tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87560402061807894162024-03-06T09:08:21.879+00:00IN COLD BLOGmulti-contributor terrorist warnings and true crime and topic blogSocial Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.comBlogger795125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-66924915742671195932014-09-08T08:57:00.001+01:002014-09-08T08:57:37.655+01:00'Hatchet' Gerard Kavanagh shot dead in Costa del Sol pub <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDParoeGhLJSs8on-oD1sz_jN06SIVWAsPWLx42zSPZEfm6QRaj_wBiCiXqMoMOIDUtxp1bFWwqI1S58eAS_oB70ZWGnF8MRDVD7tM6iC6kACn1GY8JcNiUrkSIYxu-bQq0gmI69H4Sg/" alt="" width="308" height="205" /></p><p>Gerard Kavanagh was shot dead in a bar on the Costa del Sol Notorious gangster Gerard “Hatchet” Kavanagh was gunned down by two masked assassins yesterday as he relaxed in a Spanish pub.</p><p>The 44-year-old was riddled with up to nine bullets by the hitmen, who burst into the Costa del Sol bar in Elviria, near Marbella, just before 4pm Irish time on Saturday. A source said: “The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional hit.” Terrified gangster Kavanagh tried to flee after spotting the assassins coming through the door of Harmons Irish Bar in Elviria, a 20-minute drive east of Marbella. But it was too late for the doomed crime boss, who fell to the ground in a hail of bullets surrounded by a pool of his own blood. A burnt-out BMW X3 was discovered nearby shortly after the shooting, which happened in broad daylight around 4pm Irish time. Spanish police were last night carrying out a forensic search of the vehicle to see if it was used as the getaway car. A source said: “The gunmen were wearing balaclavas and were dressed from head to toe in black. “The shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional hit. It looks like they picked a time when they knew the bar wasn’t going to be busy. “It is believed the victim was trying to flee when he was shot because many of the nine bullets he took hit him in the back.”</p><p>Notorious Irish gangster Gerard 'Hatchet' Kavanagh shot dead in Costa del Sol bar A police spokesman said: “A fatal shooting has occurred near to Marbella. We are investigating.” Witnesses to the shooting told last night how the gunmen shot their victim in the back as he talked with a mystery woman – and finished the job off as he tried to run for his life. One said: “He was sat on a chair in a pair of green swimshorts talking to a woman I’d never seen before. “The men rushed up to him from behind and shot him two or three times in the back and, as he tried to run for the safety of the bar, finished the job off with a shot to the back of the head. “They turned him over to see if he was dead before fleeing. It was absolutely horrific. “The police took the dead man’s black Audi away and undertakers removed his body around 8pm.” Another said: “The killers left the engine on their getaway car running. “I’ve been told it was found burnt out at a supermarket just down the road.” A pal, who asked not to be named, said: “The dead man was lying face down just inside the door of the bar when I saw him. “He was dressed in just a pair of shorts and there was a lot of blood.” Harmons bar is sandwiched between two restaurants in a pretty, tree-lined square just off the N340 dual carriageway running along the Costa del Sol, which was once dubbed the Road of Death because of the number of accidents along it. The bar was closed last night after the horror shooting. A woman who answered a side door said: “Sorry we’ve got nothing to say. We’re not going to speak.” The owner of a neighbouring bar said: “I don’t want to say anything. This is very bad for business.” Kavanagh’s body was taken to the Costa del Sol State Hospital for X-rays last night to determine exactly how many bullets were in his body. Kavanagh, from Ben Bulben Road in Drimnagh, West Dublin, was a senior member of the notorious Kinahan gang, controlled by godfather Christy Kinahan, who is based on the Costa del Sol.</p><p>The gang is involved in drug debt collection, drug dealing on an international scale and is suspected of ordering several executions in Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. Kavanagh was jailed for four years in 1996 when he was just 25 for dealing heroin in the Crumlin area. Back then his defence had argued that Kavanagh was only before the court as he had developed a drugs habit forcing him to work as a courier for gangs. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that he was involved in a chain of drug distribution headed by drug barons. Following his sentence, Kavanagh paired up with Tallaght gangster Paul Rice, who was jailed for 10 years in July 1995 after pleading guilty to the robbery of a bank in which shots were fired. Together they rose to the top of the drug ladder before Kavanagh packed up and moved to Spain where he was reported to be supplying most of Tallaght and a large area of Drimnagh with illegal drugs. He has been living in Benalmadena for almost a decade with his wife and two children where his daughter is a star of the show-jumping circuit and his son is a professional boxer. Security sources say that the shooting has now raised fears for the safety of the Kinahans.</p><p>The scene of the shooting is near to the luxury Don Carlos Hotel, which this weekend is hosting the 19th US-Spain forum. The Spanish ambassador to the USA and the American ambassador to Spain were among guests who opened the three-day event and security had been stepped up significantly in the area. Kavanagh was jailed for four years in March 1996 after he was caught with €3,500 worth of heroin and cannabis. In court, Detective Eamonn Maloney said that Kavanagh was “a major figure in drug supplies in the Crumlin, Drimnagh and Dolphin’s Barn areas of Dublin for some time”. He was forced to flee Ireland after he was targeted by anti-drug vigilantes and the Crininal Assets Bureau.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-84497104232724712942014-09-07T09:12:00.001+01:002014-09-07T09:12:52.371+01:00Irish man shot dead in suspected gangland murder in Spanish bar<p>Irish man shot dead in Spain was a well-known criminal who closely associated with some of the biggest drug dealers in Ireland and who gardaí believe was the intended target of a botched murder bid last month. The dead man, in his 40s and from Dublin, was singled out in a bar on the Costa del Sol on Saturday afternoon by two masked gunmen who fired at least nine shots, most of which are believed to have hit the victim.</p><p>The victim tried to run to safety when he saw the gunmen coming for him but collapsed on the premises when wounded. He was unresponsive when the emergency services later arrived at the scene. He was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. The murder occurred just before 5.30pm local time at an Irish bar in Elivira, on the outskirts of Marbella. A BMW the gunmen are believed to have been driven to and from the scene in was later found burnt out by Spanish police.