"Images by James Helmer" (by James Helmer)

Mitzy Cream dances a striptease during the Atomic Cherries Burlesque and Cabaret show in Toronto, May 23, 2009.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:46:40 +0000

Mitzy Cream dances a striptease during the Atomic Cherries Burlesque and Cabaret show in Toronto, May 23, 2009.
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Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:42:20 +0000

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While the 'golden age' of burlesque is long gone, its legacy remains very much alive today. Although 'New Burlesque' has taken many forms, all have continued with the common tradition of its most seductive incarnation... the striptease.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:22:28 +0000

While the 'golden age' of burlesque is long gone, its legacy remains very much alive today. Although 'New Burlesque' has taken many forms, all have continued with the common tradition of its most seductive incarnation... the striptease.
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[untitled]

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:42:28 +0000

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Burlesque dancer Stella Kulagowski from the Atomic Cherries strips during a burlesque and cabaret show in Toronto, May 23, 2009.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:23:17 +0000

Burlesque dancer Stella Kulagowski from the Atomic Cherries strips during a burlesque and cabaret show in Toronto, May 23, 2009.
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An unidentified member of the International Knights of the Ku Klux Klan wears a cross marked hood at a private gathering during the week leading up to Nordic Fest, an annual Klan event held in Dawson Springs Kentucky each May.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:23:31 +0000

An unidentified member of the International Knights of the Ku Klux Klan wears a cross marked hood at a private gathering during the week leading up to Nordic Fest, an annual Klan event held in Dawson Springs Kentucky each May.
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The recent election of Barack Obama has spawned a new era of interest for white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. In 2008, the KKK grew significantly more active throughout the United States with an increased presence on the internet and at public rallies. According to an Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center study, in recent years the number of new hate groups grew 33 percent in the United States while Klan chapters grew by 63 percent.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:23:46 +0000

The recent election of Barack Obama has spawned a new era of interest for white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. In 2008, the KKK grew significantly more active throughout the United States with an increased presence on the internet and at public rallies. According to an Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center study, in recent years the number of new hate groups grew 33 percent in the United States while Klan chapters grew by 63 percent.
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[untitled]

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:51:45 +0000

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A semi-wild orangutan hangs from a rope in the Kabili Forest Reserve in Malaysian, Borneo, Sept 10, 2005.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:23:58 +0000

A semi-wild orangutan hangs from a rope in the Kabili Forest Reserve in Malaysian, Borneo, Sept 10, 2005.
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Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:32:07 +0000

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The island of Borneo is home to our closest living relative, the orangutan. Native to Borneo, their survival is seriously endangered by illegal logging and the rapid spread of palm oil plantations. Orangutans are hunted daily for bush-meat and corruption has allowed the palm oil and logging industry to invade 37 of 40 national parks. The orangutan now faces a new threat for 2009. The current global demand for bio fuels will triple cultivation areas over the next few years pushing the remaining orangutan populations into the brink of extinction.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:48:45 +0000

The island of Borneo is home to our closest living relative, the orangutan. Native to Borneo, their survival is seriously endangered by illegal logging and the rapid spread of palm oil plantations. Orangutans are hunted daily for bush-meat and corruption has allowed the palm oil and logging industry to invade 37 of 40 national parks. The orangutan now faces a new threat for 2009. The current global demand for bio fuels will triple cultivation areas over the next few years pushing the remaining orangutan populations into the brink of extinction.
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A quarantined orangutan stares out from his cage at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre in Malaysian, Borneo, July 2005.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:49:31 +0000

A quarantined orangutan stares out from his cage at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre in Malaysian, Borneo, July 2005.
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A fully grown male cries out in pain from a spinal injury sustained when the tree he was nesting in was cut down by loggers clearing land for a palm oil plantation. Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Malaysia, Borneo, August 2005.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:33:48 +0000

A fully grown male cries out in pain from a spinal injury sustained when the tree he was nesting in was cut down by loggers clearing land for a palm oil plantation. Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Malaysia, Borneo, August 2005.
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A poster displaying orangutans boxing. The Safari World Theme Park in Bangkok, Thailand was guilty in 2003 of smuggling 147 orangutans from the forests of Indonesia. These orangutans were used for entertainment in kick-boxing shows at the park. An investigation, DNA testing and the fact that Safari World had no permits for the orangutans put a focus on having the illegally held apes returned to Indonesia. The owner of Safari World, Pin Kiewkacha, was never charged for his crimes in the illegal wildlife trade scandal. Up to fifteen orangutans died and an unknown amount were relocated away from the Safari World site between 2004 and 2007. In 2008, 47 of the original orangutans were repatriated back to Indonesia under the guidance of The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) where today the orangutans sit in cages at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre in Palangkaraya, Indonesia.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:33:48 +0000

A poster displaying orangutans boxing. The Safari World Theme Park in Bangkok, Thailand was guilty in 2003 of smuggling 147 orangutans from the forests of Indonesia. These orangutans were used for entertainment in kick-boxing shows at the park. An investigation, DNA testing and the fact that Safari World had no permits for the orangutans put a focus on having the illegally held apes returned to Indonesia. The owner of Safari World, Pin Kiewkacha, was never charged for his crimes in the illegal wildlife trade scandal. Up to fifteen orangutans died and an unknown amount were relocated away from the Safari World site between 2004 and 2007. In 2008, 47 of the original orangutans were repatriated back to Indonesia under the guidance of The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) where today the orangutans sit in cages at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre in Palangkaraya, Indonesia.
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A poacher and his dog on an illegal palm oil plantation, Malaysia, Borneo, January 10th, 2009.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:52:00 +0000

A poacher and his dog on an illegal palm oil plantation, Malaysia, Borneo, January 10th, 2009.
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A baby orangutan still under general anaesthetic. The baby underwent a chest x-ray and tracheal wash during an examination for tuberculosis at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre in Palangkaraya Indonesia, Feb 27th, 2007.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:33:48 +0000

A baby orangutan still under general anaesthetic. The baby underwent a chest x-ray and tracheal wash during an examination for tuberculosis at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre in Palangkaraya Indonesia, Feb 27th, 2007.
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[untitled]

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:33:48 +0000

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On the outskirts of Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh is the sprawling 100 acre garbage dump known as Steung Meanchey. As the constant smoke that rises from the stinking piles of garbage fills the air with toxic fumes, hundreds of children scavenge through the 900 tons of garbage dumped daily at the site. Searching long hours for recyclable materials, they will earn an average daily income of fifty US cents. Many of the children are orphans who have lost parents to AIDS, land-mines, drugs and prostitution.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:51:41 +0000

On the outskirts of Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh is the sprawling 100 acre garbage dump known as Steung Meanchey. As the constant smoke that rises from the stinking piles of garbage fills the air with toxic fumes, hundreds of children scavenge through the 900 tons of garbage dumped daily at the site. Searching long hours for recyclable materials, they will earn an average daily income of fifty US cents. Many of the children are orphans who have lost parents to AIDS, land-mines, drugs and prostitution.
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