Millions of fire ants threaten to 'rain down' on Hawaii residents and sting them in their sleep, officials say

Joshua Zitser
Sun, November 13, 2022 at 10:31 a.m.·2 min rea

A stock photo shows a close-up of fire ants on a plant.

Kauai's most extensive infestation of fire ants poses a health risk to Hawaii's residents and tourists, officials say.


Fire ants are "raining down" on people and stinging people in their sleep, per SFGATE.


Welts caused by fire ants stings can "last for weeks," according to the Kauai Invasive Species Committee.

The discovery of millions of fire ants in Kauai, Hawaii, marks the island's most extensive infestation since the invasive species was first detected there in 1999, the news website SFGATE reported.

The infestation poses a risk to pets, the agriculture industry, and residents and tourists visiting Hawaii's fourth-largest island, according to SFGATE.

"They're changing the way of life for our residents here in Hawaii," said Heather Forester, who works for Hawaii Ant Lab, per the news website. "You used to be able to go out hiking and go to the beach. They can rain down on people and sting them."

Forester told SFGATE that the ants could invade people's homes in heavily infested areas. "We have a lot of reports of them stinging people while they sleep in their beds," she said.

Fire ant stings can cause red, swollen welts that burn and itch. They can also, on occasion, cause painful pus-filled lesions, according to WebMD.

Welts caused by the stings can "last for weeks," the Kauai Invasive Species Committee said, per SFGATE.

The Kauai Invasive Species Committee has launched a significant media campaign to alert residents of the free-at-home test kits available to help them detect the presence of the invasive species, SFGATE reported.

The committee hopes to contain the spread of millions of fire ants, which it says originated on private property in Kauai, Hawaii's fourth largest island. The infestation spread over a cliffside into a valley near the Wailua River, the committee's general outreach specialist Haylin Chock said, per SFGATE.

Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu, also have "a varying degree of infestation," according to Forester, per SFGATE.

The Wailua River cuts through the lush tropical vegetation on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Hawaii.

Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images

It's unclear if the infestation is yet to reach the water, but this would be "concerning" because it would allow the fire ants to "easily float down and create multiple colonies."

Currently, the team is hopeful that the infestation is being halted from spreading across the island. "Our team is really good at what they do," said Chock, SFGATE reported. "I'm going to say that we're hopeful that it hasn't spread that far. I'm confident that we can keep it contained."

Defeating the fire ants involves baiting them with poisoned food which they then take back to the colony, SFGATE said.

U$A

Company accused of hiring children — including a 13-year-old left with chemical burns — for 'hazardous' factory work like cleaning beef bone saws

Jordan Hart
Sun, November 13, 2022 

Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images

The US Labor Department filed a complaint against PSSI following a three-month investigation into unlawful child labor claims.

The department is accusing the sanitation contractor of having employees as young as 13 working 'hazardous' overnight shifts.

PSSI emphasized its 'zero tolerance' for violating its policy of employing anyone under 18 years old.

An industrial cleaning service is accused of using dozens of children to work dangerous overnight shifts causing injuries, including a chemical burn suffered by a 13-year-old, according to the US Department of Labor.

A news release Wednesday from the DOL said Packers Sanitation Services Inc. employed at least 31 children — ages 13 to 17 — in "hazardous occupations." The DOL has filed a complaint seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction against the food safety sanitation service following an investigation.

Minors performed jobs like cleaning power equipment, such as bone and meat saws, during overnight shifts, according to the DOL, and many of them — including the 13-year-old — suffered burns and other injuries on the job.

The department specifically named PSSI contracts with JBS USA, a beef slaughtering and meatpacking facility in Nebraska, and turkey processing plant Turkey Valley Farms in Minnesota.

The Wage and Hour division said it began investigating PSSI, which is headquartered in Wisconsin, in August after being tipped off to potential violations of child labor laws.

"Federal laws were established decades ago to prevent employers from profiting by putting children in harm's way," said Wage and Hour regional administrator Michael Lazzeri in a statement.

"Taking advantage of children, exposing them to workplace dangers – and interfering with a federal investigation – demonstrates Packers Sanitation Services Inc.'s flagrant disregard for the law and for the well-being of young workers," he said.

PSSI was founded in 1973. It employs around 17,000 workers to provide contract services including cleaning and pest prevention to about 700 food processing facilities in the US, the release said. According to the company's official site, the staff includes food sanitors, microbiologists, equipment engineers and safety specialists.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, minors younger than 14-years-old are prohibited from working and 14- and 15 year olds aren't allowed to work later than 9 p.m. during the summer months and 7 p.m. after Labor Day.

