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Tag: Ban Ki-moon
". . . stateless people could see . . . that the abstract nakedness of being nothing but human was their greatest danger. . ." (Hannah Arendt*)
October 22, 2016 Harold KnightLeave a comment
Children in the Rafah Camp, one of the eight Palestine refugee camps in the densely populated Gaza strip. Circa 1955. (Photo: UNRWA by M. Nasr)
❶ Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers, bird hunters, and fishermen in Gaza
Background: "The Palestinian Refugee Camps: The Promise Of 'Ruin' And 'Loss'." Rethinking History
❷ Why is Israel tightening the Gaza blockade?
❸ UNRWA Condemns Killing of Four Palestine Refugees, calls for Full Humanitarian Access to Khan Eshieh Refugee Camp in Syria
Background: "Refugees And Social Theory: From The Politics Of "Bare Life" To Refugees As Political Subjects." Acta Academica
*Hannah Arendt, "The Perplexities of the Right of Man" (1951)
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Israeli forces Saturday morning opened live fire at Palestinian farmers, bird hunters, and fishermen in the eastern and northern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.
___Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli forces deployed at the eastern border near the neighborhood of al-Shujaiyeh opened live fire at Palestinian farmers and bird hunters, forcing them to flee the area.
___Meanwhile, Israeli naval forces opened live fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Beit Lahiya north of the Gaza Strip early in the morning. More . . .
Abreek-Zubiedat, Fatina. "The Palestinian Refugee Camps: The Promise Of 'Ruin' And 'Loss'." Rethinking History 19.1 (2015): 72-94. Source.
According to the political theorist Hannah Arendt, a 'refugee' is a 'stateless' or 'non-citizen' person who threatens the nation-state system. Consequently, countries have acknowledged the need for a solution to the refugee problem, whose status is considered temporary, with two possible options: return to the homeland or country of origin, or naturalization in the host country. Historically, both solutions have failed. Arendt views the refugee camp as a 'final solution' involving the incarceration of refugees after denying their citizenship. Only then do they become homo sacer in the sense implied by ancient Roman law: destined to die, with their life defined as 'bare'.
[. . . .]
___ The Palestinian Arab residents who were uprooted, forced out, or compelled to flee from their homes became 'stateless,' as Arendt defines it, even before becoming refugees. According to Azoulay . . . the Arab residents of Palestine should be acknowledged not solely as refugees but as 'non-governed,' in a way to link their expulsion from their homeland to the regime responsible to their state within the framework of the new diplomatic, military, and political map of the UN: 'The U.N. Partition Plan from November 29, 1947 was a crucial moment in the founding of the enterprise of destruction responsible for turning vast sections of Palestine into ruin'.
The Middle East Monitor – MEMO
Let us begin with the facts: Israeli authorities have, over the course of the last year, tightened the long-standing blockade of the Gaza Strip. ___Even before these more recent restrictions, the Israeli blockade – an illegal policy of collective punishment in the words of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – was continuing to severely harm the lives of Gaza's two million residents, furthering the enclave's de-development. ___In April of this year, the UN was clear that the most urgent step required for the reconstruction of Gaza remained "the removal of [Israeli] restrictions on the import of building materials, towards a full lifting of the blockade." Instead, things have gone backwards. More . . .
Destruction inside Khan Eshieh camp for Palestine refugees, located south of the Syrian capital, Damascus. (Photo: IRIN, 2015)
Gaza.Scoop.ps – Real Time News From Gaza
Four Palestine refugees were killed on the night of 18 October as they attempted to leave the Khan Eshieh Palestine refugee camp, south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, to which access has been highly restricted. Nofeh Mohammed Jarad, who was in her 60's, her daughter Ibaa Saeed al-Nader, 22, their driver and a one-year old baby were all killed when their vehicle was shelled around 10 p.m. The mother of the baby, a Syrian citizen, also died in the incident.
___UNRWA condemns this attack and the killing and wounding of all civilians including Palestine refugees. It calls on those responsible to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and demands that the parties to the conflict do their utmost to protect civilian life in accordance with international law. More . . . Related . . .
Williams, Christian. "Refugees And Social Theory: From The Politics Of "Bare Life" To Refugees As Political Subjects." Acta Academica 46.4 (2014): 117-131. Full article.
Since the mid-twentieth century, nation-states and international organisations have developed an integrated system for governing people displaced from their countries of origin by social upheavals occurring there. This system became standardised in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War when the Allied powers created a constellation of refugee camps, government bureaucracies and legal/moral norms aimed at managing the throngs of people whom the war had displaced in Europe. Among the incipient norms was refugee law, part of the broader field of human rights law emerging at this historical moment. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948) not only compelled nation-states to intervene in the affairs of other sovereign countries committing genocide, but also to grant people "asylum from persecution". . . . this "right" to asylum . . . became the human rights framework for addressing mass. . . "refugee problem" across much of the post-colonial world.
___At the centre of this framework and problem stands "the refugee". With great consistency, human rights law and other bodies of knowledge have presented "the refugee" as a kind of victim – one who has been expelled from a national and natural "home". It follows that refugees' problems may be solved through proper management of the international system, including nation-states, United Nations (UN) bodies, humanitarian agencies and the sites where refugees live that they administer . . . .
[. . . .] as early as 1948, Hannah Arendt argued that refugees, the very people whom the then new UDHR ought to protect, are people without rights, because they have been excluded from a nation-state. Without a sovereign government, through which to claim their rights, refugees are rendered "nothing but human." More recently, Giorgio Agamben captured widespread scholarly attention for drawing connections between "the concentration camp" and "the refugee camp", both of which are inhabited by people who have been subjected to "biopolitics", a politics that excludes them from active participation in a political community and reduces them to "bare life" (Agamben G [1998] Homo sacer: sovereign power and bare life).
". . . burning the ashes which coat our shining future . . ." (Mu'in Bseiso)
June 28, 2016 Harold KnightLeave a comment
Palestinian farmers targeted by Israeli soldiers in Khan Yunis, Gaza, May 29, 2016 (Photo: ParsToday)
❶ UN Chief: Closure of Gaza Suffocates Its People, Stifles Economy, Impedes Reconstruction
From Security Studies.
❷ Israeli Soldiers Open Fire On Gaza Farmers; Navy Fires On Fishing Boats
❸ Palestinian FM welcomes Israeli-Turkish reconciliation ahead of aid delivery to Gaza
From International Security.
❹ POETRY by Mu'in Bseiso
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday arrived at Gaza city through Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing, starting his trip to the besieged coastal enclave by delivering a speech to UN staff, said UN Secretary General's Spokesperson.
___Ban visited the UNRWA-run al-Zaytoun girls' primary school where he addressed staff and students, condemning the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip that "suffocates its people, stifles its economy, and impedes reconstruction."
___Pledging to work for improving their future, Ban addressed the students stating: "As the UN was with me 60 years ago, I will always be with you and work for your better future." MORE . . .
From Security Studies. "Revenge In International Politics."
We consider revenge to be a form of negative reciprocity. However, distinct from a retaliator motivated by efforts to stop a harmful practice/act or deter a harmful actor from repeating an injury, a revengeful retaliator mainly seeks emotional satisfaction at the suffering of another or derives pleasure from such suffering . . . . seeking such satisfaction leads revengers to use excessive force, to harm innocents, and to employ far more violence than was used against them originally. . . .
___International Relations theorists increasingly recognize that emotions are important in international politics. But many of the works in the developing IR literature on emotions are only engaged in agenda-setting aspects . . . This paper . . . theorizes a specific emotionally based practice: revenge. Before discussing revenge and its determinants in international politics, however, we must first ask whether states, the prime object of analysis in IR theory, can have emotions. From a strict materialist point of view, states are abstract corporate actors, and as such, they cannot feel. Only individuals possess the capacity to have emotions, one may argue. . . .
As opposed to the purpose of other forms of retaliation, in which actors look for material compensation for the losses they suffered or want to stop or deter further harm of this kind, the principle goal of revenge is to inflict suffering. . . . The important point here is that the aim is to cause suffering . . . because the infliction of suffering on the harm-doer arouses strong feelings of pleasure and satisfaction in the revenger. Revengers want their targets to suffer not only physically, but also—if not mainly—emotionally. LÖWENHEIM, ODED, and GADI HEIMANN. "Revenge In International Politics." Security Studies 17.4 (2008): 685-724. SOURCE.
International Middle East Media Center – IMEMC
Israeli soldiers, stationed on military towers across the border fence, opened fire, on Monday morning, into Palestinian agricultural lands across the border fence, in the Gaza Strip, while navy ships fired live rounds targeting fishing boats northwest of Gaza city.
___The WAFA Palestinian News Agency has reported that the soldiers fired many live rounds into Palestinian agricultural lands, east of Gaza city, forcing the farmers to leave. The attack caused no casualties. MORE . . .
Israeli forces patrolling off Gazan coast (Photo: Ma'an News Agency, April 24, 2016)
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomed the normalization of relations between Israel and Turkey that was announced early Monday afternoon, while voicing the importance of involving the Palestinian government in all matters concerning the Palestinian people.
___Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told Ma'an on Monday in Ramallah that the Palestinian government would not intervene in the terms of the agreement or in Turkish affairs. However, he insisted that the terms of the agreement directly related to Palestinians, and the Gaza Strip in particular, involve the Palestinian government.
___The agreement, which included Israel's approval of Turkish aid to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip, was welcomed by the Palestinian government, "as long as it's not conditional," al-Maliki said. MORE . . .
RELATED. . . DESPITE TURKISH POSTURING, DETENTE WITH ISRAEL WON'T CHANGE THE GAZA BLOCKADE
From International Security. "Just War Moral Philosophy and the 2008-09 Israeli Campaign in Gaza."
In 1923 Zeev Jabotinsky, a Russian-born journalist, soldier, and early leader of right-wing Zionism, published "The Iron Wall." In it, Jabotinsky laid out the rationale for Jewish colonization and attacks against Palestinian civilians, concluding that "Zionist colonization . . . must be carried out in defiance of the will of the native population . . . under the protection of an iron wall of Jewish bayonets which the native population cannot break through." The iron wall strategy has served as the core of Zionist/Israeli policies toward the Arab world ever since Jabotinsky's article was published. In the article, Jabotinsky did not elaborate on the military strategies . . . history reveal[s] that attacks on Arab civilians resisting Jewish expansion in Palestine are a centralcomponent of the strategy.
In [a New Republic article Moshe Halbertal] claims that the "death ratios" in Gaza prove that Israel did intentionally attack civilians. . . . This argument has been cited by many supporters of Israel, but it is a non sequitur: neither the Goldstone Commission nor anyone else accused Israel of killing as many civilians as it could. Rather, the charge was that for reasons of revenge, punishment, or deterrence, Israel intended to inflict substantial civilian destruction—a war crime against which the argument that Israel could have killed a lot more is not a defense.
From the outset, a central component of the iron wall strategy has been to directly attack civilians, or their institutions, or both—partly as revenge or punishment for Arab attacks on Israelis, but more fundamentally for the purposes of what the Israelis see as "deterrence." The premise is that the more the pain, the greater the likelihood that the Arab peoples will . . . end their conflict with Israel. Slater, Jerome. "Just War Moral Philosophy and the 2008-09 Israeli Campaign in Gaza." International Security 37.2 (2012): 44-80.
(Mu'in Tawfiq Bseiso (1926 – January 23, 1984), born in Gaza, was a Palestinian poet who lived in Egypt)
"FOOTSETPS," BY MU'IN BSEISO
Brother! If they should sharpen the sword on my neck,
I would not kneel, even if their whips lashed
my bloodied mouth
If dawn is so close to coming
I shall not retreat.
I will rise from the land that feeds our furious storm!
Brother! If the executioner should drag me to the slaughterhouse
before your eyes to make you kneel,
so you might beg him to relent,
I'd call again, Brother! Raise your proud head
and watch as they murder me!
Witness my executioner, sword dripping with my blood!
What shall expose the murderer, but our innocent bleeding?
At night their guns kidnapped him from his trench.
The hero was flung into the cells' darkness
where, like a banner fluttering above chains, he stayed.
The chains became flaming torches,
burning the ashes which coat our shining future.
Now the hero lives, his footsteps ringing triumphantly
within the closed walls of every prison.
–Translated by May Jayyusi and Naomi Shihab Nye
More about Bseiso at:
GAZA: RESISTANCE THROUGH POETRY
by Ramzy Baroud
". . . I am both free and a slave amongst men . . ." (Kamal Nasser)
February 11, 2016 Harold KnightLeave a comment
Kamal Nasser. Singing Wounds.
By Fares Mansour, Artist/Designer/Photographer 2011.
Publisher: Bir Zeit University. Published in Palestine.
❶ Israeli forces detain 14 Palestinians across occupied West Bank
❷ Israeli forces blockade Bethlehem-area village after nearby stabbing
❸ PMO: Israeli politicians escalate rhetoric to dehumanize Palestinians
❹ Analysis: The disappearing politics of occupation
❺ Opinion/Analysis: ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS HAVE CREATED A 'STATE WITHIN A STATE'
❻ Poetry by Kamal Nasser
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ MA'AN NEWS AGENCY
ISRAELI FORCES DETAIN 14 PALESTINIANS ACROSS OCCUPIED WEST BANK
Israeli forces detained at least 14 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank during raids on Thursday, locals and Israeli sources said.
___In the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin's Qabatiya village, Israeli forces detained at least seven Palestinians during raids. More . . .
❷ MA'AN NEWS AGENCY
ISRAELI FORCES BLOCKADE BETHLEHEM-AREA VILLAGE AFTER NEARBY STABBING
The Israeli army intensified its blockade on the village of Nahhalin west of Bethlehem on Wednesday morning, a day after an Israeli settler was wounded in a stabbing near the village.
___Locals told Ma'an via telephone that Israeli forces had sealed all Nahhalin's roads, preventing residents from entering and leaving, including humanitarian cases. More . . .
Related . . . ISRAELI FORCES SEAL RAMALLAH-AREA VILLAGE, DEMOLISHED STRUCTURES
The Israeli army intensified its blockade on the village of Nahhalin west of Bethlehem on Wednesday morning, a day after an Israeli settler was wounded in a stabbing near the village. (Photo: Agence France‑Presse /Jaafar Ashtiyeh)
❸ PALESTINE NEWS NETWORK
PMO: ISRAELI POLITICIANS ESCALATE RHETORIC TO DEHUMANIZE PALESTINIANS
The Director of Strategic Communications and Media at the Palestinian Prime Minister's Office, Jamal Dajani, on Thursday said that Israeli politicians have increased their rhetoric and incitement towards Palestinians.
___Dajani was referring to a recent statement by Likud lawmaker Anat Berko, who said that there was no such thing as a Palestinian people, since Arabic doesn't have the consonant "P." More . . .
❹ ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION CENTER (AIC)
THE DISAPPEARING POLITICS OF OCCUPATION
It seems that [UN Secretary General] Ban Ki-moon wants his name to go down in history . . . .
___I didn't expect Ki-moon's statement on the right of Palestinians to resist Israel's occupation to affect people in the Jewish state so deeply. . . . Israeli politicians' sense that his speech necessitated a sort of "review" of Israeli policy.
___The policy review takes place [against the backdrop of elections] which led to Netanyahu's fourth government. The elections were not a political evolution or a coup – they were an ideological achievement. The elections created the most right-wing government in Israeli's history. More . . .
❺ Opinion/Analysis
ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS HAVE CREATED A 'STATE WITHIN A STATE'
Natasha Roth
A primetime investigative news program revealed to all of Israel last week widespread forgery in the purchase of Palestinian land by Jewish settlers. . . .
___ But this is about more than forgeries, fraud and hidden cameras. . . . This is about the strange reality that comes to rest on a country when a project of the scale and scope of Israel's settlement enterprise is itself based on illegality.
___The illegality is not just in terms of international law . . . . the government employs a system whereby it is 'unaware' that state funds are being poured into outposts that even Israel considers illegal. More . . .
"O GOD, NOW I KNOW," BY KAMAL NASSER (1924 – 1973)
O God, why have you inspired me? To rejoice and to suffer?.
Why have you baptized me with vision? To laugh and to cry?
Why have you imbued me with ambition?
To elevate me and to humiliate me
I wish I were heartless, soulless, aimlessly living life, observing it from a far. Approaching eternity with a new heart, a new soul which affirms my wandering, subdues my passions and crucifies me in the void.
O God, why have you tempted me, awakened me, inflamed my passions and with sublimity infused me?
Why have you cleansed me, aroused me?
Why have you crowned me with hope, plunged me in greed and recklessness. Why?
How I long for silence, for stillness
I am lost, questioning
Numb my heart is, lifeless, my visions blind
I drift in the darkness of futility and despair.
O God why have you nourished me, starved me and appeased my hunger
Why have you deprived me, defiling and cleansing me?
Why have you defeated my purpose?
Enlightening me, then leading me astray
I am both free and a slave amongst men
I am a grave and cradle in the hands of fate
Miserable in what I need
Born of reality
Born of chains
Led by wounds, by the years
And life cries out at God
Embarrassing Him in His heaven
Lips screaming:
You, have given me life – created me.
And I ask the void
Why O God have you created me?
Storms of life roar within me
Paths are flooded with blood
Our days shake with pain and helplessness and beauty wanders away from my paradise.
Crucifying my homeland in the wilderness
Wounded are hope and dignity
In my waking hours, deprivation rose, shaking me, pulling me from the depths of darkness.
Guiding me to goodness, devotion, self-sacrifice and giving.
My eyes are opened – I find the way
The raging conflict rests in my heart
The wounds are cleansed with my tears
And in my eyes, You rise, O God
For I know why You have created me!
― Prose translation by Tania Tamari Nasir
Tania Tamari Nasir is Kamal Nasser's cousin. Unpublished translation.
A family memory of Nasser written by another of his cousins, at page 35 in her memoir:
Khoury, Samia Nasir. REFLECTIONS FROM PALESTINE: A JOURNEY OF HOPE – A MEMOIR. Limassol, Cyprus: Rimal Publications, 2014.
About Kamal Nasser
". . . a story of a people who were misled, who were thrown into the mazes of the years. . ." (Kamal Nasser)
February 7, 2016 February 7, 2016 Harold KnightLeave a comment
Israeli soldier confronts QABATIYA "terrorist." هنا قباطيه ..الكف التي واجهت مخرز …الأهل الذين أقبلوا ولم يدبروا
❶ Palestinian MK sentenced for "disgracing a public servant"
❷ Israel lifts blockade of Qabatiya after three days
❸ 551 Palestinians arrested in January
❹ Palestinian Embassy Opens in Brazil
❺ Opinion/Analysis: The Complex Problematics of Palestinian Representation
. . . . . ❺―(ᴀ) Also by Richard Falk: Israel shoots the messenger: An open letter to Ban Ki-Moon
❶ ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION CENTER (AIC)
PALESTINIAN MK SENTENCED FOR "DISGRACING A PUBLIC SERVANT"
(Charges against MK Haneen Zoabi come as the Israeli PRIME MINISTER CONTEMPLATES HOW TO UNSEAT MEMBERS OF KNESSET critical of the Israeli occupation.)
Member of Knesset (MK) of the Joint List party, Haneen Zoabi, reached a plea bargain of six months of probation and a fine of NIS 3,000 at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court on Sunday for "disgracing a public servant" . . . .
