BINIAM GHEZAI photography

Spain beat Germany 1 - 0

2010-07-08T19:53:00.005+02:00

Spain held on to record another one goal victory and seal a first ever World Cup final appearance. Neither they, nor opponents Netherlands, have ever won world football's most prestigious trophy but one team will make history on Sunday.
But the fans have coalesced around their team which by itself seems to unite this country so sharply divided along political and regional lines.

Photo Gallery

2010-05-10T14:19:00.001+02:00

A new photo gallery has been added to http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/biniam .

MADRID 10km MARATHON

2010-04-26T13:55:00.002+02:00

Thomson Cherogony of Kenya set a Madrid Marathon record in winning the race in a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 27 seconds Sunday.Ethiopian runner Desta Girma Tadese won the women's event in 2:34:39 from compatriot Hadish Letay Negash in 2:34:58 and Justyna Bak of Poland who was third in a time of 2:37:52.The marathon is also well known for the warm welcome and enthusiastic support of the locals.

HEALTHY FOODS REALITY

2010-04-24T16:35:00.001+02:00

About two weeks ago I read an article comparing the cost of health care to the cost of food. It suggests that the best way to solve the healthcare crisis, is for all consumers to be forced to pay more for healthcare - Because then people would think about the cost before "choosing" certain tests and treatments. What a shocking revelation...Who would have thought (other than the CATO Institute) that the people who can't afford expensive health care services would "choose" not to have them? Although, I wouldn't really consider that a choice.

Ironically, the article also makes an analogy reinforcing the fact that low-income families are essentially forced to make unhealthy food choices do to the high cost of healthy foods. And not only is this OK with the author of this article, but it's actually the method he proposes to solve the health care crisis.

This is from the article in Real Clear Politics...

If everyone were to receive a CT brain scan every year as part of their annual physical, we would undoubtedly discover a small number of brain cancers much earlier than we otherwise would, perhaps early enough to save the patient's life.

But given the cost of such a scan, adding it to everyone's annual physical would quickly bankrupt the nation. But, if they are spending their own money, consumers will make their own rationing decisions based on price and value. That CT scan that looked so desirable when someone else was paying, may not be so desirable if you have to pay for it yourself. The consumer himself becomes the one who says no.

Think of it this way. If every time you went to the grocery store, someone else paid 87 percent of your bill, not only would you eat a lot more steak and a lot less hamburger - but so would your dog. And food costs would go up for everyone.

Granted...All things equal, this is a sensible way to get Americans to think twice about what tests and procedures they choose to have.

But..NEWS FLASH!!! All things are NOT created equal.

The truth is, we have people in this country that can't afford to even see a doctor, let alone request a yearly CT scan. Things are NOT equal, not by a long-shot. And guess what? Most of these low-income people are hard working Americans (even military veterans). I imagine the author of the above article would sleep better believing that low-income is synonymous with lazy, therefore making a certain population undeserving of healthy foods or healthcare. But, it's just not true.

Anyway, this post isn't just about the politics of health care. It's actually about how the high cost of healthy food is dramatically complicating the healthcare issue, and the fact that many people can not afford to "choose" to eat healthy. Did you ever wonder why the dollar menu has become so popular?

I write a lot about making healthy food choices. But I also know that the high cost of healthy food makes it difficult for many people to make those healthier choices. What I didn't know was that this hasn't always been the case. I imagined that the cost of all foods (healthy and otherwise) were less expensive 30 years ago, so I was shocked to read this comparison from SmartPlanet earlier today...This is why you're fat, America

Here's the outlay comparing now to 1978:

* Soda is 33 percent cheaper
* Butter is 29 percent cheaper
* Beer is 15 percent cheaper
* Fish is 2 percent more expensive
* Vegetables are 41 percent more expensive
* Fruits are 46 percent more expensive
* Bucking the trend, cookies are now more expensive.

Is anyone else shocked by these statistics? It's no wonder the average 18-year-old today is 15 pounds heavier than his counterpart in the 70s, and why adults have put on more than 20 pounds compared to their 1970s selves.

But who's to blame? Cause there is always someone to blame. Right? Well, this may or may not surprise you...

The graphic in this article from Good Medicine Magazine demonstrates how government policies are largely contributing to the high cost of healthy food...

The Farm Bill, a massive piece of federal legislation making its way through Congress, governs what children are fed in schools and what food assistance programs can distribute to recipients. The bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies, much of which goes to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops, such as corn and soy, which are then fed to animals. By funding these crops, the government supports the production of meat and dairy products-the same products that contribute to our growing rates of obesity and chronic disease. Fruit and vegetable farmers, on the other hand, receive less than 1 percent of government subsidies.

It's a tangled web that ultimately traps the poor with less healthy food options, causing an increase in medical problems associated with obesity, and little to no access to health care. This isn't going to be an easy fix, but if we don't start fixing it now, can you imagine where we will be in another 30 years?

Did I mention I am sooooo sick of politics?

Catherine Morgan
catherine-morgan.com

MADRID VINTAGE BOUTIQUE

2010-04-22T09:26:00.003+02:00

Hello world,how you doing?
If you are a vintage LOVER and you are staying in Madrid, go and check La Recova.It's a vintage boutique in the center of Madrid with charm.For a full review do check www.sojournposse.com

AND FINALLY IS SPRING,YES YES

2010-04-20T10:29:00.002+02:00

I love Spring for its vibrancy and freshness, its sense of hope of new life and love. I always feel like Spring is the beginning of the year for me. In January I do not feel like making changes or new things but in Spring I feel raring to go!After the quiet and stillness of winter everything seems to be busy, the birds rushing around and the first spring flowers opening their blooms showing off their beauty.

