hmmmmmmmmmmmm

we wouldn't want to see our soldiers
1) without their 'gear' on
2) in a prone position
3) being human
4) being someone we can relate to (just in case they get blown away in an unjust, illegal and immoral war)

US soldier featured in the Soldier Billboard Project. Photographer: Suzanne Opton

US election: Billboards of US soldiers cancelled in host city of Republican convention

The photographs show the faces and close-cropped heads of nine youthful soldiers lying peaceful and prone

Daniel Nasaw in Washington

A series of portraits of American soldiers set to adorn roadside billboards in Minneapolis, site of next week's Republican convention, was abruptly cancelled by the billboards' owners, which feared they would be deemed disrespectful to the US military.

Although the artworks neither display images of violence nor are gruesome, the media company that owns the billboards said it feared pedestrians and motorists would mistake them for images of war dead.

The photographs show the faces and close-cropped heads of nine youthful soldiers lying peaceful and prone, flat against a surface.

"They don't look dead," said Suzanne Opton, the photographer of the series, entitled Soldiers' Faces.

"It's like you see someone opposite of you with their head on the pillow. We see our lovers and our children in that pose. They look like the heads of fallen statues, and they afford the viewer an intimate look at the face of the young person whose life is at risk, and that was the point.

"When you see soldiers on the news you have no idea who they are. They're representing the United States and they have all that gear on. I wanted to get past all that".

The shots of troops in between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan by a New York City artist were to run in five US cities..............

i would tell

cv rick to watch his p's and q's BUT i don't have to since he is NOT vegan

to all y'all out there in the minneapolis / st paul area who ARE vegan, WATCH YOUR Ps and Qs. the fbi is WATCHING YOU (in the posting before this, i said i was rather impressed by something the fbi did. well now i take it back. where the hell are scully and mulder when you need 'em???)

In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups
Moles Wanted
By Matt Snyders
.............minutes later, he says, a casually dressed Swanson showed up, flanked by a woman whom he introduced as FBI Special Agent Maureen E. Mazzola. For the next 20 minutes, Mazzola would do most of the talking.
“She told me that I had the perfect ‘look,’” recalls Carroll. “And that I had the perfect personality—they kept saying I was friendly and personable—for what they were looking for.”
What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant—someone to show up at “vegan potlucks” throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort’s primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division’s website, is to “investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines.”
Carroll would be compensated for his efforts, but only if his involvement yielded an arrest. No exact dollar figure was offered.
“I’ll pass,” said Carroll. .......

shout out to boing boing)

i think i'm in LOVE

Bridge Hero Gets Offer: Paid Tuition

By ELLEN BARRY

Among the dozens of wrenching accounts to come out of the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, the actions of 20-year-old Jeremy Hernandez were a bright spot: Trapped in a tipping school bus with 50 children, he kicked open the back door and began helping them one by one to safety. Within a day, news outlets across the country were repeating the story of the school bus, along with a sad footnote — that Mr. Hernandez had recently been forced to drop out of an automotive repair program because he could not afford the $15,000 tuition.
That has changed. On Saturday, Mr. Hernandez learned that Dunwoody College of Technology had offered him a full scholarship toward a degree in applied science.......

...........Mr. Hernandez was not available to comment on the offer; Ms. Schwartz said he left town for northern Minnesota late on Friday, overwhelmed by the attention and concerned that his co-workers were being overlooked. He spent the weekend fishing. When President Bush’s staff contacted him to request a photo opportunity, “He was just, like, ‘Nope,’ ” she said........

(sounds like a REAL hero to me. oh, not just about ignoring king george. i mean his concern about his co-workers)