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Africa Up Close is the blog of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Africa Up Close.
Showing posts from category In the News. Show all posts
In the News / Southern Voices:
Nigeria's Existential Crisis: False Peace Ignores Governance Issues at its Peril
By Olusegun Sotola // Monday, December 7, 2020
Nigeria is widely, and perhaps rightly, perceived as a conflict-prone country. In recent times, ongoing violent conflicts centered around the Boko Haram insurgency and farmer/herder tensions have dominated peacebuilding conversations. Even more recently, Nigeria has experienced the EndSARS protest and the civil disturbances that have followed. This latest conflict could nonetheless yield important lessons on crisis mismanagement, especially along the trajectory between peace and violence.
Topics: Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, Human Security, In the News, Southern Voices, Western Africa
COVID Diplomacy: Ethiopia's Initiatives to Combat the Global Pandemic in Africa
By Yonas Tariku // Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Ethiopia is battling with the multi-dimensional effects of COVID-19 amidst a fragile political transition that began in March 2018. Like many African states, Ethiopia's healthcare system is quite poor despite improvements in recent decades. The country was not by any means ready and able to tackle COVID-19 by itself when the pandemic broke out across the world. So far in Ethiopia, more than a thousand people have died of the 65,000-plus who have been infected with the virus. However, without the government's vigorous diplomatic efforts, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Ethiopia would be far higher. Ethiopia is not the only beneficiary of its COVID diplomacy, which has made a small but significant contribution to the overall fight against the spread of the virus in Africa.
Topics: Eastern Africa, Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, In the News, Southern Voices
Opinion Piece: Ghana President Shows Exemplary Leadership in COVID-19 Fight
By Audrey Donkor // Tuesday, June 23, 2020
President Nana Akufo-Addo surprised many Ghanaians when he announced on April 19 an end to the three-week partial lockdown imposed on the cities of Accra and Kumasi. At the time of his televised evening address—his seventh since the first two cases of COVID-19 were registered in Ghana on March 12—1,042 cases had been confirmed, with nine deaths from the disease. Hence the panic and concern that cases would skyrocket with a return to full business activity the next day, April 20. Schools were to remain shuttered, while the ban on public gatherings remained in effect.
Topics: Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, In the News, Uncategorized, Western Africa
Articles in Focus / In the News / Southern Voices:
Why Libya Will Struggle to Fight Coronavirus
By Anas El Gomati // Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Libya Citizens along the Libyan-Tunisian border. Photo courtesy of the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Department via Flickr Commons.
World leaders met in Berlin on January 20 to enforce an arms embargo and ceasefire to end the long-running civil war in Libya. A little over two months later, the fighting restarted and intensified as the world's attention turned to the global fight against coronavirus. In Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced emergency measures and restrictions in recent weeks, urging citizens to self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, residents in Tripoli described the resumption of Khalifa Hafter's self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) offensive on Tripoli and resulting fear as the "worst since 2011," with the attackers shelling homes, killing six civilians, and injuring six more.
Topics: Articles in Focus, Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, Human Security, In the News, Northern Africa, Southern Voices
South Africa's 2019 Elections: Four Key Takeaways
By Zintle Koza // Friday, June 28, 2019
The 2019 State of the Nation Address in Cape Town. Photo courtesy of the Government of South Africa via Flickr Commons.
South Africans went to the polls on May 8, 2019, for the sixth National and Provincial elections since 1994. The outcome offers an insight into the continued evolution of the 25-year-old democracy. A victory for the governing African National Congress (ANC) was never in doubt. The question was the margin of the victory in light of the party's shortcomings over the past decade, notably maladministration and corruption as uncovered in the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into State Capture; and the tragedies of the Life Healthcare Esidimeni patients, and Marikana mine protest. In addition, entrenched inequality remains a challenge. The 2018 World Bank report on Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in South Africa (compiled with the Government of South Africa), highlights that while progress has been made since 1994, inequality, poverty, and high unemployment persist, with South Africa being one of the most unequal countries in the world. The inequality remains highly racialized. In the robust campaigning that characterized the elections, opposition parties made sure to highlight these issues and others in vying for an increased share of the votes. With the dust settled, the following four issues are worth highlighting.
