name to Latinos.
[edit] El Paso Sector's Operation Hold the Line
El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent (and future U.S. congressman) Silvestre Reyes started a program called "Operation Hold the Line". In this program, Border Patrol agents would no longer react to illegal entries resulting in apprehensions, but would instead be forward deployed to the border, immediately detecting any attempted entries or deterring crossing at a more remote location. The idea was that it would be easier to capture illegal entrants in the wide open deserts than through the urban alleyways. Chief Reyes deployed his agents along the Rio Grande River, within eyesight of other agents. The program significantly reduced illegal entries in the urban part of El Paso, however, the operation merely shifted the illegal entries to other areas.
[edit] San Diego Sector's Operation Gatekeeper
A Border Patrol Jeep stands watch over the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro, California.San Diego Sector tried Silvestre Reyes' approach of forward deploying agents to deter illegal entries into the country. Congress authorized the hiring of thousands of new agents, and many were sent to San Diego Sector.[citation needed] In addition, Congressman Duncan Hunter obtained surplus military landing mats to use as a border fence.[citation needed] Stadium lighting, ground sensors and infra-red cameras were also placed in the area.[citation needed] Apprehensions decreased dramatically in that area as people crossed in different regions.
[edit] Tucson Sector's Operation Safeguard
California was no longer the hotbed of illegal entry and the traffic shifted to Arizona, primarily in Nogales and Douglas.[citation needed] The Border Patrol instituted the same deterrent strategy it used in San Diego to Arizona.
[edit] Northern border
In 2001, the Border Patrol had approximately 340 agents assigned along the Canada – United States border border. Northern border staffing had been increased to 1,128 agents to 1,470 agents by the end of fiscal year 2008, and is projected to expand to 1,845 by the end of fiscal year 2009, a sixfold increase. Resources that support Border Patrol agents include the use of new technology and a more focused application of air and marine assets.
The northern border sectors are Blaine (Washington), Buffalo (New York), Detroit (Selfridge ANGB, Michigan), Grand Forks (North Dakota), Havre (Montana), Houlton (Maine), Spokane (Washington), and Swanton (Vermont).
[edit] Border Patrol moves away from interior enforcement
In the 1990s, Congress mandated that the Border Patrol shift agents away from the interior and focus them on the borders.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security created two immigration enforcement agencies out of the defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ICE was tasked with investigations, detention and removal of illegal immigrants, and interior enforcement. CBP was tasked with inspections at U.S. ports of entry and with preventing illegal entries between the port of entry, transportation check, and entries on U.S. coastal borders. DHS management decided to align the Border Patrol with CBP. CBP itself is solely responsible for the nation's ports of entry, while Border Patrol maintains jurisdiction over all locations between ports of entry, giving Border Patrol agents federal authority absolutely[dubious – discuss] nationwide[dubious – discuss].
In July 2004, the Livermore Sector of the United States Border Patrol was closed. Livermore Sector served Northern California and included stations at Dublin (Parks Reserve Forces Training Area), Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield. The Border Patrol also closed other stations in the interior of the United States including Roseburg, Oregon and Little Rock, Arkansas. The Border Patrol functions in these areas consisted largely of local jail and transportation terminal checks for illegal immigrants. These functions were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
[edit] The new strategy
Cameras add "Smart Border" surveillance.In November 2005, the U.S. Border Patrol published an updated national strategy.[6] The goal of this updated strategy is operational control of the United States border. The strategy has five main objectives:
Apprehend terrorists and terrorist weapons illegally entering the United States;
Deter illegal entries through improved enforcement;
Detect, apprehend, and deter smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband;
Use "smart border" technology; and
Reduce crime in border communities, improving quality of life.
[edit] Capabilities
The border is a barely discernible line in uninhabited deserts, canyons, or mountains. The Border Patrol utilizes a variety of equipment and methods, such as electronic sensors placed at strategic locations along the border, to detect people or vehicles entering the country illegally. Video monitors and night vision scopes are also used to detect illegal entries. Agents patrol the border in vehicles, boats, aircraft, and afoot. In some areas, the Border Patrol employs horses, all-terrain motorcycles, bicycles, and snowmobiles. Air surveillance capabilities are provided by unmanned aerial vehicles.[3]
The primary activity of a Border Patrol Agent is "Line Watch". Line Watch involves the detection, prevention, and apprehension of terrorists, undocumented aliens and smugglers of aliens at or near the land border by maintaining surveillance from a covert position; following up on leads; responding to electronic sensor television systems and aircraft sightings; and interpreting and following tracks, marks, and other physical evidence. Major activities include traffic check, traffic observation, city patrol, transportation check, administrative, intelligence, and anti-smuggling activities.[4]
Traffic checks are conducted on major highways leading away from the border to detect and apprehend illegal aliens attempting to travel further into the interior of the United States after evading detection at the border, and to detect illegal narcotics.[3]
Transportation checks are inspections of interior-bound conveyances, which include buses, commercial aircraft, passenger and freight trains, and marine craft.[3]
Marine Patrols are conducted along the coastal waterways of the United States, primarily along the Pacific coast, the Caribbean, the tip of Florida, and Puerto Rico and interior waterways common to the United States and Canada. Border Patrol conducts border control activities from 130 marine craft of various sizes. The Border Patrol maintains watercraft ranging from blue-water craft to inflatable-hull craft, in 16 sectors, in addition to headquarters special operations components.[3]
Horse and bike patrols are used to augment regular vehicle and foot patrols. Horse units patrol remote areas along the international boundary that are inaccessible to standard all-terrain vehicles. Bike patrol aids city patrol and is used over rough terrain to support linewatch.[3] Snowmobiles are used to patrol remote areas along the northern border in the winter.
[edit] Expansion
Attrition in the Border Patrol was normally at 5%. From 1995-2001 attrition spiked to above 10%, which was a period when the Border Patrol was undergoing massive hiring. In 2002 the attrition rate climbed to 18%. The 18% attrition was largely attributed to agents transferring to the Federal Air Marshals after 9/11. Since that time the attrition problem has decreased significantly and Congress has increased journeyman Border Patrol Agent pay from GS-9 to GS-11 in 2002. The Border Patrol Marine Position was created in 2009 (BPA-M). This position will be updated to a GS-12 position sometime in 2010 or 2011. Border Patrol Field Training Officers may possibly be updated in 2010 to a temporary GS-12 pay rate. In 2005, Border Patrol attrition dropped to 4% and remains in the area of 4% to 6% as of 2009.[7]
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (signed by President Bush on December 17, 2004) authorized hiring an additional 10,000 agents, "subject to appropriation". This authorization, if fully implemented, would nearly double the Border Patrol manpower from 11,000 to 21,000 agents by 2010.
In July 2005, Congress signed the Emergency Supplemental Spending Act for military operations in Iraq/Afghanistan and other operations. The act also appropriated funding to increase Border Patrol manpower by 500 Agents. In October 2005, President Bush also signed the DHS FY06 Appropriation bill, funding an additional 1,000 Agents.
In November 2005, President George W. Bush made a trip to southern Arizona to discuss more options that would decrease illegal crossings at the U.S. and Mexican border. In his proposed fiscal year 2007 budget he has requested an additional 1,500 Border Patrol agents.