___Zoabi was charged on Sunday with "disgracing a public servant," based on the claim that Zoabi called an Israeli Arab police officer a "traitor" at a protest in Nazareth on July 6, 2014. More . . .
ISRAEL LIFTS BLOCKADE OF QABATIYA AFTER THREE DAYS
The Israeli army lifted on Saturday evening the siege on the village of Qabatiya, which has been blockaded for three days in a row after three residents of the town carried out a deadly attack in Jerusalem.
___The Palestinian Civil Affairs department in Jenin said on Saturday evening that Israeli forces has lifted the siege on the village of Qabatiya near Jenin. More . . .
❸ ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION CENTER (AIC)
551 PALESTINIANS ARRESTED IN JANUARY
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
The following report was issued on 1 February 2016 by three prisoners' organizations in Palestine: the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Committee. The Arabic original is available at Addameer's website.
___In a joint report, the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Committee reported that 551 Palestinians were arrested during the month of January 2016, including 131 children and six women and girls. There have now been over 3,500 arrests since October 2015 and the beginning of the popular upsurge. More . . .
Palestinian Ambassador to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben (Photo: Cia Jornalística J.C. Jarros)
❹ IMEMC-INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE EAST MEDIA CENTER
PALESTINIAN EMBASSY OPENS IN BRAZIL
The Palestinian Authority has inaugurated its first diplomatic mission in the Western Hemisphere, in Brazil, as diplomatic tensions escalate between Israel and the South American state.
___Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben led the opening ceremony in the Brazilian capital city of Brasilia. . . .
___"This is the conclusion of a dream of mine that was also a dream of colleagues that came before me in this mission in the last four decades," Alzeben said. More . . .
THE COMPLEX PROBLEMATICS OF PALESTINIAN REPRESENTATION
While serving as UN Special Rapporteur for Occupied Palestine, especially in my early years between 2008 and 2010, I fully expected to encounter defamatory opposition from Israel and ultra-Zionist, but what surprised me at the time were various efforts of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to undermine my role at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. . . . . I was puzzled at first, and then began to wonder whether the Palestinian people were being adequately represented on the global stage.
___This issue of representation has been rendered acute partly due to Israeli policies of fragmenting the Palestinian people, and then complaining that they have no partner with whom to make peace. More . . .
. . . . . ❺―(ᴀ) Also by Richard Falk
ISRAEL SHOOTS THE MESSENGER: AN OPEN LETTER TO BAN KI-MOON
___. . . . Not since Richard Goldstone chaired the group that released the report detailing apparent Israeli war crimes during its massive attack on Gaza at the end of 2008 have Israel's big political guns responded with such unwarranted fury . . . .
Netanyahu has the audacity to claim that your acknowledgement that it is not unnatural for the Palestinians oppressed for half century to resist and resort to extremism is tantamount to the encouragement of terrorism, what he described as giving a "tailwind to terrorism." More . . .
"THE STORY," BY KAMAL NASSER
I will tell you a story …
a story that lived in the dreams of my people,
a story that comes from the world of tents.
It is a story inspired by hunger and embellished by dark nights of terror.
It is the story of my country, a handful of refugees.
Every twenty of them have a pound of flour between them
and a few promises of relief … gifts and parcels.
It is the story of the suffering ones
who stood waiting in line ten years,
in hunger,
in tears and agony,
in hardship and yearning.
It is a story of a people who were misled,
who were thrown into the mazes of the years.
And yet they stood defiant,
disrobed yet united
as they trudged from the light to their tents:
the revolution of return
into the world of darkness.
― Trans. Michael R. Burch
Kamal Nasser was a much-admired Palestinian poet, who due to his renowned integrity was known as "The Conscience." Kamal Nasser was a Palestinian Christian who was murdered by an Israeli death squad in 1973. One of the members of the death squad was Ehud Barak, who ruled as Israel's tenth Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001. . . .
Nasser was the PLO's most prominent Christian and he enjoyed "great appeal" in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq "both as a distinguished poet and likeable personality." He was the "conscience of the Palestinian revolution," according to Nazih Abul-Nidal, who worked with him on the magazine Filastin al-Thawra.
From THE HYPERTEXTS. (The site's index.)
". . . Her face is a wind in the shadows . . ." (Dalia Taha)
January 27, 2016 January 27, 2016 Harold KnightLeave a comment
Dozens of Palestinians from Yatta attended the funeral of 13-year-old Ruqqaya Abu Eid in the cemetery of the village of al-Karmel east of Yatta. (Photo: Ma'an News Agency)
❶ UN's Ban: Violent response to Israeli occupation 'human nature'
❷ Scores attend funeral of slain Palestinian girl
❸ Israel bars 3 sisters from visiting father due to Islamic dress
❹ Palestinian PM: The Israeli deputy FM uses fiction to whitewash Occupation
❺ Opinion/Analysis: WHEN DO ISRAELIS CARE ABOUT DEAD PALESTINIANS
❻ Poetry by Dalia Taha
UN'S BAN: VIOLENT RESPONSE TO ISRAELI OCCUPATION 'HUMAN NATURE'
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday lent his voice to mounting international criticism of key Israeli policies and said it was "human nature" for Palestinians to react violently to Israel's nearly 50-year military occupation.
___Speaking at the UN Security Council's Middle East debate, Ban said the new year had begun as 2015 ended — "with unacceptable levels of violence and a polarized public discourse across the spectrum in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory." More . . .
SCORES ATTEND FUNERAL OF SLAIN PALESTINIAN GIRL
Jan. 24, 201
Dozens of Palestinians from Yatta attended the funeral of 13-year-old Ruqqaya Abu Eid in the cemetery of the village of al-Karmel east of Yatta.
___Ruqayya Eid Abu Eid, originally from the city of Yatta south of Hebron, was shot dead on Saturday by an Israeli security guard after allegedly trying to stab him near the illegal settlement of Anatot. More . . .
❸ MA'AN NEWS AGENCY
ISRAEL BARS 3 SISTERS FROM VISITING FATHER DUE TO ISLAMIC DRESS
Israeli authorities on Monday barred three Palestinian sisters from visiting their father in Israeli prison because of their conservative Islamic dress, a spokesperson with the Palestinian Prisoners' Center for Studies . . . said Israeli authorities would not allow the three sisters [to visit] their father, Yahya Shredah, 43, in Ramon Israeli prison because the three women were wearing the "al-niqab". . .
___The three women were initially barred from visiting their father last year. . . .
___. . . Israeli forces also recently insulted other family members coming to visit Yahya with curse words, and made the male family members agree to a strip search before allowing visitation. . . . Yahya is serving a 22-year sentence. More . . .
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (Agence France‑Presse/Photo)
❹ PALESTINE NEWS NETWORK
PALESTINIAN PM: THE ISRAELI DEPUTY FM USES FICTION TO WHITEWASH OCCUPATION
In response to an op-ed written for The Wall Street Journal by Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely accusing Palestinians of utilizing foreign aid to support terrorism, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said, "Israel's Deputy FM is using fiction to whitewash Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and the crimes committed by Israeli Colonial Settlers" . . . .
___Hamdallah said that the latest attacks on the Palestinian government by Hotovely and others in the Israeli government "represent an act of desperation. . . ." More . . .
The Wall Street Journal editorial
WHEN DO ISRAELIS CARE ABOUT DEAD PALESTINIANS
Orly Noy
It seems that Israelis only pay attention to Palestinian lives when a left-wing activist is accused of sending Palestinians to their death. More . . .
"FACE," BY DALIA TAHA
A sky fell into
the braid
of the little girl who was killed.
Her face
is a wind in the shadows
of the garden,
blowing without colour
or blushing
when the air rushes through.
As if she knew,
when the jackals emerged
from her shadow and the river widened
in the disappointment
of whiteness.
As if she knew, when the sparrows
ate her eyes
and the sidewalk walked
in her blood.
The woman treads on dead
jasmine, searching
for her hand.
She hides half her face,
and the air is filled with
the fingers of nothingness.
She pokes a hole in the poem
so the sidewalks can
wander into it.
The little girl's hand withers and her blood
slumbers in
When God passed over
her name,
she buried her hands in the heights of the jasmine
and covered her nakedness
with the corpses of the invaders.
―Translated by Allison Blecker
From Banipal 45: Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. Winter 2012. WWW.banipal.co.uk
Dalia Taha is a Palestinian poet and playwright. She was born in Berlin 1986 but grew up in Ramallah-Palestine. Her first play "Keffiyeh/Made in China" was produced by the Flemish Royal Theater [and] was premiered in Brussels in 2012, then brought to Palestine where it toured 7 Palestinian cities across the west bank. More . . .
An Interview with Dalia Taha
". . . Bound his hands to the rock of the dead and said: Murderer!. . ." (Mahmoud Darwish)
October 27, 2015 October 28, 2015 Harold Knight1 Comment
A Palestinian youth reacts during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Hebron on October 4, 2015. (Agence France‑Presse/Photo)
❶ Protest called in Hebron as Israel withholds 11 Palestinians' bodies
❷ Israeli Army Detains 46 Palestinians in West Bank, Jerusalem
❸ UN: Israel should not take unilateral steps in Jerusalem
❹ Personality of the Month: Albert Aghazarian
❺ Opinion/Analysis: Ramzy Baroud: Palestine Remains the Core Struggle in the Middle East
❻ Poetry by Mahmoud Darwish
PROTEST CALLED IN HEBRON AS ISRAEL WITHHOLDS 11 PALESTINIANS' BODIES
HEBRON (Ma'an) — Palestinians across the southern West Bank district of Hebron are set to rally on Tuesday in protest against Israel's decision to withhold the bodies of 11 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces this month.
____Palestinian factions across Hebron called for the "rally of anger" to march from al-Haras mosque in Hebron's city center to Ibn Rush Square.
____In a joint statement, Hebron's factional leaders urged residents of Hebron district to join the rally in solidarity with the families of Hebron's "martyrs."
❷ PALESTINE NEWS & INFORMATION AGENCY – WAFA
ISRAELI ARMY DETAINS 46 PALESTINIANS IN WEST BANK, JERUSALEM
Israeli forces late Monday and early Tuesday detained 46 Palestinians, including minors, from across the West Bank districts, including Jerusalem, bringing the total number of Palestinians detained since the beginning of violent unrest in October 1, 2015, to 1085, according to local and security sources.
____Forces detained nine Palestinians during a raid and search campaign conducted across the Hebron area.
____In Hebron city, army soldiers detained four Palestinians after raiding and wreaking havoc into their homes.
❸ THE MIDDLE EAST MONITOR (MEMO)
UN: ISRAEL SHOULD NOT TAKE UNILATERAL STEPS IN JERUSALEM
Israel must refrain from taking any unilateral steps in Jerusalem; Anadolu Agency reported a UN spokesperson as saying yesterday.
____UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric's comment came after Israeli media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to revoke the residencies of Palestinians living in the East Jerusalem side of the Separation Wall.
Related . . . 'MOST-READ' ARTICLE AT WASHINGTON POST CALLS ISRAEL 'SAVAGE, UNREPAIRABLE SOCIETY'
Albert-Aghazarian
❹ THIS WEEK IN PALESTINE
PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH ALBERT AGHAZARIAN
[. . . . .] "But of course, Albert Aghazarian!" The mere utterance of his name usually precipitates numerous stories about Al-Ustaz, the teacher… the Old City's walking encyclopedia who knows the history of Jerusalem up to its each and every stone.
____Albert Aghazarian may be known mostly as a historian, a teacher, and a storyteller, but if you were to ask him, he might say that he is first and foremost an interpreter, because everything in this life is up for interpretation. A fluent speaker of Arabic, English, French, Armenian, Hebrew, Turkish, and some Spanish, Albert would say that he only speaks "one language," before he pauses and adds… "at a time."
RAMZY BAROUD: PALESTINE REMAINS THE CORE STRUGGLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
[. . . . .]
Historically, chaos, whether that managed by or provoked in its entirety by Israel and its Zionist and neoconservative supporters, has largely served the objectives of successive Israeli governments. Whatever benefits Israel reaped from conflicts, tend to serve it in the short term only. In the long term, agitated conflicts often backfire.
____This has caused Israel an unsolvable dilemma: it is a state that engenders perpetual conflict, yet invariably seeks normalization, security and stability, all at the same time. In reality, however, the position that Israel managed to carve for itself is that of a warring, barbarous nation – a scenario that explains its rise, but also its inevitable downfall [. . . . .]
____So naturally, the Arab world cannot be 'okay' if Palestine is not 'okay'.
"ABOUT A MAN," BY MAHMOUD DARWISH
They gagged his mouth,
Bound his hands to the rock of the dead
And said: Murderer!
They took his food, clothes and banners,
Cast him into the condemned cell
And said: Thief!
They drove him away from every port,
Took his young sweetheart,
Then said: Refugee!
O you with bloodshot eyes and bloody hands,
Night is short-lived,
The detention room lasts not forever,
Nor yet the links of chains.
Nero died, Rome did not:
With her very eyes she fights.
And seeds from a withered ear
With wheat shall fill the valley.
From Poem Hunter. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-man/ Web. 26 Jun 2015.
A conversation with Mahmoud Darwish
CPT members escort children to school in Hebron. Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine supports Palestinian-led, non-violent, grassroots resistance to the Israeli occupation. By collaborating with local Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers and educating people in our home communities we strive to help create a space for justice and peace. (Photo: CPT)
". . . I have prepared my poems And reclaimed my hand From the combat of the street . . ." Ibrahim Nasrallah
". . . I shall continue to carve All the chapters of my tragedy . . ." – Tawfiq Zayyad
"Prison is a moral position that must be made daily . . . ." Khalida Jarrar
"How long had you been away from the place you loved best?" – Naomi Shihab Nye
"The messengers of peace here weep for the bitterness and the malice . . . ." Samih Al-Qasim
Samia Khoury on ". . .Do you sanction wh…
Samia Khoury on ". . . in the street there's n…
rothwind on "No matter your sanctions, no…
Dalell on "No matter your sanctions, no…
Baharan Muse on ". . .strangers with their rif…
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You are here: Home / Fishing Report / More rain than sun for the week.
More rain than sun for the week.
More rain and then some sunshine sounds great. This makes for more water storage, just what we need. One little thing, Governor Newson plans to try and add another 300,000 homes to California to try to help solve the housing shortage. Now add to that the 60,000 or more homes lost to the fires we are talking another 300,000AF (acre feet) of water. Who is going to provide this water, or should we ask where is it going to come from? We are already in water wars over who gets how much and from where. Another 300,000AF per year for the next ten years to meet Governor Newsom's proposal of providing 5 million new homes in the state is going to strip all the water in the state to provide the water needed for those proposed homes. The extension of Shasta Dam to help provide extra water is already under legal threat. So how do we provide extra water for the needs of the state? Ask your legislators!
The South Fork of the Trinity River is in need of water for the survival of the spring run Chinook salmon. The count for the spring run has been decreasing since 2013. In 2017 the count was less than 20 and the 2018 count was 12. We are looking at the possibility of this run becoming extinct. There is the possibility of cannabis water draws being a very good reason there is less water for the salmon. Restoration of habitat could possibly help save this run but cool water is needed and many of the cold-water streams that feed into the South Fork have dwindled down to near trickles.
NOTE: One of our stalwarts in fishing is calling it quits! Yes, we are losing another old-time fishing partner, Tim Brady has finally said he wants to retire and try to enjoy life at his pleasure. Tim is closing the Trinity Outdoor tackle shop in Weaverville. Good Luck and great retirement to you Tim.
PFMC: The Pacific Fishery Management Councils Draft Salmon Management Plan for rebuilding the Sacramento fall Chinook and the Klamath River fall Chinook salmon is out for public review and comment. You can review the plan on their website, www.pcouncil.org and please send you comments to the council.
How is the upcoming PFMC meetings impacted by the government shutdown? The implications are that some meetings for the statistical teams will not occur as the teams are on furlough and the information, they provide could possibly not be available for fisheries consideration. The council's March meeting in Vancouver, Washington will occur and conduct as much business as possible. The April meeting in Calif. is also planned to go forward. The meeting dates and locations are on the website.
Humboldt Steelhead Days: The annual hatchery steelhead derby started Saturday Jan. 19th and runs through to Feb. 23. Anglers can sign up for the contest or get information at humboldtsteelheaddays.com.
Klamath Iron Gate: the counts were still going up for the Scott and Shasta Rivers before the rains came but the Scott has really come up and flows are presently reaching 3,271cfs.
Redd Survey: No survey last week due to the weather and the river too high.
Fishing: The river this week is blown out Willow Creek is looking at 18,455cfs and the river bar in front of my house is about to go under water. Prior to the storms the Trinity was seeing a good run of fresh fish coming through but the storms have just about wiped out any chance of winter steelhead fishing for at lest a week. If and that is a big word, if the rains subside, we could see some great winter run steelhead fishing in the upper sections of the river by the weekend. The upper sections of the river flush out fast and could possibly be fishable. I would check with a reliable source before you make the trip.
Mid-Klamath: Iron Gate Dam is releasing 1,240cfs. at this time which makes it very unlikely to be fishable. Keep an eye out for water flows and when they drop to a fishable condition fishing from I-5 to Iron Gate should be hot fishing for steelhead and trout. The Seiad Valley is flowing 10,117cfs right now so the mid to lower sections of the Klamath are totally unfishable.
Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 88% of capacity (an increase of 3%) with inflows of 1,675cfs and releasing 2,128cfs into Clear Creek and on to Keswick. Shasta is 58% of capacity (an increase of 5% and plus 12ft) with inflows of 19,459cfs and releasing 303cfs, Keswick is 91% of capacity with inflows of 11,930cfs and releasing 3,154cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 35% of capacity (an increase of 4% plus 21ft) with inflows of 11,930cfs and releases of 1,175cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 44% of capacity (an increase of 10% plus 10ft) with inflows of 6,931cfs and releases of 1,684cfs.
Trinity Lake: the lake is 64ft below the overflow (a decrease of 4ft) and 63% of capacity (an increase of 2%) inflows are 5,296cfs and 504cfs is being released into Lewiston Lake with 204 cfs going to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 363cfs into the Sacramento River.
Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 300cfs and water temperatures of N/A degrees and air at N/A as of 2:00pm today Sunday Jan. 13, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 5.60ft at 974cfs and water temps of 44.7, Douglas City is 8.05ft and 1,801cfs. Junction City is N/A at N/Acfs. Helena is 11.86ft at 1,948cfs with water temps of 45.3 degrees. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 11.42ft at 10,444cfs. South Fork of the Trinity is 11.22ft at 8,011cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 18,455cfs and air is 48 degrees and water at 45 degrees. Hoopa is 25.18ft at 32.336cfs and is 45.5 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River are estimated to be 87,821cfs.
Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,241cfs. Seiad Valley is 8.54ft at 10,117cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 14,097cfs, Salmon River is 11.28ft at 17,0093cfs, Somes Bar is estimated at 38,392cfs. Orleans is 19.01ft at 55,485cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 28,76ft at 119,845cfs and water temps of 46.9 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 20.81ft and flows of 45,969cfs.
Temperatures in the Valley last week were 53 hi and low 37. Rain for the week was 8.12in and total rain for the water year to date is 31.34 inches with no snow in the valley yet. Rain is predicted for rest of the week with sunshine the following weekend.