GLORIOUS SAHARA DESERT

2010-04-14T18:20:00.002+02:00

The Sahara Desert has been a novelty since the beginning of time, spanning over 3000 miles north to south, and across the entire northern cap of the African continent to Morocco. But, what remains the most amazing and mysterious part of this magical land is: how did they get all that sand there in the first place? Did they truck it in? And where did they get it? Aliens, I'll bet. Actually, it turns out that the area used to be lush with green forests and lakes. But, a massive climate change (probably due to the green house effect that the dinosaurs caused with their aerosol experiments in the early pre-historic times) caused the whole place to dry up. Wind and erosion turned the petrified land into sand. Anyway, despite its mystery, beauty and serenity, the desert is not an accommodating environment: the difficult terrain, the heat, the dry climate, and bad-smelling camels—it's not the place for everyone. Although, I must admit, there are some benefits: there are no street lights, no television, and above all, school shootings are mostly unheard of. Of course, you can't completely escape Western society. Even in this remote area where there are very few Starbucks stores, there is still one phrase uttered frequently that reminds the American traveler of home: you tube.

Barcelona public environmental transport.

2010-04-09T17:17:00.005+02:00

I’m sure it sounds better in Spanish or Catalan; I’m reading the translated web site). Here’s how it works: Once you register with the service (you have to be a resident of Barcelona, and it costs 24 euros) and get your swipe card, you can use any one of 1,500 Bicing bikes around the city. The first 30 minutes of every trip are free, and you can return your bike to any Bicing location around the city (there are at least 100). Every half-hour over the initial free half-hour is 30 eurocents.You can keep any one bike for up to two hours, and you can always return a bike, run your errand, and grab another for no charge. The bikes seem to be very well-maintained, and everyone uses them—old people, little kids, hipsters on cell phones, everyone.

Is digital magazine the future?

2010-04-07T14:04:00.001+02:00

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) announced recently that digital replicas of magazines that are requested and paid for will count in circulation figures (here). This is huge news for publishers as it will allow them a new outlet for cheap circulation, something that’s been missing ever since publishing clearing house went down in early 2000 (here). The digital editions of magazines will be counted on the circulation report and broken out like bulk (doctors office, etc.), so it remains to be seen how advertisers will react to the change.

What I hope will happen is that publishers who sell their printed edition at a loss will raise rates there and price digital editions cheap. This should be a no-brainer since the distribution and printing cost of these copies is zero. Sure, it costs something to port it for all these devices but once that becomes a part of the workflow for creating the magazine in the first place (a design that’s flexible) it shouldn’t be an issue.

This still doesn’t solve the problem of missing advertising dollars, but if they can move hundreds of thousands of subscribers to digital editions it will save a lot of money on printing and distribution. If they’ve got any brains they’ll invest that back into content.

Madrid Easter week or semana Santa

2010-04-05T21:53:00.002+02:00

Semana Santa in Spain is the name for Easter week. Unlike most of the fiestas in Spain, ‘Semana Santa’ is not focused on raucous celebrations, but rather, it’s the time that people ask forgiveness for their sins, and do their penance.Following the Semana Santa parades will be groups of people dressed usually in black, or in pointed hoods that bear a startling resemblance to the Ku Klux Klan. They are not the Ku Klux Klan, but penitents, who are posing as people who want to be forgiven for their sins. The hats are replicas of the hats given to the ‘guilty’ during the Spanish Inquisition. There’s a famous painting of the Spanish Inquisition in the Prado museum.

Semana Santa Madrid,Spain - Images by Biniam Ghezai

Car park + graffiti= Advertising

2010-03-31T20:48:00.002+02:00

Hi to everyone,how you doing?Today i comeback from a car park photo shoot,no the typical boring car park but a place where to park your vehicle and view graffiti art.
The car park belong to Santo Domingo 4 stars Hotel in Madrid and they commision graffiti artists to come up with ideas to cover 4 floors.The car park is open to the public from next month.No the typical advertising.

Santo Domingo Hotel Car Park & Graffiti - Images by Biniam Ghezai

VALENTINE DAY HMMMMM

2010-02-10T21:43:00.002+01:00

Pre-Christian era

In ancient Rome, 13, 14 and 15 February were celebrated as Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival. This seems to be the basis for a celebration of love on this date. It was marked in a subtly different way in those days, however. According to Noel Lenski, classics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, speaking in the National Geographic, young men would strip naked and use goat- or dog-skin whips to spank the backsides of young women in order to improve their fertility; an early IVF, if you will.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY............

Circa AD 197

A Christian known as Valentine of Terni is martyred in the reign of Emperor Aurelian. Little is known of his life, except that he was made Bishop of Interamna (now Terni) in AD 197 and died not too long after. He was apparently imprisoned, tortured and beheaded on the Via Flaminia in Rome for his Christianity by the order of a Roman prefect with the oxymoronic name of Placid Furius. According to legend, he died on 14 February, but that is likely a later embellishment.

Circa AD 289

Another Christian, Valentine of Rome, is martyred, this time under Emperor Claudius. A priest or bishop in the city, he was apparently arrested for giving aid to prisoners. While in jail, he is said to have converted his jailer by healing his blind daughter's sight. According to another, later version, he is said to have fallen in love with the daughter, sending her a note saying “From your Valentine”, but this is apocryphal. In yet another, equally unlikely version, Claudius was claimed to have banned young men from marrying, so that they would make better soldiers, and Valentine was arrested for secretly carrying out weddings. Like his earlier namesake, Valentine of Rome is supposed to have died on 14 February, but – again – this is implausible.