Topics: In the News, Southern Africa
Africa in the News: December 7, 2015
By Africa Program // Monday, December 7, 2015
Minibuses and cars pause on the road into Bujumbura, Burundi, in more peaceful times. Photo by Dave Proffer, via Flickr. Creative Commons.
Inclusive Governance and Leadership
Burkina Faso Coup Leader Charged Over Sankara Murder
Al-Jazeera – December 7
Burkina Faso's civilian government, which carried out the country's first free elections in decades, has charged General Diendere, the military leader behind September's failed coup, in connection with the murder of Thomas Sankara. The general, who was a close supporter of longtime leader Blaise Compaoré, was linked in the death of legendary socialist hero Sankara before the coup, but these links are much more concrete.
Topics: In the News
Africa in the News: November 30, 2015
By Africa Program // Monday, November 30, 2015
Thousands of people packed Uhura Stadium to be present at President Magufuli's inauguration.
Photo by GCIS South Africa, via Flickr. Creative Commons.
#WhatWouldMagufuliDo Sparks New Bout of Tanzaphilia
Arican Arguments Nov 30
Tanzania has long captivated Westerners and other East Africans eager for a success story, going back to the era of Nyere's dynamic socialism. Newly-elected president John Magufuli's bold promises and symbolic decision to cancel lavish independence day spending has reignited a new bout of Tanzaphilia for many, particularly Kenyans fed-up with their own politicians next door.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at a discussion at Chatham House, February 26, 2015. Photo by Chatham House. Creative Commons via Flickr.
Nigeria's President Buhari: Ex-Officer Stole Billions in Arms Deals
Christian Science Monitor – November 18
President Buhari's anti-corruption campaign is setting head's rolling, as he orders the arrest of his predecessor's national security advisor for defrauding the state of billions of dollars meant for the fight against Boko Haram. Soldiers in the army of Africa's largest country regularly found themselves under-equipped and outgunned in firefights with Boko Haram, thanks in part to rampant graft.
By Africa Program // Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Are Ghanaians Fed-up with Democracy?
Wilson Center NOW (video) November 5
Southern Voices Network Scholar Isaac Debrah discusses his research on dissatisfaction with democracy in Ghana with the Wilson Center's John Milewski (video is above).
Africa in the News: November 2nd, 2015
By Africa Program // Monday, November 2, 2015
Zanzibar's picturesque, well-touristed exterior has contentious, tumultuous politics underneath. Photo by George Pauwels, via Flickr. Creative Commons
In Zanzibar, Democracy, Peace, and Unity Are at Stake after Annulled Elections
Washington Post Nov 1
In contrast to the rest of Tanzania's smoothly executed elections, semi-autonomous Zanzibar's elections were annulled in a controversial call by the ruling CCM. The opposition claims it was on the verge of winning, and this decision is a way of stealing the election. Talks to find a political solution to the crisis take place on the backdrop of Zanzibar's thorny history with the mainland, and its citizens increasing desire for autonomy or even independence.
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Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the terminal ballistics of police shootings in which the bullets went through any motor vehicle structure before fatally wounding the occupants. 6 cases that occurred in Porto district between 1998 and 2013 were studied. The firearms used were 7.65 mm (n = 1) or 9 mm (n = 3) calibre semi-automatic pistols and 9 mm calibre submachine guns (n = 2); the bullets were full metal jacket type. The metal jacket of the collected projectiles was totally or partially destroyed in 3 cases. It exhibited a deformed structure in all cases. The trajectories of the bullets in the vehicles were always more or less linear, even when initial impact was at an oblique angle. The entry holes in the victims' bodies were larger or much larger in size than the calibre of the bullets. They were located, with the exception of one of the cases, in the left half of the body. The trajectories in the victims' bodies were from front to back, in one case, and from back to front in all others. Exit wounds were only found in two cases. Death occurred immediately after the victim was shot only in one case, despite a vital structure has been hit in all cases. The cases studied support the idea that the use of firearms against vehicles with the sole intention of immobilisation entails uncontrollable danger to the lives of the occupants, and especially when done by police forces not specifically trained for that purpose. Therefore, such use of firearms should be avoided.


