View allAll Photos Tagged commit
These four bombs resembling coal, along with safety fuse, detonator fuse, and 10 blocks of TNT are shown June 23, 1942 after being dug up on a beach near Jacksonville, Fl. following the arrest of Nazi saboteurs who had landed by U-boat.
After the U.S. declared war on Germany following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Nazi leader Adolph Hitler authorized a mission to sabotage the American war effort and attack civilian targets to demoralize the American civilian population inside the United States.
Recruited for Operation Pastorius, named for the leader of the first German settlement in America, were eight German residents who had lived in the United States.
Two of them, Ernst Burger and Herbert Haupt, were American citizens. The others, George John Dasch, Edward John Kerling, Richard Quirin, Heinrich Harm Heinck, Hermann Otto Neubauer, and Werner Thiel, had worked at various jobs in the United States.
All eight were recruited into the Abwehr military intelligence organization and were given three weeks of intensive sabotage training in the German High Command school on an estate at Quenz Lake, near Berlin, Germany. The agents were instructed in the manufacture and use of explosives, incendiaries, primers, and various forms of mechanical, chemical, and electrical delayed timing devices.
Their mission was to stage sabotage attacks on American economic targets: hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls; the Aluminum Company of America's plants in Illinois, Tennessee, and New York; locks on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky; the Horseshoe Curve, a crucial railroad pass near Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as the Pennsylvania Railroad's repair shops at Altoona; a cryolite plant in Philadelphia; Hell Gate Bridge in New York; and Pennsylvania Station in Newark, New Jersey.
The agents were also instructed to spread a wave of terror by planting explosives on bridges, railroad stations, water facilities, and public places. They were given counterfeit birth certificates, Social Security Cards, draft deferment cards, nearly $175,000 in American money, and driver's licenses, and put aboard two U-boats to land on the east coast of the U.S.
Before the mission began, it was in danger of being compromised, as George Dasch, head of the team, left sensitive documents behind on a train, and one of the agents when drunk announced to patrons at a bar in Paris that he was a secret agent.
On the night of June 12, 1942, the first submarine to arrive in the U.S., U-202, landed at Amagansett, New York, which is about 100 miles east of New York City, on Long Island, at what today is Atlantic Avenue beach.
It was carrying Dasch and three other saboteurs (Burger, Quirin, and Heinck). The team came ashore wearing German Navy uniforms so that if they were captured, they would be classified as prisoners of war rather than spies. They also brought their explosives, primers and incendiaries, and buried them along with their uniforms, and put on civilian clothes to begin an expected two-year campaign in the sabotage of American defense-related production.
When Dasch was discovered amidst the dunes by unarmed Coast Guardsman John C. Cullen, Dasch offered Cullen a $260 bribe. Cullen feigned cooperation but reported the encounter. An armed patrol returned to the site but found only the buried equipment; the Germans had taken the Long Island Rail Road from the Amagansett station into Manhattan, where they checked into a hotel. A massive manhunt was begun.
The other four-member German team headed by Kerling landed without incident at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, south of Jacksonville on June 16, 1942. They came on U-584, another submarine.This group came ashore wearing bathing suits but wore German Navy hats. After landing ashore, they threw away their hats, put on civilian clothes, and started their mission by boarding trains to Chicago, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio.
The two teams were to meet on July 4 in a hotel in Cincinnati to coordinate their sabotage operations.
Dasch called Burger into their upper-story hotel room and opened a window, saying they would talk, and if they disagreed, "only one of us will walk out that door—the other will fly out this window." Dasch told him he had no intention of going through with the mission, hated Nazism, and planned to report the plot to the FBI. Burger agreed to defect to the United States immediately.
On June 15, Dasch phoned the New York office of the FBI to explain who he was, but hung up when the agent answering doubted his story. Four days later, he took a train to Washington, DC and walked into FBI headquarters, where he gained the attention of Assistant Director D. M. Ladd by showing him the operation's budget of $84,000 cash.
Besides Burger, none of the other German agents knew they were betrayed. Over the next two weeks, Burger and the other six were arrested. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover made no mention that Dasch had turned himself in, and claimed credit for the FBI for cracking the spy ring.
Information that Dasch and Burger had exposed the operation was withheld from the public until after World War II was over in order to make it appear to the American public and to Nazi Germany that the FBI was effective in preventing sabotage.
Fearful that a civilian court would be too lenient, President Roosevelt issued Executive Proclamation 2561 on July 2, 1942 creating a military tribunal to prosecute the Germans. Placed before a seven-member military commission, the Germans were charged with the following offenses:
1) Violating the law of war;
2) Violating Article 81 of the Articles of War, defining the offense of corresponding with or giving intelligence to the enemy;
3) Violating Article 82 of the Articles of War, defining the offense of spying; and
4) Conspiracy to commit the offenses alleged in the first three charges.
The trial was held in Assembly Hall #1 on the fifth floor of the Department of Justice building in Washington D.C. on July 8, 1942.
Lawyers for the accused, who included Lauson Stone and Kenneth Royall, attempted to have the case tried in a civilian court but were rebuffed by the United States Supreme Court in Ex parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 (1942), a case that was later cited as a precedent for the trial by military commission of any unlawful combatant against the United States.
The trial for the eight defendants ended on August 1, 1942. Two days later, all were found guilty and sentenced to death. Roosevelt commuted Burger's sentence to life in prison and Dasch's to 30 years because they had turned themselves in and provided information about the others.
The others were executed on August 8, 1942 in the electric chair on the third floor of the District of Columbia jail and buried in a potter's field in the Blue Plains area in the Anacostia section of Washington, D.C.
In April 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman granted clemency to Dasch and Burger who were deported to the American zone in Germany and required to live in that area or face re-imprisonment.
Fourteen other people were charged with aiding the eight saboteurs. They were Walter and Lucille Froehling, Otto and Kate Wergin, Harry and Emma Jaques, Anthony Cramer, Helmut Leiner, Herman Heinrich, Maria Kerling, Hedwig Engemann, Hans Max Haupt and Erna Haupt, and Ernest Kerkhof.
Nearly all were held as enemy aliens and several were sentenced to death for treason, but had their convictions reversed on appeal. Some were re-tried on lesser charges. Some never went to trial.
--Information partially excerpted from Wikipedia
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsmPiRmT4
The photographer is unknown. The original source of the image is unknown. It is housed in the D.C. Library Washington Star Collection.
2nd Regiment commits to the ACFT (Army combat fitness test) in the early hours of June 4 at Fort Knox, Ky. The ACFT has U.S. Army Cadets undergo six different challenges, all in an effort to gauge their physical fitness levels. | Photo by Nathan Abbott, CST Public Affairs Office.
October 13, 2017 - WASHINGTON, DC. World Bank / IMF 2017 Annual Meetings. Human Capital Summit: Committing to Action to Drive Economic Growth. Watch Event
Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group;
Paul Kagame, President Of Rwanda;
Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Prime Minister, Cote D’Ivoire;
Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister Of Finance, Indonesia;
H.E. Luis Caputo, Minister Of Finance, Argentina;
Priti Patel, MP, Secretary Of State, Uk Department For International Development;
Lilianne Ploumen, Minister For Foreign Trade And Development Cooperation The Netherlands;
Tone Skogen, State Secretary, Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Norway;
Moderator: Lerato Mbele, Africa Business Report, BBC World News. Photo: World Bank / Simone D. McCourtie
Photo ID: 101317-HumanSummit-0131f
COMMIT!Forum at the Westin Hotel in Times Square on October 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photos by Ben Hider)
SPORTS604 VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS 2010
Sponsored by Red Bull & Terracotta Modern Chinese Restaurant
photos by Ron Sombion Gallery & PacBlue Printing
About Sports604 -Basketball-Bowling, Dodgeball-Volleyball-California Kickball
"Vancouver's Fastest Growing Recreational Sports League"
Sports604 leagues aim to cover all the fundamentals of league play: structure, competitiveness, recreation, exercise and fun!
