text:
Categorie: Days of Palestine
Press Release On Remarks Made By Hamas Official Fathi Hammad Related To Jews, Great March Of Return
On: 15 juli 2019 By: KhamakarPress
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas stated in a press release its stance on the statements made by a member of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Fathi Hamad on Monday
In its statement, Hamas' leadership rejected the statements made by Political Bureau of Hamas, Fathi Hammad during the mass demonstration of the march of return and breaking the siege on Friday 12/07/2019.
They stressed on the following:
First: These statements do not reflect the official positions of Hamas and its adopted and consistent policies, which stipulate that the Palestinian struggle is with the Israeli occupation that occupies our land and desecrates our sanctities. There is no conflict with Jews around the world or with Judaism as a religion. The movement has always condemned the attacks against safe Jews in their places of worship.
Second: The Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege are popular peaceful rallies aimed at establishing the right of return and breaking the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and the national consensus on its popularity and peacefulness does not mean allowing the occupation to assault the peaceful demonstrators and target and kill them.
We call upon the protestors to abide by the decisions of the National Commission of Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege policies, decisions, and activities.
Third: We reiterate our great appreciation to all mediators, especially the Egyptian brothers, for their efforts in working on breaking the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and helping the Palestinians achieve national unity.
Category: Days of Palestine, Politics Tagged Palestine Leave a comment/
African Group To UN: Hold Israel Accountable For Crimes Against Palestinians
The African Group has called on the United Nations (UN) to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians.
The African Group – sometimes known as the Group of African States – is a regional assembly within the UN comprised of 54 member states from the African continent. It represents 28 per cent of all UN members.
The group yesterday addressed the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, one item of which discussed the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt).
The group's representative, Andre da Conceicao Domingos of Angola, called for the international community to act to end Israel's now 52-year-old occupation and the blockadeit has imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007, as well as to end Israel's illegal settlement project, imprisonment of Palestinians and policy of collective punishment.
Some members of the African Group also submitted individual statements, with Nigeria's representative Muhammad Isa stressing the need to avoid double standards in the implementation of international law and human rights. He also demanded accountability from Israel in this regard.
South Africa's representative Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko also addressed the session, telling the council that "Israel's occupation is virtually indistinguishable from annexation". Mxakato-Diseko also condemned Israel's theft of Palestinian water resources and pointed out that while Israel markets desalination and water technology to the world, it is responsible for water scarcity in the oPt.
African states have long been outspoken supporters of the Palestinian cause. This weekend the grandson of iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, attended London's Palestine Expo – Europe's biggest Palestine exhibition which shed light on the plight of Palestinian refugees and those living under Israel's occupation.
Addressing the conference, Mandela said that "we have a moral duty to support BDS and to support the Palestinian struggle," referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Mandela congratulated the Palestine Expo for "creating a unique experience which proudly celebrates Palestinian art, history and culture whilst fostering discussion and activism in the UK", but emphasised to audiences that the event "reminds us of the reality of a nation that has now withstood 71 years of the Nakba," during which 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes.
Mandela was also critical of an attempt by anti-Palestine group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) to cancel the Palestine Expo. Last week it emerged that UKLFI had made several attempts to cancel the exhibition, claiming its organisers are "major promoters" of BDS. The group also tried to convince the German owners of London Olympia – where the event took place – to cancel the exhibition in light of a non-binding motion recently passed in Germany claiming that BDS is "anti-Semitic".
The South African MP slammed these moves, claiming they "reflect the desperation that Apartheid Israel and its lackeys are resorting to in silencing peaceful popular protest". He stressed: "We say to them and all who seek to deny our basic human rights such as freedom of expression – hands off BDS, hands off Palestine Expo."
Category: Days of Palestine, Politics Tagged Terrorism Leave a comment/
Father: Gov't Not Serious About Helping My Cancer-Stricken Daughter
Palestinian journalist Fathi Sabbah has accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) government and its health ministry of not being serious about providing medical treatment for his daughter, Rima, who suffers from blood cancer.
In Facebook remarks, Sabbah said he received pledges from premier Mohamed Shtayyeh over the phone to personally follow up the case of his daughter after he published her story a few days ago.
He added that he was also phoned by Ahmed Abu Houli, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee, who pledged to provide his daughter with appropriate medical treatment in hospitals like any citizen.
However, he affirmed that the medical referral to Hadassah Hospital in Israel only included a medical checkup without covering the expenses of medication.
Category: Days of Palestine, Zorg / Health Tagged Health Leave a comment/
Gaza Factions: We Will Not Allow Israel To Change Rules Of Engagement
The Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip have condemned the assassination of Mahmoud al-Adham from al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas as a "Zionist crime" and "foolishness," holding the Israeli occupation state fully responsible for the consequences.
In a joint press release on Thursday, the resistance factions warned that the occupation state of testing their patience, adding it would pay dearly for its crimes in Gaza.
They affirmed that the resistance in Gaza would not allow the occupation to change the rules of engagement and impose new faits accomplis on the ground to serve its interests.
The Israeli occupation forces on Thursday morning carried out two shooting attacks on resistance observation posts in Gaza, killing one Qassam Brigades fighter.
Hamas: Hizma Operation "Natural Response To Israel's Crimes"
The Hamas Movement has applauded the car-ramming operation that took place near Hizma town in Occupied Jerusalem and led to the injury of five Israeli soldiers, describing it as "a natural response to Israel's crimes."
In a statement, Hamas said the operation was a response to Israel's persistence in committing crimes against the Palestinian people, especially its recent practices in Jerusalem neighborhood and Issawiya district.
"The Judaization activities in Jerusalem and the ongoing break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque will provoke more Palestinian anger, which will turn into an explosion in the face of the occupation," Hamas added.
"Through their resistance, the Palestinians assert their adherence to their land and their full readiness to sacrifice themselves to defend it," the Movement said.
Jordanian Delegation Leaves OSCE Conference Because Of Israel
On: 6 juli 2019 By: KhamakarPress
A Jordanian parliamentary delegation on Wednesday withdrew from the annual five-day conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is being held in Luxembourg.