Two weeks after SpaceX founder Elon Musk updated his vision for a monster rocket designed to take settlers to the moon and Mars, he's taking questions from his fans today during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session.
Musk says the chat starts at 1 p.m. PT on Reddit's r/Space forum.
As a foretaste, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell provided further details about the company's yet-to-be built BFR ("Big Falcon Rocket") on Wednesday at a forum presented by the Stanford Student Space Initiative, with venture capital guru (and SpaceX board member) Steve Jurvetson hosting a Q&A.
Shotwell's talk fleshed out Musk's plan to employ the BFR not only for sending payloads and people to Mars, but also for moon trips and point-to-point suborbital travel. Afterward, Jurvetson turned to the Reddit community to capture the high points of the conversation.
The BFR would be produced at a new waterfront facility in Los Angeles, because the cost of transporting rockets from SpaceX's Falcon 9 factory in Hawthorne, Calif., would be prohibitively high. More production sites could be built near BFR launch sites.
SpaceX's yet-to-be-completed launch facility near Brownsville, Texas, would be a perfect place for launching the BFR.
The spaceship will be designed so that most people will be able to withstand the G-forces that arise during a suborbital point-to-point ride, but the experience will be "sportier" than an airplane trip.
A scaled version of the BFR's methane-fueled Raptor rocket engine has been tested, and SpaceX is working on a larger version.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is ready for its maiden launch from Florida in a December time frame. The schedule depends on pad availability, including a shift of Falcon 9 launches from Launch Complex 39A to the repaired Launch Complex 40.
SpaceX is pressing ahead with work to build a satellite constellation that could provide global internet access. Shotwell said the company can fund BFR development as well as the satellites, which are being developed at facilities in Redmond, Wash. — but it might take some creative financing.
This report has been updated with the schedule for Musk's Reddit AMA session.


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Slav Epic (20 works)
The Slav Epic (Slovanská epopej) is a series of twenty monumental canvases (the largest measuring over 6 by 8 metres) depicting the history of the Slav people and civilisation. Mucha conceived it as a monument for all the Slavonic peoples and he devoted the latter half of his artistic career to the realisation of this work.
The idea of the work was formed in 1899, while Mucha was working on the design for the interior of the Pavilion of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had been commissioned by the Austro-Hungarian government for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. In preparation for the assignment he travelled widely through the Balkans, researching their history and customs as well as observing the lives of the Southern Slavs in the regions that had been annexed by Austria-Hungary two decades earlier. From this experience sprang the inspiration for a new project – the creation of 'an epic for all the Slavonic peoples' that would portray the 'joys and sorrows' of his own nation and those of all the other Slavs.
Between 1904 and 1909, Mucha visited the United States five times in hopes of finding a benefactor who would support his ambitious project and eventually, on Christmas Day 1909, he secured sponsorship from Charles Richard Crane (1858-1939), a wealthy Chicago-based businessman and philanthropist. Crane was intensely interested in the development of political affairs in Eastern Europe and Slavonic culture and he was to provide financial and emotional sustenance to Mucha for almost twenty years. Mucha returned to his homeland in 1910 to take up his mission.
Between 1911 and 1926 Mucha's energy was taken up with the creation of the Slav Epic. For this project he rented a studio and an apartment in Zbiroh Castle in Western Bohemia to benefit from the spacious studio enabling him to work on enormous canvases. In the series, he depicted twenty key episodes from the Slavic past, ancient to modern, ten of which depict episodes from Czech history and ten on historical episodes from other Slavonic regions. The first canvas in the series, The Slavs in Their Original Homeland, was finished in 1912 and the entire series was completed in 1926 with the final canvas, The Apotheosis of the Slavs, which celebrates the triumphant victory of all the Slavs whose homelands in 1918 finally became their very own.