Levels range from beginners to seasoned vets. Not to mention, we do it with a bit of style. Not only do we include team t-shirts as a part of the registration fee, we love to rock in our socks to music! Yup, we crank up the volume when the whistle blows so everyone can get hyped before they play and groove while they play
.
Iona Abbey was the home of St. Columba, whose missionary work in the 6th century brought Celtic Christianity to Scotland. Now home to the ecumenical Iona Community, it remains a place of Christian pilgrimage.
History
The island of Iona has been occupied since the early centuries AD, as evidenced by Iron Age pottery uncovered in a fort on Dun Cul Bhuirg.
In 563 AD, the Irish missionary St. Columba was exiled from his home country after being involved in a civil war and established a small monastic community on Iona. He died just four years later, but it is thanks to the work he began on Iona that Celtic Christianity spread throughout Scotland and eventually on to Europe.
Very little of Columba's monastery survives today, but its basic layout is known thanks to the Life of Columba written by Abbot Adomnan of Iona in the late 600s. Adomnan described a small church, individual monastic cells (which may have been made of stone in a beehive shape or constructed of wood) and some communal buildings, all enclosed inside a bank and ditch.
Driven out of Iona by Viking raids, most of the monastic community moved to Kells in Ireland around 800. In more peaceful times, around 1200, a Benedictine abbey and nunnery were established on the site. It is these buildings (heavily restored) that visitors see today.
Iona Abbey was dissolved at the Reformation and fell into ruin. Restoration began at the beginning of the 20th century by a duke of Argyll, then was taken over with great energy and enthusiasm by Lord George MacLeod in the 1930s. Inspired by the Celtic tradition of early Iona, MacLeod founded the ecumenical Iona Community in 1938. The Community restored the abbey buildings from 1938 to 1965 and still today keeps alive the ancient spirituality of this beautiful Scottish isle.
What to See
Iona is a small island (3.4 square miles) of the Inner Hebrides with a population of just 125 inhabitants. The isle is peaceful and beautiful, with rock-strewn meadows leading into sandy beaches and turquoise blue waters. Small houses, charming shops and just a few meandering roads punctuate the inland landscape.
George MacLeod described Iona as a "thin place," where the material and spiritual worlds seem separated only by the thinnest of veils. Whatever their spiritual background, most visitors to this tranquil island would wholeheartedly agree.
High Crosses and Other Early Remains
A section of the earthwork surrounding Columba's monastery can be seen northwest of the abbey on the west side of the road. West of the abbey, there is a rocky area on which the foundations of a small building have been excavated - this is probably St. Columba's cell, which was recorded to have been "built in a higher place."
The most impressive remains from the early Celtic period are the high crosses, all dating from the middle or late 8th century. The most impressive of these is the 14-foot-tall St. Martin's Cross, which still stands in its original position in front of the abbey. It is decorated with serpent and boss designs on one side and biblical scenes on the other.
The sculptures on St. Martin's Cross are badly weathered, but the figurative scenes can be identified as (from top to bottom): the Virgin and Child, Daniel in the lions' den, Abraham and Isaac, David with musicians, and an uncertain scene that may be Samuel about to anoint David.
St. John's Cross has been moved to the abbey museum, with a replica placed in front of the abbey. It is ornamented with Celtic interlace and serpent and boss patterns. Several fragmentary crosses can also be seen in the museum, along with grave markers, some carved with Norse runes, dating from the 10th or 11th century.
Iona Abbey and Nunnery
Along the road to Iona Abbey is the ruined Benedictine nunnery, founded by St. Margaret in the 12th century.
The site of Columba's monastery is now occupied by the Benedictine abbey church, known as St. Mary's Cathedral. Built around 1200 by Reginald MacDonald in the Norman style, it has a cross plan with a large square over the crossing. The oldest part is the north transept. The capitals in the chancel are carved with motifs including flowers, demons and biblical stories.
The cathedral is adjoined by a reconstructed Romanesque cloister, with modern reliefs on the capitals and a modern bronze sculpture in the central garden.
St. Oran's Cemetery
From Iona Abbey, the "Street of the Dead" runs westward to St Oran's Cemetery (Celtic: Reilig Odhrain), Scotland's oldest Christian graveyard. Here more than 60 Scottish kings were buried throughout the Middle Ages, including Kenneth MacAlpin, who unified Scotland, and Macbeth, made famous by Shakespeare. Unfortunately, all the tombstones were thrown into the sea at the Reformation.
The Iona Community
The Iona Community is a monastic-inspired organization of Christians from a variety of denominations who commit to daily prayer and Bible readings, sharing of time and money, regular gatherings and working for the causes of peace, justice and spiritual health in society. Currently led by the Rev. Kathy Galloway, the Community has three centers in the Western Isles - two on Iona and one on Mull - and a mainland headquarters in Glasgow.
In addition to maintaining the abbey buildings and serving the spiritual needs of its members, the Iona Community offers a number of services and events to visitors. For daily visitors, it conducts daily services in the abbey church, provides guided tours of the abbey and operates the Iona Heritage Centre and a coffee shop (open daily 10am-4:30pm).
Every Wednesday, members of the Community lead a 7-mile hike to the island's holy and historic spots. There are also regular workshops on Christianity and youth camps.
For those looking for a more in-depth spiritual experience on Iona, the Iona Community provides modest room and board for up to 50 guests per week. During their stay, participants join with members of the community in worship, common meals, education, social activities and chores
Starring Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon, Robert Strauss, Edgar Stehli, Patty Duke, Guy Raymond, and Chic James. Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr..
James Congdon plays While a bit obscure, 4D Man (4D for short) is more of a low A-grade movie than a B-movie. For one thing, it's shot in color. It has some A-grade actors, and some cleanly done optical special effects. As in many sci-fi films, the technology isn't the star, but a plot device to propel a larger human drama. In this case, it gives the main character a special power. How he handles (or mishandles) that power is the meat of the tale.
Synopsis
Tony Nelson is talented scientist who is obsessed with his research, to the point of having a hard time keeping a job. He is trying repeat an earlier fluke success at getting one material to pass through another. (a pencil through steel) He travels to see his brother, Scott Nelson (Robert Lansing). Scott heads up a research lab trying to make a metal stronger than steel -- Cargonite. Scott convinces Tony to accept a job at his lab, but this only complicates the social scene. Scott was about to propose to co-worker-scientist Linda. Instead, Linda falls in love with Tony. Frustrated at all this, Scott goes to the lab late one night and gets into Tony's secret apparatus. He manages to get it to work. His hand passes through the steel. Meanwhile, another lab scientist, Roy, has stolen Tony's notes and is trying to sell the facility's director on the idea, so he can be a chief scientist himself. When Scott and Tony re-try the experiment in the lab, it works, even though the equipment wasn't working. Scott has "the power" all by himself. He tells Tony that he doesn't want anyone to know just yet. A newspaper headline tells of a bank robbery. The next morning, Scott sees that he's aged noticeably. Passing through matter ages him. He rushes to a friend's apartment for help, but when he touches the friend on the shoulder, the friend drops dead, his body aging to a gray shriveled corpse. Scott, however, was young again. His special power also saps life from others. He hides the amplifier so no one else can share his power. Things quickly unravel. Scott confronts his credit-stealing boss and saps him. Scott tries to find solace in a bar, with a floosie, but kills her with a kiss. The police know there's a killer on the loose. Tony tells the police all about it. The police cannot stop Scott, however. He shifts through walls, touches (and kills) policemen, and even a hail of bullets cannot stop him. He just shifts himself and the bullets pass through him. Scott finds out that Tony is trying to build another amplifier, so returns to the lab. Tony, Linda and the police try to kill Scott by turning on the reactor while he's inside it. (this is where Scott hid the amplifier) This fails because he is invincible when shifted. Everyone but Linda flees. Scott tries to talk her into running away with him. While in an embrace, she shoots him with the gun the detective left behind. Unshifted Scott is mortally wounded, but defiantly shouts his invincibility. To prove it, he throws himself into the Carbonite reactor, slowly disappearing into it's walls. The End (?)