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-86722720492498883302014-08-31T16:16:00.001+01:002014-08-31T16:16:13.311+01:00SCARFACE MURDER:A man identified as Amsterdam crime boss Samir B. was murdered in Benahavis, Marbella <p>A man identified as Amsterdam crime boss Samir B. was murdered in Benahavis, Marbella in Spain on Wednesday. image: inmo-andalucia.com The 36-year-old, also known as “Scarface,” was killed in the Spanish town near Marbella on Wednesday afternoon, Het Parool reports.</p><p> <img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYSXYo1OFTy8hibGKJLhaZJeOpTzkF7Syv0aQB9x_tmXaU5ADOfXG8MeUGirLW5eXiKFnvE3zU59TnQ0SbJi2t-u0tRWXIuzP05Bw8OH-Og4cSRsKx5L_D53qjgQLHE0j81_ULKw-J1o/" alt="" width="312" height="228" /></p><p>News reports speak of a gangland execution. Samir B. was in the Monte Halcones mall in the picturesque mountain village around 2.00pm when he was shot multiple times in his back and head by two assailants. He was apparently shot on his way out of a storefront in the shopping center. Witnesses called the authorities, but the emergency services could do nothing to resuscitate him.</p><p>The Dutch-Moroccan victim from near Sloterdijk in Amsterdam West has been named in connection with sizeable drug deals. Crimesite.nl writes that he was the largest drug dealer in the city, and he actually marked his cocaine blocks with his own stamp. B. had relocated to Spain a few years back, but apparently his hold on the Amsterdam underground remained. Het Parool writes that B. had a long career in the underworld of Amsterdam West. He grew to be one of the biggest crime bosses in the city. In June 2010 he was arrested there and extradited to the Netherlands, in connection with the death of 12-year-old Danny Gubbels in Breda; the boy died when someone opened fire on his parent’s trailer and B. was named. He was released after only a few days in prison here, for lack of evidence. His execution in Benahavis is being investigated by the local police, as well as the Spanish military police force, Guardia Civil, and national police agents. Earlier this month, another of Amsterdam’s criminal leaders, Derkiaoui van der Meijden, was also killed in Amsterdam Oost.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-15109970380107307712014-08-25T11:19:00.001+01:002014-08-25T11:19:45.601+01:00240 kilos of cocaine have been found in the hull of a yacht in Huelva <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpedPO1ameLRlluh5n7a2i9xCLrM7N1xNjCMsxaznmKTETArlY-yR_A_WfCo96OYd16gm4P9AiTPtW1uaR680a6tpwr27Bj30ABR4FDy0MofsKAlNH8037kERqCuE37b-5wpSpuollQE/" alt="" width="300" height="184" /></p><p>240 kilos of cocaine have been found in the hull of a yacht in Huelva Agents from the National Police, in collaboration with the United States DEA, have arrested six people; four in the province of Huelva and two in Madrid in the three searches carried out as part of the same operation. The investigation started at the beginning of April, when large amounts of cocaine has been arriving in Europe by sea, carried out by an international organisation. Further investigations revealed the head of the organisation is a Spaniard, who lives in Colombia, and who had returned to Spain recently, presumably, to coordinate a consignment of the drug. The rest of the organisation are all Colombian, and had the job of providing logistic support on land for the reception and extraction of the drug.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-54156456212308938622014-08-25T11:02:00.001+01:002014-08-25T11:02:25.550+01:00Marbella boxer ring return after trainer shot <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDSgYPYKWCLic51hkYV9RKJZBggDI5YNXNAeoDaHgu_vueP9Gj8kA0coO7gtjFwKutGWKM8QB3Jq2ELll8UCIp5vrazaW908cf6pyWHEClgSjjZbqSKD0orkjQOg-XcIzrwV-tm-Il84/" alt="" width="315" height="174" /></p><p>MATTHEW MACKLIN, the Marbella based boxer, whose proposed fight against Argentine fighter, Jorge Sebastien Heiland in a WBC eliminator on August 30 was postponed after his trainer, Jamie Moore, was shot in Marbella, is set for a swift ring return. His opponent is as yet unnamed, however, Macklin is expected to undertake his 36th professional bout next month on September 27, on the Felix Sturm - Paul Smith WBA middleweight ‘Super’ title fight undercard in Kiel, Germany. If as expected Macklin wins, the three-time world title challenger expects to be returning to Dublin for the Heiland fight on November 15. Macklin, hopes the Heiland fight will bring him a fourth shot at a world title, as promoter Eddie Hearn looks to guide him to the big title that has eluded him so far.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-5127841096495177882014-08-25T10:50:00.001+01:002014-08-25T10:50:55.187+01:00Irish teenager being held on attempted murder charge in Costa del Sol <p>An Irish teenager is in custody on an attempted murder charge after a violent street fight on the Costa del Sol. The 17-year-old was part of a group of four Irish holidaymakers who got into a row over a girl during a night out in the upmarket resort of Puerto Banus near Marbella. His brother allegedly punched a friend unconscious before the teenager kicked him in the head as he lay on the ground. The victim was rushed to the nearby Costa del Sol Hospital before being transferred to a specialist centre in Malaga so he could be treated for “life-threatening” head injuries.</p><p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3L8mw5DR_Q8DQ7hyphenhyphenHfLyjOD1Ut_ia0IrfTvsK4nffh6TpfL2m-QvZy-XfCKtxRc8X7V-8223ppSXsAdjDOWYd3YBXg_biS-1KTHCgClfvKZKPbiG3mRRf_sEgTyyIOt9pqEJm-pgBKrs/" alt="" width="312" height="208" /></p><p>Doctors have told police he cheated death because of the rapid medical attention he received. The altercation happened around 3am on August 14 in a street a short walk from Puerto Banus port named after singer Julio Iglesias, who owns a house in mountains a short drive away. Investigators say they believe the four men, who had been out drinking together, rowed over a girl. Local police made the arrests at the scene after witnessing the assault from a distance. The injured man, who like the other three Irish holidaymakers involved has not been named, is now being treated in a normal ward after spending several days in an induced coma in intensive care. Police from a specialist anti-violence unit based in Malaga have led the investigation.</p><p>A youth court judge remanded the teenager to a young offenders’ institution after quizzing him in a closed court session. His brother, whose age is not known, has been released on bail but is thought to have had his passport taken away from him so he cannot leave Spain. A trial date has yet to be set. The Irish teenager is expected to be held for custody for several months before he is released ahead of trial. A source close to the case said: “The judge quizzed him on an attempted murder charge because medical experts who examined his alleged victim concluded the consequences of the assault could have been much more serious if he hadn’t received rapid medical attention.”