The Secure Fence Act, signed by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2006, has met with much opposition. In October 2007, environmental groups and concerned citizens filed a restraining order hoping to halt the construction of the fence, set to be built between the United States and Mexico. The act mandates that the fence be built by December 2008. Ultimately, the United States seeks to put fencing around the 1,945-mile (3,130 km) border, but the act requires only 700 miles (1,100 km) of fencing. DHS secretary Michael Chertoff has bypassed environmental and other oppositions with a waiver that was granted to him by Congress in Section 102 of the act, which allows DHS to avoid any conflicts that would prevent a speedy assembly of the fence.[8][9]
This action has led many environment groups and landowners to speak out against the impending construction of the fence.[10] Environment and wildlife groups fear that the plans to clear brush, construct fences, install bright lights, motion sensors, and cameras will scare wildlife and endanger the indigenous species of the area.[11] Environmentalists claim that the ecosystem could be affected due to the fact that a border fence would restrict movement of all animal species, which in turn would keep them from water and food sources on one side or another. Desert plants would also feel the impact, as they would be uprooted in many areas where the fence is set to occupy.[12]
Property owners in these areas fear a loss of land. Landowners would have to give some of their land over to the government for the fence. Citizens also fear that communities will be split. Many students travel over the border every day to attend classes at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Brownsville mayor Pat Ahumada favors alternative options to a border fence. He suggests that the Rio Grande River be widened and deepened to provide for a natural barrier to hinder illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.[13]
The United States Border Patrol Academy is located in Artesia, New Mexico.
[edit] Special Operations Group
A Border Patrol Special Response Team searches room-by-room a hotel in New Orleans in response to Hurricane Katrina.
CBP BORSTAR canine team conducting rappeling trainingIn 2007, the Border Patrol created the Special Operations Group (SOG) headquartered in El Paso, TX to coordinate the specialized units of the agency.[14]
Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC)
National Special Response Team (NSRT)
Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR)
Air Mobile Unit (AMU)
[edit] Other specialized programs
The Border Patrol has a number of other specialized programs and details.
Air and Marine Operations
K9 Units
Mounted Patrol
Bike patrol
Sign-cutting (tracking)
Snowmobile unit
Infrared scope unit
Intelligence
Anti-smuggling investigations
Border Criminal Alien Program
Multi-agency Anti-Gang Task Forces (regional & local units)
Honor Guard
Pipes and Drums
Chaplain
Peer Support
[edit] Border Patrol organization
David V. Aguilar, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border ProtectionThe current Acting Chief of the Border Patrol is Michael J. Fisher who succeeded in 2010 David V. Aguilar, who is now the Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
[edit] Border Patrol Sectors
There are 20 Border Patrol sectors, each headed by a Sector Chief Patrol Agent.
Northern Border (West to East):
Blaine Sector (Western Washington State, Idaho, and Western Montana.) - stations; Bellingham, Blaine, Port Angeles, Sumas.
Spokane Sector (Eastern Washington State)
Havre Sector (Montana)
Grand Forks Sector (North Dakota)
Detroit Sector (Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan) - stations; Downtown Detroit, Marysville, Gibralter, Sault Sainte Marie, Sandusky Bay.
Buffalo Sector (New York) - stations; Buffalo, Erie, Niagura Falls, Oswego, Rochester, Wellesley Island.
Swanton Sector (Vermont)
Houlton Sector (Maine)
Southern Border (West to East):
San Diego Sector (San Diego, California)
El Centro Sector (Imperial County, California)
Yuma Sector (Western Arizona)- stations; Wellton, Yuma, Blythe
Tucson Sector (Eastern Arizona)
El Paso Sector (El Paso, Texas and New Mexico) - stations; Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Deming, El Paso, Fabens, Fort Hancock, Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Santa Teresa, Truth or Consequences, Ysleta
Marfa Sector (Big Bend Area of West Texas) - stations; Alpine, Amarillo, Big Bend, Fort Stockton, Lubbock, Marfa, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Sanderson, Sierra Blanca, Van Horn
Del Rio Sector (Del Rio, Texas) - stations; Abilene, Brackettville, Carrizo Springs, Comstock, Del Rio, Eagle Pass North, Eagle Pass South, Rocksprings, San Angelo, Uvalde
Rio Grande Valley Sector (South Texas) - stations; Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Falfurrias, Fort Brown, Harlingen, Kingsville, McAllen, Rio Grande City, Weslaco
Laredo Sector (South Texas) - stations; Cotulla, Dallas, Freer, Hebbronville, Laredo North, Laredo South, Laredo West, San Antonio, Zapata
New Orleans Sector (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Florida)
Miami Sector (Florida East and South)
Caribbean
Ramey Sector (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) and the Virgin Islands, it is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States
[edit] Training
All Border Patrol Agents spend 15 weeks in training at the Border Patrol Academy (if they are fluent in Spanish) in Artesia, New Mexico, which is a component of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).Those who are not fluent in Spanish spend an additional eight weeks at the Academy. Recruits are instructed in Border Patrol and federal law enforcement subjects.
Border Patrol courses include: Immigration and Nationality Law, Criminal Law and Statutory Authority, Spanish, Border Patrol Operations, Care and Use of Firearms, Physical Training, Driver Training, and Anti-Terrorism.
FLETC courses include: Communications, Ethics and Conduct, Report Writing, Introduction to Computers, Fingerprinting, and Constitutional Law.[15]
The physical aspects of the Border Patrol Training Program are extremely demanding. At the end of 55 days, trainees must be able to complete a one and a half mile run in 13 minutes or less, a confidence course in two and a half minutes or less, and a 220 yard dash in 46 seconds or less. This final test is much easier than the day to day physical training during the program.[15]
[edit] Uniforms
The Border Patrol currently wears the following types of uniforms:
CBP officers at a ceremony in 2007Dress uniform – The dress uniform consists of olive-green trousers with a blue stripe, and an olive-green shirt, which may or may not have blue shoulder straps. The campaign hat is worn with uniform.
Ceremonial uniform – When required, the following items are added to the dress uniform to complete the ceremonial uniform: olive-green Ike jacket or tunic with blue accents (shoulder straps and cuffs, blue tie, brass tie tack, white gloves, and olive-green felt campaign hat with leather hat band. The campaign hat is worn with uniform.
Rough duty uniform – The rough duty uniform consists of green cargo trousers and work shirt (in short or long sleeves). Usually worn with green baseball cap or tan stetson.
Accessories, footwear, and outerwear – Additional items are worn in matching blue or black colors as appropriate.
Organization patches – The Border Patrol wears two:
The CBP patch is worn on the right sleeves of the uniform. It contains the DHS seal against a black background with a "keystone" shape. A "keystone" is the central, wedge-shaped stone in an arch, which holds all the other stones in place.
Border Patrol agents retain the circular legacy Border Patrol patch, which is worn on the left sleeve.
The Border Patrol uniform is getting its first makeover since the 1950s to appear more like military fatigues and less like a police officer's duty garb.[16] Leather belts with brass buckles are being replaced by nylon belts with quick-release plastic buckles, slacks are being replaced by lightweight cargo pants, and shiny badges and nameplates are being replaced by cloth patches.
