
Portions of the original Berlin Wall is displayed at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Berlin Wall marked a new democratic beginning for Germany and for much of Eastern Europe.

Portions of the original Berlin Wall is displayed at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Berlin Wall marked a new democratic beginning for Germany and for much of Eastern Europe.
At World’s Fair Use Day, an annual celebration of law that enables limited use of copyrighted material, Jay Pavlina (right) says because he used his own coding to create another version of Super Mario Bros., called Super Mario Bros. Crossover, it is fair use.

State Dept./Jane K. Chun

"Democracy is... the right to education, the freedom to learn and the hope of a future." (Mike Mitchell, Democracy Photo Challenge 2010)
This Christmas tree located in Washington, DC’s Union Station is a gift from the people of Norway to the people of the United States. It is part of the station’s “Norwegian Christmas” display, and represents Norway’s gratitude to the United States for its assistance during and after World War II.

(State Dept./Jane K. Chun).
35 petitioners for United States citizenship took the oath of citizenship at the National Archives in Washington, DC on December 15. The ceremony was in honor of the 219th anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

The new citizens are from 26 nations: El Salvador, Uganda, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burma, Iraq, France, Senegal, Colombia, Cameroon, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Russia, Jamaica, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Philippines, Liberia, Morocco (State Dept./Jane K. Chun).
Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states,
“Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”
Article 25 of the Universal Delcaration of Human Rights states,
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

Imam Abu Nahidian, Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer and the Reverend David Gray conduct an interfaith service at the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Maryland (State Dept./Jane K. Chun).