#Irish Northern Aid Committee

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1982 – Five men charged with conspiring to smuggle arms to the IRA in 1981 were acquitted in Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY.

Five men charged with conspiring to export arms to the Irish Republican Army were acquitted in Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY, apparently because a jury believed defence contentions that the Central Intelligence Agency had sanctioned their gun-running operation. No evidence directly linking the CIA to the operation was offered at the seven-week trial, and denials of involvement by the agency were…

[tentacion3099]

"England: The Common Enemy" Irish Northern Aid Committee, USA, 1976

[alistairlane]

A Brief History of Deceit

               In 1946, the Communist Party of Greece boycotted the election of The United Alignment of Nationalists’ Konstantinos Tsaldaris in protest of the White Terror.  A night before the elections took place, a band of Greek Communists attacked a police station.  The event came to be inculpated for the outbreak of the Greek Civil War.  The strategy employed by the KKE was glibly dismissed as the “Greek system of democracy.”

               On March 12th in 1947, American president Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine to Congress.  The policy’s stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during what became known as the Cold War.  The policy administered military aid to enemies of the Soviet Union and would later serve as a precedent for the partial orchestration of the Greek military junta in 1967 by the Central Intelligence Agency. The coup d'état which established the “Regime of Colonels” was famously dramatized in Costa Garvas’ 1969 film, Z.

                 On the 24th of October in 1990, Christian Democrat Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti publicly recognized the existence of a clandestine “stay-behind” network known as Operation Gladio.  The organization had been previously revealed by former National Vanguard member, Vincenzo Vinciguerra, in 1984.  Operation Gladio was ostensibly designed to provide for the defense against a possible Soviet invasion of Europe.  Stay-behind networks were and may still be active in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and, Turkey.  Wikipedia claims that the organization was founded on the 26th of November in 1956, but, I would allege that such actions began immediately following the end of the Second World War.  It is likely that there are connections between Operation Gladio and some of the Nazi ratlines.  Fascist terrorists, after all, have a limited set of circles with which they can associate.

               On the 12th of December in 1969, the National Agrarian Bank in Milan was bombed.  The Piazza Fontana Bombing killed 17 people and wounded 88. Anarchist Pietro Valpreda was sentenced for the bombing and acquitted in 1987.  It is likely that the Italian Neo-Fascist organization New Order orchestrated the attack.  The strategy of framing the far-Left for far-Right terrorist attacks later became known as the “strategy of tension”.  While the term is relatively new, such strategies had been applied by the Russian aristocracy before the February Revolution.  It is likely that the history of the strategy of tension extends far beyond the Years of Lead.  I would allege that Gavrilo Princip was deceitfully coaxed into the assassination of Franz Ferdinand by parties who had nothing to do with the liberation of Yugoslavia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Because no body politic can agree with the utilization of Fascist terrorism, its implementation is always covert.  While crypto-Fascism can be a fascinating exercise in paranoia, we need not become subject to a pathology of mistrust and fear.  Fascism is a tactic of terror employed by the regimens of Capital. The Fascists were able to circumvent the legal plinth of the reactionary bourgeois leading up to and during the Second World War.  Terror is terror and Fascists seeks to deploy it.  The current state of affairs should be clear and plain as day to any person willing to do the limited amount of research that it takes to become of aware of them.  British Intelligence is notorious for having Fascist sympathizers amongst its ranks. American Intelligence is practically openly collaborating with the far-Right.  Such conditions not only threaten the democratic project as a whole, they obstruct it.  Because of the rampant abuses of power justified by the inane threat of the former Soviet Union, politics is delimited by that reactionaries in the West are barely able to lie about collaborating with the far-Right.  I can not reasonably engage another person in a conversation about liberty when their political strategy is to kill any person who does not agree with them.  Such circumstances absurdly result in that, in order for a Liberal democratic project to be maintained, civil disobedience is at all times necessary.  I should not need to make my life a living act of protest in order to be free of an idiotic regime that should have been laid to rest a century ago.  Fascist collaboration on the part of the Intelligence community as a whole betrays far more than a public’s trust in security.  It betrays every decent tenant of the democratic project.  While reactionary Intelligence may not have technically committed treason in their home countries, they have committed a treason against humanity.  Such actions have never been adequately publicly addressed or accounted for.

               In 1976, Licio Gelli was expelled from the masonic lodge the Grand Orient of Italy.  He was the head of Propaganda Due, a far-Right organization with ties to the Italian media, Cosa Nostra, the Roman Catholic Church, and, Italian Intelligence.  P2 has been referred to as a “state within a state” and can be seen as the Italian equivalent of the Turkish “deep state”.  Notable members include Silvio Berlusconi, and the Savoy pretender to the Italian throne, Vittorio Emanuele.  On the 17th of March in 1981 a list of names was found in Gelli’s country house.  Michele Sindona, Roberto Calvi, Federico Umberto D'Amato, Carmine "Mino" Pecorelli, Pietro Longo, Emilio Eduardo Massera, José López Rega, Raúl Alberto Lastiri, and, Stefano Delle Chiaie’s names were on the list along with 953 others.  Chiaie was suspected to have been involved with Operation Condor.  

                 On the 11th of September in 1973, democratically elected Socialist president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup d’état led by Augusto Pinochet.  The CIA supported the coup d’ état and has long been suspected to have helped to orchestrate it.  The coup would serve as a precursor for the campaign of state terror that was officially implemented by the CIA in November of 1975 known as Operation Condor.  The CIA backed right-wing dictatorships and paramilitary organizations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and, Uruguay.  An estimated 60,000 lives have been lost because of the operation.  

               The Reagan Doctrine was announced on the 6th of February in 1985 and more or less echoed the Truman Doctrine.  The policy would be used as a justification for the arming, training, and, funding of far-Right paramilitary organizations known as Contras in Nicaragua.  The policy would also be used as a justification for the arming, training, and, funding of the mujahideen in Afghanistan.  In both cases it resulted in catastrophe.  The Contras were accused of human rights violations and both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were born out of the loosely affiliated set of Islamic militants who, along with Maoist guerillas, comprised the mujahideen.

               The CIA has been involved with attempted coup d'états in Afghanistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Kuwait, Nicaragua, Palestine, Panama, Poland, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, and, Yugoslavia.  Some of these have been successful.  The global damage incurred by the organization is incalculable.  The United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, the Church Committee, established The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence which, like international law, seems to be entirely incapable of keeping the organization from wreaking havoc across the globe.

               The “War on Drugs” began under Richard Nixon. In 1971, Nixon declared for drug abuse to be "public enemy number one".  In order to combat the illegal drug trade, the Central Intelligence Agency ostensibly armed, trained, and, funded far-Right paramilitary organizations in Columbia who were engaged in a civil war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and their allies.  While the FARC are involved with the drug trade, their control over it is fairly limited.  The United Self-Defenders of Colombia whom the CIA backed were known to have been involved with the trafficking of narcotics.  It is likely that the AUC and their allies control the lion’s share of narcotics in Columbia.  They were also, in all likelihood, responsible for the lion’s share of the violence that occurred in the country during the civil war.  Because neither the trafficking of narcotics, nor the violence associated with it can at all been seen as something which was being attempted to be limited, the War on Drugs has been insincere.  It is likely that CIA has been collaborating with drug traffickers in so far that they are allied with the far-Right.

               The Secret Armed Organization and their allies trained in Francoist Spain.  The OAS was a French dissident paramilitary organization who was active during the Algerian War.  Factions of the CIA and MI6 have supported Fascist Spain throughout its entire lifespan. The Catholic order Opus Dei has also been notoriously alleged to have supported the regime of Francisco Franco. On the 20th of December in 1973 the Basque separatist group, Basque Country and Freedom, assassinated Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco.  The Kingdom of Spain would transition to democracy a few years later.  

               While the ETA and the Irish Republican Army were responsible for more terrorist attacks in Spain and Great Britain and Northern Ireland than the far-Right or the Ulster Defense Association, the casualties incurred by the far-Left during the strategy of tension were nothing compared to those of the far-Right.  The attempt to curb left-wing terrorism was also partially insincere as provocation was a necessary tactic employed for the form of entrapment that comprised the strategy. If anything, reactionary Intelligence was happy to egg on far-Left terrorists as they provided the excuse to carry on with business as usual.  To engage in terror was to concede to their point.  Political power does not grow out of the barrel of a gun, however.  It is comprised of a complex set of relations that can not be reduced to a simple maxim.  I believe that the power that abolishes power itself is more powerful than anything else.  Such a power can not be constituted through violent coercion.

               On the 9th of November in 1989 the Berlin Wall began to be tore down.  It has been 28 years since the Soviet Union officially collapsed.  The strategy of arming, training, and, funding Fascist terrorist cells no longer has any justification whatsoever.  It only stands to common reason that doing so never did in the first place.   The CIA could have easily armed, trained, and, funded anyone else.  The stay-behind networks were also a superfluous exercise in adventurist terrorism.  None of the West needed such organizations to protect themselves from a possible Soviet invasion.  A sincere defense against such an incursion would have been comprised of regular standing armies.  The fact that such actions were undertaken only proves that a significant number of agents were either Fascist sympathizers or just simply Fascists.  I take no solace in the security of such company. The far-Right never should have survived the Treaty of Versailles.  While such a catastrophe as the Second World War is unlikely to occur again, the circumstances of our situation provide for new forms of totalitarianism.  Such a world order should never be let to be constituted.                  

                  Because of the gross abuse of such policies and because of the sheer lack of justification for them, I, hereby, demand an immediate end to all of the policies proceeding from the Truman Doctrine and for the immediate disbandment of the Intelligence community from the far-Right.  In so far that such demands are not met, I would suggest that a campaign to dissolve the Central Intelligence Agency may need to be undertaken. Such demands can be practically met through nonviolent resistance and the utilization of established legal channels. I will not respond to adventurist terrorism with more of it.  In so far that laws may need to be broken in order to achieve this end, they should be. The Intelligence community has violated the trust of the global populace as a whole.  If it is left to its own devices then a new form of totalitarian order will begin to emerge.  Such circumstances are not the kind that I intend to situate myself in.  I would see to it that freedom and equality flourish and that Fascism finally be let to be laid to rest as it should have been a long time ago.  Neo-Fascism was another wave in the Fascist project.  Let’s see to it that it is the final one.  

https://www.docdroid.net/3ucKbkf/a-brief-history-of-deciet.docx        

[bluemagic-girl]

🔥Brexit battle lines drawn as EU leaders urge Boris Johnson to stay in step with bloc standards🔥

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Battle lines were drawn for a new Brexit showdown today as EU leaders called on Boris Johnson to agree to stay in step with EU “high standards” permanently.

European Union foreign ministers in Brussels approved a 46-page mandate for negotiations that stated Britain should “over time” use EU standards as its “reference point” in areas like the environment, state aid and employment rights.

Downing Street announced that the first round of talks will begin on Monday in Brussels, with a second round in London later in March.

The EU mandate said any deal should “uphold common high standards, and corresponding high standards over time with Union standards as a reference point”.

This would be required in “the areas of state aid, competition, state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change, relevant tax matters and other regulatory measures and practices in these areas”.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier threw his weight behind an Irish call for Britain to start preparing for checks (REUTERS)

The EU document called for “robust commitments”, “mechanisms to ensure effective implementation” and a “governing body”  – all at odds with the Prime Minister’s insistence that Britain must be free to set different rules in future.

Another clash opened up over the Northern Ireland border. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier threw his weight behind an Irish call for Britain to start preparing for checks on goods flowing from the mainland to the Province. Downing Street however rejected this, saying neither checks nor preparations would be needed.

In London, the Government’s XS committee met to set Britain’s mandate, due to be published on Thursday. It is expected to seek a Canada-style free trade agreement with a broad commitment to match European standards for the “level playing field” but stripped of binding alignment.

“The time pressure is immense. The interests are huge. It will be very hard work – a tough road ahead,” warned Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok.

In London, Mr Johnson was drawing up his own negotiating mandate at a meeting with Dublin Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said prospects for a deal this year would be “damaged significantly” if UK failed to begin building infrastructure needed for border checks.

Mr Johnson was drawing up his own negotiating mandate at a meeting with Dublin Foreign Minister Simon Coveney (REUTERS)

He was promptly backed by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier who tweeted: “We will keep a very close eye on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement – this will be key for building a solid future partnership with the UK.”

A dispute over fishing, with France leading calls for Britain to barter rights to EU trawlers in return for better trade terms is another flashpoint.

Dublin Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said prospects for a deal this year would be “damaged significantly” if UK failed to begin building infrastructure needed for such checks.

He was promptly backed by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier who tweeted: “We will keep a very close eye on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement – this will be key for building a solid future partnership with the UK.”