With the Slav Epic Mucha wished to unite all the Slavs through their common history and their mutual reverence for peace and learning and eventually to inspire them to work for humanity using their experience and virtue. In 1928, Mucha and Crane officially presented the complete series of the Slav Epic to the City of Prague as a gift to the nation, coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of its independence.
'The Slav Epic' cycle No.16: Jan Amos Komenský. A Glimmer of Hope (1670). (1918)
In 1619 the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became King of Bohemia. He set about reinstating the Roman Catholic Church in the predominantly Protestant region, prompting a revolt which culminated in 1620 with the Battle of White Mountain near Prague. 30,000 Bohemians defending religious liberty were crushed by King Ferdinand's imperial army of 25,000 soldiers. 27 noblemen involved in the insurrection were executed and Protestants were given the order to either convert to Catholicism within 3 days, or to leave Bohemia.
One of the country's most celebrated religious exiles was Jan Amos Komenský. Komenský was one of the Bohemian Brethren's spiritual leaders. He believed that education was the key to true faith and his innovative approach to teaching earned him a reputation throughout Europe, particularly among fellow exiles. Komenský spent the last years of his life in the town of Naarden in Holland. Each day he would walk along the coast, and when he felt his death approaching, he asked to be taken there on a chair.
Mucha's composition is dominated by greys and blues that capture the melancholic nature of Komenský's solitary death on foreign shores. He is overlooked by mourning followers who attempt to comfort each other. The small flickering lantern offers a vague hope that one day the exiles will be able to return to their native Bohemia.
Egg tempera on canvas
Slav Epic
Go to Slav Epic

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Welcome to Davidson, NC; a wonderful town to call home. We have selected several homes currently on the market in Davidson for our luxury tour. All are exquisite and ready for your personal touches.
Exquisite Palladian Style custom built home designed by Milton Grenfall. Home was built using the HEBEL aerated concrete material, which is a green material with high energy efficiency/8hours of fire rating/35% savings on heating and cooling costs. Clay roofing tile, luxurious travertine and marble heated/cooled floors throughout. Lg. open floor plan for entertaining, cristallo quartzite counter top, and encore back splash. Private backyard w/large in-ground pool. This home is one of a kind!
Stunning Artisan Custom Homes new build exuding quality. Over 4400 heated sq ft of custom features in this 6 bedroom, 4 bath home. Unique features set this home apart- barrel vault foyer ceiling with wood inlay, custom doors to walk in pantry & brick floored drop zone. Gourmet Chef's kitchen w/ Thermador stainless appliances. Gorgeous granite counters thruout. Elegant dining area w/ custom lighting and vaulted ceiling. Stone paver covered patio w/ fireplace, great for outdoor entertaining.
Absolutely stunning custom home with features and appointments to dream of. Gourmet kitchen with granite and silestone counters, glass back splash, 5 burner stove and hidden pantry. Main level office with vaulted & beamed ceilings. Totally private guest suite on main with separate living room. Disappearing glass doors open to a backyard oasis featuring a covered outdoor living area with fireplace and lush salt water pool & hot tub. This remarkable home will take your breath away.
Mint condition with fresh paint and NEW LOOK through much of the home. This stunning 4 year old 3 story full brick in Davidson is a MUST SEE. Amazing walk out basement. Hot tub, outdoor bar and fire pit on a private, 1.5+ acre wooded lot w/path to the neighborhood walking trail. Chef's kitchen with a dual brick fireplace and elongated island. Spacious main floor BR w/en suite bath. 4 additional BR's, 3 full baths up plus a spectacular owners suite with fireplace. Best price/SF in The Reserve.
This tour is presented by Clark Goff of Allen Tate Realtors in Davidson. Clark is a luxury specialist in the Davidson area. Please contact Clark to arrange a private showing of any of these properties or others in the area. Clark has lived in Davidson since 1995 and will make your real estate search informative and enjoyable.
Next postSpooky Davidson Weekend Events – The Annual Halloween March and more!