The Jordanian delegation, led by assistant speaker of the house of representatives MP Ibrahim Al-Qar'an, withdrew from the first day of the conference to protest against the seating of its delegation site next to lawmakers from the Israeli occupation state.
It is not clear if the Jordanian delegation will attend the remaining days of the conference or not.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is meeting for its 28th annual session in Luxembourg on 4-8 July 2019, which is held under the theme "Advancing Sustainable Development to Promote Security."
Al-Qar'an said the Jordanian delegation withdrew after he was surprised that the seat allocated to him was at the same table prepared for the Israeli delegation.
The Jordanians made several attempts to convince the organizers of the conference to change the seat of their delegation or to remove the Israeli delegation, but their request was declined.
Al-Qar'an said that despite the delegation's keenness on attending the conference, the principle of not sitting next to Israelis "came from our principles, morals and our religion that does not allow us to sit with people from the Zionist entity that has usurped our holy places."
Gaza: Fishermen Protest Israel's Acts Of Piracy
Gaza: Fishermen protest Israel's acts of piracy – Photo File
Hundreds of Palestinian fishermen on Thursday staged a sit-in at the port of Gaza City in protest at Israel's measures and aggressive practices against them.
The Israeli occupation authority has recently escalated its restrictions on fishing activity in Gaza waters, where it kept attacking fishermen, arresting them, confiscating their boats and equipment, closing the Gaza sea and manipulating the permitted fishing area.
The fishermen demand an end to Israel's repeated sea closures and its daily attacks on them.
They have called on the international community and its concerned organizations to urgently intervene to provide protection for the fishermen and curb Israel's acts of piracy against them.
Israeli Plain-Clothes Soldiers Kidnap West Bank Teen
Israeli plain-clothes soldiers kidnap West Bank teen – Photo File
Israeli undercover soldiers on Thursday kidnapped a Palestinian teenager from Hares town, north of Salfit city in the occupied West Bank.
According to local sources, a special military force infiltrated into Hares town and kidnaped 17-year-old Abdullah Shamlawi.
Shamlawi was kidnaped as he was heading for his workplace in Barkan Industrial Park (illegal settlement).
Category: Days of Palestine, Terrorism Leave a comment/
Israeli Army Launches Incursion Into Gaza
The Israeli occupation army on Monday morning launched a limited incursion into southern Gaza.
Local sources said that five military bulldozers in the early morning hours rolled a few hundred meters into Abasan town, east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, and leveled Palestinian lands.
In the neighboring city of Rafah, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire at Palestinian farmers working in their border lands. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the Israeli navy heavily opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats sailing off the shore of northern Gaza.
Category: Days of Palestine, Terrorism Tagged Terrorism Leave a comment/
Germany Threatens Journalist With Prison For Speaking About Palestine
Khaled Barakat
German authorities barred Palestinian-Canadian journalist Khaled Barakat from speaking at a Palestine solidarity event in Berlin, claiming his "anti-Semitic" speeches posed a threat to public order and could undermine relations between the country and Israel.
The activist has been prohibited from attending future political events and threatened with up to one year in prison, marking another success in the Israel lobby's bid to clamp down on criticism abroad.
Barakat had been invited to speak at an Arab community event in Berlin on 22 June to discuss Palestinian liberation and its implications for other Arab communities, as well as US President Donald Trump's so-called Deal of the Century.
But he was accosted by police on arrival.
"As soon as we left the U-Bahn station nearest the venue my wife and I noticed heavy police presence in the area, including multiple vans full of police," Barakat told The Electronic Intifada.
"I was approached by a group of police and one officer spoke to me. He said: 'You have an event here tonight and you are the speaker … you cannot speak.'"
The police took Barakat and his wife to a police station where government officials handed him an eight-page document prohibiting him from political activity.
The document, issued by the Berlin Foreigners Registration Office and seen by The Electronic Intifada, states in German that Barakat faces a ban on participating in specific events and a general "limit on your political activity until you leave the Federal Republic of Germany."
"They [representatives of the foreigners office] told me that I am banned from speaking at any public event in Berlin and even attending meetings and gatherings," Barakat said.
He said was also ordered to avoid social events of "more than 10 people," or face a one-year prison sentence.
Barakat's wife is also a Palestinian rights activist, but not Palestinian and she was not banned.
"After I was told to acknowledge that I had received the document we were released from the police station. We also noticed significant police presence on the way home," Barakat added.
German-Israeli relations trump free speech
Barakat's case mirrors that of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh who was smeared in the German media before being banned from speaking at an event in Berlin for International Women's Day earlier this year.
She was finally forced to leave the country.
The official document states that Barakat's political activities "pose a threat to public safety," that his talk would "impair and endanger the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners" and that Germany's relationship to Israel could be "considerably endangered" if he were allowed to speak.
The document also states that it believes Barakat might be working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP – which the document notes is listed as a "terrorist" organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.
However it acknowledges that the group is "not prohibited" in Germany. Israel considers virtually all Palestinian political parties and organizations that militarily resist occupation to be "terrorist" groups.
"If you look at the campaigns being carried out by Israel and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs against BDS organizations around the world, or Students for Justice in Palestine in the US, they are trying their best to criminalize all movements for Palestine or even human rights organizations by using so-called connections to Hamas and the PFLP," Barakat said.
Barakat observed that in the leaked Al Jazeera undercover film The Lobby–USA, "representatives from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies openly advocated for this tactic and now we are seeing it in practice."
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions – a global campaign for Palestinian rights modeled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a Washington-based neoconservative think tank and agent of Israel's strategic affairs ministry.
The document goes on to list a number of speeches given by Barakat in Germany, but fails to cite any examples of anti-Semitism.
Barakat believes this is because the authorities need to "exaggerate in order to justify their repressive measures."
Despite offering no examples of anti-Jewish bigotry on Barakat's part, the government order insists the draconian ban on his political activities is justified because "the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements."
