View allAll Photos Tagged Solidarity.
i am in solidarity with those who dislike many features of the proposed beta switch. i think the december 8th protest was a very good one and should have sent a strong message to the yahoo corporate hierarchy. i have already given my written feedback to the pob and actively participated in black day. i may be wrong, but i think today's protest (while well intended) is overkill.
For the record Black Lives Matter nor the protesters were violent. The police and instigators were the ones who caused the problems and the violence.
A child holds the flag of Ukraine next to one of the lions at Trafalgar Square - an almost invisible third hand keeps the flag outstretched.
I post this series of photos of anti-war demonstrations in central London as a neutral observer (more photos will be following soon). I'm no fan of either Russian or Western imperialism and military aggression and I have every sympathy with the Ukrainians who are facing a war of aggression from their more powerful northern neighbour, part of the motive for which seems to be to rebuild the prestige and power of Russia, as a sort of new Russian empire reflecting the former hegemonic influence over Eastern Europe of the Soviet Union. All at an immense cost in lives, and also a clear and grave violation of international law. Putin's decision to escalate the nuclear standoff with the West by publicly placing his nuclear forces on high alert should be another reminder of just how dangerous he is.
However, the West should also share a significant portion of the blame for this war. The Russian invasion is far from "unprovoked" as many media commentators claim. First, we have to remember recent history and how Russia has good reason to fear NATO which was originally set up to combat the threat of the 'Russian hordes.' It is remarkable how in 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev, despite his familiarity with Germany's responsibility for having invaded Russia twice during the twentieth century (in 1914 and 1941), agreed to allow East Germany to join West Germany inside a hostile military alliance. There was however a quid pro quo, as promised by President George H. W. Bush (senior) and Secretary of State James Baker that NATO wouldn't move "another inch to the east" but that promise was soon broken as during the Clinton presidency, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined, and then under President George W. Bush, the NATO alliance was further extended to include Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Baltic States, and further still under Obama to Croatia and Albania.
This means that NATO forces are now frequently deployed right around Russia's western borders (except for Ukraine and Belarus). One can imagine, Washington's paranoia, if say in the 1960s or 1970s, Mexico and Canada had declared their intention to join the Warsaw Pact and many people may be familiar with how Cuba's desire to station Soviet missiles on its territory to deter a feared US invasion (and frequent terror attacks), almost led to a nuclear war, though fortunately Khrushchev saw wisdom and backed down in the face of JFK's terrifying brinkmanship and secretly the United States did agree to withdraw some of its older strategic nuclear missiles from Turkey.
At the same time the United States sees Ukraine as occupying a key space on the strategic chessboard, and has ensured that Ukraine has become increasingly dependent on foreign debt and Washington's goodwill, and has continued to plan for Ukraine's eventual incorporation into NATO. That would mean Ukraine, which occupies a vital strategic position on Russia's southern flank and with its border just 350 miles from Moscow, would also become a potential platform for an assault on Russia and even if no assault ever occurred, the mere fact of NATO's enhanced power, would inevitably greatly diminish any remaining influence Russia had to counterbalance US hegemony in Europe. That's why Ukraine's membership of NATO is something which no Russian leader was ever likely to accept. It is of course easy to see a possible compromise - that Ukraine should remain neutral but that in return all countries should respect its territorial integrity, although allowing some autonomy for the Russian speaking areas in Crimea and the Donbass.
Western media has downplayed the suffering of the Russian population in the Donbass region, which for years has been subjected to constant shelling from government forces, and although Ukrainian civilians have also been killed by Russian backed separatists, the UN figures clearly show that year after year, it was the Russian population which suffered a far higher level of fatalities and serious injuries, including the deaths of many children.
ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-relat...
Western media also holds up Ukraine as a beacon of freedom and democracy, but while there have been some important gains for civil society in recent years, Russians have good reason to be unhappy. The Ukraine government has harassed and detained several opposition and pro-Russian journalists and in February 2017 it banned the commercial importation of books from Russia and a new education law made Ukrainian the sole language of instruction in secondary schools, which obviously discriminated against its Russian population. Fascist militias are also growing in number and corruption is endemic while the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture suspects the Ukrainian government of operating secret prisons.
However, it should be noted that the human rights record of the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk have also received intense criticism from the UN OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) and various NGOs for suspected human rights abuses, while Russia's appalling human rights record and its increasing authoritarianism is well known.
To avoid the enormous risk of a nuclear confrontation the West has to start thinking of a way to allow Putin to climb down, without jeopardising European security or sacrificing the freedoms of the Ukrainian people and the obvious way would be to agree to recognise Ukraine as a neutral sovereign state which would remain outside NATO and with a real democratic autonomy for the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
If the West continues to funnel enormous quantities of high tech military equipment into Ukraine, without any attempt to reach a political compromise (by recognising Russia's legitimate security concerns and autonomy for the Donbass region while still guaranteeing Ukraine's sovereignty) there's a very real risk that an increasingly frustrated Putin will issue an ultimatum for the tactical use of nuclear weapons in order to regain the upper hand on the battlefield, and this will be an incredibly dangerous moment for humankind.
My sympathies go out to the people of France and any other nations affected by last nights awful events in Nice , WHY.
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On Saturday 22 July 2023, protesters gathered outside the Puma Store on Carnaby Street in central London to protest the company's continued sponsorship of the Israeli Football Association (IFA), which includes teams from the Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land and outside Israel's internationally recognised 1967 borders. The ultimate purpose of these settlements is to extend the territory of a greater Israel and render any future independent Palestinian state an impossibility and they have been condemned as illegal by the United Nations under international law.
Protesters have also called on Manchester City FC to end its acceptance of money from Puma while the company continues to sponsor the IFA.