Circa AD 496

The then Pope, Gelasius, declared 14 February to be St Valentine's Day, a Christian feast day. This is likely to have been an if-you-can't-beat-them-join-them approach to the still-popular pagan festival of Lupercalia.

AD 1382

Geoffrey Chaucer writes his Parlement of Foules (or “Parliament of Fowls”), which is widely taken to be the first linking of St Valentine's Day to romantic love. Celebrating the engagement of Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia, he wrote: “For this was on St. Valentine's Day/ When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.” However, it is thought that this may have referred to 2 May, the saint's day in the liturgical calendar of Valentine of Genoa – this would be a more likely time for birds to be mating in England.

AD 1400

On St Valentine's Day a court is opened in Paris, the High Court of Love, dealing with affairs of the heart: marriage contracts, divorces, infidelity, and beaten spouses. A few years later, Charles, the Duke of Orleans (a Frenchman, inevitably) writes the first recorded Valentine's note to his beloved, while imprisoned in the Tower of London following capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

AD 1601

St Valentine's Day has entered the popular consciousness to the extent that one William Shakespeare mentions it in Ophelia's lament in Hamlet: “To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,/All in the morning betime,/And I a maid at your window,/To be your Valentine.”

Mid-18th century

The passing of love-notes becomes popular in England, a precursor to the St Valentine's Day card as we know it today. Early ones are made of lace and paper. In 1797, the The Young Man’s Valentine Writer is published, suggesting appropriate rhymes and messages, and as postal services became more affordable, the anonymous St Valentine's Day card became possible. By the early 19th century, they become so popular that factories start to mass-produce them.

AD 1847

Following the English tradition, Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts, starts producing cards – using the newly available and much cheaper paper lace – in the United States.

AD 1913

If you felt cynical, you might call this date the beginning of the end for St Valentine's Day as a genuinely romantic event, and the start of its reinvention of a savagely imposed regime of sugar-coated tweeness designed to chisel spare cash out of lovers and would-be lovers worldwide: Hallmark Cards produce their first Valentine. Now the date is the flagship “Hallmark Holiday” - together with Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day and so on, a series of celebrations notable more for the need to spend money than any heartfelt sentiment.

AD 1929

The St Valentine's Day Massacre. A savage and bloody event in itself – five Chicago gangsters lined up and murdered with machine guns, apparently at the behest of Al Capone – but at least it's a break from the unending stream of saccharine that the history of St Valentine's Day otherwise entails, and so is welcome here.

Mid-1980s

The commercialisation continues: noting the sales effect of the holiday on chocolate, flowers and cards, the diamond industry gets involved, promoting St Valentine's Day as a time for giving jewellery. The “tradition” takes off.

AD 2009

Valentine's Day generates an estimated $14.7 billion (£9.2 billion) in retail sales in the United States.

AD 2010

An estimated 1 billion St Valentine's Day cards will be sent worldwide this year, making it the second most card-heavy celebration after Christmas

New photos gallery added

2010-02-03T17:21:00.002+01:00

This photo gallery is only about Temple of Debod and is located in the heart of Madrid.
Temple of Debod,Madrid - Images by Biniam Ghezai

A photographer Blog's…… › Log In

2010-01-29T20:43:00.001+01:00

A photographer Blog's…… › Log In

The Vatican and Rome

2010-01-18T15:40:00.003+01:00

The Vatican,Rome,Italy - Images by Biniam Ghezai
First,happy new year to everybody.I was in Rome for 2 weeks and we only had the sun for 3 days.
A new photo gallery of the Vatican is been added to http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/biniam .
Thank you.

Do you belief in U.F.O

2009-12-06T14:15:00.005+01:00

Well well,
this photograph speak for it self.Was only when i got home that while looking at the photo on my computer, i realize, holy cow.I took 4 photos of the some composition and only on 2 images you can view the object flying.
Let me know what you believe.
Thank you.

Madridagriculturaldemostration

2009-11-22T15:03:00.002+01:00

Madrid agricultural demostration-21/11/2009 - Images by Biniam GhezaiYesterday agricultural demostration in Madrid was a sign of new change of this old industry.
University agriculture departments are similarly showered with research funding,as long as the research support corporate interests.But what's good for the public and its food supply is not necessarly "good enough" for corporate profits,at least in the minds of corporate executives and shareholders.
By relying of a few varieties and producing them in tremendous volume,we increase the chance that extended drouth or the sudden onset of uncontrolllable disease of pests could decimate a significant portion of the food supply.The Irish Potato Famine of the mid-19th century is a perfect example of what happens when a single,heavily-relied-on variety fails.Sin then,genetic concentration in crops has increased far more,raising the stakes still higher.
Have a look at the following assessments from the UN food and agriculture organization:
-Of the 4%of the 250.000 to 300.000 known edible plant species,only 150-300 are used by
humans.And just three plants-rice,maize(corn) and wheat-contribute nearly 60% of the
calories and protein obtained by humans from plants.
-Today,75% of the world's food is generated from only 12 plants and five animal
species.
-Since the 1990s,more than 90% of crop varieties have disappeared from farm fields as
farmers worldwide have abandoned their multiple local varieties for genetically
uniform,high-yielding varieties.Thirty percent of livestock breeds are at risk of
extinction;six breeds are lost each month.
Is the planet over popolated?