Responding to Mr Coveney, Downing Street sources stuck by the Prime Minister’s view that no checks will be needed.  “The Protocol [on Northern Ireland] specifically allows the UK to ensure unfettered market access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to GB,” said a source. “We have not asked any ports to prepare for new checks or controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

On fisheries, the EU agreed to negotiate to “uphold the existing reciprocal access to waters” – a move at odds with the Government pledge to take control and boost the share for British fishermen.

Boris Johnson used a speech in Greenwich earlier this month to say, “British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats”.

The EU document also include a controversial clause stating that Britain should “return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin”.  The passage is thought to refer to the Elgin Marbles – ancient Greek sculptures brought to Britain more than 200 years ago and now on display in the British Museum.

UK Negotiator David Frost and his team will head to Brussels for the first round of negotiations on March 2, armed with the UK’s own mandate.

The tight time schedule for the talks remains an issue, with European ministers voicing concerns over the Prime Minister’s unwillingness to extend the deadline beyond December.

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[rauthschild]

Hillary Clinton “Safe Harbor” Maneuver Ignites Israeli-Irish War Within Epstein Extermination Event    

By: Sorcha Faal

A riveting highly-classified “Of Special Importance” new Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) report circulating in the Kremlin today updating factional maneuvering within the “Epstein Extermination Event”—a survival of the fittest conflict pitting under impeachment threat President Donald Trump and under indictment threat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against international criminal mastermind Hillary Clinton—states that Clinton’s sudden acceptance yesterday to be the chancellor at Queen's University in Belfast-Northern Ireland has ignited a war between the globally feared Israeli assassination organization.

The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (MOSSAD) and the terrorist organization known as the Real Irish Republican Army (New IRA/NIRA)—a Northern Ireland terrorist organization whose top international pariah commander Gerry Adams was shockingly granted a visa by President Bill Clinton to visit the United States in 1994 over the objections of the entire diplomatic, intelligence and military establishments in America, and that overturned 200 years of British oversight on American policy towards Ireland—and whose New IRA terrorist forces will protect both of the Clintons should Hillary’s “Safe Harbor Gambit” fail—a desperate gambit being attempted by the Clintons to keep from being extradited to America from  Northern Ireland to face soon coming criminal charges—which is actually getting a boost as the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) that would normally be used to capture and extradite an American citizen from Northern Ireland will be lost as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU—thus leaving the only governing law pertaining to the Clintons being the Extradition Act 2003 agreed upon and ratified between the US and British governments—which contains a provision declaring that “extradition shall not be granted if the competent authority of the Requested State determines that the request is politically motivated”—and beyond all doubt, the Clintons will use against Trump to keep him from extraditing them—but with both of the Clintons failing to note that this gambit places them in direct conflict with a MOSSAD that’s already discovered the New IRA has been training Palestinians on how to blow up Israeli soldiers, and are enraged over these Northern Irish terrorists having turned Ireland into the most extreme Israel-bashing country in the West—and of all the enemies the Clintons could have chosen to pit themselves against, MOSSAD is absolutely the worst one—most particularly because one of murdered child sex slaver Jeffrey Epstein’s closest associates named Steven Hoffenberg has revealed that Epstein was a celebrity spy for MOSSAD and was killed because he had become a liability for Israeli intelligence.  

According to the very limited parts of this highly-classified SVR report allowed to be commented on among various ministries within the Kremlin, grave concerns were raised and noted by numerous Russian intelligence analysts this past April-2019 when a New IRA hit team assassinated 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland—an assassination that prompted the SVR to re-investigate the Irish Northern Aid Committee organization in America and what are known as the IRA bars operating New York City—an investigation which led to “trusted” SVR confidential sources reaching out to Jeffrey Epstein child sex slave victim, and Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre earlier last month—after which she tearfully said “evil people want to keep me quiet” and warned “if something happens to me, don’t let it go”—and the day following, saw the FBI warning her that there is a credible death threat against her.

Though this report doesn’t clearly state in its unclassified section that the SVR informed the FBI about the death threat against Virginia Roberts, its safe to assume this happened—as just a few days later, the CIA notified the SVR about an impending terrorist attack due to take place in St. Petersburg—a very common quid pro quo (equal for equal) occurrence existing for decades between Russian and American foreign intelligence agencies—that frequently sees the SVR giving intelligence to the CIA for the FBI, and, likewise, the CIA giving intelligence to the SVR who gives it to the FSB.    

Most heart breaking to note about this highly-classified and mainly redacted report are some remarks made in its conclusion section by SVR intelligence analysts genuinely angered over the lack of life-protection measures being taken by American authorities for Virginia Roberts Giuffre and hundreds of other child sex slave victims of Jeffrey Epstein, and due to the lack of even the most basic of protections, is causing them all to live in constant terror over what may befall them—as with Epstein himself being murdered while under 24-hour armed guard, they know their lives mean nothing—but which can’t be said about Epstein’s closest associate Ghislaine Maxwell—the daughter of assassinated MOSSAD super-spy Robert Maxwell—who is now being protected by some of the most powerful people in the world hiding her out in safe houses throughout Europe and Israel—but to the greatest horror of Hillary and Bill Clinton,  sees growing evidence emerging that Ghislaine Maxwell is under FBI witness protection telling everything she knows—which explains why the Clintons need to flee to Northern Ireland where their Israeli hating Irish terrorists can protect them—or so they think.

[blackkudos]

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in California and Missouri (February 4), and Ohio and Oregon (December 1).

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. Others had taken similar steps, including Bayard Rustin in 1942, Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1952, and the members of the ultimately successful Browder v. Gayle 1956 lawsuit (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) who were arrested in Montgomery for not giving up their bus seats months before Parks. NAACP organizers believed that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws, although eventually her case became bogged down in the state courts while the Browder v. Gayle case succeeded.

Parks' act of defiance and the Montgomery Bus Boycott became important symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Edgar Nixon, president of the local chapter of the NAACP; and Martin Luther King, Jr., a new minister in town who gained national prominence in the civil rights movement.

At the time, Parks was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. She had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee center for training activists for workers' rights and racial equality. She acted as a private citizen "tired of giving in". Although widely honored in later years, she also suffered for her act; she was fired from her job as a seamstress in a local department store, and received death threats for years afterwards. Her situation also opened doors.

Shortly after the boycott, she moved to Detroit, where she briefly found similar work. From 1965 to 1988 she served as secretary and receptionist to John Conyers, an African-American US Representative. She was also active in the Black Power movement and the support of political prisoners in the US.

After retirement, Parks wrote her autobiography and continued to insist that the struggle for justice was not over and there was more work to be done. In her final years, she suffered from dementia. Parks received national recognition, including the NAACP's 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. Upon her death in 2005, she was the first woman and third non-US government official to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda.

Early years

Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, to Leona (née Edwards), a teacher, and James McCauley, a carpenter. She was of African ancestry, though one of her great-grandfathers was Scots-Irish and one of her great-grandmothers was a slave of Native American descent. She was small as a child and suffered poor health with chronic tonsillitis. When her parents separated, she moved with her mother to Pine Level, just outside the state capital, Montgomery. She grew up on a farm with her maternal grandparents, mother, and younger brother Sylvester. They all were members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), a century-old independent black denomination founded by free blacks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the early nineteenth century.

McCauley attended rural schools until the age of eleven. As a student at the Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery, she took academic and vocational courses. Parks went on to a laboratory school set up by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes for secondary education, but dropped out in order to care for her grandmother and later her mother, after they became ill.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the former Confederate states had adopted new constitutions and electoral laws that effectively disfranchised black voters and, in Alabama, many poor white voters as well. Under the white-established Jim Crow laws, passed after Democrats regained control of southern legislatures, racial segregation was imposed in public facilities and retail stores in the South, including public transportation. Bus and train companies enforced seating policies with separate sections for blacks and whites. School bus transportation was unavailable in any form for black schoolchildren in the South, and black education was always underfunded.

Parks recalled going to elementary school in Pine Level, where school buses took white students to their new school and black students had to walk to theirs:

I'd see the bus pass every day... But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.

Although Parks' autobiography recounts early memories of the kindness of white strangers, she could not ignore the racism of her society. When the Ku Klux Klan marched down the street in front of their house, Parks recalls her grandfather guarding the front door with a shotgun. The Montgomery Industrial School, founded and staffed by white northerners for black children, was burned twice by arsonists. Its faculty was ostracized by the white community.

Repeatedly bullied by white children in her neighborhood, Parks often fought back physically. She later said that "As far back as I remember, I could never think in terms of accepting physical abuse without some form of retaliation if possible."

In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery. He was a member of the NAACP, which at the time was collecting money to support the defense of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of black men falsely accused of raping two white women. Rosa took numerous jobs, ranging from domestic worker to hospital aide. At her husband's urging, she finished her high school studies in 1933, at a time when less than 7% of African Americans had a high school diploma. Despite the Jim Crow laws and discrimination by registrars, she succeeded in registering to vote on her third try.

In December 1943, Parks became active in the Civil Rights Movement, joined the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was elected secretary. She later said, "I was the only woman there, and they needed a secretary, and I was too timid to say no." She continued as secretary until 1957. She worked for the local NAACP leader Edgar Nixon, even though he maintained that "Women don't need to be nowhere but in the kitchen." When Parks asked "Well, what about me?", he replied "I need a secretary and you are a good one."

In 1944, in her capacity as secretary, she investigated the gang-rape of Recy Taylor, a black woman from Abbeville, Alabama. Parks and other civil rights activists organized the "Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor", launching what the Chicago Defendercalled "the strongest campaign for equal justice to be seen in a decade."

Although never a member of the Communist Party, she attended meetings with her husband. The notorious Scottsboro case had been brought to prominence by the Communist Party.

In the 1940s, Parks and her husband were members of the Voters' League. Sometime soon after 1944, she held a brief job at Maxwell Air Force Base, which, despite its location in Montgomery, Alabama, did not permit racial segregation because it was federal property. She rode on its integrated trolley. Speaking to her biographer, Parks noted, "You might just say Maxwell opened my eyes up." Parks worked as a housekeeper and seamstress for Clifford and Virginia Durr, a white couple. Politically liberal, the Durrs became her friends. They encouraged—and eventually helped sponsor—Parks in the summer of 1955 to attend the Highlander Folk School, an education center for activism in workers' rights and racial equality in Monteagle, Tennessee. There Parks was mentored by the veteran organizer Septima Clark.

In August 1955, black teenager Emmett Till was brutally murdered after reportedly flirting with a young white woman while visiting relatives in Mississippi. On November 27, 1955, four days before she would make her stand on the bus, Rosa Parks attended a mass meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery that addressed this case as well as the recent murders of the activists George W. Lee and Lamar Smith. The featured speaker was T. R. M. Howard, a black civil rights leader from Mississippi who headed the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. Howard brought news of the recent acquittal of the two men who had murdered Till. Parks was deeply saddened and angry at the news, particularly because Till's case had garnered much more attention than any of the cases she and the Montgomery NAACP had worked on—and yet, the two men still walked free.

Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott

Montgomery buses: law and prevailing customs

In 1900, Montgomery had passed a city ordinance to segregate bus passengers by race. Conductors were empowered to assign seats to achieve that goal. According to the law, no passenger would be required to move or give up his seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available. Over time and by custom, however, Montgomery bus drivers adopted the practice of requiring black riders to move when there were no white-only seats left.

The first four rows of seats on each Montgomery bus were reserved for whites. Buses had "colored" sections for black people generally in the rear of the bus, although blacks composed more than 75% of the ridership. The sections were not fixed but were determined by placement of a movable sign. Black people could sit in the middle rows until the white section filled; if more whites needed seats, blacks were to move to seats in the rear, stand, or, if there was no room, leave the bus. Black people could not sit across the aisle in the same row as white people. The driver could move the "colored" section sign, or remove it altogether. If white people were already sitting in the front, black people had to board at the front to pay the fare, then disembark and reenter through the rear door.

For years, the black community had complained that the situation was unfair. Parks said, "My resisting being mistreated on the bus did not begin with that particular arrest...I did a lot of walking in Montgomery."

One day in 1943, Parks boarded the bus and paid the fare. She then moved to her seat but driver James F. Blake told her to follow city rules and enter the bus again from the back door. Parks exited the vehicle and waited for the next bus, determined never to ride with Blake again.

