Haunted Alley is over and the results of the Harvest Bake Off have finally been revealed, and it's no surprise Stormtrooper Bruce made it into the top three. But he should have known something was up with the prizes when they weren't announced ahead of time.

 

TK-1110: It's just as we feared. Once again you're wallowing in your misery when you should be celebrating.

 

STB: Remind me again just exactly what I should be celebrating?

 

TK-432: Dude, you were robbed. You should've gotten 1st Place not 3rd. But then again, with those prizes what difference does it make?

 

TK-1110: Guess I'm the only voice of reason here. Yes the prizes suck like a Sith. Breakfast with the P, Lunch with the P, and Dinner with the P. But just be thankful third place was lunch!

 

TK-432: How is he supposed to be thankful about lunch with the P?

 

TK-1110: Think about it. He'd have to get up at the crack of dawn for breakfast, and dinner would drag on into the evening. But lunch is in the middle of the day - just a quick bite and it'll be over!

 

STB: Sure would like some of those Weasley's Puking Pastilles so I could take that orange half before hand.

 

TK-432: Well, at least they had the decency to return your cake. So, um... If you're done with your pity party think we could have a slice?

 

STB: Well, aside from a colossal hangover, guess I do feel a little better. Maybe lunch won't be so bad. Glad you guys stopped by. And yes, help yourselves to whatever you want. You'll pardon me if I don't get up just yet.

  

_____________________________________________

Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.

 

This is my first ever video. Minor spoilers for the ending of Human Revolution where you get to choose a message to send to the world, for those of you that don’t know or have never played the games before. It’s a cyberpunk, technology, and conspiracy game series, It’s really fun

 

I am doing Adam Jensen’s monologue without sending the message to the world. Please comment on what you think about it.

 

Transcript:

 

Adam Jensen: Do I trust Mankind to save itself? That's what Eliza was asking. The truth is, I don't know. After everything I've seen, all the fighting, and the chaos around me. I only know what I want to believe: somehow, human decency will triumph. These past few months, I faced many life-threatening situations. I could have given up many times, but my need to know the truth, to uncover the secrets that others were hiding, and to survive, forced me to keep on going. Most of the time, I tried to keep my values in mind, knowing my actions did not have to harm others. I held on to my humanity, resisting the urge to abuse power or resources in order to meet my goals. And in the end, I got the job done. But does this mean I have the right to choose for everyone? No. Because it isn't up to me. It isn't up to Darrow. Sarif, or Taggart, either. Ordinary men and women will have to decide together what course mankind should take. The kind of people who, time and time again, have picked and chosen the future in highly practical ways - slowing change when it's negative, speeding it up when it's good. Can they do it again? I don't know. But I do know I'm not about to let anyone in this station, including myself, stand in their way.

 

[Suicide - Let Mankind Choose]

– comedian W.C. Fields

 

This is a photo of a whiskey shelf, an expensive one, in an executive's office in the South.

Catching up on some back shots from the beginning of the year

 

On a walk around the Addington Cemetery with a wonderful Flickr friend. February 13, 2016 Christchurch New Zealand.

 

There is so much damaged in the cemetery because of the earthquake we have had. It is such a pity as I don' think it will ever be fully repaired.

 

The Addington Cemetery was established in 1858 when the Scottish Presbyterians of St Andrew’s Church purchased land for a cemetery in Selwyn Street. Although not the first cemetery in Christchurch, Addington was in fact the first “public” cemetery, “being open to all persons of any religious community” and allowing the performance of any religious service “not contrary to public decency”.

 

The first burial took place on the 10th of November 1858. The cemetery has several persons of note buried within its grounds including activist Kate Sheppard, Christchurch Mayor Tommy Taylor and members of the pioneer family, the Deans.

For More Info:http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/addington-cemetery/

(Tyrannus tyrannus) Jackson Woods, Anahuac, Tx.

 

"Really! You have no decency, sir! I'm right in the midst of ablutions!"

dippedinrococo.blogspot.com/2014/01/taste-and-decency.html

Collage postcard with re-used solar etching print, rescued canary bird guide, rubber stamped letters.

 

How our standards of decency keep dropping....how LOW can they GO?

Props to Mariiiina for being my button pusher, in the occasion that I was tripod-less :)

 

I was tagged by Mr. Whims to do this fancy little musical tag thing :)

 

~

 

1. The Eclipse soundtrack is ridiculous. In an incredible kind of way. Especially this song.

2. In two weeks, Marina and I are going to see one of our favorite bands, Boyce Avenue! They're seriously amazing.

3. When You Love Somebody by Fruit Bats has been on replay in my house for the past 48 hours.

4. In my ipod, you'll find the most obscure indie things, as well as many cliche pop sensations. *eh hem* Aaron Carter.

5. My first concert: Aaron Carter. My first CD: Aaron Carter. Are we seeing a pattern here? haha

6. I've taken four years of music classes.

7. It's truly disgusting how much I love British indie music. Prime example number one: Bobby Long. If you have any decency at all, you'll listen to that song.

8. I love classical music.

9. I'll bet I'm the only 15 year old girl you know who has a Neil Diamond ringtone.

10. I wish I were the type of person that was born with the need to make music, because I have so much respect for those people.

French postcard by Editions du Globe, Paris, no. 748. Photo: Studio Harcourt.

 

Beautiful French actress Brigitte Bardot (1934) was the sex kitten of the European film industry. BB starred in 48 films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. After her retirement in 1973, she established herself as an animal rights activist and made vegetarianism sexy.

 

Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris in 1934. Her father, Louis Bardot, had an engineering degree and worked with his father in the family business. Her mother, Ann-Marie Mucel, was 14 years younger than Brigitte's father and they married in 1933. Brigitte's mother encouraged her daughter to take up music and dance. At the age of 13, she entered the Conservatoire Nationale de Danse to study ballet. By the time she was 15, Brigitte was trying a modeling career and found herself in May 1949 on the cover of the French magazine Elle. Her incredible beauty readily apparent, Brigitte was noticed by Roger Vadim, then an assistant to the film director Marc Allegrét. Vadim was infatuated with Bardot and encouraged her to start working as a film actress. BB was 18 when she debuted in the comedy Le Trou Normand/Crazy for Love (Jean Boyer, 1952). In the same year, she married Vadim. Brigitte wanted to marry him when she was 17, but her parents quashed any marriage plans until she turned 18. In April 1953 she attended the Cannes Film Festival where she received massive media attention. She soon was every man's idea of the girl he'd like to meet in Paris. From 1952 to 1956 she appeared in seventeen films. Her films were generally lightweight romantic dramas in which she was cast as ingénue or siren, often with an element of undress. She made her first US production in 1953 in Un acte d'amour/Act of Love (Anatole Litvak, 1953) with Kirk Douglas, but she continued to make films in France.

 

Roger Vadim was not content with the light fare his wife was offered. He felt Brigitte Bardot was being undersold. Looking for something more like an art film to push her as a serious actress, he showcased her in Et Dieu créa la femme/...And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956). This film, about an immoral teenager in a respectable small-town setting, was a smashing success on both sides of the Atlantic. Craig Butler at AllMovie: "It's easy enough to say that ...And God Created Woman is much more important for its historical significance than for its actual quality as a film, and that's true to an extent. Woman's immense popularity, due to its willingness to directly embrace an exploration of sex as well as its willingness to show a degree of nudity that was remarkably daring for its day, demonstrated that audiences were willing to view subject matter that was considered too racy for the average moviegoer. This had both positive (freedom to explore, especially for the French filmmakers of the time) and negative (freedom to exploit) consequences, but its impact is undeniable. It's also true that Woman is not a great work of art, not with a story that is ultimately rather thin, some painful dialogue, and an attitude toward its characters and their sexuality that is unclear and inconsistent. Yet Woman is still fascinating, due in no small part to the presence of Brigitte Bardot in the role that made her an international star and sex symbol. She's not demonstrating great acting here, although her performance is actually good and much better than necessary, and her legendary mambo scene at the climax is nothing short of sensational." During the shooting of Et Dieu créa la femme/And God Created Woman (1956), directed by her husband Roger Vadim, Brigitte Bardot had an affair with her co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant, who at that time was married to French actress Stéphane Audran. Her divorce from Vadim followed, but they remained friends and collaborated in later work.

 

Et Dieu créa la femme/...And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956) helped her international status. The film took the USA by storm, her explosive sexuality being unlike anything seen in the States since the days of the 'flapper' in the 1920s. It gave rise to the phrase 'sex kitten' and fascination of her in America consisted of magazine photographs and dubbed over French films - good, bad, or indifferent, her films drew audiences - mainly men - into theaters like lemmings.BB appeared in light comedies like Doctor at Large (1957) - the third of the British 'Doctor' series starring Dirk Bogarde - and Une Parisienne/La Parisienne (Michel Boisrond, 1957) which suited her acting skills best. However, she was a sensation in the crime drama En cas de malheur/Love is my profession (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "this Brigitte Bardot vehicle ran into stiff opposition from the Catholic Legion of Decency, severely limiting its U.S. distribution. Bardot plays a nubile small-time thief named Yvette, who becomes the mistress of influential defense attorney Andre (Jean Gabin). Though Andre is able to shower Yvette with jewels and furs, he cannot "buy" her heart, and thus it is that it belongs to handsome young student Mazzetti (Franco Interlenghi). Alas, Yvette is no judge of human nature: attractive though Mazzetti can be, he has a dangerous-and deadly-side. En Cas de Malheur contains a nude scene that has since been reprinted in freeze-frame form innumerable times by both film-history books and girlie magazines." Photographer Sam Lévin's photos contributed considerably to her image of sensuality and slight immorality. One of Lévin's pictures shows Brigitte, dressed in a white corset. It is said that around 1960 postcards with this photograph outsold in Paris those of the Eiffel Tower.