The premise and human-interest angle are interesting and well done. The A-level actors do a good job making their characters believable. Robert Lansing does an excellent job with Dr. Scott Nelson -- both his frustrated awkward "before" self and the tormented-yet-maniacal "after" self. Given how many later movies (or TV shows) would take up the idea of people being able to pass through walls, etc., it's fun to see an early version.
This movie isn't an allegory of the Cold War. There is an oblique connection to the dangers-of-science sub-genre. A background element of the Cold War years, is the research lab working on improved materials for the military. Nelson's work isn't with any nuclear weaponry, but how it goes dreadfully is still an understated cautionary tale about how even innocent research can create a killer.
The quasi-science behind the premise, is that Scott can (at will) shift the "time" of his body relative to objects, permitting him to pass through them. The more he does this, the faster it ages him. While fanciful, this has a plausibility. The portrayal of "time" as a life force which he can then absorb from others has no plausibility, but it makes for a good plot device.
An interesting plot device is how Scott Nelson must drain the life from people in order reverse his own rapid aging. He does this by simply "touching" (merging) with them. The trope of the living sacrificed to prolong another's life, is not unique. It got (and gets) used in low-B movies like She Demons ('58) in which a mad scientist extracts hormones from young women (turning them into ugly demons) in order to keep his sick wife alive. In 4D, however, the "monster" drains life from them by a mere touch. This is a fascinating preview of the Wraith in the Stargate TV series (2005) -- race of beings who must "feed" on living humans in order to survive. The idea still has legs.
Another plot aspect which is not unique to 4D is how the man who acquires some amazing power can't handle it. For the sci-fi world, this appeared in H.G. Wells' novel "The Invisible Man." His special feature tempted him into tyranny. Once a man feels immune to the hand of justice, he commits crimes with impunity. Scott Nelson is no different in 4D. We see his morality drop away and his total human selfishness take control. He gets professional revenge on his credit-stealing boss. He robs a bank and tries to induce LInda to run away with him. At the end, he shouts, "I'm invincible! Nothing can hurt me!" with a well acted mixture of defiance, denial (he'd just been shot) and pleading. An interesting little human psych study of how man might behave if he no longer fears punishment.
An intriguing little twist amid the plot was how Scott's power was not totally under his control. By force of will, he could "turn on" his time-shift to pass through walls, but when he stopped willing it, objects were solid to him. At one point, he's trying to grab the door knob to a bar, but keeps passing his hand through it. At that moment, he wanted to be "normal" but his power was not so completely under his control. A little while later, when he wanted some companionship and kissed the B-girl, she screams in pain and turns into an old woman, then dies. Scott was becoming a sort of King Midas who ruins everything he touches. This adds a degree of pity to the character. With the "cool" power, he could never be normal again.
4D's producer, Jack Harris, and director, Irvin Yeaworth brought us The Blob in late 1958. 4D has some family resemblance. Color, big-name stars, and brassy jazz score. 4D and The Blob may have been shot together in '57. Young Patty Duke plays a bit part of a landlady's daughter, but she looks maybe ten years old -- noticeably younger than she was in 1959. Universal may have intended to release The Blob and 4D Man together, but opted to spread out the releases for better revenue.
The score in 4D is heavy-handed brass jazz band fodder. Such jazz was pretty typical stuff of 50s movies which held the Rat Pack and Las Vegas show scene as the pinnacle of cool. The score of 4D seems like a cross between a 007-wanabe movie and the Pink Panther -- but without any of Mancini's style. Given the rather dark story line, the loudly perky jazz seems out of place. Instead of enhancing the story, it intrudes, like someone talking loudly in the theater while you try to watch the flick. Unless the viewer is a fan of such brassy nightclub jazz, it's more likely to be annoying than admired.
Bottom line? 4D is worth the time. It's a modern Midas tale reasonably well done. The science is weak or a tough stretch, but the story can be enjoyed anyway.
Ralph* is a 28-year-old student and police officer in the Gok area of the Greater Lakes region.
But there is something wrong in this seemingly promising picture of a gainfully employed young man making progress in life. About a week ago, Ralph began to serve a six-month-long prison sentence in Cueibet. The young bachelor was caught committing adultery.
As another two men were involved in this unlawful sexual encounter, the customary fine for adultery, seven cows (paid to the woman’s husband), was divided among the culprits, with Ralph requested to provide three of the bovines due.
“I could only afford two cows, so now I’ll be here in prison for the next six months,” Ralph says, adding that finding a wife of his own would probably have been a better idea.
The latter admission elicits howls of laughter amongst a group of fellow inmates and a couple of prison wardens surrounding us.
Considering the dire conditions of those forced to spend time at the Cueibet Prison, the predominantly male prisoners are jovial and in good spirits. Ralph, who has been a police officer for four years, is hopeful of a successful return to his work, and to his community.
“I’ll use myself as a warning example. What happened to me, as a police officer, will show people that nobody is above the law.”
The prison in Cueibet, recently renovated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan as part of its Quick Impact Project programme, holds more than 200 male and juvenile inmates and nine women.
Some 120 of them are crammed into two cells in a building measuring approximately 120 square metres in total. The no-frills structure (bare walls and a roof) was intended for 30-50 inmates, which goes to show that, with its current population, swinging a cat about is hardly an option. Another 100 or so prisoners inhabit a similar abode, with the nine women enjoying a comparatively spacious hut.
Yet, conditions used to be worse. The UNMISS-funded renovation included fitting windows (with bars) onto the cell walls.
“At least now we can breathe and not worry about suffocating or picking up respiratory diseases from each other,” one relieved inmate says.
Serving one meal a day, a late 3 pm lunch, offering no leisure or educational activities and with fourteen hours a day (from eight in the morning till six in the evening) spent inside, a night at Cueibet prison is still not likely to feature on anyone’s bucket list anytime soon.
The precarious facilities may offer an insight as to why a number of inmates have wanted, and successfully attempted, to make a dash for freedom. They have managed to escape despite the inclusion of a two-metre-tall fence, topped with a bit of barbed wire, in the Quick Impact Project renovation, and despite the eleven armed and watchful prison wardens lurking on the outside of the perimeter.
“This prison needs a higher fence, actually a high, proper wall,” Ralph says, with his peers behind bars voicing their agreement.
Prison Director Ambrose Marpel pinpoints the problem:
“The people of this area are Nilotic. They are very tall and can jump very high,” he says, adding that two prisoners escaped just a couple of days before our visit.
Overly congested cells, not enough food, insalubrious sanitary conditions, a lack of sports or other available outdoor activities and the absence of possibilities to use their time in prison to learn a new vocation are all items featuring on the inmates’ long list of grievances.
“Prisoners need to pick up new skills, like carpentry or something similarly useful, to prepare themselves for their return to civilian life. The rehabilitation part of being imprisoned is very important,” Ralph stresses.
Other, primarily younger, inmates miss being able to study, and want to go back to school.
Chol*, an 18-year-old boy, is one of them.
“I have to go back to school, because I want to become a politician and work in the local government in my area,” he says.
There is a hitch, however: Chol has been sentenced to capital punishment for murder.
A group of other prisoners approach us with a different kind of problem. Displaying a variety of skin rashes and vigorously scratching their genitalia, they are unhappy with the hygienic standards of their seemingly infection-infested ablution units.
“We want them to bring doctors to circumcise us. This will help us keep diseases away, as we share the same urinals,” one inmate believes.