Her refusal to move

After working all day, Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus, a General Motors Old Look bus belonging to the Montgomery City Lines, around 6 p.m., Thursday, December 1, 1955, in downtown Montgomery. She paid her fare and sat in an empty seat in the first row of back seats reserved for blacks in the "colored" section. Near the middle of the bus, her row was directly behind the ten seats reserved for white passengers. Initially, she did not notice that the bus driver was the same man, James F. Blake, who had left her in the rain in 1943. As the bus traveled along its regular route, all of the white-only seats in the bus filled up. The bus reached the third stop in front of the Empire Theater, and several white passengers boarded. Blake noted that two or three white passengers were standing, as the front of the bus had filled to capacity. He moved the "colored" section sign behind Parks and demanded that four black people give up their seats in the middle section so that the white passengers could sit. Years later, in recalling the events of the day, Parks said, "When that white driver stepped back toward us, when he waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats, I felt a determination to cover my body like a quilt on a winter night."

By Parks' account, Blake said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them complied. Parks said, "The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't." The black man sitting next to her gave up his seat.

Parks moved, but toward the window seat; she did not get up to move to the redesignated colored section. Parks later said about being asked to move to the rear of the bus, "I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn't go back." Blake said, "Why don't you stand up?" Parks responded, "I don't think I should have to stand up." Blake called the police to arrest Parks. When recalling the incident forEyes on the Prize, a 1987 public television series on the Civil Rights Movement, Parks said, "When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, 'No, I'm not.' And he said, 'Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested.' I said, 'You may do that.'"

During a 1956 radio interview with Sydney Rogers in West Oakland several months after her arrest, Parks said she had decided, "I would have to know for once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen."

In her autobiography, My Story she said:

People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

When Parks refused to give up her seat, a police officer arrested her. As the officer took her away, she recalled that she asked, "Why do you push us around?" She remembered him saying, "I don't know, but the law's the law, and you're under arrest." She later said, "I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind..."

Parks was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code, although technically she had not taken a white-only seat; she had been in a colored section. Edgar Nixon, president of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and leader of the Pullman Porters Union, and her friend Clifford Durr bailed Parks out of jail the next evening.

The boycott

Nixon conferred with Jo Ann Robinson, an Alabama State College professor and member of the Women's Political Council (WPC), about the Parks case. Robinson believed it important to seize the opportunity and stayed up all night mimeographing over 35,000 handbills announcing a bus boycott. The Women's Political Council was the first group to officially endorse the boycott.

On Sunday, December 4, 1955, plans for the Montgomery Bus Boycott were announced at black churches in the area, and a front-page article in the Montgomery Advertiser helped spread the word. At a church rally that night, those attending agreed unanimously to continue the boycott until they were treated with the level of courtesy they expected, until black drivers were hired, and until seating in the middle of the bus was handled on a first-come basis.

The next day, Parks was tried on charges of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. The trial lasted 30 minutes. After being found guilty and fined $10, plus $4 in court costs, Parks appealed her conviction and formally challenged the legality of racial segregation. In a 1992 interview with National Public Radio's Lynn Neary, Parks recalled:

I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became.

On the day of Parks' trial — December 5, 1955 — the WPC distributed the 35,000 leaflets. The handbill read,

We are...asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial ... You can afford to stay out of school for one day. If you work, take a cab, or walk. But please, children and grown-ups, don't ride the bus at all on Monday. Please stay off the buses Monday.

It rained that day, but the black community persevered in their boycott. Some rode in carpools, while others traveled in black-operated cabs that charged the same fare as the bus, 10 cents. Most of the remainder of the 40,000 black commuters walked, some as far as 20 miles (30 km).

That evening after the success of the one-day boycott, a group of 16 to 18 people gathered at the Mt. Zion AME Zion Church to discuss boycott strategies. At that time Parks was introduced but not asked to speak, despite a standing ovation and calls from the crowd for her to speak; when she asked if she should say something, the reply was, "Why, you've said enough."

The group agreed that a new organization was needed to lead the boycott effort if it were to continue. Rev. Ralph Abernathy suggested the name "Montgomery Improvement Association" (MIA). The name was adopted, and the MIA was formed. Its members elected as their president Martin Luther King, Jr., a relative newcomer to Montgomery, who was a young and mostly unknown minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

That Monday night, 50 leaders of the African-American community gathered to discuss actions to respond to Parks' arrest. Edgar Nixon, the president of the NAACP, said, "My God, look what segregation has put in my hands!" Parks was considered the ideal plaintiff for a test case against city and state segregation laws, as she was seen as a responsible, mature woman with a good reputation. She was securely married and employed, was regarded as possessing a quiet and dignified demeanor, and was politically savvy. King said that Parks was regarded as "one of the finest citizens of Montgomery—not one of the finest Negro citizens, but one of the finest citizens of Montgomery."

Parks' court case was being slowed down in appeals through the Alabama courts on their way to a Federal appeal and the process could have taken years. Holding together a boycott for that length of time would have been a great strain. In the end, black residents of Montgomery continued the boycott for 381 days. Dozens of public buses stood idle for months, severely damaging the bus transit company's finances, until the city repealed its law requiring segregation on public buses following the US Supreme Court ruling inBrowder v. Gayle that it was unconstitutional. Parks was not included as a plaintiff in the Browder decision because the attorney Fred Gray concluded the courts would perceive they were attempting to circumvent her prosecution on her charges working their way through the Alabama state court system.

Parks played an important part in raising international awareness of the plight of African Americans and the civil rights struggle. King wrote in his 1958 book Stride Toward Freedom that Parks' arrest was the catalyst rather than the cause of the protest: "The cause lay deep in the record of similar injustices." He wrote, "Actually, no one can understand the action of Mrs. Parks unless he realizes that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, 'I can take it no longer.'"

Detroit years

1960s

After her arrest, Parks became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement but suffered hardships as a result. Due to economic sanctions used against activists, she lost her job at the department store. Her husband quit his job after his boss forbade him to talk about his wife or the legal case. Parks traveled and spoke extensively about the issues.

In 1957, Raymond and Rosa Parks left Montgomery for Hampton, Virginia; mostly because she was unable to find work. She also disagreed with King and other leaders of Montgomery's struggling civil rights movement about how to proceed, and was constantly receiving death threats. In Hampton, she found a job as a hostess in an inn at Hampton Institute, a historically black college.

Later that year, at the urging of her brother and sister-in-law in Detroit, Sylvester and Daisy McCauley, Rosa and Raymond Parks and her mother moved north to join them. The City of Detroit attempted to cultivate a progressive reputation, but Parks encountered numerous signs of discrimination against African-Americans. Schools were effectively segregated, and services in black neighborhoods substandard. In 1964, Mrs. Parks told an interviewer that, "I don't feel a great deal of difference here...Housing segregation is just as bad, and it seems more noticeable in the larger cities." She regularly participated in the movement for open and fair housing.

Parks rendered crucial assistance in the first campaign for Congress by John Conyers. She persuaded Martin Luther King (who was generally reluctant to endorse local candidates) to appear with Conyers, thereby boosting the novice candidate's profile. When Conyers was elected, he hired her as a secretary and receptionist for his congressional office in Detroit. She held this position until she retired in 1988. In a telephone interview with CNN on October 24, 2005, Conyers recalled, "You treated her with deference because she was so quiet, so serene — just a very special person ... There was only one Rosa Parks." Doing much of the daily constituent work for Conyers, Parks often focused on socio-economic issues including welfare, education, job discrimination, and affordable housing. She visited schools, hospitals, senior citizen facilities, and other community meetings and kept Conyers grounded in community concerns and activism.

Parks participated in activism nationally during the mid-1960s, traveling to support the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches, the Freedom Now Party, and the Lowndes County Freedom Organization. She also befriended Malcolm X, who she regarded as a personal hero.

Like many Detroit blacks, Mrs. Parks remained particularly concerned about housing issues. She herself lived in a neighborhood, Virginia Park, which had been compromised by highway construction and urban renewal. By 1962, these policies had destroyed 10,000 structures in Detroit, displacing 43,096 people, 70 percent of them African-American. Parks lived just a mile from the epicenter of the riot that took place in Detroit in 1967, and she considered housing discrimination a major factor that provoked the disorder.

In the aftermath Mrs. Parks collaborated with members of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and the Republic of New Afrika in raising awareness of police abuse during the conflict. She served on a "people's tribunal" on August 30, 1967 investigating the killing of three young men by police during the 1967 Detroit uprising, in what came to be known as the Algiers Hotel Incident. She also helped form the Virginia Park district council to help rebuild the area. The council facilitated the building of the only black-owned shopping center in the country. Parks took part in the black power movement, attending the Philadelphia Black Power conference, and the Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. She also supported and visited the Black Panther school in Oakland.

1970s

In the 1970s, Parks organized for the freedom of political prisoners in the United States, particularly cases involving issues of self-defense. She helped found the Detroit chapter of the Joann Little Defense Committee, and also worked in support of the Wilmington 10, the RNA-11, and Gary Tyler. Following national outcry around her case, Little succeeded in her defense that she used deadly force to resist sexual assault and was acquitted. Gary Tyler was finally released in April 2016 after 41 years in prison.

The 1970s were a decade of loss for Parks in her personal life. Her family was plagued with illness; she and her husband had suffered stomach ulcers for years and both required hospitalization. In spite of her fame and constant speaking engagements, Parks was not a wealthy woman. She donated most of the money from speaking to civil rights causes, and lived on her staff salary and her husband's pension. Medical bills and time missed from work caused financial strain that required her to accept assistance from church groups and admirers.

Her husband died of throat cancer on August 19, 1977 and her brother, her only sibling, died of cancer that November. Her personal ordeals caused her to become removed from the civil rights movement. She learned from a newspaper of the death of Fannie Lou Hamer, once a close friend. Parks suffered two broken bones in a fall on an icy sidewalk, an injury which caused considerable and recurring pain. She decided to move with her mother into an apartment for senior citizens. There she nursed her mother Leona through the final stages of cancer and geriatric dementia until she died in 1979 at the age of 92.

Final years

In 1980, Parks—widowed and without immediate family—rededicated herself to civil rights and educational organizations. She co-founded the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation for college-bound high school seniors, to which she donated most of her speaker fees. In February 1987 she co-founded, with Elaine Eason Steele, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, an institute that runs the "Pathways to Freedom" bus tours which introduce young people to important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout the country. Parks also served on the Board of Advocates of Planned Parenthood. Though her health declined as she entered her seventies, Parks continued to make many appearances and devoted considerable energy to these causes.

In 1992, Parks published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography aimed at younger readers, which recounts her life leading to her decision to keep her seat on the bus. A few years later, she published Quiet Strength (1995), her memoir, which focuses on her faith. On August 30, 1994, Joseph Skipper, an African-American drug addict, entered her home to rob it and attacked the 81-year-old Parks. The incident sparked outrage throughout the United States. After his arrest, Skipper said that he had not known he was in Parks' home but recognized her after entering. Skipper asked, "Hey, aren't you Rosa Parks?" to which she replied, "Yes." She handed him $3 when he demanded money and an additional $50 when he demanded more. Before fleeing, Skipper struck Parks in the face. Skipper was arrested and charged with various breaking and entering offenses against Parks and other neighborhood victims. He admitted guilt and, on August 8, 1995, was sentenced to eight to 15 years in prison. Suffering anxiety upon returning to her small central Detroit house following the ordeal, Parks moved into Riverfront Towers, a secure high-rise apartment building where she lived for the rest of her life.

In 1994 the Ku Klux Klan applied to sponsor a portion of United States Interstate 55 in St. Louis County and Jefferson County, Missouri, near St. Louis, for cleanup (which allowed them to have signs stating that this section of highway was maintained by the organization). Since the state could not refuse the KKK's sponsorship, the Missouri legislature voted to name the highway section the "Rosa Parks Highway". When asked how she felt about this honor, she is reported to have commented, "It is always nice to be thought of."

In 1999 Parks filmed a cameo appearance for the television series Touched by an Angel. It was her last appearance on film; health problems made her increasingly an invalid.

In 2002 Parks received an eviction notice from her $1800 per month apartment due to non-payment of rent. Parks was incapable of managing her own financial affairs by this time due to age-related physical and mental decline. Her rent was paid from a collection taken by Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. When her rent became delinquent and her impending eviction was highly publicized in 2004, executives of the ownership company announced they had forgiven the back rent and would allow Parks, by then 91 and in extremely poor health, to live rent free in the building for the remainder of her life. Her heirs and various interest organizations alleged at the time that her financial affairs had been mismanaged.

In popular culture

In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Parks's name and picture.

The Neville Brothers recorded a song about Parks called "Sister Rosa" on their 1989 album Yellow Moon. A music video for the song was also made.

The song "Daybreak" from The Stone Roses' 1994 album Second Coming pays tribute to Parks with the line "Sister Rosa Lee Parks / Love forever her name in your heart".