</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-75123363658277618942014-08-22T11:28:00.001+01:002014-08-22T11:28:22.897+01:00Climate change is gradually turning Spain into a fire zone <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpOw0UOQf2nH4BjFwvR9a1VVSGNWq8i4IDQvqRaxZgOktL0zTp5k_sZp4J5igsBLQd35inbJkS9paNaHmWOsSbvzmo_3WEk_R0L-eoW_1Nre3fu9Ehac1RhCbO4HG0bUN89KXFIs1aT8/" alt="" width="315" height="209" /></p><p>Spain’s changing climate and economy fuels wildfire risks.Climate change is gradually turning Spain into a fire zone – and a change in the economic climate is inflaming the situation.</p><p>The combined forces of climate, economic and social change are leaving Spain increasingly exposed to the damaging and costly effects of wildfires.</p><p>A research group reports<a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-science-and-policy/" target="_blank"> </a>that a mix of factors is behind the rise in both the numbers of forest fires and the areas of land scorched over the last 40 years.</p><p>Vanesa Moreno, a researcher in the geography department at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, and colleagues studied the pattern of fires in Spain from 1968 to 2010.</p><p>Although Spain, like much of southern Europe, is expected to become more arid with global warming, and although some Mediterranean vegetation is adapted to − and even benefits from − natural fire outbreaks, the picture is not a simple one.</p><p>In the moister Atlantic north-west of the country, there are two fire seasons − at the end of winter, and in the summer. In the Mediterranean region, fires are more frequent in the long, hot summer.</p><p> </p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-51368272510888205252014-08-18T11:29:00.001+01:002014-08-18T11:29:57.827+01:00Fire in Benahavis <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hLsI_bX1f7svNJbxeYf_80hj0gbl_l8xNOS1mrVj3Xpo03Nr1wozhxC3NBeLCpZXtcFhyphenhyphen567V5rocyu74g5iS9BhS-UWqEVrhw8I9Z7hwwq7QkB1LtYlROM2XpJd7MDpPc8W21TkVOE/" alt="" width="315" height="209" /></p><p>A fire has broken out in Benahavis, near Marbella. This photo was taken on the road between Estepona and San Pedro. The cause of the fire is still not yet known, but follows in the wake of a serious fire in Los Montes de Malaga exactly a week ago. The fire in Los Montes devestated 260 hectares of natural park. So far this year there have been 20 such fires in Malaga Province, which experts say is within the average range of annual fires.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-13842417772405118082014-08-18T10:50:00.001+01:002014-08-18T10:50:17.231+01:00Saudi prince's convoy in Paris attacked by gunmen<p>Heavily armed men have attacked a convoy of cars belonging to a Saudi prince, stealing 250,000 euros (£200,000; $330,000), police say. The convoy was heading through northern Paris on its way to Le Bourget airport late on Sunday evening when it was raided, reports say. The gunmen seized a vehicle carrying the money and documents, later releasing the driver and two others. The convoy was said to have come from the Saudi embassy. No-one was hurt. The gunmen, reportedly armed with Kalashnikov rifles, targeted a Mercedes mini-van at 21:15 (19:15 GMT) on the northern ring road, or peripherique, at Porte de la Chapelle, on the edge of Paris.</p><p>The motorcade, belonging to a Saudi prince, was targeted by eight people in two separate vehicles who pointed their guns at the driver of the Mercedes, forcing him to stop, French media reported.</p><p>The men then drove the vehicle away with the driver and the two other Saudis inside. No shots were fired but the Saudis were later freed and the vehicle eventually found burned out.</p><p>"In the vehicle there was roughly 250,000 euros in cash and official documents from the embassy," police union spokesman Rocco Contento told BFM TV news.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-44208964085095891652014-08-18T10:13:00.001+01:002014-08-18T10:13:21.869+01:00There has been a weekend of terror for immigrants in Tangiers<p>Immigrants who are waiting in Tangiers to cross into Spain have been attacked and their homes ambushed. The NGO’s at the scene fear the aggression against the Sub-Saharans will force them to try to cross the Strait to escape whatever the weather conditions.</p><p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAwuFBLc-F2j5G00kcTpiwgdf4NJnB55NBpNKcrt3Qnh7N53ujx3KtJG68GC0mDY4Qtb3UZovL5-dIb0wJofXMiLFwAl6pS87ezF1HWMjelPrwyHGQAkfjYERoUEPmNwgn4nZwZdIgTM/" alt="" width="300" height="194" /></p><p>The problem started on Friday near the Tangiers airport. The Sub-Saharan’s were told a bus was going to Spain and some 20 women and their children took up the offer. But the bus took them to a local dance festival of African culture called Twiza which was being held in Tangiers for some days. When they realised they had been fooled they returned home, and met a group of Moroccan men armed with machetes and sticks who started to hit them.</p><p>Five of the women suffered stab wounds and others suffered abuse. Spanish volunteer, Helena Maleno, was among them and believes the violence is being organised by criminal groups. She was sexually molested by one of the men. She said the Moroccans speech was always the same, ‘We want to clear up here, go to Spain’. Last year an immigrant died when he fell off a wall during a police raid, bringing charges of murderers against the police amid violent scenes as you can seen in the video below.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-64342805042308047482014-08-17T17:34:00.001+01:002014-08-17T17:34:14.164+01:00Ebola Alert In Alicante After Man Taken Ill<p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jyrg9sc5DFFGl3PlK90-tn1vYeFMFlz1iBjd0r0Zb1GBawWHUJjuLWCeTBCSisAm5opwYypHhCCOysNboi6R_AOPuNKjXP90ZzrFUQT6FUFe7nlq27GYkyYvgg5a7Iqkg9w5hhM0MVg/" alt="" width="312" height="211" /></p><p>An ebola alert has been activated in Alicante, Spain, after a young Nigerian man was admitted to hospital with fever and vomiting. Spanish health authorities activated alert protocols after the man showed "several symptoms" of the disease.</p><p>The alert comes a week after a Spanish priest who contracted ebola while working in Liberia died in hospital in Madrid. The man was taken ill in the eastern city of Alicante Father Miguel Pajares was the first European infected by a strain of the virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa.</p><p>He was airlifted from Liberia to Spain on August 7 after becoming infected while working for a non-governmental organisation there. The 75-year-old was flown to Europe for treatment with his co-worker Juliana Bohi, a nun who has since tested negative for the disease. Elsewhere, 17 ebola sufferers have fled a Liberian clinic raided by looters who stole blood-stained sheets - sparking fears the virus will spread.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-18997235390313486022014-08-16T03:23:00.001+01:002014-08-16T03:23:22.608+01:00ISIS terrorists discovered in Morocco<p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo3yWhmdQvbPhyVc5_Dg7AHii7GuSmhL1fWqNyHiXCIbyrI8f1PvmGh7A9YmRO3LcCqThFq2UoYyxFoiRYqm5ytHfkv21UMdz4hI5Bb7SMfwwsnNrAmpQqLCTiCmyA_-N6gQxTdxMjHI/" alt="" width="315" height="174" /></p><p>MOROCCAN anti-terror services working in collaboration with Spanish police officers have broken up a jihadist terror cell in Morocco. In total nine members of the cell, reported to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), were detained on Thursday in the three Moroccan cities of Fes, Tetouan and Fnideq. The terrorists were working to recruit new members to the cell with the objective of sending them off to fight in the conflicts currently underway in Syria and Iraq.