Fear of a united front
Barakat strongly refutes the claim that his speech would have caused tensions between Jewish and Arab communities in Berlin and asserts, rather, that authorities are trying to prevent a united front from emerging.
"The same forces advocating for and issuing this political ban against me are involved in repressing Jewish voices that criticize Zionism, Israeli policy and German policy on Israel," he said.
Barakat noted that under Israel lobby pressure, the director of the Jewish Museum Berlin was recently forced to resign.
Moreover, the group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East had its bank account closed. And, two Jewish activists with Israeli nationality are on trial for criminal charges alongside a Palestinian activist from Gaza for interrupting an Israeli politician who supported Israel's 2014 assault on Gaza that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians including 550 children.
In recent years, German music festivals have also been banning international artists who refuse to denounce the nonviolent BDS campaign for Palestinian rights.
These facts, as well as the German parliament's recent resolution smearing the BDS movement as anti-Semitic make it increasingly difficult for activists to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The people who face the brunt of these attacks are Palestinians themselves.
The racism, political bans and growing repression aside, Barakat remains undeterred: "I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in Germany support justice for the Palestinian people and reject Israeli war crimes and apartheid, but they live in fear and I understand."


Casino players throw away the thoughtof luck. There are those who believe fortune as some kind of power external tothemselves, maybe even an image, Lady Luck. They consider that if they entice her bycarrying enough superior fortune charms she will come graceful to their lives pinchingstar dust over the Blackjack and Craps tables consequently they can go with luck.That's dream. It could work that way only in the cinema however not in actuallife.
For many years, poker turned outto be extremely trendy moreover the boom of online poker games has put in oil to the flames. though being tight is excellent attimes and control and truthful play is vital, as you play tight at that time itis obvious that you will immediately be spotted an all the others and thereforewhen you do have a winning hand you won't be able to win too much because noone calls your bets.
While calling somebody a rock inpoker it indicates that player is traditional and tight to the farthest, heplays just the top hands moreover his responses and proceedings are at alltimes correct to the hand he is holding.
Over the further extreme of pokerplayer comes the player known as the fish, a player that is generally green andplays awful hands, losing often. Here we have listed some of theworld famous poker rock and their achievements in their poker life.
Amarillo Slim is the recordgambler who has ever existed. He is recognized all over the world and his developmentsare celebrated. In the fascinating book, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of FatPeople, he captures the reader over a trip with him as he clarifies a few ofhis most astonishing bets won with other celebrated also a few notorious people.
Slim won the World Series ofPoker during 1972. He has participated in the game among Presidents Johnson alongwith Nixon as well as jostled drug lords Pablo Escobar and Jimmy Charga.
Regardless of the number of casino pokertournaments Erik Seidel has won - moreover he's won abundance - he just can't appearto shiver that 1988 World Series of Poker Main Event defeat to Johnny Chan.
Albeit Seidel says he has theentire however obstructed the game from his recollection, the instant will liveeternally in recording employed for the poker film Rounders and, just about twodecades and eight gold bracelets afterward, people are yet mentioning it.
Phil Ivey was born in New Jersey during1976 also foremost played casino poker beside the age of 16 in Atlantic City bymeans of forged Id. becoming professional beside the age of 21 Phil Ivey's dominoeffect have been nothing apart from exceptional.
He has got tributes from a numberof the biggest names in poker together with being named 'The best tournament online poker player in the world' by none but Barry Greenstein. His lifetime tournament prizemoney of about $8 Million would emerge to support this claim.
His pet name'The Tiger Woods Of Poker' is expected with regards to numerous triumphs thusfar. However Ivey is unhappy with the label – declaring that Wood's is at theahead of his game whereas Ivey himself is not there up till now.
Besides his long listing of pokertournament wins as well as final tables, Ivey is a powerful cash game player.He can be frequently located in the top stakes games; not just Holdem howeverpot limit Omaha as well as 7-card stud too.
Phil Ivey holds an outstandingrecord beside the World Series of Poker dating back to his initial win duringthe year 2000. The foremost 5 bracelets were prevailed in the $2.5k Pot-LimitOmaha event. He has in addition prevailedbracelets in the Stud Hi-Lo event (2002), 'S.H.O.E' event (2002), $1.5k 7-CardStud (2002) and the $5k Pot-Limit Omaha (2005).
Ivey moreover arrived at thefinal table of the $10k No-Limit Holdem main event during 2003 – compressed by adoomed river card by ultimate winner Chris Moneymaker. Ivey has arrived at the final25 within the main event as a minimum 3 times.
Besides his imposing WSOP recordIvey has attained numerous final tables beside World Poker Tour (WPT) events and American Poker Tour Events.These comprise cashes counting more than $1.3 million. Ivey has been removedfrom WPT final tables on more than a few instances as holding very similar hand– Ace-Queen!
Phil Ivey's leading singletournament win approached during the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions – 1st place shellingout a cool $1 Million. The following day Ivey seized 1st place in the Full TiltPoker invitational tournament beside very similar place – totaling an additional$600,000 toward his bankroll.
Ivey is prominently hard to read besidethe table. His unemotional face providing little information on his hand. Togetherwith his forceful playing style, a persistent sequence of minute bets andraises – Ivey is a frightening rival.
Online Phil Ivey is a associateof 'team Full Tilt' and can frequently be found playing beside this online poker website over the high stakes fixed-limit as well as no-limit Holdem tables in additionto pot-limit Omaha. Besides poker he is an enthusiasticgolf follower and eager admirer of basketball – supporting sporting teams forexample the Los Angeles Lakers as well as the Houston Rockets.
Phil Hellmuth is possibly better recognizedfor his irritated eruptions and un-sportsmanlike table behavior than his pokerskills. Pet named 'the poker brat' Hellmuth holds the poker series of well publicized badtemper numerous recorded live on TV.
Joseph Hachem appeared to emergefrom nowhere because he lived round after round of his foremost World Series ofPoker Main Event, just about to win the $7.5 million grand prize during 2005.He turned out to be an on the spot poker celebrity, however his mount to celebritywas in fact further slow than it shows.