The multi-national company, Samsung has begun rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo in India for the Galaxy Note 8. Quite recently this update had begun rolling out in France, and Indian users could now update their Galaxy Note 8 units also or would be soon, as this is a staged rollout, so it should be kept in mind that an update is not available to all at this very moment. Along with Android 8.0 Oreo, the Galaxy Note 8 users would even get a new version of Samsung's Android skin, Samsung Experience 9.0 that would replace Samsung Experience 8.5 version on the Galaxy Note 8 handset.
Samsung Experience 9.0 would get a new and customizable keyboard, to the handset, while in addition to that, the company even included new stickers and emoji. Bixby briefing feature is too a part of the new update and the same can be also said for an enhanced DeX support, and other modifications. Now, together with those features that are included in Samsung's newest skin, the Galaxy Note 8 would even get a number of specific features of Android 8.0 Oreo, like new animations while pulling down the notification shade, some battery tweaks, a Picture-in-Picture mode, new options in settings, and so on. The company has adopted every major feature of Android 8.0 Oreo that is something its users would probably appreciate. Samsung had last year launched the Galaxy Note 8 in India and the handset has been available for months now in the country. The Galaxy Note 8 was originally launched with Android Nougat. This is the first major update for the handset.
Until the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus arrived, the Galaxy Note 8 was Samsung's flagship smartphone. The Galaxy Note 8 yet is quite tough, powerful, the smartphone is fueled by the Exynos 8895 64-bit octa-core SoC in India, and it has 6GB of RAM. The handset is available in many storage variants. It sports a dual 12-megapixel camera on the back.


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Visitors to Disney's Star Wars: A Galaxy's Edge Park Have Been Reselling Park Decor on eBay
Someone is trying to sell a SPORK for $140.
By Elizabeth Gulino
Disneyland's newest section of the park, Star Wars: A Galaxy's Edge in Anaheim, CA, has already drawn hundreds of thousands of eager visitors and galactic fanatics—and they're taking as much as they can get from the experience. Literally. According to the Ocean County Register, park guests have been selling "anything not nailed down" on eBay for a pretty penny.
Items like a single metal spork—yes, seriously—from a restaurant in the park called Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, is listed for almost $140 on eBay as of right now. Items from other eateries, like the popular Oga's Cantina, have been resold as well. Apparently, the park has been replacing the sporks with more traditional-looking cutlery—hopefully this will make guests more inclined to return them when they're done using them.
Cardboard coasters seem to be a hot-ticket item to resell, and they've been appearing on eBay for $10 each. The orange coasters have sayings written in Aurebesh, a Star Wars language. Also, color-coded crew cards handed out to park visitors who ride the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction have also been found on the resale site for as much as $400 each, according to People.
The Ocean County Register also reports that Oga's Cantina has begun stationing employeed around the exit area to make sure glassware that the cantina's alien cocktails are served in don't make their way out of the park—and onto eBay.
This Treehouse Hotel Is a Dream Come True
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The Coolest Succulent Varieties You Need to Know
Over 1.6 Million People Plan to "Storm Area 51"
Fans of 'Golden Girls' Know This Iconic Wallpaper
People Are Gargling Mouthwash and Putting It Back
Now For Sale: The Star Wars Chairs of Your Dreams
What You Should Know Before Visiting Galaxy's Edge
5 Top-Selling eBay Items That You Probably Have in Your House
Parents Are Now Naming Their Children After "Star Wars" Characters
8 eBay Secrets That'll Help You Score Big
This Is How Disney's Frozen Was Supposed to End


Mount Snow, VT. – December 11, 2018 – Mount Snow, is pleased to announce a brand-new lineup of events at Carinthia Parks for the 2018/2019 winter season. In honor of the 10th anniversary of Carinthia becoming an all-terrain-park mountain face, these new events will highlight many of the aspects that have helped Carinthia rise to the rank of #1 Terrain Park in The East, as named by both Transworld Snowboarding and Newschoolers.com. Along with this lineup, comes the opening of the new $22M, 42,000 sq.ft. Carinthia Base Lodge, which for the first time brings après to the Carinthia Base Area, with three restaurants, two bars, and a large outdoor deck that is designed with event-viewing and afterparties in mind.