</p><p>It is believed that some of the group made frequent visits to the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the north coast of Morocco, with the intention of converting people to their cause and raising financial aid. The Spanish Interior Minister has linked those arrested with ISIS, and confirmed that they had received training in the use of weapons and the manufacture of explosives with the goal of participating in suicide attacks or travelling to conflict zones in the Middle-East.</p><p>It has also come to light that there were plans to carry out a terror attack on Moroccan soil. Computers and other data-storage devices used by the jihadists are currently being examined for evidence of concrete plans. The investigation remains open within the three cities, with police from both nationalities continuing to work together. Government sources commented that the operation reflects on the excellent relationship that exists between Spain and Morocco when combating terror in the region.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-63405806886951394252014-08-16T03:18:00.001+01:002014-08-16T03:18:36.183+01:00Luggage thieves caught at airport<p>THE Guardia Civil have arrested two people under suspicion of stealing suitcases from distracted airport passengers. Within the Guardia Civil brief of the Safer Tourism Plan which has been put in place to prevent theft from tourists visiting Malaga, the officers at the airport have caught two people who were taking national flights with only hand baggage and then taking advantage of distracted tourists arriving at the baggage carousels to steal their luggage while they were looking away. On several occasions they also, allegedly, pick-pocketed passengers as well as taking their hand baggage while they were retrieving their check in luggage. Investigating officers calculate that they have stolen around €21,000 worth of luggage and wallets.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-59455556764804640342014-08-15T09:45:00.001+01:002014-08-15T09:45:08.853+01:00 Ebola outbreak vastly underestimated<p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7OEiRylnZde_1DKqHBOOLdeeHCTTOHS5Up8SBxAvRqn4f3jisJvnbCL8C6qVHOvx-QkLrij4znRq3iCVB_njGahv_NGHnA7pdyb8ZUbdNoXKosKUGh0Jn_rJIQNDKc4Qb0U0yd_Cc3w/" alt="" width="312" height="207" /></p><p>The death toll from the world's worst outbreak of Ebola stood on Wednesday at 1,069 from 1,975 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, the agency said. The majority were in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, while four people have died in Nigeria. The agency's apparent acknowledgement the situation is worse than previously thought could spur governments and aid organisations to take stronger measures against the virus. "Staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak," the organisation said. "WHO is coordinating a massive scaling up of the international response, marshalling support from individual countries, disease control agencies, agencies within the United Nations system, and others." International agencies are looking into emergency food drops and truck convoys to reach hungry people in Liberia and Sierra Leone cordoned off from the outside world to halt the spread of the virus, a top World Bank official said. In the latest sign of action by West African governments, Guinea has declared a public health emergency and is sending health workers to all affected border points, an official said. An estimated 377 people have died in Guinea since the outbreak began in March in remote parts of a border region near Sierra Leone and Liberia. Guinea says its outbreak is under control with the numbers of new cases falling, but the measures are needed to prevent new infections from neighbouring countries.</p><p>"Trucks full of health materials and carrying health personnel are going to all the border points with Liberia and Sierra Leone," Aboubacar Sidiki Diakit president of Guinea's Ebola commission, said late on Wednesday. As many as 3,000 people are waiting at 17 border points for a green light to enter the country, he said. "Any people who are sick will be immediately isolated. People will be followed up on. We can't take the risk of letting everyone through without checks."</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-56395443148161516592014-08-15T09:28:00.001+01:002014-08-15T09:28:30.111+01:00Arrested for allegedly throwing two suitcases of cocaine out of a hotel window <p><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjQ7rKkQUaKDEuc4N1Tps04An-tzVqGXrIWdQtBeGkgb0X1chAQp1Bz8xHr3jr-YP3EU4Qo5Z8MdPuKRtU2ow-UWeaWcYU7lcqqatF5GIDfllA8rPPemtGcWHUHzMciQI_IuIqDSEKPI/" alt="" width="248" height="342" /></p><p>Poice have established that a 39-year-old Irish man who was arrested in Spain after allegedly throwing two suitcases of cocaine out of a hotel window is a criminal who was previously targeted here in a proceeds-of-crime case. The suspect, who remains in custody in Valencia, has been named as Philip Grendon from Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, and also with an address at Spiddal Road, Ballyfermot. Grendon's brother, Brian, is a member of a major west Dublin drugs gang who have been constant targets of gardai for 15 years. Already this year, officers based in Ballyfermot have been involved in the seizure of more than €1m worth of drugs from this crew who are considered one of the most organised and longest-established in the country.</p><p>The bizarre incident for which Grendon was arrested in Valencia happened last Friday just before 10pm at the four-star Tryp Valencia Oceanic Hotel. Police are said to be working on the theory that the alleged drugs trafficker, who had checked into the hotel a few hours earlier, confused noise from other guests entering and leaving their rooms with a rival gang trying to steal his drugs after suffering a paranoia attack. It is alleged that Grendon also removed ceiling tiles in his room, along with an air vent in an apparent attempt to hide the stash.</p><p>The 55kg of cocaine in the cases would have an estimated street value of more than €3.8m in Ireland. Sources who know Grendon say they are "surprised" that he would be trusted by a gang to be in charge of such a huge drugs haul. "Philip was always known to be a paranoid individual, but if what the Spanish police are saying is true, this is taking paranoia to a whole new level," a senior source said. Grendon's younger brother is convicted heroin dealer Brian Grendon (37), who was jailed for six years in December 2002 after he was busted with almost €2m worth of heroin in Palmerstown, west Dublin, the year before. shootings Brian Grendon was previously described in court by a senior detective as being linked to a gang who had in the past "used fatal shootings of anyone who compromised their business".