Jennifer Tilly shines at playing senseless,buxom girlfriends also wives in movies; simply observe her characters in Seedof Chucky and Liar, Liar for a little taste. She's often classified into these roles;however in her actual-life role like a World Series of Poker championship, she acquiresto showcase just how smart she actually is.
On June 27, 2005, Tilly succeededa WSOP bracelet as well as $158,625 during the $1,000 Ladies' No-Limit TexasHold'em event, outliving 600 further players.
In case you look intothe mantelpieceof any serious poker player, one writer that will go on arising is DavidSklansky. Lots of trendy online as well as offline pro players will inform youone of the foremost books they chose while they were learning was one ofSklansky's.
Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series ofPoker Main Event champion, even confirmed in a discussion the leading affect overhis game was Sklansky's The Theory of Poker.
© Gambling Icons | All Rights Reserved.


text:
Newly Discovered Dinosaur Species Was A Cousin Of The Tyrannosaurus Rex
ancient species
dinosaur fossil
theropod
Dinosaur bones that were unearthed on England's Isle of Wight belonged to a previously unknown species that roamed the Earth 115 million years ago. The bones belonged to a type of theropod species called Vectaerovenator inopinatus that was a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Interestingly, the bones were not discovered by scientists but by visitors to the island on three separate occasions over several weeks who then handed over their findings to the Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown.
Palaeontologists from the University of Southampton closely analyzed four bones from the neck, back, and tail belonging to the new species (pictures can be seen here). They found that there were big air sacs in some of the bones which probably would have helped the dinosaur breathe easier in addition to helping it grow to such a large size (up to 13 feet) at the same time making its skeleton lighter in weight.
Chris Barker, who is a PhD student at the University of Southampton and who led the study, reiterated how significant this discovery was, "The record of theropod dinosaurs from the 'mid' Cretaceous period in Europe isn't that great, so it's been really exciting to be able to increase our understanding of the diversity of dinosaur species from this time."
The scientists think that the species lived north of where the bones were found but over time the water brought its remains into the shallow sea next to the village of Shanklin.
The remains of the Vectaerovenator inopinatus weren't the only significant things found on the Isle of Wight in recent years. In fact, many incredible discoveries have been unearthed there such as a 210-pound ammonite fossil that was found by two university students earlier this year. The extinct sea creature was part of the mollusc family and lived about 115 million years ago.
The fossilized tail from a dinosaur called iguanodon from around 125 million years ago was unearthed at the bottom of a crumbling cliff on the island. Iguanodons were herbivores that grew as tall as 30 feet and weighed over four tons.
When Storm Ciara hit the area, a footprint from a 130-million-year-old therapod called Neovenator was revealed on a beach on the island. The carnivore could grow as long as 25 feet and weighed as much as 4,400 pounds (almost 2,000 kilograms).
The fossilized jawbone of a 127-million-year-old pterosaur called Wightia declivirostris from China and Brazil was discovered on the island.
A massive super-pterosaur with a 20-foot wingspan and weighing as much as 650 pounds (295 kilograms) called Hatzegopteryx that lived 125 million years ago was unearthed deep in the island's cliffs.
The fossil of a small crow-sized type of pterosaur called Vectidraco Daisymorrisae (named after the little girl who found it) that lived 115 million years ago was discovered on the island in 2008.
The remains of a miniature crocodile called Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti that was just two feet long and lived about 126 million years ago was discovered in 2014.
The Isle of Wight is filled with significant historical remains and there are surely more of them just waiting to be found.
Pentagon is Launching a New Task Force to Investigate UFO Sightings (Again?)
Dec 02, 2022 I Paul Seaburn
T. Rexes in the News: A Pregnant One, A Horned One and a Wannabe One
Nov 30, 2022 I Paul Seaburn
Rare Double Volcano Eruption in Hawaii - Is Goddess Pele Mad about Stolen Pebbles Again?
The Mysterious Circling Sheep and Other Strange Circling Animals and People

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


They walked down the red carpet, posed for official portraits and danced the night away at Night to Shine on Friday evening at First Avenue Christian Assembly.
The event, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, was a full prom experience for teens and adults with special needs. Night to Shine took place around the world on the same night at more than 650 churches.
Chilliwack was one of two locations in B.C. to host the event. Here, 75 guests were welcomed and treated like kings and queens by a slew of 200 volunteers.


Determined volunteers converged on North Town Moor on Saturday - determined to undo the harm caused by selfish flytippers.
Make Space for Life is a volunteer group of like-minded enthusiasts who get together every first Saturday of the month at the Maidenhead beauty spot to carry out conservation work.
The site is a small remnant of the formerly extensive common land around Maidenhead that was lost to Victorian building. It is now an area of grassland with hedges and scrub, a small pond and a stream.
The Woodlands Trust has donated plants and now the volunteers hope to extend the hedgerow. But first there was work to be done on Saturday.
Nearby resident Jonathan Howe who started Make Space for Life - now in its fourth year - said: "We had to clear out brambles and rubbish left by flytippers.
"But Saturday, March 9, is the day when we will do the planting and we want as many volunteers as possible.
"Any age will do, we had a toddler helping us when we were clearing the rubbish. Just turn up from 10am."
The site is reached from Ray Mill Road West.


Let's face it. There is no easy way to deliver bad news. But unfortunately, it's something all of us have to do at different points in our careers. Here are some tips that will help you communicate with patients in difficult situations.


text:
Zero Block Society
Projects and resources
Harm Reduction Workers Guild
Supporters and governance
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Love in the Time of Fentanyl is a documentary that follows some of the personalities involved in the Vancouver harm reduction scene. It is now screening at select venues across North America, which is updated regularly on the film's website. Below is a blog from Ronnie Grigg, the Founder and Executive Director of Zero Block Society, and one of the focuses of the film.
