July 2010 - Photos

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Photos - July 2010

Living Pictures of US Soldiers

July 30th 2010 02:42

At the beginning of the 20th century, English photographer Arthur S. Mole and his American colleague John D. Thomas took these living photographs which show thousands of American soldiers posing as symbols of American history.

The living emblem of the United States Marines, formed by 100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men at the Marine Barracks, Paris Island, South Carolina

The Human Liberty Bell, formed by 25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey, 1918

A portrait of President Woodrow Wilson, formed of 21,000 officers and men at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1918

The Human US Shield: 30,000 officers and men at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1918

In the picture of the Statue of Liberty there are 18,000 men: 12,000 of them in the torch alone, but just 17 at the base. The men at the top of the picture are actually half a mile away from the men at the bottom

*Images and information sourced from OddityCentral here.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: military

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Declaration of Independence

July 28th 2010 02:36

The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.

Click on the image below to view a high resolution image of The United States Declaration of Independence.

The full unaltered text reads as follows:

The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

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Posted By: Ian - Category: history

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Washed Up

July 26th 2010 02:15

Whether it be by the action of winds, tides, waves or man, all manner of items can wash up on the sea shore. Everything from marine creatures, to driftwood and other marine debris will make there way to our beaches.
These Spectacular Examples of Washed Up Photography are from a photoset at the Digital Picture Zone.

( Photo by » edouard )

( Photo by Hueystar )

( Photo by heshaaam )

( Photo by janusz l )

( Photo by jwoodphoto )

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Posted By: Ian - Category: nature

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Life After The Taliban

July 23rd 2010 05:02

As News Week reports. When the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, they banned everything from cinema, to women's education, weather forecasting and even kite flying.
Now Afghans are slowly receiving back some basic freedoms, although there is still much work to be done.

Kite Flying

Every Friday afternoon across Afghanistan, children of all ages fly kites and compete in aerial kite combat. Soon after the Taliban came to power, they banned this traditional Afghan pastime.

Women's Education

Koba, 22, has been teaching for two years. She was the only teacher who allowed the photographer to take her picture. (Other teachers feared reprisal if their families found out they'd been photographed.)

Men Shaving

Under the Taliban, men (like these clients at a barber shop in Kabul) were forbidden to shave their beards. They were expected to grow their facial hair so that, if they held the beard in a fist below the chin, hair would still protrude below the hand.

Free Press

Reporting the news was heavily restricted by the Taliban. Local and national newspapers are once again available. Above, two men operate a printing press.

Weather Forecasting

Russian Weather balloons lie abandoned in a desolate building at the National Weather Agency. The Taliban decreed that to predict the weather was to predict God's will—an act that they denounced as un-Islamic sorcery.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: people

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Most Memorable Moments At Wimbledon

July 21st 2010 04:05

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on the game's original surface, grass, which gave the game of lawn tennis its name.
This last century the Wimbledon Championships have seen many epic encounters and emotional moments that will live on in tennis folklore.
SportsIllustrated takes a look at 10 of the most memorable moments in the history of the tournament. Read the full article here.

Best moments at Wimbledon. Nadal vs Federer

The Greatest Match Ever Played - 2008

"This is the greatest match I've ever seen," said John McEnroe. The match -- the longest men's final in Wimbledon history -- was a 4-hour, 48-minute, twice-rain-delayed, five-set spectacle between the world's two most skilled players at the peak of their abilities. At the conclusion, the second-ranked Nadal achieved his first Wimbledon championship, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, while preventing the top-ranked Federer from winning his record sixth in a row.

Becker Becomes a Star - 1985

In 1985, 17-year-old Boris Becker, a virtual unknown, exploded onto the scene at Wimbledon, where his powerful serve, endless energy and charisma soon made him a star. By defeating Kevin Curren in the final, Becker became the youngest male Grand Slam singles champion (17 years, 7 months).