 

Brigitte Bardot divorced Vadim in 1957 and in 1959 she married actor Jacques Charrier, with whom she starred in Babette s'en va-t-en guerre/Babette Goes to War (Christian-Jaque, 1959). The paparazzi preyed upon her marriage, while she and her husband clashed over the direction of her career. Her films became more substantial, but this brought a heavy pressure of dual celebrity as she sought critical acclaim while remaining a glamour model for most of the world. Vie privée/Private Life (1962), directed by Louis Malle has more than an element of autobiography in it. James Travers at Films de France: "Brigitte Bardot hadn’t quite reached the highpoint of her career when she agreed to make this film with high profile New Wave film director Louis Malle. Even so, the pressure of being a living icon was obviously beginning to get to France’s sex goddess and Vie privée is as much an attempt by Bardot to come to terms with her celebrity as anything else. Malle is clearly fascinated by Bardot and the documentary approach he adopts for this film reinforces the impression that it is more a biography of the actress than a work of fiction. Of course, it’s not entirely biographical, but the story is remarkably close to Bardot’s own life and comes pretty close to predicting how her career would end." The scene in which, returning to her apartment, Bardot's character is harangued in the elevator by a middle-aged cleaning lady calling her offensive names, was based on an actual incident and is a resonant image of a celebrity in the mid-20th century. Soon afterward Bardot withdrew to the seclusion of Southern France.

 

Brigitte Bardot's other husbands were German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs and right-wing politician Bernard d'Ormale. She is reputed to have had relationships with many other men including Sami Frey, her co-star in La Vérité/The Truth (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960), and musicians Serge Gainsbourg and Sacha Distel. In 1963, Brigitte Bardot starred in Godard's critically acclaimed film Le Mépris/Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963). She was also featured along with such notable actors as Alain Delon in Amours célèbres/Famous Love Affairs (Michel Boisrond, 1961) and Histoires extraordinaires/Tales of Mystery (Louis Malle, 1968), Jeanne Moreau in Viva Maria! (Louis Malle, 1965), Sean Connery in Shalako (Edward Dmytryk, 1968), and Claudia Cardinale in Les Pétroleuses/Petroleum Girls (Christian-Jaque, 1971). She participated in various musical shows and recorded many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury, and Sacha Distel, including 'Harley Davidson', 'Le Soleil De Ma Vie' (the cover of Stevie Wonder's 'You Are the Sunshine of My Life') and the notorious 'Je t'aime... moi non plus'.

 

Brigitte Bardot’s film career showed a steady decline in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973 just before her fortieth birthday, she announced her retirement. She chose to use her fame to promote animal rights. In 1976 she established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. She became a vegetarian and raised three million French francs to fund the foundation by auctioning off jewelry and many personal belongings. For this work, she was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1984. During the 1990's she became also outspoken in her criticism of immigration, interracial relationships, Islam in France, and homosexuality. Her husband Bernard d'Ormal is a former adviser of the far-right Front National party. Bardot has been convicted five times for 'inciting racial hatred'. More fun is that Bardot is recognised for popularizing bikini swimwear, in early films such as Manina/Woman without a Veil (1952), in her appearances at Cannes and in many photoshoots. Bardot also brought into fashion the 'choucroute' ('Sauerkraut') hairstyle (a sort of beehive hairstyle) and gingham clothes after wearing a checkered pink dress, designed by Jacques Esterel, at her wedding to Charrier. The fashions of the 1960s looked effortlessly right and spontaneous on her. Time Magazine: "She is the princess of pout, the countess of come hither. Brigitte Bardot exuded a carefree, naïve sexuality that brought a whole new audience to French films."

 

Sources: Denny Jackson (IMDb), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Craig Butler (AllMovie), James Travers (Films de France), Films de France, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

In the New Year, I greet, my greetings and in general.

A happy and prosperous New Year,

May the New Year bring peace, and peace will prevail forever.

Good health and security in every area.

A year in which privacy will be restored to our lives, perfectly.

No more exploitation of individual lives. No exploitation of any kind.

Respect, decency, and caring for others.

Far from gossip.. and gossip will no longer be our portion in life.

A year of bringing hearts closer, understanding and honesty.

All humanity is one race, without discrimination or incitement.

The path of truth will lead our lives.

All the truth that needs to be known is known. The relevant is not hidden.

Peace and true love to us and to those dearest to us.

Copyrights (c) Nira Dabush.

Trying to protect my decency

Big German card by ISV, no. PX 3.

 

Voluptuous American actress Mamie Van Doren (1931) was a sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s. Van Doren starred in several exploitation films such as Untamed Youth (1957), loaded with rock 'n' roll and juvenile delinquency. Her onscreen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring swimsuits. Mamie and her colleague blonde bombshells Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield were known as 'The Three M's.'

 

Mamie Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South Dakota, in 1931. She was the daughter of Warner Carl Olander and Lucille Harriet Bennett. In 1942 the family moved to Los Angeles. In early 1946, Van Doren began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television show. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered several beauty contests. She was married for a brief time at seventeen when Van Doren and her first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage was dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles Miss Eight Ball and Miss Palm Springs. Van Doren was discovered by producer Howard Hughes the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for five years. Hughes provided her with a bit role in Jet Pilot at RKO Radio Pictures. Her line of dialogue inconsisted of one word, "Look!". The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous Vargas Girls. His painting of Van Doren was on the July 1951 cover of Esquire magazine. Van Doren did a few more bit parts in RKO films, including His Kind of Woman (John Farrow, 1951) starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Van Doren then began working on the stage. She was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International. In 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. They had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Universal first cast Van Doren in a minor role as a singer in Forbidden (Rudolph Maté, 1953), starring Tony Curtis. Interested in Van Doren's allure, Universal then cast her again opposite Curtis in The All American (Jesse Hibbs, 1953), playing her first major role as Susie Ward, a wayward girl who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. In Yankee Pasha (Joseph Pevney, 1954), starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith. In 1955, she had a supporting role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin' (Edward Buzzell, 1955) and starred in the crime-drama, Running Wild (Abner Biberman, 1955). Soon thereafter, Van Doren turned down a Broadway role in the play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, and was replaced by newcomer Jayne Mansfield. In 1956, Van Doren appeared in the Western Star in the Dust (Charles F. Haas, 1956). Though Van Doren garnered prominent billing alongside John Agar and Richard Boone, she appears rather briefly, as the daughter of a ranch owner. By this time, Van Doren had grown tired of Universal, which was only casting her in non-breakthrough roles. Therefore, Van Doren began accepting bigger roles in better movies from other studios, such as Teacher's Pet (George Seaton, 1958) with Doris Day and Clark Gable. She appeared in some of the first movies to feature rock 'n' roll music, such as Untamed Youth (Howard W. Koch, 1957). The film was originally condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency, but that only served to enhance the curiosity factor, resulting in it being a big moneymaker for the studio. Van Doren became identified with this rebellious style, and made some rock records. She went to star in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. These include Born Reckless (Howard W. Koch, 1958), High School Confidential (Jack Arnold, 1958), and The Beat Generation (Charles F. Haas, 1959). After Universal Studios chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren was now a free agent and had to struggle to find work.

 

Mamie Van Doren became known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for Girls Town (Charles F. Haas, 1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (Mickey Rooney, Albert Zugsmith, 1960) she wore only fig leaves, and in other films, like Vice Raid (Edward L. Cahn, 1960) audiences were clued in as to the nature of the films from the titles. Many of these productions were low-budget B-movies which sometimes gained a cult following for their high camp value. An example is Sex Kittens Go to College (Albert Zugsmith, 1960), which co-starred Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot - Brigitte's sister. Mamie also appeared in foreign productions, such as the Italian crime comedy Le bellissime gambe di Sabrina/The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1959) with Antonio Cifariello, and the Argentine film Una americana en Buenos Aires/The Blonde from Buenos Aires (George Cahan, 1961) with Jean-Pierre Aumont. Van Doren took some time off from her career and came back to the screen in 1964. That year she played in the German Western musical Freddy und das Lied der Prärie/In the Wild West (Sobey Martin, 1964), starring Freddy Quinn and Rik Battaglia. Tommy Noonan convinced Van Doren to appear in 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (Tommy Noonan, 1964). Van Doren had turned down Noonan's previous offer to star in Promises! Promises!, in which she would have to do nude scenes. She was replaced by Jayne Mansfield. In 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, Mamie did a beer-bath scene, but is not seen nude. She posed for Playboy to promote the film. Van Doren next appeared in The Las Vegas Hillbillys (Arthur C. Pierce, 1966) which co-starred Jayne Mansfield. It was the only time two of 'The Three M's' appeared together in a film. A sequel was titled Hillbillys in a Haunted House, but Van Doren turned this role down, and was replaced by Joi Lansing. She appeared in You've Got to Be Smart (Ellis Kadison, 1967), and the sci-fi film, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), directed by the young Peter Bogdanovich (as Derek Thomas). In this film astronauts land on Venus and encounter dangerous creatures and meet sexy Venusian women who like to sun-bathe in hip-hugging skin-tight pants and seashell brassieres. In 1968, she was offered the role of a murder victim in the independent horror film The Ice House as a replacement for Mansfield, who died the previous year. She turned the offer down, however, and was replaced by Sabrina. During the Vietnam War, she did tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. Van Doren also developed a nightclub act and did live theater. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theater, Chicago, and appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theater. In the 1970s, Van Doren performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas as well. Van Doren had a supporting role in the Western The Arizona Kid (Luciano B. Carlos, 1970). Since then, Van Doren has appeared only in cameo appearances in low-budgeted films. To this date Van Doren's last film appearance was a cameo role in the comedy Slackers (Dewey Nicks, 2002). Van Doren's guest appearances on television include Jukebox Jury, What's My Line, The Bob Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law, Vega$, and L.A. Law. Van Doren released her autobiography, Playing the Field, in 1987 which brought much new attention and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. Since the book's publication she has often been interviewed and profiled and has occasionally returned to acting. Van Doren has been married five times. Her first marriage was to sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman whom she married and divorced in 1950. Her second marriage was to bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony whom she married in 1955. They had one son, Perry Ray Anthony (1956). The couple later divorced in 1961. When Van Doren's early 1960s, highly publicized, on-again off-again engagement to baseball player Bo Belinsky ended in 1964, she married baseball player Lee Meyers in 1966. They were divorced in 1967. Her fourth marriage was to businessman Ross McClintock in 1972. They met while working on President Nixon's reelection campaign; the marriage was annulled in 1973. Since 1979 she has been married to Thomas Dixon, an actor and dentist.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

US politics have caught me in the spin of their intrigue and incredulity these last couple of weeks -thank heavens decency and a sense of normalcy may return very soon!