Earlier on 24 June, activists picketed Puma stores during a worldwide Day of Action across the UK in Brighton, Reading, Manchester, Stevenage and Cardiff and also internationally in Paris, Berlin, Strasbourg, Lyon, Dublin, Osaka, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur.
[If anyone kindly uploads this photo to Wikimedia Commons, please attribute but also please use your own description or caption. Thanks.]
In solidarity with all the women and men around the world, on this International Women's Day, who are working hard to make life more equitable, more inclusive and more free for more women, in the face of increasing threats to human rights.
We as a species need to do better, to make more and greater opportunities than there were for people like my grandmother, my mother, even my daughter and now my two-year old granddaughter. Regressive thinking never bodes well for anyone, especially women.
The latest stencil to be making an appearance around town, seen a few of these around Basing View, this one is in the derelict Canon building.
Solidarity with whom, or with what, I wonder?
Sanarte: Diversity's Pathway
part of a ceramic tile mural installation and walkway
by Juana Alicia
UCSF Campus at Parnassus
San Francisco, CA
The community came together to paint the stores, restaurants and cafes that were boarded up as a result of the looting that took place.
A few hundred protesters began walking at noon to complete the four miles from Bourbonnais to the Kankakee County Courthouse. While sitting on the front lawn, they listened to activists talk about their experiences and advice for standing up against what they perceived as injustice. They then returned to their starting point for a round trip walk of about eight miles.
Black Lives Matter March - Bourbonnais, Illinois, USA
The Inspire handled the little bit of wind very well this morning. I spun the drone around for a look at the city. What an amazing site from the air. A security guard would come by as I was landing to tell me about the drone prohibition. Perfect timing I thought. Already got the shot!
#1. basic polyhedron: stellated icosahedron
- 6 paper strips
- strip width: 2.0cm
#2. deco strips
- 2.0* 6.0cm
- 30 strips
Designer: KwangWook Hur
No glue
PRENDO ATTO CHE L'ATMOSFERA DI BELFAST NON SIA DELLE PIU' ALLEGRE E LE RAGIONI SONO BEN NOTE A TUTTI.
UNA SERIE DI MURALES VERAMENTE SPLENDIDI CHE PURTROPPO CONTRIBUISCONO A MANTENERE VIVO IL SENSO DI DISAGIO E SOFFERENZA CHE ORA PROVA IL POPOLO PALESTINESE COINVOLTO NEL CONFLITTO TRA LO STATO DI ISRAELE ED IL BRACCIO ARMATO DI HAMAS.
LGBT Solidarity Rally in front of the Stonewall Inn in solidarity with every immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee and every person impacted by Donald Trump's illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and un-American executive orders.
Matryoshki nesting dolls from Russia. Left from 1990's. Right from 1930's.
The matryoshki demonstrate that their colors fit into July's Orange and Maize theme.
Taken at The Regency, Laguna Woods, California. © 2014 All Rights Reserved.
My images are not to be used, copied, edited, or blogged without my explicit permission.
Please!! NO Glittery Awards or Large Graphics...Buddy Icons are OK. Thank You!
Hope you have a fantastic week, my Flickr friends! Thanks for keeping me on your radar!
PLEASE, no multi invitations in your comments. Thanks. I AM POSTING MANY DO NOT FEEL YOU HAVE TO COMMENT ON ALL - JUST ENJOY.
Saint Martin's Church was established in 1353 together with the adjacent Augustinians cloister and a hospital of the Holy Ghost within the walls by Siemowit III duke of Masovia and his wife Eufemia. After some fires, which destroyed the church in 15th and 17th century, the church was reconstructed
in about 1744.
St. Martin's was used by the Solidarity members who met here in secret before and during martial law. These people deserve great praise in their contribution to the fall of communist rule in Poland.
this is a Little Planet creation of a shot i took around Solidarity Drive in the South Loop of the city...it was captured 2 winters ago and i remember it that day as being really cold even though the sun was out and there was a beautiful blue sky with lovely clouds floating around...in this frame, you can see and recognize roght away all the major skyscrapers of the city, and there is a CTA bus pulling away heading westbound on the drive...hope y'all are having a good weekend...pls. View On Black to appreciate the details here...
About twenty years ago when I arrived in Germany - Dortmund in a rather bleak January - I wondered why people put empty bottles on top of or around garbage cans. Looked kind of disorderly and generally ungermanly. My colleagues explained me there is a fifteen cents deposit on them so poor people collect them. Since you don't want them to have to fish their income from the trash can, rather than carrying your empty bottle to dispose of it in an environment friendly deposit rewarded way, you just leave it in the vicinity of a garbage can, whoever needs the deposit can have it... On warm evenings, every park has a guy going around with a shopping cart to collect empty bottles. There are even associations promoting the installation of dedicated bottle baskets on the side of garbage cans.
Some years ago someone at the University of Münster did a PhD on the question. After many interviews with bottle collectors around Germany, he concluded that the main motivation for collecting bottles is not so much money as a sense of having a role to play in the society, of doing one's part.
Pentax MX and SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 , Ilford Delta 100 in Rodinal 1+50 for 13min @ 21°C and digitalized using kit zoom and extension tubes.
Thank you everyone for your visits, faves and comments, they are always appreciated :)
A small stand of trees at timberline, braving the elements. Not much more to add than that this morning.
Taken as people began to gather for one of London's largest protests in many years as tens of thousands marched from London's Embankment to Hyde Park. Demonstrators were angry over Israel's illegal occupation, forced evictions, the Gaza blockade, the devastating air strikes including attacks on tower blocks and the international media and the country's continued defiance of international law.