In its complaint filed in the US District Court of Nebraska, the department alleges the company intimidated minor workers, and "deleted and manipulated employee files" to interfere with the investigation.

But a PSSI spokesperson said in a statement to Insider Thursday that it has a "zero tolerance" policy around hiring employees under 18.

"PSSI has an absolute company-wide prohibition against the employment of anyone under the age of 18 and zero tolerance for any violation of that policy -- period," the statement read. The company verifies employees thoroughly with "document verification, biometrics, and multiple layers of audits."

"While rogue individuals could of course seek to engage in fraud or identity theft, we are confident in our company's strict compliance policies and will defend ourselves vigorously against these claims."

A representative for PSSI said the company was surprised by the Labor Department's complaint as its corporate office was "cooperating with their inquiry, producing extensive documents and responses."

Democrats' big midterm gains threaten Wall Street's split-government hopes

Sun, November 13, 2022 
By Rodrigo Campos and Ira Iosebashvili

(Reuters) - A stronger-than-expected showing by Democrats in the U.S. midterm elections may force investors to rethink the split government scenario many had expected.

Democrats held onto control of the U.S. Senate, extinguishing hopes of the "red wave" that Republicans had expected leading into the midterm elections. Republicans remain close to seizing control of the House of Representatives as officials continued counting ballots, with results expected to become apparent over the next several days.

Following last week's midterm vote, investors had largely expected a split government, with Republicans gaining control of the House, Senate or both while Democrat Joe Biden remained in the White House. While a Democratic sweep is still seen as unlikely at this point, perceptions that such a result is within the realm of possibility could ignite worries over spending and legislation that many investors had put to rest.

Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, believes more power in Congress for Democrats may pit fiscal and monetary policy against each other, potentially delaying the Federal Reserve's efforts to fight inflation.

"If the goal is to curtail demand, we could now have policies that underpin demand," she said.

Returns are still flowing in for several House races, including many in liberal-leaning California. As of early Sunday, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 205, with 218 needed for a majority.

Spending is a worry for some investors because they believe it could buoy inflation and potentially force the Fed to ramp up their market-punishing monetary tightening policies. Softer-than-expected inflation data last week spurred hopes the Fed could temper its rate hikes, sparking a sharp rally in stocks and bonds.

Wall Street tends to view split government favorably, in part because some investors believe it makes major policy changes more difficult to achieve.

A split government could stymie Democrats from pushing through several large fiscal packages, including $369 billion in spending on climate and energy policies, and enacting a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management wrote earlier this month.

Still, "Federal Reserve policy, rather than fiscal policy, will remain the main driver of markets in our view," they said.

In the same vein, analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote before last week’s election that Democrats expanding their majorities in Congress could lead markets to "assign a higher probability to further fiscal expansion, with Congress and the Fed

effectively pulling in opposite directions on inflation."

"The short-term implications for markets could be higher Treasury yields and stronger dollar, reflecting the potential for higher peak federal funds rate."

Historically, stocks have done better under a split government when a Democrat is in the White House: average annual S&P 500 returns have been 14% in a split Congress under a Democratic president, according to data since 1932 analyzed by RBC Capital Markets. That compares with 10% when Democrats controlled the presidency and Congress.

Of course, either configuration is far better than the market's performance this year. Even after rebounding in the past week, the S&P 500 is still down 16.2% for the year.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Ira Iosebashvili; Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Diane Craft)

Auschwitz hero's son seeks millions for dad's 1948 execution

Sat, November 12, 2022 


WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The son of World War II Auschwitz death camp hero Witold Pilecki is seeking millions in compensation from the Polish government for his father’s post-war arrest and 1948 execution by the country's communist authorities of the time.

The case opened Thursday before a Warsaw court and the next session is scheduled for January. Andrzej Pilecki, aged 90, argues that 26 million zlotys ($5.7 million) compensation would be due to his father by Poland's law that redresses communist-era wrongs.

His father, Cavalry Capt. Witold Pilecki, a Polish resistance member, volunteered in 1940 to be caught by the Nazi Germans and held at Auschwitz in order to organize resistance there and gather evidence of German atrocities. He escaped in 1943 and wrote a report that was the first direct account from Auschwitz made available to the Allies.

