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Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
June, 2005.
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan at Gisimba Memorial Center, direct contact information is listed below.
Ildephonse Niyongana - Director
Damas Gisimba - Founder
gisimbacmg@yahoo.com
Gisimba Orphanage
B.P. 1433 Kigali Rwanda
Ave de la Nyarugenge
Nyamirambo
District of Nyarugenge
tel +250 08524515 or +250 08532596
Bank of Kigali 040-0013914-76
swift BK IG RWRW
Additional information can also be found on www.orphansofrwanda.org
The text below is from www.orphansofrwanda.org
"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)
The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.
The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."
PLEASE DONATE TO GISIMBA MEMORIAL CENTER VIA ORPHANS OF RWANDA: www.orphansofrwanda.org/getinvolved.php#donate
For statistics on Rwanda: www.unicef.org/infobycountry/rwanda_statistics.html
Holga 120 CFN
Ilford XP2 400
music written on transparent film & taped to 6x6 mask
Toy camera workshop
Our workshop members spent the day wandering around the Logan Heights community of San Diego. I met Edward (camera right) and Michael outside the Logan Temple A.M.E. Zion Church, educational building; belonging to the church that they maintain.
Edward told me that he joined the congregration of the church at the age of 11. He left for military service at 18 and after being discharged experienced what the world had to offer. He returned to the church in 1993 and has taken on, with Michael, the responsibilty of maintaining the grounds. They went on to explain that the church can host over 300 people during services. The congregation has dwindled a bit; they estimate that they have 140 faithful members. They both exhibited a tremendous amount of pride in the church and community.
Edward, Michael, thanks for the visit
Just bought this autographed copy
of My story by Julie Couillard - 2008
(former girlfriend of Maxine Bernier)
Maxine Bernier resigned from cabinet in May 2007 only hours before Couillard described in a television interview how he had left classified briefing documents for a NATO summit at her Montreal home. After all of this Maxine and noted other
M.Ps trash Julie Couillard about her past. Sad how politicians
take no responsibilty for their mistakes especially having
N.A.T.O confidential documents in their personal possession.
Maxime Bernier resigns over missing documents.
May 26 and 27, 2008 - Maxime Bernier resigned as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs after learning his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard would reveal he left sensitive documents at her home.
See story below on YouTube :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfGcybmQYKs
Also found this interview by George Stroumboulopoulos
questioning Maxine Bernier on his mistake of having confidential documents. Instead of just admitting mistake
he tries to smear his girlfriend again but I give credit to
interviewer for stopping him that she was not the issue.
This is about 7 minutes into the interview. See below
on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjLSHSx6Pg&t=458s
Maxime Bernier PC MP (born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Beauce since 2006. He is the founder and current leader of the
People's Party of Canada (PPC).
Prior to entering politics, Bernier held positions in the fields of law, finance and banking. First elected to
the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative, Bernier served as Minister of Industry, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, which later became the Minister of State for Small
Business and Tourism and Agriculture in the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Following the
Conservatives' defeat in the 2015 election, he served as opposition critic for Innovation, Science and Economic
Development in the shadow cabinets of Rona Ambrose and Andrew Scheer, until June 12, 2018.
Bernier ran for the Conservative Party leadership in the 2017 leadership election, and came in a close second
with over 49% of the vote in the 13th round, after leading the eventual winner, Andrew Scheer, in the first 12
rounds. Fifteen months later, in August 2018, Bernier resigned from the Conservative Party to create his own
party, citing disagreements with Scheer's leadership.[1] His new party was named the People's Party of Canada in
September 2018.
Interview Julie Couillard gave in 2008
JULIE COUILLARD TALKS WITH KENNETH WHYTE ABOUT HER DEAL WITH MAXIME BERNIER, HIS DISLOYALTY, AND HER RESPECT FOR
THE PM
OCTOBER 20 2008
'All of a sudden, I'm a biker’s chick, I'm trash. He ran the other way while I drowned.’
INTERVIEW
JULIE COUILLARD TALKS WITH KENNETH WHYTE ABOUT HER DEAL WITH MAXIME BERNIER, HIS DISLOYALTY, AND HER RESPECT FOR
THE PM
I’m going to start at the beginning of your relationship with Mr. Bernier, and that very first meeting that you
two had.
A: Well, it was actually my real estate broker that invited me to a cinq-à-sept. I had mentioned to him a couple
of days prior that the Conservative party had approached me to maybe present myself as an MP, which really took
me by surprise. But to tell you that I ever took this proposition seriously, no. Still, I was curious about it,
and my broker says, we’re all going for supper afterwards and, by the way, a minister is going to be there, and
maybe you’d like to come and pick his brains, basically, about politics and everything to do with becoming 14
an MP. So I said yeah. He mentioned to me it was the ministre de l’industrie—industry minister—Maxime Bernier.
As a joke, my broker said, “He’s pretty cute, and he’s single, so who knows?” That’s how we first met.
Q: In the course of the evening, Mr. Bernier got a bit forward with you.
A: Well, actually, that was at the beginning of the evening. We had just sat down, and he leaned forward and
gave me a little peck on the cheek. And some people will say, “How come you got shocked by that? Because next
time you saw him you guys ended up being intimate on your first official date.” It’s not the same as if you meet
a guy for the first time, you hit it off well, and then it’s officially a date. First of all, my brokers were
there. It was a business meeting. I mean, I was in a
suit. That’s why it was totally out of place.
Q: You took him outside, gave him a lecture, and said you weren’t there as a little helper.
A: Exactly, yeah.
Q: What did you mean by little helper?
A: Well, that was the English translation. I’m not a girl that some company will introduce you to so that,
basically, if you find her cute you can have your way with her. Because there were other young girls, all of a
sudden, that joined our table, that were not businesswomen. They were there just to party. I wanted to make it
clear to Maxime that, you know, you’re a very nice guy, we get along great, and you’re handsome and all, but I’m
calling the shots and nobody else.
Q: It is kind of offensive for somebody to do that at a first meeting. Why not run from him?
A: Well, because he was very apologetic.
Q: So you don’t think he mistook you for a little helper?
A: No, because I can be very blunt. And he was taken aback.
Q: It wasn’t really a business arrangement he proposed when you started to see each other steadily, but it was
kind of a professional arrangement, right?
A: No. Maxime proposed a personal relationship with a condition attached to it. That’s how, really, it was
presented to me. The first offer was if I wanted to become his girlfriend, and if I would be interested enough
to have a serious relationship with him, there were certain strings attached to the fact that he was a
politician and a public figure. [They would have to go out for a year.] Though I was a bit shocked in the sense
that it’s not the most romantic way to ask a girl to go out with you, after his explanation I had to agree with
him. He was a politician, he was a public figure, and it came with the territory.
Q: Right.
A: I put myself in his shoes. Sometimes you do have to compromise because of your work. And at that point in
time, I didn’t anticipate not getting along with Maxime.
Q: In My Story, you describe some behaviour on his part that wasn’t terribly impressive, his temper tantrums,
throwing an iron across the room, and calling you when you’re at official functions with important people,
summoning you from across the room in a rude way.
A: While I’m talking with the wife of our ambassador nonetheless, yes.
Q: And then there’s the fact that you found out [that there were] other women.
A: There’s one specific event that I found out while I was his girlfriend, the rest I found out after I was just
his friend.
Q: There’s a considerable amount of stuff like this in the book about him, and I have trouble seeing what
attracted you two. Did you like him?
A At the beginning I did. A: Well, he’s easygoing, he’s fun, you’ll enjoy a good supper with a good bottle of
wine. And we did have a very strong attraction for one another, and you have to understand that we had a
longdistance relationship. Four days out of the week Maxime was not there. Every other weekend he had his two
daughters. Most probably, if Maxime would have been living where Fm living, after a month or two I would have
said, “You know what, buddy? This is not working out.” It took me six months because he got promoted and he
started travelling a lot, and sometimes I wouldn’t even see him for two to three weeks, so when we finally did
get together it was like our first date all over again. It wasn’t easy for me to realize that he was lacking
depth.
Q: Regarding the men in your life before Maxime Bernier, Gilles Giguère was murdered, and Stéphane Sirois was
fairly high up in a motorcycle gang.
A: No, he was not.
Q: No? What was he?
A: While I was with him he was not a biker. He gave back his patch, because that was my condition. I didn’t want
to go out with a biker. After I divorced him he went back into that world and eventually turned into a rat.
Q: You’ve been left heartbroken, broke, and embarrassed by various men in your life. Do you feel you have been
unlucky in love?
A: I’ve had my unlucky strikes, I have to admit. You have to understand that I was put in a position where I had
no choice to write a biography to re-establish the facts and my credibility, and had I written that book at 78,
let’s say, there would have been a lot more happy times. At this point in time in my life I made a choice of
keeping the good business ventures and my happy relationships for me, for the little I had left of my private
life.
Q: So you don’t think you have a habit of picking the wrong guy?
A: Well, I could have a better average.
Q: I get a bit confused about the end of your relationship with Mr. Bernier. It was in December 2007 that you
sort of broke up, but you continued to see one another. You were still more than friends, though.
A: Yes, we were. I had nobody else in my life, so j’ai rendu le pratique agréable, I made what was practical
agreeable. I mentioned to Maxime in December that our relationship was not fulfilling me and that I had no time
to waste, at my age, and I knew that Maxime was not the guy. And to tell you the truth, Maxime agreed that it
was better that we remained good friends, you know? I had given
him my word that I would remain his official girlfriend for a year and, to tell you honestly, though you know
that that person is not the person of your life, you still can grow very attached. I certainly didn’t do it
against my own free will or all those things that people implied, that I was paid to be his escort and whatnot.
That’s totally ridiculous. How many people had an ex that they kept seeing until they met someone else that was
more interesting? I think we have all done it. So all of a sudden, because he’s a minister, there’s this hidden
agenda behind it.
Q: Everybody’s trying to impose a story on your life.
A: It was much simpler than that, and a
1 had this image of George Bush as this cold person. He had a great sense of humour. That totally threw me off.’
lot duller than that, if you ask me.
Q: Well, it’s not very dull.
A: Concerning my relationship with Maxime it was. Yes, fine, I did have a fiancé that got assassinated, but that
was 12 years ago, and yes, I ended up divorcing a guy that used to be a biker before he went out with me, or got
married to me, but that was 10 years ago.
Q: Is that one of the things that was so horrifying for you about this? Because you’ve been working, travelling
in different circles, and holding your own with ambassadors and important people around the world. And then all
of a sudden, you’re reading about yourself in the paper.
A: All of a sudden I’m a biker’s chick and I’m this and I’m that and I’m trash and I’m a whore and I’m possibly
sent by bikers. What
the hell? That’s 10 and 12 years ago, so what does that have to do with anything now?
Q: Was it necessary, in order to re-establish your reputation, to go so deeply into Mr. Bernier’s character
flaws and his misbehaviours?
