View allAll Photos Tagged zero
The community board meeting took place in order to discuss the proposed mosque to be built next to ground zero. While the project is usually referred to as the “mosque at ground zero”, the project’s official name is the Cordoba Initiative. The Imam and the developers were in attendance to present the project, and many politicians (or rather their representatives) were on hand, along with many of those in favor or opposed.
First spoke the elected officials, who—in the typical New York political elitist fashion— slandered and insulted their opposition. Councilwoman Margaret Chin spoke before a single opponent of the mosque ever came up to the microphone to state their position, but that didn’t stop her from accusing those against it of “bigotry”.
And while Margaret Chin chose to offend the opposition to the mosque (most of whom present were families of 9-11 victims and first responders) in person, other local figures sent their cronies. A representative of Scott Stringer, President of the Borough of Manhattan, handed out a letter to everyone prior to the meeting in which he refers to the mosque as a “multi-faith community and cultural center” and claims that this “center has been the subject of bigoted attacks that contain a strain of religious and racial hatred more extreme than anything we have seen in NYC for some time.” I guess an attempt to kill hundreds of New Yorkers and tourists at Times Square by an Islamist Faisal Shahzad less than a month prior was not extreme enough for Stringer and, instead of jihadism, Stringer seems to have identified the enemy as a TEA Party leader whom he rips apart throughout this unsolicited letter. While the TEA Party’s opposition is referred to as a “bigoted agenda”, the mosque itself is referred to as a “vibrant and world-class facility in NYC which will promote tolerance and pluralism”. Of course he fails to provide any example of mosques in NYC or in the world that have EVER promoted tolerance or pluralism, but perhaps he didn’t think that any attendee would dare question his superior judgment in the matter. Please be sure to read his disgusting letter
After the political cronies spoke, Feisal Abdul Rauf', the Imam in charge of this “community center” was given time to present his proposal. He started his speech with “for many years I’ve had a dream…” (I wonder what Dr. King would have thought of a ‘grand wizard’ proposing to build a “community center” at the site of the bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama). The Imam also claimed that this “community center” would promote multi-culturalism; he was so sure of it that his speech was sprinkled throughout with that deceiving phrase. But his presentation brought with it an unexpected turning point. Not because of anything he planned to share with us in his carefully prepared PC jargoned speech, but because of a question by one of the board members who wanted to know if the proposed “community center” would hold prayer. The Imam said “yes”, to which the board member replied, “then it is a house of worship, not a community center”.
Without any objection to that by the Imam or speakers that followed, the term “community center” began to very gradually disappear. But don’t think that anyone’s opinion actually changed as a result. The supporters of the project “formerly” known as a “community center” still believed that it was somehow related to diversity and that it would in no way be an insult to those who died due to Islamist ideology, nor would it serve as a monument of jihadist victory.
But neither the councilwoman nor the Imam were the most offensive or distasteful of the proponents of the mosque. Daisy Khan of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, who also happens to be Imam’s wife, blew their insults and lies out of the water. (I don’t recall her being introduced as Rauf’s wife at the meeting, but I can’t be sure.) She lectured and she yelled – yes, yelled – at the families of victims, the first responders, and her fellow New Yorkers. She yelled that she is “tired of bearing the cross [and will do so] no longer” because apparently she and the Muslim community were the real victims of the 9-11 attacks—not the families who lost their loved ones, not the cities that lost their monuments, and not the country that lost its feeling of security.
Without a single mosque destroyed and with very few anti-Muslim incidents, hearing from this woman about her supposed victimization in that auditorium was absolutely sickening. It didn’t help when for weeks after (and prior) she dominated the time on television appearing calm and together and claiming among other nonsense – I kid you not – that the reason they chose the ground zero site to build a mosque is to provide a “blow to the extremists”. I’m sure radical Muslims would just hate it if New York built a mosque on the ground where American buildings were destroyed and thousands of Americans were murdered by jihadists … right? READ HER RIDICULOUS QUOTE AGAIN. Now listen to it for yourself from the horse’s mouth because I wouldn’t have believed it either. (starts at 1:10) www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7WbTv_gsx4&playnext_from=TL&...