[edit] Border Patrol (OBP) Ranks and Insignia
Location Title Collar insignia Shoulder ornament Pay grade
Border Patrol Headquarters Chief of the Border Patrol Gold-plated Senior Executive Service (SES)
Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol Gold-plated SES
Division Chief Gold-plated SES
Deputy Division Chief Gold-plated GS-15, General Schedule
Associate Chief Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Silver-plated GS-14
Operations Officer Oxidized GS-13
Border Patrol Sectors Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) Gold-plated SES or GS-15
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent (DCPA) Gold-plated SES/GS-15 or GS-14
Division Chief Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent (ACPA) Silver-plated GS-15 or GS-14
Patrol Agent in Charge (PAIC) Silver-plated GS-14 or GS-13
Assistant Patrol Agent in Charge (APAIC) Oxidized GS-13
Special Operations Supervisor (SOS) Oxidized GS-13
Field Operations Supervisor (FOS) Oxidized GS-13
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (SBPA) Oxidized GS-12
Senior Patrol Agent (SPA) (Note: Being phased out through attrition) No insignia Currently GS-11 (Will be upgraded to full performance level GS-12 sometime during the 1st quarter of 2011)
Border Patrol Agent (BPA) No insignia GS-5, 7, 9, 11 (Upgrade to GS-12 pending)
Border Patrol Academy Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) Gold-plated GS-15
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent (DCPA) Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent (ACPA) Silver-plated GS-14
Training Operations Supervisor (TOS) Oxidized GS-14
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Senior Instructor) Oxidized GS-13
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Instructor) Oxidized GS-13
[edit] Border Patrol Shoulder Ornaments
[edit] Awards
Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism Commissioners Distinguished Career Service Award Commissioners Exceptional Service Medal Commissioners Meritorious Service Award Commissioners Special Commendation Award Chiefs Commendation Medal
No Image Available No Image Available No Image Available
Commissioners Excellence in Group Achievement Award Purple Cross Wound Medal Academy Honor Award Winner Border Patrol Long Service Medal 75th Anniversary of the Border Patrol Commemorative Medal
No Image Available No Image Available
[edit] Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism
The Border Patrol's highest honor is the Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism. This Award is bestowed to Border Patrol Agents for extraordinary actions, service; accomplishments reflecting unusual courage or bravery in the line of duty; or an extraordinarily heroic or humane act committed during times of extreme stress or in an emergency.
This award is named for Border Patrol Inspectors Theodore Newton[17] and George Azrak,[18] who were murdered by two drug smugglers in San Diego County in 1967.
[edit] Border Patrol Uniform Devices
Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) Special Response Team (NSRT) Honor Guard Border Patrol Pipes and Drums Cap Badge
No Image Available
K-9 Handler Chaplain Field Training Officer Peer Support
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Weapons
A Border Patrol Agent carrying an M14 rifle.Border Patrol Agents are issued the H&K P2000 double action pistol in .40 S&W. It can contain as many as 13 rounds of ammunition (12 in the magazine and one in the chamber).
Like other law enforcement agencies, the Remington 870 is the standard shotgun.
Border Patrol Agents also commonly carry the M4 Carbine and the H&K UMP 40 caliber submachine gun. The M14 rifle is used for mostly ceremonial purposes.
As a less than lethal option, the Border Patrol also uses the FN303.
[edit] Transportation
Unlike in many other law enforcement agencies in the United States, the Border Patrol operates several thousand SUVs and pickup trucks, which are known for their capabilities to move around in any sort of terrain. This vehicles may have individual revolving lights (strobes or LEDs) and/or light bars and sirens. An extensive modernization drive has ensured that these vehicles are equipped with wireless sets in communication with a central control room. Border Patrol vehicles may also have equipment such as speed radar, breathalyzers, and emergency first aid kits. Some sectors make use of sedans like the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor or the Dodge Charger as patrol cars or high speed "interceptors" on highways. The Border Patrol also operates ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and small boats in the riverine environment. In 2005, all Border Patrol and ICE aircraft operations were combined under CBP's Office of Air and Marine. All CBP vessel operation in Customs Waters are conducted by Office of Air and Marine.
Color schemes of Border Patrol vehicles are either a long green stripe running the length of the vehicle or a broad green diagonal stripe on the door. Most Border Patrol vehicles are painted predominantly white.
The Border Patrol also extensively uses horses for remote area patrols. The U.S. Border Patrol has 205 horses As of 2005[update]. Most are employed along the Mexico–United States border. In Arizona, these animals are fed special processed feed pellets so that their wastes do not spread non-native plants in the national parks and wildlife areas they patrol.[19]
[edit] Line of duty deaths
Total line of duty deaths (since 1904): 105[20]
Aircraft accident: 14
Assault: 2
Automobile accident: 28
Drowned: 4
Fall: 4
Gunfire: 30
Gunfire (Accidental): 3
Heart attack: 6
Heat exhaustion: 1
Motorcycle accident: 2
Stabbed: 2
Struck by train: 3
Struck by vehicle: 3
Vehicle pursuit: 2
Vehicular assault: 3
[edit] Armed incursions
On August 7, 2008, Mexican troops crossed the border into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol Agent at gunpoint. Agents stationed at Ajo, Arizona said that the Mexican soldiers crossed the border into an isolated area southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who has not been identified. The Mexicans withdrew after other American agents arrived on the scene.[21]
[edit] Ramos and Compean
In February 2005, Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were involved in an incident while pursuing a van in Fabens, Texas. The driver, later identified as Aldrete Davila, was shot by Agent Ramos during a scuffle. Davila escaped back into Mexico, and the agents discovered that the van contained a million dollars worth of marijuana (about 750 pounds). None of the agents at the scene orally reported the shooting, including two supervisors. The Department of Homeland Security opened up an internal affairs investigation into the incident.[22] See also [23][24][25]
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Ineffective
In 2006, a documentary called The Illegal Immigration Invasion[26] linked the scale of illegal immigration into the United States chiefly to the ineffectiveness of the Border Patrol. The film claimed that this is due to the lack of judicial powers of the Border Patrol and the effective hamstringing of the agency by the federal government. The film interviews people that deal with illegal immigration on a daily basis, as well as local citizens living in the border areas.
[edit] Allegations of abuse
There are allegations of abuse by the United States Border Patrol such as the ones reported by Jesus A. Trevino, that concludes in an article published in the Houston Journal of International Law (2006) with a request to create an independent review commission to oversee the actions of the Border Patrol, and that creating such review board will make the American public aware of the "serious problem of abuse that exists at the border by making this review process public" and that "illegal immigrants deserve the same constitutionally-mandated humane treatment of citizens and legal residents".[27]
In 1998, Amnesty International investigated allegations of ill-treatment and brutality by officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and particularly the Border Patrol. Their report said they found indications of human rights violations during 1996, 1997 and early 1998.[28]
An article in Social Justice by Michael Huspek, Leticia Jimenez, Roberto Martinez (1998) cites that in December 1997, John Case, head of the INS Office of Internal Audit, announced at a press conference that public complaints to the INS had risen 29% from 1996, with the "vast majority" of complaints emanating from the southwest border region, but that of the 2,300 cases, the 243 cases of serious allegations of abuse were down in 1997. These serious cases are considered to be distinct from less serious complaints, such as "verbal abuse, discrimination, extended detention without cause."[29]
[edit] Corruption
Incidences of corruption in the U.S. Border Patrol include:
Pablo Sergio Barry, an agent charged with one count of harboring an illegal immigrant, three counts of false statements, and two counts of making a false document.[30] He plead guilty.[31]
Christopher E. Bernis, an agent indicted on a charge of harboring an illegal immigrant for nine months while employed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent.[32]
Jose De Jesus Ruiz, an agent whose girlfriend was an illegal immigrant, he was put on administrative leave pending an investigation.[32]
Oscar Antonio Ortiz, an illegal immigrant[33] who used a fake birth certificate to get into the Border Patrol admitted to smuggling more than 100 illegal immigrants into the U.S., some of them in his government truck,[34] and was helping to smuggle illegal immigrants and charged with conspiring with another agent to smuggle immigrants.
An unidentified patrol agent who was recorded on a wire tap stating that he helped to smuggle 30 to 50 immigrants at a time.[33]
[edit] National Border Patrol Council
National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) is the labor union which represents over 14,000 Border Patrol Agents and support staff. The NBPC was founded in 1968, and its parent organization is the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO. The NBPC's executive committee is staffed by current and retired Border Patrol Agents and, along with its constituent locals, employs a staff of a dozen attorneys and field representatives. The NBPC is associated with the Peace Officer Research Association of California’s Legal Defense Fund.[35]
[edit] National Border Patrol Museum
The National Border Patrol Museum is located in El Paso, Texas. The museum exhibits uniforms, equipment, photographs, guns, vehicles, airplanes, boats, and documents which depict the historical and current sector operations throughout the United States.