</p><p>Philip Grendon appeared in court in Dublin in February 2012 when gardai prosecuted him under proceeds of crime legislation. Some of his associates were targeted by gardai as part of Operation Jumbo in 2002. They included murder victim David McCreevy (23), who was shot dead in Tallaght in 2002.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-81396249930801362562014-08-13T15:43:00.001+01:002014-08-13T15:43:24.560+01:00 Spain to probe cigarette smuggling Crime.<p> </p><blockquote><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKxhBSQUo9M_Bf5fzQ0mHbAp7exAhgLO2Bly3GTWkyJ-1LczpX44YfytY13yZaFjtbeH222agEsBbMOjwmlgs7qDvppOhKT7ecc6FILuKTFbW86nZdr5m1ZsOeVJO1crfh0XqRD6mV2U/" alt="" width="360" height="200" /></blockquote><blockquote>EU's anti-fraud office on Monday urged Gibraltar and Spain to launch legal action after it found signs that organised crime was behind a rise in cigarette smuggling in southern Spain, AFP reports. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) made the recommendation after completing a probe it launched in August 2013 at the request of Madrid into a sharp rise in cigarette smuggling across the border between Gibraltar and Spain between 2009 and 2013. "The OLAF investigation has raised a number of concerns regarding the link between a significant increase in the size of the Gibraltar market for cigarettes over the past four years and the subsequent increase of cigarette smuggling across the frontier," a spokesman for the anti-fraud office said. "The concerns include indications of the involvement of organised crime," it added. "The OLAF final case report, and recommendations to initiate judicial proceedings related to the findings of the report, have been sent to the Spanish General State Prosecutor and to the Gibraltar Attorney General." Widespread cigarette smuggling between the tiny, low-tax British territory of Gibraltar to Spain is a major irritant in their frayed diplomatic relations. Smugglers buy the cigarettes in large volumes in Gibraltar at a price much lower than is charged in Spain, where the government in 2012 increased the sales tax to help plug a gaping public deficit. Spain in August introduced stringent border checks at its border with Gibraltar, leading to lengthy queues for motorists, in what it said was a move aimed at clamping down on cigarette smuggling.</blockquote><blockquote>But Gibraltar argues the stepped-up border controls are in retaliation for the installation of an artificial reef in its waters that has prevented Spanish boats from fishing there. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo welcomed the anti-fraud office report and said the territory wanted to work together with Spain to investigate the cigarette smuggling. "We wish any necessary investigations in this and in all areas to be carried out jointly between the competent Spanish and Gibraltar authorities in a genuine spirit of cooperation," he said. The government of Gibraltar said cigarette smuggling was already being brought under control thanks to the "draconian" measures it introduced in January. These include the introduction of searches of vehicles crossing into Spain and giving customs and police officers greater powers to fight smuggling. The Spanish government meanwhile said the anti-fraud office's report "justified" its "work in the fight against fraud and the underground economy". Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. London says it will not do so against the wishes of Gibraltarians, who are staunchly pro-British.</blockquote>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-60573868729420624792014-08-13T15:35:00.001+01:002014-08-13T15:35:39.297+01:00First Spaniard dies of Ebola<p>confirmed by the Madrid's health department that a 75-year-old Spanish priest, Miguel Pajares has died in Madrid’s Carlos III hospital from Ebola. The Spanish priest who was recently repatriated from Liberia, Africa last Thursday had been in isolation in Saint John of God hospital in the capital of Monrovia. It is known that he contracted the Ebola virus from the Director of the Hospital after a visit. The director is also known to have died. Miguel Pajares was being treated with an experimental drug ZMapp which is designed to fight the deadly virus, but failed to respond to the medication.</p><p>The drug ZMapp is a treatment that is made by a private US company and is still in intensely early stages and had previously been only tested on monkeys. In a statement the health ministry said that the drug arrived to the hospital late on Saturday evening to treat the 75-year-old. The drug ZMapp though in very early stages, was only allowed by the Spanish drug safety agency under “exceptional importation” to be used in the use of a non-authorised medication because of an incident where a patient’s life is in danger.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-56930258251114301312013-01-22T10:22:00.001+00:002013-01-22T10:22:44.263+00:00Ms Sandiford to be executed for drug trafficking.<p><div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1825 inpage-widget-6296795" style="outline: none; font-size: 1.2em; color: #444444; font-family: arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="storyTop " style="outline: none;"><p style="outline: none;">A British grandmother has been sentenced to death by firing squad for smuggling almost 5kg of cocaine into Bali.</p></span></div><div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1825 inpage-widget-6296940" style="outline: none; font-size: 1.2em; color: #444444; font-family: arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="body " style="outline: none;"><p style="outline: none;">Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May last year after she tried to enter the Indonesian holiday island with illegal drugs worth £1.6 million hidden in her suitcase.</p><p style="outline: none;">Local prosecutors had called for the 56-year-old housewife to be jailed for 15 years. But today there were gasps in the Bali courtroom when a panel of judges announced Ms Sandiford would be executed for drug trafficking.</p><p style="outline: none;">As the shock verdict was announced, Ms Sandiford, from Gloucestershire, slumped back in her chair in tears before hiding her face with a brown sarong as she was led out of the courtroom.</p></div></div></p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-9947136007515749212012-08-25T12:00:00.001+01:002012-08-25T12:00:53.311+01:00During experiments on the axons of the Woods Hole squid (loligo pealei), we tested our cockroach leg stimulus protocol on the squid's chromatophores.<p> </p><p> The results were both interesting and beautiful. The video is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the caudal fin of the squid. We used a suction electrode to stimulate the fin nerve. Chromatophores are pigmeted cells that come in 3 colors: Brown, Red, and Yellow. Each chromatophore is lined with up to 16 muscles that contract to reveal their color.