A: I think that it was. When you have a team of people who work 45 hours a week to portray you and to sell your
image in the media, getting to know the real, true person behind this image can’t be easy. It needed to be done
so that people would understand not his actions, but his inaction in this circus that crashed my life. Some
people will say, “Yeah, well, it’s pretty harsh.” Well, I’m so sorry but his silence was basically sending a
message to the public that he was endorsing everything that was being said. That man knew me, he spent a year
with me, six months as his girlfriend, and I was good enough to remain his very good friend for another six
months, and he still wanted me to stick around to keep accompanying him in all his official functions, so I
couldn’t have been such a vulgar woman and a slut and a this and a that and a biker’s chick. Yet he let all
these things be said about me, and he was the politician, he was the one who had all the tools to stand up and
say, “Listen, now, this is not right.”
Q: In March of this year it broke on TV that the minister is dating a biker chick.
Q: May, sorry, and he went underground.
A: Exactly, he started acting like he never even knew me. Do you honestly think that the media, politicians,
[the general] population would have been the slightest [bit] interested in what Julie Couillard did in her life
10, 11 years ago, 12 years ago? Who gave a damn? Nobody. Everybody became interested. Why? Because I was the
official girlfriend of a federal cabinet minister. He ran the other way waving while I was drowning.
Q: What should he have done?
A: Well, he should have at least straightened out the facts, and right from the get-go he could have stopped
this then and there. He could have said that this is all a cheap way of trying to damage his reputation and
damage the party that was in power, and that it had nothing to do with the real issues of our society today and
it was just cheap politics. He had all the tools and all the people. He knew that the RCMP, the Sûreté du
Québec,
la Communauté urbaine de Montréal, all of them, [that] did investigate me back then, came to the conclusion I
had nothing to do with organized crime aside from the fact that I was seeing people that knew people in that
scene, but on a personal level, and I was not implicated in the criminal activities of any sort. This was just a
cheap attempt to damage our government. That’s all it was!
Q: In the book, Stephen Harper comes off better than pretty much anyone else you encountered in that world. You
were impressed with him.
A: Yes, I was. I have to admit that I do not have the same political views as Mr. Harper but I do have a lot of
respect for the man.
Q: George W. Bush impressed you as well.
A: I had this image of this cold, very restrained person, but he was such a friendly and accessible guy, and
very light and funny. He had a great sense of humour. That totally threw me off.
Q: You say in the book that you thought you let Mr. Bernier off too easily. Is there more to the story that you
haven’t written?
A: The only more would be things that I do not think are of any public interest.
Q: He would, when you were together, complain about Mr. Harper being fat or being controlling. Doesn’t everybody
complain about the boss?
A: Maybe. But Maxime doesn’t have just a job, he’s a politician. That’s very different. He shouldn’t have a
right to disrespect our Prime Minister. And what really pissed me off is that Maxime was a guy that two years
before wasn’t even in politics and there you go, all of a sudden, because of Mr. Harper, he ends up, hey, the
minister of external affairs! Come on! The man might not be perfect, we’re all perfectly unperfect, but you
should respect him for giving you that opportunity.
Q: You answered this question already about the men in your life and your batting average. Do you think it’s the
kind of man you’re attracted to or the kind of man who’s attracted to you?
A: Well, I don’t know. I know for my part my flaws are more that I see a good-looking guy and he’s a good talker
and he’s a lot of fun and he makes me laugh, and then I have a tendency of more dreaming an image of that
person, and then I fall in love with that image, but the guy I’m falling in love with does not even exist.
That’s what I would have to watch out for. And because, I guess, of my looks some men are attracted to me for
the wrong reasons, they stop at what they see instead of seeing deeper than that.
Q: When you were travelling with Mr. Bernier and going to official functions, you did meet some people and you
exchanged business cards on occasion. Did any opportunities or any doors open for you because ofthat?
A: I didn’t really exchange business cards at all, to tell you the truth, when I was with Maxime. I’ve had the
pleasure of saying, “I’ve met our ambassador in Paris.” But I was the spouse of Maxime, that’s why I was there.
Q: Are you working now?
A: Oh, no. My life totally stopped. The seventh of May everything stopped.
Q: What are you going to do now?
A: That’s a very good question. I don’t have an answer. I still have a mortgage to pay, and a car payment and so
on and so forth. I concentrated on re-establishing the facts and reestablishing my credibility because nobody
will have anything to do business-wise with me—which is totally understandable—and I do not believe that the
same career is ever going to pick up again.
Q: Real estate?
A: No, real estate and development. I specialized in a very narrow niche, where you always have to be in contact
with the municipalities, with the provincial, even the federal government. M
There are thousands of street children in Butare. Everyday they scavenge for food. Some make their home in trash heaps boardering the streets. At night, these children burrow beneath blankets of rotted refuse, heads at odd angles to the highway.
Some of these children are orphans, others come from broken or abusive homes, a sobering fact which can turn street life into near sanctuary.
Butare, Rwanda.
Afrika.
July 8, 2006.
For Africa Mission Alliance.
I actually took a few photographs of the Gisimba children at this and other windows of the classroom in which my translator/friend Denise and I took turns teaching the other orphans photography. Every Saturday, this happened: as we taught a small group of 20 or so eager children inside, others hung onto the louvres outside, looking in at us, their hearts hopeful that the next Saturday, they'd be inside the classroom.
This image, then, is a metaphor to me. How while some receive, others look on, hoping, waiting for their turn. Will it ever come?
Most importantly, what is our role in all of this?
Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
A brightly lit Saturday morning.
June, 2005.
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan at Gisimba Memorial Center, direct contact information is listed below.
Ildephonse Niyongana - Director
Damas Gisimba - Founder
gisimbacmg@yahoo.com
Gisimba Orphanage
B.P. 1433 Kigali Rwanda
Ave de la Nyarugenge
Nyamirambo
District of Nyarugenge
tel +250 08524515 or +250 08532596
Bank of Kigali 040-0013914-76
swift BK IG RWRW
Additional information can also be found on www.orphansofrwanda.org
The text below is from www.orphansofrwanda.org
"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)
The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.
The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."
PLEASE DONATE TO ORPHANS OF RWANDA.
A boy stands in front of the barbed wire fence that protects his home--the gate a sobering reminder that crime still corrupts in this corner of the township.
Soweto, South Africa.
A very bright day.
July, 2005.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
June, 2005.
The text below is from www.orphansofrwanda.org
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan at Gisimba Memorial Center, direct contact information is listed below.
Ildephonse Niyongana - Director
Damas Gisimba - Founder
gisimbacmg@yahoo.com
Gisimba Orphanage
B.P. 1433 Kigali Rwanda
Ave de la Nyarugenge
Nyamirambo
District of Nyarugenge
tel +250 08524515 or +250 08532596
Bank of Kigali 040-0013914-76
swift BK IG RWRW
Additional information can also be found on www.orphansofrwanda.org
"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)
The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.
The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."
PLEASE DONATE TO ORPHANS OF RWANDA: www.orphansofrwanda.org/getinvolved.php#donate
The feet of Gisimba. Rainbow flip flops.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
June, 2005.
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan at Gisimba Memorial Center, direct contact information is listed below.
Ildephonse Niyongana - Director
Damas Gisimba - Founder
gisimbacmg@yahoo.com
Gisimba Orphanage
B.P. 1433 Kigali Rwanda
Ave de la Nyarugenge
Nyamirambo
District of Nyarugenge
tel +250 08524515 or +250 08532596
Bank of Kigali 040-0013914-76
swift BK IG RWRW
Additional information can also be found on www.orphansofrwanda.org
The text below is from www.orphansofrwanda.org
"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)
The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.
The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."
PLEASE DONATE TO GISIMBA MEMORIAL CENTER VIA ORPHANS OF RWANDA: www.orphansofrwanda.org/getinvolved.php#donate
For statistics on Rwanda: www.unicef.org/infobycountry/rwanda_statistics.html
19 years old. Seeks sponsorship for university tuition. Works for his uncle (26 yrs. old) manning a payphone.
Kigali, Rwanda.
There are thousands of street children in Butare. Everyday they scavenge for food. Some make their home in trash heaps boardering the streets. At night, these children burrow beneath blankets of rotted refuse, heads at odd angles to the highway.
Some of these children are orphans, others come from broken or abusive homes, a sobering fact which can turn street life into near sanctuary.
Butare, Rwanda.
Afrika.
July 8, 2006.
One of Alpha Trains' new-ish fleet of multi-system Vectrons, 193 553 (Responsibility Driven) trails behind 193 550 (Zwei Pole mit enormer Zugkraft) northwards through Innsbruck Hbf Bahnsteig 4 on DGS 43108, a KLV from Verona Q.E. to Hannover Linden Hafen, on behalf of TXLogistik (who lease the Vectrons from AT); the yellow Fröhlich containers are the tell-tale sign for this service (and DGS 43109, the southbound equivalent).
The origin of the Cebuano devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe; the origin and history of the image; and the religious practices and oral tradition that are associated with the Virgin of Guadalupe of Cebu.
That sometime in 1880, Ricardo Ramirez, a "Mangangayam" or wild chicken trapper who lived in the forested area of what was then Barrio Banawan (now Barangay Guadalupe), in the course of his trapping activities, one day saw a flashing light coming from inside the cave known as "langub nga duha'y baba" (cave with two mouths). It is near the river called Sapang Diyot of Barangay Kalunasan. Surprised by what he saw, Ramirez called the attention of the other trappers who were near him but when they looked, they could not see anything. Ricardo decided to investigate the source of the light inside the cave. He got inside and saw that the light flashes came from an estampita (Holy Card, usually measuring 2 inches by 3 inches) of Our Lady. The picture was standing atop a naturally formed rock, beside which a slow drip of water cascaded into a basin -shaped rock on the floor. The light and the flashing stopped when Ricardo got inside. He took the holy card and gave it to the teniente del barrio, Eustaquio Abapo, in turn showed the picture to the barrio's "mananabtan" (prayer group leader), Placido "Edo" Datan. Placido advised Eustaquio to keep the unusual find until they would know what to do with it.
Eustaquio Abapo hid the picture somewhere in his house as advised by Placido but soon forgot where, until some years later when Placido, Eustaquio, the barrio catechist Silverio Gonzales and other people in the area thought of building a chapel in Kalunasan, in the property of Eustaquio. This was sometime in 1889.
The four decided to ask permission of Fr. Ceferino Fernandez, parish priest of San Nicolas, who had jurisdiction over Banawan. When they arrived in San Nicolas convent office, they saw a two feet wooden image of Our Lady and they suddenly remembered the estampita given to them by Ricardo Ramirez years back because the image resembled the image in the holy card. Without telling the parish priest about their intention, the three hurried back to Banawan to look for the estampita in Eustaquio's house. They didn't find it then so; they decided to postpone telling the parish priest about their find and their plan until they have the holy card.
