His art always make a not-so-subtle social statement. His rats, perhaps, representing the “rat race” of modern society.

To any graffiti artist, an unadorned wall takes on the temptation of an artist’s easel.

When Israel built the controversial 436 mile long security barrier to separate itself from the Palestinian Authority controlled areas, they might as well have sent out an invitation to Banksy at the same time!

He is quoted by The Mail Online as saying: “The segregation wall is a disgrace…The possibility I find exciting is that you could turn the world’s most invasive and degrading structure into the world’s longest gallery of free speech and bad art.” A UK television station, Channel 4, ran a news item quoting Banksy’s attitude to the wall: “It turns Palestine into the world’s largest open prison,” and described the wall as “the ultimate Graffiti Artists’ holiday destination.” While his political views are open for debate, his art is still unquestionably intriguing.

So with this huge canvas available, Banksy took his “holiday” in 2005.

Whilst probably not the safest place to carry out such a bold undertaking; with his prepared stencils, he probably got away with it because of the speed in which he was able to do it.

On his website Banksy recalled one incident when he was approached by some soldiers:

“Soldier: 'What the f*** are you doing?'
Banksy: 'You'll have to wait ‘til it's finished'
Soldier (to colleagues): 'Safetys off…'”

This is only one part of the approximately 6 mile long stretch of the walled section of the security barrier. The remaining is predominantly fencing and creates a border between the Palestinian Authority controlled areas and Israel, as one of the starting points in a workable two-state solution.

What drove him to take the risk of either Palestinian police or Israeli soldiers potentially opening fire?

Rachel Campbell Johnson, art critic for The Times Online, offers the following explanation, "[The wall is] like a red rag to a bull. You’re going to want to cover it in work. Also it may be a publicity stunt in a way. But to have a politically repressive situation to react against is enormously important for many artists. It gives them something to react against; something to give meaning and importance to their work."

Is it simply a publicity stunt? If so, who is the publicity for? For himself? For the existence of the wall, or the people on both sides cut off by the wall?

There will always be issues to debate. Of the wall itself, Israel claims it is a security measure. The Palestinian Authority claims that it is an attempt to grab land.

However he also recounts that an old man came up to him and told him that he was making the wall look beautiful. Banksy thanked him. The old man replied, “We don’t want it to be beautiful. We hate that wall. Go away.”

The publicity was, however, still appreciated. In 2007, Banksy and several other graffiti artists were invited to produce works in Bethlehem as part of an exhibition.

Through his PR spokeswoman Banksy said that he hoped the art would "attract tourists to Bethlehem."

Banksy still remains anonymous. The words attributed to him were originally sourced from his website or spokesperson.

All images are from Flickr.

In Global Marketing and World Economy, I wrote about the Regional Trade Blocs created by East Asian nations who are designing to drain our currency through trade deficit. The current economic meltdown, I feel, is the result of a trickle down effect of the staggering growth of our trade deficit and the huge amount of US dollars that is being held in the national reserves of these Eastern nations. The rate of our deficit has grown to the point where we have lost more revenue in the last 10 years than what we have expended internationally in the entire history of our nation. That is pretty staggering when you think about it.

So what should we do? We have a unique opportunity to remedy our US economic infrastructure on many levels at once. First of all, instead of lending money to the US based banks and lending institutions, the US government should be paying the balance of the foreclosed loans and eventually carry the mortgages themselves when these properties are resold so the these Fannie Mae type loans can bring interest income into our economy in a way that can benefit us all.

Another remedy is to also encourage US based corporation to become more involved in global marketing. Many corporations such as McDonalds now have multiple global marketing plans designed to appeal to hundreds of nations. The United States needs to have a strong presence in the global marketplace.

Our government also needs to take steps to discourage outsourcing US jobs to foreign countries. Many US corporations are taking away jobs that were previously held by US citizens by building assembly and manufacturing plants in countries whose economy is so poor that getting paid half the wages that would disgruntle US workers, seems like a fortune. So basically, the United States is now paying to line the pockets of US corporations that are willing to do anything in order to increase profits.

Another problem to be addressed is the trade deficit. So many millions of dollars are being siphoned into the federal reserves of these East Asian nations that it has resulted in a very poor positioning in terms of global economics and global economy. What needs to be done here is to understand that, as a nation, we are selling our nation out by purchasing any product that is manufactured in the nations involved in these trade blocs. Responsibility for this is on a personal level.

The daughters, now 62 and 63 years old, say that their mother knew that the assaults were occurring.  In their home grace was said before all meals.  They were raised strictly and religiously and were beaten if they did not finish their meals.  If they were caught dancing, he would kick them as punishment.  They were also sexually assaulted when their father would join them in their beds at night.  The sexual assaults went on for years and when they tried to tell people what was happening, no one believed them.