After the war he was arrested, tortured and executed by the Moscow-appointed authorities on charges of spying for Poland’s government-in-exile in London. His remains have not been found.

In 1990, Poland's democratic government paid Pilecki's widow and two children compensation for the material support that they lost due to his execution.

The Associated Press

AOC says she objects to being considered 'extreme' in the the same way that 'Marjorie Taylor Greene on the Republican side is extreme'

Katie Balevic
Sat, November 12, 2022 



AOC said she does not see herself as "extreme" as GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene.

Speaking to CNN, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said her beliefs are not the "same level of extreme" as Rep. Greene's.

Both Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Greene easily won their elections on Tuesday.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she doesn't see Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as her GOP twin — and rejected the comparison.

AOC made the comments in an interview with CNN's Chris Wallace that will be aired on Sunday, though a short clip of the interview was included in CNN's coverage on Saturday.

The clip started with Wallace asking AOC if voters want "both parties to move from the fringes from the extremes back to the center." The New York Democrat easily won reelection on Tuesday, securing over 70% of the vote.

"I think a lot of people in this country may say yes, but it's important for us to dig into the substance of what that actually means," AOC said. "As someone who is often, I think, characterized as extreme, I, of course, would object to that. I do not believe that I am as extreme in the way that Marjorie Taylor Greene on the Republican side is extreme."



The progressive added: "The idea that there is an equating of believing in someone who believes in guaranteed universal health care in the United States with someone who believes that undocumented people should incur physical harm, are somehow in the same level of extreme, is something that I would object to."

A spokesperson for Greene did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Saturday.

Greene, along with some other conservatives, has previously peddled the racist "Great Replacement" theory, a core white nationalist belief, at GOP campaign rallies.

Greene has also long-antagonized AOC, in one instance following her down the halls in Congress and screaming at her. In another instance, she called AOC a "little communist" and demanded she be placed in jail.

"Lock her up too. That's a good idea," Greene said at an Ohio rally in June 2021. "She's not an American. She really doesn't embrace our American ways. Not at all."

Greene won her reelection on Tuesday in a landslide with over 65% of the vote.

Banksy, the elusive street artist, created a new mural in Ukraine depicting a gymnast on a building damaged during conflict with Russia

Katie Balevic
Sat, November 12, 2022 

Banksy, the elusive street artist, created a new mural in Ukraine depicting a gymnast on a building damaged during conflict with Russia


Banksy created a mural of a gymnast balancing on a pile of rubble in Borodyanka, Ukraine.


The town outside Kyiv was invaded and damaged by Russian shelling in the early months of the war.


Several pieces of graffiti have been spotted in war-torn cities, though Banksy hasn't claimed credit for all.

Street artist Banksy created a mural on a Ukrainian building that was left damaged by Russian shelling, according to BBC.

The elusive artist left his impression of a gymnast balancing on a pile of rubble, sharing a picture of it on his Instagram with a caption of its location in Borodyanka, some 35 miles outside of Kyiv.

The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and surrounding regions have been some of the hardest hit by the Russian invasion. Russian troops occupied Borodyanka for weeks when the war began in February until Ukraine took the town back in April, according to BBC.

Two other artworks resembling Banksy's style were spotted in the Kyiv region, though they have not been confirmed to be his pieces, per BBC.

Graffiti in the city of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on November 12, 2022. In cities surrounding Kyiv, graffiti appeared, thought to be by the artist Banksy.Oleg Pereverzev/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In Borodyanka, one mural depicts an older man being flipped by a young boy in a judo match. According to BBC, the older man appears to resemble Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is a judo black belt.

A third piece in Irpin, which sits between Borodyanka and Kyiv, depicts a gymnast wearing a neckbrace and twirling a ribbon, the BBC reported.

A person walks by graffiti, possibly by Banksy, in the city of Irpin, Ukraine, on November 12, 2022.Oleg Pereverzev/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Residents fled the town in March during a bout of Russian shelling, which one Ukrainian official said was "100% targeting civilians." Ukraine had reclaimed Irpin by the end of March but had lost some 200-300 citizens.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Faithful mates, hot tempers form primal life for gannets

Sun, November 13, 2022

PERCE, Quebec (AP) — Northern gannets share two maxims familiar to humans: “home sweet home” and “don't tread on me.”

They pack together on a Bonaventure Island plateau like New York commuters jamming a subway, only they're louder. They are devoted parents and could teach humans a thing or two about loyalty in marriage.