<br /><br />Paloma T. Gonzalez-Bellido of Roger Hanlon's Lab in the Marine Resource Center of the Marine Biological Labs helped us with the preparation. You can read their latest paper at:<a title="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374" dir="ltr" rel="nofollow" href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374" target="_blank">http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G-OVrI9x8Zs" frameborder="0"></iframe></a></p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-36136585453599249462012-08-25T11:44:00.001+01:002012-08-25T11:44:01.008+01:00STAR WARS DETOURS™ Trailer<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-yRNXFhboBI" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-58521521426934794402012-08-25T11:13:00.001+01:002012-08-25T11:13:37.838+01:00The nine people believed injured by stray police gunfire outside the Empire State Building were not the first to learn how dangerous a crowded street can be in a gunfight.<p> Civilians occasionally find themselves in harm's way when officers use deadly force, though usually only a handful of times annually. When that happens, a rigid process of investigation is set in motion — and the police department can reasonably expect a lawsuit. The latest episode came when police say a man disgruntled over losing his job a year ago shot a former colleague to death and pointed his weapon at two police officers in the shadow of a major tourist attraction. He apparently wasn't able to fire before police killed him, one firing off seven rounds and the other nine. Bystanders suffered graze wounds, and some were struck by concrete gouged from buildings by the bullets, authorities said. At least one person said he was actually hit by a bullet. Robert Asika, a 23-year-old tour guide who was hit in the right arm, said he was "100 percent positive" he was shot by a police officer. A witness told police that laid-off clothing designer Jeffrey Johnson fired at officers, but ballistics evidence so far contradicts that, authorities said.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-71179268616505542602012-08-23T16:24:00.001+01:002012-08-23T16:24:11.321+01:00Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related Infection<h1>A Trail of Ink: Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related Infection</h1><div id="storyText"><div id="media"><img src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/ht_tattoo_ink_skin_infection_ll_120822_wg.jpg" border="0" alt="PHOTO: Tattoo ink skin infection" width="640" height="360" /><div><div><div id="main_cap_short"><div>An uncommon skin infection led to a doctor's investigation into tainted tattoo ink. (Monroe County Health Department)</div></div></div></div></div><div id="mediaplayerContainer"><div id="mediaplayer">The reddish-purple rash, seemingly woven into the tattoo on a 20-year-old New Yorker's forearm, was strange enough to have doctors scratching their heads.</div></div><p>This trail began when the man received a tattoo in Rochester, N.Y. in October 2011. A short while later, he noticed the raised, bumpy rash. He called his primary care physician.</p><p>Doctors initially treated the man's arm with topical steroids, thinking that the rash was allergic-contact dermatitis. But that only made the problem worse.</p><p>By the time dermatologist Dr. Mark Goldgeier saw the patient, it was clear that this was no simple allergy.</p><p>He performed a skin biopsy so he could take a closer look at the rash under a microscope. What he saw was startling: the sample was riddled with a wormlike bacterium related to tuberculosis.</p><p>"I explained [to the patient] that he had TB, and he had a look of horror on his face," Goldgeier said.</p><p>For the patient, the finding meant a trip to an infectious disease specialist to start up to a full year of treatment.</p><p>Goldgeier, meanwhile, called the Monroe County Health Department.</p><p>"As soon as biopsy came back," he said, "I knew something in the process of tattooing was involved -- the ink, the water used for dilution, the syringes, the dressings."</p><p>And so began a nationwide medical mystery.</p><div id="rel_2"><div>An article published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine describes how this one dermatologist helped connect the dots in an outbreak of tattoo-related atypical skin infections.</div></div><p>Dr. Byron Kennedy, public health specialist at Monroe County Department of Public Health, took over the case from Goldgeier. Kennedy first confirmed the results by repeating a skin biopsy on the patient. Once again, tendrils of mycobacterium chelonae, a type of tuberculosis-related skin bacteria, showed up in the sample.</p><p>Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing bug found in soil, dust, water, animals, hospitals, and contaminated pharmaceuticals. This family of bacteria does not commonly affect healthy individuals, but in patients with suppressed immune systems -- like those with HIV or on chemotherapy -- these bacteria can cause serious disease, often resulting in death.</p><p>The finding sent Kennedy and his associates to the tattoo parlor where the patient had been inked. Everything in the clinic was sterile, which made it unlikely that the infection had arisen there. But the tattoo artist, they learned, had been using a new gray premixed ink purchased in Arizona in April 2011; he used the ink between May and December 2011.</p><p>The ingredients of the ink -- pigment, witch hazel, glycerin, and distilled water -- seemed innocuous enough. But further examination revealed that the distilled water in the pigment was the likely culprit of the contamination.</p><p>The finding raised a number of questions -- not the least of which was how the bottles of premixed ink passed U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.</p><p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged this gap in regulations Wednesday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report.</p><p>"Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, tattoo inks are considered to be cosmetics, and the pigments used in the inks are color additives requiring premarket approval," the report says.</p></div>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-52021310060035964662012-08-23T11:57:00.001+01:002012-08-23T11:57:56.609+01:00Armed gang fight breaks out in Venezuelan prison <p>Twenty-five people were killed and 43 others hurt in a prison battle in Venezuela as two armed gangs vied for control of a penitentiary near Caracas, authorities said on Monday.</p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-2306876636865487942012-08-23T01:59:00.001+01:002012-08-23T01:59:54.363+01:00Artist Draws 8,628 Self-Portraits Under the Influence of Love and Other Drugs<p><div id="gallery-658"><div id="blog_slideshow_previous_next"><div><img title="Normal Face" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Normal-face.jpg" alt="Normal Face" /></div></div><br /><div><p>This self-portrait by Bryan Lewis Saunders shows his "normal face," but the other 8,000-plus images he's created over the past 16 years go into some pretty strange territory.