Brazilian people against the costs of Pope’s Visit

“Cursed the soldier that points his gun against his people” – Simon Bolívar

Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro…

Last updated: 31 July, at 11:00 AM.

On this Monday, 22 July, Brazilian police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Rio de Janeiro rallying against the vast amount of public funds spent on Pope Francis’ visit to the country. Read more: The Guardian.

Failed security scheme: at the Pope’s arrival to Rio downtown Pope’s car gets stuck in traffic and ends surrounded by the people.

The demonstration was held on Monday near the Rio state governor’s palace after a meeting there between the pope and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff. One photographer suffered a head injury after being clubbed by a riot police officer and at least five protesters were arrested, included two jornalists from the media known as “ninja media” – a group of activists who use handheld cameras to publicize videos with the truth of the protests in Brazil on the Internet about the cop violence and corruption in government.

In the photo at right, French agency photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba was injured in his head by a policeman while was shooting the arrest of a protester.  “I saw a protester fall to the ground. Cops grabbed him and took him. I was taking photos when I was suddenly pushed by other officers. So I raised my arms with my camera to show that I was a photographer and had peaceful intentions but a cop uniform and shield hit me in the head with his truncheon”, he said. See the photo of Yasuyoshi Chiba:

Updated: On this Tuesday, 26, and Friday, 27, protesters in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and other cities in the Brazil, in solidarity with the people of Rio de Janeiro, overwhelmed by the dictatorial government of Sergio Cabral and his violent police repression came out to the streets calling for the output of the Governor of Rio de Janeiro and demilitarization of the Military Police, who still works so repressive as in the days of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1983. See the videos below to understand a little more how the police act to prevent the constitutional right to freedom of expression and press freedom in Brazil.

New protests are scheduled for this weekend and a general standstill of the country is being organized for September 7th, Brazil’s Independence Day.

This is the same police force that will take care of your security during the World Cup 2014 and the Olympics 2016, the same police you see here attacking journalists, shooting at civilians and killing innocent citizens in the poorest communities like Amarildo (see below who is Amarildo). Do you still want to come to Brazil to the World Cup and Olympics? OK, the choice is yours.

Protesters burn doll symbolizing the Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Cabral, accused of ordering police violence during demonstrations.

A P2 – a policeman without uniform – helping a colleague to arrest a young man during protests in Rio de Janeiro against government spending with the visit of Pope Francis.

Update: See this article posted in the New York Times site.

The Brazilian government has spent US$ 52 million in public funds for the Pope’s week-long visit to the country, which is his first trip abroad after becoming head of the Catholic Church in March. The pope’s arrival to Brazil came just weeks after the country experienced a series of protests against government corruption and public spending for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The protesters argued that the government should instead spend public funds on health, education and other public services.

Where’s Amarildo???

Amarildo de Souza, 47 Years, father of 6 Children, worker and resident of the Favela da Rocinha is gone, becoming one more political victim of the false Brazilian Democracy. The last time Amarildo was seen he was being conducted by police on Sunday night (14 July 2013) for the Pacifying Police Unit, the UPP Rocinha.

The Rio de Janeiro police is the biggest killer in the world. For the Brazilian people is necessary repression and impartial investigation into the criminal liability of bad cops who forge false resistances in order to camouflage the real homicide qualified and exterminate human lives so cowardly of slum dwellers in their operations. There’s no human rights in Brazil, this is FACT. Amarildo is now just another number in the unkind statistic of missings during police operations in the poorer communities of Rio de Janeiro.

Sunday, 28 July: Dozens of protesters are camping in front of the street where lives the Governor of de Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral. The protesters claim the impeachment of the Governor and want answers of what happen with Amarildo de Souza. (#OcupaCabral)

After the Feast of FIFA Confederation Cup, now the Feast of Pope

Pope’s visit to Brazil will cost 156 million dollars. About 70 percent will come from donations and private funds, but US$ 52 million will come from public funds of Prefecture, State Government and Federal Government:

Prefecture: US$ 12 million

State Government: US$ 12 million

Federal Government: US$ 28 million

All this money could be used to build 2300 popular houses at a cost of US$ 22 400 each.

Public money thrown in the mud: Were not enough the R$ 118 million spent by governments on the Pope’s visit to Brazil, the stage set on a plot in Guaratiba for the last Mass of Pope Francis was destroyed and the land flooded by rain. The Mass was moved to Copacabana.

Hundred of pilgrims sleeping rough: The group would sleep in Guaratiba, but space flooded even after waterproofing works and made the event organizers to transfer the program to Copacabana. Thus, thousands of pilgrims had to remain in the streets in makeshift camps.