Year after year, gannet pairs come separately from distant, scattered Atlantic waters to reunite, mate again and raise new chicks on the precise nesting spots they called home before heading south for the winter.

The island just off Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula offers remarkable insights into the northern gannets because they are easily accessible in vast numbers, seem to ignore humans and unlike many seabird species put up with being studied and tagged.

Their struggles to feed and breed in a warming climate are being closely watched by scientists.

Some of the lessons learned here and from other colonies about the life of the gannets:

MATES FOR LIFE: The gannets appear to be better than humans at monogamy, despite spending half the year apart, or perhaps because of that.

Marine biologist David Pelletier, an expert on their nest behavior who teaches at Cegep de Rimouski, found that 69% remain “faithful;” meaning they breed with the same mate for life; 22% are “divorced,” meaning they find new mates; 9% are widowed.

By contrast, about one third of Americans who have ever been married have gone through divorce.

YES, BUT: It’s all about home base, not romance, say the scientists — though does anyone really know what's in a gannet's heart?

"Gannets are above all faithful to their territory, which explains why they are still quite faithful to their partner,” Pelletier said.

That primal need to reunite on the same exact patch of ground comes with a striking hostility to intruders from the neighborhood. The birds do not want the next gannet over to get in their territory, even as they reside barely a wingspan apart. That’s when things get ugly. They nip, screech and may fight to exhaustion, sometimes death.

___

PARENTHOOD: The mates take turns going to sea for fish and feeding the young. They’re so intent on nourishing their chicks that the fledglings grow larger and chubbier than their parents by the time of the winter migration south. They'll burn off that fat at sea as they learn over time how to dive and fly like the grownups.

YES, BUT: A chick that wanders from the nest is in great peril, both from other adult gannets that may attack it as an interloper and from its own parents, which may not recognize it as theirs when it returns.

“At a few weeks old, if it is attacked by adult gannets, it’s fatal — whether it’s its parents or not,” Pelletier said. “As it grows older, the chick develops a strong neck which allows it to withstand attacks by other gannets.”

___

GANNET-SPEAK: The birds make a racket with their raucous calling and clacking, but their communication is a full body affair.

A gannet alone on the nest will often shake its head from side to side, then dip its head under each wing as if checking for body odor. Translation: stay away or else.

A hungry gannet tells its mate that it is leaving the nest to fish by pointing its beak straight up at the sky.

A gannet returning to the nest is welcomed by the mate with a click-clack-click-clack of bills that makes them sound like actors fencing in an old B movie.

If a chick pecks at a parent’s beak, it is asking for food, which comes in the form of partially digested fish. Yum.

Calvin Woodward, Carolyn Kaster And Lynn Berry, The Associated Press

#ABOLISHCBP

US border agency leader resigns amid wave of migrants

Sat, November 12, 2022 



WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has resigned from his job leading the nation’s largest law enforcement agency as agents encounter record numbers of migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico.

Chris Magnus submitted his resignation to President Joe Biden on Saturday, saying it had been “a privilege and honor” to be part of the administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had accepted Magnus' resignation. “President Biden appreciates Commissioner Magnus’ nearly forty years of service and the contributions he made to police reform during his tenure as police chief in three U.S. cities,” she said.

Two people who were briefed on the matter told The Associated Press on Friday that Magnus was told to resign or be fired less than a year after he was confirmed. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address the matter publicly.

Magnus's removal is part of a larger shakeup expected at Homeland Security as it struggles to manage migrants coming from a wider range of countries, including Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. This comes as Republicans are likely to take control of the House in January and are expected to launch investigations into the border.

Migrants were stopped 2.38 million times at the Mexican border in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from the year before. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency, in 2019.

The Los Angeles Times was first to report on the ultimatum. In a statement to the newspaper, Magnus said he was asked by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to step down or be fired.

Mike Balsamo, Colleen Long And Elliot Spagat, The Associated Press

U.S. military weighs funding mining projects in Canada amid rivalry with China

Sun, November 13, 2022 

The Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters in Washington, is being asked to fund civilian projects to build more reliable supply chains of critical minerals that are vital in everything from products like electronics, cars and batteries, to weapons. Canadian companies are entitled to apply. 

(Jason Reed/Reuters - image credit)

The United States military has been quietly soliciting applications for Canadian mining projects that want American public funding through a major national security initiative.