In March 1999, Parks filed a lawsuit (Rosa Parks v. LaFace Records) against American hip-hop duo OutKast and their record company, claiming that the duo's song "Rosa Parks", the most successful radio single of their 1998 album Aquemini, had used her name without permission. The lawsuit was settled on April 15, 2005 (six months and nine days before Parks' death); OutKast, their producer and record labels paid Parks an undisclosed cash settlement. They also agreed to work with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute to create educational programs about the life of Rosa Parks. The record label and OutKast admitted to no wrongdoing. Responsibility for the payment of legal fees was not disclosed.

The documentary Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks (2001) received a 2002 nomination for Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. She collaborated on a TV movie of her life, The Rosa Parks Story (2002), starring Angela Bassett.

The film Barbershop (2002) featured a barber, played by Cedric the Entertainer, arguing with others that other African Americans before Parks had been active in bus integration, but she was renowned as an NAACP secretary. The activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton launched a boycott against the film, contending it was "disrespectful", but NAACP president Kweisi Mfume stated he thought the controversy was "overblown." Parks was offended and boycotted the NAACP 2003 Image Awards ceremony, which Cedric hosted.

Grime musician Skepta's track "Shutdown" includes the lyrics "Sittin' at the front, just like Rosa Parks".

Death and funeral

Parks resided in Detroit until she died of natural causes at the age of 92 on October 24, 2005, in her apartment on the east side of the city. She and her husband never had children and she outlived her only sibling. She was survived by her sister-in-law (Raymond's sister), 13 nieces and nephews and their families, and several cousins, most of them residents of Michigan or Alabama.

City officials in Montgomery and Detroit announced on October 27, 2005, that the front seats of their city buses would be reserved with black ribbons in honor of Parks until her funeral. Parks' coffin was flown to Montgomery and taken in a horse-drawn hearse to the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, where she lay in repose at the altar on October 29, 2005, dressed in the uniform of a church deaconess. A memorial service was held there the following morning. One of the speakers, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said that if it had not been for Parks, she would probably have never become the Secretary of State. In the evening the casket was transported to Washington, D.C. and transported by a bus similar to the one in which she made her protest, to lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

Since the founding in 1852 of the practice of lying in state in the rotunda, Parks was the 31st person, the first American who had not been a U.S. government official, and the second private person (after the French planner Pierre L'Enfant) to be honored in this way. She was the first woman and the second black person to lie in state in the Capitol. An estimated 50,000 people viewed the casket there, and the event was broadcast on television on October 31, 2005. A memorial service was held that afternoon at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC.

With her body and casket returned to Detroit, for two days, Parks lay in repose at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Her funeral service was seven hours long and was held on November 2, 2005, at the Greater Grace Temple Church in Detroit. After the service, an honor guard from the Michigan National Guard laid the U.S. flag over the casket and carried it to a horse-drawn hearse, which was intended to carry it, in daylight, to the cemetery. As the hearse passed the thousands of people who were viewing the procession, many clapped, cheered loudly and released white balloons. Parks was interred between her husband and mother at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery in the chapel's mausoleum. The chapel was renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel in her honor. Parks had previously prepared and placed a headstone on the selected location with the inscription "Rosa L. Parks, wife, 1913–."

Legacy and honors

1976, Detroit renamed 12th Street "Rosa Parks Boulevard."

1979, the NAACP awarded Parks the Spingarn Medal, its highest honor,

1980, she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Award.

1983, she was inducted into Michigan Women's Hall of Fame for her achievements in civil rights.

1984, she received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

1990,

1992, she received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award along with Dr. Benjamin Spock and others at the Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

1994, she received an honorary doctorate from Soka University in Tokyo, Japan.

1995, she received the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award in Williamsburg, Virginia.

1996, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given by the US executive branch.

1998, she was the first to receive the International Freedom Conductor Award given by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

1999,

2000,

2002,

2003, Bus No. 2857 on which Parks was riding is restored and placed on display in The Henry Ford

2004, In the Los Angeles County MetroRail system, the Imperial Highway/Wilmington station, where the Blue Line connects with the Green Line, has been officially named the "Rosa Parks Station".

2005,

Parks was invited to be part of the group welcoming Nelson Mandela upon his release from prison in South Africa.

Parks was in attendance as part of Interstate 475 outside of Toledo, Ohio is named after Parks.

she received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given by the US legislative branch, the medal bears the legend "Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement"

she receives the Windsor–Detroit International Freedom Festival Freedom Award.

Time named Parks one of the 20 most influential and iconic figures of the 20th century.

President Bill Clinton honored her in his State of the Union address, saying, "She's sitting down with the first lady tonight, and she may get up or not as she chooses."

her home state awarded her the Alabama Academy of Honor,

she receives the first Governor's Medal of Honor for Extraordinary Courage.

She was awarded two dozen honorary doctorates from universities worldwide

She is made an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

the Rosa Parks Library and Museum on the campus of Troy University in Montgomery was dedicated to her.

scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Parks on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

A portion of the Interstate 10 freeway in Los Angeles is named in her honor.

On October 30, 2005 President George W. Bush issued a proclamation ordering that all flags on U.S. public areas both within the country and abroad be flown at half-staff on the day of Parks' funeral.

Metro Transit in King County, Washington placed posters and stickers dedicating the first forward-facing seat of all its buses in Parks' memory shortly after her death,

the American Public Transportation Association declared December 1, 2005, the 50th anniversary of her arrest, to be a "National Transit Tribute to Rosa Parks Day".

On that anniversary, President George W. Bush signed Pub.L. 109–116, directing that a statue of Parks be placed in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. In signing the resolution directing the Joint Commission on the Library to do so, the President stated:

By placing her statue in the heart of the nation's Capitol, we commemorate her work for a more perfect union, and we commit ourselves to continue to struggle for justice for every American.

2006,

2007, Nashville, Tennessee, renamed MetroCenter Boulevard (8th Avenue North) (US 41A and SR 12) in September 2007 as Rosa L. Parks Boulevard.

2009, On July 14, 2009, the Rosa Parks Transit Center opened in Detroit at the corner of Michigan and Cass Avenues.

2010, In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a plaza in the heart of the city is named Rosa Parks Circle.

2012, President Barack Obama visited the famous Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museum after an event in Dearborn, Michigan, April 18, 2012.

2012, A street in West Valley City, Utah (the state's second largest city), leading to the Utah Cultural Celebration Center was renamed Rosa Parks Drive.

2013,

2014, the asteroid (284996) Rosaparks was named after Rosa Parks.

2015,

Portion of Interstate 96 in Detroit was renamed by the state legislature as the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway in December 2005.

At Super Bowl XL, played at Detroit's Ford Field, long-time Detroit residents Coretta Scott King and Parks were remembered and honored by a moment of silence. The Super Bowl was dedicated to their memory. Parks' nieces and nephews and Martin Luther King III joined the coin toss ceremonies, standing alongside former University of Michigan star Tom Brady who flipped the coin.

On February 14, Nassau County, New York Executive, Thomas Suozzi announced that the Hempstead Transit Center would be renamed the Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center in her honor.

On February 1, President Barack Obama proclaimed February 4, 2013, as the "100th Anniversary of the Birth of Rosa Parks." He called "upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs to honor Rosa Parks's enduring legacy."

On February 4, to celebrate Rosa Parks' 100th birthday, the Henry Ford Museum declared the day a "National Day of Courage" with 12 hours of virtual and on-site activities featuring nationally recognized speakers, musical and dramatic interpretative performances, a panel presentation of Rosa's Story and a reading of the tale Quiet Strength. The actual bus on which Rosa Parks sat was made available for the public to board and sit in the seat that Rosa Parks refused to give up.

On February 4, 2,000 birthday wishes gathered from people throughout the United States were transformed into 200 graphics messages at a celebration held on her 100th Birthday at the Davis Theater for the Performing Arts in Montgomery, Alabama. This was the 100th Birthday Wishes Project managed by the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University and the Mobile Studio and was also a declared event by the Senate.

During both events the USPS unveiled a postage stamp in her honor.

On February 27, Parks became the first African American woman to have her likeness depicted in National Statuary Hall. The monument, created by sculptor Eugene Daub, is a part of the Capitol Art Collection among nine other females featured in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

the papers of Rosa Parks were cataloged into the Library of Congress, after years of a legal battle.

On December 13, the new Rosa Parks Railway Station opened in Paris.

Wikipedia

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1994 – Death of Irish patriot, Michael Flannery, in New York City.

The fight of the Irish against the British was the great theme of Mr. Flannery’s life. As a boy of 14 in Ireland, he joined the Irish Volunteers and learned to fire a machine gun behind a monastery cloister. In 1970, after 43 years in the United States, he was one of the founders of the Irish Northern Aid Committee, which says it is a charitable organisation for the children of British political…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.11

1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes. 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle of the rain". 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Emperor of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier; this embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China. 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh. Idris ibn Abdallah flees to the Maghreb, where he later founds the Idrisid dynasty. 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus'. 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy. 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks. 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave. 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners. 1429 – Hundred Years' War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau. 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king. 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon. 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines). 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries. 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef. 1775 – The American Revolutionary War's first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel. 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence. 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska. 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory. 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City. 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish. 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War. 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia. 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the "first motor race", takes place. 1898 – The Hundred Days' Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.) 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands. 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga. 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens. 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown. 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase "smoke-filled room". 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey. 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens. 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders. 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts. 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union. 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance. 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned. 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports. 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150. 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island. 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register. 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam. 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights. 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance. 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types. 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so. 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control. 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University. 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000. 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain. 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition. 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress. 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe. 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people. 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school. 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit. 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa. 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried. 2013 – Greece's public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. 2015 – Greece's public broadcaster ERT is reopened by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras. 2018 – United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore. 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.

[chestnutpost]

Ethiopian Plane Crash Victims Were UN Workers, Doctors, Academics

This post was originally published on this site

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Three Austrian physicians. The co-founder of an international aid organization. A career ambassador. The wife and children of a Slovak legislator. A Nigerian-born Canadian college professor and satirist.

They were among the 157 people from 35 countries who died Sunday morning when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. Here are some of their stories.

Kenya: 32 victims

— Hussein Swaleh, the former secretary general of the Football Kenya Federation, was named as being among the dead by Sofapaka Football Club. He was returning home on the flight after working as the match commissioner in an African Champions League game in Egypt on Friday.

— Cedric Asiavugwa, who studied international business and economic law at Georgetown University in Washington, was on his way to Nairobi after the death of his fiancee’s mother, the university said in a statement.

Canada: 18 victims

— Pius Adesanmi, a Nigerian professor with Carleton University in Ottawa, was on his way to a meeting of the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council in Nairobi, Nigeria’s representative to the panel, John O. Oba, told The Associated Press.

Adesanmi is the author of “Naija No Dey Carry Last,” a collection of satirical essays.

“Pius was a towering figure in African and post-colonial scholarship and his sudden loss is a tragedy,” said Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Carleton’s president and vice chancellor.

Adesanmi was the winner of the inaugural Penguin Prize for African non-fiction writing in 2010.

—Mohamed Hassan Ali confirmed that he had lost his sister and niece.

Ali said his sister, Amina Ibrahim Odowaa, 33, and her 5-year-old daughter, Sofia Faisal Abdulkadir, were on board the jet. He said his sister lived in Edmonton and was travelling to Kenya to visit with relatives.

— Derick Lwugi, an accountant with the City of Calgary, was also among the victims, his wife, Gladys Kivia, said. He leaves behind three children, aged 17, 19 and 20. Lwugi had been headed to Kenya to visit both of their parents.

Ethiopia: 9 victims

— Catholic Relief Services said four of its Ethiopian staff members died. The aid group in a statement says Sara Chalachew, Getnet Alemayehu, Sintayehu Aymeku, and Mulusew Alemu had been traveling to Nairobi for training.

The four had worked with the organization for as long as a decade. They worked in procurement, logistics and finance.

— The aid group Save the Children said an Ethiopian colleague died in the crash.

Tamirat Mulu Demessie was a technical adviser on child protection in emergencies and “worked tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable children are safe during humanitarian crises,” the group said in a statement.

China: 8 victims

— A statement from the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa said the Chinese victims included five men and three women, including one person from the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said two United Nations workers were among the eight Chinese killed. Four were working for a Chinese company and two had travelled to Ethiopia for “private matters.”

Italy: 8 victims

— Paolo Dieci, one of the founders of the International Committee for the Development of Peoples, was among the dead, the group said on its website.

“The world of international cooperation has lost one of its most brilliant advocates and Italian civil society has lost a precious point of reference,” wrote the group, which partners with UNICEF in northern Africa. UNICEF Italia sent a tweet of condolences over Dieci’s death, noting that the group was a partner in Kenya, Libya and Algeria.

— Sebastiano Tusa, the Sicilian regional assessor to the Italian Culture Ministry, was en route to Nairobi when the plane crashed, according to Sicilian regional President Nello Musemeci. Tusa was also a noted underwater archaeologist.