According to Isaac Mayom Malek, minister of local government, better times lie ahead for those in captivity, with both sports activities and vocational trainings being considered.
“Insecurity was our biggest problem in the area. Now that we have peace, many government programmes will be implemented, including activities for the prisoners who are here,” he says, admitting that he does not, as of yet, have a time frame for this to happen.
“We have talked to doctors and they are organizing to come here to circumcise everyone who wants it done,” adds Mr. Marpel, commenting that two inmates underwent the procedure during the last medical visit to the prison.
The incarceration facilities in Cueibet hold a number of people on remand, charged with but not convicted of murder and other serious offences. Some of them have been here for more than two years without appearing before a judge, and they share a sentiment of “justice delayed is justice denied”.
The root cause of these extended detentions is that, till August this year, Cueibet did not have the kind of high court needed to try these cases.
Photo: UNMISS / Tonny Muwangala
CAMP HUMPHREYS -- Military Saves Week lasts for seven days, but the ideas it
stresses are good ones year-round.
"We want them to take a pledge and commit themselves for a year," said
Barbara Brown during a Military Saves Week kickoff event at the Post
Exchange. Brown serves as the Financial Readiness Program manager for Army
Community Service on Camp Humphreys.
But the campaign doesn't just encourage Soldiers to take the pledge, and
then leave them to their own devices. Instead, anyone who takes the pledge
gets signed up for e-mailed newsletters containing practical information,
advice, and encouragement. This is combined with a Facebook page and a
Twitter account, where Soldiers and family members can interact with others
who have committed to saving.
In addition, ACS offers classes year-round addressing topics such as
comparison shopping, budgeting, proper use of credit, purchasing a car, and
review a credit score.
The Saver Pledge reads, "I will help myself by saving money, reducing debt,
and building wealth over time. I will help my family and my country by
encouraging other Americans to Start Small, Think Big."
The pamphlets containing the pledge encourage participants to open a savings
account, make a budget and identify goals, pay down debt, and establish an
emergency fund.
Brown said young Soldiers can be overwhelmed by the experience of being
overseas and having money for the first time, and that can lead to debt. And
it's a problem that can spiral as the interest accumulates. Military Saves
Week, therefore, aims to keep that from happening, or if it already has, to
mitigate the impact and help Soldiers get out of debt.
Brown said she has seen the results of financial education. "They come back
and tell us it helped a lot," she said.
ACS is being assisted with the campaign by financial institutions on
Humphreys.
J.K. Lee, a Camp Humphreys Community Bank customer service representative,
said, "We are encouraging Soldiers to participate in Military Saves
campaign, reduce debt, and save for an emergency. Especially being in the
military, it can be very hard to get stabilized when overseas, so we are
doing this to help them."
Julie Abril, branch manager for Navy Federal Credit Union on Humphreys, said
when someone is young, single and making more money than ever, the
temptation can be there to spend. But that, she said, is backward thinking.
"We show you how much you can save," she said. She encouraged Soldiers to
plan, save, and invest through automatic deductions, both because those are
both more convenient and easier to maintain.
11 Best Movies like The Intouchables (2011)
moviessimilarto.com/title/the-intouchables-2011
In Paris, the aristocratic and intellectual Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire who is interviewing candidates for the position of his carer, with his red-haired secretary Magalie. Out of the blue, Driss cuts the line of candidates and brings a document from the Social Security and asks Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job position so he can receive his unemployment benefit. Philippe challenges Driss, offering him a trial period of one month to gain experience helping him. Then Driss can decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the challenge and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe and his employees.
Here are list of 11 Best Movies like The Intouchables (2011):
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Chronicles the experiences of a formerly successful banker as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the man's unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red.
2. Schindler's List (1993)
Oskar Schindler is a vainglorious and greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric German Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, it is a testament to the good in all of us.
3. Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump is a simple man with a low I.Q. but good intentions. He is running through childhood with his best and only friend Jenny. His 'mama' teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, starts a ping-pong craze, creates the smiley, writes bumper stickers and songs, donates to people and meets the president several times. However, this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny Curran, who has messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that anyone can love anyone.
4. Spirited Away (2001)
Chihiro and her parents are moving to a small Japanese town in the countryside, much to Chihiro's dismay. On the way to their new home, Chihiro's father makes a wrong turn and drives down a lonely one-lane road which dead-ends in front of a tunnel. Her parents decide to stop the car and explore the area. They go through the tunnel and find an abandoned amusement park on the other side, with its own little town. When her parents see a restaurant with great-smelling food but no staff, they decide to eat and pay later. However, Chihiro refuses to eat and decides to explore the theme park a bit more. She meets a boy named Haku who tells her that Chihiro and her parents are in danger, and they must leave immediately. She runs to the restaurant and finds that her parents have turned into pigs. In addition, the theme park turns out to be a town inhabited by demons, spirits, and evil gods. At the center of the town is a bathhouse where these creatures go to relax. The owner of the bathhouse is the evil witch Yubaba, who is intent on keeping all trespassers as captive workers, including Chihiro. Chihiro must rely on Haku to save her parents in hopes of returning to their world.
5. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his wings. He shows George what things would have been like if he had never been born.
6. The Pianist (2002)
In this adaptation of the autobiography "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945," Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.
7. My Father and My Son (2005)
Sadik is one of the rebellious youth who has been politically active as a university student and became a left-wing journalist in the 70's, despite his father's expectations of him becoming an agricultural engineer and taking control of their family farm in an Aegean village. On the dawn of September 12, 1980, when a merciless military coup hits the country, they cannot find access to any hospital or a doctor and his wife dies while giving birth to their only child, Deniz. After a long-lasting period of torture, trials, and jail time, Sadik returns to his village with 7-8 years old Deniz, knowing that it will be hard to correct things with his father, Huseyin.
8. Good Will Hunting (1997)
A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart.
9. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Small-town Alabama, 1932. Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and a widower. He has two young children, Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is currently defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout are intrigued by their neighbours, the Radleys, and the mysterious, seldom-seen Boo Radley in particular.
10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal and serve as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. With the aid of native Sherif Ali, Lawrence rebels against the orders of his superior officer and strikes out on a daring camel journey across the harsh desert to attack a well-guarded Turkish port.
11. V for Vendetta (2005)
Tells the story of Evey Hammond and her unlikely but instrumental part in bringing down the fascist government that has taken control of a futuristic Great Britain. Saved from a life-and-death situation by a man in a Guy Fawkes mask who calls himself V, she learns a general summary of V's past and, after a time, decides to help him bring down those who committed the atrocities that led to Britain being in the shape that it is in.
P/S: This list has reference data from moviessimilarto.com - a crowsourced movies recommendations engine.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Army Sgt. Maj. Danielle Hodges gave quick instructions: “I want you to stay outside and when they commit, move in.” The instructions are critical to the team’s success and as time is running out, the game’s victor is in doubt.
It goes as predicted; a clang of metal, shouts, grimaces and the last attack goes forward. As the center collapses, the Soldier on the perimeter is open and he drives into the lane to put up the last minute shot, but the effort falls short, and the basketball just misses.
Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard’s 113th Sustainment Brigade, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., joined sixteen other teams in a wheelchair basketball match held at PNC Arena to raise money for ‘Bridge II Sports’ in its first August Madness tournament here today.
The purpose of the tournament is to raise money for Bridge II Sports, a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for physically-challenged athletes in the Triangle, Fayetteville and Triad regions of North Carolina.
“We volunteered happily. Maj. (Mike) Marciniak (a leader in the 113th) contacted us after someone in his church told him,” said Hodges.
Teams competed in five-on-five, fifteen-minute basketball games on a shortened court with regulation baskets. The only difference for these Soldiers was that they had to play in wheelchairs especially designed for quickness and speed, without brakes.
“The first time (on the court) I just kept going,” said Army 2nd Lt. Jared Davis.