The Church will pocket about 62 million dollars with the inscriptions through an audience initial of 450,000 people, but that number could reach 800 thousand people. The church will pay only the structure of the event and hosting. The Church is very rich and could afford the entire event alone. To justify the spending, governments talk of return that the event will bring – like the Olympics and World Cup – by the presence of many visitors in town, and show random number without any scientific basis. Who will profit is the Catholic Church. The rest is scamming. More about the protests in Brazil, click on the links below:

WHAT’S REALLY BEHIND THE BRAZILIAN RIOTS
EDITORIAL: NO, I’M NOT GOING TO THE WORLD CUP

Walt in Disneyland

Yesterday, Disneyland turned 58. Thank you Walt for making a place where dreams really do come true.

Walter Elias Disney was born in 5 December, 1901. He was an American animator, film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O. Disney, he co-founded the Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation is now known as The Walt Disney Company and had an annual revenue of approximately US$36 billion in the 2010 financial year.

Disney was particularly noted as a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created some of the world’s most well-known fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, for whom Disney himself provided the original voice. During his lifetime he received four honorary Academy Awards and won 22 Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual in history. Disney also won seven Emmy Awards and gave his name to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the U.S., as well as the international resorts like Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.

He died on December 15, 1966 from lung cancer in Burbank, California. A year later, construction of the Walt Disney World Resort began in Florida. His brother Roy Disney inaugurated the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. Read more about Walt Disney on Wikipedia.

Enjoy the gallery.

Walt Disney on opening day ceremony, 17 July, 1955.

Sweetest couple ever!! Walt and Lillian.

Walt doing a little fishing. In Disneyland’s early days, the Rivers of America were stocked with fish. Kids could rent a rod and, if lucky, catch a fish to take home!

Walt & Horse on Main Street, 1957.

“You don’t have to be childish, but it’s okay to be child-like.” – Walt Disney

Nice toys, good food. Walt test out the food!

Teacups with Walt and family.

On May 28, 1960, Walt Disney & his grandchildren christened the new scenery of the Nature’s Wonderland attraction, which now had 204 “lifelike” animals. This photo shows Walt with his grandchildren Tammy, Joanna, and Chris Miller at the branch cutting ceremony.

Disneyland: 58th anniversary

A MAN AND HIS DREAM

“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” — Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955.

In this crazy times we need more men like Walt to teaching us how to dream again…

The concept for Disneyland began when Walt Disney was visiting Griffith Park in Los Angeles with his daughters Diane and Sharon. While watching them ride the merry-go-round, he came up with the idea of a place where adults and their children could go and have fun together, though his dream lay dormant for many years.

While people wrote letters to Disney about visiting the Disney Studio, he realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans, and began to foster ideas of building a site near the Burbank studios for tourists to visit. His ideas evolved to a small play park with a boat ride and other themed areas. The initial concept, the Mickey Mouse Park, started with an 8-acre plot across Riverside Drive. He started to visit other parks for inspiration and ideas. His designers began working on concepts, though the project grew much larger than the land could hold. With the report, Disney acquired 160 acres of orange groves and walnut trees in Anaheim, southeast of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County.

Difficulties in obtaining funding prompted Disney to investigate new methods of fundraising, deciding to create a show named Disneyland. It was broadcasted on then-fledgling ABC. In return, the network agreed to help finance the park. For its first five years of operation, Disneyland was owned by Disneyland, Inc., which was jointly owned by Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney, Western Publishing and ABC. In addition, Disney rented out many of the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. to outside companies. By 1960, Walt Disney Productions bought out all other shares, a partnership which would eventually lead to the Walt Disney Corporation’s acquisition of ABC in the mid-1990s. In 1952, the proposed project had been called Disneylandia, but Disney followed ABC’s advice and changed it to Disneyland two years later, when excavation of the site began.Construction began on July 16, 1954 and cost $17 million to complete. The park was opened one year and one day later. U.S. Route 101 (later Interstate 5) was under construction at the same time just north of the site; in preparation for the traffic Disneyland was expected to bring, two more lanes were added to the freeway before the park was finished.

Disneyland was dedicated at an “International Press Preview” event held on Sunday, July 17, 1955, which was only open to invited guests and the media. Although 28,000 people attended the event, only about half of those were actual invitees, the rest having purchased counterfeit tickets. The following day, it opened to the public, featuring twenty attractions.

The temperature was an unusually high 101 °F (38 °C), and because of a local plumbers’ strike, Disney was given a choice of having working drinking fountains or running toilets. He chose the latter, leaving many drinking fountains dry. This generated negative publicity since Pepsi sponsored the park’s opening; disappointed guests believed the inoperable fountains were a cynical way to sell soda, while other vendors ran out of food. The asphalt that had been poured that morning was soft enough to let ladies’ high-heeled shoes sink into it. A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland to close for the afternoon. Some parents threw their children over the crowd’s shoulders to get them onto rides, such as the King Arthur Carrousel. In later years, Disney and his 1955 executives referred to July 17, 1955 as “Black Sunday”.