It's part of an increasingly urgent priority of the U.S. government: lessening dependence on China for critical minerals that are vital in everything from civilian goods such as electronics, cars and batteries, to weapons.

It illustrates how Canadian mining is becoming the nexus of a colossal geopolitical struggle. Ottawa just pushed Chinese state-owned companies out of the sector, and the U.S. is now considering moving public funding in.

The American military has a new pot of money at its disposal to help private companies inaugurate new mining projects; it's for funding feasibility studies, plant renovations, battery-recycling and worker training.

President Joe Biden invoked the 1950 Defense Production Act to expand the domestic mining sector, and the military received hundreds of millions of dollars to implement it.

This whirlwind of activity was prompted by a White House study last year warning that dependence on certain foreign-made products represents a national security risk to the U.S., and it cited semiconductors, batteries, medicines and 53 types of minerals.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

An official from the U.S. Department of Defence this week provided a briefing on the program at a cross-border conference, and he made one thing clear about the funding: Canadians qualify.

That's because Canada has, for decades, belonged to the U.S. military industrial base and is every bit as entitled to the cash as American mining projects.

"It's really quite simple. It's a matter of law," said Matthew Zolnowski, a portfolio manager for the Defense Production Act program, speaking to a gathering of the Canada-United States Law Institute in Washington, D.C.

"So an investment in Alberta or Quebec or Nova Scotia would be no different than if it was in Nebraska or anywhere else in the United States. As a matter of law."

Canadian government provides list of 70 projects

Zolnowski said the U.S. is actively reaching out to companies to explain the process, as many have no relationship with the U.S. government and might not realize how it works.

"We are actively engaging those firms," he said, describing a flurry of recent activity by quoting an old movie line: "It's a duck on a pond. It looks quiet on the surface, but there's a lot happening."

The Canadian government has been active, too. Canadian officials say they've already provided the U.S. with a list of 70 projects that could warrant U.S. funding.

Both countries describe this as a generational initiative still in its early stages: Canada, for now, is still a bit player in producing these minerals, which include lithium, cobalt and manganese.

Canada's critical mineral reserves 

But one Canadian official said this can change. Jeff Labonté, assistant deputy minister at Natural Resources Canada, told the conference that Western democracies are now engaged in industrial policy in a way they haven't been for decades.

"We have this resource potential.... We also have a huge capacity," he said, touting 200 mines and 10,000 potential products in the exploration phase.

"We have a skill set in this area. We have capital markets, we have engineering expertise, we have companies that operate around the country and around the world."

Canada is also providing billions of dollars in public funds to the sector over the coming years through federal and provincial programs.

Sayona Québec

What's driving this sudden minerals rush?

The transition to electric cars is a key driver of this challenge. They're hugely reliant on minerals like lithium, and current production is not close to meeting projected demands.

Making matters more complicated is China's dominance of the market; it controls two-thirds of the world's lithium processing capacity, for example.

Beijing has already revealed a willingness to cut off rivals from mineral exports, as it did a few years ago amid a fishing dispute with Japan.

The U.S. has, more recently, suspended semiconductor exports to China in an emerging digital cold war in which Canada is increasingly involved.

David Gray/Reuters

In his talk, Zolnowski said countries spent decades leaving themselves in this vulnerable position; resolving it won't happen overnight.

He said the U.S. government has a four-part strategy for this.

Part 1 is to stimulate domestic demand for these goods by designing new sustainability initiatives around these materials.

Part 2 is stimulating supply by funding new production and recycling, while Part 3 is building stockpiles. The final component involves working with allies.

Zolnowski noted that back in 1984, Robert Gates, at the time a U.S. intelligence official who went on to become secretary of defence to two presidents, articulated his fear in a speech that foreign government-funded companies would come to dominate the industry.

This worries the Pentagon for security reasons, both economic and military. Zolnowski called these minerals the building blocks of a thriving economy.

Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

And in times of war, he said, industrialized nations that lack secure and reliable access to these materials have suffered mightily: "[They] have suffered significant performance tradeoffs, which contributed to their defeat."

He said civilian goods will dominate the market, as well as receiving the lion's share of Pentagon funding. Indeed, the language of the Defense Production Act stipulates that funds can be used for non-military purposes, including the U.S.'s general economic well-being.

Pentagon's main role: Building market confidence?

Zolnowski said the U.S. is looking primarily at offering grants, not loans, and it's willing to fund projects at various phases of implementation, as it views this as a long-term project.