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Drugs: Psilocybin Mushrooms" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Drugs-1-Psilocybin-Mushrooms.jpg" alt="Drugs: Psilocybin Mushrooms" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Drugs: Psilocybin Mushrooms</h2><p> </p><p>"I wanted to see how drugs changed my self-perception," Saunders said. "So I drew myself under the influence of a wide variety of them."</p></div><br /><div><img title="Drugs: Bath Salts" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Drugs-2-Bath-Salts.jpg" alt="Drugs: Bath Salts" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Drugs: Bath Salts</h2><p> </p><p>A self-portrait of Saunders after taking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_salts_(drug)">bath salts</a>.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Third Ear Experiment 2" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Third-Ear-Experiment-2.jpg" alt="Third Ear Experiment 2" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Third Ear Experiment, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>Another self-portrait from the Third Ear Experiment series.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Third Ear Experiment 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Third-Ear-Experiment-1.jpg" alt="Third Ear Experiment 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Third Ear Experiment, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"For 28 days I blocked up my external ears and attached a copper funnel to my mouth in an effort to connect my Eustachian tubes to my pineal gland by physically rerouting the way in which sound entered my body," Saunders said of the Third Ear Experiment series.</p></div><br /><div><img title="I'm All Out Of Hair I'm So Lost Without You 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Im-All-Out-Of-Hair-Im-So-Lost-Without-You-1.jpg" alt="I'm All Out Of Hair I'm So Lost Without You 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>I'm All Out Of Hair, I'm So Lost Without You, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"I shaved my body hair and used it in my self-portraits to make e-cards letting people know how much I missed them." Saunders said.</p></div><br /><div><img title="I'm All Out Of Hair I'm So Lost Without You" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Im-All-Out-Of-Hair-Im-So-Lost-Without-You-2.jpg" alt="I'm All Out Of Hair I'm So Lost Without You" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>I'm All Out Of Hair, I'm So Lost Without You, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>Another body-hair-inspired piece.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Died: Great Aunt" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Died-Great-Aunt-2.jpg" alt="Died: Great Aunt" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Died: Great Aunt</h2><p> </p><p>Saunders describes his Died series as capturing "the difference between when a stranger or family member dies." This image was inspired by the death of his great aunt.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Died: Neighbor" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Died-Neighbor-1.jpg" alt="Died: Neighbor" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Died: Neighbor</h2><p> </p><p>Another self-portrait in theDied series, this time inspired by a deceased neighbor.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Naked Yoga: Casa Setu Bandha Sarvangasana" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Naked-Yoga-1-Casa-Setu-Bandha-Sarvangasana.jpg" alt="Naked Yoga: Casa Setu Bandha Sarvangasana" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Naked Yoga: Casa Setu Bandha Sarvangasana</h2><p> </p><p>"I tried to do yoga and was using art as an incentive, but I think I waited too late in life to start," Saunders said of his Naked Yoga series.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Imperfect Face 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Imperfect-Face-1.jpg" alt="Imperfect Face 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>My Drawings Aren't Messed Up, It's the Symmetry of My Face, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"Using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio">golden ratio</a> and other ideas from geometry, I was trying to locate the precise imperfections of my face," Saunders said.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Imperfect Face 2" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Imperfect-Face-2.jpg" alt="Imperfect Face 2" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>My Drawings Aren't Messed Up, It's the Symmetry of My Face, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>Another self-portrait Saunders did based on the proportions of his face.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Facing Fear: Heights" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Facing-Fear-2-heights.jpg" alt="Facing Fear: Heights" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Facing Fear: Heights</h2><p> </p><p>"I wanted to use art to overcome some of my fears, so I drew myself while facing them," Saunders said of the portraits he did about confronting his fears. "A sort of 'exposure therapy.'"</p></div><br /><div><img title="Facing Fears: Trains" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Facing-Fears-1-trains.jpg" alt="Facing Fears: Trains" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Facing Fear: Trains</h2><p> </p><p>Saunders facing his fear of trains.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Popular Toys 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Popular-Toys-1.jpg" alt="Popular Toys 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Popular Toys, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"From time to time I use art to revitalize myself," said Saunders of his Popular Toys series, in which he uses iconic playthings "to help bring out my inner child." This one is the artist as Mr. Potato Head.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Popular Toys 2" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Popular-Toys-2.jpg" alt="Popular Toys 2" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Popular Toys, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>This image in the Popular Toys series depicts a My Little Pony toy.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Psycho-Anatomy 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Psycho-Anatomie-1.jpg" alt="Psycho-Anatomy 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Psycho-Anatomy, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"Finding and connecting the similarities between different organs in the body," Saunders said of hisPsycho-Anatomy series. This image depicts the digestive system.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Psycho-Anatomy 2" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Psycho-Anatomie-2.jpg" alt="Psycho-Anatomy 2" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Psycho-Anatomy, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>This image in Saunders' Psycho-Anatomy series depicts the brain.