German Politician & Window Cleaner Faces 5 Years For Tattoo

Window cleaner & Politician Marcel Zech, 27, is accused of displaying this tattoo showing Auschwitz and a Nazi slogan in public at a pool in Oranienburg, 15 miles outside of Berlin.

German charged over 'tattoo of Nazi death camp: Zech, a member of a state council, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted under strict laws which ban the display of Nazi imagery. He is a member of the far-right National Democratic Party, and won a seat on the council of the state of Barnim, which is in north-east Germany and borders Poland. Zech made the pool visit on November 21, where he was pictured with his tattoo on display.

Local police launched a manhunt at the start of this month to find the man's identity, which led prosecutors in the town of Neuruppin to name Zech on Friday. Zech has a criminal record for race hate crimes. In June this year he was ordered to pay €360 after posing as a police officer to try to learn the identities of anti-fascist demonstrators who tore down his party's posters in his hometown.

In a 2013 court appearance he was fined €1,200 for assault. He won his council seat in 2014. He works as a window cleaner and, according to local media reports, has been seen at least once before swimming in a lake with his tattoos on show. On his stomach he has the old Reich eagle tattooed - not a forbidden symbol. On his left arm he has a black sun, a typical Nazi-era symbol. Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence agency, lists him as a 'neo-Nazi'.

He belongs to one group which provocatively buried a wooden swastika in the ground opposite the gates of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin. Zech has so far declined to comment on the charges.

A German man has been charged with incitement to hatred after he was pictured with a tattoo apparently of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The tattoo has the slogan "To Each His Own", which was on the gate of the Buchenwald concentration camp. The photo was taken at a swimming pool in the town of Oranienburg, north of Berlin, at the end of November.

German media named the man as Marcel Zech, a member of the far-right National Democratic Party. Mr Zech sits on the council in the district of Barnim in eastern Germany. The trial process has been sped up, German media reports say, and is scheduled to start on 22 December. Germany has strict laws against the promotion of Nazi ideology in Germany. The punishment for Mr Zech if he is convicted could be as much as five years in prison.

Artist Jonathan Meese was prosecuted in 2013 for giving Nazi salutes at an event the previous year, but successfully argued the gesture was part of an interview-turned-art performance and was acquitted. The latest case comes after several violent incidents this year at reception centres for migrants in Germany. A senior German intelligence official told the BBC in October that Germany's decision to take in asylum seekers was fuelling a resurgence in the far right.

Window Cleaner Tattoos A Permanent Reminder

TRIBUTE: the tattoo on window cleaner, Danny Everill's chest and, right, Jordan himself.

Touching tribute as heart attack teen Jordan is immortalised in ink: The step-father of heart attack victim Jordan Burndred now has a permanent reminder of the 17-year-old - tattooed on his chest. Jordan, who hoped to become a Football League referee, lost his fight for life last week after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Turkey with his family. Now step-dad Danny Everill has had Jordan's image inked on to his chest as a tribute to the popular teenager. Underneath are the words 'See you on the other side'.

Danny, a 28-year-old window cleaner, from Biddulph, said: "I had the tattoo because I wanted Jordan to be close to my heart. The artistry is out-of-this world. I'm delighted and overwhelmed by how fantastic it is. "The family love the tattoo and think it's perfect. It's another thing that will help keep his memory alive." The detailed image was created by tattoo artist Brad Fleming at his studio - Dead 2 Rights - in Fenton, and took more than three hours to complete. He said: "I think it's a brilliant tribute. I've done tattoo portraits of people in the past, but this is the first time I've been asked to do something like this as a permanent memorial to someone."

Links, Deals & A Tattoo Or Two

WCR or Window Cleaning Resources have become a familiar name on most peoples computers. One guy above even had their logo inscribed into his leg. Now.... just need some sun!

So you're on facebook? What now? Need some hints & tips from old hands? This group is now the largest window cleaning group in the World on facebook. Just click the picture above to take you there.

Got any window cleaning tattoos? The famous Slayer wide bodied channels from WCR were a hit for many for their precision pulling ability & wide lengths. This young attendee of a previous IWCA meeting in Reno was so impressed he had the Slayer logo tattooed on his ankle. 

If you missed a previous blog about Chris Wilson & his amazing custom T-Shirts. You still have chance to get hold of one. Start posting right now. Chris Wilson of Ojai Valley, California creates custom T-shirts for Window Cleaners just like you & me.

In the market for a new Waterfed Pole? Great deals on wfp's are happening right now. While you're there - pick up your Free WFP manual, just click the picture above or click here.

Cold enough for you?  Keep your hands warm while you work with these neoprene glove by Glacier Gloves. The Perfect Curve Gloves are fleece lined premium 2mm yamamoto neoprene with perfect curved fingers for great dexterity. They are blind stitched and glued to be waterproof. Get them here, or click the picture above.