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The confident, fun-loving, bucket-getting Jordan Poole
Michigan guard Jordan Poole (2) looks to pass the ball in the second half of their Big Ten basketball game against Northwestern at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, on Monday, January 29, 2018. Michigan won the game, 58-47. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
By Andrew Kahn | akahn1@mlive.com
ANN ARBOR -- Jordan Poole's high school coach, Jim Gosz, remembers a sectional game during his freshman year at Milwaukee's Rufus King. Poole, Gosz says, weighed about 125 pounds and looked like he was nine years old. He came off the bench for King, the seventh or eighth man. Poole had played sparingly in the game, but with 15 seconds left and King down three, Gosz thought, All right, I'm going to try you, Poole.
As soon as he touched the ball, Gosz says, he drilled a 3-pointer from several feet behind the line. The game was tied. King won in overtime.
"I think that was where he put his stamp on who Jordan Poole is," Gosz said via phone Wednesday.
Poole, now a freshman at Michigan, is still the confident, fun-loving, bucket-getter he was then.
"Every time I shoot I think it's going in," Poole said after Michigan's win over Northwestern Monday. He'll give a heat check, he said, after making just one shot.
Poole is shooting 41 percent from 3. He's hit multiple 3s in eight games, including Monday's. Deciding when to pull the trigger and when to keep the ball moving in Michigan's free-flowing offense is a work in progress for Poole. He said that the amount of time he expects to be on the floor factors into how quickly and how often he'll shoot. If he thinks he's just giving a starter a quick breather, "I come in and try to put up a couple shots, get a bucket, try to provide a spark," he said.
The 6-foot-4 freshman has had several creative finishes inside the arc, including a hesitation move against Northwestern that ended with a scoop shot. "A little old-time music!" FS1's Bill Raftery said on the TV broadcast.
"He just does things we can't teach," John Beilein said. "When he got that little layup, I said, 'How do you get that?'"
Gosz puts it best: "He's probably the most athletic kid in a non-athletic body, if that makes sense. He knows his limitations, but he'll embarrass you out there -- he has the 'AND-1' moves. He has all the pastry that goes along with the game."
Gosz, now the coach at Whitefish Bay Dominican, watches most Michigan games and has noticed Poole's improved basketball IQ and commitment to defense. He said Poole would often save his energy for offense in high school. That wasn't going to fly at Michigan.
"Jordan Poole's defense was not good in October, November," Beilein said. "It is really coming on. ... He also understands, 'I'm going to play defense and take care of the ball or I'm not going to play.'"
He's seeing the floor better, too. Poole, who had seven assists in his college career before Monday, had three against Northwestern. "This is huge for him," Beilein said. "We will celebrate it."
Poole will undoubtedly be part of that celebration. Whether as a cheerleader on the bench or as a spark coming off it, his teammates love his positive energy. Gosz said that what stood out about Poole from his high school days was that he wore a smile every day. "He's a very harmless kid. He poses no threat on anyone personally. ... He was always a good teammate. He's the one who gets people laughing, kept everyone loose."
During Saturday's game against Minnesota, Michigan's student section, the Maize Rage, will host a "Poole Party." Fans are encouraged to bring a "swimsuit, floaties, and anything else you'd bring to a pool or beach." Poole's last name alone is not the reason such an event is happening. He relates with U-M fans viscerally, whether joining them as they bop to music to start the second half or mentioning them in post-game interviews.
Poole is strengthening his connections with his coaches, teammates, and fans, one sweet jumper at a time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Patient at heart, Science in hand
Health Network
Neuro director to co-chair new national clinical trial initiative
Consortium brings together hundreds of researchers from 28 networks, 11 trial units across the country
Today the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced funding for a new clinical trial consortium co-chaired by Dr. Guy Rouleau, Director of The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Hospital-Institute).
Out of the total $131 million in the announcement, $39 million is funding Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT), a pan-Canadian initiative to improve Canada's clinical trials.
ACT brings together hundreds of researchers from 28 networks, 11 trial units from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and Nunavut, as well as patient-partners, hospitals, government and industry partners, with the goal of boosting the impact and speed of Canadian-led trials, ultimately improving health outcomes. Co-chaired by Dr. Rouleau and Dr. PJ Devereaux of McMaster University, the 250-person consortium will improve the national ethics approval process, simplify randomized control trial contracts, create efficient data sources, explore novel trial designs, and invest in evaluating Canadian biotechnology. The ACT consortium is focused on 'democraticizing' clinical trial participation in remote and rural communities where trials often don't take place, including often underrepresented groups such as Indigenous Peoples, children, and others.
An impetus for the creation of ACT consortium was the delays experienced in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Canada was not able to move as quickly and effectively as other countries in their clinical trials.
"I'm very excited we've been awarded this ACT grant from CHIR," says Dr. Rouleau. "I think it's going to be fantastic to be able to accelerate clinical trials in Canada, to give access to clinical trials to people who don't typically have access, to reduce barriers to conducting clinical trials, and to increase the expertise in clinical trials in Canada."
Dr. Rouleau says ACT will make Canada more competitive in clinical trials worldwide. From a Quebec perspective, he believes it will draw more trials by making the province a more attractive place for industry and researchers.
"If I think locally and here at The Neuro, we're facing a tsunami of new treatments for neurological diseases, and ACT will facilitate clinical trials for these new drugs in many neurological diseases."
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text:
In retail history
Posted on April 14, 2016 by skittel
J.C. Penney Mother Store
Kemmerer, WY
Wiki Commons Bend00
James Cash Penney opens his store on April 14th, 1902 in Kemmerer WY.
James starts his retail career in 1898 when he went to work for Guy Johnson and Thomas Callahan in their Golden Rule stores. When an opportunity to open a new store in Kemmerer came up, the partners offer him a share in the business and the chance to run his own store. In 1907, Penney buys out the other partners.
Penney enjoys steady growth and success. In 1912, he has 34 stores. In 1917, he operates 175 stores in 22 states. Big Mac work clothes, Penney's oldest private brand, was launched in 1922. The 500th store was opens in 1924 and the 1000th in 1928. By 1941, Penney operated 1600 stores in all 48 states.
Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, works for the company in 1940. They issue their first charge card in 1959. James Cash is involved with the company until 1971 when he passed away at the age of 95. At its height in 1973, J.C.Penney has over 2000 stores.