— The World Food Program confirmed that two of the Italian victims worked for the Rome-based U.N. agency. A WFP spokeswoman identified the victims as Virginia Chimenti and Maria Pilar Buzzetti.

— Three other Italians worked for the Bergamo-based humanitarian agency, Africa Tremila: Carlo Spini, his wife, Gabriella Viggiani and the treasurer, Matteo Ravasio.

United States: 8 victims

France: 7 victims

— A group representing members of the African diaspora in Europe is mourning the loss of its co-chairperson and “foremost brother,” Karim Saafi. The 38-year-old French-Tunisian was on an official mission representing the African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe, the group announced on its Facebook page.

“Karim’s smile, his charming and generous personality, eternal positivity, and his noble contribution to Youth employment, diaspora engagement and Africa’s socio-economic development will never be forgotten,” the post read. Saafi left behind a fiancee.

— Sarah Auffret, a French-British national living in Tromsoe, northern Norway, was on the plane, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said. Auffret, a staffer, was on the way to Nairobi to talk about a Cleans Seas project in connection with the U.N. Environment Assembly this week, the company said in a statement.

Britain: 7 victims

— Joanna Toole, a 36-year-old from Exmouth, Devon, was heading to Nairobi to attend the United Nations Environment Assembly. Her father, Adrian, described her as a “very soft and loving” woman whose “work was not a job — it was her vocation.”

He told the DevonLive website Toole used to keep homing pigeons and pet rats and traveled to the remote Faroe Islands to prevent whaling.

— Joseph Waithaka, 55, lived in Hull, England for a decade before moving back to his native Kenya, also died in the crash, his son told the Hull Daily Mail. Ben Kuria said his father had worked for the Probation Service, adding: “He helped so many people in Hull who had found themselves on the wrong side of the law.”

Egypt: 6 victims

Germany: 5 victims

— The U.N. migration agency said that one of its staffers, German citizen Anne-Katrin Feigl, was en route to a training course in Nairobi.

— Rev. Norman Tendis was a long-time pastor in the protestant congregation of St. Ruprecht in Villach, Austria. The World Council of Churches said Monday that he was traveling to a U.N. environment summit in Nairobi.

The 51-year-old is survived by his wife and three children.

— The German development aid organization GIZ said one of its staff was also on the plane. GIZ spokeswoman Tanja Stumpff said the woman was on a business trip. She declined to provide further details, citing privacy reasons.

India: 4 victims

Slovakia: 4 victims

— A lawmaker of the Slovak Parliament said his wife, daughter and son were killed in the crash. Anton Hrnko, a legislator for the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, said he was “in deep grief” over the deaths of his wife, Blanka; son, Martin; and daughter, Michala. Their ages weren’t immediately available.

Martin Hrnko worked for the Bubo travel agency and was traveling on vacation to Kenya, the agency said.

Sweden: 4 victims

— Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced “with immense shock and grief” that its chief executive Jonathan Seex was among the fatalities.

— The Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders, an international human rights group, said employee Josefin Ekermann, 30, was on board the plane. Ekermann, who worked to support human rights defenders, was on her way to meet Kenyan partner organizations. The group’s executive director, Anders L. Pettersson, says “Josefin was a highly appreciated and respected colleague.”

Austria: 3 victims

—Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Guschelbauer confirmed that three Austrian doctors in their early 30s were on board the flight. The men were on their way to Zanzibar, he said, but he could not confirm the purpose of their trip.

Russia: 3 victims

—The Russian Embassy in Ethiopia said airline authorities had identified its deceased citizens as Yekaterina Polyakova, Alexander Polyakov and Sergei Vyalikov.

Russian news reports identified Polyakova and Polyakov as a married couple. State news agency RIA-Novosibirsk said the three were visiting Africa as tourists.

Israel: 2 victims

Morocco: 2 victims

Poland: 2 victims

— Poland’s Foreign Ministry says two victims were men and not related to each other. The ministry does not plan to say more about them, citing the need to respect privacy and the interest of the men’s families.

Spain: 2 victims

Belgium: 1 victim

Djibouti: 1 victim

Indonesia: 1 victim

Ireland: 1 victim

— Irishman Michael Ryan was among seven people from the United Nations’ World Food Program who were killed.

The Rome-based aid worker and engineer known as Mick was thought to be married with two children. His work projects included creating safe conditions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and assessing the damage to rural roads in Nepal that were blocked by landslides.

His mother, Christine Ryan, told broadcaster RTE “he never wanted a 9 to 5 job. He put everything into his work.”

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: “Michael was doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Program.”

Mozambique: 1 victim

Nepal: 1 victim

Nigeria: 1 victim

—The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it received the news of retired Ambassador Abiodun Oluremi Bashu’s death “with great shock.”

Bashu was born in Ibadan in 1951 and joined the Nigerian Foreign Service in 1976. He had served in different capacities both at headquarters and abroad, including in Austria, Ivory Coast and Tehran, Iran. He also served as secretary to the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

At the time of his death, Bashu was on contract with the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa.

Norway: 1 victim

—The Red Cross of Norway confirmed that Karoline Aadland, a finance officer, was on the flight. Aadland, 28, was originally from Bergen, Norway. The Red Cross said she was traveling to Nairobi for a meeting.

Aadland’s Linkedin page says she had done humanitarian and environmental work. It says her work and studies had taken her to France, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi.

Rwanda: 1 victim

Saudi Arabia: 1 victim

Serbia: 1 victim

Serbia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that a citizen of Serbia was on the plane and gave no details. Serbian media identified him as Djordje Vdovic, 54. The Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported Vdovic worked for the U.N. World Food Program.

Somalia: 1 victim

Sudan: 1 victim

Togo: 1 victim

Uganda: 1 victim

Yemen: 1 victim

U.N. passport: 1 victim

This story has been corrected to show that Tamarind Group chief executive Jonathan Seex is a Swedish citizen.

The post Ethiopian Plane Crash Victims Were UN Workers, Doctors, Academics appeared first on The Chestnut Post.

from The Chestnut Post https://thechestnutpost.com/news/ethiopian-plane-crash-victims-were-un-workers-doctors-academics/

[lindawfowler101010]

​All About Katy Perry

Who is Katy Perry?

Katy Perry is a woman of many talents.

Singer: Katy began her adventures in the world of melodic vocalization as early as age 9. Although she started her musical career as a gospel singer, she eventually broke away from that genre to focus on pop music. Pop music has since become the genre that best represents Katy's professional singing career.

Songwriter: Katy has either written or co-written more than 60 songs in her career as a musician. A large majority of the songs that Katy wrote have also been songs that she has performed.

Actress: Katy provides the voice of "Smurfette" in "The Smurfs" computer-animated film and its sequel, The Smurfs 2. She has also appeared in several documentaries, the concert film for her "Prismatic World Tour" and made a cameo appearance in the 2016 comedy film "Zoolander 2;" she even gets a single line of dialogue where she overextends the question "Who am I?" in song. In the world of television acting, Katy has portrayed a nameless club singer on ABC Family's "Wildfire;" Honey on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother;" "Rikki Hargrove" on an episode of "Raising Hope" and roles in several sketches during her second appearance on "Saturday Night Live."

Television performer: Katy has served as a guest judge on the "American Idol" and "The X Factor" talent programs; she would later ascend to a full-time judge on American Idol, beginning with its 16th season. She has been the musical guest for "Saturday Night Live" on two occasions. Katy has appeared as herself on shows like "The Young and the Restless," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "The Simpsons," a television special hosted by street magician David Blaine, "The Kroll Show" and "CMT Crossroads." While Katy filmed a music video with Sesame Street's Muppet character Elmo, for an educational parody of her song "Hot n Cold," complaints about her attire in the video, which had been uploaded to YouTube in order to promote the program's 41st season, saw that the skit was never aired on television.

Philanthropist: After engaging in charity work with UNICEF in April of 2013, Katy became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador later that year. A fair portion of the ticket sales from her Prismatic World Tour went toward the charity. Her appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was to build and design a Baltimore, Maryland-based youth shelter for the "Boys Hope" and "Girls Hope" foundations. Katy's other charitable endeavors include DonorsChoose, a charity dedicated to keeping teachers and classrooms fully stocked with supplies, and various organizations dedicated to helping people overcome HIV/AIDS and cancer. She has also routinely donated portions of her earnings from concerts to a variety of charities.

Activist: Katy is a fervent activist for LGBT rights. She worked with Stonewall's "It Gets Better" campaign and voted against California's Proposition 8, which would later be deemed unconstitutional for espousing the notion that marriage is only valid between a man and a woman. Katy also considers herself a feminist and was among the 200 musicians and music executives to implore the United States Congress to tighten gun control after the massacre at Orlando, Florida's "Pulse" nightclub in 2016. Lastly, she has routinely used her influence to encourage Democratic votes, having performed and advocated for the presidential elections of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and to the election campaigns of California's Marianne Williamson, to the state's 33rd congressional district, and Kamala Harris, to the Senate.

Katy's contributions to the arts have earned her over 20 different accolades from the American Music Awards, People's Choice Awards, Guinness World Records, "Billboard" magazine, the BRIT Awards and even the Canadian Juno Awards. Her activism and charitable activities have also earned her the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian award, received through her work with UNICEF, the Trevor Project's Trevor Hero Award and the Human Rights Campaign's Nation Equality Award.

What is Katy Perry's Real Name?

"Katy Perry" happens to only be the stage name of the woman who was born with the name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson. Katy is a shortening of Katheryn and Perry comes from her mother's maiden name.

How Many Songs Does Katy Perry Have?

Katy is credited as the lead artist in 24 songs and as a featured artist on three songs.

"Starstrukk" by Colorado-based electronic duo "3OH!3"

"Who You Love?" by John Mayer.

"Feels" by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, along with Pharrell Williams and Big Sean.

Perry has also produced six promotional singles.

"Ur So Gay" to promote her second album, "One of the Boys."

"Not Like the Movies" and "Circle the Drain" to promote her third album, "Teenage Dream."

"Walking on Air" to promote her fourth album, "Prism."

"Save as Draft" to promote her fifth album, "Witness"

"Every Day Is a Holiday" to promote Swedish fashion line "Hennes & Mauritz AB."

In totality, Katy has sold more than 100 million songs.

How Many Albums Does Katy Perry Have?

Katy has produced five main albums.

"Katy Hudson," released in 2001.

One of the Boys, released in 2008.

Teenage Dream, released in 2010.

Prism, released in 2013.

Witness, released in 2017.

Additionally, Teenage Dream received a re-release as "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection" in 2012 and Katy released a live album of her performance on "MTV Unplugged." In totality, Katy has sold more than 40 million albums.

When Was Katy Perry Born?

Katy was born on October 24th, 1984.

How Old is Katy Perry?

Katy is 33 years old.

Where Was Katy Perry Born?

Katy was born in the Milky Way galaxy, on the planet Earth, in its northern hemisphere, within the American state of California. Specifically, she was born in Santa Barbara, California.

What Nationality is Katy Perry?

As she was born within the state of California, Katy is an American citizen. Katy's ethnicity is quite another matter; because her father is three-quarters Portuguese and one-quarter Irish and her mother is equal parts English and German, Perry's ethnicity would be one-quarter English, one-quarter German, one-eighth Irish and three-eighths Portuguese.

Where is Katy Perry From?

Although she was born in Santa Barbara, Katy's early years involved traveling throughout California and Arizona while her parents would go about their missionary work and found churches throughout the American southwest.

Is Katy Perry American?

Yes, Katy is an American. Despite once admonishing Australia's Tony Abbot for his anti-gay politics, even going as far as to say she would not vote for him, Katy has never pursued a change in nationality and remains an American to this day.

Is Katy Perry Canadian?

No, Katy is not a Canadian. Although she received two nominations and one award from the Juno Awards, a committee dedicated to commending Canadian musicians for their artistry, Katy's nominations and win were from the Awards' "International Album of the Year." This particular category is one of the few that is open to non-Canadian musicians.

Where Does Katy Perry Live?

Katy has tended to pick residences close to her home state of California.

Where Does Katy Perry Live Now?

Katy currently lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Who is Katy Perry With?

Currently, Katy is single after having announced her break-up with on-again-off-again fling Orlando Bloom in 2017. She was once married, between 2010 and 2012, to Englishman Russell Brand; the official reason for their divorce was listed as "irreconcilable differences."

Does Katy Perry Have Siblings?

Katy has two siblings.

David Daniel Hudson, her brother, was born in 1986 and performs under the stage name "Hudson." He released a single album in 2013, titled "The REVOLUTION." whenever Katy goes out touring, David takes care of "Kitty Purry," one of Katy's two cats and her personal mascot.