This is a common experience for the players, as many have never sat in a wheelchair before let alone play in a competitive basketball game.
The Soldiers were quick learners, however, and with the help of the 2003 National Wheelchair Basketball MVP Fred Smith, the Soldiers were able to make the necessary adjustments and play the game effectively.
The Soldiers took an early lead against the law firm Smith, Debnam, Narron, Drake, Saintsing and Myers LLP. The firm’s team pulled ahead late in the game led by an MVP in his own right, former Duke University star Andre Dawkins.
“I never knew how hard it is,” said Army Capt. Cassandra Colston. “We take it for granted.”
After the Guard team’s last-minute three point shot fell short, they congratulated their opponents with smiles and hugs.
“We came out here for fun, a new experience and to meet people who do this on a daily basis,” said Hodges.
After their game, the Soldiers showed their support to the event by staying to watch and cheer on the other teams who were participating in the tournament.
“I have a whole new respect,” said Colston.
(Photos by U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Robert Jordan, NCNG PAO - From Aug. 1)
7 Key Behaviors of People Who Make a Positive Difference In the World
By Cathy Caprino
Look around you and you’ll see three kinds of people — those who hate their work, and complain bitterly, those who just tolerate their work and see it as a paycheck and aren’t looking for more (or feel they can’t have more), and finally, those who love their work, and relish it. The third category is a small subset of all professionals globally, but this group stands out because these are, most often, the people who change the world for the better.
In my work as a success coach and writer, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with people who’ve made a true and measurable impact in the world, including well-known experts, authors, researchers, journalists, scientists, innovators, business geniuses, and entrepreneurs. But among this group of world influencers there are also everyday people who have found a special niche in which they’ve contributed at the highest level.
It’s critical to note that people who’ve made a real difference aren’t all privileged, advantaged or “special” by any stretch. Many come from disadvantaged families, crushing circumstances and initially limited capabilities, but have found ways to pick themselves up and rise above their circumstances (and their genes) to transform their own lives and those around them.
Researching these makers, shakers and disruptors, and working with my own clients who shape the world around them in powerful and constructive ways, I’ve observed seven key behaviors that set them apart — habitual ways of behaving and approaching life and work that distinguish them from those who long to make a difference but can’t or won’t find the way.
The seven core behaviors of people who positively impact the world are:
1. 🌹They dedicate themselves to what gives their life meaning and purpose.
Thousands of people today don’t believe in meaning and purpose as something to discover or pursue in life. And others believe in a life purpose but won’t take the risk to identify or honor it. Those with positive influence feel otherwise. They have found that there is a purpose to their life, and that purpose usually involves some aspect of turning their “mess into a message,” or using what they’ve learned (often the hard way) as a means of being of service to others. People with a sense of purpose are driven, focused, committed, and lit up from the inside — unable to be deterred or distracted from what they believe is the reason they’re on this planet at this time. This sense of meaning and purpose gives them inexhaustible drive and offers guideposts to follow along the path. It informs them of what they wish to attend to in life, and what they need to walk away from because it doesn’t support their higher purpose.
2. 🌸They commit to continually bettering themselves.
People who impact the world for the better know that they are not perfect. They understand how their knowledge isn’t “complete” — there are always gaps, biases, limitations and prejudices, and new places to go with their expertise.
Yes, there are powerful narcissists aplenty, but their influence isn’t positive or helpful in the long run — it’s damaging and destructive. Innovators who positively shape the world come from a “beginner’s mind” and a loving, compassionate heart — with an openness to see, learn, and experience new things on the way to being a better servant of the world.
3. 🌷They engage with people in open, mutually-beneficial ways.
Those with huge positive influence understand the power of relationships, connection, and engaging with the world openly. They’re not afraid to get “out there” — connecting with others, sharing their knowledge and talents, offering their authentic and often contrarian viewpoints and opinions. They’ve pushed beyond any introversion, shyness or reluctance to be who they are, and have learned how to relate well with others and build mutually-supportive relationships that catapult both parties to a higher level. They know that positive, supportive and authentic relationships are the foundational building blocks to anything and everything they want to achieve.
4. 🌺They invest time and energy not in what is, but what can be.
The people I’ve interacted with and interviewed who’ve made a positive impact in the world don’t settle for conformity. When they see something that agitates and disturbs them, they strive to know more, get to the root of the issue, research and understand the contributing factors, and arrive at new solutions. They observe gaps and mistakes in common thinking and behavior, and trust themselves in their belief that it’s time to push the boundaries of what’s accepted. They want to affect change because they believe change will bring a better way to live.
5. 🌼They spread what they know.
We’ve all met authors or “experts” who keep their knowledge secret, close to the vest. They’re afraid to let it out for fear someone will steal it or make money on their ideas. This is the opposite of the positive influencer’s mindset. Those who make a true positive difference can’t help but share and teach what they’ve learned. They don’t see their knowledge as just some commodity to sell, as a meal ticket or a money maker — they see it as information that has to be shared with the world for its betterment. They believe their ideas and innovations are of use and value to others, and can’t help but share those openly, and teach others what they’ve learned. They live the universal principle — “the more you give, the more you get.”
6. 🌻They uplift others as they ascend.
You’ve experienced, as I have, scores of “leaders” and high-achievers who’ve gotten where they are by stepping on the heads and backs of those in the way. These are not true leaders or influencers because their power is a sham — it was obtained unethically and is shallow and weak, and can’t be sustained over the long haul. I have encountered power-mongers who were crushing and cruel to their subordinates and I wondered when they would finally reap what they’ve sown. Over the long term, this day always comes.
On the other hand, people who positively impact the world not only obtain amazing results in their work, but their process of obtaining these results — how they operate in life — is also inspiring and uplifting. They are happy to help and support others, and have an overflow of positive energy that enriches the lives of everyone they work with and connect with. These positive influencers want others to grow. They walk away from “success-building” opportunities that will be hurtful and damaging to others. They know that those unethical, demeaning or destructive approaches go against the very meaning and purpose they’re committed to.
7. 💐They use their power and influence well.
Sadly, it’s a common occurrence in business today to witness power and influence being wielded as a weapon. It hurts and destroys. Positive influencers use their power well and wisely. They understand the widespread influence they have, the power they have to build up and elevate, or tear down. Those who impact the world for the better are careful and judicious with their words, actions and behaviors. They operate with heart, and care deeply about their leadership and communication process and style, and the influence they have. They take it seriously, as a special honor and responsibility not to be flaunted or misused. They understand their special role, and accept it with grace, compassion, and care.
Are you longing to make a positive impact in the world? If so, do these behaviors match your own? How are they different?
source:
A lone ant decided it would commit suicide that very morning when he heard a loud "Swooshlump" and its moment was forever stored in that 6x6.
Hasselblad 500C/M • Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8 CT* • Fuji Provia 100F
Peter Barron, Google's Director of External Relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, speaking at the panel discussion: Internet Freedom: Promoting Human Rights in the Digital Age.
In his presentation, Peter Barron made the following points:
"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we are standing at a critical crossroads in ensuring human rights and civil liberties for people around the world. And the Internet is at the centre of this discussion.
On the one hand, every day we see evidence of the Internet’s promise as a way to give voice to those who once were silenced. We’re seeing it in the Middle East today. Millions the world over are taking advantage of the Internet’s ability to leap borders and allow for unprecedented debate - on blogs, social networks and online video platforms. There are more than 5 billion mobile subscribers in the world today, and the mobile phone is on course to become the primary way of accessing the internet
On the other hand, those who want to monopolize the power to speak are increasingly concerned by the implications of this technology. The number of governments that censor the Internet in one way or another has grown to about 40, up from about 4 in 2002. More and more governments are building firewalls and cracking down on dissent in order to prevent free expression both online and offline.
