Ditt 601

Odilon Redon, Geraniums in a pot

Rein Pol I couldn’t leave this behind Perfection in a vase. Dutch artist.

🇮🇹 The speech that all of Italy heard. And that the world must hear. In a country that will host the Olympic Games, Italian Senator and Vice President of the Human Rights Commission Filippo Sensi took the floor and said what should have been said out loud long ago. He called it a disgrace that the International Olympic Committee disqualified Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych. Not for doping. Not for violating fair play. But for… memory. For a helmet bearing the faces of Ukrainian athletes — his friends, colleagues, champions — killed by Russia. The IOC stated that the helmet “did not comply with regulations.” And then Sensi asked a question that brought silence to the chamber: Does aggressive war comply with regulations? Is there a separate technical protocol for it? The correct angle of a missile strike? The permissible size of a crater? An athlete prepares for the Olympics for years. A Ukrainian athlete trains between air raid sirens, in shelters, under news of the dead. He overcomes fear, exhaustion, and loss. And he steps to the start line not only for a medal — but for the right to exist. And he is suspended… for remembering. Because memory is the most dangerous substance. It is hard to add to a prohibited list. But apparently, someone would very much like to. The senator named names. Just a few among more than 650 Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia: ▪️ Yevhenii Malyshev, 19, biathlete — killed in Kharkiv. ▪️ Mariia Lebid, 15 — missile strike in Dnipro. ▪️ Dmytro Sharpar, 25, figure skater — killed in Bakhmut. ▪️ Volodymyr Androsiuk, 22, track and field athlete — also Bakhmut. ▪️ Daria Kurdel, 20 — missile strike in Kharkiv. ▪️ Alina Perehutova, 14 — standing in line for water with her mother in Mariupol. ▪️ Maksym Halinichev, 22, boxer — killed defending Luhansk region. ▪️ Viktoriia Ivashko, 9, judoka — missile strike in Kyiv. ▪️ Kateryna Diachenko, 11, gymnast — airstrike on Mariupol. ▪️ Karina Bakur, 17, world kickboxing champion — shielded her father with her body. These were the faces Heraskevych wanted to carry with him to the start line. So that they would “compete” alongside him. So that their dream would not die with them. And for that, he was punished. Because it turns out that the faces of murdered athletes violate regulations. But their absence on the track does not. In his speech, Sensi said the most important thing: The Olympic Committee did not lose an athlete. It lost its most valuable medal — its conscience. Sport without memory is just a show. Sport without humanity is just decoration. Sport that fears truth is not about peace. The Olympic movement was born from the ideals of honor, dignity, and unity. Yet today Ukrainian athletes must prove not only their strength — but their right to remember their fallen. And if memory becomes a violation of regulations — then the problem is not the helmet. The world must hear this. Because silence is also a position. And indifference is also a choice. Memory cannot be disqualified. And conscience cannot be added to a prohibited list. 🇺🇦 We remember every one of them. And we will not allow their names to be erased.

The Helmet of Remembrance

🧵The best response to the bogus decision by the IOC @Olympics to ban the helmet of @heraskevych and silence the memory of Ukrainian athletes murdered by russia, is to see their faces, learn their names and share it with the world! They want it gone, we’ll show it everywhere!🇺🇦

I want to thank everyone for all the support we’re receiving. There really is an incredible amount of it. For me, the sacrifice of the people depicted on the helmet means more than any medal ever could - because they gave the most precious thing they had. And simple respect toward them is exactly what I want to give.

If you are not incensed by this sacrilege, you're not British. Bellway Homes - despicable.

@Fluffy_LeMonde It’s happening all over the country. This is on the edge of Teversham village, near Cambridge. Sheer desecration. There were white throat, blackcaps and a linnet seen in the area when it was surveyed by the BTO. It seems wildlife doesn’t count. They just don’t care 🥲🥲🥲🥲

Hey, @scotgov, it's high time you got on top of this! 😡

Daffodils 1906 #JeannieFoord

The size of an Andean Condor x.com/Sadie2901/stat…

Back by popular demand! 🤣🤣🤣

Jason Colacino & Katie Boyle – Honky Tonk : Their flawless partnership, smooth elastic moves, and infectious explosive energy turn this into an timeless classic – still hailed as one of the absolute best dance videos ever for West Coast Swing lovers!

BREAKING!!! Trump has arrived in Greenland

@HWarlow Gorgeous

Amanda Ribbans Colourful Linocut New artist to me. Love a vibrant Linocut !

@CrazyVibes_1 Aw this is a lovely story which has cheered me up 💙💙

My wife passed in March. Forty-two years of marriage, and then just... silence. The house felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still. My daughter kept saying I needed "something to care for." I kept telling her I was fine. I wasn't fine. One Sunday, I drove to the Arizona Humane Society just to walk around. No intention of adopting anything. Just needed to be somewhere that wasn't my living room. The volunteer stopped me near the senior wing. "These two have been here eleven months. We waived their adoption fee last week. Still no takers." Pepper was solid black with a grey muzzle—eight years old, arthritis in his back legs. Salt was pure white with one brown eye and one blue, deaf as a post, same age. Brothers from the same litter, surrendered when their owner went into hospice care. Eleven months. In Phoenix. In a concrete run with no air conditioning half the year. "Why won't anyone take them?" I asked. The volunteer shrugged. "They're old. They're pitbulls. They come as a package deal. People want puppies." I watched Pepper slowly lower himself onto the cool concrete. Salt curled up right next to him, pressing his white head against his brother's black shoulder. They fit together like puzzle pieces. Like they'd been doing this their whole lives. Like me and Lorraine used to sleep. "How much is the fee?" I asked. "Sir, I told you—it's waived. Nobody wants—" "I want them." She stared at me. "Both of them?" "You think I'm gonna separate two old brothers who've already lost everything once?" That was four months ago. Now Pepper sleeps on Lorraine's side of the bed. Salt sleeps on mine. The house isn't quiet anymore—it's full of snoring and the click of nails on hardwood and two grey-muzzled faces waiting by the door when I come home from the grocery store. They lost their person. I lost mine. We found each other. Credit - Thomas meade

“When I am gone, do not fear my memory. Do not be afraid to speak my name or look through old photographs. Do not be scared to play old videos so that you might hear my voice and see me laughing. Do not be wary of visiting my favourite places or eating my favourite foods or singing along to my favourite songs. I know it will hurt. Those memories will remind you that I am gone. They will stab at you like a knife in an open, gaping wound. Raw, excruciating pain. But after a while the knife will become less sharp, the wound will become less open and the pain will become less raw. And those memories will remind you that I was here. That I lived. Do not reduce my life to my death. Speak my name, hear my voice, sing my favourite songs and visit my favourite places. Because that’s how I can stay alive a little. Right here with you.” 🧡 Memories are the legacy of love. Wonderfully written by Becky Hemsley ❤️ Artwork by Amanda Cass ❤️

Merry Christmas to you all & thanks for your continued interest here this year; have a great day! #WinterRavilious for #ChristmasDay - Halstead Road in Snow, Eric Ravilious, 1935. It depicts a scene at Castle Hedingham in #Essex. The original artwork is in a private collection.

Hellebore Light #AlexandraBuckle

I’m sure having my photo shared in this derogatory way would be devastating if my motivation for getting a PhD was to impress this guy and women-hating friends. Thankfully, it was not. So I can just laugh about it instead. 😊