Angela Hudson, her sister, was born in 1982. Angela's singing was one of Katy's first musical influences; Katy would often join in during Angela's voice training lessons. Angela married Svend Lerche in October of 2012 and has since given birth to two children, both of whom Katy has helped deliver into the world.

Does Katy Perry Have Kids?

While Katy has no children of her own, she serves as the caring aunt to her sister Angela's two children.

What Religion is Katy Perry?

The short answer to this question is "none." Although Katy grew up in a home run by two Pentecostal pastors of the Christian faith and was even on track for a career in gospel music, Perry has since discarded the trappings of any specific Christian denomination. In an interview in "Marie Claire" magazine from 2013, Katy said that she does not consider herself a Christian but constantly prays to God, often for the sake of her self-confidence and humility. Despite not being a Christian, Katy is spiritual enough to admit that she feels connected to God.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

U.N. Calls for Safe Passage for 140,000 Trapped in Southwest Syria (Reuters) The United Nations refugee agency appealed to all sides in Syria on Friday to provide safe passage for 140,000 civilians displaced by fighting in the southwest so that they can receive aid and shelter.

Libya Rejects EU Plans for Migrant Centers on Its Territory (Reuters) Libya rejects a European Union’s plan to establish migrant centers there to stop asylum seekers arriving in western Europe and it will not be swayed by financial inducements, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said.

Macron to Fire Bodyguard Caught on Camera Beating Protester-Elysee (Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to fire the bodyguard who was caught on camera hitting a May Day protester, the president’s office said on Friday.

UK’s May Demands New Deal From EU on Irish Border Backstop (Reuters) British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday was set to call on the European Union to strike a new deal to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland and demand Brussels quickly respond to her ‘white paper’ plan to avoid a damaging no-deal Brexit.

UK to Warn Public Every Week Over ‘No-Deal Brexit’: The Times (Reuters) Britons will from next week start receiving weekly information bulletins from the government about how to make sure they’re ready for a disorderly Brexit, The Times reported on Friday.

North Korea Takes Swipe at Moon (Reuters) North Korea lambasted South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday for “needlessly kibitzing” about relations between Pyongyang and Washington and dismissed Moon’s pledge to take the driver’s seat on the Korean Peninsula as “sophistry”.

Bulk of Families Separated at U.S.-Mexico Border Remain Apart (Reuters) With one week left on a court-ordered deadline to reunite children and parents separated by U.S. immigration officials, government lawyers reported on Thursday that 364 of some 2,500 families with children aged 5 and older have been brought back together.

U.S. Foreign, Defense Chiefs to Travel to Delhi for High-Level Talks (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will travel to New Delhi in September for high-level talks that were twice postponed this year, the Indian foreign ministry announced on Friday.

Malaysia to Release Report on Missing Flight MH370 on July 30 (Reuters) Malaysia will release on July 30 a long-awaited report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the transport minister said on Friday.

Election Monitoring Groups in Cambodia Headed by PM’s Son, ‘Ambassador’ (Reuters) Three of the groups approved to monitor Cambodia’s election have close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen, one headed by his son and the other two led by a man who was appointed by the Southeast Asian country’s strongman ruler as a “goodwill ambassador”.

Senators Introduce Bill Demanding Turkey End ‘Unjust’ Detention of U.S. Citizens (Reuters) Six U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday to restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey “until the Turkish government ends the unjust detention of U.S. citizens”, a senate committee statement said.

WhatsApp Curbs Message Forwarding in Bid to Deter India Lynch Mobs (Reuters) Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp is rolling out a global test measure to rein in messages forwarded by users, the messaging app said, after the spread of rumors led to several killings in India and sparked calls for action from authorities.

Parliament Debates No-Confidence Motion Against Modi’s Gov’t (AP) Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the government of failing to live up to its promises as Parliament begins debating a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Russian Envoy: Moscow Open to Putin Visit to Washington (AP) Moscow is ready to discuss a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to Washington after a surprise invitation from President Donald Trump, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. said Friday.

Taliban Launches 2 Days of Attacks in Afghanistan, 14 Killed (AP) Taliban fighters launched a wave of attacks against security outposts in the east and south of Afghanistan over the last two days, even as efforts to jump-start peace talks were renewed. The violence left 14 police dead and 10 others wounded, officials said Friday.

Cameroon Military, Separatists Blamed for ‘Grave Abuses’ (AP) Violent tensions between Cameroon’s government and Anglophone separatists have forced more than 180,000 people from their homes since December, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in a new report that blames both sides for “grave abuses” against civilians.

[robertawilliams]

Brexit: EU relocates Galileo satellite system installation from UK to Spain

A part of the infrastructure for the Galileo satellite system will be relocated from the Britain to Spain because of the UK’s departure from the EU, the European Commission has announced.

The back-up security monitoring centre for Galileo, Europe’s advanced version of GPS, was originally awarded to London in 2010 after a competitive process.  

The centre, which was due to become fully operational later this year, controls access to the satellite system and provides around-the-clock monitoring of it when the main security centre, near Paris, is offline.

Juncker says Britain should re-join EU using Article 49 after Brexit

“Today the Committee of the member states’ representatives met and we can confirm that the committee voted in favour, by a large majority of our commission proposal to relocate the centre to Spain,” a spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters in Brussels.

“This is what we can say today. As is the case with all committee procedures the college [of commissioners] will now formally adopt this decision in its meeting next Wednesday.”

He confirmed that the system was being moved “as consequence of the UK withdrawal from the EU”.

The relocation is the latest blow to Britain’s space industry from Brexit. In November UK aerospace firms and the Royal Aeronautical Society said they were being excluded from contracts because of the decision to leave the EU, with contracts for Galileo particularly affected.

An Ariane rocket carrying four European Galileo navigation satellites launches November 15, 2016 in Kourou, French Guiana (Getty Images)

The relocated back-up security centre is expected to employ as many as 30 people when it becomes fully operational in Madrid – with additional benefits for prestige and local expertise.

Galileo’s space constellation currently consists of 18 satellites, with full services due to come online in 2020. The system, which is designed to be more accurate than GPS, was developed in part so that Europe would not have to rely on a system controlled by the US military for navigation. 

The US also reserves the most accurate data from GPS for its armed forces, and there are concerns that it could be shut off for other users during wartime. 

Brexit Concerns

Brexit Concerns

Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs

Brexit will put British patients at the “back of the queue” for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned – forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA – because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice.

Getty Images

London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks

One of Germany’s top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as “gateway to Europe” for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the Bundesbank—Germany’s central bank—told a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still “miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market”, the BBC reports.

Jason Hawkes

Exodus

The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union

Shutterstock

Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer

Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEO’s performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterling’s fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors.

Rex

Theresa May: UK to leave single market

Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all".

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Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court

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Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit

PA wire

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit

PA wire

Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais

Getty

Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp

Getty

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today

EPA

Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain

Reuters

Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry

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Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote

PA

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging

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Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities

Getty

A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses

Getty

Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes

Getty

A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU

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Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum

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Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU

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NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit

Getty

The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future

Getty

A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain

Reuters

The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions

Getty

The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market

Getty

GPS also has a feature called “selective availability” that can be used to deliberately introduce errors into positioning, with the stated purpose of preventing enemy forces from using the system to guide weapons. The system is currently turned off.

In November the EU announced that the European Medicines Agency and the European Finance Authority would be moving from London to Amsterdam and Paris respectively because of Brexit, taking hundreds of high-paying jobs and sectoral benefits with them.

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[lamotheloves-blog]

Newslinks for Friday 8th September 2017

Withdrawal Bill 1) Davis signals openness to improved Parliamentary oversight of the Brexit process

'David Davis, the UK's Brexit secretary, has said he will consider giving parliament greater oversight of EU withdrawal, as the government seeks to head off a rebellion by centrist Conservative MPs. Several pro-EU Tories joined opposition MPs in criticising the scope of ministerial powers proposed in the repeal bill, which sets the legal framework for Brexit and was debated in the Commons on Thursday. Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative attorney-general, said the bill was an astonishing monstrosity which could lead to a marked diminution in the rights of the individual and of corporate entities. Mr Davis said he stood ready to listen to those who offer improvements. The government is unlikely to face defeat in votes on the bill at its second reading, scheduled for Monday, but could face trouble at subsequent stages later this year.' FT

The Bill is a necessity Daily Telegraph Leader

Juncker claims the Brexit Secretary lacks 'stability and accountability' Daily Mail

The Government is accused of a 'power grab' on key committees The Independent

The Prime Minister has turned down an invitation to address the European Parliament The Guardian

Might May's reputation recover one day? Jane Merrick, The Times

Moggmentum shows the Conservatives are vulnerable to their own brand of Corbynmania Philip Collins, The Times

Mogg is under the cosh of the new liberal orthodoxy Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday:

Peter Lilley on Comment: Don't lose your head over 'Henry VIII powers'

MPsETC: Brexit Select Committee election result Whittingdale, Rees-Mogg, Bone and others elected

WATCH:Davis The Bill is designed to offer maximum possible legal certainty and continuity whilst restoring control to the UK.

Withdrawal Bill 2) Thirty Labour MPs express concerns about Starmer's decision to Whip against the legislation

'Jeremy Corbyn is facing a Commons rebellion next week after Eurosceptic Labour MPs accused him of 'trying to scupper Brexit' by blocking vital new legislation. The Labour leader was under fire after confirming he will order his MPs to oppose the EU Withdrawal Bill in a crunch Commons vote on Monday. Thirty Labour MPs have met with shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer to raise concerns about the stance, warning that it will be seen as a betrayal by millions of Labour voters who backed Brexit. But, as the flagship legislation began its passage through parliament, Sir Keir confirmed that Labour is implacably opposed to it, even though it has no alternative plan for implementing Brexit.' Daily Mail

Starmer delivers a boring speech The Times

No, he had a stormer Daily Telegraph

Labour explores the option of staying in the Customs Union forever FT

Big business brought Brexit on itself through its use of cheap foreign labour Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph

The SNP is also lining up against the Bill The Scotsman

Who said what in the debate The Times

Withdrawal Bill 3) Fernandes and Baker accused of disloyalty over ERG Brexit letter

'Theresa May is being urged by pro-Remain Conservative MPs to sack a minister and a Treasury aide accused of supporting a letter designed to lock the prime minister into a hard Brexit. Steve Baker, a minister in the Brexit department, and Suella Fernandes, an aide to the chancellor, intervened on a private online messaging group that encouraged MPs to sign the letter. The letter, signed by dozens of Tory MPs, says that Britain should not pay into the EU budget during a transition period and must be able to sign trade deals straight after Brexit in March 2019. ..The demands are at odds with a standstill transition deal pushed by Philip Hammond, under which Britain would have full access to the single market and customs unionMr Baker, her predecessor as chairman before he entered government, sent a message yesterday morning to the group that said: Thanks for everyone's support.His spokesman said last night: Steve was happy to welcome the support of MPs in his first dispatch box experience.' The Times

Nicky Morgan and Stephen Hammond attack the pair The Sun

Their so-called 'hard Brexit' is just Brexit, plain and simple The Sun Says

May is caught between two potential rebellions The Sun

Arron Banks writes to constituents of Hammond and Rudd The Guardian

>Today: ToryDiary:Conservative revolts on Europe are coming now not from Leavers but from former Remainers

Downing Street reviews policies on housing and student debt

'Theresa May's government is looking at ways to make housing more affordable and tackle the burden of tuition fees, in an attempt to win back support from younger voters. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, called for submissions from MPs on how to close the generational gap as he addressed a meeting of the Conservatives' backbench 1922 committee this week. He told the private meeting on Wednesday night that young people needed more help than their older counterparts because they were burdened with heavy debts, including tuition fees. Lord Willetts, a former Tory cabinet minister who chairs the Resolution Foundation - the UK think-tank that is focused on improving living standards - was also invited to Number 10 this week for a meeting with James Marshall, Downing Street's head of policy.' FT

It's currently hopeless for Tories to target younger voters Joe Armitage, The Times

Radical action is required The Sun Says

If May meant what she said about burning injustices, she must act Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian

The Government should outline free market solutions to the problems of the young Ryan Bourne, Daily Telegraph

University vice-chancellors fight back against efforts to curb their pay

'Vice-chancellors are rebelling against government attempts to limit pay, warning that any attempt by governing boards to cut their salaries would breach employment law. Under new measures, universities will have to justify salaries higher than 150,000 to a new watchdog or be hit with fines. Vice-chancellors said that since governing boards have no powers to reduce pay once it is established in a contract, they would pay the fines rather than risk a tribunal. Jo Johnson, the universities minister, confronted vice-chancellors yesterday over failure to tackle excessive pay. One vice-chancellor told The Times: My board cannot force a pay cut on me. They would end up at a tribunal. They will just have to take the fine.' The Times