Barcelonabeaches

2009-11-15T11:40:00.004+01:00

Barcelona has seven beaches, totalling 4.5Km of coastline.The Olympic port separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icaria,Bogatell,Mar Bella,Nova Mar Bella and Llevant.

These beaches were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Olympics,when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished.At present,the beach sand is replenished from quarries given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material.
I'm in love with Barcelona again............hhaaaaa.

2009-10-05T14:31:00.003+02:00

There can be no greater change or revolution in photography then the change from film to digital imaging;from the enlarger to the computer.We have embraced the new technology fully and have both been able to use our knowledge of traditional techniques and take these a stage further to achieve what was impossible in the darkroom.

Black in white images of Paris - Images by Biniam GhezaiThe goal of all photographers is the fine print and one of the major questions over digital techniques was the quality and permanence of the prints that could be produced.
We now firmly believe that the advances in technology,both in digital capture and printing techniques,have caught up with traditional processes and will surpass them.Now it is definitely time to take digital black and white work seriously.

RastroMarket

2009-09-29T14:40:00.003+02:00

The origins of this market go back to the 16TH century,when there was a slautherhouse in this neighbourhood (also called "Rastro",hence the name),and stalls were erected in its vicinity.Gradually more shops were founded here,and they can be visited any day of the week.It is only on Sunday morning that the market stalls are there and crowds gather here,hunting for deals.

Images of Rastro market,Madrid-Spain - Images by Biniam GhezaiAlthough Madrid is relatively quite on a Sunday morning,there is always to Rastro market you can go to if you are in need of people around you.
Ribera de Curtidores is converted into an open-air flea market,and you can find a lot of stalls also in Adjacent street.You can expect anything from handmade lamps to tshirts,from second hand furniture to underwear,from saxophones to paintings, and much more.
The market has become a sort of a tourist destination,but by far the majority of people around are "gatos"(people from Madrid).

BasqueRegion

2009-09-21T15:31:00.001+02:00

When in late July of that year came the news to Vienna, Johann Nepomuk Mälzel commissioned Ludwig van Beethoven composition of a symphony by reason of this fact. It is the op. 91 Wellingtons Sieg or Die bei Schlachter Vitoria or Siegessymphonie. In 1843, came permission to build the Institute for Media Education, current headquarters of the Basque Parliament and formerly the convent of Santa Clara. In the 1853-1854 academic year began classes bringing to fruition an old dream of the city. The old Institute for Media Education witnessed much of the cultural life of this city. It should be remembered, among other things, the Free University, created in the wake of the revolution of 1868. The University operated from 1869, truncated before starting the course 1873-1874, largely because of the second Carlist War. Suffice it to recall the names of Ricardo Calf Bengoa, Julian Apraiz, Federico Baraibar, and so on. This last, great Hellenistic (1851-1918), was also among the first to Vitoria in the Basque language classes taught there, in the section that would call for extra today.
Vitoria, basque region-Spain - Images by Biniam GhezaiOn May 20, 1980, by decision of the Basque Parliament, which they agreed through their Sedes Act, Vitoria became the capital of the Basque Country.

The old part of the city (el casco viejo), which lies on an elevation, is very well conserved and contains a number of remarkable monuments: Casa del Cordon (a house from the XV century), the gothic cathedral of Sta. Maria (XIV century), the Museum of Archaeology (XVI century) and the Torre de Doña Otxanda (a tower holding the Museum of Natural Sciences). The extension (el ensanche) was built south of the old city centre during the XIX century and contains the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca (a square where the Fiestas de la Blanca start) with the church of San Miguel, Los Arquillos (an arcade), and the Plaza Nueva (or de España, a square that holds every Sunday morning a street market). Further south, the Paseo de Fray Francisco is a wide street sided by mansions, many of which have been recently adapted for public use: the Palace of Ajuria Enea (the residence of the Lehendakari), the Museum of Arts, Museo de la Armería (weapons) and Museo Fournier de Naipes (playing cards).

PlazaDeOriente

2009-09-15T23:09:00.002+02:00

Visitors to Spain's capital city are often puzzled to discover that the Plaza de Oriente is located in the west of Madrid, while its name suggests an eastern setting. However, it lies on the east side of the Palacio Real, and that is why it is so named.

Juan Bautista Sachetti, who designed the Palacio Real, had plans to build a large square in front of the palace in the 18th century. However, the plans were not realised until King Joseph I, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, ruled Spain from 1808 to 1813. The unplanned scrabble of houses then occupying the eastern side of the palace, some 56 in total, which included a church and several convents, as well as a library, were cleared for the project.

In a city that never sleeps where hustle and bustle is an integral part of everyday life, Plaza de Oriente is a haven of peace and tranquillity. The landscaped gardens are enclosed in a kind of semi-circular design. It's a leafy area with plants and trees beside broad walkways, one of which is lined with the statues of Spanish kings from the medieval period.There are 44 statues of Spanish monarchs lining the square. They range from the Gothic period up to the time when the country was reunified following the defeat of the Moors in 15th century. They also seem a little out of proportion, but this is simply because the statues were originally designed to be installed on top of the palace. However, the architects felt that the statues were too heavy and they were left at ground level.

Taking centre stage of Plaza de Oriente is a huge statue of Felipe IV astride a horse that was modelled from an art piece by Veláquez. It stands on a large pedestal and is indeed a striking sculpture.

Its de
Plaza de Oriente,Madrid - Images by Biniam Ghezaisigner, Pietro Tacca, was afraid that the rearing horse could not be balanced properly, and that it would fall forward under its own weight. The famous Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, came to his rescue by suggesting that the front rearing part of the sculpture should be hollow, and therefore relatively light, with the back part solid to anchor the weight.