The bad news is that this trend is likely to continue. Left to their own devices, governments will continue to construct new obstacles. But the good news is that all of us – individuals, groups, companies and governments – can work together to uphold and advance the fundamental human right to free expression. Our real challenge is to summon the political will to act.
Three years ago, Google joined negotiations with Microsoft, Yahoo, human rights groups and others in Europe and the United States to see if we could arrive at a code of conduct for how information technology companies could best operate to promote freedom of expression and protect the privacy of their users. The result is the Global Network Initiative.
This Initiative is by no means a silver bullet, but it is real progress. Members commit to standards in training and guidelines for handling cases where governments demand information about users. The GNI has also reinforced company practices of conducting human rights assessments prior to launching new products or opening new markets. But the greatest potential for the GNI is as a forum for common action -- the realization that companies and NGOs acting together can have a far more powerful impact when we act in concert rather than alone.
Our goal now must be to gather companies and groups from around the world to join the GNI to give it a truly global character that will further enhance its power.
Let me also make a special plea for European and democratically elected governments the world over to rise to this occasion. We need your help and the help of those you represent.
As a global community, it's our responsibility to ensure that an open, transparent and free Internet is respected and consciously preserved. "
Upon founding the Light Foundation, Matt dreamed about starting a camp where young men could learn lifelong skills that would help them be R.E.A.L (Responsible, Ethical, Accountable, Leaders). For its 10th consecutive year, the Light Foundation’s premier program, Camp Vohokase has done just that.
Each year, Matt chooses four incoming high school freshmen from an at-risk community and asks them to commit the next four years to our leadership program, which includes 10 days at Chenoweth Trails each summer. There are always 18 boys in camp, four from each grade level, with each group coming from a different part of the country. Those locations, all with a connect to the Light Foundation, include Greenville, Ohio, where Matt grew up; Woonsocket, Rhode Island, close to where Matt holds his signature fundraising event; New Orleans, Louisiana, where a like-minded charity had asked for help; West Lafayette, Indiana, where Matt attended Purdue; Gloucester, Worcester and New Bedford, Massachusetts, all close to where Matt played during his NFL years; Hammond, Indiana, where Matt’s wife Susie grew up and identified a need for support; and new this year, Washington D.C, where the treasurer of the board resides.
The young men are required to keep good academic standing, complete a yearly community service project back home, and check in with our head counselors on a frequent basis. Program Director Edgar Flores tracks the kids’ progress year-round. He also does quarterly visits in order to foster the ongoing relationship between the campers, their class, and the foundation. By interacting with them in their own space, we can learn more about their behaviors and how those connect with their personal situations. By entering their homes, we often have the chance to stand as a united front with their parents or guardians in ensuring they’re doing exactly what they need to do to succeed. These visits are critical in reassuring to the young men that we are committed to them and serve as a true support system and not just a summer camp counselor. Not to mention, we have a lot of fun! They bond over some good grub and connect about what’s going on in their lives at that moment. Past day trips during a visit have included: Dave & Buster’s, paint balling, laser tag, amusement parks, farms, and bowling. We do try and balance the fun with more educational opportunities like volunteer community service projects, visiting local museums, or making a college visit for some of our juniors and seniors.
In return of having a good academic standing, the campers spend ten days among nature enjoying all that our beautiful facility has to offer whether it be skeet shooting, woodworking, canoeing, archery, fishing, dirt biking, etc. Despite all the fun we have here, the young men are responsible for daily chores, site visits to area businesses, and the completion of a service project around Darke County. Each night of the stay is reserved for fireside chats. These chats are structured to help create a dialogue about the very real and difficult issues these young boys face back home.
For a lot of these kids, all they need is an opportunity. We use the outdoors as a real teaching tool and a way to get kids to open up. And with us, these kids aren’t given anything. We make them work for everything they achieve. But through that they understand and value hard work, they learn work ethic, and they become proud of what they do, and want to share their accomplishments. Our hope is that after four years, each young man graduates from the program ready to become leaders in their own communities, equipped with the necessary tools and a heart for service.
In the past 11 years, 30 at-risk young men have graduated from Vohokase Cultural Leadership Camp with the tools to tap into their greatest potential as people and community leaders.
Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).
Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions
"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".
The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.
The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.
Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:
Wet with cool dew drops
fragrant with perfume from the flowers
came the gentle breeze
jasmine and water lily
dance in the spring sunshine
side-long glances
of the golden-hued ladies
stab into my thoughts
heaven itself cannot take my mind
as it has been captivated by one lass
among the five hundred I have seen here.
Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.
Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.
There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.
The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.
In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".
Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.
While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’
Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.
An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.
Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983
Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture
Main article: Commercial graffiti
With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.
In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".
Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.
Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.
Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.
Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.
There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.
The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.
Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.
Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis
Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.
Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.
Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"
Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal
In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.
Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.
Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.
Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.
With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.
Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.
Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.
Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.
Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.
Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.
Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.
Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.
The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.
I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.
The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.
Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.
Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.
In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".
There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.
Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.
A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.
By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.
Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.
In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.
A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.
From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.
Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.
In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.
Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.
In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.
In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."
In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.
In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.
In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.
In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.
In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.
To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."
In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.
In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.
Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".
Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)
In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.
Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.
Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.
In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.
Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.
To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.
When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.
Rally and March starting at City Hall, marching to Joe Fresh to demand justice for Bangladeshi garment workers and ending at Little Norway Park in solidarity with striking workers at Porter (Queens Quay and Bathurst)
Videos: bit.ly/MayDayTOVids
More info with links: www.toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay
Poster series imagining a Solidarity City: on.fb.me/12HV9DO
For seven years, you have marched on May Day to celebrate and invigorate migrant justice struggles in Toronto. On International Workers Day, we march to build a Solidarity City. Solidarity City is a unified struggle for: Respect for Indigenous Sovereignty, Status for All, an End to Imperialism and Environmental Destruction, an End to Austerity and Attacks on the Poor and Working class, continued resistance against Patriarchy, Racism, Ableism and Homophobia and Transphobia
Pipelines, tankers, mines, and so-called development projects are being forced onto the lands of Indigenous nations. Harper, like every Prime Minister who came before him, refuses to respect the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and continues to neglect his treaty obligations, as seen in Omnibus Bill C-45. In the face of this and more, land defenders across Turtle Island continue to resist in powerful and inspiring ways. As we look towards an exciting summer of action and resistance fueled by the Idle No More movement, this May Day let us honor all ongoing decolonization struggles and commit to continuing our support for Indigenous sovereignty.
The past year has seen the implementation of C-31, dubbed the Refugee Exclusion Act, further criminalizing migrants and expanding the detention and deportation machine. Jason Kenney announced the creation of a designated countries of origin, a racist, two tiered system under which refugees get fewer rights based on their place of birth. This past November, many of us honored our communities and confronted Minister Kenney when he showed up in Toronto. On May 1st, let us take to the streets to build community alliances and resistance once again.
Exploitative temporary worker programs continue to expand and many migrant workers continue to meet deportation, injuries and in some cases death. Workers are being forced to pay thousands of dollars to get jobs in Canada for which entire families go in to debt, yet no provisions exist for status on landing. Since Harper came into power, over 72,000 people have been locked up in immigration detention. In December we rallied in solidarity with security certificate detainees Mohammad Mahjoub, Mohamed Harkat and Mahmoud Jaballah and all those locked up in immigration detention. This May Day let us take to the streets to end detentions and deportations and to call for freedom to move, freedom to stay and freedom to return!
On February 21st, Toronto City Hall reaffirmed its promise to providing services to residents without full immigration status. We will continue to build a Solidarity City where communities work together to ensure justice and dignity for all residents. The history of Access Without Fear in Toronto is a long one and on May Day let us march to celebrate our victories and commit to continued struggle.
In the face of austerity, climate destruction, colonial and capitalist wars and interventions here and across the world that push people out of their homes, let us fight for status for all. Status for All is the struggle for self-determination, just livelihood, housing, food, education, healthcare, childcare, shelter, justice and dignity for all people, with or without immigration status.