Borg Defeats McEnroe - 1980

In a true clash of opposites, the stoic Bjorn Borg and his baseline game butted against the emotional John McEnroe and his net mastery, a rematch of the previous year's U.S. Open won by McEnroe. This epic test of endurance was highlighted by a 22-minute tiebreaker in which McEnroe fended off five match points to claim the fourth set 18-16. Yet Borg persevered to win the deciding fifth set, claiming his fifth straight Wimbledon crown.

Court Outlasts King - 1970

Sealing the title on her sixth match point, Margaret Court outlasted Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9 in a two-hour, 28-minute match. Court would go on to win the Grand Slam that year, making her the second of only three women to accomplish that feat (Maureen Connolly Brinker, Steffi Graf).

Longest Match Ever Played - 2010

American John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut took part in an epic three-day battle at Wimbledon, with Isner finally prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. The first-round match, which was twice suspended because of darkness, lasted 11 hours, five minutes -- with the fifth set taking 8 hours, 11 minutes alone. The unbelievable showdown shattered a number of records; Isner finished with 112 aces, and Mahut had 103, with both totals eclipsing the sport's previous high of 78.

Federer Defeats Roddick - 2009

Andy Roddick had his serve broken one time in 77 games during the 2009 final, and one time was all Roger Federer needed to win his record-setting 15th Grand Slam title. In an epic 4-hour-16- minute-affair, Federer won 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6,16-14 to eclipse Pete Sampras on the all-time Slam list.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: sport

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Cloud Photography

July 19th 2010 02:23

Clouds are an amazing thing. Without them life giving water could not be dispensed over our lands. Clouds are little drops of water or frozen crystals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth.
No two clouds formed are ever the same, this diversity and beauty has led to many photographers taking shots of different cloud formations when the opportunity arises.
SmashingCenter put together a fabulous post displaying some rare and unusual photos of clouds. View the full article here
[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Ian - Category: weather

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Art Forgeries

July 16th 2010 03:46

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Posted By: Ian - Category: art

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Most Beautiful Birds of the World

July 14th 2010 02:40

Birdwatching is a serious sport!
There are about 10,000 species of bird and only a small number of people have seen more than 7000. Many birdwatchers have spent their entire lives trying to spot all the bird species of the world. The first person who started this is said to be Stuart Keith. Some birders have been known to go great lengths and many have lost their lives in the process. Phoebe Snetsinger spent her family inheritance travelling to various parts of the world while suffering from a malignant melanoma, surviving an attack and rape in New Guinea before dying in a road accident in Madagascar. She saw as many as 8400 species. The birdwatcher David Hunt who was leading a bird tour in Corbett National Park was killed by a tiger in February 1985. In 1971 Ted Parker travelled around North America and saw 626 species in a year. This record was beaten by Kenn Kaufman in 1973 who travelled 69,000 miles and saw 671 species and spent less than a thousand dollars. Ted Parker was killed in an air-crash in Ecuador. In 2008 the top life-list was held by Tom Gullick, an Englishman who lives in Spain.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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Sand Art

July 12th 2010 02:20

Artist Jim Denevan makes temporary drawings on sand, earth and ice that are eventually erased by waves and weather. Visit his website here, and see a sample of his beach and sand art below:

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Posted By: Ian - Category: art

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Shanghai

July 9th 2010 01:21

Evolution of the Shanghai Skyline

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Posted By: Ian - Category: cityscape

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Surfing In Bali

July 7th 2010 01:00

Bali is an Indonesian island lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: sport

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Pinnacle Moments in World Cup History

July 5th 2010 00:21

There have been 19 soccer world cups since the first back in 1930, with each one having its heroes, villains and defining moments.
Some of these moments are so spectacular or significant, they become immortalised in football legend.
Sports Illustrated takes a detailed look at the 20 most memorable moments in world cup history. Below are some of the biggest, see the remainder here
[ Click here to read more ]

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Posted By: Ian - Category: sport

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