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Books
Border Patrol by Alvin Edward Moore
The Border Patrol by Deborah Wells Salter
EWI: Entry Without Inspection (Title 8 U.S.C. § 1325 Improper entry by alien) by Fortuna Testarona Valiente
Tracks in the Sand: A Tale of the Border Patrol by Kent E Lundgren,
On The Line: Inside the U.S. Border Patrol by Alex Pacheco and Erich Krauss
Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas by Robert Lee Maril
The U.S. Border Patrol: Guarding the Nation (Blazers) by Connie Collwell Miller
My Border Patrol Diary: Laredo, Texas by Dale Squint
Holding the Line: War Stories of the U.S. Border Patrol by Gerald Schumacher
The Border Patrol Ate My Dust by Alicia Alarcon, Ethriam Cash Brammer, and Ethriam Cash Brammer de Gonzales
The Border: Exploring the U.S.-Mexican Divide by David J. Danelo
Beat The Border: An Insider's Guide To How The U.S. Border Works And How To Beat It by Ned Beaumont
West of the Moon: A Border Patrol Agent's Tale by D. B. Prehoda
The Journey: U.S. Border Patrol & the Solution to the Illegal Alien Problem by Donald R. Coppock
Border patrol: With the U.S. Immigration Service on the Mexican boundary, 1910-54 by Clifford Alan Perkins
Border Patrol: How U.S. Agents Protect Our Borders from Illegal Entry by Carroll B. Colby
In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security by Tom Tancredo
[edit] Film
Border Patrolman, a 1936 film in which a Border Patrolman Bob Wallace, played by George O'Brien, resigns in protest after being humiliated by the spoiled granddaughter of a millionaire.
Border Patrol, a 1943 film starring William C. Boyd, Andy Clyde, George Reeves, and Robert Mitchum
Borderline, a 1950 film noir starring Fred MacMurray about drug smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border
Border Patrol, a 1959 syndicated television series, starring Richard Webb as the fictitious deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol
Borderline, a 1980 movie starring Charles Bronson about a Border Patrol Agent on the U.S./Mexico border
The Border, a 1982 film starring Jack Nicholson
El Norte, a 1983 film portraying Central American Indian peasants traveling to the United States.
Flashpoint, a 1984 film starring Kris Kristofferson
Last Man Standing, a 1996 film starring Bruce Willis and Ken Jenkins as Texas Ranger Captain Tom Pickett who is investing the killing of an unnamed Immigration Inspector (played by Larry Holt) across the border in Mexico.
Men in Black, a 1997 science fiction comedy action film starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The Border Patrol was portrayed as Immigration Inspectors
The Gatekeeper, a 2002 film by John Carlos Frey about the struggles of migrants at the Mexican/US border.
The Shepherd: Border Patrol, a 2007 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Linewatch, a 2008 film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., as a Border Patrol agent defending his family from a group of Los Angeles gang members involved in the illegal trade of importing narcotics into the United States.
[edit] Documentaries
Border Patrol: American's Gatekeepers A&E with former United States Attorney General Janet Reno
Investigative Reports: Border Patrol: America's Gatekeepers A&E Investigates
History the Enforcers : Border Patrol History Channel
[edit] See also
Border Protection Personnel
United States portal
Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal
List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Border control
Ignacio Ramos
Illegal immigration
H.R. 4437
Minuteman Project
MQ-9 Reaper
No More Deaths
Office of CBP Air
United States Mexico barrier
United States-Canadian Border
la migra
[edit] References
^ "Reinstatements to the northern border". CPB.gov. US Customs and Border Protection. 2008-05-19. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/reinsta.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/border_...
^ a b c d e f "Boarder Patrol overview". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-08-22. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/border_.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "Who we are and what we do". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-09-03. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/who_we_.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Gaynor, Tim (2008-01-23). "U.S. turns to horses to secure borders". Reuters. www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSN2323280820080124.... Retrieved 2008-01-24.
^ www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/border_security/border_patro...[dead link]
^ Nuñez-Neto, Blas (2006-010-25) (PDF). Border security: The role of the U.S. Border Patrol. Congressional Research Service. p. 35. digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs//data/2006/upl-meta-c.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Coyle, Marcia (2008-03-03). "Waivers for border fence challenged: Environmental groups take their complaints to Supreme Court". The Recorder.
^ Archibold, Randal C. (2008-04-02). "Government issues waiver for fencing along border". New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/us/02fence.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
^ "Conservation groups call for an immediate halt to construction of border fence in San Pedro National Conservation Area". US Newswire. 2007-10-05.
^ Gordon, David George (May 2000). "A 'grande' dispute". National Geographic World: p. 4.
^ Cohn, Jeffrey P. (2007). "The environmental impacts of a border fence". BioScience 57 (1): 96. doi:10.1641/B570116. www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1641/B570116. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Expansive border fence stirs fights over land". Tell Me More. NPR. 2008-03-03.
^ 2007 State of the Border Patrol video[dead link]
^ a b "FAQs: Working for the Border Patrol-basic training". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-05-29. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/customs_careers/border_career.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Spagat, Elliot (2007-08-16). "Border Patrol uniform gets first makeover since the 1950s". North County Times. www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/17/news/sandiego/18_64_3.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border Patrol Inspector Theodore L. Newton Jr.". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=9933. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border Patrol Inspector George F. Azrak". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=1368. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Rostien, Arthur H. (2005-06-09). "Border Patrol horses get special feed that helps protect desert ecosystem". Environmental News Network. www.enn.com/top_stories/article/1731. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Border Patrol". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/agency/4830-united-states-department-of-home.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Meyers, Jim (2008-08-06). "Mexican troops cross border, hold border agent". Newsmax.com. newsmax.com/insidecover/mexican_troops_border/2008/08/06/.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Glenn Beck: Ramos & Compean - the whole story". The Glenn Beck Program. Premiere Radio Networks. 2008-07-29. www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/13098/. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Ramos-Compean. ramos-compean.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "2 Border Patrol agents face 20 years in prison". WorldDailyNet. 2006-08-07. www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51417. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Ramos and Campean - court appeal". www.scribd.com/doc/219384/Ramos-and-Campean-Court-Appeal. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ (Google video) The illegal immigration invasion. October Sun Films. 2006-04-06. video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1451035544403625746. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Jesus A. Trevino (1998). "Border violence against illegal immigrants and the need to change the border patrol's current complaint review process" (PDF). Houston Journal of International Law 21 (1): 85–114. ISSN 0194-1879. www.hjil.org/ArticleFiles/21_1_10.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ United States of America: Human rights concerns in the border region with Mexico. Amnesty International. 1998-05-19. web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAMR510031998. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Huspek, Michael; Roberto Martinez, and Leticia Jimenez (1998). "Violations of human and civil rights on the U.S.-Mexico border, 1995 to 1997: a report" (Reprint). Social Justice 25 (2). ISSN 1043-1578. findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3427/is_n2_v25/ai_n28711.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
The data compiled in this report suggest that law enforcement in the southwest region of the United States may be verging on lawlessness. This statement receives fuller support from announcements emanating from the INS. In December 1997, John Chase, head of the INS Office of Internal Audit, announced at a press conference that public complaints to the INS had risen 29% from 1996, with the "vast majority" of complaints emanating from the southwest border region. Over 2,300 complaints were filed in 1997 as opposed to the 1,813 complaints filed in 1996. Another 400 reports of "minor misconduct" were placed in a new category. Chase was quick to emphasize, however, that the 243 "serious" allegations of abuse and use of excessive force that could warrant criminal prosecution were down in 1997, as compared with the 328 in 1996. These "serious" cases are considered to be distinct from less serious complaints, such as "verbal abuse, discrimination, extended detention without cause.