After the extremely negative press from the preview opening, Walt Disney invited attendees back for a private “second day” to experience Disneyland properly.

Disneyland Park consists of eight themed “lands” and a number of concealed backstage areas, and occupies approximately 85 acres. The park opened with Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, and has since added New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (later Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993. In 1957, Holidayland, opened to the public with a 9 acres recreation area including a circus and baseball diamond, but was closed in late 1961. It is often referred to as the “lost” land of Disneyland. Throughout the park are ‘Hidden Mickeys’, representations of Mickey Mouse heads inserted subtly into the design of attractions and environmental decor. An elevated berm supports a narrow gauge railroad that circumnavigates the park.

Source: Wikipedia.

Even dreams can be built

Disneyland was not supposed to have happened. Walt Disney was in charge of the creative side at the Disney Bro’s Studios, but his brother Roy E. Disney was in charge of the money. When Walt explained his vision for Disneyland, Roy said there was no way to fund it and no way to make their money back. Neither brother would back down – because the studio owned the trademark to the name “Walt Disney”, Roy even threatened to sue Walt’s ass if he formed a division or company in his own name to build the park. Walt didn’t take that and privately founded WED Enterprises (Walt’s initials) under his own name, not the studios.

He hired animators and engineers from the studio (paying their wages out of his pocket) to work on the side at WED, but still had no funding. Eventually, Walt was able to convince large companies to pay for some rides that were to be displayed at big technology fairs of the day. Walt then shipped the attractions back to California and began to piece together his park over a dusty orange grove, in a forgotten SoCal city. Only after companies like Pepsi and GM funded the attractions, did the studio come on board – eventually turning WED enterprises into Disney Imagineering.

Thank you Walt, for never believing others’ disbelief.

The train station stands alone at the parks main entrance location which will become Main Street U.S.A.The men and cars are in the future main parking lot.The Mickey Mouse flower garden is directly in front of the men.

Walt Disney showing a model of a Jungle Cruise Boat.

It’s a small world, don’t it?

“You think of a wonderful thought!” – Walt flying.

“Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” – Walt Disney

Disneyland aerial photo, 1955.

Disneyland finished, July 1955.

Line to get into Disneyland on opening day

Opening Day Ceremony

Walt parading down Main St. with then California Governor Goodwin Knight on Disneyland’s opening day.

Scene from Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955.

Scene from Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955.

Scene from Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955.

Scene from Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955.

Disneyland’s monorail construction

The world’s most traveled monorail system, born 1971!

Marc Davis, Walt, and Blaine Gibson looking at one of the first audio-animatronic characters for the new Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in July 1966.  Walt had asked Marc, one of the “Nine Old Men” master animators from the studio and Blaine, an animator-turned-sculptor, to become Imagineers and continue doing what they had done before – animating characters – but now in three dimensions. Pirates of the Caribbean, which Davis had dubbed “the wildest crew that ever sacked the Spanish Main”, opened in February 1967 at Disneyland, but sadly Walt did not live to see it.  He died in December, just five months after this photo was taken.

“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world” – Walt Disney.

Disneyland: Yesterday and Today

Tomorrow, July 17th, Disneyland will turn 58.

According to Wikipedia,

Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property, though it was slightly renamed to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s.

Disneyland, Yesterday and Today.

Click over any image to open the slideshow:

Or enjoy the pic-to-pic Gallery:

Darth Valley Challenge 2013

DARTH VADER RUNS UNDER 131º F

When you think of Death Valley California it’s likely that a few common images probably come to mind; dry river beds, cloudless skies, searing heat radiating off barren rocky landscapes… Death Valley is a place where the ground temperature can reach more than a 130 degrees… and that’s on a mild day. Staying cool in such a place is major challenge that few people would think is possible.

But every year, since 2010, fans of Star Wars participate of the Darth Valley Challenge, a race of one mile (1.6 km) in Death Valley in the Mojave Desert, California, where subscribers dress up as their favorite characters from the saga. The 2013 edition, which occurred on June 30, may have marked a new record.

Gown as Darth Vader, Jonathan Rice made the route – between Badwater Junction and Furnace Creek Ranch (see map) – in 6 minutes and 36 seconds. The time is not the best of Rice (in 2011 he made the mile in 6’13 “), but this time the thermometer marked 131º F at the time of the race, at 16h.

Map courtesy by Google.

Though Death Valley is known as the hottest point of USA, the race had never caught a sun so strong, since it began in 2010. Rice, creator of Darth Valley Challenge, told that will try to enter the Guinness Book of Records with the most heated contest of all time. He always runs with the colors of the Sith Lord.

Is the Force strong on you? Would you be bold enough to take the Darth Valley Challenge next year?