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Louisiana man, in prison on a Jim Crow conviction, gets a new hearing
Today, a man who says he's innocent asks a judge to end his jail term after a quarter-century. In a documentary, Brandon Jackson of Louisiana says there's no way to describe how he feels in prison.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE JIM CROW CONVICTIONS")
BRANDON JACKSON: They don't even have a word in the dictionary. And I've been waking up like that since 1996. I think about it all day, every day. I'm 49 now. I'll be 50 December 9.
INSKEEP: Now, Brandon Jackson is not the only person in prison who says he didn't do it, but he has something others do not. Members of the jury that convicted him also didn't think he was proven guilty. Al Jazeera features Jackson in a documentary on Louisiana's non-unanimous jury verdicts. Reporter Natasha Del Toro reviewed the trial from the 1990s and found no physical evidence connected Jackson with the crime.
NATASHA DEL TORO: No one was able to even identify Brandon Jackson. And the state relied on the testimony of the co-conspirator, named Joseph Young, who agreed to testify against Brandon Jackson in exchange for a much lighter sentence.
INSKEEP: Ten of 12 jury members found Jackson guilty, and under Louisiana law, that was enough for a life sentence. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court found non-unanimous juries unconstitutional, but they did not make that ruling retroactive, so many people like Jackson remain in prison. Del Toro found that the non-unanimous juries grew out of a specific time in Louisiana history
DEL TORO: After the Civil War, the white leaders in the state held a convention in 1898 that was really designed to ensure the supremacy of the white race. And we know this because they spelled it out. It's right there in the liner notes of the convention. And they implemented this non-unanimous jury verdict, which would allow them to dismiss or mute the voices of Black jurors.
INSKEEP: How would that be the case? That may not be obvious to people. Why would a non-unanimous jury be something that would discriminate?
DEL TORO: If you had, for example, two Black jurors who did not believe somebody was guilty, these Black defendants then are found guilty, and the Black jurors who would have found them not guilty are silenced.
INSKEEP: The 1898 law passed in a time after slavery was abolished and Louisiana was replacing slave labor with convict labor.
DEL TORO: If you had more African Americans who were being convicted, then you could continue to have free labor. Interestingly, Louisiana incarcerates more people than any other state, and a disproportionate number of those people are African American. It does seem like the laws are working as they were designed to work 125 years ago.
INSKEEP: In this modern-day case, Brandon Jackson is Black. Two jury members who voted to acquit were also Black. The white jurors who voted to convict included Stacey Marks, who told her story for the documentary.
STACEY MARKS: He was very sure of himself. He seemed to have a very - he smiled a lot. He seemed very relaxed. But I remember Brandon made a lot of eye contact with the jurors, and he seemed to be pretty sure of himself. And like I said, I felt he was real - really overconfident.
INSKEEP: What are you hearing there when you listen to that?
DEL TORO: Stacey Marks. Before I even comment on that, I want to say that she was very gracious in talking to us. And she also emphasized that she grew up in the South and that she definitely does not consider herself racist.
That said, I think what you hear there is really perhaps an unconscious form of racism. The history of racism in this country is a Black man could lose his life for looking at a white woman. And in this case, Brandon Jackson lost his freedom.
INSKEEP: What did Louisiana officials say to you when you asked them about this law that cannot apply going forward - it's unconstitutional now - but is not being overturned in past cases?
DEL TORO: The Louisiana state Legislature had an opportunity to apply the Supreme Court decision retroactively, but they voted that down, and it was in a straight party vote. You know, we contacted some of these Republican lawmakers, and one in particular that we spoke with said that they felt good about the progress that they had made - this law has been banned in Louisiana - but that they feel comfortable with the step that they've taken. Some of these lawmakers told us off camera that the reason why they voted this down was because of influence from the District Attorneys Association Louisiana.
INSKEEP: Oh, district attorneys don't want to go back and reopen all these old cases.
DEL TORO: It would be a lot of work. It would be a lot of work. There's about 1,500 people sitting in prison right now on these non-unanimous jury convictions. So if they had to go back and retry these cases, you know, that would mean a whole lot of work for them, and it could get complicated.
INSKEEP: I want to note that your documentary also interviews Mr. Jackson's mother, Mollie Peoples, who's in her 70s. Let's listen to what she says after another failed court hearing.
MOLLIE PEOPLES: I don't have long. And I said (ph) my heart surgery is on (ph) six months. And I'm trying to stay. I've asked God to allow me to live long enough to see him go free. But at this rate, I'm not going to make it.
INSKEEP: We're talking to you because another hearing is coming up. What is that hearing about, and what is she thinking?
DEL TORO: Brandon has filed a post-conviction relief application to see if a judge would be willing to retry his case based on the fact that he was convicted by a non-unanimous jury. This has been in the works now for a few months, so this is part of why you hear Miss Mollie's voice - the frustration in her voice because she feels like this has just been this dragged-out process. At this point, what happens today is going to determine Brandon's fate, if he's actually going to have a retrial or not. And if he doesn't, that means that he's got about 15 more years in prison.
INSKEEP: Natasha Del Toro is a reporter for Al Jazeera's investigative documentary program "Fault Lines." Thanks so much.
DEL TORO: Thank you so much, Steve.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLIE JEFFERSON'S "SMOKY MOUNTAINS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Open Studies in European Cinema. The Restructuring of UFA under Klitzsch
In 1926 UFA suffered severe financial losses. The superproductions Metropolis and Faust weren't finished on time and had run up huge bills. Deutsche Bank was prepared to force the company into bankruptcy unless a new source of capital was found.
The extreme nationalist Alfred Hugenberg quickly made the most of the his opportunity and acquired the majority of the share capital. Hugenberg installed his protege Ludwig Klitzsch at the helm of UFA. Klitzsch swiftly moved to restructure the company along Hollywood models of best practice. He also started to diversify into other media communications areas specifically sheet music and gramophone records.
The Central Producer System
Klitzsch's first move was to install the central producer system. Under the old management Erich Pommer had given his leading directors the right to use the Director unit to help creatre more artistic films, with the directors having a relatively free hand over what they did and what they spent. The central producer system ensured a tight control over all aspects of the film from budget to shooting schedule. Klitzsch's restructuring enabled UFA to start breaking even and helped them to raise the money to invest in sound
They achieved managed to ahcieve the move to full sound production in just over a year. In order to make this hasty transistion Klitsch engineered a deal with UFA competitior Tobis-Klangfilm licensing their technology rather than going down the expensive route of re-inventing their own.
There is no doubt that the financial restructuring and ensuing business model put UFA firmly back into business. As Germany slid deeper into depression with unemployment reaching arounf 8 million in late 1932 by 1930-31 UFA was in the black. Not only had it it done well in the domestic market but it had agressively and successfully marketed its foreign language versions in France and the UK as well as continuing to develop on the music side as another income stream.
New directors new kinds of film
This financial recovery was achieved in spite of (or because of) the loss of the top directors under previous management. Murnau had gone to America, Lang had started his own production company after Metropolis, Pabst had started working for Nero Films and E. A. Dupont had gone to the UK.
UFA was increasingly peopled by directors who were efficient and effective makers of genre films such as Karl Hartl and Gustav Ucicky
With the coming of sound musicals and comedies became the staple of UFA production with the development of international stars. The Blue Angel 1929 / 30 starring Emil Jannings and making Marlene Dietrich an international star is perhaps the most famous of these films.
Other films of this ilk included The Congress Dance (1931) dir Eric Charell with Lilian Harvey, Lil Dagover and Conrad Veidt.
Above new favourite of the audience Lilian Harvey in The Congress Dance while below Lil Dagover and Conrad Veidt provide an in depth quality cast.
There were also oddball comedies such as Viktor and Victoria
which was made on the cusp on the Nazi takeover of power. According to the hyperlinked articled it became the box office number one hit in 1933. Sabine Hake has it recorded as a top seller for 1934.
Throughout the depression UFA was able to provide circuses but no bread, that role fell to the Nazis.
Klitzsch also started to institute changes in SPIO and try and follow the Hollywood model of an industry self regulatory regime which would serve to help control supply and reduce concerns about overproduction and consequent falling incomes for all.
Elsaesser considers that overall the restructring of UFA was a necessary step although he was thankful for the earlier model followed by Pommer because some of the great films of the Weimar period still admired today would never have been made. In terms of politcs and ideology Elsaesser is of the opinion that despite criticisms from the left it was a business imperative rather than an ideological one that drove UFA after Hugenberg took over and until the Nazi regime became firmly established.
: 30 Nov 2006 16:56 | Tags: Babelsberg Erich Pommer European Cinema German Cinema Open Studies Thomas Elsaesser Ufa Weimar And Nazi Cinema Weimar Cinema | Comments (0) | Report a problem
Oct | Today | Dec