^ June 23, 2005 "Border agent accused of hiding an illegal entrant". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-06-23. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/81082.php June 23, 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border agent pleads guilty to harboring illegal entrant". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-09-22. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/94491.php. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "U.S. border agent indicted". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-03-11. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/65117.php. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "Boarder agent said to also be smuggler". SignOnSanDiego.com. Union-Tribune Publishing. 2005-08-05. www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050805-9999-.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Spagat, Elliot (2006-07-28). "Border agent gets 5 years for smuggling". The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "About NBPC". National Border Patrol Council. 2008-08-14. www.nbpc.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&a.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
[edit] External links
Official US Border Patrol website
US Border Patrol history
National Border Patrol Strategy(PDF)
Border Patrol official recruiting page
Border Patrol Supervisor's Association (BPSA)
Border Patrol agents killed in the line of duty
Large Border Patrol site
Border Patrol Museum official site
National Border Patrol Council official site
National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
Friends of the Border Patrol
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the U.S. Border Patrol
Civilian Border Patrol Organizations: An Overview and History of the Phenomenon by the Congressional Research Service.
Border Patrol hiring forums and information for potential agents
National Border Patrol Museum
Pictures of Border Patrol vehicles
Crossing Guards in Training LA Times report on Border Patrol training.
The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration
Border Patrol unofficial Auxiliary NOT a Government Agency and not affiliated with the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
[edit] External Video
Border Stories
[edit] GAO and OIG Reports
GAO Report: Border Patrol - Southwest Border Enforcement Affected by Mission Expansion and Budget August 1992
GAO Report: Border Control - Revised Strategy is Showing Some Positive Results December 1994
g96065.pdf GAO Report: Border Patrol - Staffing and Enforcement Activities March 1996
GAO Report: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - Southwest Border Strategy Results Inconclusive; More Evaluation Needed December 1997
USDOJ OIG Report: Operation Gatekeeper July 1998
GAO Report: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - Status of Southwest Border Strategy Implementation 1999
GAO Report: Border Patrol Hiring December 1999
GAO Report: Southwest Border Strategy - Resource and Impact Issues Remain After Seven Years August 2001
National Border Patrol Strategy March 2005
GAO Report: Effectiveness of Border Patrol Checkpoints July 2005
DHS OIG Report: An Assessment of the Proposal to Merge Customs and Border Protection with Immigration and Customs Enforcement November 2005
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Categories: Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States | Border guards | Specialist law enforcement agencies of the United States | History of immigration to the United States | United States Department of Homeland Security | Borders of the United States
Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from June 2009 | Articles with broken citations | Articles needing cleanup from December 2009 | All pages needing cleanup | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 | All accuracy disputes | Articles with disputed statements from December 2009 | Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2005 | All articles containing potentially dated statements
I've not been as free to shoot as before due to a number of commitments, both at home and at work. I've always found photography as both therapeutic and a way to express my creativity (or the lack of it). I've been my own harshest critic and I often find myself questioning my work, albeit finding faults where improvements are needed.
I haven't found my true niche in photography. Should I stick with landscapes? Should I do portraits? Strobist perhaps? Candids?
I am a poet. And the shutter is my pen.
================================
© COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This photo is copyrighted and may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without my consent and permission. All rights reserved.
This photo is a creation by Leslie (Bogostick). I'm simply re-posting it to help spread the word about the upcoming launch of the next A-Z Challenge!! A-Z 2.0, if you will ;). If you haven't commented on Leslie's post but would like to, please feel free to visit her page at www.flickr.com/photos/bogostick/39884283462/in/pool-29623... to share your thoughts. :)
Here is the announcement she has posted:
MARVEL_DOLLS and I are happy to announce the A-Z Doll Photography Challenge will return in just a few days. We hope you're as excited as we are!
Photo themes will be posted to Audra's (MARVEL_DOLLS) account and the photo group page, so be sure to watch for a post with descriptions of A, B and C in February.
Your opinions are important to the success of the group, so please take a moment to answer Yes or No to two questions:
1) This group had featured a voting process, much like the Blonde Bombshell group. Would you like to continue monthly nominations and voting to recognize your favorite photos for the themes? (Yes or no)
2) Would you like to be tagged to each photo announcing monthly themes and possible voting announcements?
(A "no" vote means you will not see notices about the group on your "Recent Activity" feed on flickr or receive an email notification depending on your settings.)
What won't change: Anyone can vote, and anyone is invited to participate with any fashion doll. The themes are broad frameworks to stimulate creativity, and most importantly, participation is fluid, so come and go as your schedule and creativity allows.
If you haven't yet joined our photo group page, you can do so here: www.flickr.com/groups/2962397@N20/
We look forward to your feedback and hope you're ready for a new year of fun!
A lovely fall day! This little treasure was warming itself in dense praire grasses. Winds flowing through the grasses posed a focusing challenge.. but what a beautiful butterfly!
No Mysterians though
Question Mark and the Mysterians was a band that had a big hit with "96 Tears" back when I was a teen.
Busted out a handful of stickers last night, getting in the groove!
I have to make alot since people been picking up packs like hotcakes from my store: joshandjosh.bigcartel.com/
Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas. View large on black
Horses are such amazing creatures. Here's the story. At Boquillas Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Mexican Nationals try and earn a living by selling souvenirs at three times less than they sell for in the BBNP shops. They sit across the Rio Grande while their souvenirs sit unattended at the overlook.
When a "customer" comes, this guy mounts his horse, crosses the Rio Grande and risks arrest by Border Patrol. The horse, knowing what is to come, stops to take a drink in mid-river and the "cowboy" grabs a branch off of one of the shrubs to use as a switch. Then the horse races up a near-vertical cliff side to reach the selling ground. Without question, this steed takes his rider to the top, not missing a beat.
Devils Parchment texture thanks to SkeletalMess.
TAG - 20 things about me - Tagged by Rainbow Magical Orchestra, Little Crow, Darek, Ichigo Hoshi, Kaléa-chan, Aïla. Merci beaucoup les filles, ça fait plaisir de découvrir vos jolis minois :)
Rules :
"1- Find a cool, random, picture that helps describe one of your questions.
2- Write 20 things that NO ONE really knows about you (if you don't have many things, you can shorten the amount)
3- After you're done, tag all your friends!"
--------------------------------------------------
1. Je suis censée parler de la photo, mais il n’y a pas grand-chose à dire pour le coup…enfin bref, c’est moi ! Préparez-vous à apprendre des tas de trucs inutiles sur ma vie, ça va être coul, je vous préviens.
2. Je suis une grande fan de vernis à ongle, ça doit faire des mois que je suis sortie sans avoir les ongles vernis, j’en ai une bonne trentaine, de couleurs, de matières différentes, pour chaque tenue pratiquement !
3. Je passe mes épreuves anticipées pour le BAC dans moins d’un mois, je devrais être entrain de réviser logiquement, mais là tout de suite, je ne peux pas...J’ai un tag à faire. (C’est plutôt une bonne raison, non ?)
4. Je suis une grande stressée de la vie, je panique pour un rien, combien de fois dans la semaine je dois dire ‘mais t’es dingue, rigole pas, j’ai cru que j’allais mourir.’ (oui, oui, j’vous jure.)