A new documentary has been making the rounds at film festivals and local screenings that features a look at the daily activities of Vancouver's pioneering Overdose Prevention Society (OPS). It follows a few of the personalities involved, including a part of my own story. Entitled Love in the Time of Fentanyl, filming took place mainly in the early part of 2019. It started as a short film about a mural that Smokey Devil, a famous Vancouver street artist, painted of me. He called the mural the Narcan Jesus- it was a cool story of the history Smokey and I have which is part overdose intervention, part history of relationship, and part funny story of some random young person calling me Narcan Jesus years prior as I was attending to multiple overdoses on my own in an alleyway.
The film is the first feature length documentary by Colin Askey. Colin and I have known each other for many years. We first came to know each other as harm reduction workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside over 10 years ago. He and his wife Kailin, known for supporting the emergence of many innovative harm reduction programs herself, have since relocated to New York City where Kailin remains involved in harm reduction work. She in fact has been heavily involved in opening the first sanctioned supervised consumption facility in the US. Get at it, America- lives are at stake. With Colin's background in film he became involved in doing short documentaries featuring the various programs in Vancouver and then later in NYC. We affectionately called him "The Propagandist" for how effectively he represented the story of the complexities of harm reduction work. He was well positioned to do this film because of his pre-existing relationships with many of the people in the film and his knowledge of harm reduction work.
As he tried to capture the history of Smokey's mural the filming began to grow to feature the vibrant life of the Overdose Prevention Society, with its art programs, its peer focussed community response, and mainly its critical life-saving service of overdose prevention. And the funding also grew, as Colin was able to secure funding through Independent Television Service (ITVS– the funding arm of PBS, the US public broadcaster) as well as the Sundance Institute. Also important has been the support of Executive Producer Sean Baker, an accomplished Los Angeles based film maker known for such films as Tangerine, the Florida Project, and most recently Red Rider. Sean had been working in Vancouver pre-Covid trying to support the stories and efforts of harm reduction work in the face of an ongoing public health crisis that has taken so many lives. A part of that effort brought Sean to OPS as a volunteer.
The film premiered in May 2022 at DOXA documentary film festival in Vancouver where Colin suitably won the award for best Canadian Director. It also screened at Northwest Fest in Edmonton in May. After a few quiet months the opportunities for screenings have increased- we were able to embark on a small tour that included Nelson and Kamloops in British Columbia, where Dana MacInnis, one of the featured storylines in the film, and I were able to attend. Then on to a screening in Thunder Bay, Ontario, at Vox Popular Media Arts Festival where Norma Vaillancourt, another featured storyline, was able to participate in a QnA in her hometown along with me. Then Commfest Film Festival in Toronto and Cinefest in Sudbury, my hometown. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with strong community support. In Kamloops the screening coincided with local International Overdose Awareness Day activities which brought approximately 400 people to the event. We were given the experience of a standing ovation of which I've never experienced before. It was deeply moving. In all of the places where there have been screenings, there have been opportunities for me to introduce myself to people and organizations heavily involved in overdose and homelessness response.
This film experience has fit extremely well with my vision for Zero Block Society, the harm reduction non-profit that is emerging into a real thing. With "Support the Work, Support the Workers" being the guiding mandate, my hope has been to bridge the knowledge of lived experience outside of the Downtown Eastside where I live and work. This bridge is mainly meant for harm reduction workers in other communities, but also for those outside of the harm reduction sphere who want to support and further educate themselves.
Love in the Time of Fentanyl has been an effective experience to allow people to witness the intensity and challenges of responding in a constant state of crisis, but also the deeply compassionate and humanizing aspects of the people responding to their community's needs. The feedback has been beautiful and affirming- one person expressed to me that the storytelling had them cheering for the characters in the film, another person described it as a timely gift that galvanized their understanding of harm reduction and the deep potential found in the compassion of meeting people where they exist without the judgement or expectation of abstinence only based outcomes.
We're hopeful for ongoing community engagement. Currently the film is able to be screened in Canada. We'd encourage any community groups or festivals to reach out with your interest. It will premiere in the US at DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the US, on November 15 with an additional screening November 17 which I'm hoping to attend. Also it is beginning to be screened internationally, specifically in Ireland and hopefully more (Hello Mexico, Australia, other parts of Europe, still hoping to get out your way). An exciting aspect of the American support is that it will be broadcast as an episode of Independent Lens on PBS on February 13 and will be preceded with a month of pop-up screenings throughout the US. Those pop-up screenings will support community conversations in many US regions, many of which I hope to join.
This is an exciting turn of events and a necessary emergence of the story of harm reduction work. We always appreciate the support we receive as this film tours and as the work of Zero Block Society increases. If you'd like to support this ongoing work, please do. There are two readily available ways to do so:
1. Talk about us through social media and through your community networks, and
2. Financially support us through donating to Zero Block Society. Your support matters deeply.
To a more compassionate future,
Ronnie Grigg
Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
Posted byZBS Admin November 4, 2022 November 4, 2022 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Premiering tonight at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival is "Love in the Time of Fentanyl," featuring our very own Ronnie Grigg!
Directed by Colin Askey, the documentary follows Ronnie and other workers at the Overdose Prevention Society in Vancouver. The film screens May 10 and 11 in Vancouver, May 13 in Edmonton, and will be streaming online through the DOXA film festival website.
Posted byZBS Admin May 10, 2022 May 10, 2022 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Today is International Overdose Awareness Day. What a strange but necessary day. It's a day to try to gather the grief and outrage of communities around the world. And it's about awareness. Awareness focusses the light on the fact that there remains a massive divide among us- a divide of stigma, shame, and ultimately death. It's death by policy, a life taking drug policy long known to be ineffective, and death by shunning. Any of the stigmatizing titles we have depended on- drug user, substance dependent, addict, all point toward a great unwelcomed segment of our communities that gloss over deeper truths. The truths are that some substances are more acceptable than others, some levels of consumption (of those same substances) are more acceptable than others, that there are contexts where those same substances are used (such as when they are prescribed) that are more acceptable than others, and that access to necessary and fundamental care- medical, social, but mainly basic human needs such as housing and food, are more accessible for some than others.