A few months later, the estampita was found by Eustaquio lying under a bundle of corn that was harvested from his field. The four immediately decided to go back to Fr. Fernandez and told the priest what Ricardo Ramirez found inside the cave, and what they were planning to do. When the priest saw the estampita, he told the group that it was the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He asked for it and kept it. He gave his consent for the construction of a small chapel in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in kalunasan, and agreed to lend them the two-foot wooden image they saw in the convent on their yearly novena and fiesta from December 4 to 12. However, he also made them promise that the image should be returned to San Nicolas after the fiesta. According to the narration of Florencio "Noy Rencio" Tabal, who was already 96 years old when I talked to him sometime in 2002, the parishioners from Pasil resented the lending of the image to the Banawan chapel for the first fiesta celebration, and they would always try to prevent the procession from leaving San Nicolas by blocking the path but the people of Banawan, more numerous in number than them, persisted and always succeeded in bringing the image to the chapel in the mountain. During this time, the name of the barrio became Guadalupe because word got around that the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in a cave in Banawan.
Although there was a story of a sighting by the late Josefa "Nang Sepa" Labra (d. 1948) of a young and beautiful girl who would play in what is now the church plaza which at that time was still full of fruit trees. According to Nang Seap, she would often check on her carrabaos tied in the trees along the plaza at dawn. Often, she would be disturbed by the sight of a young girl playing at dawn. So one day, she decided to spy on the girl, Nang Sepa wend inside the chapel to validate her suspicion that the girl could be no other that the Virgin of Guadalupe. She checked the image and saw amorseco weeds attached to the hemline of its dress, the kind that abounds in the plaza. In addition, the fragrance that accompanies the presence of the young girl when she shows herself to Nang Sepa at dawn also filled the chapel. From then on, word spread that the Blessed Virgin appears as a chubby little girl and plays around the plaza of the chapel at dawn.
From that first Fiesta in 1889 until 1901, Our lady of Guadalupe was just a local barrio devotion. Every year, the image was borrowed from San Nicolas in December, then returned on the Sunday after December 12, because ion the Saturday after December 12, the image would be brought inside the cave where the estampita was found for another Mass. The image would stay inside the cave overnight and would be brought back to San Nicolas the next day, a Sunday. So the Virgin actually stayed longer than nine days in the barrio.
In 1902, there was a cholera epidemic outbreak. The epidemic hit the whole city but hardest hit was Barrio Guadalupe. Probably because the source of our drinking water then was the river, which was also renamed Guadalupe, and some open wells. It was devastating. Hundreds of residents died. It was said that those who buried the dead, did not return as they themselves died along the way or right on the cemetery while grieving for their dead relatives.
The cholera outbreak was so bad in the barrio that there was burial everyday. Later, the burial had to be done en masse on a carabao cart. Death stalked the people of Guadalupe real bad.
It was sometime in the month of May. Anyway, the "mananabtan" Placido "Edo" Datan initiated a move and called on the barrio leaders to hold a penitential dawn procession to invoke the help of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Holy Cross of Jesus, and end the epidemic. The melody for the so-called "Antifon" was written by Silverio Gonzales, the catechist. One of the ardent supporters of the movement was Don Joaquin Labra, who, unfortunately, became one of the victims of the epidemic himself. The "Antifon" is actually the prayer Hail Mary in Spanish (Dios Te Salve Maria) but sung repeatedly in a very plaintive tune.
The Antifon was held for one month, from mid-May to Mid-June. What was placed on the andas (palanquin) and carried during the dawn procession was a small image of the Holy Cross and an estampa of Our lady of Guadalupe (an estampa is a bigger Holy Card, measuring anywhere from 8"x10" to as much 18"x24"
According to Maximo Gabutan, and the other old people of Guadalupe, the Antifon was purely the idea of the local devotees of Our lady of Guadalupe, the likes of Don Joaquin Labra, Don Gervacio Quijada, his brother-in-law Placido datan, the catechist Silverio Gonzales, Eustiquio Abapo, Melchor Abella and others.
The cholera epidemic stopped but not immediately. As the dawn procession went on, the number of deaths decreased until there were no more deaths in the barrio. The devotion and strong faith of our elders to the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe and to the Holy Cross of Jesus saved them from death. If the cholera outbreak did not stop sooner, there would have been nobody left in the barrio. As an act of thanksgiving to God and to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Silverio Gonzales and the other people involved, decided to hold a thanksgiving novena from July 8 to 16 1902, with a grand procession of the Holy Cross and the estampa of the Virgin. Melchor Abella paid for the brass band that accompanied the procession( note: July 16 is the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross and the Virgin of Carmel) SInce then, July 16 has always been celebrated as the second fiesta of the Virgin of Guadalupe. If not for the Virgin's intercession, probably all our elders would have perished and we would not be here today.
December 12 is the official feastday but July 16 is also a celebrated as a Thanksgiving for her and the Holy Cross. There was a time during Mons. Tosing dela Cerna's time (parish priest 1987 - 1994) when he separated the feast of the Holy Cross and celebrated it on September 14, but the people didn't like it and he was compelled to return it to join feast on July 16.
Only in the 1920's, after the Labra and to lesser extent, the Lopez families, donated a sizable portion of their lot (which is now the present church and plaza) to the diocese, that the chapel was transferred from Kalunasan to the present site. In 1927 or 1928, an inexplicable event occurred that prompted the permanent enshrinement of the image in Guadalupe.
On the Sunday after the December 12 fiesta of that year, the image was, as usual securely tied with ropes to the andas for her return trip to San Nicolas, accompanied by a huge number of people. upon reaching a place we used to call Gucro, short for Guadalupe Crossing, along what was called Calamba road, now V. Rama Avenue, near the corner of M. Velez Street, near the Suzara property, the image suddenly fell from the andas, feet first to the ground but instead of tumbling, it remained standing and made a 180 degree turn by itself, facing the direction of the chapel where she came from. This happened in full view of many people who joined in the procession, including Florencio Tabal and Maximo Gabutan. (an area where a huge acacia tree is, right across Lacto PAFI office, as the place where the image fell. The spot was pointed by Mr. Maximo Gabutan who was an eye witness of the event).
The people secured the image back to the andas and brought it to San Nicolas. There they told the priest who was Fr. Emiliano Mercado (parish priest of San Nicolas from 1910 - 1942) what happend in the procession. Fr. Mercado was the one who decided that the wooden image of the Virgin of Guadalupe should already stay in the newly-built chapel. So in 1929, the image of Our Lady was permanently enshrined in Guadalupe. In 1933, four years later, Guadalupe became a parish with Fr. Emiliano Mercado himself acting as concurrent parish priest until 1936. Then Fr. Sancho Abadia took over in 1937.
During the World War 2, the church was bombed. Fortunately, the image was saved because it was kept in Amado Gabutan's house in a place called Nabongturan, what is now the Petron Gasoline Station along V. Rama Avenue.
During the war, Amado's mother, Andrea, one of the so-called "beatas" of Guadalupe, asked her son to secure the image in his house in Nabongturan. The parish priest then was Fr. Leonardo Arriba (parish priest 1939-1943) who was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese on suspicions of being a guerilla. When he was released, he did not return to the parish but hid in the mountains and so Guadalupe did not have a parish priest. Andrea took it upon herself to secure the safety of the statue.
Unfortunately, Amado Gabutan’s house was hit by a bomb and burned down. What was really strange and surprising was that the image escaped unscathed from the bomb and the fire, although five people who were in the same area died.
Amado and family then evacuated to Pardo, bringing the image of Our Lady with them. From there he sent word to Maximo Gabutan to pick up the image from his place in Pardo so Maximo Gabutan sent Tranquilino Nacua to retrieve the image for a fee of two pesos "genuine" money , and bring it to where he and his family hid in the mountains of Candomorga, which is already a part of Talisay. The image was placed in a basket surrounded by pillows and was carried as a back-pack.
In early 1945, when my Maximo Gabutan, felt that the war was ending and the Americans were winning, Maximo and his family went back to Guadalupe from Candomorga only to find the church and their own house nearby burned. Maximo Gabutan then requested Don Gervacio Quijada and his wife Doña Teresa Datan, (sister of Placido, the mananabtan) whose big house was left intact after the war, to shelter the image and all of Maximos’s family, until a temporary church could be built, and until Maximo could rebuild our own house. So the Gabutan family and the Virgin stayed in the house of the generous Don Gervacio for about 10 months. The house still looks exactly the same now as it did when we stayed there in 1945. (the house is in Number 1335 V. Rama Avenue, obliquely across Guadalupe Heights subdivision entrance, now under the care of Don Gervacio's great grandson, Mr. Roger Quijada Lim. It was constructed on may May 10, 1932, as evidenced by the carving in a corner "tugas" round post inside)
When Maximo Gabutan passed away in 1974 at the age of 88, Eulogio Gabutan, father of Fr, Henrico and Philip, became the Virgin's caretaker until his death on December 15, 1986. Then it became his son Philip's responsibilty until now.
first hand information about miracles attributed to Our Lady other that half of 1902 was when Maximo Gabutan and the rest of their family were hiding in Candomorga mountain with the Virgin of Guadalupe, there was a Philippine army camp somewhere in Babag that was never penetrated by the Japanese. The stories of Lt. Ambrosio Gacayan and a Capt. Navarro of the Philippine Army, said that every time the Japs would attempt to raid their camp, a vision of a woman would be seen prancing along the hills of Babag mountain. The Japs got scared of the vision because she would just vanish into thin air, then show herself again. The army and the Gabutan Family also believed it was the Virgin of Guadalupe whose image was with them.
A miracle healing happened to Aniana Sacamay. She developed breast cancer but she was miraculously cured after praying to Our Lady of Guadalupe. She was one of our Lady's attendant,working together with Mohing Ibonalo.,
Another was when the image of the Virgin would be brought inside the cave for the post December 12 Mass, it would be placed in the exact place where the estampita was found, where the water drips from the ceiling of the cave. Despite the image is being placed directly in the water's way, it would remain dry.
The slowly dripping water inside the cave reportedly had curative powers. A long queue of people used to wait for their bottle to get full. Some devotees used the water from the cave to cure disease, and that there were a lot of cures that happened.
The water in the cave stopped dripping during the time of Mons. Esteban Binghay as parish priest of Guadalupe (parish priest 1975-1987), after he ordered the renovation of the cave with tiles and an overhead tank of water was placed atop the cave with the tube descending down the cave. People stopped gathering the water because they realized it was already water piped from the river and not from the original source.
The Image always wore a crown, the "rostrillo" around the face and carried a scepter a shorter one than what she carries now, and dressed up like she is dressed now.
My dear friend, Peace, 19.
Gisimba Memorial Center, an orphanage on the ouskirts of Kigali.
July, 2006.
