Vote for

International Medical
Corps to Help Children in Need
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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Your click could mean
$1.5 million for
malnourished children
around the world
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International Medical Corps has been matched to one of the Top 25 in American Express’ Members Projects, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’

Chosen out of 1,190 projects, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children” is now eligible to receive up to $1.5 million in funding. The project with the most votes receives $1.5 million, 2nd receives $500,000, 3rd $300,000, and 4th and 5th $100,000. The funding – made possible by your votes – would bring a vital lifeline to hungry and malnourished children around the world.

We need your help between now and September 29th. Voting is easy and doesn’t cost a thing! In just a click, you can save the lives of thousands of malnourished children. Click here to vote:

For severely malnourished children, we offer a step-by-step treatment program that gives them what they need to recover, including nutrient-dense food supplements like the peanut-based product, Plumpy'Nut. Our comprehensive monitoring system saves more than 90 percent of children being treated in our feeding centers. Being one of the Top 5 would mean our nutrition could reach more children around the world who need our help.

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CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

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Hunger and malnutrition kill more people in the world than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. As food prices rise, this funding is even more critical. More people are being driven deeper into poverty trying to afford basic staples. Many have nothing to eat at all. Your vote makes it possible for fewer young lives to be lost because they do not have enough to eat.

Getting the word out to your friends and family makes a huge difference! Forward this link to a friend and you bring us that much closer to the $1.5 million to help malnourished children around the world!
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.© 2008 - Ben Heine
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About International Medical Corps :

International Medical Corps (IMC) is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs.

Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, IMC is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide.

By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, IMC rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance. (Source)

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Flashed

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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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The Creation
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By James Weldon Johnson

And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely--
I'll make me a world.

And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That's good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his hands
Until he made the sun;
And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said: That's good!

Then God himself stepped down--
And the sun was on his right hand,
And the moon was on his left;
The stars were clustered about his head,
And the earth was under his feet.
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then he stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And he spat out the seven seas--
He batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed--
He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled--
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around his shoulder.

Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said: That's good!

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon,
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.

Then God sat down--
On the side of a hill where he could think;
By a deep, wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought: I'll make me a man!

Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;
This great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in is his own image;

Then into it he blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen.Amen.
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(The poem appeared on
famouspoetsandpoems.com)

PS : I took the picture on
a motorway in Portugal

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A Long Life Behind

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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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Old Woman
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By Carl Sandburg

The owl-car clatters along, dogged by the echo
From building and battered paving-stone.
The headlight scoffs at the mist,
And fixes its yellow rays in the cold slow rain;
Against a pane I press my forehead
And drowsily look on the walls and sidewalks.

The headlight finds the way
And life is gone from the wet and the welter--
Only an old woman, bloated, disheveled and bleared.
Far-wandered waif of other days,
Huddles for sleep in a doorway,
Homeless.


(Poem's source: Repeatafterus.com)

PS : I met this woman
and her little dog in
Lisbon, Portugal.
God bless her Soul.
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Belém Tower
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

Belém Tower is a fortified tower located in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal.

It was built in the early 16th century in the Portuguese late Gothic style, the Manueline, to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition. This defensive, yet elegant construction has become one of the symbols of the city, a memorial to the Portuguese power during the Age of the Great Discoveries. In 1983 it was classified, together with the nearby Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Belém Tower was built both as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon and as part of a defense system of the entrance of the Tagus river and the Jerónimos Monastery, which was necessary to protect Lisbon. The system was initiated by King John II (1455-1495), who built the Fortress of Cascais and the Fortress of São Sebastião of Caparica. The banks of Belém were protected by a ship, the Grande Nau, replaced by the Tower of Belém during the last five years of the reign of King Manuel I.

The Tower was constructed between 1515 and 1521 by military architect Francisco de Arruda, who had already built several fortresses in Portuguese possessions in Morocco. The influence of the Moorish decorative art is manifest in delicate decorations of the arched windows and balconies and in the ribbed cupolas of the watch towers. Diogo de Boitaca, first architect of the nearby Monastery of the Jerónimos, probably also participated in decorating the building. The machicolation and the battlements are decorated with the rich sculptural ornamentations of the Manueline style.

Originally, the Tower stood on a little island on the right side of the Tagus, surrounded by water. Opposite the beach at Restelo, with the progressive southward creeping of the shore over the years, it is now practically moored to the bank itself. It was dedicated to the patron saint of Lisbon, St Vincent.