German postcard by ISV, Sort V/6.

 

Voluptuous American actress Mamie Van Doren (1931) was a sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s. Van Doren starred in several exploitation films such as Untamed Youth (1957), loaded with rock 'n' roll and juvenile delinquency. Her onscreen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring swimsuits. Mamie and her colleague blonde bombshells Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield were known as 'The Three M's.'

 

Mamie Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South Dakota, in 1931. She was the daughter of Warner Carl Olander and Lucille Harriet Bennett. In 1942 the family moved to Los Angeles. In early 1946, Van Doren began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television show. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered several beauty contests. She was married for a brief time at seventeen when Van Doren and her first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage was dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles Miss Eight Ball and Miss Palm Springs. Van Doren was discovered by producer Howard Hughes the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for five years. Hughes provided her with a bit role in Jet Pilot at RKO Radio Pictures. Her line of dialogue inconsisted of one word, "Look!". The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous Vargas Girls. His painting of Van Doren was on the July 1951 cover of Esquire magazine. Van Doren did a few more bit parts in RKO films, including His Kind of Woman (John Farrow, 1951) starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Van Doren then began working on the stage. She was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International. In 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. They had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Universal first cast Van Doren in a minor role as a singer in Forbidden (Rudolph Maté, 1953), starring Tony Curtis. Interested in Van Doren's allure, Universal then cast her again opposite Curtis in The All American (Jesse Hibbs, 1953), playing her first major role as Susie Ward, a wayward girl who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. In Yankee Pasha (Joseph Pevney, 1954), starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith. In 1955, she had a supporting role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin' (Edward Buzzell, 1955) and starred in the crime-drama, Running Wild (Abner Biberman, 1955). Soon thereafter, Van Doren turned down a Broadway role in the play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, and was replaced by newcomer Jayne Mansfield. In 1956, Van Doren appeared in the Western Star in the Dust (Charles F. Haas, 1956). Though Van Doren garnered prominent billing alongside John Agar and Richard Boone, she appears rather briefly, as the daughter of a ranch owner. By this time, Van Doren had grown tired of Universal, which was only casting her in non-breakthrough roles. Therefore, Van Doren began accepting bigger roles in better movies from other studios, such as Teacher's Pet (George Seaton, 1958) with Doris Day and Clark Gable. She appeared in some of the first movies to feature rock 'n' roll music, such as Untamed Youth (Howard W. Koch, 1957). The film was originally condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency, but that only served to enhance the curiosity factor, resulting in it being a big moneymaker for the studio. Van Doren became identified with this rebellious style, and made some rock records. She went to star in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. These include Born Reckless (Howard W. Koch, 1958), High School Confidential (Jack Arnold, 1958), and The Beat Generation (Charles F. Haas, 1959). After Universal Studios chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren was now a free agent and had to struggle to find work.

 

Mamie Van Doren became known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for Girls Town (Charles F. Haas, 1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (Mickey Rooney, Albert Zugsmith, 1960) she wore only fig leaves, and in other films, like Vice Raid (Edward L. Cahn, 1960) audiences were clued in as to the nature of the films from the titles. Many of these productions were low-budget B-movies which sometimes gained a cult following for their high camp value. An example is Sex Kittens Go to College (Albert Zugsmith, 1960), which co-starred Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot - Brigitte's sister. Mamie also appeared in foreign productions, such as the Italian crime comedy Le bellissime gambe di Sabrina/The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (Camillo Mastrocinque, 1959) with Antonio Cifariello, and the Argentine film Una americana en Buenos Aires/The Blonde from Buenos Aires (George Cahan, 1961) with Jean-Pierre Aumont. Van Doren took some time off from her career and came back to the screen in 1964. That year she played in the German Western musical Freddy und das Lied der Prärie/In the Wild West (Sobey Martin, 1964), starring Freddy Quinn and Rik Battaglia. Tommy Noonan convinced Van Doren to appear in 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (Tommy Noonan, 1964). Van Doren had turned down Noonan's previous offer to star in Promises! Promises!, in which she would have to do nude scenes. She was replaced by Jayne Mansfield. In 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, Mamie did a beer-bath scene, but is not seen nude. She posed for Playboy to promote the film. Van Doren next appeared in The Las Vegas Hillbillys (Arthur C. Pierce, 1966) which co-starred Jayne Mansfield. It was the only time two of 'The Three M's' appeared together in a film. A sequel was titled Hillbillys in a Haunted House, but Van Doren turned this role down, and was replaced by Joi Lansing. She appeared in You've Got to Be Smart (Ellis Kadison, 1967), and the sci-fi film, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), directed by the young Peter Bogdanovich (as Derek Thomas). In this film astronauts land on Venus and encounter dangerous creatures and meet sexy Venusian women who like to sun-bathe in hip-hugging skin-tight pants and seashell brassieres. In 1968, she was offered the role of a murder victim in the independent horror film The Ice House as a replacement for Mansfield, who died the previous year. She turned the offer down, however, and was replaced by Sabrina. During the Vietnam War, she did tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. Van Doren also developed a nightclub act and did live theater. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theater, Chicago, and appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theater. In the 1970s, Van Doren performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas as well. Van Doren had a supporting role in the Western The Arizona Kid (Luciano B. Carlos, 1970). Since then, Van Doren has appeared only in cameo appearances in low-budgeted films. To this date Van Doren's last film appearance was a cameo role in the comedy Slackers (Dewey Nicks, 2002). Van Doren's guest appearances on television include Jukebox Jury, What's My Line, The Bob Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law, Vega$, and L.A. Law. Van Doren released her autobiography, Playing the Field, in 1987 which brought much new attention and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. Since the book's publication she has often been interviewed and profiled and has occasionally returned to acting. Van Doren has been married five times. Her first marriage was to sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman whom she married and divorced in 1950. Her second marriage was to bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony whom she married in 1955. They had one son, Perry Ray Anthony (1956). The couple later divorced in 1961. When Van Doren's early 1960s, highly publicized, on-again off-again engagement to baseball player Bo Belinsky ended in 1964, she married baseball player Lee Meyers in 1966. They were divorced in 1967. Her fourth marriage was to businessman Ross McClintock in 1972. They met while working on President Nixon's reelection campaign; the marriage was annulled in 1973. Since 1979 she has been married to Thomas Dixon, an actor and dentist.

 

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

COMMON SECURITY FOR OUR COMMON HUMANITY

 

"At moments of great peril in the last century, American leaders such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy managed both to protect the American people and to expand opportunity for the next generation. What is more, they ensured that America, by deed and example, led and lifted the world -- that we stood for and fought for the freedoms sought by billions of people beyond our borders.

 

As Roosevelt built the most formidable military the world had ever seen, his Four Freedoms gave purpose to our struggle against fascism. Truman championed a bold new architecture to respond to the Soviet threat -- one that paired military strength with the Marshall Plan and helped secure the peace and well-being of nations around the world. As colonialism crumbled and the Soviet Union achieved effective nuclear parity, Kennedy modernized our military doctrine, strengthened our conventional forces, and created the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress. They used our strengths to show people everywhere America at its best.

 

Today, we are again called to provide visionary leadership. This century's threats are at least as dangerous as and in some ways more complex than those we have confronted in the past. They come from weapons that can kill on a mass scale and from global terrorists who respond to alienation or perceived injustice with murderous nihilism. They come from rogue states allied to terrorists and from rising powers that could challenge both America and the international foundation of liberal democracy. They come from weak states that cannot control their territory or provide for their people. And they come from a warming planet that will spur new diseases, spawn more devastating natural disasters, and catalyze deadly conflicts.

 

To recognize the number and complexity of these threats is not to give way to pessimism. Rather, it is a call to action. These threats demand a new vision of leadership in the twenty-first century -- a vision that draws from the past but is not bound by outdated thinking. The Bush administration responded to the unconventional attacks of 9/11 with conventional thinking of the past, largely viewing problems as state-based and principally amenable to military solutions. It was this tragically misguided view that led us into a war in Iraq that never should have been authorized and never should have been waged. In the wake of Iraq and Abu Ghraib, the world has lost trust in our purposes and our principles.

 

After thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America. We can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission. We must lead the world, by deed and by example.

 

Such leadership demands that we retrieve a fundamental insight of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy -- one that is truer now than ever before: the security and well-being of each and every American depend on the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders. The mission of the United States is to provide global leadership grounded in the understanding that the world shares a common security and a common humanity.

 

The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. To see American power in terminal decline is to ignore America's great promise and historic purpose in the world. If elected president, I will start renewing that promise and purpose the day I take office.