I'm looking for sponsors for the children of Gisimba Memorial Center. Please email me at camera_rwanda@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Thommy, 14.
Gisimba Memorial Center
Kigali, Rwanda. Central Afrika.
July 31, 2006.
Design created by Kater
WARNING-Graphic Hyper Violence within!!!!!
Notice - SKAM does not endorse the killing of oneself or others. SKAM endorses an open communication about the damage humans have done to our planet.
The Recycle Yourself Project is meant to invoke an emotion and discussion about such issues as Overpopulation, Pollution, Ecosystem Destruction Humans responsibility to the Environment, Culture Jamming, Art intervention and Anti-Commercialism/over-consumption.
The Recycle Yourself Philosophy
For billions of years the earth has recycled the life that has existed on it. Through a natural cycle. At one time the Human race followed that natural cycle. The humans lived hand and hand with the environment taking and giving back to the land. Even after death humans at one time gave their actual bodies back to the planet to decay in a natural way. Over time mankind has forgotten about our beautiful planet and how it created the life that exists on it. Then comes the age of the industrial revolution and corporations built upon mass consumerism. Marketing companies assault us ever day. By the time you are 5 years old you've already had 200,000 images planted into your brain from television and ad campaigns. This false reality is built and constructed into our minds to appear that if its sold on tv there is an unlimited supply. Buy buy buy this constructed ads tell us that there is nothing wrong with this behavior. The status quo is a false reality.
The real reality
Humans have already started what will be known as the 6th mass extinction on our planet. This has been created by the abuse we've done in the last 300 years to our mother earth. The western mindset has infected the entire planet. Kill, rape and pillage, give nothing back. Even in death humans turn themselves in plastic wrapped corspe's that seep poisons into the ground that in turn effect our drinking water. Cancer, disease, and viruses are a by-product of our planet trying to control this over consumerism culture. Mother earth will win this war in the end but it will be at the expense of all forms of life on our planet. Education is the only thing that will change this behavior. If you want to climb the mountain you don't just jump to the top. This change needs to happen in steps. The first is being aware of such steps. If humans so selfishly ignore these warning signs. Some day there will be no fish in the sea, no birds in the sky, no whales in the ocean, no dogs to follow their masters, no flowers to bloom, no bees to pollinate them. This is a reality.
Now you have to ask yourself?
Do you want to be responsible for a dead planet?
Educate
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle Yourself!
Saturday Afternoon: time to dance to the radio!
Gisimba Memorial Center
An orphanage on the outskirts of Kigali in Nyamirambo.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
July 16, 2006.
msun.bluespot.org/2006/07/01/gisimba-memorial-center?comm...
This is not the Day to Celebrate, Its the day to realize our responsibilties towards mother nature.... So what can we do to save our earth, Just follow some easy things which you know them
1) Switch of lights when not in use
2) Use Solar equipments
3) Use public Transport
4) Use less plastic
5) Plant saplings
Its our responsiblity to save our mother earth and share its beauty with future generations.
Shot the above image at my Hometown Today as part of WED 2010 :)
Catherine's Primary School.
Uganda. Afrika.
June, 2006.
More than a hundred children study English in this tiny, ramshackle
room. Many walk 6 or more miles to school their feet bare and their
bellies empty. Yet, much joy is conveyed on their little faces, their
spirits surprisingly exuberant in the face of serious matters--AIDS especially
in this community that's located on the outskirts of Jinja.
PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 30, 2016) U.S. Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 and Mobile Dive and Salvage Company 3-1 prepare to tow a test capsule known as boilerplate-testing article, belonging to NASA's Orion program, to the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) in the Pacific Ocean. The ship is conducting recovery operations with NASA's Orion program; they are testing a new towing technique utilizing NASA and Naval technology with the goal of reducing manning and increasing safety. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Torrey W. Lee/Released)161030-N-CJ186-1324
** Interested in following U.S. Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/pacific.command and twitter.com/PacificCommand and www.pacom.mil/ **
After the failure of 43106 class 50.035 'ark royal' takes on the responsibilties and is seen on the start of the Eardington Bank decent with the 1600 Bridgnorth to Kidderminster service
There are thousands of street children in Butare. Everyday they scavenge for food. Some make their home in trash heaps boardering the streets. At night, these children burrow beneath blankets of rotted refuse, heads at odd angles to the highway.
Some of these children are orphans, others come from broken or abusive homes which make street life seem like a sanctuary.
Butare, Rwanda.
Afrika.
July 8, 2006.
Grayfriars Bobby
-----------------------
Grayfriar Bobby was a Skya Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner John Gray (Auld Jock),until he died himself on January 14,1872.A year later,Lady Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts,1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts had a statue and fountain erected at the southerd end of the King George IV Bridge to commenmorate him.
Several books and films have been based on Bobby's life,including the noval Grayfiar's Bobby (1912) by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson and the films Grayfriars Bobby (1961).
Jan Bondeson at Cardiff University,Wales United Kingdom published research that suggests Bobby was actually a Victorian-era publicity stunt by local businesses to drum up tourist revenue.Accordin to Jan Bondeson research,Bobby was a stray dog trained to remain in the graveyard;and was actually two different dogs.
Traditional views
------------------------Bobby belonged to John Gray,who worked for the Edinburgh City Police Department as a night watchman,and the two were insparable for approximately two years.On February 8,1858,John Gray died of Tuberculosis or known as TB.He was buried in Grayfriers Kirkyard the graveyard surrounding Grayfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh.Bobby,who survived John Gray by fourteen years,is said to have spent the reast of his life sitting on his master's grave.Although account has it that spent a great deal of time at John Gray's grave,but that he left regularly for meals at a restaurant beside the graveyard,and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.
In 1867,when it was argued that a doug without an owner should be destroyed,the Lord Provost of Edinburgh,Sir William Chambers-who was also a director of the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-paid for Bobby's license,making him responsibilty of the city council.
Bobby died in 1872 and could not bet buried within the cemetery itself,since it was and remains consecrate ground.He was buried instead just inside the gate of Grayfriars Kirkyard,not far from John Gray's grave.
Revisionst view
----------------------
After five years of research,Jan Bondeson published Grayfriars Bobby:The Most Faithful Dog in the World,the most detailed biography of Bobby to date.In it he dispelled the story as traditionally told and offered a different version.
As background in 19th century Europe there are documented over 60' graveyard dogs' or 'cemetery dogs'.These were stray dogs which were fed by visitors and curators to the point the dogs made the graveyard their home.People thought "Oh look at that poor dog,waiting by his master's grave",so they kept looking after him:the stray dog had free food while graveyard curators had company and a good story to tell visitors.In Bobby's case he was orignally a stray that hung around nearby heriot Hospital,but became such nuisance the hospital gardener threw him into the graveyard.James Brown,the curator of the graveyard,was fond of Bobby's company and began to feed him to keep him around.Vistors saw Bobby and linked to belive he was loyally staying by his master's grave,and provided James Brown with tips to hear Bobby's "story".after an article about Bobby appeared in the Scotman visitation rates to the Grayfiers Kirkyard increased by 100 fold with people arriving from all over England,Wales and Scotland.They would give James Brown a handsome tip and have lunch in the Trails restaurant.It was a lucrative situaion for Bobby,James Brown and the local community.
Jan Bondeson belives in May 1867 the original Bobby died and was replaced with a younger dog because he states pictures of him show a clear change.The first was an old tired-looking mongrel,the second was a lively youthful Skye Terrier that ran around and reportely found with other dog.This also explans the longevity of Bobby,18 years,since Skye Terriers usually live around 10-12 years.
When the story of Bobby first broke it was belived his owner had been a shephered buried in the graveyard.Later a scholar named Forbes Macgregor,who wrote a biography of Grayfriars Bobby,believed the owner was John Gray,a local policeman buried there in 1858.Neither make full sense since a shepherd wouldn't normally use a terrier for herding sheep,nor would a small terrier-normally be used as a police dog.
Over the years local Edinburgh residents who know the fact had talked in public,there was even newspaper articals that cast doubt ob the story,and even while Bobby was alive some councilorw cast on his story when it was discussed Edinburgh City Council.However,the romantic legend of Bobby was ingrained beloved that any revisonism over the years went largely unnoticed.Jan Bondeson started "it wont' ever be possible to debunk the story of Grayfriars Bobby-he living legend,the most faithful dog in the world,and bigger than all of us".
In Memory
---------------
A lifesize statue of Grayfriars Bobby was created by William Brodie in 1872,almoust immediatele after the dog's death.This was paid for by a local aristocrat,Lady Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts,1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts.This stands in front of the "Grayfriars Bobby Bay",which is located near the south (main) enterance to Grayfriars Kirkyard.The statue origally faced towards the graveyard and pub but has since been turned around,allegedly by a previous landlords of the pub so that the pub would appear in the background of many photographs that are taken each year.
The monument is Edinburgh's smallest listed building.It was restored in tootality in 1985 when the entire red granit base was remodeled.Originally built as a drinking fountain,it very aptly had an upper fountain for humans and a lower fountain for dog.This had the water supply cut off (as Edinburgh's drinking fountaints) around 1975 amidst heath scares.Both basin areas were infilled with concrete soon after.After being daubed with yellow paint,allegedlly by students on General Election in 1979,and being hit by a car in 1984.
A red granite stone was erected on Bobby's grave by The Dog Aid Society of Scotland,and unveiled by the Prince Richard,Duke of Gloucester on May 13,1981.This had been utilised in asnire-like manner,with sticks,(for Bobby to fectch) frequently being left occasionally dog toys,flowers ect.
The monument reads:
Grayfriars Bobby
Died January 14,1872
Aged 16 years
Let his loyalty and devotion be lesson to use all.
Guilded tours to Grayfriars Kirkyard are given aby a number of groups,including the Grayfriars Bobby Walkinhg Theater and the Grayfriars Kirkyard Trust.
Books and Films
------------------------
The book Grayfriars Bobby by Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson,which gretly the story and made John Gray a shephard,known as "Auld Jock". The 1961 Walt Disney film Grayfriars Bobby"The True Story of a Dog was based on the book.The Illustrated True Story of Grayfriars Bobby by John MacKay.
Challenge to Lassie (1949),an earlier film based on Atkinson's book,but replacing Bobby with Lassie.
In the 1945 film The Body Snatcher,Boris Karloff's charcter (incidevtally named Gray,digs up bodies from graves.One of tthese is that of John Gray.Bobby tries to stop him from taking the corpse,but is struck over the head by boris Karloff's character,and killed.
In the Public Broadcasting Service kids' series,Where in thw World Is Carmen Sandiego?,Patty Larceny put a collar on the statue of Bobby and walked him away is the Season 3 episode Little Dog Gone.
Grayfriars Bobby's Bar
--------------------------------
Grayfriars Bobby's Bar lie at the south end Candlmaker Row,where it joins King George IV Bridge and opposite the National Museum of Scotland.To one side is the entrance to Grayfriars Kirhyard,which is the starting point for the name of the pub.