Plaza de Oriente was not finished in its present form until the reign of Isabel II. During this time the Teatro Real, the Royal Theatre, was also built opposite the palace on the east side of the square.

Plaza de Oriente is a very popular place with visitors to the city, as well as with local people. Any visit to Madrid should not be considered complete without a trip to this grand spacious plaza. There are many cafés that line the area where the visitor may rest a while and absorb the atmosphere, perhaps the most famous one being the Café de Oriente, which has a marvellous terrace to sit outside and enjoy the spectacular views of the square.

Getting to Plaza de Oriente is easy. It is a short walk from Plaza de España, and the nearest Metro is Opera, and bus numbers 3, 15 and 20 will take you there.

NissanDesignEurope

2009-09-13T10:25:00.001+02:00

The reality is... East is West

How does one single mind or an idea find its way across the globe – from East to West – to piece together a fabric that we call “reality”?

What we mean by this reality is that it is a fact that cannot be described from one place only. Reality is as wide as colours, music, geography or feelings. We can only grasp this point by opening our ears, minds and hearts to be able of comprehend the other point of views.

Our conclusion is that we are never separate entities. We are one all along; hence “East is West”.

We sent 12 photographers and one musician to embark on a special journey to collect photographic evidence within one month from around the world, to create a vivid montage of the given theme.
From the Silk Route in China to Cowtown rodeo show in the US, we joined the dots from East to West. Thus discovering that the concept of “East” and “West” is both myth and reality.Event details

Nissan Design Europe will be opening it's doors for a 3 day exhibition to celebrate design and creativity.

23 September, 2009 (All day) - 25 September, 2009 (All day)

Opening times:
23rd, 24th & 25th September - Doors open 2:00pm with guided studio tours commencing daily at 3:00pm and 5:00pm. Invite only Pecha Kucha Night runs from 6:30pm-10:00pm on 23rd September.

Ticket information:
No ticket required for open exhibition days,Wed- Fri. Wednesday evening event by invitation only. For general enquiries please contact alison.rose@nissan-design.co.uk

SabatiniGarden

2009-09-01T12:58:00.004+02:00

he Sabatini Gardens (in Spanish: Jardines de Sabatini) are part of the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, and were opened to the public by King Juan Carlos I in 1978. They honor the name of Francesco Sabatini (1722–1797), an Italian architect of the 18th century who designed, among other works at the palace, the royal stables of the palace, previously located at this sight.

Sabatini garden,Madrid - Images by Biniam Ghezai
In 1933, clearing of the stable buildings was begun, and construction of the gardens begun, which were only completed in the late 1970s. The gardens have a formal Neoclassic style, consisting of well-sheared hedges, in symmetric geometrical patterns, adorned with a pool, statues and fountains, with trees also disposed in a symmetrical geometric shape. The statues are those of Spanish kings, not intended originally to even grace a garden, but originally crowding the adjacent palace. The tranquil array is a peaceful corner from which to view the palace.

MadridGraffiti

2009-08-26T12:10:00.000+02:00

Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire[1]. In modern times, spray paint,normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages.
Madrid graffiti - Images by Biniam GhezaiTo some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and break dancing creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public.[2] Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. The controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/ law enforcement and graffitists looking to display their work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

AlmudenaCathedral

2009-08-24T13:53:00.002+02:00

When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the Church in Spain remained in Toledo; so the new capital – unusually for a Catholic country – had no cathedral. Plans were discussed as early as the 16th century to build a cathedral in Madrid dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena, but construction did not begin until 1879.

Francisco de Cubas, the Marquis of Cubas, designed and directed the construction in a Gothic revival style. Construction ceased completely during the Spanish Civil War, and the project was abandoned until 1950, when Fernando Chueca Goitia adapted the plans of de Cubas to a neoclassical exterior to match the grey and white façade of the Palacio Real, which stands directly opposite. The cathedral was not completed until 1993, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. On May 22, 2004, the marriage of Felipe, Prince of Asturias to Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (known thereafter as Letizia, Princess of Asturias) took place at the cathedral.

The Neo-Gothic interior is uniquely modern, with chapels and statues of contemporary artists, in heretogeneous styles, from historical revivals to "pop-art" decor.

The Neo-Romanesque crypt houses a 16th century image of the Virgen de la Almudena. Nearby along the Calle Mayor excavations have unearthed remains of Moorish and medieval city walls.

On the 28th of April 2004, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid blessed the new paintings in the apse, painted by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way. The cathedral is the seat of the Patriarch of the Indies and the Ocean Sea, an honorific patriarchate created in the sixteenth century, and subsequently an honorific title for the Spanish court's chaplain.

Almudena cathedral,Madrid - Images by Biniam Ghezai
[edit] La catedral de Santa María La Real de La Almudena es la sede episcopal de la diócesis de Madrid (España). Se trata de un templo de 102 metros de longitud y 73 de altura con una mezcla de diferentes estilos: neoclásico en el exterior, neogótico en el interior y neorrománico en la cripta.

Fue consagrada por el papa Juan Pablo II en su cuarto viaje a España, el 15 de junio de 1993. Es la primera catedral española consagrada por un papa y la primera consagrada por Juan Pablo II fuera de Roma.

Está ubicada en el centro de la ciudad. La fachada principal da a la Plaza de la Armería, frente al Palacio Real de Madrid. A la puerta lateral se accede por la calle de Bailén y, a la cripta, desde la calle Mayor. A diferencia de otras catedrales, con una orientación este-oeste, la de la Almudena tiene una orientación norte-sur, fruto de su concepción como parte integrante del conjunto del Palacio Real. Está construida en piedra de Novelda (Alicante) y granito de las canteras de Colmenar Viejo (Madrid).