Coordinated by a coalition of community groups including Afghans United for Justice, AIDS ACTION NOW!, Anakbayan Toronto, Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS), Camp Sis, Casa Salvador Allende, Cinema Politica, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), Common Cause Toronto,Common Causes, CUPE local 1281,CUPE Local 4772, CUPE 3906 Executive, CUPE 3906 Political Action Committee, CUPE 4308, CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee, Educators for Peace and Justice, Faculty for Palestine (F4P), Grassroots Ontario Animal Liberation (GOAL) Network, Greater Toronto Workers' Assembly, Health for All, Independent Jewish Voices, Toronto, Injured Workers Action for Justice, International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Canada, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Canada, International Socialists, Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty [JFAAP], Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network, Law Union of Ontario, maggie's: toronto sex workers action project, May 1st Movement, No One Is Illegal - Toronto,Ontario Coalition Against Poverty,OPIRG York, Refugees without Border, Revolutionary Women's Collective-women united against imperialism, Rhythms of Resistance - Toronto,Rising Tide Toronto, Socialist Action / Ligue pour l'Action socialiste. Socialist Party of Ontario,Socialist Project, Student Christian Movement, The Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, The Sanctuary Network, Student Christian Movement, Toronto Haiti Action Committee, Toronto New Socialists, Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape, Toronto Young New Democrats, Trans Film Series,United Food and Commercial Workers, Women's Coordinating Committe for a Free Wallmapu [Toronto], Workers' Action Centre, York Federation of Students, Local 68 Canadian Federation of Students and more. To endorse the event, fill out this form bit.ly/ZDRwKU
On the road from San Pedro Atacama to Uyuni - BOLIVIA
There is no business to be done in a dead planet.( David Brower)
Noi crediamo che il futuro dell’industria sia strettamente legato alla ricerca di una coerente e costruttiva sintonia con l’ambiente che la circonda.
Il nostro è un impegno globale che va dalla produzione ai fornitori. In quest’ ottica ci impegniamo concretamente per un prodotto il più possibile a basso impatto ambientale. Inoltre la produzione avviene tutta in Italia, senza delocalizzare nessun processo produttivo, specie quello di verniciatura, in paesi le cui normative sono meno attente alla tutela del lavoro e dell’ambiente
Oltre che nella progettazione dei prodotti, nella selezione dei fornitori e nella scelta della materia prima, da alcuni anni la Mazzali è limpegnata in progetti concreti per la salvaguardia dell’ambiente anche attraverso azioni di sensibilizzazione.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
We believe that the future of the industry is closely linked to the search for a coherent and constructive harmony with the environment that surrounds us. Our global commitment begins from the production to our suppliers. In this' optical we commit ourselves to a product providing a low environmental impact.
Ava (pink hair), “Here, here Pig! What do you mean barging into my house ?!?!?!”
Edward (the sheriff), “Didn’t barge Miss, knocked first.”
Primrose Pigaliscious, “Snort, snort, SNORT!!! I am here to inform the two of you that as a result of my thorough investigations you have been found GUILTY of committing unlawful acts against Wubba Chikens!!! I have a court ordered contract that you are legally obligated to obey! If you do not abide by this legal and binding contract you will face permanent expulsion from the Pink Palace!”
Dallas, “Oh, fiddle-dee-dee! This is NONSENSE!!! It was only a joke! Sherriff, you don’t need those GUNS! We are not a threat!”
Sherriff (Edward),”Miss, I am not here to protect us against you; I am here to protect YOU from Miss Pigaliscious! I suggest you do as she says and immediately remand yourself to the custody of one lady named “Mom”.
Ava, “ Oh, pih-shaw!!! MOM-MMMMM!!!”
Me, “Yes?”
Ava, “Will you please get these 2 off our backs?”
Me, “Sorry Ava, but I am a sworn deputy of the Coalition for the Ethical Treatment of Wubbas; you’d better listen to Prim.”
Ava and Dallas, ‘Wha-aaaaaaa????”
The most recent and respected Angelina Jolie plastic surgery has to be her double mastectomy. She shone as a beacon of hope to countless of women suffering from breast cancer. Her surgeon mentioned that she waited for the prefect time in both her personal and professional life to commit to this surgery. celebsplasticsurgery.com/angelina-jolie-plastic-surgery/
COMMIT!Forum at the Westin Hotel in Times Square on October 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photos by Ben Hider)
Built in 1870, this Richardsonian Romanesque-style former psychiatric hospital was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson to serve the population of the rapidly growing urban areas in Western New York with more advanced mental health treatment. Sitting among a large park-like campus designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the rusticated Medina red sandstone and brick structures of the hospital are laid out primarily according to the Kirkbride plan. The the largest commission by footprint and square footage designed by Richardson during his storied and significant career, being one of the earliest examples of his signature Richardsonian Romanesque style, which mixes rusticated stone with Romanesque architecture to create romantic picturesque compositions reminiscent of Medieval castles and churches in Europe.
The campus was expanded over time with the construction of additional wings in red brick on either side of the original Medina sandstone buildings, which consists of the central five wings, the three brick wings at the eastern end of the complex having been removed in the 1970s to make way for a modern psychiatric facility, despite the complex’s historic and architectural significance having been recognized during the 1960s. Additional buildings not in the kirkbride formation were scattered around the grounds, including a greenhouse behind the main building, several smaller service and utility buildings, and buildings that were constructed to provide additional wards to house patients during the early 20th Century, as well as buildings meant to house staff.
When the hospital was in operation, patients were segregated by sex, with male patients being housed in the eastern pavilions, and female patients being housed in the western pavilions. The building was utilized as a psychiatric hospital known as the Buffalo State Asylum until the 1970s, when changing methods of treating psychiatric illness were developed, leading to the building becoming obsolete and newer facilities being built on the grounds. The central wing of the complex, however, remained in use as administrative offices for the still-operating psychiatric treatment facilities on the property until 1994.
The building went through a period of significant and prolonged deterioration and uncertainty between the 1970s and 2008, with the unsecured facility becoming vandalized, decayed, and unsafe. However, in 2008, in the wake of a successful lawsuit filed by the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, the State of New York was forced to commit $100 million in order to rehabilitate the structure. Between the spring of 2008 and the fall of 2012, the complex was stabilized, and in 2013, the South Lawn was converted from parking lots back into the original, verdant green space it was meant to be. In 2017, the first phase of the building's adaptive reuse and rehabilitation was completed, which transformed the central three pavilions into the Hotel Henry and Conference Center, with the Buffalo Architecture Center also opening in the renovated structure. The plans for the complex were to convert the remaining intact but vacant pavilions into additional space for the Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center, which would have been spectacular once it transformed and revitalized the amazing historic structure. However, due to restrictions and economic effects relating to the recent pandemic, Hotel Henry became insolvent and closed in 2021.
The complex consisted of a central wing with two tall towers that housed administrative facilities, flanked by five pavilions on each side, which progressively stair-step north from the central pavilion, a key feature of the Kirkbride plan, with a total of 11 structures in the complex, with three brick pavilions having been removed from the east side of the complex. The central wing features two towers with steeply-pitched copper-clad roofs, turrets at the corners, shed dormers, and corbeling, hipped dormers of varying sizes, with recessed panels and windows of varying sizes helping tie it back to its medieval aesthetic inspiration. The wing also features wall dormers, windows with arched transoms and stone trim, gabled roofs, and two-story arced connecting corridors that link it to the pavilions next to it on either side, features that are shared with the other medina sandstone buildings in the Richardson-designed portion of the complex. The front of the central wing features a porch with arched openings supported by columns with ornate capitals, tile mosaics on the faces of the vaults and blind arches on the porch, and a central doorway with an arched transom. The rear facade has been slightly modified with the installation of a curtain wall where an addition had been connected to the building in the mid-20th Century, which was added to serve as a primary and fully accessible entrance to the hotel that formerly operated in the building, with a large metal canopy having been added to this side of the building in 2021-22. To either side of the main wing are a total of four medina sandstone wings that formerly housed patient wards, which are largely identical and feature hipped and gabled roofs, wall dormers, windows with stone trim and arched transoms, arced two-story connecting corridor structures, and chain link-enclosed steel and concrete porches on the unrestored outer wings, which were once present on all of the wards, but were removed on the wards that were restored.