 

MOVING BEYOND IRAQ

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must first bring the Iraq war to a responsible end and refocus our attention on the broader Middle East. Iraq was a diversion from the fight against the terrorists who struck us on 9/11, and incompetent prosecution of the war by America's civilian leaders compounded the strategic blunder of choosing to wage it in the first place. We have now lost over 3,300 American lives, and thousands more suffer wounds both seen and unseen.

 

Our servicemen and servicewomen have performed admirably while sacrificing immeasurably. But it is time for our civilian leaders to acknowledge a painful truth: we cannot impose a military solution on a civil war between Sunni and Shiite factions. The best chance we have to leave Iraq a better place is to pressure these warring parties to find a lasting political solution. And the only effective way to apply this pressure is to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008 -- a date consistent with the goal set by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. This redeployment could be temporarily suspended if the Iraqi government meets the security, political, and economic benchmarks to which it has committed. But we must recognize that, in the end, only Iraqi leaders can bring real peace and stability to their country.

 

At the same time, we must launch a comprehensive regional and international diplomatic initiative to help broker an end to the civil war in Iraq, prevent its spread, and limit the suffering of the Iraqi people. To gain credibility in this effort, we must make clear that we seek no permanent bases in Iraq. We should leave behind only a minimal over-the-horizon military force in the region to protect American personnel and facilities, continue training Iraqi security forces, and root out al Qaeda.

 

The morass in Iraq has made it immeasurably harder to confront and work through the many other problems in the region -- and it has made many of those problems considerably more dangerous. Changing the dynamic in Iraq will allow us to focus our attention and influence on resolving the festering conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- a task that the Bush administration neglected for years.

 

For more than three decades, Israelis, Palestinians, Arab leaders, and the rest of the world have looked to America to lead the effort to build the road to a lasting peace. In recent years, they have all too often looked in vain. Our starting point must always be a clear and strong commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. That commitment is all the more important as we contend with growing threats in the region -- a strengthened Iran, a chaotic Iraq, the resurgence of al Qaeda, the reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah. Now more than ever, we must strive to secure a lasting settlement of the conflict with two states living side by side in peace and security. To do so, we must help the Israelis identify and strengthen those partners who are truly committed to peace, while isolating those who seek conflict and instability. Sustained American leadership for peace and security will require patient effort and the personal commitment of the president of the United States. That is a commitment I will make.

 

Throughout the Middle East, we must harness American power to reinvigorate American diplomacy. Tough-minded diplomacy, backed by the whole range of instruments of American power -- political, economic, and military -- could bring success even when dealing with long-standing adversaries such as Iran and Syria. Our policy of issuing threats and relying on intermediaries to curb Iran's nuclear program, sponsorship of terrorism, and regional aggression is failing. Although we must not rule out using military force, we should not hesitate to talk directly to Iran. Our diplomacy should aim to raise the cost for Iran of continuing its nuclear program by applying tougher sanctions and increasing pressure from its key trading partners. The world must work to stop Iran's uranium-enrichment program and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It is far too dangerous to have nuclear weapons in the hands of a radical theocracy. At the same time, we must show Iran -- and especially the Iranian people -- what could be gained from fundamental change: economic engagement, security assurances, and diplomatic relations. Diplomacy combined with pressure could also reorient Syria away from its radical agenda to a more moderate stance -- which could, in turn, help stabilize Iraq, isolate Iran, free Lebanon from Damascus' grip, and better secure Israel.

 

REVITALIZING THE MILITARY

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must immediately begin working to revitalize our military. A strong military is, more than anything, necessary to sustain peace. Unfortunately, the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps, according to our military leaders, are facing a crisis. The Pentagon cannot certify a single army unit within the United States as fully ready to respond in the event of a new crisis or emergency beyond Iraq; 88 percent of the National Guard is not ready to deploy overseas.

 

We must use this moment both to rebuild our military and to prepare it for the missions of the future. We must retain the capacity to swiftly defeat any conventional threat to our country and our vital interests. But we must also become better prepared to put boots on the ground in order to take on foes that fight asymmetrical and highly adaptive campaigns on a global scale.

 

We should expand our ground forces by adding 65,000 soldiers to the army and 27,000 marines. Bolstering these forces is about more than meeting quotas. We must recruit the very best and invest in their capacity to succeed. That means providing our servicemen and servicewomen with first-rate equipment, armor, incentives, and training -- including in foreign languages and other critical skills. Each major defense program should be reevaluated in light of current needs, gaps in the field, and likely future threat scenarios. Our military will have to rebuild some capabilities and transform others. At the same time, we need to commit sufficient funding to enable the National Guard to regain a state of readiness.

 

Enhancing our military will not be enough. As commander in chief, I would also use our armed forces wisely. When we send our men and women into harm's way, I will clearly define the mission, seek out the advice of our military commanders, objectively evaluate intelligence, and ensure that our troops have the resources and the support they need. I will not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests whenever we are attacked or imminently threatened.

 

We must also consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense in order to provide for the common security that underpins global stability -- to support friends, participate in stability and reconstruction operations, or confront mass atrocities. But when we do use force in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort to garner the clear support and participation of others -- as President George H. W. Bush did when we led the effort to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in 1991. The consequences of forgetting that lesson in the context of the current conflict in Iraq have been grave.

  

HALTING THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must confront the most urgent threat to the security of America and the world -- the spread of nuclear weapons, material, and technology and the risk that a nuclear device will fall into the hands of terrorists. The explosion of one such device would bring catastrophe, dwarfing the devastation of 9/11 and shaking every corner of the globe.

 

As George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn have warned, our current measures are not sufficient to meet the nuclear threat. The nonproliferation regime is being challenged, and new civilian nuclear programs could spread the means to make nuclear weapons. Al Qaeda has made it a goal to bring a "Hiroshima" to the United States. Terrorists need not build a nuclear weapon from scratch; they need only steal or buy a weapon or the material to assemble one. There is now highly enriched uranium -- some of it poorly secured -- sitting in civilian nuclear facilities in over 40 countries around the world. In the former Soviet Union, there are approximately 15,000-16,000 nuclear weapons and stockpiles of uranium and plutonium capable of making another 40,000 weapons -- all scattered across 11 time zones. People have already been caught trying to smuggle nuclear material to sell on the black market.

 

As president, I will work with other nations to secure, destroy, and stop the spread of these weapons in order to dramatically reduce the nuclear dangers for our nation and the world. America must lead a global effort to secure all nuclear weapons and material at vulnerable sites within four years -- the most effective way to prevent terrorists from acquiring a bomb.

 

This will require the active cooperation of Russia. Although we must not shy away from pushing for more democracy and accountability in Russia, we must work with the country in areas of common interest -- above all, in making sure that nuclear weapons and material are secure. We must also work with Russia to update and scale back our dangerously outdated Cold War nuclear postures and de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons. America must not rush to produce a new generation of nuclear warheads. And we should take advantage of recent technological advances to build bipartisan consensus behind ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. All of this can be done while maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent. These steps will ultimately strengthen, not weaken, our security.

 

As we lock down existing nuclear stockpiles, I will work to negotiate a verifiable global ban on the production of new nuclear weapons material. We must also stop the spread of nuclear weapons technology and ensure that countries cannot build -- or come to the brink of building -- a weapons program under the auspices of developing peaceful nuclear power. That is why my administration will immediately provide $50 million to jump-start the creation of an International Atomic Energy Agency-controlled nuclear fuel bank and work to update the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. We must also fully implement the law Senator Richard Lugar and I passed to help the United States and our allies detect and stop the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.

 

Finally, we must develop a strong international coalition to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Iran and North Korea could trigger regional arms races, creating dangerous nuclear flashpoints in the Middle East and East Asia. In confronting these threats, I will not take the military option off the table. But our first measure must be sustained, direct, and aggressive diplomacy -- the kind that the Bush administration has been unable and unwilling to use.

 

COMBATING GLOBAL TERRORISM

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must forge a more effective global response to the terrorism that came to our shores on an unprecedented scale on 9/11. From Bali to London, Baghdad to Algiers, Mumbai to Mombasa to Madrid, terrorists who reject modernity, oppose America, and distort Islam have killed and mutilated tens of thousands of people just this decade. Because this enemy operates globally, it must be confronted globally.

 

We must refocus our efforts on Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the central front in our war against al Qaeda -- so that we are confronting terrorists where their roots run deepest. Success in Afghanistan is still possible, but only if we act quickly, judiciously, and decisively. We should pursue an integrated strategy that reinforces our troops in Afghanistan and works to remove the limitations placed by some NATO allies on their forces. Our strategy must also include sustained diplomacy to isolate the Taliban and more effective development programs that target aid to areas where the Taliban are making inroads.

 

I will join with our allies in insisting -- not simply requesting -- that Pakistan crack down on the Taliban, pursue Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, and end its relationship with all terrorist groups. At the same time, I will encourage dialogue between Pakistan and India to work toward resolving their dispute over Kashmir and between Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their historic differences and develop the Pashtun border region. If Pakistan can look toward the east with greater confidence, it will be less likely to believe that its interests are best advanced through cooperation with the Taliban.

 

Although vigorous action in South Asia and Central Asia should be a starting point, our efforts must be broader. There must be no safe haven for those who plot to kill Americans. To defeat al Qaeda, I will build a twenty-first-century military and twenty-first-century partnerships as strong as the anticommunist alliance that won the Cold War to stay on the offense everywhere from Djibouti to Kandahar.

 

Here at home, we must strengthen our homeland security and protect the critical infrastructure on which the entire world depends. We can start by spending homeland security dollars on the basis of risk. This means investing more resources to defend mass transit, closing the gaps in our aviation security by screening all cargo on passenger airliners and checking all passengers against a comprehensive watch list, and upgrading port security by ensuring that cargo is screened for radiation.