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Quitting Smoking 1" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Quitting-Smoking-1.jpg" alt="Quitting Smoking 1" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Quitting Smoking, No. 1</h2><p> </p><p>"I wanted to see how quitting smoking changed my self-perception," Saunders said of the Quitting Smoking series. "I think I lasted a month before I started again."</p></div><br /><div><img title="Quitting Smoking 2" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Quitting-Smoking-2.jpg" alt="Quitting Smoking 2" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Quitting Smoking, No. 2</h2><p> </p><p>Another self-portrait from the Quitting Smoking series.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Sensation: Ear Nibbles" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Sensation-1-Ear-Nibbles.jpg" alt="Sensation: Ear Nibbles" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Sensation Drawings: Ear Nibbles</h2><p> </p><p>"[This is] A project I did with my girlfriend to see how different and similar we felt the same physical sensations in or on our bodies," Saunders said of his Sensation Drawings series.</p></div><br /><div><img title="Sensation: Tummy Caresses" src="http://www.wired.com/underwire/wp-content/gallery/self-portrait-series-resized/Sensation-2-Tummy-Caresses.jpg" alt="Sensation: Tummy Caresses" /></div><br /><div><p> </p><h2>Sensation Drawings: Tummy Caresses</h2><p> </p><p>A self-portrait from Saunders' Sensation Drawings series based on the feeling of a stomach caress.</p></div><br /><div id="blog_slideshow_previous_next"><div>View as gallery</div></div></div><p> </p><p>As of this moment, Bryan Lewis Saunders has drawn 8,628 self-portraits. By the end of the day, he’ll have completed 8,629. And although he’s recently become known as the guy who draws under the influence of drugs, his creations have been inspired by everything from death to body hair over the years.</p><p>“All day every day, images and feelings of the world come into me and it’s inescapable,” said Saunders in an e-mail to Wired. “So I thought if I did a self-portrait every day for the rest of my life, with no rules, the world and I could be more linked to my nervous system. And I could die knowing that I tried to experience as much as possible while I was alive.”</p><p>Saunders, a 43-year-old Virginia native who currently lives in Tennessee, comes off looking like the art world’s Louis C.K. in his wildly diverse images. He began his self-portrait experiment on March 30, 1995, after an art-history class discussion about the prevalence of artists who put themselves into images of the world around them. He didn’t entirely agree with that tack, so he flipped the concept on its head. (See his “normal face” self-portrait, which is the first image in the gallery above.)</p><p><span id="more-118648"> </span></p><p>Over the years, he’s created self-portraits based on love, the loss of family members and neighbors, his attempts at quitting smoking and the time he shaved off his body hair. And even though he’s not a “brony,” he once drew inspiration from My Little Pony. In the process, the amazingly prolific artist has opened a weird little window into life in modern America.</p><p>For the series based on his experiments with recreational and prescription drugs, he took everything from cocaine and Abilify to cough syrup and computer duster, then drew while under the influence. The resulting self-portraits range from intricately beautiful (psychedelic mushrooms) to insanely brutal (bath salts).</p><p>He’s undertaken other strange adventures as well, using the unusual experiences to generate unique imagery. “For 28 days I blocked up my external ears and attached a copper funnel to my mouth in an effort to connect my Eustachian tubes to my pineal gland by physically rerouting the way in which sound entered my body,” he said of his Third Ear Experiment.</p><div>“Only a severe stroke or coma could stop me from completing the self-portrait-a-day work.”</div><p>To date, Saunders has filled stacks of sketchbooks with his drawings — some days he does as many as nine of them. For the first decade of the project, the self-portraits were his primary artistic outlet. (In addition to drawing, Saunders now also does spoken word and performance art, and collaborates with musicians).</p><p>He doesn’t have any plans to stop cranking out the creative images. “Only a severe stroke or coma could stop me from completing the self-portrait-a-day work,” Saunders said.</p><p>Even though he’s had offers over the years to show his self-portraits at galleries, he’s been wary to hand them all over for fear of losing his life’s work. (He once had an entire exhibition stolen and had another sculpture vandalized during a show.) However, a collection of his drug-influenced self-portraits will be on display early next year at La Maison Rouge in Paris.</p></p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756040206180789416.post-84852500816724146792012-08-17T10:56:00.001+01:002012-08-17T10:56:36.207+01:00ADDICTION charity Focus12 has received a huge financial boost after a codumentary about Russell Brand was shown last night. <p><p>The documentary Russell Brand: Addiction to Recovery resulted in an immediate boost in donations and inspired the managing director of Bury St Edmunds based Chevington Finance and Leasing to offer the charity £106,000 over three years.</p><div><p>Russell Brand attended Focus12, the Bury St Edmunds abstinence-based alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre, in 2003 and is now a patron of the charity, describing it as ‘a really excellent example of a small cost effective rehab that can help people change in dramatic ways’.</p><p>Chip Somers, Focus12’s chief executive, said: “Russell’s documentary and his work this year to raise the profile of abstinence based recovery has got people talking about addiction in a different way, and made them realise that there is a viable alternative to simply giving up on addicts, or parking them on methadone.</p><p>“We are blown away by the generosity of Chevington — this financial support will make a huge difference to us as a charity and will certainly mean we can continue to stay open and help those who need us for longer. Raising funds for a recovery charity has never been harder than it is at present, every day is literally a struggle to keep afloat and we are very grateful.”</p><p>Clive Morris, Managing Director of Chevington Finance and Leasing said: “My wife and I were incredibly touched by last night’s documentary, which inspired us to endorse the local treatment centre Focus12, and we have today agreed funding assistance for the charity of £106,000 over the next 4 years.</p><p>“We believe that as a successful, responsible and reliable company we have a duty to help local charities survive this recession and the work that Chip Somers and his team do is fantastic and we fully endorse their abstinence based programme and have seen what a difference it makes to people’s lives.”</p></div></p>Social Enterprizehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14153857276010480807noreply@blogger.com0