“For the past few days, peaceful Turkish citizens have been protesting the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park, one of the few green areas left in the center of Istanbul. The plan by the Erdogan-run AKP government is to build a large shopping center instead, benefitting his own interests and filling his own pockets.
What started with a mere 100 protestors turned into tens of thousands over the course of a few days. People camped out in the park, sang songs, read books, danced. I was there yesterday and it was heartwarming.
Prime Minister Erdogan made a public announcement two days ago stating, ‘We have made up our minds’, and that nothing will stop his plans to destroy the park.
He subsequently ordered his police forces to attack protestors in the park using water cannons and tear gas without warning in the early hours of the morning. This has been happening for the past two days, and continues as I write these words. Tents were burned as people slept in them, innocent citizens were dragged away and had tear gas sprayed directly into their faces, kicked and punched where they were on the ground. Bystanders on their way to work also got sprayed. The center of Istanbul is now a war-zone.
Innocent people are being attacked, injured and hospitalised There are unofficial reports of one person being dead with his ID confiscated by officials (an eerie replay of the May 1 attacks when an innocent young girl was put into a coma due to tear gas attacks. This girl was later labeled by the government as a terrorist)
This has become a matter about more than just saving trees. This has always been about more than that. This is an ‘I can do whatever I damn well want’, fascist mentality that not only heavily suppresses but openly attacks its own people.
To make matters worse, media channels are being censored so as not to display the news.
#direngeziparki is now the 2nd worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
As our friends overseas, we need your help. Send this message to everyone you know. Amnesty International has already announced it condemns the use of excessive force against the protestors, and has called on the Turkish police to stop the use of violence, and to respect the protestors’ rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. But it hasn’t helped.The protests have and will continue despite the abuse but it needs all the attention it can get, especially considering Turkish news channels heavily alter and misrepresent the nature of what is actually occurring in the heart of Istanbul.
Please create awareness internationally about our plight, or matters are going to get much, much worse. We want all international media channels - soclal and mass - to report this news.
Please help us to share this message and stop Erdogan’s ruthless, inhumane acts. In a never-ending series of human rights abuses that have occurred under his leadership, this is the last straw.”
Bambi - Backgrounds
This reminds me: I recently learned that one of the major inspirational forces during the production of Bambi was Tyrus Wong, a Chinese-born American painter. His ability to capture the feeling of a forest without getting lost in the detail (one of the major stumbling blocks during the film’s development) was enormously influential upon the overall look.
Unfortunately, he was one of the very few Chinese-Americans at the Disney Studios during the 30s and 40s and consequently had to slog through a lot of racist bullshit; in fact, he was simply listed as a “background painter” in the credits of Bambi. So he eventually quit and had an awesome career at Warner Bros., where he did storyboards and gained a reputation for designing beautiful Christmas cards. After he retired, he gained a reputation for making hella rad kites.
Just trying to spread the word about an awesome artist who passes under the radar a lot! This article has a lot more info on him.
I’d like to present to the court Exhibit “reasons why I lose my shit at people who think rotoscoping demeans animation”
Eliz. Warren wants to cut student interest rates to near zero
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced her first piece of legislation. It’s called the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, and would reduce the rate students pay on federally-subsidized student loans for one year, from 3.4% to 0.75%.
Without congressional action, on July 1 the rate is set to double from 3.4% to 6.8%.
Warren brings up an interesting point – her bill simply asks students to pay the same rates that big banks pay for borrowing.
She’s literally just asking if college grads can get the same deal as bank CEOs. The exact same interest rate. Not even a bailout or anything fancy (pipe dreams!) - just the same interest rate.
Really, whenever I consider the very basics of our banking system (that big banks can borrow money at 0.75%, and just for the tiny step of passing it on to customers, they rake it up to anywhere from 3.4 to over 10% interest)… it makes me question humanity.
Like I’d ever forget the birthdays of my favorite artist-writer team. Ha ha. Ha. Apparently Tibsy and Liam are Sailor Moon fans?
Thanks for bringing so much magic into my life. Thought I’d try and give a little in return. Happy birthday(s)!
Until Monday morning, Kiera Wilmot was a well-behaved student at Bartow High School in central Florida with good grades and an interest in science. But that morning, she mixed some chemicals together in a small water bottle that caused a tiny explosion. There was a bang and some smoke, but nobody was even close to being hurt.
I remember doing experiments like that in high school. But Kiera was immediately called to the principal’s office, expelled from her school, and arrested by the police (accused of an adult felony charge). If she gets convicted, she could even lose voting rights and have lots of trouble finding employment and housing in the future.
I’m inspired by the people (especially scientists) speaking out on Twitter with solidarity for Kiera. One look at the hashtag #KieraWilmot shows the outpouring of sympathy for what’s happened to her. Curiosity is not a crime, and we shouldn’t be treating it like one!
To help her out, I want to collect some funds for Kiera’s family for the large legal bills that will surely come up as she fights her case in court. She deserves a top lawyer! If we manage to raise any money beyond her legal needs, it should go towards a scholarship fund for her. We need more young American women studying science, and they shouldn’t be afraid of taking chances.UPDATE: This campaign has been verified by Crowdtilt, let’s start raising some funds for Kiera!
She is just a kid. Please help out, donate, spread the word and reblog.
Sourdough Danish Pastries Tutorial Sets {You must click link for FULL tutorial/recipe}
IF YOU WANT TO BE A SUPER-FANCY ASSHOLE WITH YOUR BAKED GOODS
which I do
Reblogging this for Kare Bear.