In 1580, when Lisbon was invaded by Spanish troops in the course of a struggle for the Portuguese throne, the Tower fought and surrendered to the Duke of Alba. In the following centuries the Tower was mainly used as a prison (with the underground cellars regularly flooding) and as a custom house. Indeed, given its height and lack of dissimulation in the landscape, some historians believe the Tower was mostly intended to serve as a customs outpost.

In the 1840s, under the impulse of romantic writer Almeida Garrett, the Tower of Belém was restored by King Ferdinand II. At this point many neo-manueline decorative elements were added to the building. It was declared a National Monument in 1910. --> More
Source : Wikipedia

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--> I took the photo in Belém, Portugal

The Silence
of the Village
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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The Deserted Village

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By Oliver Goldsmith

Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain,
Where health and plenty cheered the labouring swain,
Where smiling spring its earliest visits paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed:
Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease,
Seats of my youth, where every sport could please,
How often have I loitered o'er your green,
Where humble happiness endeared each scene;
How often have I paused on every charm,
The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm,
The never-failing brook, the busy mill,
The decent church that topped the neighbouring hill,
The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade,
For talking age and whispering lovers made;
How often have I blessed the coming day,
When toil remitting lent its turn to play,
And all the village train, from labour free,
Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree:
While many a pastime circled in the shade,
The young contending as the old surveyed;
And many a gambol frolicked o'er the ground,
And sleights of art and feats of strength went round;
And still as each repeated pleasure tired,
Succeeding sports the mirthful band inspired;
The dancing pair that simply sought renown
By holding out to tire each other down!
The swain mistrustless of his smutted face,
While secret laughter tittered round the place;
The bashful virgin's sidelong look of love,
The matron's glance that would those looks reprove:
These were thy charms, sweet village; sports like these,
With sweet succession, taught even toil to please;
These round thy bowers their cheerful influence shed,
These were thy charms -But all these charms are fled.

(Read the full poem)

PS : I took the picture
in Saint Léon, France
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Locked In
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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Upside Down World
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By Mary Frances W Williamson

O World you seem upside down.
I feel locked in.
Life has a fleeting moment to give,
Men's souls are tried, some win.
Like the oak tree tough they stand,
Survivor's of the hard times.
When you see the hope your spared,
Go for it! Beware of the bad stuff.
Life is brief and fast moving.
Keep your sails in motion, proving.
Sunset is close; not far away.
Live today as it were your last day!

(The poem appeared on Authorsden.com)

PS : This is a photo of a sculpture
by the American artist Tom Otterness.
I took it in The Hague, Netherlands
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Exhibition of Stefaan Provijn
at the European Cartoon Center
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(Photo by Jan Oplinus)

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Stefaan Provijn, better known as "Stef" (in the middle on the photo), a renowned Belgian cartoonist, was having a solo exhibition at the European Cartoon Center. It was fantastic to meet him personally.

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STEF was born in 1960 in Deinze (Belgium). He studied Applied Arts at the Royal Academy of Ghent.

He works as freelance grafical designer and illustrator for a.o. Bellewaerde Park, Agfa, Sunparks, Nutricia, Kluwer, Versele, De Post, Interhome, Unizo, for the publishers Wolters Plantyn, Infodok, Van In ...

He made advertising visuals for a.o. Brico, Perrier, Pepsi, ClubMed, Nivea, InBev, H&M, Spa, Sony, Ferrero, Ikea, Fiat, 20th Century Fox, Media Markt, Masterfoods, Ethias, Electrabel, Henkel, Palmolive, National Lotery...

He won prizes in lots of cartoon contests a.o. Knokke-Heist, Bree, Sint-Truiden, Olen, Boechout...

See a cartoon by Stef

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Rudy Gheysens is the current President of the European Cartoon Center (ECC)

Report on Lobbies in Europe
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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Brussels on the ground:
European Bubble
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Interview's excerpts of Yiorgos Vassalos,
Lorenzo Morselli and Thomas Huddleston
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By Marco Riciputi *
(Translation by Annika Thornton)

The image of the lobbyist is a part of the Brussels political landscape. These groups work in the spotlight, but also have a consulting role in the legislative process. Is this mature democracy or a skills deficit in Europe?