As the daughters became adults they suffered from depression and alcoholism.  One of the daughters even became suicidal and felt that she had no choice but to confront her father.  In 2004 after their mother died, the daughters confronted the father about their abusive pasts.  When he claimed to have no remorse for what he had done, they knew they had to prosecute him.  They worried about his continuing contact with young girls.  Mr. Hamelin often volunteers to be Santa Claus in the senior's residence where he lives.  The daughters hope that this tradition of having children sit on his lap ends immediately and that he is banned from contact with all minors.  They don't foresee him spending any time in jail though because of his age and health conditions.

Mr. Hamelin denies all claims, for the most part.  He has said that he never touched or beat his daughters except for once "by accident".  He attests his innocence and claims that his only crime was bringing the two girls into the world in the first place.  The daughters want to help all victims to come forward against their tormentors, even if it is their father.  Their young lives were a living hell as their father was a "monster".  Perhaps this guilty verdict will give the women some closure after all of this time.

News broke out when an anonymous person left a notice beside the tree,  stating that  a monkey was searching for his father, the Monkey God, that had been released by the accident. Believing it as a sign of good omen, people from far and wide gathered at the tree to pray for good luck. 

Surprisingly, a number of devoted residents had struck lottery with the lucky number 4309, which was derived by merging the housing block (near the tree) number 430  and the position of the Monkey in its 9th place of the Chinese Zodiac.    

Being a sign of good omen, these two monkey-like figures appeared on this tree after a car accident split open its bark. 

This banana, being the monkey's favourite food, was left by a believer who prayed for good luck and lottery numbers. The winning lottery number 4309 was derived from this tree.

The crowd came from all over Singapore to pay respect to the tree and left fruits, peanuts, joss sticks and flowers.

A usually peaceful neighbourhood had suddenly become packed with people overnight.

Unusual phenomenon is rare in Singapore. As this is a small country, such news will make it to the headlines overnight through media coverage. The older generation of the population is superstitious and they are great believers of anything that can bring them good luck. To strike it rich is the best thing that can ever happen to them. 

Hurricane Gustav threatens the Gulfcoast with its 115 mph winds as it prepares to land ashore.

Hurricane Gustav can cause potential damage to South Alabama, South and Central Mississippi, the majority of Lousiana, and a portion of Texas.

However, when you tune in to the Weather Channel, most of what you will see and hear about is New Orleans, La.

Hurricane Katrina was devastating for a vast majority of people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

South and Central Mississippians lived for weeks without Power, Water, Home Phones, or Cell Phones. Many were trapped in their homes due to the excessive amount of down trees, power poles and power lines.

Adults were having heat strokes and children were covered in heat rashes. People were hungry and thirsty beyond what most of us could imagine. No one in the Country even realized that many of the cities/counties were in trouble until a minimum of 1-2 weeks later, when phones were restored in the areas and the mayors were able to make phone calls pleading for assistance.

Many people were hospitalized (in Mississippi) due to Hurricane Katrina, and many people were killed due to Hurricane Katrina. Other than the storm itself, there were several instances where there were murders over bags of ice.

The situation in New Orleans, La. during Hurricane Katrina was devastating. The amount of people that decided to stay, and the amount of deaths is almost unbelievable.

But at the same time, we do not need to forget about the remainder of the state, and the surrounding states when present and future Hurricanes approach.

When individuals from nearby states are debating on evacuating, they will not get any information nor help from the Weather Channel.

If you do not get local news and weather, you may be up the creek without a paddle.

It is easy. Ray Nagin and his ilk appealed to their baser desires. First he offered a handout, something for nothing. The federal government would house them, protect them, feed them, rebuild for them, keep them dry even thought they were below sea level. Why not go back? He promised them a chocolate city. Imagine if a mayor of a devastated city had promised his citizens a vanilla city? Think about that one.

Most people who see flooding live above sea level, above the level of the river nearby, and often above the usual high water mark but not a significant portion of New Orleans. They live BELOW SEA level. And they wonder why it floods. The answer is very simple. Everything has to work right for them to stay dry. And it did for a long time. Until Katrina. The local politicians stole the money for levees. The contractors built them with inferior steel but were paid for premium. Katrina was a planned disaster, planned by dishonest politicians. And worse, those dishonest politicians were also inept at leadership.

Some of the police, gone soured by seeing the leaders of the city steal and without effective leadership left their posts. Let me say this. It wasn't their fault. It was predictable. It is amazing that many of the police did belly up to their jobs and did them well. New Orleans should get down on their knees and thank God for them rather than engaging in depravity.

Much of the city was a morass of depravity, when courage and fortitude was needed, it was not there. Many didn't even have the good sense to leave AFTER the flood waters rose. And Nagin and Blanko discouraged them from leaving! I'm not a big Ed Rendell fan but he came through for the victims of Katrina. He had the state of Pennsylvania open centers to take the refugees in, help them find permanent or temporary housing, jobs, schools, until such time as they wished to return. He opened the door for people to come, not to take them captive but to give them a place of safety. Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanko nixed that after several centers were set up. Only a few people came while many were crying they had no home, no job, no school for their kids. In addition to what the state did, churches and charities geared to help. Some of those people would have come to Pennsylvania and returned to New Orleans. Some would have stayed. The ones who did would not be running from Gustav today.