 

To succeed, our homeland security and counterterrorism actions must be linked to an intelligence community that deals effectively with the threats we face. Today, we rely largely on the same institutions and practices that were in place before 9/11. We need to revisit intelligence reform, going beyond rearranging boxes on an organizational chart. To keep pace with highly adaptable enemies, we need technologies and practices that enable us to efficiently collect and share information within and across our intelligence agencies. We must invest still more in human intelligence and deploy additional trained operatives and diplomats with specialized knowledge of local cultures and languages. And we should institutionalize the practice of developing competitive assessments of critical threats and strengthen our methodologies of analysis.

 

Finally, we need a comprehensive strategy to defeat global terrorists -- one that draws on the full range of American power, not just our military might. As a senior U.S. military commander put it, when people have dignity and opportunity, "the chance of extremism being welcomed greatly, if not completely, diminishes." It is for this reason that we need to invest with our allies in strengthening weak states and helping to rebuild failed ones.

 

In the Islamic world and beyond, combating the terrorists' prophets of fear will require more than lectures on democracy. We need to deepen our knowledge of the circumstances and beliefs that underpin extremism. A crucial debate is occurring within Islam. Some believe in a future of peace, tolerance, development, and democratization. Others embrace a rigid and violent intolerance of personal liberty and the world at large. To empower forces of moderation, America must make every effort to export opportunity -- access to education and health care, trade and investment -- and provide the kind of steady support for political reformers and civil society that enabled our victory in the Cold War. Our beliefs rest on hope; the extremists' rest on fear. That is why we can -- and will -- win this struggle.

 

REBUILDING OUR PARTNERSHIPS

 

To renew American leadership in the world, I intend to rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security. Needed reform of these alliances and institutions will not come by bullying other countries to ratify changes we hatch in isolation. It will come when we convince other governments and peoples that they, too, have a stake in effective partnerships.

 

Too often we have sent the opposite signal to our international partners. In the case of Europe, we dismissed European reservations about the wisdom and necessity of the Iraq war. In Asia, we belittled South Korean efforts to improve relations with the North. In Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, we failed to adequately address concerns about immigration and equity and economic growth. In Africa, we have allowed genocide to persist for over four years in Darfur and have not done nearly enough to answer the African Union's call for more support to stop the killing. I will rebuild our ties to our allies in Europe and Asia and strengthen our partnerships throughout the Americas and Africa.

 

Our alliances require constant cooperation and revision if they are to remain effective and relevant. NATO has made tremendous strides over the last 15 years, transforming itself from a Cold War security structure into a partnership for peace. But today, NATO's challenge in Afghanistan has exposed, as Senator Lugar has put it, "the growing discrepancy between NATO's expanding missions and its lagging capabilities." To close this gap, I will rally our NATO allies to contribute more troops to collective security operations and to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization capabilities.

 

And as we strengthen NATO, we must build new alliances and partnerships in other vital regions. As China rises and Japan and South Korea assert themselves, I will work to forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. We need an inclusive infrastructure with the countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity and help confront transnational threats, from terrorist cells in the Philippines to avian flu in Indonesia. I will also encourage China to play a responsible role as a growing power -- to help lead in addressing the common problems of the twenty-first century. We will compete with China in some areas and cooperate in others. Our essential challenge is to build a relationship that broadens cooperation while strengthening our ability to compete.

 

In addition, we need effective collaboration on pressing global issues among all the major powers -- including such newly emerging ones as Brazil, India, Nigeria, and South Africa. We need to give all of them a stake in upholding the international order. To that end, the United Nations requires far-reaching reform. The UN Secretariat's management practices remain weak. Peacekeeping operations are overextended. The new UN Human Rights Council has passed eight resolutions condemning Israel -- but not a single resolution condemning the genocide in Darfur or human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Yet none of these problems will be solved unless America rededicates itself to the organization and its mission.

 

Strengthened institutions and invigorated alliances and partnerships are especially crucial if we are to defeat the epochal, man-made threat to the planet: climate change. Without dramatic changes, rising sea levels will flood coastal regions around the world, including much of the eastern seaboard. Warmer temperatures and declining rainfall will reduce crop yields, increasing conflict, famine, disease, and poverty. By 2050, famine could displace more than 250 million people worldwide. That means increased instability in some of the most volatile parts of the world.

 

As the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, America has the responsibility to lead. While many of our industrial partners are working hard to reduce their emissions, we are increasing ours at a steady clip -- by more than ten percent per decade. As president, I intend to enact a cap-and-trade system that will dramatically reduce our carbon emissions. And I will work to finally free America of its dependence on foreign oil -- by using energy more efficiently in our cars, factories, and homes, relying more on renewable sources of electricity, and harnessing the potential of biofuels.

 

Getting our own house in order is only a first step. China will soon replace America as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Clean energy development must be a central focus in our relationships with major countries in Europe and Asia. I will invest in efficient and clean technologies at home while using our assistance policies and export promotions to help developing countries leapfrog the carbon-energy-intensive stage of development. We need a global response to climate change that includes binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most: the United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia. This challenge is massive, but rising to it will also bring new benefits to America. By 2050, global demand for low-carbon energy could create an annual market worth $500 billion. Meeting that demand would open new frontiers for American entrepreneurs and workers.

  

BUILDING JUST, SECURE, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES

 

Finally, to renew American leadership in the world, I will strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity. Our global engagement cannot be defined by what we are against; it must be guided by a clear sense of what we stand for. We have a significant stake in ensuring that those who live in fear and want today can live with dignity and opportunity tomorrow.

 

People around the world have heard a great deal of late about freedom on the march. Tragically, many have come to associate this with war, torture, and forcibly imposed regime change. To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people. This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.

 

Citizens everywhere should be able to choose their leaders in climates free of fear. America must commit to strengthening the pillars of a just society. We can help build accountable institutions that deliver services and opportunity: strong legislatures, independent judiciaries, honest police forces, free presses, vibrant civil societies. In countries wracked by poverty and conflict, citizens long to enjoy freedom from want. And since extremely poor societies and weak states provide optimal breeding grounds for disease, terrorism, and conflict, the United States has a direct national security interest in dramatically reducing global poverty and joining with our allies in sharing more of our riches to help those most in need. We need to invest in building capable, democratic states that can establish healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth. Such states would also have greater institutional capacities to fight terrorism, halt the spread of deadly weapons, and build health-care infrastructures to prevent, detect, and treat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and avian flu.

 

As president, I will double our annual investment in meeting these challenges to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that those new resources are directed toward worthwhile goals. For the last 20 years, U.S. foreign assistance funding has done little more than keep pace with inflation. It is in our national security interest to do better. But if America is going to help others build more just and secure societies, our trade deals, debt relief, and foreign aid must not come as blank checks. I will couple our support with an insistent call for reform, to combat the corruption that rots societies and governments from within. I will do so not in the spirit of a patron but in the spirit of a partner -- a partner mindful of his own imperfections.

 

Our rapidly growing international AIDS programs have demonstrated that increased foreign assistance can make a real difference. As part of this new funding, I will capitalize a $2 billion Global Education Fund that will bring the world together in eliminating the global education deficit, much as the 9/11 Commission proposed. We cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child everywhere is taught to build and not to destroy.

 

There are compelling moral reasons and compelling security reasons for renewed American leadership that recognizes the inherent equality and worth of all people. As President Kennedy said in his 1961 inaugural address, "To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." I will show the world that America remains true to its founding values. We lead not only for ourselves but also for the common good.

 

RESTORING AMERICA'S TRUST

 

Confronted by Hitler, Roosevelt said that our power would be "directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. We Americans are not destroyers; we are builders." It is time for a president who can build consensus here at home for an equally ambitious course.

 

Ultimately, no foreign policy can succeed unless the American people understand it and feel they have a stake in its success -- unless they trust that their government hears their concerns as well. We will not be able to increase foreign aid if we fail to invest in security and opportunity for our own people. We cannot negotiate trade agreements to help spur development in poor countries so long as we provide no meaningful help to working Americans burdened by the dislocations of a global economy. We cannot reduce our dependence on foreign oil or defeat global warming unless Americans are willing to innovate and conserve. We cannot expect Americans to support placing our men and women in harm's way if we cannot show that we will use force wisely and judiciously. But if the next president can restore the American people's trust -- if they know that he or she is acting with their best interests at heart, with prudence and wisdom and some measure of humility -- then I believe the American people will be eager to see America lead again.

 

I believe they will also agree that it is time for a new generation to tell the next great American story. If we act with boldness and foresight, we will be able to tell our grandchildren that this was the time when we helped forge peace in the Middle East. This was the time we confronted climate change and secured the weapons that could destroy the human race. This was the time we defeated global terrorists and brought opportunity to forgotten corners of the world. And this was the time when we renewed the America that has led generations of weary travelers from all over the world to find opportunity and liberty and hope on our doorstep.

 

It was not all that long ago that farmers in Venezuela and Indonesia welcomed American doctors to their villages and hung pictures of JFK on their living room walls, when millions, like my father, waited every day for a letter in the mail that would grant them the privilege to come to America to study, work, live, or just be free.

 

We can be this America again. This is our moment to renew the trust and faith of our people -- and all people -- in an America that battles immediate evils, promotes an ultimate good, and leads the world once more."

  

left or right, you decide. Personally, I like parking restrictions (and open borders, and not being manipulated by a political elite, or selling off my kid's futures, the NHS and common British decency...). Bwexit means cliff-edge; do the right thing.

Created with ChatGPT

 

The Book of Katarina by Adrian Keeley (Feat Kat Verde-Dillingham)

 

THE DAUGHTER OF ROME 1841–1860

 

For nearly six years after leaving the Archive, Marius kept his promise.

 

He spoke of Katarina Verde to no one.