As it's migrated as far as Hollywood,its fair to say that most visitors have some idea of the story of Grayfriars Bobby.But just in case,here'd the two minute version.John Gray was an Edinburgh police who died of Tuberculosis or known as TB on February 15,1858 and
was buiied in Grayfriars Kirkyard.He had a dog,a Skye Terrier called Bobby,and for the following 14 years,until the dog's own death in 1872,Bobby kept watch over John Gray's grave.
The true story of Grayfriars Bobby may be complicted then that.It now seem most likely that he was a stray who made a home for himself in the kirkyard,and had applied to him the (at the time surprisingle common) myth that he was there out of loyalty to a dead owner.Whatever the truth,Grayfriars Bobby had gone down in history as an emblem of devotion and faithful.Today his memory is marked by a life size statue on a plinth in the street outside,and name of the pub.
Inside Grayfriars Bobby's Bay,or Bobby's as it is known to regulars,you find a series of section stepping down the hill formed by Candlemaker Row.At the upper end is the bar,and as you move down the pub you pass through a number of comfortable seating areas to the dining area at its north end.
A range of real ales and whiskies are available,and food is served from extensive menu including breakfast main meals and snacks.Grayfriars Bar atttacts locals,tourist,and students,and weekends can be popular with stage parties and hen parties.
Just bought this autographed copy
of My story by Julie Couillard - 2008
(former girlfriend of Maxine Bernier)
Maxine Bernier resigned from cabinet in May 2007 only hours before Couillard described in a television interview how he had left classified briefing documents for a NATO summit at her Montreal home. After all of this Maxine and noted other
M.Ps trash Julie Couillard about her past. Sad how politicians
take no responsibilty for their mistakes especially having
N.A.T.O confidential documents in their personal possession.
Maxime Bernier resigns over missing documents.
May 26 and 27, 2008 - Maxime Bernier resigned as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs after learning his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard would reveal he left sensitive documents at her home.
See story below on YouTube :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfGcybmQYKs
Also found this interview by George Stroumboulopoulos
questioning Maxine Bernier on his mistake of having confidential documents. Instead of just admitting mistake
he tries to smear his girlfriend again but I give credit to
interviewer for stopping him that she was not the issue.
This is about 7 minutes into the interview. See below
on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjLSHSx6Pg&t=458s
Maxime Bernier PC MP (born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Beauce since 2006. He is the founder and current leader of the
People's Party of Canada (PPC).
Prior to entering politics, Bernier held positions in the fields of law, finance and banking. First elected to
the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative, Bernier served as Minister of Industry, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, which later became the Minister of State for Small
Business and Tourism and Agriculture in the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Following the
Conservatives' defeat in the 2015 election, he served as opposition critic for Innovation, Science and Economic
Development in the shadow cabinets of Rona Ambrose and Andrew Scheer, until June 12, 2018.
Bernier ran for the Conservative Party leadership in the 2017 leadership election, and came in a close second
with over 49% of the vote in the 13th round, after leading the eventual winner, Andrew Scheer, in the first 12
rounds. Fifteen months later, in August 2018, Bernier resigned from the Conservative Party to create his own
party, citing disagreements with Scheer's leadership.[1] His new party was named the People's Party of Canada in
September 2018.
Interview Julie Couillard gave in 2008
JULIE COUILLARD TALKS WITH KENNETH WHYTE ABOUT HER DEAL WITH MAXIME BERNIER, HIS DISLOYALTY, AND HER RESPECT FOR
THE PM
OCTOBER 20 2008
'All of a sudden, I'm a biker’s chick, I'm trash. He ran the other way while I drowned.’
INTERVIEW
JULIE COUILLARD TALKS WITH KENNETH WHYTE ABOUT HER DEAL WITH MAXIME BERNIER, HIS DISLOYALTY, AND HER RESPECT FOR
THE PM
I’m going to start at the beginning of your relationship with Mr. Bernier, and that very first meeting that you
two had.
A: Well, it was actually my real estate broker that invited me to a cinq-à-sept. I had mentioned to him a couple
of days prior that the Conservative party had approached me to maybe present myself as an MP, which really took
me by surprise. But to tell you that I ever took this proposition seriously, no. Still, I was curious about it,
and my broker says, we’re all going for supper afterwards and, by the way, a minister is going to be there, and
maybe you’d like to come and pick his brains, basically, about politics and everything to do with becoming 14
an MP. So I said yeah. He mentioned to me it was the ministre de l’industrie—industry minister—Maxime Bernier.
As a joke, my broker said, “He’s pretty cute, and he’s single, so who knows?” That’s how we first met.
Q: In the course of the evening, Mr. Bernier got a bit forward with you.
A: Well, actually, that was at the beginning of the evening. We had just sat down, and he leaned forward and
gave me a little peck on the cheek. And some people will say, “How come you got shocked by that? Because next
time you saw him you guys ended up being intimate on your first official date.” It’s not the same as if you meet
a guy for the first time, you hit it off well, and then it’s officially a date. First of all, my brokers were
there. It was a business meeting. I mean, I was in a
suit. That’s why it was totally out of place.
Q: You took him outside, gave him a lecture, and said you weren’t there as a little helper.
A: Exactly, yeah.
Q: What did you mean by little helper?
A: Well, that was the English translation. I’m not a girl that some company will introduce you to so that,
basically, if you find her cute you can have your way with her. Because there were other young girls, all of a
sudden, that joined our table, that were not businesswomen. They were there just to party. I wanted to make it
clear to Maxime that, you know, you’re a very nice guy, we get along great, and you’re handsome and all, but I’m
calling the shots and nobody else.
Q: It is kind of offensive for somebody to do that at a first meeting. Why not run from him?
A: Well, because he was very apologetic.
Q: So you don’t think he mistook you for a little helper?
A: No, because I can be very blunt. And he was taken aback.
Q: It wasn’t really a business arrangement he proposed when you started to see each other steadily, but it was
kind of a professional arrangement, right?
A: No. Maxime proposed a personal relationship with a condition attached to it. That’s how, really, it was
presented to me. The first offer was if I wanted to become his girlfriend, and if I would be interested enough
to have a serious relationship with him, there were certain strings attached to the fact that he was a
politician and a public figure. [They would have to go out for a year.] Though I was a bit shocked in the sense
that it’s not the most romantic way to ask a girl to go out with you, after his explanation I had to agree with
him. He was a politician, he was a public figure, and it came with the territory.
Q: Right.
A: I put myself in his shoes. Sometimes you do have to compromise because of your work. And at that point in
time, I didn’t anticipate not getting along with Maxime.
Q: In My Story, you describe some behaviour on his part that wasn’t terribly impressive, his temper tantrums,
throwing an iron across the room, and calling you when you’re at official functions with important people,
summoning you from across the room in a rude way.
A: While I’m talking with the wife of our ambassador nonetheless, yes.
Q: And then there’s the fact that you found out [that there were] other women.
A: There’s one specific event that I found out while I was his girlfriend, the rest I found out after I was just
his friend.
Q: There’s a considerable amount of stuff like this in the book about him, and I have trouble seeing what
attracted you two. Did you like him?
A At the beginning I did. A: Well, he’s easygoing, he’s fun, you’ll enjoy a good supper with a good bottle of
wine. And we did have a very strong attraction for one another, and you have to understand that we had a
longdistance relationship. Four days out of the week Maxime was not there. Every other weekend he had his two
daughters. Most probably, if Maxime would have been living where Fm living, after a month or two I would have
said, “You know what, buddy? This is not working out.” It took me six months because he got promoted and he
started travelling a lot, and sometimes I wouldn’t even see him for two to three weeks, so when we finally did
get together it was like our first date all over again. It wasn’t easy for me to realize that he was lacking
depth.
Q: Regarding the men in your life before Maxime Bernier, Gilles Giguère was murdered, and Stéphane Sirois was
fairly high up in a motorcycle gang.
A: No, he was not.
Q: No? What was he?
A: While I was with him he was not a biker. He gave back his patch, because that was my condition. I didn’t want
to go out with a biker. After I divorced him he went back into that world and eventually turned into a rat.
Q: You’ve been left heartbroken, broke, and embarrassed by various men in your life. Do you feel you have been
unlucky in love?
A: I’ve had my unlucky strikes, I have to admit. You have to understand that I was put in a position where I had
no choice to write a biography to re-establish the facts and my credibility, and had I written that book at 78,
let’s say, there would have been a lot more happy times. At this point in time in my life I made a choice of
keeping the good business ventures and my happy relationships for me, for the little I had left of my private
life.
Q: So you don’t think you have a habit of picking the wrong guy?
A: Well, I could have a better average.
Q: I get a bit confused about the end of your relationship with Mr. Bernier. It was in December 2007 that you
sort of broke up, but you continued to see one another. You were still more than friends, though.
A: Yes, we were. I had nobody else in my life, so j’ai rendu le pratique agréable, I made what was practical
agreeable. I mentioned to Maxime in December that our relationship was not fulfilling me and that I had no time
to waste, at my age, and I knew that Maxime was not the guy. And to tell you the truth, Maxime agreed that it
was better that we remained good friends, you know? I had given
him my word that I would remain his official girlfriend for a year and, to tell you honestly, though you know
that that person is not the person of your life, you still can grow very attached. I certainly didn’t do it
against my own free will or all those things that people implied, that I was paid to be his escort and whatnot.
That’s totally ridiculous. How many people had an ex that they kept seeing until they met someone else that was
more interesting? I think we have all done it. So all of a sudden, because he’s a minister, there’s this hidden
agenda behind it.
Q: Everybody’s trying to impose a story on your life.
A: It was much simpler than that, and a
1 had this image of George Bush as this cold person. He had a great sense of humour. That totally threw me off.’
lot duller than that, if you ask me.
Q: Well, it’s not very dull.
A: Concerning my relationship with Maxime it was. Yes, fine, I did have a fiancé that got assassinated, but that
was 12 years ago, and yes, I ended up divorcing a guy that used to be a biker before he went out with me, or got
married to me, but that was 10 years ago.
Q: Is that one of the things that was so horrifying for you about this? Because you’ve been working, travelling
in different circles, and holding your own with ambassadors and important people around the world. And then all
of a sudden, you’re reading about yourself in the paper.
A: All of a sudden I’m a biker’s chick and I’m this and I’m that and I’m trash and I’m a whore and I’m possibly
sent by bikers. What
the hell? That’s 10 and 12 years ago, so what does that have to do with anything now?
Q: Was it necessary, in order to re-establish your reputation, to go so deeply into Mr. Bernier’s character
flaws and his misbehaviours?