«There is relative transparency inside the bubble, points out the young American. You know the person, the donors, the different position - everyone understands each other really well.» Tom Huddleston, Policy Analyst.
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Yiorgos Vassalos, Corporate Europe Observatory

« It is clear that most of the experts come from governments. There is industry participation in 32% of all expert groups. We are aware of many examples where industry representatives are more than the half of the members of an Expert Group and this is on very controversial and critical issues such as textile, biotechnology and climate change. In this cases, the European Commission is formulating policies based almost wholly on the advice of those stakeholders who have a direct commercial interest The lack of transparency prevent us from knowing how many such cases exist. »

Lorenzo Morselli, Parliamentary assistant

« Without the lobbyists we couldn’t even legislate. You are not slaves to those guys. You know they represent someone, they have particular interests, you know what they might try to do when they give you their arguments. »

Tom Huddleston, Policy Analyst

« Lobby would not disappear if we became more democratic. But if I had more trust in the elected officials, then I don’t mind if the elected official gets opinions from different organizations. »

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* Marco Riciputi is an Italian journalist, I met him, last summer in Brussels. I made fast portraits of Yiorgos Vassalos, Lorenzo Morselli and Thomas Huddleston in a café while Marco was interviewing them for CafeBabel. It was a very interesting collaboration.

--> This report appeared on CafeBabel and on Linea

Little me
with Odette
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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This is a very old photo (poor quality, it hurts the eyes, sorry) showing my nurse Odette and me as a child when I was living in Ivory Coast, Africa, from 1983 to 1990. I realize just now how pretty and courageous she was. I miss her.

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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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These cute African kids used to be my close friends when I was living in Ivory Coast, Africa, from 1983 to 1990. Such a sweet memory. Childhood Nostalgia.

Other old shots from my childhood : [link] and [link]

Recent Sketches

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Take Me To You
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Turn Back The Time
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No title
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Devoured
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Almost Free
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No title
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Why Not Sharing More
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

Unheard
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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The Hanging of
the Innocent Man

By Cullen M. Waters

I see not from eyes within
I hear not over the rising din
I feel not the growing breeze
I speak not with frightening ease

The way I travel, once white with snow
Is but the way I dare not go
And growing great gray clouds do shed
Icy cold tears upon my head
When I stumble here unto the ground
As darkness threatens without a sound

Oh, what sin have I committed?
To which great crime have I admitted?
What dread deed do I dare not see?
By what right must this be?

I see not from eyes without
I hear not though they scream and shout
I feel not save the growing fear
I speak not now bleak Death draws near

White noose around my neck grows taunt
And this life no longer I haunt
The gray people around me they do gasp
Why they did this I cannot grasp
But as darkness ends this awful dream
A last thing I try to scream

“What sin did I commit!
To what great crime did I admit!
‘Tis your dread deed you dare not see?
By what right you let this be?”

All cry innocence in Death’s sweet face
But none escape His tight embrace
No matter what truth appeared
Nor what truth was truly feared

(The poem appeared on welltuncares.wordpress.com)

PS : This is a sketch I made while I was abroad

Mc Donald's in Gold Letters

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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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A very posh "Mc Do"
in the center of
Lisbon, Portugal...

See 2 illustrations
I made earlier on
Mc Donald's and
"Mcdonaldization" :

[link]
[link]

The Little Church
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© 2008 - Ben Heine

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A Little Country Church
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By Pearlie Duncan Walker

‘Twas a little frame Country Church, standing over there.
Many times, I walked this way, under parents' loving care.

We had a special pew, room enough for a babe to have a bed,
As we sat quietly and listened to what the preacher said.

He was a man of God. The Spirit of God, through him, truly ran.
God’s words he spoke to us. He was a Godly man.

We would sing the songs of old, about our Savior’s love
And how awesome it would be when we get to Heaven above.

Our Church was out in the country, beside a lovely wood.
We’d listen to the gentle breeze blowing through the trees, as oft as we could.

It seemed so peaceful, the little Church ever so full of Grace.
Wouldn’t it be a wonder, someday, just to go back and see this place?

I can almost hear the singing now, about how amazing was God’s love;
How the river of life was ever flowing in Heaven, there, above.

When a soul was saved by grace, the Angels would shout and sing
For the victory of our Savior, to Heaven, more souls to bring.

There aren’t as many little Churches, today, standing closely by.
We would have to go back to yesterday, maybe break down and cry.

But those days are gone forever. For, now, we have Churches of brick and stone.
But if we can still, in our hearts go back, then it’s never really gone.

(The poem appeared on Abundantfun.com)

PS : I took the picture in Saint Leon, France

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SOME RECENT PHOTOS
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(click to enlarge)

SOME RECENT ILLUSTRATIONS
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(click to enlarge)

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© 2008 - Ben Heine
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