 

Not to Armand.

 

Not to Maharet.

 

Not even to Pandora.

 

There were moments when the name rose almost naturally to his lips. While discussing lost Roman manuscripts. While arguing over forgotten philosophers. While listening to Pandora lament another library consumed by war, neglect, or stupidity.

 

Always the thought returned.

 

Always he remained silent.

 

A promise, once given, possessed weight.

 

Especially among immortals.

 

Pandora, however, had lived too long to mistake silence for emptiness.

 

She noticed the change in Marius almost immediately.

 

Not in manner.

 

Not in speech.

 

Marius had always been careful.

 

The change lay elsewhere.

 

He remembered differently.

 

That was the only way she could describe it.

 

He quoted sources he had not possessed before. He corrected dates he had once admitted were uncertain. He referred to obscure provincial governors whose names had vanished from accepted histories. Most curious of all, he occasionally stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence.

 

Not because he had forgotten.

 

Because he had remembered too precisely.

 

Someone had restored pieces of his own past.

 

Pandora knew that look.

 

Memory returning is not the same as memory continuing.

 

She did not question him.

 

Not directly.

 

Direct questions were useful only with simple men.

 

Marius was not simple.

 

Instead, Pandora began to follow the evidence.

 

The trail began in Rome.

 

It always did, with Pandora.

 

A bookseller near the Piazza Navona remembered a blonde woman who had paid too much for a worm-damaged bundle of Latin correspondence.

 

A Dominican librarian recalled a foreign scholar who had identified a miscatalogued Byzantine fragment without opening the index.

 

A retired collector in Florence spoke of a woman with pale hair and storm-coloured eyes who had purchased three worthless notebooks later discovered to contain copied references to vanished Roman court records.

 

Pandora listened.

 

She travelled.

 

She compared.

 

Venice.

 

Prague.

 

Vienna.

 

Ravenna.

 

Again and again the same shape emerged.

 

A remarkably educated blonde woman.

 

Perfectly mannered.

 

Exceptionally difficult to follow.

 

Always appearing near endangered manuscripts.

 

Always leaving before gratitude became conversation.

 

The name changed.

 

The description did not.

 

Once, in a Bavarian inventory, Pandora found it written plainly:

 

Katarina Verde.

 

She sat with that name for a long time.

 

Then she remembered.

 

Florence.

 

Decades earlier.

 

A cold evening.

 

A small shop near a courtyard full of rainwater.

 

A blonde woman had stood before a shelf of neglected Latin texts, holding a volume everyone else had dismissed as devotional debris.

 

Pandora had glanced at her only briefly.

 

The woman had looked up.

 

Their eyes had met.

 

Not long.

 

Only a moment.

 

Long enough for two immortals to recognize one another and choose silence.

 

Pandora had forgotten the encounter.

 

Or rather, she had stored it in the great unlabelled chamber where immortals placed moments without immediate meaning.

 

Now the memory returned with perfect clarity.

 

The woman had not been browsing.

 

She had been rescuing.

 

Only after reconstructing the pattern herself did Pandora go to Marius.

 

She found him in Venice.

 

He was reading beside an open window while canal water lapped softly below.

 

Pandora placed eight copied documents upon the table.

 

Marius looked at them.

 

Then at her.

 

He recognized every page.

 

Of course he did.

 

Pandora smiled.

 

"I know you didn't tell me."

 

Silence.

 

"I found her."

 

Another silence.

 

Then Marius smiled for the first time that evening.

 

"No."

 

He gently rested his hand upon the papers.

 

"You found her shadow."

 

"Is she real?"

 

Marius considered the question with the seriousness it deserved.

 

Finally he answered.

 

"Yes."

 

Nothing more.

 

Nothing less.

 

He had broken no promise.

 

Pandora had earned the truth herself.

 

The invitation Pandora sent required no elegance.

 

Only accuracy.

 

She wrote:

 

I found your shadow before I found your name. Rome remembers you owe her a conversation.

 

Katarina received the message three weeks later.

 

Lucien read it over her shoulder.

 

"Pandora," he said.

 

Not a question.

 

Katarina folded the paper.

 

"You know everyone."

 

"No."

 

His eyes remained on the message.

 

"Only the dangerous ones."

 

They met in Rome.

 

Where else?

 

Rome was less a city than an argument with death.

 

Every empire believed itself eternal.

 

Rome had at least possessed the decency to leave ruins proving the arrogance.

 

Pandora waited inside the Library of Santa Maria sopra Minerva after the human scholars had gone.

 

Candles illuminated long tables.

 

Shelves vanished into darkness.

 

The silence possessed dignity.

 

Katarina entered alone.

 

Pandora stood beside a table covered with manuscripts, her dark hair framing a face shaped more by intelligence than vanity. Her eyes were amber and unsentimental. They missed nothing.

 

"You are younger than I expected," Pandora said.

 

"I've been told the opposite."

 

Pandora laughed softly.

 

"Good. I dislike reverence."

 

"So do I."

 

"No," Pandora said. "You distrust it."

 

Katarina paused.

 

Then smiled.

 

"Better."

 

Unlike Marius, Pandora did not test her.

 

She questioned her.

 

There was a difference.

 

A test seeks weakness.

 

A question seeks truth.

 

For three nights they walked Rome.

 

Not the Rome of tourists, priests, or politicians.

 

The buried Rome.

 

The Rome beneath churches.

 

Beneath palaces.

 

Beneath pride.

 

Pandora knew courtyards where fragments of imperial columns had become doorsteps. She knew crypts where pagan stones were hidden behind Christian altars. She knew houses where widows guarded letters no scholar had ever read.

 

"So much survives," Katarina whispered on the second night.

 

Pandora touched a worn marble inscription half-swallowed by a wall.

 

"No."

 

Her voice was quiet.

 

"So much has already vanished."

 

On the fourth evening, Pandora produced a small leather notebook.

 

Its binding had been repaired many times.

 

She handed it to Katarina without ceremony.

 

Katarina opened it carefully.

 

The handwriting was younger than Pandora's face.

 

Impatient.

 

Elegant.

 

Occasionally furious.

 

The entries described statues, scrolls, household shrines, family records, copied poems, minor genealogies, debts, recipes, prayers, names.

 

Many entries bore one notation.

 

Lost.

 

Again.

 

Again.

 

Again.

 

Katarina closed the volume gently.

 

"You were already building an archive."

 

Pandora looked away.

 

"I failed."

 

"No."

 

Katarina's answer was immediate.

 

"You began."

 

The silence that followed was not empty.

 

It was recognition.

 

Weeks became months.

 

Pandora and Katarina travelled through Italy, Greece, and southern France.

 

Neither dominated the other.

 

Neither became disciple.

 

Neither became teacher.

 

They argued instead.

 

Endlessly.

 

About Rome.

 

About art.

 

About memory.

 

About whether civilisation revealed itself more truthfully through monuments or domestic records.

 

"Kings commission monuments," Katarina said one night in Florence.

 

"Yes," Pandora replied. "And monuments outlive lies."

 

"A baker's diary reveals more."

 

"About bread."

 

"About hunger."

 

Pandora smiled.

 

"You are insufferable."

 

"Accurate."

 

"Also insufferable."

 

The argument continued across three countries.

 

Neither surrendered.

 

Both enjoyed it.

 

During the summer of 1851, Pandora accompanied Katarina north.

 

Katarina did not reveal the greatest repository.

 

Nor the oldest.

 

Not yet.

 

Trust, like history, required structure.

 

She chose the Rhine Repository.

 

The same one Marius had seen.

 

When the hidden door opened, Pandora showed no theatrical astonishment.

 

That was not her way.

 

She simply walked inside and became silent.

 

Her silence lasted a long time.

 

That was enough.

 

Rows of manuscripts stretched beneath the stone vaults. Lamps burned in niches. Catalogues lay open upon tables. Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, and forgotten regional hands lived beside one another in disciplined order.

 

Pandora moved from shelf to shelf.

 

Reading.

 

Not touching until invited.

 

At last she reached the Roman collection.

 

Her fingers rested near the labels.

 

"You corrected three accepted chronologies."

 

"They were wrong."

 

"Historians dislike that."

 

"They'll survive."

 

Pandora glanced at her.

 

"History usually does."

 

"No," Katarina said. "History survives only when someone inconveniences its murderers."

 

Pandora laughed then.

 

Not loudly.

 

But with pleasure.

 

For nearly a month they worked together.

 

Not as guest and host.

 

As colleagues.

 

Together they reorganized the Roman materials.

 

Eyewitness accounts apart from later commentary.

 

Domestic records cross-indexed with political documents.

 

Private grief placed beside public catastrophe.

 

For the first time, one entire section of the Archive became more than preservation.

 

It became argument.

 

Every document questioned another.

 

Every contradiction became evidence.

 

Every silence became meaningful.

 

Lucien watched from a distance with quiet satisfaction.

 

Late one evening Pandora asked the question she had withheld.

 

"How many repositories exist?"

 

Lucien answered before Katarina could.

 

"Enough."

 

Pandora smiled.

 

"I expected that."

 

"You expected correctly."

 

She never asked again.

 

That mattered.

 

Before departing, Pandora entered one final chamber.

 

It contained nothing splendid.

 

No imperial correspondence.

 

No illuminated manuscripts.

 

No famous hands.

 

Only ordinary journals.

 

Farmers.

 

Midwives.

 

Teachers.

 

Stone masons.

 

Pilgrims.

 

Children.

 

Widows.

 

Thousands of anonymous lives.

 

Pandora frowned.

 

"I don't understand."

 

Katarina removed one volume.

 

"A miller's daughter."

 

She opened another.

 

"A shepherd."

 

Another.

 

"A widow who witnessed plague."