The war on their pay must stop Oliver Kamm, The Times

NHS managers enjoy pay rises three times larger than those of nurses The Times

The link between growth and earnings has broken Alfie Stirling, The Times

The Archbishop of Canterbury shouldn't be so snobbish about consumer spending Ed Conway, The Times

Universities should be ashamed of their capitulation on free speech Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Row over university pay arises because we expect them to be two things in one

Lammy report alleges racial bias in the justice system

'Prosecutions against some black and minority-ethnic suspects should be deferred or dropped to help tackle the criminal justice system's bias against them, according to a highly critical report written by the Labour MP David Lammy at the request of the prime minister. Lammy said allowances should also be made for younger defendants' immaturity and criminal records should be sealed to help former offenders find work, adding that statistics suggested discrimination in the UK was worse than in the US in some cases. My conclusion is that BAME individuals still face bias, including overt discrimination, in parts of the justice system, the MP says in his report. His findings provide facts that people from minority ethnic backgrounds have argued for decades. The MP highlighted the fact that there was greater disproportionality in the number of black people in prisons in England and Wales than in the US.' The Guardian

This injustice is creating a social timebomb David Lammy, The Guardian

>Today:Michael Farmer on Comment: How family members can help prisoners to break their cycle of crime

The Telegraph accuses Ian Paisley Jr of failing to declare hospitality from the Sri Lankan government

'One of the Northern Irish MPs propping up Theresa May's government accepted holidays worth 100,000 from a country he is now helping to secure a post-Brexit trade deal, The Telegraph can reveal. Ian Paisley Jr, one of the Democratic Unionist Party's most prominent MPs, accepted two all-expenses-paid trips from the Sri Lankan government. Documents seen by the Telegraph show that Mr Paisley took his wife and four children to the country. They flew business class, stayed in the finest hotels and were provided with a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, all paid for by the Sri Lankan government. During discussions with officials, he offered to help the state broker an oil deal, saying he had significant arrangements with national oil suppliers in Oman and Nigeria. The trips, which were never disclosed in the Commons register of interests, will raise serious questions about the influence and interests of the MP.' Daily Telegraph

He dismisses the claims as 'defamatory' and 'devoid of fact or logic' Twitter

Questions over the apprenticeships that were meant to be funded by Libor fines

'Millions of pounds of fines levied on banks that the Conservatives promised would be used to fund apprenticeships have not created extra opportunities, auditors have suggested. The National Audit Office accused the Department for Education of failing to demonstrate that it had used 200 million from the Libor fund to set up 50,000 new apprenticeships on top of those already announced. The department did not directly address the accusation but said thousands of apprenticeships had been created. An internal inquiry by financial regulators in 2012 revealed that several banks in America and Europe were profiting from manipulating Libor, the benchmark interest rate for loans between banks that is set in London. British regulators fined the banks 688 million, with all proceeds destined for the benefit of the public.' The Times

Proctor sues the police over mishandled child abuse investigation

'Former MP Harvey Proctor has said he will sue the Metropolitan Police over their handling of the investigation into historical child sex abuse allegations against him. Mr Proctor told ITV News he had been mentally and physically destroyed by the claims that he was part of a Westminster paedophile ring. He said he planned to sue for loss of earnings and his home, and criticised the police for failing to respond to his lawyers' petition for compensationThese are difficult matters and I wouldn't want to negotiate on television what my lawyers are trying to settle with the lawyers for the police, he said. But it obviously has to take account of the fact that a job I loved doing I can no longer do. I fully intended to work for another 10 years doing that job. It's a job, not a physical job, and I could have done that. Also the house that went with the job, I expected to die in that house. I have no home now.' Daily Telegraph

Police pass evidence on 'Nick' to the CPS The Times

The UK ups its Hurricane Irma aid package to 32 million

'Prime Minister Theresa May has upped Britain's Hurricane Irma aid package to 32million. The category five storm is continuing to tear a deadly trail through the Caribbean. It has already left thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees. Mrs May's response came after the UK Government was slammed over its 'pathetic' response. Britain has sent hundreds of troops and the Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean to its overseas islands battered by Hurricane Irma.' Daily Mail

Britain accused of delaying help The Times

Branson's private island 'destroyed' Daily Telegraph

News in Brief

Massive data brach at Equifax The Times

Trinity Mirror begins talks to buy the Express FT

Israeli jets strike Syrian weapons factory The Times

Bell Pottinger staff are told the company is on the verge of administration City AM

Mother of imprisoned Venezuelan opposition leader visits Downing Street The Sun

Le Carre compares Trump to the rise of fascism in the 1930s Daily Telegraph

Mexican earthquake triggers tsunami The Guardian

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1982 – Five men charged with conspiring to smuggle arms to the IRA in 1981 were acquitted in Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY.

#OTD in 1982 – Five men charged with conspiring to smuggle arms to the IRA in 1981 were acquitted in Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY.

Five men charged with conspiring to export arms to the Irish Republican Army were acquitted in Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY, apparently because a jury believed defence contentions that the Central Intelligence Agency had sanctioned their gun-running operation. No evidence directly linking the CIA to the operation was offered at the seven-week trial, and denials of involvement by the agency were…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.11

1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes. 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle of the rain". 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Emperor of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier; this embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China. 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh. Idris ibn Abdallah flees to the Maghreb, where he later founds the Idrisid dynasty. 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus'. 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy. 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks. 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave. 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners. 1429 – Hundred Years' War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau. 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king. 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon. 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines). 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries. 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef. 1775 – The American Revolutionary War's first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel. 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence. 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska. 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory. 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City. 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish. 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War. 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia. 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the "first motor race", takes place. 1898 – The Hundred Days' Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.) 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands. 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga. 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens. 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown. 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase "smoke-filled room". 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey. 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens. 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders. 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts. 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union. 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance. 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned. 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports. 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150. 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island. 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register. 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam. 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights. 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance. 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types. 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so. 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control. 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University. 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000. 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain. 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition. 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress. 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe. 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people. 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school. 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit. 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa. 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried. 2013 – Greece's public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. 2015 – Greece's public broadcaster ERT is reopened by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.

[injectionmoldchina]

New Post has been published on http://www.injectionmouldchina.com/the-aftermath-of-bloody-sunday-a-diffusion-of-anger/

The aftermath of Bloody Sunday - a diffusion of anger

Check out these mould manufacturing factory images:

The aftermath of Bloody Sunday – a diffusion of anger

Image by Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916 A description of how the Bloody Sunday killings set off an unprecedented wave of protests in the 26 Counties – and prompted words but no action from Jack Lynch’s government. By Jack Madden.

When news of Bloody Sunday spread throughout Ireland the initial anger grew into a massive groundswell of public resentment against British rule which was dissipated only by the false promise of drastic action by the Fianna Fail government in a spate of all too familiar cynical verbalising.

Within hours of the Derry murders, a 50-strong picket had been placed on the British Embassy in Merrion Square and Sinn Fein called for the immediate release of republican prisoners held in jails in the 26 Counties.

Realising the potential impact of the atrocity, FF premier Jack Lynch issued a statement:

“Even if they (the marchers) were in technical breach of the recently imposed ban on demonstrations, this act by British troops was unbelievably and savagely inhuman.’’

It was a sentiment echoed by Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave, who demanded “a political solution that will get the British Army out of this country for ever’’.

Labour Party leader Brendan Corish condemned “the brutal and barbarous killings by the British army’’, adding that his foreign affairs spokesperson, Conor Cruise O’Brien, would be going to London “to meet Harold Wilson to seek his support for an international inquiry’’.

ticipating the anger which Bloody Sunday would arouse, the Irish Times editorial on Monday 31 January 1972, attacked the Heath government in Britain for demonstrating “all the talent for arrogance, blindness and malevolence that an imperial power in decline manifests when faced with a small but determined people’’.

It continued: “The revulsion which has been felt at some of the earlier British misdeeds will be as nothing compared to the tidal wave of feeling that Derry’s 13 dead will set in motion. It will not be confined to Ireland. England’s name must spell shame around the world today and with it Mr Heath’s.’’.

Later that day, a crowd of 5,000 protestors converged on the British Embassy in Dublin in a spontaneous demonstration of anger. Petrol-bombs, bricks and stones were used to smash most of the embassy’s windows, but the well-protected building could not be set alight – yet.

Such spontaneity was reflected elsewhere in the country, particularly in Dundalk, Limerick, Galway, Carrickmacross and Cork. Tens of thousands of workers downed tools and held parades through these and other towns, parades which, although unplanned and uncoordinated, signified the rising tide of anger and emotion.

The Cork protest began early on Monday morning when 400 dockers left work. Their action quickly snowballed and thousands more poured out from the Pfitzer, Ford, and Roofchrome factories and from building sites and CIE garages, all converging on Cork city centre. According to one news report: “So many marches were taking place that at times columns of protesting workers passed each other in the streets going in opposite directions.’’

University students joined, and sometimes led, these demonstrations. In Galway they closed the college and then led a parade through the city to a public meeting in Eyre Square before occupying the local offices of United Dominion Trust for two hours.

A meeting of staff and students in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth called for the total withdrawal of British troops from Ireland. Interestingly, they also made a point of regretting the college’s “own inactivity and the apathy of the government and people’’ of the twenty-six counties “which has contributed to the continuation of injustice and oppression’’.

GAA president Pat Fanning summarised the rising tide of unity:

“Bloody Sunday has drawn the Irish people together. The point of no return has been reached and passed. That is the victory of those who were so cruelly and callously done to death on the streets of Derry.’’

Waterford’s Mayor Tim Galvin announced a day of mourning in the city, Leitrim county councillors and staff held a vigil outside Carrick-on-Shannon Courthouse, while other councils in Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Westmeath, Kilkenny, Clare and Monaghan joined the chorus of condemnation.

At a meeting of Carrickmacross Urban District Council that night, Francie O’Donoghue, later a Workers Party councillor and a virulent opponent of the hunger-strikers and the Republican Movement, laid a revolver on the council table and announced that “the only way to talk to the British Army is through the barrel of a gun’’.

The call for the release of republican prisoners was repeated at this and other council meetings, while in Mountjoy Jail, 16 POWs began a 24-hour hunger-strike demanding their release “so that we can go to the aid of our fellow countrymen in the Six Counties’’.

RECRUIT

Faced with a situation which was getting out of control, Jack Lynch was forced to act. Besides the almost comical announcement that 100 FCA men were being sent to the border, and that the army had plans to recruit 2,500 men, the government at no time considered sending troops across the border.

Following an emergency meeting of the Fianna Fail Cabinet and another meeting between the three party leaders, a series of diplomatic moves were announced. Foreign Affairs Minister Patrick Hillery was despatched to the United Nations to try and win backing for the government against Britain, while the Irish ambassador to London, Donal O’Sullivan, was recalled to Dublin.

Lynch released a five-point programme which, he said, would have to be agreed to by the British before full diplomatic relations would be resumed. This programme involved:

1. The immediate withdrawal of British troops from Derry and from other areas in the North where there is a high concentration of Catholics;

2. The cessation of the harassment of the minority in the North;

3. The end of internment without trial;

4. A declaration of Britain’s intention to achieve a final settlement of the Irish question;

5. The convocation of a conference for this purpose.

Later that Monday evening, in an interview with BBC’s Panorama programme, Lynch retreated from his earlier tough talk, admitting that the recall of the ambassador did not mean that diplomatic relations were being broken off.

Worried at the prospect of an upsurge of support for the IRA, Lynch, Cosgrave and Corish discussed the establishment of an all-party Northern committee, while later, in a televised `address to the nation’, Lynch announced that finance would be given to nationalist organisations such as the SDLP and Civil Rights Association “who are working peacefully to achieve freedom from unionism’’.

He continued: “Our policies and our reactions must be taken calmly and with determination. The Irish people can rely on Dail Eireann and the government in this regard.’’

This claim was noted by one media commentator, who said:

“When the Dail last met to solemnly debate the North, newspapers found it necessary to point out that quorum bells had to ring to summon a sufficiency of deputies to the chamber.’’

SOLIDARITY

Genuine moves of solidarity came, however, particularly from the trade unions, many of which asked their members to stop work on Wednesday 2 February to coincide with the funerals of Derry’s victims. The ITGWU described Bloody Sunday as “one more in the long list of savage and inhuman acts perpetrated on the people of Ireland by the forces and agents of the British crown’’.

In Dublin, where Conradh na Gaeilge called for a boycott of British goods – a call which led to the withdrawal of British manufactured foodstuffs from shops and supermarkets – most activity centred on the British Embassy.

Throughout Monday crowds of workers, students, socialists, republicans and people of no particular political affiliation, gathered in Merrion Square, listening to speeches from, amongst others, Paul Tansey, a student leader.