One partner at an investment firm present at the conference said the Pentagon's role is not to become a major investor.

What the private sector wants, he said, is help with confidence-building: Once you demonstrate that a project has the Pentagon's imprimatur, he said, it's easier to reassure investors this is a safe bet.

One attendee said there are still flaws to iron out in the program design of Canada's own critical minerals strategy, including its 30 per cent tax credit.

Jonathan Garbutt, a Calgary-based tax lawyer, cited industry estimates that lithium extracts from brine deposits in Western Canada could produce hundreds of thousands of tonnes per year, but, under the current language of the Income Tax Act, the credit wouldn't apply to those extracts.

Another speaker at the conference noted that this new conversation about cross-border co-operation carries historical echoes.

The Canadian Press

International trade lawyer Lawrence Herman, who is based in Toronto, noted that the precursor to the countries' current military-industrial partnership was a 1940 agreement between the U.S. and Canadian leaders.

Back then, American funding discreetly helped turn Quebec aluminum into a global powerhouse.

Since then, Quebec aluminum has had mostly civilian uses. It also helped the U.S. build its arsenal for the Second World War.

Canada was heavily involved enough in that effort that Quebec became the site of the wartime allied leaders' conference.

Punk artworks for new Belfast exhibition space


Matt Fox - BBC News NI
November 6, 2022·

God Save The Queen has been labelled "the single most iconic image of the punk era"

Some of the most famous images of the punk era have gone on display at Belfast's newest art gallery.

Ulster Presents is a custom-built exhibition space and part of the Ulster University's new city centre campus.

Its first exhibition - Taking Liberties! - features the work of the famed punk provocateur Jamie Reid.

Reid is synonymous with The Sex Pistols after he created their iconic God Save the Queen logo in the 1970s.

The exhibition gathers Reid's most iconoclastic protest work from that era onwards.

Taking Liberties! is part of Belfast International Arts Festival and features work designed to grab the public's attention.

I'm Lovin It / I'm Hatin It - Reid's response to McDonalds use of 'punk' style graphics for their adverts

Spearheaded by Cian Smyth, Ulster Presents is another addition to the city's Cathedral Quarter.

Mr Smyth says the gallery plans to present six shows a year from a mixture of international and local artists, many of whom will have graduated through Ulster's art school.

"We just wanted to develop an audience for the visual arts, alongside the other galleries in the city of course. We always like to bring in somebody that might attract an audience that might not have been here before," he said.

Curse English Heritage was Jamie's direct message to the organisation as he protested for access to public land

He said he had been trying to bring Reid's work to the city for five years: "I obviously knew his work since I was a young person, I knew this really needs to be in Belfast.

"In his work you get to see over five, six decades, how the visual aesthetic is sort of developed, and you actually see where a lot of protest language comes from. People in protest marches, a lot of their visual language is partly influenced by Jamie I think."

Reid's work is famous for its ransom-note style and political activism.

He has highlighted campaigns including the anti-Poll Tax protests, Russian-activists Pussy Riot, the Criminal Justice Bill and Clause 28.

Stop Demonising Our Future (2006), A Brick Will Do The Trick Brixton Version (1981)

He perhaps most famously caused controversy when designing artwork for The Sex Pistols album God Save The Queen by taking a Cecil Beaton photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and adding safety pins and swastikas to her eyes.

Northern Ireland Troubles: How punk music created its own riot


Sex Pistols God Save the Queen single estimated to fetch £15k


Margaret Thatcher: How PM was briefed on Sex Pistols

Originally issued during 1977's Silver Jubilee, the artwork and song were subsequently banned by the BBC. It officially reached number two in the UK charts, despite this, and is believed by some to have been the "real" number one, allegedly outselling its nearest rival by two to one.

Attitudes towards the anti-Monarchy work have since changed with The Observer newspaper in 2007 branding it "the single most iconic image of the punk era".

The Evil Ones (2003), Folk The Banks (2012)

Looking towards the future of the gallery, and the Belfast arts scene overall, Mr Smyth said: "At the moment, I'm doing stuff next year around art and activism. It's such a small community, around this area in particular, that it's hard not to be a part of that.

"There's like a whole new demographic, a younger demographic. Back in the day, a lot of them would have left, they certainly wouldn't have existed in central Belfast, it's nice to be part of whatever that's becoming," he added.

Taking Liberties! exhibition is in the new building of Ulster University, Belfast Campus, until 26 November.