PlazaMayor

2009-08-19T15:01:00.001+02:00

The origins of the Plaza go back to 1581 when Philip II of Spain asked Juan de Herrera, a renowned Renaissance architect, to discuss a plan to remodel the busy and chaotic area of the old Plaza del Arrabal. Juan de Herrera was the architect who designed the first project in 1581 to remodel the old Plaza del Arrabal but construction didn't start until 1617, during Philip III's reign. The king asked Juan Gomez de Mora to continue with the project, and he finished the porticoes in 1619. Nevertheless, the Plaza Mayor as we know it today is the work of the architect Juan de Villanueva who was entrusted with its reconstruction in 1790 after a spate of big fires. Giambologna's equestrian statue of Philip III dates to 1616, but it was not placed in the center of the square until 1848. If you look around today you can still see the blood on the walls from some of the bull fights held in earlier years.The name of the plaza has changed over time. Originally it was called the "Plaza del Arrabal" but became known as the "Plaza Mayor".

In 1812, following a decree all the major plazas of Spain were renamed "Plaza de la Constitución", in honour of the Constitution of 1812. The plaza had this name until the restoration of the Borbón king in 1814 when it became known as the "Plaza Real". The plaza once again held the name "Plaza de la Constitución" in the periods from 1820 to 1823, 1833 to 1835, and 1840 to 1843.

Plaza Mayor,Madrid - Images by Biniam Ghezai
In 1873, the name changed to "Plaza de la República", and then back to "Plaza de la Constitución" from the restoration of Alfonso XII in 1876 to the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in 1922. A proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic gave the plaza the name of "Plaza de la Constitución" until the end of the Spanish Civil War when the plaza was renamed the "Plaza Mayor," the name it bears to date.

Strob photography

2009-05-20T16:34:00.008+02:00

http://strobist.blogspot.com

This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Or the next ten levels.

Here, you'll find everything you need to know about how to more effectively use your small speedlights. There are more than 1,000 articles about lighting. Over two million photographers from around the world have learned small-flash lighting techniques from this site. We're thinking you can, too.

Why small flashes? Because that's all you really need start your journey into high-end lighting techniques.

Cuba new HOPE.......

2009-04-19T11:32:00.009+02:00

With the lifting of travel and financial restrictions and permission for cell phone communication, the president is attempting to aid Cubans in their pursuit of political freedom by making them less dependent on the Castro regime -- while still holding the regime to account for human rights abuses by enforcing a wide-ranging U.S. trade embargo.The last Bush administration had restricted Cuban travel, limiting passage to the island to two weeks every three years and limiting that to immediate family members. About 1.5 million Americans have relatives in Cuba, which hundreds of thousands have fled since the revolutionary Communist, Fidel Castro, first claimed power in 1959.U.S. regulations announced in June 2004 allowed remittances to be sent only to the sender's immediate family. They cannot be sent to certain Cuban government officials and members of the Cuban Communist Party, and the total amount of family remittances that an authorized traveler may carry to Cuba was $300.The new rules broaden what can be shipped as gifts. And the Obama administration will start issuing licenses to allow companies to provide cell and television services to Cubans and allow relatives in the U.S. to pay for those services for their families on the island.This will enable "Cubans to talk to Cubans ... and Cubans to talk to the outside world ... without having to go through the government," said Dan Restrepo, senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs with the National Security Council. "The idea is to increase the flow of information. ... We stand on the side of having more information, as opposed to less information, reach the Cuban people."

Graffiti on Bank of England............

2009-04-09T17:37:00.003+02:00

Graffiti is a means of urban expression, many sources exist about its origin, but they all have the commonality of being about murals. Some express this via a pseudonym (tag), which makes you become anonymous in the midst of the urban landscape, yet known in your environment.
Well done citizens.

Protests at the G20

2009-04-06T17:41:00.011+02:00

Thousands of protesters gathered in London, England on April 1st and 2nd to demonstrate against an array of issues, largely anti-capitalist or pro-environmental in nature. A large underlying theme was anger with the effects of the economic downturn and a call for accountability and responsibility. While the majority of protesters were peaceful, a number of them took to smashing windows and throwing debris at police lines. London police responded with baton charges and arrests. Similar protests are now taking place in Strasbourg, France, which hosts a NATO summit today.

With many people feeling the pinch, anger at banking and regulatory failures has been compounded by lavish payouts to some executives - particularly the award of a £700,000 annual pension to the former head of government-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland.

The issue is not just "a few bad bankers and some asleep-on-the-job regulators", said Michael Rainsbro, from the anti-globalisation G20 Meltdown group which is organising the Financial Fools Day.

"The problem is much more systemic than that," he said. "The reality is these issues can't be ignored because there is huge anger in the public.''

Personal Project .

2009-03-21T00:47:00.003+01:00

The change of country has reinforced in my mind how important personal project are to photographers and other creative people. There has to be a certain amount of work to pay the bills, but you have to find some time to keep the creative fire burning inside. I always knew it was important to do personal projects, I just never found the time to fit them in. I had sort of reached that point in my life where I worked to live, not live to work. I had stopped looking for projects like this.

Israeli demonstration, Madrid.

2009-01-18T22:44:00.007+01:00

Today the Spanish Israeli protesters have staged a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Madrid,Spain.
I must said that the demonstration was control by the Israeli security force in plain clothing and the Spanish police,by control I mean deteriorating the presence of Palestinians demonstration ,
6 in total.