A: I think that it was. When you have a team of people who work 45 hours a week to portray you and to sell your
image in the media, getting to know the real, true person behind this image can’t be easy. It needed to be done
so that people would understand not his actions, but his inaction in this circus that crashed my life. Some
people will say, “Yeah, well, it’s pretty harsh.” Well, I’m so sorry but his silence was basically sending a
message to the public that he was endorsing everything that was being said. That man knew me, he spent a year
with me, six months as his girlfriend, and I was good enough to remain his very good friend for another six
months, and he still wanted me to stick around to keep accompanying him in all his official functions, so I
couldn’t have been such a vulgar woman and a slut and a this and a that and a biker’s chick. Yet he let all
these things be said about me, and he was the politician, he was the one who had all the tools to stand up and
say, “Listen, now, this is not right.”
Q: In March of this year it broke on TV that the minister is dating a biker chick.
Q: May, sorry, and he went underground.
A: Exactly, he started acting like he never even knew me. Do you honestly think that the media, politicians,
[the general] population would have been the slightest [bit] interested in what Julie Couillard did in her life
10, 11 years ago, 12 years ago? Who gave a damn? Nobody. Everybody became interested. Why? Because I was the
official girlfriend of a federal cabinet minister. He ran the other way waving while I was drowning.
Q: What should he have done?
A: Well, he should have at least straightened out the facts, and right from the get-go he could have stopped
this then and there. He could have said that this is all a cheap way of trying to damage his reputation and
damage the party that was in power, and that it had nothing to do with the real issues of our society today and
it was just cheap politics. He had all the tools and all the people. He knew that the RCMP, the Sûreté du
Québec,
la Communauté urbaine de Montréal, all of them, [that] did investigate me back then, came to the conclusion I
had nothing to do with organized crime aside from the fact that I was seeing people that knew people in that
scene, but on a personal level, and I was not implicated in the criminal activities of any sort. This was just a
cheap attempt to damage our government. That’s all it was!
Q: In the book, Stephen Harper comes off better than pretty much anyone else you encountered in that world. You
were impressed with him.
A: Yes, I was. I have to admit that I do not have the same political views as Mr. Harper but I do have a lot of
respect for the man.
Q: George W. Bush impressed you as well.
A: I had this image of this cold, very restrained person, but he was such a friendly and accessible guy, and
very light and funny. He had a great sense of humour. That totally threw me off.
Q: You say in the book that you thought you let Mr. Bernier off too easily. Is there more to the story that you
haven’t written?
A: The only more would be things that I do not think are of any public interest.
Q: He would, when you were together, complain about Mr. Harper being fat or being controlling. Doesn’t everybody
complain about the boss?
A: Maybe. But Maxime doesn’t have just a job, he’s a politician. That’s very different. He shouldn’t have a
right to disrespect our Prime Minister. And what really pissed me off is that Maxime was a guy that two years
before wasn’t even in politics and there you go, all of a sudden, because of Mr. Harper, he ends up, hey, the
minister of external affairs! Come on! The man might not be perfect, we’re all perfectly unperfect, but you
should respect him for giving you that opportunity.
Q: You answered this question already about the men in your life and your batting average. Do you think it’s the
kind of man you’re attracted to or the kind of man who’s attracted to you?
A: Well, I don’t know. I know for my part my flaws are more that I see a good-looking guy and he’s a good talker
and he’s a lot of fun and he makes me laugh, and then I have a tendency of more dreaming an image of that
person, and then I fall in love with that image, but the guy I’m falling in love with does not even exist.
That’s what I would have to watch out for. And because, I guess, of my looks some men are attracted to me for
the wrong reasons, they stop at what they see instead of seeing deeper than that.
Q: When you were travelling with Mr. Bernier and going to official functions, you did meet some people and you
exchanged business cards on occasion. Did any opportunities or any doors open for you because ofthat?
A: I didn’t really exchange business cards at all, to tell you the truth, when I was with Maxime. I’ve had the
pleasure of saying, “I’ve met our ambassador in Paris.” But I was the spouse of Maxime, that’s why I was there.
Q: Are you working now?
A: Oh, no. My life totally stopped. The seventh of May everything stopped.
Q: What are you going to do now?
A: That’s a very good question. I don’t have an answer. I still have a mortgage to pay, and a car payment and so
on and so forth. I concentrated on re-establishing the facts and reestablishing my credibility because nobody
will have anything to do business-wise with me—which is totally understandable—and I do not believe that the
same career is ever going to pick up again.
Q: Real estate?
A: No, real estate and development. I specialized in a very narrow niche, where you always have to be in contact
with the municipalities, with the provincial, even the federal government. M
Aimee, 1, and Tabita, 9.
Gisimba Memorial Center, an orphanage on the ouskirts of Kigali.
July, 2006.
Kigali, Rwanda.
A prayer poster taped to the wall. You can also see shadows of a mosquito net. Malaria is a part of daily life at the orphanage.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
The girls' dormitory.
An orphanage on the outskirts of Kigali, in Nyamirambo.
Rwanda. Afrika.
August, 2006
Curiosity is a common sight here at the orphanage.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
July, 2005.
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan at Gisimba Memorial Center, direct contact information is listed below.
Ildephonse Niyongana - Director
Damas Gisimba - Founder
gisimbacmg@yahoo.com
Gisimba Orphanage
B.P. 1433 Kigali Rwanda
Ave de la Nyarugenge
Nyamirambo
District of Nyarugenge
tel +250 08524515 or +250 08532596
Bank of Kigali 040-0013914-76
swift BK IG RWRW
Additional information can also be found on www.orphansofrwanda.org
Co. G, 11th KS. Cavalry
William Cutler wrote the following about this gentleman:
CAPTAIN A. C. PIERCE, dealer in real estate, loan and insurance agent, first located in Saline County, Kan., in 1856, and afterwards removed to Kansas Falls and engaged in surveying and locating settlers. He moved to Junction City in 1860, and was elected County Assessor in the same spring, and took the census of Davis, Clay and part of Riley counties. He enlisted in Company G, Eleventh Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry, as second lieutenant; promoted to first lieutenant; was subsequently changed to cavalry; participated in the battles of Fort Wayne, Indian Territory; Cane Hill, Ark., and Prairie Grove; Price's raid, Independence, Mo.; Big Blue, Fort Scott and the battle on the line, near Kansas City. He was mustered out as captain of his company at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in August, 1865, when he returned to Junction City. He was married in May, 1865, to Miss Harriet L. Bowen, of Otsego County, N. Y. He was born in the latter county, September 13, 1835, and was educated in Cooperstown, N. Y. They have seven children--Alfred B., Mary, Harriott, Madge, Levi Benjamin, Marcia and Maude. He is a member of the Universalist Church and I. O. G., Junction City; served a term in Kansas City Legislature in 1861, 1862 and 1868; was re-elected in the fall of 1880. He was been County Surveyor, County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
Pages 864-867 from volume III, part 2 of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.
Alfred Clark Pierce.—The semi-centenary of Kansas's statehood concludes an epoch in her history wherein were developed men, who, from the standpoint of constructive, initiative, and executive talent, rank with the most forceful in the annals of her sister commonwealths. Among those who have realized a large and substantial success, a citizen who has the distinction of having been for fifty-six years a Kansan, one who has been a potential force in practically every phase of her development, is he whose name initiates this article. Coming to Kansas in 1856, he took an active part during the formative period in the settlement of what is now Geary, Dickinson, and Saline counties. His labors in the cause of temperance, while a member of the legislature, would prove sufficient to give precedence and reputation to any man, were this to represent the sum total of his efforts; but Captain Pierce is a man of broad mental ken, strong initiative, and distinct individuality, and he has been a most potent, though unostentatious factor in the commercial, social, and religious life of Geary county, where he took up his residence, in 1860.
Alfred C. Pierce was born at Cooperstown, Otsego county, New York, Sept. 13, 1835, son of Benjamin and Polly (Bowen) Pierce. His ancestors on both sides were among the early settlers of America, and numbered among them are men who achieved distinction in the frontier life of those early days, in the commercial era which followed, in the French and Indian wars, and later in the war of the Revolution. The Pierce family became established in America early in the Seventeenth century, when one of the name settled in Rhode Island and married there. His youngest son, John Pierce, married and had five sons, the youngest of whom, Mial Pierce, born in the town of Dover, Dutchess county, New York, in May, 1766, married Isabel Chase, of Pittstown, Rensselaer county, New York, and this couple were the grandparents of Alfred C. Pierce. They had thirteen children, two of whom died young, and the youngest, Benjamin, was the father of Alfred C. He was born on Sept. 30, 1804, and married Polly Bowen, of Middlefield, Otsego county, New York, born Sept. 29, 1808. The Bowen family was founded in America by Griffith Bowen, who came from Langerrith, Wales, in 1638, and settled at Roxbury, Mass. A brother, Lieut. Henry Bowen, followed soon afterward and also settled in Roxbury, where he married a daughter of Isaac Johnson. He fought in the Indian wars of his time, in Isaac Johnson's company, and later became one of the promoters of the Connecticut colony. The line of descent from Lieut. Henry Bowen to Alfred C. Pierce is as follows: Isaac, son of Henry Bowen, was born in Roxbury, Mass., April 20, 1676, and died Jan. 1, 1727; Henry, son of Isaac, was born at Farmington, Mass., June 30, 1700, and died at Woodstock, Conn., Jan. 1, 1758; his son, Silas, was born at Woodstock, Conn., April 17, 1722, and died Feb. 16, 1790; Henry, son of Silas, was born at Eastport, Conn., March 9, 1749, and died Dec. 8, 1830, and his son, Henry, known as "Deacon Henry," was born Sept. 10, 1780, and settled in Otsego county, New York, where he became an influential farmer. He was the father of Polly Bowen, who married Benjamin Pierce and became the mother of Alfred C. The Bowen family has furnished men who have attained to positions of prominence in the civil, professional, and political life of the country, as well as members who served in the war of the Revolution. Benjamin and Polly (Bowen) Pierce were the parents of thirteen children: Cynthia Ann, born Sept. 25, 1827; Laura Elvira, born March 8, 1829; Henry Bowen, born Sept. 10, 1830; Sabrina M., born Dec. 25, 1831; Horace Milton, born Jan. 5, 1834; Alfred Clark, born Sept. 13, 1835; Elmer Wood, born Nov. 2, 1837; Ellen, born July 29, 1839; Marcia, born May 1, 1841; Silas E., born Jan. 11, 1844; Arthur S., born Feb. 28, 1846; Amy L., born May 5, 1848, and Sumner W., born May 24, 1851 .