5. Mon chien s’appelle Diko, je me dis souvent que ce prénom est un des plus ridicules de la Terre, ne me demandez pas pourquoi il le porte, j’étais jeune et inconsciente ahah.
6. En ce moment, je ne pense qu’à une chose, ce sont les vacanceeees, je dois me concentrer sur les cours, mais impossible, quand monsieur le soleil pointe le bout de son nez, je ne suis plus capable de travailler. (Déjà que je ne bosse pas beaucoup à la base...)
7. Je suis feignante, mais genre…très très feignante. (Mais ça dépend pour quoi, en y réfléchissant bien.) Mais tout ça c’est à cause de mon lit et mon ordinateur, ils me rendent molle, bouh les vilains !
8. La phrase que je répète le plus souvent est ‘J’ai faim’. ‘J’ai envie de dormir’ revient assez souvent aussi…pour le plus grand malheur de mes proches et amis ahah.
9. Je veux me laisser pousser les cheveux mais je suis incapable de m’en occuper correctement en ce moment, ils sont tout le temps emmêlés, abimés et pas coiffés. Oui, je dois avouer que ce n’est pas très féminin, mais je suis pour la liberté des cheveux, je laisse les miens faire ce qu’ils veulent…et ce n’est pas très beau quand on regarde bien. Dans ma tête, je me dis que ça fait ‘grrr, fille sauvage, effet coiffé-décoiffé’ mais en vérité, c’est plus ‘oh, tu n’es pas coiffée, tu viens de te lever ?’
10. On me dit souvent que je ressemble à un chat ou à un lapin quand je souris. Et j'aime po ço.
11. J’ai un grand frère de 20 ans, il ne fait rien de sa vie, mais il est vachement drôle, j’aime bien quand on nous dit qu’on a le même humour. En parlant de ça, c’est une réelle fierté quand je fais rire quelqu’un, ça me met toujours de bonne humeur ! C’est toujours bon de voir les gens sourire et rire autour de soi, hihi.
12. Je fais toujours une liste de choses que je dois ‘impérativement’ acheter quand je vais faire les boutiques avec des amies ou ma mère. Je reviens, évidemment avec tout, sauf ce qui se trouve sur la liste. (Bah oui, logique quoi !)
13. J'aurais 17 ans le premier août. (j'espére que vous vous en souviendrez, mouhaha) je trouve ça chouette d'être née en été, c'est ma saison préféré! Le soleil, les vacances, tout ça, tout ça, je n'aimerais pas passer mon anniversaire sous la pluie, bien trop déprimant!
14. J'aime cro les cornichons.
15. Je sors rarement sans être maquillée..je sais bien que ça fait fille superficielle, mais maintenant que j'ai commencé, j'ai du mal à sortir sans. Je suis toujours jalouse des filles incroyablement jolies au naturel, qui ne se maquillent pas du tout, ahah.
16. Je m’appelle Juliette sinon. J’aurais pu le dire au début, mais comme je n’ai plus vraiment d’inspiration, je vous le sors maintenant !
17. J’ai aussi un chat, elle s’appelle Hermione. (Et là, vous vous dites que chez moi, on n’est vraiment pas doué pour trouver de beaux prénoms à nos animaux…) Mais pardonnez moi, c’était ma période Harry Potter, Emma Watson était, et l’est toujours un peu, mon idole !
18. J’utilise pas mal d’expressions débiles, comme ‘Kissou love’ ou ‘Salut petit poney !’ j’aime bien m’exprimer en mode ‘coucouille, un peu comme ço kwo’ je le fais tellement souvent, je m’en rend plus compte, ça m’arrive parfois de parler aux gens de cette façon, je passe pour la campagnarde de service du coup.
19. J’habite dans un tout petit village paumé dont les initiales sont ‘VDM’, bon bah je vous fais pas de dessin hein, ça veut tout dire, son nom reflète pas mal son image.
20. On arrive à la fin ! Aujourd’hui, c’était la fête des mères et mes parents et moi avons passé un repas terrible chez mes grands-parents. Ils se sont tous disputés, nous nous sommes sauvés avant le dessert (bouuuh, sacrilège, le dessert quoi, faut pas déconner non plus !) et ma grand-mère m’a rattrapé pour me tendre un paquet ‘pour ton anniversaire, parce qu’on n’est pas prête de se revoir’…C’est dans trois mois, mais merci quand même !
Bisous, et merci de m’avoir lu ! ♥
(Désolée si certaines ou certains étaient déjà taggés et si vous ne vouliez pas l'être!)
"how the hell did he get stuck",mom cried. It was a fairly reasonable question.
well, i could just tell her, that her sweet innocent boy Tommy was sneaking out at nights.
I could tell her that i encouraged him to go feet first to ensure a quick getaway.
"how long has he been like this" she asked with a bit of panic to her voice.
I could tell her the last six hours, But that would give it all away, and even though i love my little brother and want to see him suffer, i could nt stand hearing her burst his ear drums. Cause then thatll mean mine will burst too.
"i threw him a bone, he didnt make it, hes been like this for thirty minutes now". i said.
SWAT!
"Get him unstuck right now" she yelled.
Ah, the sacrifices we make.
I scratched my fingernails down the arch of his foot.
I could hear his body squirming, inching forward, tightening around the doggie door.
*day 27* 3.6.5
I have many questions about the description of this photo, but from the age, who knows...here it is:
"Westbound II&I Passenger Train Wrecked at Momence"
No date, no real location in town. I want to believe that this is just west of the C&EI crossing looking at the telegraph pole style in the distance and the old-style crossing protection where RR street would be. But that is ALL a guess. I don't see interlocking signals, but the neighborhood looks right. The NYC stopped running passenger trains on the 3-I in 1920-ish, and I'm not an expert on clothes styles or dating photos, but it must have been sometime prior.
Passengers and or civilians can be seen standing around along with what appears to be the crew at center.
So, as labeled......
Westbound Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Passenger Train Wreck
Momence, Illinois
Circa, 1915??
Unknown photographer
--If this is in fact what it is, then this is probably NYC WEST-BOUND--FIRST-CLASS Train #1 (Mail & Express) due at Momence at 9:49 am.
When this installation was first on view, many have questioned what it was intended to mean. The words “Same but not equal” was painted in all caps on top of a collage of Thai newspaper “khaosod” on linen canvas. The panel was placed on top of two piles of Thai rice. Although the pile of rice appears the same, one pile of rice is ordinary rice and the other, apparently, is premium export-grade Thai jasmine rice.
To one art blog Blouin Art Info [1], it is a commentary about ABHK, where Art Basel Hong Kong, though featuring many of the same galleries seen Art Basel Switzerland and Art Basel Miami, is in many ways different than their counterparts given the type of art works being shown in comparison.
To me, it is a commentary on a larger issue where news media speak of the same kind of political news though their analysis and content is highly different.
Art is up to all kinds of interpretation. I have no idea if the artist created this piece specifically for ABHK, if so then perhaps that does have some validity. It is interesting nevertheless, though I would most certainly not pay 100-150k USD for it which is apparently the asking price for this work [2].
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Untitled (same but not equal), 2013
Newspaper on Linen, Rice
286 x 220 cm
# Rirkrit Tiravanija
b. 1961 Buenos Aires, Argentina
1980 Carleton University
1980-1984 Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada
1984 Banff Center School of Fine Arts
1984–86 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1985-86 Whitney Independent Studies Program
1982 Moved to New York, NY
Rirkrit Tiravanija (Thai: ฤกษ์ฤทธิ์ ตีระวนิช, pronunciation: [rɯk-rit tira-wanit] or Tea-rah-vah-nit) is a contemporary artist residing in New York, Berlin, and Chiang Mai. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. His installations often take the form of stages or rooms for sharing meals, cooking, reading or playing music; architecture or structures for living and socializing are a core element in his work.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rirkrit_Tiravanija
# Shanghai Gallery of Art 沪申画廊
3F, No. 3, Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road
200002 Shanghai
China
# Notes
1. enjp.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/905969/same-but-not-equ...