Other supporters of the mosque included two priests and a rabbi (no, it isn’t a start to a joke – although I wish it was) of the leftist “co-exist” variety all of whom supported the mosque. And while there were some clergy present that (judging by applause and reactions) opposed the mosque, they did not come up to the microphone. The supporting clergy seemed to have gone to the same rhetoric school as the Imam, using terms like “multi-culturalism”, “tolerance”, “community relations and understanding”, and other jargon that had no actual relevance to the topic.
There was also a Caucasian woman with a baby who introduced herself as someone who had converted to Islam … in 2006, if I’m not mistaken. She lied about how difficult it is to find information and resources on Islam in NY. I say she lied not only because there are hundreds of mosques in the 5 boroughs, but also because as a recent convert she is a prime example of someone who was able to find and act on this information. Of course, she didn’t specify why ground zero is a better location than any other for this apparently “valuable to the city” information about the religion all 911 hijackers belonged to.
Now that I have gone on and on about the supporters of the mosque (aka “community center”) and the temple’s money changers, let me talk about the opponents of a mosque being build at ground zero ... Not a single one of them opposed a mosque being built; the prevailing request was simply “build it somewhere else”.
First opponent to speak was the celebrated publisher, editor, and columnist Pamela Geller. She was the one to point out what Cordoba means to the Muslim world. Cordoba is a city in Spain that was the first major city to fall to Muslim conquerors and become an Islamic caliphate and a symbol of Islamic conquest of the West. She also called the mosque “a shrine to the very ideology that inspired 9-11”. Sure seems a lot more plausible than Daisy’s explanation for why the mosque has to overlook ground zero.
A gentleman who lost his brother in WTC and represents the largest ‘families of victims of 9-11’ groups introduced some of those present who lost loved ones at ground zero. He protested the lectures and the labels that were bestowed on these families for their “legitimate, legal opposition to this Muslim ‘multi-cultural center’”. He pointed out that while there is proposed building of this mosque at ground zero, the committees have refused to allow monuments to the tragedy of 9-11, including the WTC sphere which was heavily damaged during the terrorist attack and has become an iconic symbol of the tragedy. At this time the sphere is temporarily housed at Battery Park. “If we should honor multi-culturalism and diversity at ground zero, we should honor and remember victims of 9-11,” he concluded.
Tim Brown, a former NYC firefighter who lost dozens of his friends and colleagues, fellow first responders, to the jihadist terrorist attack, has been a tireless voice for memories of victims and their loved ones. He questioned where the money for the mosque was coming from. He had received “5 different answers on 5 different occasions from them”, which included my favorite “we don’t have to tell you, talk to our lawyers”, as well as “three different organizations, but [the Imam] refused to name them” and “from American taxpayers”. Mr. Brown also pointed out that Cordoba Initiative has been very deceiving in other ways, such as removing the word “mosque” from their web site despite the fact that they explicitly wrote initially that there will be a mosque at the top of the building (overlooking ground zero).
Questions were also raised about the Imam Rauf, his public statements, and his pro-Sharia stance as described in his publications and interviews. His travels to countries that openly support terrorism and forced Islamization of the West were also questioned and may indicate where funding from the mosque could be coming from.
Follow up note: Listening to the Imam Rauf speak to various news organizations in the days following the meeting, he offered even more non-specific answers to where the money comes from, such as it comes from people who “want to see peace between Muslims and non-Muslims”. Again, nice politically savvy keywords… but no actual answer to a rather direct question he obviously knows the answer to. Trying to hide something, Faisal Abdul?
One of the many victim’s families present was a woman with a photo of her son who was murdered by the Islamic terrorists. She didn’t yell like Daisy, the Imam’s wife, and she did not dish out insults like Congresswoman Chin. Her voice trembled as she mentioned her son’s name and held his photo towards the committee, “this is my son”, she said, “this is firefighter George Kane.” She held back tears as she spoke. She said that “the location [of the mosque] is insensitive to families. It is also insensitive to the voiceless victims the possibility that anyone who supports Islamic extremism could walk on graves of the victims … [it is] an outrage.”