Alfred Clark Pierce was reared on a farm near Cooperstown, N. Y. His education was acquired in the Cooperstown Academy, supplemented by a course of two terms at the State Normal School, at Albany, N. Y., which course he completed in 1855. He took a keen interest in the problems then confronting the nation, particularly those concerning the future of Kansas. Deciding to join the free-state party, he began his journey to the territory, stopping for a time at Adrian, Mich., with an uncle, Lucien Bowen, who secured a school for him and he taught one term. Continuing westward, he reached Iowa City, where he remained for three weeks. Here he became acquainted with the late Preston B. Plumb, and a friendship was formed which remained unbroken up to the time of Senator Plumb's death. Mr. Pierce, Mr. Plumb, and a party of eight others, left Iowa City, Sept. 3, 1855, conveying 250 Sharp's rifles, a supply of ammunition, and a small brass cannon, intrusted to them for delivery to the Free-Soil party in Kansas. The rifles and ammunition were turned over at Tabor, Iowa, and the cannon was taken on to a point near Topeka, where it was concealed in the woods. On the way west, the party divided at Manhattan, Mr. Plumb following the valley of the Smoky Hill, westward, and Mr. Pierce going up the Blue river. They rejoined each other at Chapman, whence Mr. Plumb returned to Lawrence and Mr. Pierce went on west and located a claim, on which has since been built the city of Salina. There, with seven companions, he erected a log house, the first building of any kind in Saline county, and which he subsequently sold to Colonel Phillips, the founder of Salina. Mr. Pierce abandoned this claim in November, 1855, and went to Ogden, where he was employed in cutting logs. From that time until the spring of 1857 he secured such employment as was offered, working in the district from Junction City to Atchison. Upon the establishment of Kansas Falls by the Massachusetts colony, he became superintendent of building operations for the settlement, and was also engaged in surveying. He also filed on a claim and got out logs and lumber. In 1860 he located permanently at Junction City, where he has since resided, being now the oldest living resident. He was first engaged in surveying, looking up lands and locating settlers. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G. Eleventh Kansas infantry, which in 1863 was made the Eleventh Kansas cavalry. He was promoted to first lieutenant, then to captain, and was mustered out with that rank in August, 1865. Returning to Junction City, he was elected county surveyor, later county clerk, and also served as register of deeds. In 1867 he opened the first real estate office in Geary county, later adding to his business insurance and loans. He compiled the first abstract books in the county and added that department to his business. From the start this venture proved a success and the business became the most extensive in the county, as well as one of the most important factors in the development of this section of the state. For forty years Mr. Pierce remained in charge of this business, retiring in 1906, when he was succeeded by his son, Hal Pierce, who is one of the successful men of the county. Owning about 5,000 acres of land in Geary county, Mr. Pierce has, since 1906, been fully occupied in the management of his extensive cattle interests. He is a lifelong Republican and has been an active factor in state, county, and city affairs. He has been three times elected to the state legislature—first in 1861, again in 1867, and the last time in 1879. A consistent and conscientious advocate of temperance and prohibition, he labored unceasingly for the measures which have done so much to place Kansas in the front rank as regards prosperity and citzenship.[sic]
On May 9, 1865, Mr. Pierce married Miss Harriet L. Bowen, daughter of Levi H. Bowen, of Cooperstown, N. Y. She died June 2, 1910. Mrs. Pierce was a woman of broad culture and refinement, one who exerted a great influence for good in the social and religious life of Junction City, and one whose charities were many and varied. Her death removed from Geary county one of its noble women, whose loss is keenly felt by a wide circle of friends. Her family lost a mother who believed in her husband, her children, and her fireside, and did her utmost to create an ideal home. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce became the parents of seven children: Alfred Bowen is associated with his father in the cattle business; Mary is the widow of Joseph Gillett, of Purcell, Okla.; Hal (see sketch); Madge is the wife of Frank Smith, of Byers, Okla.; Levi Benjamin is engaged in farming with his father; Marcia resides with her father, and Maud is the wife of Frank Kibby, of Junction City.
Captain Pierce is in all respects a high type of the conservative, unassuming American, diligent in his commercial affairs, and conscientious in all things. To do justice to the many phases of his career in an article of this order would be impossible; but in even touching the more salient points there may come objective lessons and incentive, and thus a tribute of appreciation. As a man among men, bearing his due share in connection with the practical activities and responsibilties of a work-a-day world, he has been successful; but over all and above all, he has gained a deep knowledge of the well-springs from which emerge the streams of human motive and action. He has gained a clear apprehension of what life means, what its dominating influences and its possibilities are, and is ever ready to impart to his fellow men the fruits of his investigation, contemplation, and mature wisdom. As an evidence of his progressiveness, it is worthy of mention that he built the first silo in Kansas and was one of the first to use ensilage in feeding cattle. He has known, more or less intimately, every governor of the State of Kansas, and met nearly all the territorial governors. At the age of seventy-six he is a marvel of mental and physical strength and energy, frequently spending a whole day at a time in the saddle, giving his personal attention to his cattle ranches, etc.
Diana dancing.
Three and a half year old Diana (pronounced DeeAnna) was brought here to Gisimba Memorial Center less than a year ago. Diana is quick to giggle, and her smile is sweet beyond words. Gisimba Memorial Center has proven to be a sanctuary for this little angel.
I'm looking for sponsors for the children of Gisimba Memorial Center. Please email me at camera_rwanda@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
Nyamirambo, Kigali. Rwanda, Afrika.
June 27, 2006.
We were in Kampala, my friend and I each busily checking our email on the computer when, for some strange reason, I turned around and saw through the Internet's cafe open door, this woman, sitting in her red dress, the lace and position of her hands all stunning and surreal and colorful in the muted Kampala street scene.
My camera in my bag, I quickly pulled it out, focussed (somewhat) and took the picture. I like this picture more for how I took it than what I yielded with that reflexive action.
There I sat, modern woman with her machine; there she sat, traditional woman waiting for...Though only a few meters away from when I sat at the computer, she was a world away.
To me, years later, Amin's Kampala is this woman in her red dress. Incidentally, this is the only photograph I have from Kampala--and I'm glad.
Kampala, Uganda.
Before the Nile trip.
July, 2005.
$50 Australian Pesos, 2018 new version.
Just like our currency (exchange rates), the spelling on our new notes suck as well. If you didn't get it, it's spelt "Responsibility", an "i" is missing. Look back, and it should seem very odd now.
I just acquired the note at a local bank, so it's apparently not fixed yet.
Greatly improved lighting, using some kind of single output liquid lightguide now, exposure time has been greatly reduced, a fast shutter speed allows a faster workflow and less vibrations to get whiny over.
Stack of 44 exposures in Zerene Stacker, Pmax.
Nikon D810, ISO 64, 1/4 seconds exposure. Laowa 25mm Ulta-Macro lens at 5x,. 20um/step.
Stackshot rail, Thorlabs optical setup. Diffusion provided by some jelly container wrapped in tracing paper. Illuminated with OSL2.
Processed in Capture One Pro.
I like to call this "politically correct, spelling incorrect". The note is some virtue signal about women in politics, something that's not surprising since obviously with enough work and interest, people can pursue whatever career they desire. It was apparently somehow a great accomplishment during that time? I mean there's been many female empresses ruling countries in the past, being in the senate for a couple years isn't that big of a deal.
During the "Music for Life" week-long summer camp, the children have dance and singing classes at night. Here you see two classrooms side-by-side. To the left, a hip hop dancer takes a break. To the right, the gospel singers wind down for the evening. Each classroom serves as a primary school classroom during the day, and at night is lit by a single yellow bulb.
Gisimba Memorial Center
An orphanage on the outskirts of Nyamirambo in Kigali.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
August 3, 2006.
8:00 p.m.
INDIAN OCEAN (Feb. 23, 2018) Master-at-Arms 1st Class Richard Sineath climbs aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) during small boat operations. Halsey is deployed with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Burgains/Released)
I'm looking for sponsors for the children of Gisimba Memorial Center. Please email me at camera_rwanda@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Egide, 16.
Gisimba Memorial Center
Kigali, Rwanda. Central Afrika.
July 31, 2006.
"Mr Bean" Tuyishimire, 12.
I'm looking for sponsors for the children of Gisimba Memorial Center. Please email me at camera_rwanda@yahoo.com if you are interested. You can also contact www.orphansofrwanda.org
Gisimba Memorial Center.
The water tank.
An orphanage on the outskirts of Kigali, in Nyamirambo.
Rwanda. Afrika.
July 31, 2006.
One of Alpha Trains' new-ish fleet of multi-system Vectrons, 193 550 (Zwei Pole mit enormer Zugkraft) leads 193 553 (Responsibility Driven) northwards through Innsbruck Hbf Bahnsteig 4 on DGS 43108, a KLV from Verona Q.E. to Hannover Linden Hafen, on behalf of TXLogistik (who lease the Vectrons from AT); the yellow Fröhlich containers are the tell-tale sign for this service (and DGS 43109, the southbound equivalent).
So much joy and possibility at this place where nearly 200 children 2 - 22 live a safe life, and look forward to a future of peace and prosperity.
Want to help open doors?
If so, please email me at camera_rwanda@yahoo.com if you are interested in sponsoring a child at Gisimba Memorial Center here in Kigali, Rwanda.
Or you can visit "Orphans of Rwanda" ( orphansofrwanda.org ).
Afrika, July 2006.
One of four full-time Mommies who care for the children of Gisimba Memorial Center. Her laughter is especially lovely.
Gisimba Memorial Center.
An orphanage on the outskirts of Kigali, in Nyamirambo.
Rwanda. Afrika.
June 29, 2006.
INDIAN OCEAN (Feb. 22, 2018) Ship’s Serviceman 2nd Class Ryan Maneclang, assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97), fires an M2HB machine gun during a live-fire exercise. Halsey is deployed with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Burgains/Released)
Co. G, 11th KS. Cavalry
William Cutler wrote the following about this gentleman:
CAPTAIN A. C. PIERCE, dealer in real estate, loan and insurance agent, first located in Saline County, Kan., in 1856, and afterwards removed to Kansas Falls and engaged in surveying and locating settlers. He moved to Junction City in 1860, and was elected County Assessor in the same spring, and took the census of Davis, Clay and part of Riley counties. He enlisted in Company G, Eleventh Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry, as second lieutenant; promoted to first lieutenant; was subsequently changed to cavalry; participated in the battles of Fort Wayne, Indian Territory; Cane Hill, Ark., and Prairie Grove; Price's raid, Independence, Mo.; Big Blue, Fort Scott and the battle on the line, near Kansas City. He was mustered out as captain of his company at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in August, 1865, when he returned to Junction City. He was married in May, 1865, to Miss Harriet L. Bowen, of Otsego County, N. Y. He was born in the latter county, September 13, 1835, and was educated in Cooperstown, N. Y. They have seven children--Alfred B., Mary, Harriott, Madge, Levi Benjamin, Marcia and Maude. He is a member of the Universalist Church and I. O. G., Junction City; served a term in Kansas City Legislature in 1861, 1862 and 1868; was re-elected in the fall of 1880. He was been County Surveyor, County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
Pages 864-867 from volume III, part 2 of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.