There are communities that carry this weight in a grossly imbalanced way. This is a part of the injustice- communities marked by poverty, mental and physical illness, and racial marginalization have been most likely to acquaint themselves with the grief and trauma of this long drawn out crisis. Awareness brings these experiences into the light. I grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario with a population roughly the same as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where I currently live and work. If that community experienced years of hundreds of deaths annually as a result of a common experience and failure we would certainly memorialize that experience. We would do everything in our power to change it- and we would not only remember but insist on not forgetting, in case we were to experience that same threat in our community ever again.
A Day of Awareness is a small part of the effort to bring this light forward. We have the passion and creativity to solve this crisis. So many people have readily engaged to provide overdose prevention services, harm reduction services and education, and advocacy and resource building. This work is made especially difficult in a culture of indifference and resistance to the message. Herein lies the problematic mythology- overdose deaths aren't only a Downtown Eastside issue. They're not limited to those experiencing poverty and mental illness. Overdose deaths are in fact widespread in many families and communities, hidden because of the stigma, shame, and threat implied by the current public discourse. We need new conversations and approaches simply because the existing approach has failed and become increasingly lethal.
Decriminalization, access to safe supply, increasing overdose prevention services, and supporting and listening to the people who provide those services is the way forward. If you know a frontline harm reduction worker- take a second to thank them
Posted byZBS Admin September 1, 2021 September 1, 2021 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Still Here
Bevel App
Okay so this is a weird one… How does a guy that needs help taking pictures on his phone launch an app? How do two computer science students make an impact on the overdose crisis? The answer is community collaboration to create community solutions.
One of the fundamental purposes of harm reduction is to connect individuals with services if they want or need them. So, couple of years ago, we submitted a proposal for a project to a student organization called Coding For Change. Since then we've been working on developing a resource for people who are most deeply impacted by the overdose crisis: first, those who use substances that are most at risk from the current poisoning of the drug supply, and second, the variety of frontline harm reduction workers who have been overwhelmed with the need and immensity of the response.
What we've come up with is Bevel App. If you've been around harm reduction environments for a while you get it. If you haven't, Bevel App is a nod to the foundational documentary called Bevel Up which, in 2007, provided an overview of harm reduction education. Check it out if you have the opportunity.
In its launch format, Bevel App will be a harm reduction services resource that will map out where to access services. It will initially launch in Vancouver, with a provincial, national, and hopefully continent-wide rollout to follow.
At Zero Block Society we're proud of where this project has arrived. Aside from the coding (which was done by the student-run Code the Change Foundation), the look and content of the app has all been created by community members – service users and frontline workers alike. It has been developed with zero funding, with the artwork and labour being donated or exchanged. We will need to change how it's funded in the very near future but we've gotten it to this point as a community-driven project in collaboration with the student programmers.
And now we're beta testing. In the next few days the app will finally be on the phones of frontline workers and those who access services for the first time. And soon it will downloadable by anyone.
Your support is appreciated. We hope this is one small step toward a future of zero deaths by overdose.
Posted byZBS Admin February 12, 2021 February 14, 2021 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Bevel App
Crisis? Which one?
A public health crisis and the Downtown Eastside – we're left to ask "Which one?". We know crisis. Dare I say we're good at it. That's not okay. Crises are carried on the backs of those on the frontlines who are face first with both the urgency and the limitations of the response. We need to be heard and supported because we know crisis.
So which one? We can start with the pervasive systemic crises of poverty in an affluent city, of homelessness and a housing crisis, and the crisis of an inadequate mental health care system. And we can proceed to the late 1990s to a public health crisis related to skyrocketing deaths by overdose and the rampant transmission of HIV. The outcome of that crisis has been a globally standard setting network of harm reduction and HIV services that includes supervised drug consumption services. Then more recently we endured, and are enduring, the poisoning crisis due to a tainted drug supply. And now this COVID-19 pandemic with its global reach, a global reach that includes the Downtown Eastside despite regularly feeling outside of global priorities. Other communities are similarly affected but the concentrated experience on such a small community makes the weight feel so much heavier. This current public health crisis is unique in that we're anticipating it's inevitability, waiting. The others were crises in motion; perhaps there were prior indicators but mostly the responses were reactions to what was already happening. But now we wait in dread. But we can't. In the days of COVID-19, the rapidity of transmission is too excessive and the symptoms too severe. As a collection of survivors of many crises, it should be acknowledged that we know something. My familiarity with facing a public health crisis fuels an urgency that this experience be incorporated into our public response.
I was one of the many frontline harm reduction workers in the Downtown Eastside when black-market fentanyl surfaced. I'll never forget it. That incident has shaped so many of us through grief, loss, and trauma but also in pride through our resilience, and in our increased capacity to care and to endure. I was working at Insite the day it first surfaced. We had a care model at that time that was dialled in: overdoses were readily managed, we had strong community trust, and staff displayed a level of consistency and stability, amplifying the impact of Insite's relational care model. That changed in a day. We moved from averaging 10 overdoses a week to averaging 10 per day. Unresponsive bodies were dragged into the site in those first few days as people rapidly "dropped" from unexpectedly potent and lethal levels of a drug supply.
From that time on, instead of care being done almost exclusively inside the site, staff began to regularly run from the site down alleys, up sidewalks, into SROs with the uncertainty of how long someone had been unresponsive, what they had ingested, or the security of the situation encountered. Every excursion out of the site required the remaining staff to be less supported for the crises on the inside. So many frontline workers were also doing the same from understaffed SROs and shelters, to clinics and social service locations. As we moved through Vancouver on our own, we dealt with the anxiety of venturing out without naloxone knowing that at any momentwe may encounter a critical need.
Decision makers also responded. A public health crisis was declared, and crisis funding was allocated. The onset of the overdose crisis as described above began in October of 2014. The public health crisis was declared (and remains in place) in April of 2016. And the crisis funding emerged in November of 2016. There were 2 years where drug users with naloxone kits, on the ground frontline harm reduction workers, and first responders were the only response to an exponentially greater problem. We did well. Amazingly well.