 

"They changed nothing," Pandora said softly.

 

Katarina looked at her.

 

"They changed everything."

 

Pandora was silent.

 

Then slowly she understood.

 

History had always preserved rulers.

 

The Archive preserved humanity.

 

Without these voices, kings ruled empty worlds.

 

Without ordinary lives, empires became maps instead of civilisations.

 

Pandora closed the journal.

 

"I was wrong."

 

"About what?"

 

"I thought your Archive preserved vampire history."

 

She looked around the chamber.

 

"It preserves theirs."

 

Then she smiled.

 

"No."

 

Her hand touched the nearest shelf.

 

"It preserves everyone's."

 

On the last night they stood outside the monastery beneath a sky crowded with stars.

 

Pandora prepared to leave before dawn.

 

She removed three wax-sealed scroll cases from her travelling chest.

 

Katarina understood their value before Pandora spoke.

 

"My journals," Pandora said.

 

Katarina did not take them.

 

"They're originals."

 

"I know."

 

"I don't require originals."

 

"I know that too."

 

Pandora placed them gently in Katarina's hands.

 

"Copies preserve words."

 

Her voice softened.

 

"Originals preserve souls."

 

Katarina looked down at the cases.

 

The stains.

 

The corrections.

 

The pressure of the original hand.

 

Perhaps even grains of Roman dust still trapped between pages.

 

These things could never be copied.

 

She accepted them with both hands.

 

"I'll protect them."

 

Pandora nodded.

 

"I know."

 

After Pandora vanished into the dark, Lucien joined Katarina beneath the monastery gates.

 

He watched the stars for a long time.

 

"What happened tonight?" he asked.

 

"A friend trusted me."

 

"No."

 

Katarina looked at him.

 

Lucien's gaze rested on the hidden entrance below.

 

"The Archive became larger than us."

 

For once Katarina had no reply.

 

Far beneath them, behind stone and iron, rested the memories of emperors and shepherds, philosophers and millers, immortals and children.

 

The Archive no longer belonged to Lucien.

 

Nor to Katarina.

 

Nor to vampires.

 

It belonged to history.

 

And history had begun entrusting itself to her freely.

 

The responsibility was terrifying.

 

She accepted it anyway.

 

Because memory, once abandoned, rarely found its way home again.

 

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Image Prompt - Ultra-photorealistic IMAX cinematic photograph, 16:9. Night beside the illuminated Colosseum in Rome during the late 1840s. Katarina Verde walks gracefully alongside Pandora through quiet rain-darkened cobblestone streets, both appearing effortlessly youthful yet carrying centuries of quiet wisdom. Katarina has long, voluminous golden-blonde curls, a heart-shaped face, luminous warm complexion, blue-gray eyes and wears an elegant lavender-and-black silk Victorian walking gown with fitted bodice, full skirt, black lace sleeves, matching gloves, bonnet and short velvet mantle appropriate to 1841–1860. Pandora is book-accurate: strikingly beautiful with dark chestnut-brown hair arranged in a refined Victorian chignon with soft curls, luminous pale olive complexion, expressive dark eyes, refined classical Roman features, slender graceful figure, wearing a deep burgundy and black silk walking dress with fitted jacket, lace collar, gloves and bonnet, understated jewellery reflecting ancient wealth rather than fashion. They stroll in quiet conversation beneath warm gas lamps. The Colosseum glows behind them, its arches dramatically illuminated against the night sky. Wet paving stones mirror the golden light. Sparse pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages remain distant. Romantic Gothic atmosphere, museum-quality historical accuracy, cinematic realism, razor-sharp detail, natural skin textures, no modern objects, no watermark.

 

Pic, Prompt and Story by Adrian

What an amazing place this is. It used to be a thermal bath house. It was built in the 19th century and what beautifully decorated. It will soon be converted into a posh hotel.

When we entered early morning we were the first explorers setting up our gear. Within an hour the place was crowded with explorers from all over Europe and it was hard to take a decent picture.

Apparently it is hard for other people to wait until others who were there earlier are done. I gave them a hard time by just standing in 'their' way while taking a shot. Have some decency people and be patient!

 

Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures and follow me on Facebook on www.facebook.com/Preciousdecay.urbex

Yesterday, on the day after the Presidential election, as I walked across town on my way to a medical appointment (my thanks to the existence of "Obamacare"), I noticed an eerie, unusual silence in the streets of New York. Then I saw someone with an umbrella walking in front of me. On the umbrella I saw a very American symbol, perhaps one of our most successful exports worldwide, aside chewing gum. I assume all Americans know the meaning of a raised middle finger, and so do most citizens of the world, by now. The real question is who or what do we raise our middle finger to. But I found no clear answers to my question. It felt as if that finger was mainly raised towards ourselves, towards our fellow Americans, towards all those frustrations, anger, injustices, we appear to have now decided to hate and despise, to angrily, violently fight against, not to debate anymore with decency, in search of solutions and civil compromises. Suddenly the rain felt much colder and a police siren broke the silence, just a few blocks away.

What an amazing place this is. It used to be a thermal bath house. It was built in the 19th century and what beautifully decorated. It will soon be converted into a posh hotel.

When we entered early morning we were the first explorers setting up our gear. Within an hour the place was crowded with explorers from all over Europe and it was hard to take a decent picture.

Apparently it is hard for other people to wait until others who were there earlier are done. I gave them a hard time by just standing in 'their' way while taking a shot. Have some decency people and be patient!

 

Please visit www.preciousdecay.com for more pictures and follow me on Facebook on www.facebook.com/Preciousdecay.urbex

Family bonds: Fat Man and Little Boy

 

The 'Moon' of Ueno. Ueno, Tokyo, Japan. © Michele Marcolin, 2022. K1ii + smc Pentax-M 70-150mm f4.

 

The "Jewelry Bridge" alias the Estern Pedestrian Deck in front of Ueno Station's main entrance, was built and completed between 1989 and 1991 (I have found discrepant information about it) and connects Ueno Station and the Higashi-ueno area. All along its course, as well as in the shade of the Metropolitan Expressway running above it, various so-called objects or arts can be found scattered here and there, symbolizing - as they say - Sun, Moon, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

 

I have tried to find detailed information about them very hard several times (without turning to official municipal sources so far), but without much luck. They survive mostly in rumors or individual comments, in reports of blogs focusing on else. The only relative certainty I have reached is that the monument represented in this image (the one in forground, of course... the other is a water tank!), which is located at the far Easter edge, is said to represent the moon. It is also tagged and named as such「月」’tsuki’ moon in Googlemap, although without any explanation or review.

 

It seems it was completed concomitantly with the deck around 1989-90 (a set of pictures of it in the Aflo photostock catalog mentions the date of may, 17 1990 as a terminus ante quem). It forms a ‘pendant’ with the other one main highlight on the bridge, the 10 meters high yellow tubular circles on top of the orange tubes in the middle of it, representing the sun. In various repetitive copy-cat internet info, it is said to represent both sun and moon - evidently a mish-mash. The real moon is, indeed, hardly mentioned anywhere.

 

No name or plate reporting the author's name is to be found on site or reported anywhere; perhaps a decency courtesy: somebody even suggested it might have been inspired by the several pachinko establishments that used to be in the area, to subliminally inspire people to... play more. Just a detail, but in the movie 'The Wolverine' (2013), the escape scene of Logan (Hugh Jackman) was shot right here on this deck.

 

After living through four years of Donald Trump and after watching the conventions and the first presidential debate, there are two criteria driving my vote: the return of common decency and the possibility of an economic and social reset based on facts, science, and racial and income equality.

 

Without common decency, we have no union. President Trump’s behavior at the Cleveland debate was unconscionable. Constantly interrupting both Vice President Biden and debate moderator, Chris Wallace, we got little chance to hear how either candidate would deal with the problems this country faces. As CNN’s Dana Bash stated, it was a “shitshow.” There was no winner of this debate. The American people lost. And this is on Trump’s hands. I knew there would be a scant discussion of the President’s policy. He is purposely ambiguous when talking about both his past and future plans. “We did a great job!” is what we hear about his handling of the pandemic. “We will reveal a wonderful plan in two weeks,” when he talks about health care. But, after four years, there is no comprehensive proposal. People are dying of COVID-19, and he’s doing little to ease the disease’s heavy burden on us emotionally and economically.

 

I’m tired of the pontificating, acrimony, and lies. And I’m tired of those who choose party loyalty and their own careers over the needs of the American people. Whether you believe in capitalism or a mixed economy, our president and our legislators should have been doing their jobs. For the last 10 years, I’ve been chronicling the sad state of American political discourse through a series of posters I’ve created (now numbering over 200). Through this work, I’ve studied the trajectory of our country. We can solve our differences and improve our relationships; but it’s time we demand it with our votes.

 

Power, control, and money are Donald Trump’s sacred interests. So it’s not surprising he’s attracted to oligarchs like Vladimir Putin. Once again, Putin’s Russia is trying to meddle in our elections. Christopher Wray, FBI Director (and Trump appointee), testified before the House Homeland Security Committee saying Russia is interfering in our election through “malign foreign influence in an effort to hurt Biden’s campaign.” As the Washington Post’s conservative opinion writer, Jennifer Rubin stated, “Why shouldn’t Moscow go all in for Trump once more? […] Putin has gotten much of what he wants from Trump: delegitimization of Western democracies, a pass on bounties on U.S. troops, frayed relations within NATO, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany, cover for Putin’s interference in our 2016 elections. Putin has no reason to believe he will pay any price for a reprise of his 2016 activities.” Trump and the Republican Party are ignoring these warnings.