A lot of folks have the entrepreneurial spirit. Yet many never see it through.
According to a Gallup survey, potential entrepreneurs don't take the plunge for a variety of reasons. They worry about a steady income, lack personal savings, or fear failure. A staggering 49% say they don't start a companybecause they don't know where to start.
What can address these concerns is a way to start small and generate reliable income. Here's a list of low-barrier to entry business ideas that can prove fruitful with the right plan.
By starting on third-party platforms, you can bring in revenue immediately — without having to exhaust time and resources on building a website, marketing products, managing logistics, etc. Start with a product you know well and grow in a manner that's profitable and sustainable.
There are lots of retailer websites out there, from platforms for creative merchants like Etsy to mammoth marketplaces selling everything under the sun like Amazon and Alibaba. Choose one that aligns with your product category and fits your budget (some sites have expensive fees).
For instance, if you want to start selling niche items or refurbished goods, eBay is a great choice. It's also inexpensive to launch a store, as long as you can find the funds to buy the products you hope to sell. Just pay attention to costs. As Aron Hsiao, a long-time eBay seller and former eBay employee, notes, "use the eBay Fee Illustrator calculator to determine which store level is best for your business" and stay updated on fees and expenses (they change).
Starting a tutoring service comes with basically no initial expenses if you do it entirely online. Marketing in the local community is inexpensive as well, especially if you make use of free classifieds, bulletin board locations, and your personal network.
You can make good money, too. According to a Care.com report, professional tutors typically earn between $20-$85 per hour, with rates varying due to location, subject/field, frequency of sessions, etc. Don't set your asking rate too low, and you should be able to negotiate a fee that brings you in solid hourly pay.
So, where should you start? Finding students in your area is a great idea. You can expand your potential client base by using sites like Wyzant (good for academic subjects) and TakeLessons.com (good for music, hobbies, and art).
Why not monetize your ability to build and fix things? The only upfront expenses are your tools, which you may already have, and marketing costs.
Before you start a handyman service, be sure to get proper licensing, as it will give you credibility and legal protection. As HomeAdvisor advises, if you're going to be doing HVAC, electrical, remodeling, or plumbing work, having a license is absolutely advised. For work like lawn-care, window cleaning, and trash removal, licensing isn't necessary.
To get the word out in an affordable way, utilize the power of word-of-mouth among your friends and family, advertise for free on CraigsList, and post signs and business cards around your community. Signing up for membership on a site like Angie's List may cost a little, but it gives you access to more potential customers and the backing of a reputable company, making it easier to build your brand and expand your business.
If you like cruising around town in an automobile, why not make a living out of it? If you already have your own vehicle, you can get started right away.
With companies like Uber and Lyft, you can work as an independent contractor and not have to worry about finding clientele. Considering the average Uber driver makes around $30 per hour, you can do alright out there on the road. If you learn some tricks of the game, you can even do much better than alright. The blog, Six Figure Drivers, teaches drivers how to maximize earning by taking advantage of sign up bonuses and referrals and driving during busy nights and holidays, which is when incentives are offered. Also, the guides even show how to use data and analytics to find out where demand for drivers is highest in your town and what routes yield the most profits.
Once you start making good income, you could consider officially starting your own driving business as well. For example, running a party bus service can be lucrative (and fun). Just make sure you have proper licensing and insurance.
In conclusion, the point is this: Think about your talents, passions, and interests, as well as what can reliably generate income. Be willing to compromise a little at the start — and you'll be able to get your first business up and running. Then, you'll be on your way to becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur.