The things we did well should be noted. Despite our workplace becoming more demanding and less safe, we worked harder. We supported and cared for each other. Despite being exhausted we advocated for better care and support often on our own time. We worked beyond the original mandate of our jobs. These were responses to life and death circumstances, and we didn't turn away.
But a long two years passed, and there were things that didn't go quite so well. Frontline workers knew what to do yet what we encountered was silence from decision makers. It's worth noting that the people involved in Vancouver Coastal Health, the City of Vancouver, and PHS community services at this time are no longer the same people from 2014. Calling someone out for that experience is not what I'm interested in here. It is a reflection that current decision makers primarily have an indirect experience of the crisis experience of the recent past, so my intention is to fill in the gaps of that experience.
Please hear this as a constructive criticism: frontline workers were not listened to in a meaningful way. We were told we were valued and even admired, but it took 2 years to change anything and that change came through some high-risk advocacy like the people who started Vancouver OPS.
Instead, policies were implemented that complicated frontline workers' capacities to respond. For instance workers were directed to not respond to offsite overdoses; this meant refusing the frantic pleas of someone asking for life and death help for their friend. The ethical implications of that are a trauma in themselves. I stated clearly to upper management that as a supervisor I couldn't and wouldn't require that on the shifts I was responsible for and that I would personally intervene if I encountered any coworkers refusing life and death responses. Furthermore, a tent city was dismantled on the first day of subzero temperatures, when overdose rates were at an all-time high, putting further pressure on services due to the crush of a displaced and vulnerable homeless population.
Frontline workers at that time were (and still are) making $21 per hour, which is considered the base living wage marker in Vancouver. If you live in Vancouver outside of nonmarket housing that is in reality considerably below a living wage. The frontline workforce was increased exponentially 2 years after the initial response, primarily by people with lived experience, now engaged in high stress overdose response positions while living in shelters, substandard housing, and quite frequently street homeless yet being paid considerably less than the regular frontline workforce.
This crisis needs to be different. Frontline workers are spent and exhausted from this recent and ongoing overdose crisis. A year ago, we were tempted to think that things in the overdose crisis couldn't get worse, then benzodiazapenes began to surface regularly in an already contaminated drug supply. That made things significantly worse. Overdose management became the uncertainty of victims stabilized and breathing yet remaining unconscious from 2 to sometimes 6 hours. Now we are experiencing a compounding crisis of an overdose crisis and the coronavirus pandemic (and did I mention poverty, housing crisis, and a lack of mental health supports?).
Here's what needs to be different. We need a plan that is clearly and regularly articulated. We can't remain in the dark. We know about handwashing, PPE, and social distancing. We need to know the broader plan as it exists now and as it changes. For social distancing to be effective in a vulnerable homeless or underhoused community it requires shelter, access to safe supply for both opiates and stimulants, food, cigarettes, and social supports. And the experiences of trauma, disconnectedness, and mental illness will amplify during these times of stress. Frontline workers know better than anyone that finding solutions are complex, but also know that maintaining them once they're established are equally as complex.
Frontline experience also needs support. Grocery store workers and Starbucks employees are all being told their jobs are important and are being extra compensated for showing up. In contrast frontline harm reduction workers have had their tools taken away. By no longer being allowed to administer oxygen to people who are overdosing, another ethical dilemma arises: do you risk the spread of infection or watch someone, whose name you know, who you call friend, whose support we have assured day in and day out, be oxygen deprived and risk brain damage and death?
Recall the years of advocacy for safe supply, which if listened to, would enable us to better manage overdose risk and responder safety right now. Fewer overdoses by way of safe supply results in both greater stability for the drug user and decreased risk for the frontline response.
It needs to be acknowledged that frontline workers take risk on a daily basis. Responding to public health crises has been normalized for us but that's not what the job originally required. This is inherently unsustainable. At the onset of the previous crisis the burnout levels were much lower than they are currently. Now an overtaxed working group is being asked to do more with less tools in an even more dangerous setting to their personal health, seemingly without option nor consent and certainly without added compensation. We still have to scramble through our lives with inadequate income to buy services and time that would help us recover from our work.
Please, please, please don't be silent. Take of care of this heroic and compassionate group. Compensate them. Add to their set of tools. Listen carefully to their ideas. Hear and respond to them. And please do it urgently.
Follow Ronnie on Twitter at @ironnieg, and follow Zero Block Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Posted byRonnie Grigg March 31, 2020 April 3, 2020 Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Crisis? Which one?
Zero Block Society, proudly powered by WordPress.


text:
Chesters Roman Fort
We began a day of Hadrian's Wall sightseeing by going to Chesters Roman Fort. A highlight of this site is the Roman bathhouse—one of the best preserved Roman buildings in Britain.
Chesters overlooks the North Tyne river, which is located immediately East of the fort. The fort faces North with a main gate in each side. Hadrian's Wall was carried across the North Tyne river by an impressive bridge. Originally, the Wall ran all the way through the fort because the fort was added a couple of years after the Wall had already been built.
Below is an overhead view of Chesters Roman fort looking South-East towards the curving North Tyne River. The North gate is at the foreground, the barrack blocks are to the left, the Commanding Officer's house is directly behind the barrack blocks, and the Headquarters building is to the right of the Commanding Officer's house. On the left side of the photo, down towards the river bank, are the ruins of the Roman bathhouse, located outside the fort.
Reverse the view of the aerial shot above to understand the layout of the fort in the illustration below. (North is the top of the page).
The antiquary John Clayton inherited the Chesters estate in 1843. Clayton played a pivotol role in saving the central section of Hadrian's Wall. He steadily expanded his holding so that by his death in 1890 he owned five forts. Clayton and his two workmen excavated almost everything that can be seen at the fort between 1843 and 1890. Only a section of the buildings have been uncovered; more are still buried. There has been hardly any digging since the death of Clayton's nephew in 1895. Only the lowest parts of the fort walls have survived stone-robbing and ploughing in the 1,600 years since the Romans occupied it.
Standing in the main entrance, the North gate. These would be the remains of two flanking towers on either side of the gate.