Madrid in white..........

2009-01-11T09:05:00.009+01:00

MADRID, Spain -- An unusually heavy snowfall coated downtown Madrid in white on Friday, shutting down the city's airport but providing rare opportunities for snowball fights while intrepid golfers drove their balls into the storm.

Flights in and out of Barajas international airport were stopped for nearly six hours during the daytime because of the snow, airport officials said.

"It snows nearly every year in Madrid but rarely does it stick like this in the city center," said Angel Rivera, spokesman for Spain's National Meteorological Agency.

The agency estimated the snowfall could reach 2 1/2 inches. Rivera said the last time central Madrid had a similar amount of snow was Feb. 23, 2001.

Friday's snow brought traffic to a halt on several main roads leading into and out of the capital and authorities urged people to travel by public transport.

But the inclement weather provided children with the rare opportunity to throw snowballs. Golf enthusiasts continued teeing-off at a city-center practice range.

Heavy snow also snarled traffic in the northeast regions of Cataluna and Aragon, in Valencia to the east and southern Murcia.

Rivera said the weather was a continuation of a spell of freezing temperatures and snow that swept central Europe this week. It shut airports in Milan and was blamed for at least 12 deaths across the continent. He said it was expected to move out of Spain and across northwest Africa by Saturday night.

Madrid botanic garden

2009-01-07T19:33:00.008+01:00

Botanic Gardens Description(Local Name: Jardín Botánico) The Botanic Gardens of Madrid were founded by the enlightened Bourbon King Charles III and formed part of his ambitious plan for the development of the eastern part of the city. The gardens, enclosed by railings and entered by two Neo-Classical gateways, were designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva.

Opened in 1781, the Botanic Gardens achieved an international reputation through the import of plants and seeds from America and the Philippines. Its specialized library includes 10,000 drawings of the flora of New Granada brought from South America by the celebrated botanist Celestino Mutis. The collection of manuscripts includes books from the 15th to the 18th C.Address

Botanic Gardens
Plaza de Murillo 2
Madrid
Spain

http://www.rjb.csic.es

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Metro: Atocha; Buses: 10, 14, 19, 24, 26, 27, 32, 34, 45, 57, 140

Is Codex a world population control ?

2008-12-17T23:50:00.006+01:00

A Nutricidal Codex

By Shannara Johnson

Ever heard of the Codex Alimentarius? If not, don’t be surprised. It’s one of the best-kept “open secrets” of the U.S. government. It’s scheduled to take effect on December 21, 2009, and it may present the greatest disaster for our food supply—and thus for our health—this country has ever seen.

What is the Codex Alimentarius, and how did it come to pass?

In the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1897 and 1911, a collection of standards and regulations for a wide variety of foods was developed, called the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus. It wasn’t legally binding but served as a useful reference for the courts to determine standards for specific foods.

The post-World War II rebirth of the Codex Alimentarius (or short, Codex), however, is much more dubious. To understand the full implications, we need to go back to the history of one huge conglomerate: The Interessengemeinschaft Farben, or IG Farben—a powerful cartel that consisted of German chemical and pharmaceutical companies such as BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst.

IG Farben was, you could say, the corporate arm of the Third Reich. Having lucrative contracts with Hitler’s regime, IG Farben produced everything from ammunition to Zyklon B, the nerve gas that was used to kill prisoners in the concentration camps. IG Farben was the single largest donor to Hitler’s election campaign… and later the single largest profiteer of World War II.

“Whenever the German Wehrmacht conquered another country, IG Farben followed, systematically taking over the industries of those countries,” states the website of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation, a non-profit promoter of natural health. “The U.S. government investigation of the factors that led to the Second World War in 1946 came to the conclusion that without IG Farben the Second World War would simply not have been possible.”

Auschwitz, the largest and most infamous German concentration camp, also benefited IG Farben. New, unsafe pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines were liberally tested on Auschwitz prisoners—many of which died during the tests.

Not surprising, the Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal prosecuted 24 IG Farben board members and executives for mass murder, slavery and other crimes against humanity. One of those convicted was Fritz ter Meer, the highest-ranking scientist on the executive board of IG Farben, who was sentenced to seven years in prison (of which he only served four). When asked during trial whether he thought those human experiments had been justified, he answered that “concentration camp prisoners were not subjected to exceptional suffering, because they would have been killed anyway.”

In 1955, ter Meer was reinstated as a member of the supervisory board at Bayer and one year later became its chairman. In 1962, together with other executives of BASF, Bayer and Hoechst, he was one of the main architects of the Codex Alimentarius.

“When he got out of jail, he went to his UN buddies,” said Dr. Rima Laibow, MD, in a passionate speech at the 2005 conference of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP). “And he said, ‘[…] If we take over food worldwide, we have power worldwide.’”

The result was the creation of a trade commission called the Codex Alimentarius Commission, now funded and run by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

At its foundation in 1994, the World Trade Organization (WTO) accepted the standards of the Codex—and by the end of 2009, all member countries of the WTO will be required to implement the Codex, “to harmonize the standards” for the global trade of foods.

In the U.S. meanwhile, Congress passed the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, which defined vitamins, minerals and herbs as foods, therefore not to be regulated by pharmaceutical standards. The Codex Alimentarius would reverse all that. It would treat those dietary supplements not as foods, but as toxins.

“How do you protect somebody from a poison?” asks Laibow. “You use toxicology. You use a science called ‘risk assessment.’”