And we wouldn't be getting ready to bail out New Orleans again. NO way….

The Villages at Loreto Bay is currently the largest sustainable resort community under development in North America. This $3 billion community in Baja California Sur, Mexico will create a series of seaside villages of approximately 6,000 homes on 8,000 acres along the Sea of Cortés. Loreto Bay serves as a model of sustainable construction management, marine conservation, wind energy, and estuary restoration.

“Sustainable development is a reality at Loreto Bay,” said Jim Grogan, president and CEO of the Loreto Bay Company. “We'll produce more energy from renewable sources than we consume; we'll harvest more potable water than we use; and there will be more biodiversity, biomass and habitat than existed when we started. We're proud to set this standard and hope that future developers in Baja California Sur will follow suit.”

Grogan's goal is to become an international model for how development can enrich an existing community while remaining economically viable. His vision of stewardship includes conservation, protection, enhancement, and regeneration that support the social, economic and environmental needs of the community.

“Our vision is driven by our belief in the future.”

Sustainable development at Loreto Bay not only includes a sustainable environmental and a sustainable economy, it includes the creation of a 5,000 acre natural preserve. The Loreto Bay preserve represents more than sixty percent of the total planned community. The preserve contains the Primer Aqua River and most of its watershed. The preserve will be open to organic farming, organic orchards, an organic nursery, trails for hiking, cycling and horseback riding and miles and miles of kayaking from the homes at Loreto Bay.

That is why it should be no surprise for the Chinese to come across as being earnest about not having let the seven year old singer appear instead of the none year old who was revealed as having just mouthed the opening song. I cannot understand why the younger girl did not appear but according to certain Chinese officials she did not represent what the Chinese image was supposed to be. What kind of nonsense is this? After all she may not have been as animated as the older one but she is a child just the same and there is no reason why she could not have appeared. Looks like China is either rationalizing why they are being false or they are catching on to an occidental phenomena of presenting a polished image of a singing girl rather than showing the real stuff. Either way the old Chinese mentality of not declaring their real intentions at the beginning of an event has to change, it shows them as being false.

The same message should be related to the polished image of fireworks, which was adjusted digitally because they would not have been identified through pictures of a smoky Beijing atmosphere. Everybody knows that China's main city has gray horizons so why not do something and cut down on the smog instead of dolling up Olympic pictures. China may have made a great change in pushing the envelope further as far as certain Olympic events are concerned but it has to be more honest regarding the image it projects.

In the Men's 400m Freestyle final, Park Tae-hwan of the Republic of Korea won the gold medal in 3:41.86 beating Zhang Lin (3:42.44) of China, America's Larsen Jensen (3:42.78) and his idol, the favored Grant Hackett of Australia, who faded to sixth with a time of 3:43.84. Park's gold medal is the first Olympic medal for the Republic of Korea. And the fact that two Asian male swimmers stood atop the podium in a swimming event today is also a first in swimming history.

In the Women's 400m Individual Medley final, Stephanie Rice of Australia won the race easily in 4:29.45 and retook the world record from Katie Hoff of the United States of America who came in third with a time of 4:31.71. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe tried to out swim Rice in the last 50 meter lap, but failed. Coventry won the silver medal in 4:29.89.

The Netherlands sent the same team that broke the world record for the event in March this year: Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis to compete in the Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay final and easily took the gold medal from the United States with a more than half a second lead. Defending world and Olympic champions Australia touched third with a new Australian record time. In the semi-finals of the Men's 100m breaststroke, the Olympic record was again reset by Alexander Dale Oen of Norway with a time of 59.16 after another wave of record-breaking in yesterday's prelims. Dale Oen will be competing in lane 4 with the Athens gold medalist Kitajima Kosuke beside him in lane 5 in tomorrow's final. The world record holder Brendan Hansen will be in lane 2.

The top three Women's 100m butterfly final qualifiers include Lisbeth Trickett of Australia (Lane 4), her compatriot Jessicah Schipper (Lane 3) and the United State's Christine Magnuson (Lane 5).The evening session was by no means short of surprises. Two Olympic records were broken in the Women's 100m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke prelims by Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe and Leisel Jones of Australia within the hour. Coventry had just won silver in the Women's 400m Individual Medley in the morning. Shortly after that, another Olympic record was smashed by an American in the Men's 100m backstroke prelim, Matt Grevers, with a time of 53.41, 0.04 of a second off the previous record set by his compatriot Aaron Peirsol four years ago in Athens. And then, in Women's 400m Freestyle, the 20-year-old Olympic record set by Janet Evans (USA) in Seoul was updated twice, first by Katie Hoff in heat five and then by the world-record holder Federica Pellegrini of Italy with a time of 4:02.19 in heat seven.

To cap the day off, in the last prelim of Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay, the world record was updated by the US quartet: Nathan Adrian. Cullen Jones, Ben Wildman-Tobriner, and Matt Grevers in 3:12.23. It is an impressive time considering Phelp's absence from the team.