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South Central's very own G Perico is back with a new EP, the follow up to his '2 Tha Left' project that dropped less than a year ago. In total you get 7 tracks with features from two artists on his "Play Wit It" record. As he said on his Instagram link, "This the warm up," Perico says about his Guess What EP. "Got about 200 songs ready to go after this." Pick it up HERE and let us know your favorite tracks! Enjoy!


Preterm infants face an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The relationship between autism during childhood and early brain development remains unexplored. We studied 84 preterm children born at < 27 weeks of gestation, who underwent neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term and were screened for ASD at 6.5 years. Full-scale intelligence quotient was measured and neonatal morbidities were recorded. Structural brain morphometric studies were performed in 33 infants with high-quality MRI and no evidence of focal brain lesions. Twenty-three (27.4%) of the children tested ASD positive and 61 (72.6%) tested ASD negative. The ASD-positive group had a significantly higher frequency of neonatal complications than the ASD-negative group. In the subgroup of 33 children, the ASD infants had reduced volumes in the temporal, occipital, insular, and limbic regions and in the brain areas involved in social/behavior and salience integration. This study shows that the neonatal MRI scans of extremely preterm children, subsequently diagnosed with ASD at 6.5 years, showed brain structural alterations, localized in the regions that play a key role in the core features of autism. Early detection of these structural alterations may allow the early identification and intervention of children at risk of ASD.
Padilla, N. and Eklöf, E. and Mårtensson, G. and Bolte, S. and Lagercrantz, H. and Ådén, U. 2017. Poor Brain Growth in Extremely Preterm Neonates Long Before the Onset of Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms. Cerebral Cortex. 27 (2): pp. 1245-1252.


Food, art, music & yard sales!
Stop at the information booth at 331 Delaware Ave for a program and yard sale map. Rain or shine.
Thousands of people will be visiting the Delaware Area Neighborhood on July 7 to celebrate reading at the library, enjoy food at one of our great restaurants, listen to music, purchase arts & crafts, check out treasures at yard sales throughout the neighborhood and more.
Please fill out the attached application and return to Rob@Prafix.com or mail to 27 Summit Ave, Albany, NY 12209. Check should be made out to DANA.
If you'd like to sell your products or promote your organization, please fill out this application and return to Rob@prafix.com or mail to 27 Summit Ave. Check should be made out to DANA.
Musicians contact 518-432-0516 or Rob@prafix.com.
Are you going to hold a yard sale at your home or would you like to hold one prominently on Delaware Ave? Fill out this application so you can be included on the list and in advertising. Return to DelawareAreaNA@gmail.com or 27 Summit Ave.


Cloud is a professional dancer that started Hatha Yoga practice in 2008 as part of her physical preparation for performances. She soon recognized benefits for her body, career and wellbeing and decided to dive deeper into yogic philosophies and teaching.
Fee : 15$. People should bring their own yoga mate.
Registration in advance with Charlotte (culture@af-fiji.org or 331 38 02).