2. artsy.net/artwork/rirkrit-tiravanija-untitled-same-but-no...
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-23T17:45:10+0800
+ Dimensions: 5412 x 3619
+ Exposure: 1/40 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 29 mm
+ ISO: 640
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°16'59" N 114°10'22" E
+ Location: 香港會議展覽中心 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130523.6D.14129
+ Series: 新聞攝影 Photojournalism, SML Fine Art, Art Basel Hong Kong 2013
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
Mixed media installation by Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961): Untitled (same but not equal), 2013 (Newspaper on Linen, Rice) / 沪申画廊 Shanghai Gallery of Art / Art Basel Hong Kong 2013 / SML.20130523.6D.14129
/ #ABHK #Photojournalism #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLFineArt #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #Art #FineArt #ArtBasel #RirkritTiravanija #沪申画廊 #ShanghaiGalleryOfArt #installation #mixedmedia #rice #same #equal
I have received a lot of questions about the show, so I will try to answer them all now in hope that it will help other unsure about something and did not message / ask me about it.
- The show is OPEN CALL, anyone can send in stickers
-Everyone's artwork will be displayed
-The address to send you packs in is:
TATTOOED MOM
P.O. BOX 63833
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 19147
USA
- the cut off date for submissions is SEPTEMBER 13th,
-If you live in the area you can drop off your sticker packs at the door of Tattooed Mom on South st.
-The show is called CHARACTER WELCOME because because of the high volume of character based graffiti sticker art here in Philadelphia
BUT!!! - any sticker artwork is acceptable. It DOES NOT have to be a character!!!
-Hand drawn, stencils, prints, screen prints- they are all acceptable
-The plan now is to cover the walls of the bar, and also combo wooden panels that after the show will be put up throughout the city.
-2 professional photographers will be at the show, so it will be well documented and you will be able to find photos with your work in them. We are putting a lot of emphasis on the documentation as to not disappoint anyone. Nobody wants to send stickers to a show and not see pictures of their artwork in the combos and stuff.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK BELOW!!!
THANK YOU
and please spread the word to your partners in crime!!!
This photo caught me in a genuinely reflective moment in early June during a rather wonderful day of cross-dressing. I find I am still dealing with my cross-dressing and as the shutter closed I was suddenly in a moment of pure contentment because I was wearing full make-up, a wig, my entire body had been waxed and was smooth and hair free, I had plucked my eyebrows, I had false breasts, I was a wearing a bra and knickers, I was wearing a dress and high heel shoes, my nails were painted and I had attached clip on ear rings and dabbed on perfume. I suddenly found myself wondering about the whole thing, was I doing something wrong? Was I right to give into my desire to dress up as a woman? Why was I doing this? Many thoughts cascaded through my mind at this brief moment in time.
I describe myself as a transvestite and I like calling myself that. I find it gives me a thrill to realise I am a man that loves dressing up as a woman. In fact I think its an amazing thing to experience as a male. I enjoy all the effort and commitment required to try and look female. One of the big appeals is how far dare I push things to attempt to be feminine. As I'm not feminine it is a challenge for me and I'm drawn into it every time I cross-dress.
I'll be honest and admit I wish I was physically feminine and had smooth soft skin and a feminine face and physically smaller and slimmer, I would dearly love to be more feminine than masculine but I'm stuck with what I've got as I'm a man.
I enjoy living as a man the majority of the time but without warning the desire to be female can suddenly crash in and consume me and I could weep with the frustration of not being a woman. It's interesting as I feel I am definitely a transvestite, I like being an occasional cross-dressing male yet, I cannot deny at times the urge to be female is dominant and I desperately wish I was one. This overwhelming emotional desire can have me in its grip me for periods and I now know that eventually it diminishes and I get on with life as a man again. I feel there is an element of transsexualism within me as I do love being a woman when I dress up as one.
I am always aware though I am just dressing up and acting know matter how much effort I put into it, I'm still a man under the wig, make-up and dress. Funnily though, that very knowledge thrills and excites me, I genuinely like the idea I'm posing as a woman and it is all an illusion. Of course for me personally I have no real belief I succeed in my female illusion but I adore the experiences and gain a lot of reward from spending time in my female alter-ego. It works rather nicely on several levels for me, emotionally I love it, I enjoy the delight of having a shaved hair free body, I absolutely love wearing make-up...mascara, lipstick, eye-liner...ooh, such heaven! Having tucked genitals, false breasts and wearing lingerie and dresses and skirts is again such a delight and utterly wonderful and as for high heels, I just feel fabulous when I slip them on.
I know I look like a parody of a woman and not like a real woman but I do find an emotional comfort once I'm transformed to the best of my ability and I don't feel unsettled by my swapping gender in my head and acting more female. I've said it before but I would like to experience some time in the role of a woman. It may sound homosexual but I would like to be a female companion out for dinner or a wee drink with a man and I would play the part one hundred percent as a female. I'm not attracted to men at all but the desire to pass a woman and spend time as a female makes me feel such an experience would make my female illusion feel like it's working. It sounds harsh but the man would merely be a prop for my performance. I do see my Helene persona as more of a character acting performance as I ultimately know I live as a man. I've said many times I'm also frustrated actor at heart and the idea of playing a woman convincingly really holds great appeal and also the transsexual element within me feels at home with the scenario I outlined.
What I am attempting to to do, or more accurately become is an heterosexual woman. I know it's an act but I would love to play the role and see if I could carry it off convincingly. I would love to be referred to as 'she', 'her' and perceived as a lady...I would love it!
My biggest ambition is to one day master the ability of completely swapping gender and acting naturally as a woman. I can already do the man thing but I am intrigued to see if I can also be a woman when I become Helene. I lack the self belief just now and I am not that confident in my skills and abilities so much work is needed. I have been accused of being homosexual for expressing similar ambitions for my female persona in the past but I compare myself more to a straight male actor playing a gay man. In my case I'm a straight male playing a female character and I want to play the role realistically. I need to become the woman I am portraying to make the experience feel real to me.
There is of course a flip side to all of this as part of me says 'Really? Maybe you do have homosexual tendencies'. But really I don't quite feel that is correct for me. I just feel what I seek is when I'm a man then I'm a man but as I have an emotional need to feel I can be female now and again then it is natural that when I become a woman then I am a woman. Is it possible to be heterosexual in both genders when one of them, the female, is just an illusion because I'm really a man? I am excited by this as I believe one can be and the sheer daring and adventure of that is both thrilling and a personal challenge I'm attracted to exploring.
I do get frustrated by many in the transgender world being too simplistic and forcing things into black and white explanations, I think as transgender people things are very complex for us in many areas and this is not just about ones sexuality. For example the age old complaint of women can wear male clothing and nobody questions their choices but men cant wear women's clothes without being seen as odd does not quite hold water. When women wear male clothing they usually still look unmistakably like women, its rare they are perceived as being male. Also, they are not trying to look like men. However, when men dress in women's clothing we do take it a lot further as we wear make-up, wigs with female hair styles, add breasts and some of us shave our legs, chest and arms and tuck away our male genitals and wear female underwear...in short we are not just wearing female clothes in our case we are actually trying to look like women, it's quite a different approach to women wearing male clothing. There is a lot more going on in for cross-dressers than just clothes and make-up, we definitely take it emotionally and physically into different area, when we cross-dress many of us desire to look feminine and to look like women.