Another woman spoke with a similar shaking voice about her 23-year-old son who “was murdered on September 11th”. She also wasn’t a bigot, but wanted to know “why are you suggesting that it be two blocks from ground zero?”
Mrs. Kane and the others who spoke through tears and with photos of their murdered children in their trembling hands, made me think of what they were being asked to do. Nine years later, they were being asked to “move on” or “heal”, as mosque supporters were suggesting. I can’t even begin to imagine what that ignorant request could do to an eternally grieving mother.
A sweet elderly couple’s last conversation with their son was via cell phone while he was on a hijacked plane… just before he was murdered. They mentioned that there were 20 mosques that located around the area where they lived, and that they would be ok with another one being built close to them, but they also asked for “understanding and sensitivity” when it comes to building one near ground zero.
Yet from the comments of NYC politicians and supporters of the mosque, we know that understanding and sensitivity will not be shown to the victims’ families nor reflect the wishes of voting New Yorkers. They will instead be shown to others who are apparently deemed more – not even equally but more – crucial to the future of NYC and the memories of those who perished in the terrorist attacks.
Here are a few youtube links on regarding this meeting:
Pamela Geller's full 2 minute speech from the meeting
a firefighter and first responder Tim Brown speaks A MUST SEE
Left shot taken with Canon SLR. Right shot take with Zero Image Pinhole.
By Ryan Gwillim & Chris Brow.
Sgt. Erik Herron, assigned to 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, zeroes M4 carbine during U.S. Army Europe's Best Warrior Competition in Grafenwoehr, Germany Aug. 20. The competition is a weeklong event that tests Soldiers’ physical stamina, leadership, technical knowledge and skill. Winners in the Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer categories of the USAREUR competition will go on to compete at the Department of the Army level. (U.S. Army photo by Gertrud Zach)
Zero Patrol / Heft-Reihe
>Zero Patrol (art: Esteban Maroto, Neal Adams)
cover: Neal Adams
Reprints from Delta 99 (Ibero Mundial de ediciones, 1968 series) #1 (1968)
Verlag: Continuity Comics (USA; 1984)
ex libris MTP
I am overnighting in New York City on this day - my first return to New York City in the 21st Century, after having called it home until 1998.
As soon as I entered Manhattan, I knew I had to come here, to Ground Zero. I still had fresh memories of visiting the World Trade Center complex during the 1990s, so its destruction was still difficult to believe. Its underground shopping mall was one of my favorite hangouts, the rooftop observatory of the South Tower was my favorite vantage point for city views, and the North Tower lobby had airline ticketing offices where I priced tickets to Los Angeles on United Airlines, often ending up on the very aircraft that ended up slamming into the South Tower on September 11th, 2001.
In August 2004, Ground Zero was a busy construction site, being prepared for the erection of the Freedom Tower replacing the Twin Towers.
I would return here in October 2011, to find the 9/11 Memorial occupying the footprint of the Twin Towers, and several new replacement skyscrapers going up around it.
A young boy rowing a boat at Jaflong near the border of India.
A one day trip to Sylhet was fruitful. Felt good to finally get out of Dhaka and Chittagong. The road to Jaflong is amazing I must say and the tea gardens are worth a visit. More pictures coming up! =]
Zero Point, Jaflong, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
I have decided I am going to work my way through the Waldorf Math curriculum by myself. I will be doing activities starting with First Grade and moving through the curriculum at a speed that works for me
The first block in a Waldorf math curriculum is a Quality of Numbers block. In this block a teacher would guide students through the exploration of "one-ness", "two-ness" and the qualities of numbers up to 7, 10 or 12. Students look for examples in their lives of things that come in that number and cosmic "meanings" of those numbers are brought to the student in an age appropriate manner. I chose to explore 0 through 10 and create a Main Lesson Book page for each number.