Systems for your business? The first system package from Window Cleaning Resource will be released Feb 15th! Business systems are free for members of the WCRA. Basically there are 5 main areas in the business, each area is broken down into dozens of categories and over a thousand individual systems. Chris Lambrinides of WCR says "Putting this stuff together has been my life's work, it really means a lot to me." "Creating and testing this stuff has taken a lot of time... & I just want to put it out in a way that its really appreciated." "Not because I need a pat on the back, but because if its distributed correctly and with thought it will be more valuable to those receiving it." "They will think about it more, be more excited to receive it and hopefully build better businesses because of it." To see a previous blog on WCRA, go here.

National Service Providers (NSP) in North America - love 'em or hate them, they still provide work. But how good are they at paying? Join & add to the national list if you know one near you or have worked for one here. Hopefully it will turn into a large permanent database, where window cleaners can relate & work out if it's in their interests to work with any independent service provider.

The new national averages widget from Responsibid is a new free tool embedded on the right hand side at WCR. It updates in real time & shows what other window cleaners across the World are charging for window cleaning services. Ever wondered how your your pricing stacks up against the competition? Now you know! Check it out today.

Hi Honey, The Window Cleaner's Here

Until January he was living on the streets of Montreal, where he was living as a 'bum', doing everything from window-cleaning to performing as a circus freak to pay for his next tattoo. Now bilingual Rick Genest is a catwalk star, modelling Thierry Mugler's latest collection for Paris Fashion Week.

Covered in skeletal tattoos to make his body resemble a decomposing corpse, Lady Gaga's latest video co-star probably isn't the kind of man you'd take home to meet your parents. The mysterious 25-year-old has shot to fame after displaying his macabre body art in Gaga's video for Born This Way.

Rick Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, shot to fame when he appeared in the music video for Born This Way with Lady Gaga.

The self-described 'punk' is a well-known figure in the Quebec city, where he spent three or four years slowly inking his body, spending at least $7,000 on tattoos.

Before & After

In 2006, he told Bizarre magazine his tattoos were 'about the human body as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver. It’s also a tribute to horror movies, which I love.'  Most of his designs were inked by Montreal tattoo artist Frank Lewis, who said Genest first came to him when he was 21.

Also see here.

Cannabis, Piercings & Tattoos For Window Cleaners

Gardener for cannabis farm jailed: A window cleaner has begun an 18-month jail term after taking the blame for setting up a cannabis factory in Bishopstoke. Luke Taylor, 22 refused to divulge who had helped him set up the operation last summer. Southampton Crown Court accepted he could not have solely financed the plot that needed a £1,000 deposit on the house as well as the first month’s rent.

Prosecutor David Jenkins described how officers acting on a tip off raided the house in Guest Road. He said: “Nobody lived there and the whole purpose was to convert it into a cannabis factory.” In three rooms they found 88 plants growing well that would have yielded a crop of 17 and a half ounces every three months. 

On arrest, Taylor admitted he tended the plants with nutrients found at the scene but refused to say why he rented the house and what would have happened to the cannabis. “This was a commercial enterprise into which a great deal of thought and expense had been put,” remarked Recorder Stuart Jones QC. “I am far from persuaded it was for his own use.” Taylor, who lived with his parents in Bognor Regis, admitted producing cannabis. See also "Getting High On Window Cleaning."

Hole-ly cow! What a way to raise cash: One Oxfordshire resident is set to raise money – and eyebrows – with an unusual stunt for Comic Relief. Duncan Wileman, 29, plans to get a few more additions to his 25 piercings and countless tattoos. The window cleaner, from Carterton, said: “For Red Nose Day, I’m planning to have 36 piercings put into my chest and stomach. “They will make a circle, which will then have red cotton threaded through to make a red nose.”

The painful stunt will be carried out in the next two weeks, before Red Nose Day on Friday, March 18. And it’s not the first time Mr Wileman has pushed the pain barrier to raise money for the charity event. He said: “I like to try and do something different every year. “Two years ago, I had a red nose tattooed on to my knee and raised more than £100.I’m sure this one will hurt, but, hey, it’s for charity.”

Mr Wileman had his first piercing when he was at school and his first tattoo at 18. He said the most painful was a skull tattoo in his ear, which he described as “the worst 20 minutes of my life.” He added: “I think it’s body art – a way of expressing yourself. “One day I’d love to get a ‘metal mohawk’, which is where they put metal implants across your head.” Mr Wileman’s first tattoo was a black and white skull on his right arm. He also has a tattoo of a dragon on his back and a heart tattoo bearing the name of grandmother Edie Oliver, who died last year, on his left shoulder.

If you remember, Donald Trumpolis, a window cleaner got a tattoo of Window Cleaning Resources's brand of window cleaning tools, namely the Slayer Squeegee - even though he had never used one!