Risk assessment, she explains, works as follows. You take the toxin in question, feed it to lab animals and “determine the dose that kills 50% of them. That’s called the LD 50. And you extrapolate what the LD 50 for a human being might be. Then you go down to the other end of the dosage range and you start feeding [little] bits of it to test animals, and you come up with the largest possible dose—the maximum permissible upper limit—that can be fed to an animal before a discernible impact is shown. […] Then you divide that by 100. […] And now you’ve got a safety margin, so you got 1/100 of the largest dose that can be given with no discernible impact.”

In other words, classified as toxins, vitamins, minerals and herbs would only be allowed to be marketed in doses that have no discernible impact on anyone. Then why bother taking them?

And that’s not all. Where our grocery and health food store shelves are now brimming with supplements, only 18 of them would be on the Codex whitelist. Everything not on the list, such as CoQ10, glucosamine, etc. would be illegal—not as in “prescription-only” illegal, but as in “take it and you go to jail” illegal.

But the mandatory requirements of the Codex will not only concern vitamins and minerals, but all foods. Under Codex rules, nearly all foods must be irradiated. And levels of radiation can be much higher than previously permitted.

While irradiated U.S. foods are currently treated with 1 – 7.5 kiloGray of radiation, the Codex would lift its already high limit of 10kiloGray—the equivalent of ca. 330 million chest X-rays—“when necessary to achieve a legitimate technological purpose,” whatever that may be. Granted, the text says, that the dose of radiation “should not compromise consumer safety or wholesomeness of the food.” Note, however, that it says “should,” not “shall” (an important legal difference, since “should” is not compulsory).

You buy rBST-free milk? Not much longer, because under the Codex all dairy cows will have to be treated with Monsanto’s recombinant bovine growth hormone. All animals used for human consumption will have to be fed antibiotics. Organic standards will be relaxed to include such measures. And did we mention that under the Codex, genetically modified (GM) produce will no longer have to be labeled?

Say good-bye to true organic food, and maybe even food that retains any resemblance of nutritional value.

Moreover, in 2001, twelve hazardous, cancer-causing organic chemicals called POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) were unanimously banned by 176 countries, including the United States. Codex Alimentarius will bring back seven of these forbidden substances—such as hexachlorobenzene, dieldrin, and aldrin—to be freely used again. Permitted levels of various chemicals in foods will be upped as well.

What, are they trying to kill us?

Rima Laibow has done the math, she claims, using figures coming directly from the WHO and FAO. And according to those epidemiological projections, she believes that just the Vitamin and Mineral Guideline alone will result in about 3 billion deaths. “1 billion through simple starvation,” she says. “But the next 2 billion, they will die from the preventable diseases of under-nutrition.”

She calls the new Codex standards “food regulations that are in fact the legalization of mandated toxicity and under-nutrition.”

Even if you’re thinking of emigrating to Thailand or Guatemala to escape this nutritional holocaust, forget it. Once implemented, the Codex Alimentarius will set food safety standards, rules and regulations for over 160 countries, or 97% of the world’s population.

The only way is to fight it before it gets implemented, says Laibow, who is working on just that with a team of lawyers. If you want to help, send an email to your Congressman and/or sign the citizens petition on Laibow’s website, www.HealthFreedomUSA.org.

Rastro flea market

2008-12-12T20:05:00.005+01:00

The origins of this market go back to the 16th century,when there was a slaughterhouse in this neighbourhood(also called "Rastro",hence the name),and stalls were erected in it's vicinity.Gradually more shops were founded here,and they can be visited any day of the week.It is only on Sunday morning that the market stalls are there and crowds gather here,hunting for deals.Although Madrid is relatively quiet on a Sunday morning,there is always to Rastro market you can go to if you are in need of people around you.Ribera de Curtidores is converted into an open-air flea market,and you can find a lot of stalls also off the main market.You can expect anything from handmade lamps to Tshirts,from second hand furniture to underwear,from saxophone to painting and much more.
The market has become a sort of a tourist destination,but by far the majority of people around are "Gatos"(people from Madrid).At some stalls I wondered who would buy some of the absolute crap that was lying on the street.Apparently,there are so many things around which don"t make any sense at all.Or so it seems,because probably someone else would go crazy for them.

2008-10-13T17:57:00.010+02:00

Many visitors to Madrid come for the world-class art palaces but find themselves seduced by the ramshackle and the numbers of museums that pepper the city. Others come in search of old-school tapas bars and are surprised to find a gastronome’s paradise. Some will be drawn to the late-night buzz and find that mooching around cafés in the afternoon can be just as enjoyable. One thing’s for sure – most leave surprised and few leave disappointed.

Madrid sprouted suddenly out of a little-known 16th-century backwater after Philip II decided it would make a good capital. This gives it a rather grand architectural coherence, and, with city walls that only fell in 1860, it also has a remarkably compact old town.

This is where you’ll find most of its government buildings, major cultural institutions, restaurants and nightlife. Madrid has three reference points: the Puerta del Sol, the city’s absolute centre; the Plaza Mayor, the Golden Age core; and the glorious Plaza de Cibeles, with the most extravagant architecture.

The Retiro

The Retiro can’t claim to be Madrid’s green lung in the way that the Casa de Campo can, but it has an ineffable charm nonetheless. It’s the place to promenade and on Sundays, particularly, there are vendors hawking everything from wafers to etchings, tarot readers, football and elderly men playing petanca. Below the Prado is the verdant Jardín Botánico (Plaza de Murillo, 91 420 3017, www.rjb.csic.es), with more than 30,000 plant species.

Biniam Ghezai