Starting with zero is not something I've seen in curriculums for 1st grade but it seemed appropriate for me. I would be interested in hearing the anthroposophic thoughts on bringing zero to 7 year olds. I meditated on zero, one and two while walking in Forest Park on Saturday and the image that came to mind for zero was a snag with a woodpecker hole in it. I also drew on my past readings of the Tao Te Ching with it's imagry of an empty bowl and the center of a wheel (the empty spaces that make them useful), but the image of the dead tree with the woodpecker hole kept coming back to me. Not only is it Not a Tree, it is Not Even Not a Tree - it is a hole in the hole where a tree used to be. I also found some interesting poems on zero, all with a rather somber tone - "The mere presence of zero is a threat, anything can occur zero times."
Origen del Nombre
En la epoca en que se estaba desarrollando el tercer prototipo del caza japones, a los modelos producidos para la aviacion naval se les asignaba los números de tipo basados en el último número del año japones corriente, y como 1940 era el año 2600 en el calendario japonés, la serie A6M fue conocida como Zero .
La Invencibilidad Japonesa
Para los Japoneses el Zero era todo lo que el Spitfire representó para la nación Britanica. Simbolizaba la conducta de la guerra de Japon. El caza Zero marcó el inicio de una nueva época en la aviación naval de guerra. Fue el primer caza basado en un portaaviones capaz de vencer a sus oponentes basados en tierra. Creó un mito, el mito de la invencibilidad japonesa en el aire. Mito bajo el cual los propios Japoneses caerían víctimas como resultado de la casi total destrucción del poder aereo aliado en los primordios de la guerra del Pacifico. En su época el Zero era el mejor caza de combate basado en portaaviones, y su aparición sobre Pearl Harbor vino como una completa sorpresa para las fuerzas americanas.
Diseño
El zero fue originalmente concebido como reemplazo del caza Mitsubishi tipo 96 (A5M), el primer monoplano de la marina japonesa. En Octubre 5 de 1937, la marina japonesa entregó sus requerimientos a las compañías Mitsubishi y Nakajima para un nuevo caza con una velocidad máxima de 310 m.p.h, la habilidad de subir a 9,840 pies en 3.5 minutos, maniorabilidad y autonomía excediendo cualquier caza existente y un armamento de dos cañones y dos ametralladoras. Estas demandas estabas por lejos en exceso de cualquier pedido solicitado a la industria aerea japonesa, y considerando estos pedidos poco realistas, la compañía Nakajima se retiró del proyecto luego después de una reunión de diseñollevada a cabo en la ciudad de Yokosuka el 17 de Enero de 1938. La Mitsubishi sola aceptó la tarea de cumplir con los requerimientos del "12-Shi" (doceavo año del reinado Showa) como era conocido el proyecto, y el trabajo de diseño inició bajo la dirección de Jiro Horikoshi, jefe de diseño de la Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K.
El motor escogido fue el Mitsubishi MK2 Zuisei 13, un motor radial de 14 cilindros con 780 HP, mas tarde conocido dentro del sistema unificado de designacón JNAF/JAAF como el Ha.31/13. Este motor fue escogido debido a su poco peso y pequeño diámetro, y se le colocó una hélice de velocidad constante de dos aspas. Extremo cuidado se le dió al peso estructural debido a que la maniobrabilidad estaba diractamente relacionada al peso de las alas, y se hizo extensivo uso del Duraluminio Extra Super, una resistente y leve aleación desarrolada para aviones por la Sumitoma Metal Industry Company. El trabajo con el prototipo progresó rápidamente, y los cambios solicitados despues de las inspecciones del diseño 12-shi el 17 de Abril y 11 de Julio de 1938 fueron progresivamente incorporados.