A friend recently asked me outright why I dressed up as a woman, it was curiosity not a hostile question. I found it was impossible to give him a simple answer as my own desire to seems to have several different motivations driving it. If I were simplistic about it I could say it's because I really enjoy it and I admit I really do! Yet within me are the things I described earlier in this musing and at its core I do have part of me that wishes I was indeed female yet the majority of my being likes my life as a man. I think it comes down to each of us who engage in transvestism has personal urges and desires and some are common but many are individual. I like dressing up and acting the part yet I know I would also like to be that women for real. Part of me believes I can be an heterosexual woman and when I am dressed as Helene I can talk reasonably comfortably about men and enjoy their attention. As I admitted I would be thrilled to actually play the role one hundred percent and be seen with a man and this leads onto what else would I do? Would I allow myself to be kissed? Would I have sex with a man? The reality I feel confident about it is I would not get intimate with a man as I'm married and loyal to my wife so it is unlikely anything I've outlined would ever happen. However, I like to question myself as I can delude myself and I ask if I were not in a relationship how far would I go? I do have a deep curiosity to see how much of a woman I can be and act as so maybe I would allow those kisses and enjoy flirting with a man. I will admit when I am dressed as a woman I am thrilled if a man desires me or finds me attractive as a woman. I cannot quite see that I really look female enough but it has happened and I was definitely thrilled by it.
I remember once, back in 2002, I hired a make-up artist to help me learn about applying make-up as I was keen to look good in make-up...ha! Some hope, I told you I was delusional. He told me once I was transformed into Helene that I was behaving like a man and very self conscious. I said something unconvincing in reply and he said look you've gone to all this effort so best become the female you are presenting as. He was right, I realised my own inhibitions and concerns were holding my female persona back, I needed to shake them off and move forward and embrace my female self. That meant I had to swap genders in my head and become a woman. That thought terrified me for my nearly a decade. It is only in the last few years I managed to attempt this and really this is thanks to a few years ago the tireless encouragement of Michele Bennet and in recent years the most wonderful support and encouragement ever from the lovely Pamela Lennon in Ireland that has revolutionised my mental attitude to cross-dressing and trying to fulfil my dreams. I owe those wonderful ladies a lot and I am still amazed they persisted with me. I confess I adore Pamela as she has enlightened me and been incredibly influential and has empowered me to true liberation as Helene. When others attacked me last year it was Pamela that supported me and never lost heart in encouraging my dream and rekindled my belief in Helene as I nearly gave up on my female self at one point.
Being a transvestite is an emotive experience and full of uncertainty and one can be a bit sensitive about things relating to it. It is a complex thing to live with and though it comes with incredible experiences, delights and joy it is for me always tinged with concerns, doubts and a high degree of guilt, fear and uncertainty, it's all part of the heady mix that goes with the knowledge and activity of being a transvestite.
Sucking up some minerals out of the wet river gravel. Not the best of backgrounds but this is my first shot of one of these so it will do for now. Taken just below the dam on the Cape Fear River just downstream from Corinth, in Chatham County, NC
Two people in Greenwich Park are questioned by police officers about the smoldering remains of a small fire close to where they were sitting. Unfortunately, I don't know who was responsible and it's not at all clear who was to blame for it.
Greenwich Park is just a short bus ride from where I live in London. It was not just the bleached grass that was shocking - many of the trees were already losing their leaves and younger trees looked seriously stressed. London and much of Europe have seen many weeks of extreme heat and drought.
The mainstream media reprimands individuals for wasting water, justifiably exhorting us to limit our showers, but all the while ignoring the highly profitable water companies which fail to invest in infrastructure, reservoirs or leakage prevention. The media also overlooks the devastating impact of large scale agribusiness, particularly livestock farming, which places an increasingly unsustainable demand on the planet's scarce water resources, as well as further inflating emissions and driving deforestation.
Meanwhile, corporate greed is accelerating the consumption of fossil fuels and water and turbocharging climate change. We need rain. We need more regulation. More action. We need to get to net zero asap and water management should not be in private hands. Water companies are siphoning off enormous profits from a vital public utility and failing to invest anything like what is needed.
The head of Thames Water (the same company which dumped raw sewage into rivers over 5000 times in 2021) is set to pocket £3 million as a 'golden hello' for signing on as CEO ,while in total the UK's water companies have handed an average of around £2 billion every year to their shareholders in dividends since they were privatised. If they were nationalised, those profits could instead have been invested to upgrade the infrastructure and mitigate the impact of climate change and have even provided extra funds to promote sustainable alternative energy sources.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/20/thames-water-...
www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/01/england-priva...
As Caroline Lucas writes in the Guardian (12.08.22) - ' (Drought) is a consequence of years of inaction on the climate emergency. This is producing a perfect storm of energy insecurity, food supply chaos and extreme weather that is wreaking havoc on society.'
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/12/drought-uk-...
There's no question that the great customizers in this community put out lots of awesome Lego Superheroes, but there are always those characters that no-one seems to have interest in making, despite their popularity. Now, of course, there are certain customizers who do produce these characters, but they are significantly below par when it comes to quality (not pad printed or high-quality digital). These are the top 9 DC Comics characters that I think all the brilliant customizers out there (you know who you are) should really consider making. I tried to limit my picks to characters that wouldn't require custom-molded pieces to produce.
Note that I also tried to avoid Batman characters as the official Lego market is already overflowed with Batman stuff.
1) Alan Scott: Next to Kyle Rayner, Scott is probably my favorite Green Lantern and he is in all likelihood the most unique. Mostly because his powers don't come from the same place as the other GL's. He's got the most unique costume and is the original Green Lantern. He really needs some love!
2) Hawk & Dove: Yeah, I kind of cheated with this one being two characters but you can't have one without the other! Hawk and Dove are easily the best duo in DC comics and, though their team composition has changed (Brothers, Sisters, Boy and Girl) this one - Hank and Dawn - is easily the most iconic.
3) Booster Gold: Booster is a very, very popular character and for good reason. He's a badass dude with a really cool power set and a long history in comics. He's been a fan favorite for years and I think this makes him a good choice to be made as a for-sale custom.
4) Captain Atom: Captain Atom is one of those characters that I hesitated putting on this list. Obviously, the best thing to do would be to sell a chrome minifig, but I think he would work in light blue-grey as well. Regardless, hes a very cool character with a very unique look.
5) Black Canary: So many Green Arrows out there, but so little Black Canary. That is, in all honesty, a tragedy. She really is one of the premiere women in the DCU and is in desperate need of a custom. Double sided head: one smirking, one screaming.
6) Deadshot: Classic Deadshot is one of the coolest and most iconic sharpshooters in all of comics, so it's really surprising how under-represented he is. I eagerly await someone to produce him so I can snatch him up.
7) Deadman: Going into the mystical realm of DC comics, Deadman is a really cool character with a great, unique look. The ghostly acrobat would make a great addition to anyone's custom collection.
8) Lobo: How has no-one made Lobo yet? Seriously! I know his hair is hard to pinpoint with the official line of Lego, but there are a few pieces that would work pretty well. Lobo is an incredible badass that is in desperate need of a custom.
9) The Spectre: I may be a bit biased in saying this but The Spectre is one of my favorite comic characters of all time, ever since I read the 90's run when I was a little kid. DC's spirit of vengeance is a force to be reckoned with and would be an easy-to-make and awesome custom minifig.
Here's nine honorable mentions:
- Amazo
- Raven
- Starfire
- Mr. Miracle
- Guy Gardner
- Ozymandias (Watchmen)
- The Question
- Power Girl
- Mirror Master
*Note that these are customs I'd like to see printed and sold, rather than personal customs.*