Alfred Clark Pierce.—The semi-centenary of Kansas's statehood concludes an epoch in her history wherein were developed men, who, from the standpoint of constructive, initiative, and executive talent, rank with the most forceful in the annals of her sister commonwealths. Among those who have realized a large and substantial success, a citizen who has the distinction of having been for fifty-six years a Kansan, one who has been a potential force in practically every phase of her development, is he whose name initiates this article. Coming to Kansas in 1856, he took an active part during the formative period in the settlement of what is now Geary, Dickinson, and Saline counties. His labors in the cause of temperance, while a member of the legislature, would prove sufficient to give precedence and reputation to any man, were this to represent the sum total of his efforts; but Captain Pierce is a man of broad mental ken, strong initiative, and distinct individuality, and he has been a most potent, though unostentatious factor in the commercial, social, and religious life of Geary county, where he took up his residence, in 1860.
Alfred C. Pierce was born at Cooperstown, Otsego county, New York, Sept. 13, 1835, son of Benjamin and Polly (Bowen) Pierce. His ancestors on both sides were among the early settlers of America, and numbered among them are men who achieved distinction in the frontier life of those early days, in the commercial era which followed, in the French and Indian wars, and later in the war of the Revolution. The Pierce family became established in America early in the Seventeenth century, when one of the name settled in Rhode Island and married there. His youngest son, John Pierce, married and had five sons, the youngest of whom, Mial Pierce, born in the town of Dover, Dutchess county, New York, in May, 1766, married Isabel Chase, of Pittstown, Rensselaer county, New York, and this couple were the grandparents of Alfred C. Pierce. They had thirteen children, two of whom died young, and the youngest, Benjamin, was the father of Alfred C. He was born on Sept. 30, 1804, and married Polly Bowen, of Middlefield, Otsego county, New York, born Sept. 29, 1808. The Bowen family was founded in America by Griffith Bowen, who came from Langerrith, Wales, in 1638, and settled at Roxbury, Mass. A brother, Lieut. Henry Bowen, followed soon afterward and also settled in Roxbury, where he married a daughter of Isaac Johnson. He fought in the Indian wars of his time, in Isaac Johnson's company, and later became one of the promoters of the Connecticut colony. The line of descent from Lieut. Henry Bowen to Alfred C. Pierce is as follows: Isaac, son of Henry Bowen, was born in Roxbury, Mass., April 20, 1676, and died Jan. 1, 1727; Henry, son of Isaac, was born at Farmington, Mass., June 30, 1700, and died at Woodstock, Conn., Jan. 1, 1758; his son, Silas, was born at Woodstock, Conn., April 17, 1722, and died Feb. 16, 1790; Henry, son of Silas, was born at Eastport, Conn., March 9, 1749, and died Dec. 8, 1830, and his son, Henry, known as "Deacon Henry," was born Sept. 10, 1780, and settled in Otsego county, New York, where he became an influential farmer. He was the father of Polly Bowen, who married Benjamin Pierce and became the mother of Alfred C. The Bowen family has furnished men who have attained to positions of prominence in the civil, professional, and political life of the country, as well as members who served in the war of the Revolution. Benjamin and Polly (Bowen) Pierce were the parents of thirteen children: Cynthia Ann, born Sept. 25, 1827; Laura Elvira, born March 8, 1829; Henry Bowen, born Sept. 10, 1830; Sabrina M., born Dec. 25, 1831; Horace Milton, born Jan. 5, 1834; Alfred Clark, born Sept. 13, 1835; Elmer Wood, born Nov. 2, 1837; Ellen, born July 29, 1839; Marcia, born May 1, 1841; Silas E., born Jan. 11, 1844; Arthur S., born Feb. 28, 1846; Amy L., born May 5, 1848, and Sumner W., born May 24, 1851 .
Alfred Clark Pierce was reared on a farm near Cooperstown, N. Y. His education was acquired in the Cooperstown Academy, supplemented by a course of two terms at the State Normal School, at Albany, N. Y., which course he completed in 1855. He took a keen interest in the problems then confronting the nation, particularly those concerning the future of Kansas. Deciding to join the free-state party, he began his journey to the territory, stopping for a time at Adrian, Mich., with an uncle, Lucien Bowen, who secured a school for him and he taught one term. Continuing westward, he reached Iowa City, where he remained for three weeks. Here he became acquainted with the late Preston B. Plumb, and a friendship was formed which remained unbroken up to the time of Senator Plumb's death. Mr. Pierce, Mr. Plumb, and a party of eight others, left Iowa City, Sept. 3, 1855, conveying 250 Sharp's rifles, a supply of ammunition, and a small brass cannon, intrusted to them for delivery to the Free-Soil party in Kansas. The rifles and ammunition were turned over at Tabor, Iowa, and the cannon was taken on to a point near Topeka, where it was concealed in the woods. On the way west, the party divided at Manhattan, Mr. Plumb following the valley of the Smoky Hill, westward, and Mr. Pierce going up the Blue river. They rejoined each other at Chapman, whence Mr. Plumb returned to Lawrence and Mr. Pierce went on west and located a claim, on which has since been built the city of Salina. There, with seven companions, he erected a log house, the first building of any kind in Saline county, and which he subsequently sold to Colonel Phillips, the founder of Salina. Mr. Pierce abandoned this claim in November, 1855, and went to Ogden, where he was employed in cutting logs. From that time until the spring of 1857 he secured such employment as was offered, working in the district from Junction City to Atchison. Upon the establishment of Kansas Falls by the Massachusetts colony, he became superintendent of building operations for the settlement, and was also engaged in surveying. He also filed on a claim and got out logs and lumber. In 1860 he located permanently at Junction City, where he has since resided, being now the oldest living resident. He was first engaged in surveying, looking up lands and locating settlers. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G. Eleventh Kansas infantry, which in 1863 was made the Eleventh Kansas cavalry. He was promoted to first lieutenant, then to captain, and was mustered out with that rank in August, 1865. Returning to Junction City, he was elected county surveyor, later county clerk, and also served as register of deeds. In 1867 he opened the first real estate office in Geary county, later adding to his business insurance and loans. He compiled the first abstract books in the county and added that department to his business. From the start this venture proved a success and the business became the most extensive in the county, as well as one of the most important factors in the development of this section of the state. For forty years Mr. Pierce remained in charge of this business, retiring in 1906, when he was succeeded by his son, Hal Pierce, who is one of the successful men of the county. Owning about 5,000 acres of land in Geary county, Mr. Pierce has, since 1906, been fully occupied in the management of his extensive cattle interests. He is a lifelong Republican and has been an active factor in state, county, and city affairs. He has been three times elected to the state legislature—first in 1861, again in 1867, and the last time in 1879. A consistent and conscientious advocate of temperance and prohibition, he labored unceasingly for the measures which have done so much to place Kansas in the front rank as regards prosperity and citzenship.[sic]
On May 9, 1865, Mr. Pierce married Miss Harriet L. Bowen, daughter of Levi H. Bowen, of Cooperstown, N. Y. She died June 2, 1910. Mrs. Pierce was a woman of broad culture and refinement, one who exerted a great influence for good in the social and religious life of Junction City, and one whose charities were many and varied. Her death removed from Geary county one of its noble women, whose loss is keenly felt by a wide circle of friends. Her family lost a mother who believed in her husband, her children, and her fireside, and did her utmost to create an ideal home. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce became the parents of seven children: Alfred Bowen is associated with his father in the cattle business; Mary is the widow of Joseph Gillett, of Purcell, Okla.; Hal (see sketch); Madge is the wife of Frank Smith, of Byers, Okla.; Levi Benjamin is engaged in farming with his father; Marcia resides with her father, and Maud is the wife of Frank Kibby, of Junction City.
Captain Pierce is in all respects a high type of the conservative, unassuming American, diligent in his commercial affairs, and conscientious in all things. To do justice to the many phases of his career in an article of this order would be impossible; but in even touching the more salient points there may come objective lessons and incentive, and thus a tribute of appreciation. As a man among men, bearing his due share in connection with the practical activities and responsibilties of a work-a-day world, he has been successful; but over all and above all, he has gained a deep knowledge of the well-springs from which emerge the streams of human motive and action. He has gained a clear apprehension of what life means, what its dominating influences and its possibilities are, and is ever ready to impart to his fellow men the fruits of his investigation, contemplation, and mature wisdom. As an evidence of his progressiveness, it is worthy of mention that he built the first silo in Kansas and was one of the first to use ensilage in feeding cattle. He has known, more or less intimately, every governor of the State of Kansas, and met nearly all the territorial governors. At the age of seventy-six he is a marvel of mental and physical strength and energy, frequently spending a whole day at a time in the saddle, giving his personal attention to his cattle ranches, etc.
2013 World Bank Group/Fund Annual Meetings
"Boosting Shared Prosperity By Getting Youth Employment Solutions Meeting". Global growth and poverty reduction over the next 20 years will be driven by todays young people. The global economy will need to create 5 million new jobs each month during the next decade to meet the demands of new entrants. Moderator Nigel Chapman, Chief Executive Officer, Plan International, and speakers: H.E. Lamine Doghri, Minister of Development and International Cooperation, Tunisia; Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director General, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); Jill Huntly, Global Managing Director for Corporate Citizenship, Accenture; Jennifer Silberman, Vice President, Social Responsibilty, Hilton Worldwide. Photo by Brangelina Clawson \ World Bank Group
When MY MOTHER and FATHER brought to ME HEATHER MY BEAUTIFUL GODDESS WIFE
THEY asked what else do you need to SURVIVE in this LIFE
I said a BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER named TIFFANIE
and a HANDSOME SON named MIKE
plus BABY HEATHER and BABY ROBERT is all that I'd like
I promised to teach MY KIDS right from wrong
and I told them for this WORLD to SURVIVE we must all get along
I told them to be polite to all adults and every kid
and always take responsibilty for what ever they did
I told them thoose who live behind lies
will die behind the truth
so always be honest all through your adulthood and youth
never take anything that didn't belong to you
and you will be rewarded in all that you do
when ever I sneeze people say to ME "GOD BLESS YOU"
I say MY GODDESS already did
with MY BEAUTIFUL GODDESS WIFE and OUR BEAUTIFUL KIDS
when I DIED if not for the LOVE of MY WIFE, OUR ANGELS, OUR SON and OUR DAUGHTER
MY WORLD would have ended after MY OCEAN flooded it with water
" ROBERT "PETER" RAMOS" 5/12/09 12:47
I am posting this message here as the power of Flickr has proven
a tremendous social-networking tool to creatively collaborate and
cross-support missions both in the field and at home.
I will be returning to Rwanda and Uganda August - September this year (2011).
Please get in touch with me if you or someone you know might like to
collaborate--I photograph and write and help bring awareness, raise
funds for good work being done by good people for good people.
--Kresta King
South Africa.
July, 2005.
(Kodachrome slide.)