Urging his audience to take stronger action than marches to force the government to “demand the total withdrawal of British troops’’ and to “break off diplomatic relations with the UK if the British government is unwilling to co-operate in this policy’’, his speech was typical of the general reaction.

Indeed, Cork’s Lord Mayor TJ O’Sullivan, in a personal statement to workers who handed him protest notes, went even further, saying: “If they want murder, they’ll have murder – one of theirs will go for each of ours!’’

PROTEST

Tuesday began as Monday ended, with ever-increasing protests. British newspapers were left lying at Dublin Airport, where workers refused to handle them, and, following the example of Galway dockers who refused to handle a British ship, dockers in Rosslare insisted that the Union Jack be removed from the British Rail ferry.

Sympathy notices appeared in the newspapers lined with heavy black borders. In later days, such notices were to fill up to three pages in the Irish Times, as did notices announcing the cancellation of concerts and plays as a mark of respect for Derry’s dead.

Bombing incidents against both the British Embassy and British-owned premises in Dun Laoghaire, Waterford and, at a later stage, Mayo, became a feature of the protest action from Tuesday onwards, a phenomenon which no establishment politician commented on until after Wednesday’s funeral, when they used such attacks to justify an increasingly conciliatory line with the British.

Political activity by these politicians centred on the continued `diplomacy’ of Hillery, who arrived in New York for a meeting with UN Under Secretary General Chakravarthi Narasimhma. Far from the constraints of party discipline, he felt free to make statements which actually got to the root of Ireland’s British problem.

He said his mission in going to the UN was “to end the reign of terror which Britain is perpetrating on our people… What has been done in Ireland by the British is an affront to justice in the world. If they get away with it this time, we can have little hope for justice.’’

Asked about his attitude to the IRA, he replied: “The IRA are not for me to explain. They are a response to Britain’s policy.’’

Already, by Tuesday evening, the first diplomatic initiative of an Irish party leader collapsed, when Conor Cruise O’Brien failed to secure an international inquiry, the British deciding to appoint Lord Widgery to lead a whitewash on the Derry massacre.

MOURNING

Wednesday was a day of unprecedented national mourning with shops, factories, schools and offices closing as a mark of respect while Derry buried its dead. Thousands attended marches, rallies and religious services while the politicians converged on Derry to deprive ordinary people of their rightful place at the funeral service.

In the South, attention again focused on the British Embassy. From early morning, crowds arrived in Merrion Square. A huge demonstration arrived from Parnell Square. Led by marchers carrying 13 coffins and a muffled drum, they carried hundreds of placards demonstrating their opposition to British rule in the North.

As the marchers, who were joined by thousands more along the route, reached the embassy, they watched as a Union Jack and the effigy of a pig were burnt. A short while afterwards, the steel shutters protecting the building were smashed and a few well-aimed petrol bombs set it alight and the ensuing flames gutted the embassy.

Faced with so great a crowd, the gardai made only a half-hearted attempt to intervene. Even the British ambassador, John Peck, was unperturbed, expressing amazement that it hadn’t been burnt sooner. Later that evening, during another march to the embassy, an attempt to petrol-bomb the British Passport Office led to repeated baton-charges by the gardai.

ACTION

Throughout the twenty-six counties, protests, if less dramatic than that at the British Embassy, were nevertheless further proof that the Irish people wanted firmer action from the Dublin government. But, as the editorial in the Irish Times commented, the purpose of the day’s protests “was, calculatedly, an opportunity for people to let off steam’’.

Although Conor Cruise O’Brien continued his meetings with British politicians, including Home Secretary Reginald Maudling, to whom he confided that he no longer believed that the retention of British troops in the North was acceptable, and although Hillery continued his mission “to win friends and influence governments’’, Wednesday, the day of the funerals, marked the last day of even token government opposition to the British.

By Thursday morning, a full apology for the embassy burning had been handed to the British authorities through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and compensation for the damage was promised. Jack Lynch met British ambassador John Peck in what were described as “friendly and cordial discussions’’ before he delivered a speech in Leinster House analysing the protests.

He commented: “A small minority, men, who, under the cloak of patriotism sought to overthrow the institutions of the state, infiltrated what was a peaceful demonstration … and fomented violence.

“In the days immediately ahead, there is no doubt that [they] will seek to play on the sympathies and emotions of ordinary decent people to secure support for their own actions and objectives… Those who seek to usurp the functions of government will meet with no toleration.’’

As if to emphasise that republicans could expect no change in the hostility of the authorities, seven republicans appeared in a Monaghan Court charged with possession of weapons in County Louth a week earlier.

ATTENTION

Instead of concentrating on steps to be taken against the British for Bloody Sunday, the Leinster House leaders suddenly shifted attention towards the next big Civil Rights march in Newry the following Sunday, at once raising the expectancy that another tragedy would occur and at the same time taking the public mind off the events in Derry.

Despite denials from Patrick Hillery that his approaches to the UN and the Canadian and French governments were rebuffed, it was quite clear that Lynch’s much-vaunted `diplomatic pressures’ had ended as a damp squib with no international outcry against the British.

Nor was the `five-point programme’ pursued, and, as the days passed without any British response, the government again crawled back in the hope that talks might be arranged at an unspecific date in the future.

Newry passed without incident and with it the momentum which had built over the previous week. There was no release of republican prisoners, no march across the border to challenge British rule in part of Ireland, and no change from the few limited protests which the Dublin government had felt it politic to make.

By making these protests, Lynch, Corish and Cosgrave had effectively created the illusion that progress was imminent and this, no doubt, satiated many of those who, as they saw it, believed that something was being done and that the government could pressurise the British.

FERVOUR

But what of the hundreds of thousands who demanded more drastic action and marched through the streets of Ireland? No doubt the three-days of mass protests was an effective means of reducing the emotional fervour of the people. Such intense emotion could not be sustained and, because the Republican Movement was unprepared to garner and mould this emotion into positive political action, the opportunity which had tragically presented itself was lost. It must be remembered, however, that the efforts of republicans, who had a short time before been forced to rebuild the Movement after the desertion of erstwhile comrades, were mainly concentrated on the war effort in the occupied Six Counties.

But there can be no doubt that the national consciousness raised by Bloody Sunday was cynically defused by the Dublin government.

Tudor Grange House – off Blossomfield Road, Solihull

Image by ell brown I’ve been meaning to get photos of this house for a while. As it was where Alfred Bird of Bird’s Custard lived.

It is Tudor Grange House and it is off a side road off Blossomfield Road in Solihull

It is Grade II* listed.

I wonder if there is anywhere else that you can take it from? Not sure if you can see it from Tudor Grange Park or not.

Tudor Grange House and Stable Block – Heritage Gateway

A large suburban house with attached stable block. It was designed and built in 1887 in a loosely Jacobean style by Thomas Henry Mansell of Birmingham for the industrialist Alfred Lovekin with panelling by Plunketts of Smith Street, Warwick. The house is of red stretcher bond brick with ashlar dressings and a tiled roof and has two storeys with attics and basement. The stable block is T-shaped in plan and attached to the west side of the house.

EXTERIOR: The northern entrance front has a near-symmetrical centrepiece which is recessed at first floor level and above but which has a projecting three-bay porch to the ground floor with door to the right. At either side are projecting, gabled wings and these and the central bay all have shaped outlines to their gables. The windows to the ground and first floors are mullioned and transomed, and there are projecting bay windows to the ground floor at either side. There are panels of carved stonework, particularly around the porch, featuring strapwork and grotesque masks. A further bay to the east then joins to the low wall screening a service court and this in turn joins to the stable block. Extending to the west is a single-storey range of two bays added by Sir Alfred Bird with a square bay window and small, elaborately-carved oriel capped by a battlemented parapet. The garden front is composed with deliberate asymmetry, having five bays with shaped gables to the left of centre and far right and a canted and square bay, each of two storeys, as well as a single-storey bay to the far right. At the west end is a low screen wall which connects to the stable block. To the far east is a portion of walling, the southern side of which was formerly inside the conservatory. Attached to this are concrete containers attached to the wall which are moulded in immitation of rock. The skyline on both principal fronts has a very full array of clustered octagonal chimneys with moulded caps. The balustrade at the top of the wall has moulded balusters and the balustrade piers are surmounted by statues personifying a variety of figures including Hercules, Brutus and William the Conqueror some of which were carved by White’s, according to George Noszlopy, who has identified the overall scheme as based on late C16 and early-C17 English engravings of heroes from Greek mythology, Roman Emperors and characters from English legend, some of which were added by Sir Alfred Bird who employed Robert Bridgeman.

HISTORY The opening of the Birmingham-Oxford Railway in 1852 caused the initial expansion of Solihull’s urban area and throughout the later C19 and much of the C20, the borough has expanded to become an affluent commuter suburb of Birmingham. Tudor Grange was built for Alfred Lovekin of Adie & Lovekin, jewellers and silversmiths in 1887. The company manufactured a wide range of silver fancy goods at the end of the C19 and had a factory in Regent Street, Hockley. In 1894 they commissioned Mansell & Mansell to design a new factory for them at 23, Frederick Street, Birmingham which became known as `Trafalgar Works’ (Grade II). Lovekin’s wife died in 1900 and in 1901 the house was sold to Alfred Bird, son of the founder of Bird’s Custard Company. He enlarged the house, adding the library and a sizeable conservatory to the east, and had Blossomfield Road moved northwards, away from the entrance front, and built a new entrance lodge at the end of the re-configured drive. He also employed Robert Bridgeman to ornament the house with statuary and furnished it with an extensive art collection which included paintings and also with panels of C16 and C17 Flemish stained glass, which survive in situ. Alfred Bird became M.P. for Wolverhampton West in 1910. In 1920 he was knighted and in 1922, the year of his death, he was made a baronet. His widow lived on at Tudor Grange until her death in 1943 and the house is believed to have been used as a Red Cross auxiliary hospital during and after the Second World War. In 1946 the house was bought by Warwickshire County Council and became a school for children with special needs until 1976 when it became part of Solihull Technical College.

NYC – MoMA: Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries – Slinky and LEGO Building Blocks

Image by wallyg Slinky, 1945 Steel, compressed: 2 3/8 x diam. 2 7/8" (6 x 7.3 cm). Manufactured by James Spring & Wire Company; later James Industries; now a brand of Poof Toys, USA. Betty James (American, born 1918) and Richard James (1914-1975)

In 1943, Richard James, his assistant Coleman Barber, a US marine engineer stationed at the Cramp shipyards in Philadelphia, and half brother Dylan Gedig, a Canadian engineer, observed a torsion spring fall off a table and roll around on the deck (a torsion spring has no compression or tension). He told his wife: "I think there could be a toy in this." With a 0 loan, the three men ran tests, experimented with materials, and produced four hundred units of the toy. Betty James did some dictionary searching and came up with the name "Slinky". In November 1945, Richard and Betty James, through an arrangement with Gimbels in Philadelphia, were granted permission to set up an inclined plane in the toy department and demonstrate the spring’s battery-less "walking" abilities. In 1948 they built a factory for James Industries’ twenty employees in suburban Philadelphia, and a decade later, headquarters were set up in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where the factory remained for thirty years.

LEGO Building Bricks, 1954-58 ABS plastic, Manufactured by LEGO Group, Billund, Denmark. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen. (Danish, 1920-1995)

Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, began creating wooden toys in his workshop in 1932 and began calling his company "Lego" (from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play well") two years later. The company expanded to producing plastic toys in 1940. In 1949, Lego began producing the now-famous interlocking bricks, based mlargely on the design of Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, which were released in the UK in 1947, and calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks."

Since 1963, Lego pieces have been manufactured from a strong, resilient plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS. Precision-machined, small-capacity molds are used, and human inspectors check the output of the molds, to eliminate significant variations in color or thickness. Despite tremendous variation in the design and purpose of individual pieces over the years, each remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Lego bricks from 1963 still interlock with those made in 2008.

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The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was founded in 1929 and is often recognized as the most influential museum of modern art in the world. Over the course of the next ten years, the Museum moved three times into progressively larger temporary quarters, and in 1939 finally opened the doors of its midtown home, located on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown.

MoMA’s holdings include more than 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and drawings, and design objects. Highlights of the collection inlcude Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiseels d’Avignon and Three Musicians, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie, Paul Gauguin’s The Seed of the Areoi, Henri Matisse’s Dance, Marc Chagall’s I and the Village, Paul Cezanne’s The Bather, Jackson Pollack’s Number 31, 1950, and Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. MoMA also owns approximately 22,000 films and four million film stills, and MoMA’s Library and Archives, the premier research facilities of their kind in the world, hold over 300,000 books, artist books, and periodicals, and extensive individual files on more than 70,000 artists.