Prueba del Primer Prototipo
El 16 de Marzo de 1939, en la planta Mitsubishi de Nagoya, el primer prototipo fue terminado. Pruebas del motor fueron conducidas en Marzo 18, y la aeronave fue transferida a la base aeronaval de Kasumigaura para la prueba de vuelo. Aquí, el 1ro de Abril de 1939, uno de los pilotos de prueba de la Mitsubishi, Katsuzo shima, voló el nuevo caza por la primera vez. El vuelo fue un inmediato suceso, siendo el único problema que se presentó el de los frenos de las ruedas, el sistema de aceite, y una tendencia pequeña a vibrar. Las pruebas siguientes indicaron que la vibración podía ser controlada mediante el uso de una hélice de mayor tamaño del tipo de tres aspas. El prototipo fue aceptado por la marina el 14 de Septiembre de 1939, como el Caza de Portaaviones A6M1, y mientrastanto, un segundo prototipo se había terminado, pasando las pruebas de vuelo del fabricante el 18 de Octubre de 1939, aceptándose por la marina una semana despues. Ambos prototipos A6M1 cargaban dos cañones de 20mm en las alas y dos ametralladoras de 7.7mm en la parte superior del fuselaje.
Mientras las pruebas del A6M1 continuaban, un nuevo motor pasó las pruebas de la marina, el Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 de 925 HP, que era ligeramente mayor y mas pesado que el Zuisei. La marina decidió instalar este motor en el tercer prototipo que sería conocido como A6M2.
This guy came in really fast, I barely had time to focus and he was gone again! Luckily I managed to catch him unblurred, just before he flew out of my viewfinder!
Team ZEROs Eivind Hodne Steen takes a break from driving Think and is testing the electric scooters at Vålerbanen during Zero Rally 2011. Foto: Eirik Helland Urke
Impressions during the session VR Space at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 25, 2018
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Mattias Nutt
Seen at Pacific Aviation Museum, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor.
The Zero was a key element of the Japanese naval aviation of World War II. Launched from aircraft carriers such as the Akagi, the Zero could fly far and outmaneuver anything in the US arsenal.
However, the Zero's lightweight construction made it vulnerable to damage from enemy fire, and eventually US naval pilots exploited that weakness.
Sabine Becker, Daimler. ZERO- konferansen arrangeres av den norske miljøstiftelsen Zero Emission Resource Organization (ZERO). Foto: Eirik Helland Urke
ZËRO
Le premier album « Joke box » est né des cendres de Bästard et Narcophony, deux anciens groupes dont faisaient partie ¾ des membres de Zëro. Le EP vinyle « Bobby Fischer » l'annonçait, « Diesel dead machine », second albu...m du groupe le confirme : Zëro accélère le rythme sans rien perdre de ses capacités à le perturber et à développer des arrangements d'une richesse rare. On sent que le groupe a tourné, l’énergie brute des concerts est ici restituée avec ferveur. Le son Zëro s’affirme.
Pas besoin de haute technologie pour bien faire. Ici, tout est fait comme il l’a toujours été, live et en groupe, entre rigueur et totale décontraction, le son étant leur seul motif de perfectionnisme et d’obstination. Il suffit de les voir en concert pour le comprendre. C’est sans doute là que le message de Zëro se révèle, approchant avec une totale liberté d’expression ce que le rock représente à leurs yeux: un métissage de cultures et d’influences où le punk des premiers Devo, le jazz d’un Sun Ra et le blues d’un Captain Beefheart ne sont pas étrangers mais complètement assimilés.
Il est clair que la musique de Zëro s’aventure plus dans des contrées inventives que dansles sentiers battus du rock à identité fixe. On y croise autant Jack Berrocal et Gene Vincent en « Drag Queen blues » sous extasy, que le krautrock de Can et Kraftwerk dans un « Luna Park » ludique où psychédelisme et harmoniques offrent un roller coaster cérébral et addictif. On y croisera également des Cramps ressuscités le temps d’un « Sick to the bones » écorché, des Battles en pleine poussée pour un « Viandox » improbable, tout comme un paquet d’autres freaks qui en marge de tout courant auront constamment réécrit avec singularité et intelligence le langage du rock.
Chaque titre s’évade du précédent, fuyant la routine et l’étiquette comme la peste, un sourire au coin des lèvres, une bonne boite à blague sous le bras. Les disques se dévoilent avec la malice d’une boite d’illusionniste, d’un vice sans fin où le plaisir et la surprise sont sans cesse renouvelés.
Force Béton // 2 avril 2010 // BITCHE, NANTES