To the north and west of the sandstone structure are a series of red brick wings and buildings in various states of deterioration, with the two western wings being similar in appearance to the medina sandstone wings, but one floor shorter, blocky four-story red brick wings with low-slope roofs to the rear of the outermost sandstone wings, and two one-story service buildings behind the middle wings that flank the central wing, which feature hipped roofs, and differ a lot in materiality and details. At the very end of the western wings is a wing that is turned 90 degrees from the wing it is attached to and is roughly H-shaped, being only one story in height, featuring a gabled roof, a wooden porch with doric columns at the northwest corner, and a one-story bay window in the middle of the north facade. These wings are in much worse condition than the sandstone portions of the complex.
The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The complex’s future is presently uncertain, with a large section of copper missing from the north side of the roof of the east tower on the central wing, many of the wings still languishing in abandonment and severe disrepair, and no longer having an anchoring business to preserve and reuse the buildings.
Motion City Soundtrack
Commit This To Memory
Epitaph Records
Pink | /500
brianstowell.tumblr.com/post/1671000814/motion-city-sound...
UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka welcomes Jordan's commitment to address and prevent violence against women and girls, bringing to 62 the number of Governments that have joined UN Women’s COMMIT initiative.
Ms. Mlbambo-Ngcuka visited Amman, Jordan from 20 to 23 February 2014.
Photo: UN Women Jordan/Abdullah Ayoub
Leading up to the 57th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57), UN Women launched COMMIT to End Violence against Women, an action call for Governments to make new and concrete national commitments to end violence against women and girls. By the end of 2013, more than 61 countries and the European Union had joined the initiative and announced specific measures to address and prevent violence against women and girls. These ranged from passing or improving laws, ratifying international conventions, launching public awareness campaigns, providing safe houses or free hotline services and free legal aid to survivors, supporting education programmes that address gender stereotypes and violence, as well as increasing women in law enforcement, peacekeeping forces and frontline services.
Read more: www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-wom...
Built in 1870, this Richardsonian Romanesque-style former psychiatric hospital was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson to serve the population of the rapidly growing urban areas in Western New York with more advanced mental health treatment. Sitting among a large park-like campus designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the rusticated Medina red sandstone and brick structures of the hospital are laid out primarily according to the Kirkbride plan. The the largest commission by footprint and square footage designed by Richardson during his storied and significant career, being one of the earliest examples of his signature Richardsonian Romanesque style, which mixes rusticated stone with Romanesque architecture to create romantic picturesque compositions reminiscent of Medieval castles and churches in Europe.
The campus was expanded over time with the construction of additional wings in red brick on either side of the original Medina sandstone buildings, which consists of the central five wings, the three brick wings at the eastern end of the complex having been removed in the 1970s to make way for a modern psychiatric facility, despite the complex’s historic and architectural significance having been recognized during the 1960s. Additional buildings not in the kirkbride formation were scattered around the grounds, including a greenhouse behind the main building, several smaller service and utility buildings, and buildings that were constructed to provide additional wards to house patients during the early 20th Century, as well as buildings meant to house staff.
When the hospital was in operation, patients were segregated by sex, with male patients being housed in the eastern pavilions, and female patients being housed in the western pavilions. The building was utilized as a psychiatric hospital known as the Buffalo State Asylum until the 1970s, when changing methods of treating psychiatric illness were developed, leading to the building becoming obsolete and newer facilities being built on the grounds. The central wing of the complex, however, remained in use as administrative offices for the still-operating psychiatric treatment facilities on the property until 1994.
The building went through a period of significant and prolonged deterioration and uncertainty between the 1970s and 2008, with the unsecured facility becoming vandalized, decayed, and unsafe. However, in 2008, in the wake of a successful lawsuit filed by the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, the State of New York was forced to commit $100 million in order to rehabilitate the structure. Between the spring of 2008 and the fall of 2012, the complex was stabilized, and in 2013, the South Lawn was converted from parking lots back into the original, verdant green space it was meant to be. In 2017, the first phase of the building's adaptive reuse and rehabilitation was completed, which transformed the central three pavilions into the Hotel Henry and Conference Center, with the Buffalo Architecture Center also opening in the renovated structure. The plans for the complex were to convert the remaining intact but vacant pavilions into additional space for the Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center, which would have been spectacular once it transformed and revitalized the amazing historic structure. However, due to restrictions and economic effects relating to the recent pandemic, Hotel Henry became insolvent and closed in 2021.
The complex consisted of a central wing with two tall towers that housed administrative facilities, flanked by five pavilions on each side, which progressively stair-step north from the central pavilion, a key feature of the Kirkbride plan, with a total of 11 structures in the complex, with three brick pavilions having been removed from the east side of the complex. The central wing features two towers with steeply-pitched copper-clad roofs, turrets at the corners, shed dormers, and corbeling, hipped dormers of varying sizes, with recessed panels and windows of varying sizes helping tie it back to its medieval aesthetic inspiration. The wing also features wall dormers, windows with arched transoms and stone trim, gabled roofs, and two-story arced connecting corridors that link it to the pavilions next to it on either side, features that are shared with the other medina sandstone buildings in the Richardson-designed portion of the complex. The front of the central wing features a porch with arched openings supported by columns with ornate capitals, tile mosaics on the faces of the vaults and blind arches on the porch, and a central doorway with an arched transom. The rear facade has been slightly modified with the installation of a curtain wall where an addition had been connected to the building in the mid-20th Century, which was added to serve as a primary and fully accessible entrance to the hotel that formerly operated in the building, with a large metal canopy having been added to this side of the building in 2021-22. To either side of the main wing are a total of four medina sandstone wings that formerly housed patient wards, which are largely identical and feature hipped and gabled roofs, wall dormers, windows with stone trim and arched transoms, arced two-story connecting corridor structures, and chain link-enclosed steel and concrete porches on the unrestored outer wings, which were once present on all of the wards, but were removed on the wards that were restored.
To the north and west of the sandstone structure are a series of red brick wings and buildings in various states of deterioration, with the two western wings being similar in appearance to the medina sandstone wings, but one floor shorter, blocky four-story red brick wings with low-slope roofs to the rear of the outermost sandstone wings, and two one-story service buildings behind the middle wings that flank the central wing, which feature hipped roofs, and differ a lot in materiality and details. At the very end of the western wings is a wing that is turned 90 degrees from the wing it is attached to and is roughly H-shaped, being only one story in height, featuring a gabled roof, a wooden porch with doric columns at the northwest corner, and a one-story bay window in the middle of the north facade. These wings are in much worse condition than the sandstone portions of the complex.
The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The complex’s future is presently uncertain, with a large section of copper missing from the north side of the roof of the east tower on the central wing, many of the wings still languishing in abandonment and severe disrepair, and no longer having an anchoring business to preserve and reuse the buildings.
Again I am called to photograph these people in concert. As an experiment I used my Canon 50 mm f 1.8. For part of the concert I used a flash, for the rest no flash. Any comments welcome and appreciated!
Jordanian National Commission for Women Secretary-General Asma Khader signs and announces her government's commitment to address and prevent violence against women and girls, bringing to 62 the number of Governments that have joined UN Women’s COMMIT initiative.
Photo: UN Women Jordan/Abdullah Ayoub
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and ...He will make
yout righteousness shine like the dawn...
- Psalm 37:5-6