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Updated June 7, 2019
Inside Bridgton
By Perri Black
Mollyockett Sweet Adelines
The First Congregational Church of Bridgton, 33 South High St., is pleased to kick off its Summer Sunday Concert series with the Mollyockett Chorus Sweet Adelines at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 9. The chorus, under the direction of Simon Smith, sings ballads, show tunes, popular music and spirituals a capella in four-part harmony, this year with a theme of "'50s Music and Memories." The event is free and open to the public with a reception following the performance.
More Summer Sunday Concerts are scheduled for July, August and September, so stay tuned for details. For more information about the concert, call 647-3936.
Babysitting class
The Bridgton Community Center will offer a Babysitter's Training Course from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 20. EMT Allison Ross of United Ambulance will lead the class, which is geared toward 11- to 14-year-olds. Topics include basic care, general safety, safe play and basic first aid, including infant and child Heartsaver CPR. Participants will receive a certificate of completion upon finishing the course.
The class fee is $40 per person, which covers the cost of the book and a CD, as well as reference information for participants to take home. Class size is limited to 14 and candidates must register before Thursday, June 13. Students should also bring a bag lunch. For more information or to register, contact the Community Center at 647-3116.
Adam Perron Scholarship benefit
The 4th annual Madam, I'm Adam Cup golf and tennis scrambles to benefit the Adam Perron Scholarship for Educators will take place at Bridgton Highlands Golf and Country Club June 17.
This year there will be two separate golf scrambles as well as the tennis scramble, so everyone is encouraged to come out and have fun while supporting a very worthwhile cause. For more information and to sign up, go to www.mescholarship4edu.com
The Bridgton Lyme Support Group meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Bridgton Community Center on Depot Street. It offers support and information to those who have been diagnosed with Lyme as well as to those who know someone with Lyme. The group is free. The next meeting will be June 20. For more information, see the group's Facebook page or email [email protected]
Kane Schools Wild & Rescue Medicine is offering a Wilderness First Aid Course at the LEA Maine Lake Science Center, 51 Willett Road (behind Hannaford), June 22-23. Learn how to handle emergencies in the wild far from 911, as well as how to keep bad things from happening in the first place. For more information and to sign up visit thekaneschools.com or contact [email protected]
The Mollyockett Chorus Sweet Adelines will perform this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Bridgton.


Retired journalist CEDRIC GREENWOOD looks back at the last great days of steam trains and sparked a passion which is recalled in his new book Echoes of Steam and Vintage Voltage.
As the dominion of steam traction on British Railways contracted to the area from Crewe to Carlisle in the mid-1960s I, who had moved to Kendal from electrified Kent, realised I had a grandstand seat in the final theatre of steam.
In those last years of commercial steam traction on British Railways I found I could hitch a ride on the footplate of a steam locomotive almost anywhere in the north west.
There was no more exciting and satisfying way to travel than on a coal-fed iron horse with its barking blastpipe and pulsating motion, bells and buzzers foretelling the signals ahead and the fireman shovelling coal from the tender and swinging it into the hungry furnace.
I was the third man on the footplate, clinging on to the cab side as the floors of the locomotive and tender moved different ways, and I was constantly regulating the volume control on my tape recorder for the high decibel rumbling, grinding, squealing, clattering and wheezing.
There was also no more exciting way, especially from the aural aspect, of watching the trains go by than from a signal cabin with its various bell codes and slamming levers, and I was accorded hospitality in every cabin I visited.
I was bent on recording the whole repertoire of sounds of the remaining steam passenger and freight operations on British Railways in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Westmorland and Cumberland in 1967 and 1968 while there was still time.
This repertoire, from the station announcer to the crew coaling the engine on shed after a day's duty, was music to my ears.
I was lucky to meet friendly railwaymen who willingly facilitated me in my quest to record these sounds for posterity in those last two years of steam. These recordings, now on narrated compact disc programmes, bring the steam era back to life in a way that photographs can never do.
My book is based on extracts from my descriptive diaries of the period, written straight after the events with the details fresh in my mind. They conjure up a vivid word picture and atmosphere that would be impossible to recall from memory today. Without those contemporary writings I could never have attempted to write this book.
I liked to hear the locomotive whistles echoing in the fells, their clanking side rods and squealing flanges in the freight yard and shunters uncoupling and coupling up the wagons.
I communed with the locomotives to capture their more intimate sounds. I photographed and recorded steam from the trackside, from the leading coach, from the brakevan on freight, from the locomotive, from the signal cabin, under the coaling tower and even inside a tunnel.
I recorded interviews with signalmen on the high and lonely reaches of the Settle and Carlisle line, where operations were dogged by high winds, heavy rainfall and snowdrifts, and I recorded from Carnforth on the footplate of the last steam freight over Shap Fells to Carlisle.
My programme Steam Journey Through Lancashire was recorded from the leading coach and locomotive alternately on sections of one of the last runs of the Belfast Boat Express from Manchester Victoria to Heysham Harbour. This was the very last regular steam passenger service on British Railways.
At Bolton Trinity Street I captured all the traditional sounds of a stop in a large station: the heavy thud of those old carriage doors slamming, the deep Boltonian voice of the station announcer, porters talking on the platform, a mail trolley trundling by on iron wheels, the porters loading mailbags into the mail van, the guard blowing his whistle, shouts of 'right away', the masculine deep whistle from the locomotive and the echoes against bridges and lineside buildings as it snorted out of the station.
When I recorded a steam run down the Windermere branch I asked the porter at Oxenholme to do his traditional call in his stentorian voice as the train rolled into the station. He put on a wonderful performance for me: 'Windermere train. Kendal, Burneside, Staveley, Windermere. Oxenholme, Oxenholme, Oxenholme. Oxenholme, next stop Kendal".
I was on hand to record classic wheel slip when a locomotive took four minutes to start moving out of Kendal freight yard in the early morning dew.
I sometimes rose at four o'clock in the morning in my quest for steam and twice rode the footplate on freights over Shap through the night before going to the office next morning.
It is interesting to note that, although BR promised to dieselise the Windermere branch from March 1, 1965, there were so many breakdowns of diesel multiple units and diesel freight locomotives that there were hundreds more steam workings in the next three years. The last steam passenger train on the branch ran on July 29, 1968, the last steam freight to Windermere on August 2nd and the last steam shunt at Kendal freight yard was on August 3, 1968, the last day of regular steam working on BR.
This was Britain's last country branch line in steam.
That night the very last steam passenger trains of the era were the 8.50pm from Preston to Blackpool and the 9.55pm from Preston to Liverpool Exchange. The final three steam loco-sheds, at Rose Grove, near Burnley, Lostock Hall, near Preston, and at Carnforth, closed that weekend.
The steam age was over but some years later steam returned with tourist trains on preserved railway branch lines with a 25mph speed limit and steam excursions on BR metals but I never recorded these as they lacked the authenticity and urgency of commercial railway operations.
While the finale of BR steam is my main theme, my book extends to the sights and sounds of steam colliery railways, the Isle of Man Railway, LNER paddle steamers on the Humber and Clyde, Gardner-engined buses with conductors in Chester and Midlothian, Blackpool trams, and vintage electric trains on the Lancaster - Heysham line, at Southport, Birkenhead, Manchester, London and Glasgow, and on the Manx Electric Railway and the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad in Indiana.
Echoes of Steam and Vintage Voltage is published by Silver Link in hardback priced £25. The book spans the period from 1949 to 1981 and the text is mainly from Cedric's diaries and letters from 1955 onwards.


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Green Leaf Breaks Ground on Nearly 1Million Sq. Ft.
Nearly 100 people joined Green Leaf on site yesterday to officially break ground on the future Central Distribution Facility for the F.W. Webb Company. When complete, the new facility will house nearly 1 million square feet of office and warehouse spaces, making it one...
Green Leaf Hires Tsoukalas & Ruth
Green Leaf Construction announced the addition of two new team members today; Steve Tsoukalas has joined the firm as Senior Superintendent, and Chris Ruth as Project Manager.
"Steve and Chris are sure to be great assets to our team," said Green Leaf COO, Thomas Dube. "S...
Tom Dube, COO of Green Leaf Construction
Steel is a great building material; everyone knows that. It's so common that it's probably taken for granted in many instances. From structure and facades to rebar and fasteners, it's economical, readily available, highly adaptable, and very strong, so what's not to...
Green Leaf Construction Completes One Project; Begins Another for New Balance
Lawrence, MA - Green Leaf Construction, having recently completed a multi-phased construction project in New Balance Athletic Shoe's historic Lawrence Mill Building, announced today that they have begun construction on a new project which will expand office space in t...
Green Leaf Construction Cuts Ribbon for New F.W. Webb Facility
Together with Plattsburgh town officials, project team members, and representatives from F.W. Webb Company, Green Leaf Construction held a ceremonial ribbon cutting to mark the completion of F.W. Webb's newest 33,600 square foot facility in Plattsburgh. "This new faci...
Green Leaf Construction Begins Renovations for F.W. Webb in Manchester, NH
Green Leaf has begun construction to expand F.W. Webb's operations in Manchester, NH. Construction involves the gut and renovation of the former 22,000 square foot Kimark building in the lot directly adjacent to Webb's existing facility on Beech Street in Manchester....
Green Leaf Awarded 2 Projects for the University of New Hampshire
Green Leaf Construction has been awarded two projects for The University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.
The first is an interior renovation project to create new conference and meeting space within the Memorial Union Building (MUB) and will take place on a 'summ...
Green Leaf Construction Begins Classroom Update at Devereux
Green Leaf Construction recently began classroom upgrades at the Devereux School, in Rutland, MA. The School provides highly individualized services to youth with intellectual, emotional, and behavioral needs. Tom Dube, Chief Operating Officer, is humbled to continue...
Green Leaf Construction Completes Renovations for St. Leo School
Green Leaf Construction has completed renovations to update restroom facilities for St. Leo School in Leominster, Mass. "We have donated our services to manage these renovations, and worked with our largest customer, FW Webb Company to provide fixtures at a low cost. T...
Tom Dube, COO, Green Leaf Construction
Working in construction means creating new space for our clients. Sometimes we are building new out-of-the-ground buildings or additions. And sometimes we are renovating their existing space. And on occasion, those renovations are done on century-old buildings that...