 

The actions of the Trump Administration—its lawlessness, sycophants who enable the president’s behavior, and the permissions these acts give citizens to treat others with disrespect and violence—have reached a new low. We now know the President lied about the severity of COVID-19. He said he downplayed the virus so that people wouldn’t panic—this from a man whose main political tactic is fear, be it labeling government programs that help the poor and middle class as “socialist,” or peaceful protests about racial injustice as lawless. Despite knowing the truth, he has continued to hold political rallies, putting thousands of people in danger. Whether you love or hate him, he has lied, not only to Democrats and his critics. He has lied to every single American. Trump has built his wall. But it isn’t on our border with Mexico. It’s between himself and the American people. He belittles those who disagree with him and has no empathy for those in need. With Donald Trump at the helm, our country has lost its moral compass.

 

Joe Biden hasn’t lost his connection to the people he’s served. When Trump attacked his son, Hunter, during the debate, claiming he was dishonorably discharged from the Naval Reserve for failing a drug test, Biden was honest. He looked directly at the camera—at us—and said, “My son, like a lot of people we know at home, had a drug problem. He’s overtaken it. He’s fixed it; he’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my son.” It’s that empathy with and support for people in distress which sets him apart from Trump. On this year’s campaign trail, he befriended Brayden Harrington, a teenager who, like the former vice president, stutters. Unlike Trump, who often denigrates those with physical limitations, Biden approached Harrington with the kindness and understanding that comes from a shared experience. We saw the effects of that relationship when Harrington’s spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Biden’s act of generosity and its effect on this young man moved me. And it reminded me how long it’s been since I’ve felt that way.

 

It’s time to rework capitalism’s priorities. It serves stockholders, CEOs, and the “transnational capitalist class” but not workers who have been instrumental in companies’ successes. Instead, they are living paycheck-to-paycheck at best and unemployed at worst. The president thinks the stock market is the economy and proudly touts its rise as evidence of his success. Millions of Americans waiting for their unemployment checks and small businesses on the edge of bankruptcy would disagree. The burdens of the pandemic and its effects on our economy have exacerbated the lives of this already ignored group of Americans. This is one reason Trump was so attractive to many voters in 2016. He was the antithesis of our traditional politicians. And voters hoped their longstanding neglect would end. The promise Trump made to us on his first day in office never came to pass.

 

“For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government, while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country…. That all changes, starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment—it belongs to you.”

 

Donald Trump, Inauguration Address, January 20, 2017

  

Trump started trade wars with countries like China because of unfair trade practices. These trade wars hurt domestic farming and manufacturing and didn’t rectify the inequity without hurting Americans’ livelihoods. His jingoistic rhetoric and false promises only exacerbated the messes he made. And, when criticized, he refused to take any responsibility for his actions. Joe Biden has stated what we now already know: “President Trump has denied science, under-funded research and development, and implemented policies that encourage more manufacturing to move overseas.” The art of his deals never came to pass for most Americans.

 

Over the course of this campaign, through discussions with politicians and economists outside Biden’s traditional frame of reference, he has incorporated the needs of middle class Americans in a combined international and domestic policy he calls “Made in All of America.” In this plan, workers take their places center stage. Biden sees the advantages of a worker-centric economy as a way to reduce income inequality. And corporate leaders like Ray Dalio, Co-Chief Investment Officer & Co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, agree: capitalism needs a major overhaul. JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon summed it up when he stated, “Capitalism enables competition, innovation and choice. This is not to say that capitalism does not have flaws, that it isn’t leaving people behind and that it shouldn’t be improved.”

 

Science and our economic recovery go hand-in-hand. Just as the president said COVID-19 would “one day, like a miracle, disappear,” he denied that climate change is responsible for the fires in the west. He told California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, “It’ll start getting cooler. You just watch. I don’t think science knows, actually.” Trump wants to eliminate the Joint Fire Science Program, which studies best practices for firefighting and land management.

 

While Trump has been rolling back climate and environmental issues, Joe Biden has proposed investing more money in construction jobs, scientists, and engineers to develop ways of producing electricity from wind and solar. The president has said wind turbines can give people cancer. Biden is trying to find a middle ground between fossil fuels and cleaner technologies. Trump supports oil and gas because leaders in that industry are an important source of support of his presidency.

 

We are already at a critical stage in climate change’s timeline (I look at the sky above my home in the suburbs of Washington, DC and see the smoke from those western fires). Science and facts should drive our strategies, not wishful thinking or politics. President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change (which, ironically, will to go into effect November 4, 2020, one day after the election) will setback global efforts the treaty mitigated by reducing our monetary contribution to the effort.

 

As Brayden Harrington told us, “We all want the world to feel better. We need for the world to feel better.” Compassion, social justice, and an economic reset for everyone, not only the rich, should be America’s platform. We all want to be heard, feel safe, and provide for our families, whether we’re driving while Black, sleeping in our own beds, or protesting injustice.

 

In his inaugural address, President Trump promised us that safety. He said, “There should be no fear — we are protected, and we will always be protected.” He never made good on this promise either. He crowned himself the “law and order president” but condoned the killing of two people by a 17-year-old with an illegal AR-15 rifle. The president did not keep George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Breonna Taylor safe. Portland, Kenosha, and Charlottesville happened on Trump’s watch.

 

Will Joe Biden make a good president? It’s a fair question. It’s a matter of trust. After four years, Donald Trump has answered that same question in full. And his sad performance at the debate made that clear.

 

You have only two choices in this election: take one step forward or 160 years back. Choose one.

  

Feel free to pass this poster on. It's free to download here (click on the down arrow just to the lower right of the image).

 

See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.

 

Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010-2018 through a six-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.

Believe it or not, this was SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera).

 

Since this Billboard was so unusual, I made a special trip back to take more pictures, but the sign had been replaced with a completely different advertisement.

 

After putting on my Curiosity Hat, I called the Marketing Department of Superior Plumbing to find out what happened to the sign. I was convinced that they had received complaints or maybe they had violated some kind of decency law. But to my surprise, that was not the case at all. They just simply rotated the sign as they normally do on a routine ongoing basis.

 

They did NOT RECEIVE ONE COMPLAINT !

 

Slider Sunday was just around the corner, so I took the liberty of adding the 3 Dudes beneath the sign since all three needed a place to go. Ant was added later to complete the sliding.

 

Other than that, nothing else was modified.

 

HSS ! !

 

In keeping with standards of decency I have included no nipples of any genre here. Stop sniggering at the back there.

Decency is a relative thing.

A second picture of the quaint octagonal cast iron gents urinal. This view is taken from Prospect Row (now Jennens Road) it is looking at the two roads, Belmont Row & A.B. Row, which formed the small triangle on which the convenience stood.

This view shows the decency screen and the whole of the roof detail (Peter 'clipped' the finial on pp,045) Also in the main scene of both pictures is one of the ornate silver cast iron bollards a feature in Birmingham, they were placed to protect vulnerable structures from vehicle damage.

The interior views show the construction of the urinal, this type of structure was really a kit of parts, each stall and panel was separate and they could be joined in various configurations, the entrance was just a panel sized gap, smaller sized panels were used in the decency screen. The interior view also shows one of the stark enamel plates headed "Venereal Diseases" these plates were in every gents convenience and the plates listed hospital V.D. treatment clinic times. The second picture is the entrance with the inward side (lighter) of the decency screen.

Peter Shoesmith Circa 1958

Copyright Geoff Dowling & John Whitehouse all Rights reserved

This is from a roll of film that I thought was lost. On Monday evening, I stopped by to pick up two rolls at the local HEB lab, and arrived home with only one. I called them back, and ripped through several locations trying to find it. The only conclusion, finally, was that in my rush (an insanely busy day, and I was just getting hit with symptoms consistent with sinusitis -- a bloody killer headache, for instance) the photo envelope fell out of my bag and was, very simply, gone. I don't know who would have even the most remote interest in stealing them, really, so I assumed they'd been picked up by maintenance and deep-sixed with the other trash. A bit dispiriting, yes, particularly given my slightly weakened state. But given everything else that I have to deal with at the moment, something like this couldn't seem more hopelessly insignificant. But still...

 

Ok. Early this afternoon, I received a cryptic message on my cell, and it turned out to be from the fine folks at the lab. Some kind soul apparently found the photo envelope (w/ negatives and CD) and simply left it on the counter. So, this evening, I stopped by and picked it up. This image was from the beginning of the roll, and I dedicate it to this anonymous person who, in simply doing what's right, sort of reaffirmed what little faith I have left in the essential decency of people, if you will. It's been a bit strained of late. So, thank you. Prost! ^_^

I didn't listen, so somebody decided to force a little decency on me.

President went to war with the lawyers.

Lawyers lead revolution for democracy.

Populace voted out President's base in 02-2008.

Parliament to soon meet and ....

Lawyers and history repeat themselves.

Thomas Jefferson led pre-U.S.A. from King George.

Gandhi led modern India from English rule.

Many other lawyers went with democracy before today.

 

Can today's Pakistan go non-violently into the future?

Will military or democracy win this round politically?

Will you pray, for non-violence (less humans die)?

WHO ARE THE SEA SHEPHERDS?

 

International volunteers so passionate, so steadfast, determined and courageous that it takes an armed Danish Naval Force to stop our aggressive but non-violent interventions on behalf of life in our Ocean.

Ordinary people who have chosen to be Shepherds defending marine life, compassionate people willing to risk their lives and freedom to oppose cruelty, destruction and slaughter.

 

The Faroese whalers are blood thirsty craven killers hiding behind the skirts of the Danish Navy. They demonstrate their pathetic culture by slaughtering the gentlest of the sentient beings in the sea, and in so doing they bring ignoble shame upon the entire human race with their arrogant displays of pitiless violence. They kill thoughtlessly, without remorse and beat their chest like soulless creatures devoid of empathy and decency.

 

Photo : Sea Shepherd