Below is a reconstruction of what the East gate would have looked like. The North gate would have probably been very similar.
Here is a section of Hadrian's Wall excavated between the fort and the river. In the aerial photo above, find the East gate. The East gate is located just South of the barrack blocks. Notice the raised mound of earth outside of the East gate, leading down to the riverbank? That's the Wall. There is a small portion that has been dug up. The image below is that section of the excavated Wall.
Below you can see the remains of the military barracks. A street is laid out between the two barrack blocks.
A closer look at the excavated street & drain below.
Here is a reconstruction of what the barrack blocks would have looked like. Archeological evidence has suggested that the soldiers kept their horses in the front part of their block. The soldiers would have had slaves who tended to their horses. The slaves would have slept in the rafters, the top storey in the illustration below.
Another angle of the barrack blocks.
Layout of the barracks below. (S = stable area, L= living area).
Side note, I found flowers!
Roman baths were essentially steam baths, similar to modern Turkish baths (a direct descendant from the eastern Roman empire). The floors were raised, and heat was directed into the space beneath the floors via a furnace. The heat ran under the floor and was conducted up the walls through hollow bricks and overhead vaults, giving off heat from every surface.
A bather would begin in a changing area where they would disrobe. They would then enter the dry heat of a sweating room, and then, via a tepid room, to a steam room where hot water was sprinkled on the body and the dirt removed from the skin with a metal scraper. Here there was also a heated pool. Finally, the bather returned to an unheated room and took a plunge in a cold pool.
Below is a reconstruction of what the bathhouse at Chesters would have looked like. Bathers would have used the rooms of the facility in a counter-clockwise direction, starting with A.
A = Changing room with niches for clothes
B = Lobby
C= Cold room and cold plunge
D = warm rooms
E= steam room
F= hot water fountain (hard to see because that's the centre line of the book)
G= hot pool
The furnace (H) is where the heat comes from.
Below are the remains of the bathhouse. The North Tyne river is in the background.
The layout of the bathhouse below.
Below is the stoke hole and furnace. The room above it is the sweating room, and there is a passageway into the ante/waiting room.
Niches in the changing room, possibly for clothes.
Another view of the changing room.
Bathing was a social activity. Bathers gathered to gossip, gamble, and socialize.
And also use the latrine.
Neil in the hot steam room.
More information on the hot steam room below.
An apse contained a hot water fountain.
Cold room.
The last step – the cold bath! Just like being at the Scandinave Spa in Whistler.
Warm rooms.
Looking across the River Tyne to where the bridge would have been. The river has moved westwards, closer to the fort, over the years. The remains of the bridge on the fort side of the river are submerged. The bridge dated from the 160s C.E.
Below, a reconstruction of the bridge, as well as the bathhouse and the fort in the background.
The Commanding Officer's house.
It also had a raised floor.
The Commanding Officer's house continued.
The Commanding Officer's house in the foreground. In the background, a man is standing in the Headquarters Building.
This is the underground strongroom, or treasury, located in the Headquarters building. The soldiers' pay was kept here and was heavily guarded.
A phallus, allegedly a symbol of good luck, carved on a flagstone near the ceremonial well in the headquarters. (Good luck? I think it's more like men have always been obsessed with dick pics).
Remains of an aqueduct which fed a tank in the north tower.
The interval tower near the south gate.
The south east angle corner tower.
In the parkland South of the fort remains the buried remains of a large civilian settlement. There has never been any excavation here but, in drought conditions, the grass immediately above buried stone walls is starved of moisture, creating a pattern of "parch marks" that are not visible from ground level, but show up in aerial photographs. These marks reveal the hidden layout of the civilian settlement that flourished in the second and third centuries outside of the fort. The settlement covered an area much more extensive than the fort itself. The grass still contains a rich depth of archaeological discovery, awaiting future researchers. The grey lines in the illustration below indicate the buried ruins.
Looking East towards the river. The underground civilian settlement is to the right of this fenced-in area.
The Chesters Museum exhibits John Clayton's collection of Roman antiquities. It contains many finds from Chesters and the other four forts on the Wall once owned by the Clayton family. The Museum was opened in 1903.
Below is a view of some of the Roman antiquities on display at the Chesters Museum.
This is a copy of a Roman military diploma discovered by John Clayton at Chesters. He donated the original to the British Museum. Military diplomas are certificates of discharge inscribed on bronze tablets. They were issued to all auxiliary soldiers after 25 years of service. The diplomas granted citizenship to soldiers and their children, and legalized their marriages. Roman soldiers were forbidden to marry in the 1st and 2nd centuries but there was a loophole, so many of them did anyway. More information about the diploma can be found here.
A sign for this little figurine read: "The precise function of this exquisite little figurine is unknown. It could be a religious offering or simply decorative. Its resemblance to a Scottish Terrier makes it seem surprisingly modern but it is possible that similar dogs were kept in the fort as lap dogs or to keep rats away."
A sign for this read: "Maenads were followers of Bacchus – the god of vines and wine. His devotees wore wreaths of vine leaves and this maenad appears to wear grapes in her hair. The piece shows the intricate detail that a skilled craftsman could achieve."
All of the information and illustrations used in this post come from the English Heritage guidebook Chesters Roman Fort.
We're Leah & Neil, a couple from Vancouver, Canada, who are looking for new adventures all around the world!
Our writing and videos focus primarily on the historical and cultural aspects of the places we visit.
We hope that you will join us, and that we will be able to help inspire you to plan a creative journey of your own.


I find great comfort in Horatio Spafford's lyrics. I so admire his faith in the midst of great personal tragedy.
Make this vintage style silver necklace your declaration and prayer. I hand stamped this declaration on a antiqued silver 1" disc. My soul is made well by the cross! I added a delicate sterling silver cross, petite white coin pearl, and a sparkling Swarovski crystal to complete the theme. Chain is 30 inches antiqued silver plated brass soldered link and will wear very well.
GREAT gift idea! Buy yours here. I also made an antiqued brass/gold version here.