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TMNT: "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" Review
Dan Spitaliere 2017-09-24
Dan Spitaliere · September 24, 2017
65	3 27.2k 1
Well…That was a weird one. Honestly, it's hard to give this one a review score. On the one hand, "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse", despite a small pacing issue, was a well told story. The conceit of this final season being "Tales of the TMNT" allows for strange scenarios. It's admirable for the creators of the show to take a risk like this. After years of building up a mythology and many characters, they boiled it all down to the core foursome.
This didn't feel like a "what if" episode though. The way this was told feels like this is really what happens to these Turtles in their timeline. A massive mutagen bomb detonates in New York. All humans are mutated and apparently die. Only mutants remain, in a world that is stripped of life. And when you watch the episode in that context, after getting to know these characters for many years….well it's all kind of sad.
This was a story of the Turtles not as teenagers, but as adults in an impossible reality. The episode starts with Raphael and Donatello, the only two survivors of the characters we've grown to love over the course of the series. Raphael is old and weathered, a long beard dominating his face. He's scarred and weary of the life he is forced to live. Donatello, on the other hand, is a cyborg. His body was destroyed by the mutagen bomb, but (much like his IDW counterpart) his mind was downloaded into the body of Metalhead. It looks like in many futures, Donnie is destined to become one with the technology he loves so much.
It's not long before we meet our primary antagonist for the tale; Verminator Rex. He is the leader of a gang of mutated Honey Badgers, bandits who steal from other survivors. They target Raph and Donnie for their vehicle and supplies, but they are on a much greater mission. They need to track down a girl with a map.
Donnie and Raph eventually fight them off, blowing up a cliff face to create separation between them and their foes. They stop at an abandoned rest area to look for supplies, but Raph is ambushed by none other than the girl Rex was tracking. Her name is Mira (she's a meerkat, so of course it is), and the map is actually a tattoo on her arm. Her whole village tattooed the map, so as not to lose it, because it supposedly leads to Oasis. Unfortunately, Meera is the only survivor of her village.
While she initially tries to steal our duo's van, she eventually falls in with the team. That will happen after several attacks by Rex and his crew. From here on out, the road trip becomes a mission to find those who can help Meera make sense of the map (it's encoded in what everyone calls gibberish) and eventually lead them to Oasis. The team faces new threats, as Rex teams up with a clan of mutated lizard people, and reunite with old family.
Mira seeks an old wise man, who her village called the "Holy Chalupa." This of course turns out to be Mikey, who's been holed up in a Mexican/Italian pizzeria with Ice Cream Kitty and Chompy. He's a little crazy, having only Kitty, Chompy, and some robotic restaurant mascots to talk to. He's also been subsisting off of canned pizzas and insects for years.
Verminator Rex, however, is backed by Maximus Kong, Warrior Chief of the Wasteland (among many other titles listed by Mira in what is an obvious nod to Game of Thrones). Kong is a massive mutant, head concealed by a metal helmet. He drives an impossibly large vehicle, centered by a giant creepy skull, and commands sentient oil mutants who have their own cute, miniature wasteland armor. He wants Mira and her map, because the Oasis is the only land he hasn't conquered, and he's been searching for it for years.
This, of course, turns out to be Leonardo, revealed in a fight with Raphael. Leo is in a constant state of rage, caused by his second mutation in the center of the mutagen bomb. Leo nearly kills Raph, but stops when Raph refuses to defend himself and tells Leo that he loves him. The reminder of his family, combined with a massive crash of his impossibly large vehicle into the side of a mountain, finally snaps Leo out of his rage. Memories start flooding back to him, and we finally see what happened so many years ago; Leo saved his brothers from the epicenter of the mutagen bomb, but was stuck in the middle of the blast.
As stated in the beginning, it's really hard to put a rating on this episode. "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" is an obvious send up to Mad Max, and even borrows some plot points from Fury Road. The creative team have always done a great job with these tributes, and this episode is no exception. The style is spot on; even the camera work is reminiscent of George Miller.
It was a smart move for Nickelodeon to air this as an hour long special. None of the cliffhangers were particularly suspenseful. It was pretty obvious that Raph and Donnie would be reuniting with Michelangelo. Would anyone believe Leo was being called the "Holy Chalupa?" Similarly, it wasn't surprising that everyone survived the restaurant getting blown up, or that Raph and Mira would escape the Pit. Because of this, it was nice that we didn't have to wait 3 weeks to get the whole story. Instead, we got a full length featured tale.
That being said, the conclusion did seem to come out of nowhere. After Leo is finally wrestled to his senses, there's a quick whiteout, and suddenly we're in Oasis. The four brothers have arrived with Mira, without incident. It's a weird cut. Was there absolutely no trouble following the rest of the map? Did the brothers not see what each had been up to this whole time? Is no one concerned that Leo became a Wasteland conquering murderer? Does he feel no guilt over this? Would a whole other episode solve this problem? Who knows? But it's jarring to rush to "everything's great now."
Additionally, the whole episode is just bittersweet. The episode was initially planned as the series finale, complete with a "For Kevin and Peter" at the end before the credits roll. Could you imagine this being the last episode you saw of this TMNT? Where after all the trials and tribulations, the victories and losses, the growth of each character, and the death of Splinter, it all ends with pretty much everyone dead? There's no mention of April, Karai, Shinigami, the Mutanimals, or Renet! Casey's lone appearance is HIS SKULL USED AS A BOMB TO SELF DESTRUCT THE TURTLE VAN! It's no wonder Nickelodeon changed the airtime to Friday evenings.
But it's moments like these that you have to remind yourself that not every story has to have a truly happy ending. Bittersweet is a valid decision. These Turtles have gone on all kinds of journeys, and this is the way that Ciro Nieli and his team decided to end it. Ultimately, it ended with all four brothers together and a new home.
A couple shout outs: The story is reminiscent of Andrew Modeen and Jim Lawsons "TMNT Odyssey." We covered Modeen's successful crowdfunding effort to create the followup "TMNT Origin." Both stories take place in the original TMNT Mirage continuity, although they're not technically canon. Regardless, "Odyssey" sees the Turtles in their advanced years, traveling through time to stop an evil force that is wiping out timelines. Think "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" combined with "Turtles Forever" and you've got a pretty good idea. You can check it out here if you missed it: http://www.thegreenlanterncorps.com/tmnt/odyssey.pdf
As usual, there were some pretty good references in this episode. Verminator Rex is a nod to Verminator X, a character from the Archie Turtle comics. He was a half cat cyborg, much like Rex is a honey badger with cybernetic enhancements. The mask on Casey's skull (really hard to get over that) in the turtle van is a reference to the mask he wore in Image Comics. The Space Heroes the Next Generation joke was also good. It's nice for the crew (or at least Raph) to finally realize that the shows they watch parallel the adventures they have.
"Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" showed us the future of the Nickelodeon Turtles and it looks like our heroes have a rough life ahead of them. The risky conceit gave us a cruel world where the Turtles are torn apart, some literally, and forced to forge on when all they care about is taken away. Did the risk pay off? It's hard to judge. If you're willing to be open to the story of the episode, it's really well told. That being said, it's fair to say it's not what we were expecting to see for this series. It's so far in the future, and we're given so few details on how this world was created, that it's hard to argue that it doesn't fit. But because we're given so few details (Who dropped the mutagen bomb? How was it created? Why?) it's hard to argue that it does. Additionally, the ending is so bittersweet, the whole experience comes off as sad. But sad doesn't equal bad.
Judged on it's own merits, "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" is probably a solid 9. But taken as a whole with the rest of the series, it comes down to a 7. There's a weird symmetry of seeing this episode follow "Lone Rat and Cubs." We saw the Turtles at the beginning of their lives, a troubled existence made better through family. This episode achieves much the same, only at the opposite time of their lives. It's brutal and unforgiving, but ultimately tells it's tale well. It's hard to dock it, but it's so brutal in it's honesty that it got in the way of enjoying it when compared to the rest of the series. The Turtles deserve a happy ending.
Maybe that's why Nickelodeon chose not to air this as the series finale? I guess we'll find out as the series begins to wrap up.
Judged on it's own merits, "Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse" is probably a solid 9. But taken as a whole with the rest of the series, it comes down to a 7. It's brutal and unforgiving, but ultimately tells it's tale well. It's hard to dock it, but it's so brutal in it's honesty that it got in the way of enjoying it when compared to the rest of the series. The Turtles deserve a happier ending.
Tags:Mutant Apocalypsenick turtlesRaphaelVerminator Rex
Dan Spitaliere
Dan Spitaliere is a sound designer and engineer, voice over artist, and a lifelong shellhead. He grew up on a healthy diet of Turtles movies, comics, cartoons, and toys, and can recite the first movie in its entirety from memory. He is excited to be a part of such a great team in the middle of this current Turtle Renaissance!
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Massachusetts House of Representatives' 11th Worcester district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of Worcester County. Republican Hannah Kane of Shrewsbury has represented the district since 2015.

Locales represented
The district includes the following localities:
 Shrewsbury
 part of Westborough

The current district geographic boundary overlaps with those of the Massachusetts Senate's Middlesex and Worcester district and 2nd Worcester district.

Former locale
The district previously covered part of the city of Worcester, circa 1872.

Representatives
 Samuel E. Blair, circa 1858
 Nelson Carpenter, circa 1859
 James Lally Jr., circa 1888
 Thomas McCooey, circa 1888
 John Carpenter Hull, circa 1920
 Alfred H. Whitney, circa 1920
 William Paul Constantino, circa 1951
 Albert Fairbanks Higgins, circa 1951
 Bessie I. Murray, 1957-58
 Leo R. Corazzini, circa 1975
 Ronald W. Gauch, 1993-2001
 Karyn Polito
 Matthew Beaton
 Hannah Kane, 2015-current

Elections results from statewide races

See also
 List of Massachusetts House of Representatives elections
 Other Worcester County districts of the Massachusetts House of Representatives: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
 Worcester County districts of the Massachusett Senate: 1st, 2nd; Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester; Middlesex and Worcester; Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex; Worcester and Middlesex; Worcester and Norfolk
 List of Massachusetts General Courts
 List of former districts of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Images
Portraits of legislators

References

External links
 Ballotpedia
  (State House district information based on U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey).
 League of Women Voters Grafton & Shrewsbury

House
Government in Worcester County, Massachusetts

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