"In honor of our 10-year celebration, we thought it was the perfect time to add in some new events and concepts that we've been dreaming of," said Ben McGinnis, terrain park manager at Mount Snow. "We've gone back to the drawing board on our events and builds this year, and are really excited to see the reactions to these new and innovative offerings."
The event season kicks-off on December 22, 2018, with the Carinthia Classic fueled by Monster Energy featuring skiers and snowboarders competing for their slice of the $20,000 purse. Located in The Junkyard terrain park, this event will feature a jam-style format on a one-of-a-kind plaza-style build, comprised of all-snow features blended with a wide variety of rails. Situated right off the deck of the new Carinthia Base Lodge, this event will also celebrate Carinthia's 10-year anniversary with a DJ, beer garden around the venue, giveaways, and more, including the event finals that will be held under the lights. Details and registration at mountsnow.com/carinthia-classic.
The USASA Southern Vermont Series returns to Mount Snow with two events for 2018/19 with the USASA Southern Vermont Series – Slopestyle on January 25-27, 2019 and the USASA Southern Vermont Series – Halfpipe on February 9-10, 2019. As one of the longest-running USASA series, these events are a perfect introduction to competing on a national level, while earning points to qualify for Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
February rounds out with a co-lab with Snowboy Productions, of Holy Bowly and Downtown Throwdown fame, that is code-named Ash & Steel. Details to follow, but this is one you won't want to miss. This event will be on lockdown for February 28, 2019 and March 1, 2019 before opening to the public on March 2, 2019. That's it for now, follow along at Instagram.com/carinthiaparks for details.


Real Estate Marking Strategies: Why Do Some Real Estate Agents Do Well in Today's Economy?
It's your mindset and not the economy that is holding you back. Learn how to remain positive and attract more business! This article gives you some great tips on how to switch your focus from gloom to prosperity.
It's your mindset and not the economy that is holding you back. Learn how to remain positive and attract more business! This article gives you some great tips on how to switch your focus from scarcity to prosperity.


Uncover the Stories Behind the Union Terminal Murals: WOW! Check out the photographic sources for mural imagery as well as the stories of the people in them.
Make Cincy Yours: a bit of Queen City pride in video form.
Important Buildings We Lost in 2013: a sad architectural roundup.
The 10 Most Dangerous Places in New York City: a fantastic romp through film locations in NYC.
Who Put the O in Portland?: simplified circular maps from Archie's Press.
Suburban Corporate Wasteland: on office parks in suburban Connecticut and beyond.
The Same Little House from the Same Camera Angle Over a Two-year Period: beautiful.
3CDC Shows Preliminary Plans for Next Big Over-the-Rhine Projects: major plans for 15th St. from Race to Vine.
Meet Cincinnati USA – We Do What We Love.: randomly, I just met Mr. Yellow Pants last weekend.
Diary: Google Invades: "neatly dressed, uncool, a little out of place, blinking in the light as they emerged from their pod" — tech workers emerging from a Google bus in San Francisco.
Priced out of New York: on the shame of having to leave Manhattan for Brooklyn and then for the scary world beyond [in this case, Portland].
Transparent House in Japan: a see-through home in Tokyo, designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects.
Cincinnati Constellation is a photo installation by Portland, ME-based Caleb Charland and a team of ArtWorks apprentices. Installed in October as part of FotoFocus, it is on view inside Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati through December 2012.


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Joseph Beck - the man who saved Clissold Park - is given a plaque in Stoke Newington
Sam Gelder
The plaque. Picture: Amir Dotan
The man who saved Clissold Park 130 years ago has been honoured with a plaque thanks to the Stoke Newington historian who unearthed the dramatic details of his campaign.
Joseph Beck, chairman of the Clissold Park Preservation Committee, and his family in the garden of their home, Barton House, 97 Albion Road (now no. 233). Beck's daughters got the 12,500 signatures of locals for a petition to save the park.
Throughout the 1880s the park was under threat from building work. But the Clissold Park Preservation Committee – chaired by Joseph Beck, a local manufacturing optician – fought for four years to secure its purchase "for the recreation of the public forever".
They felt preserving the park would improve people's health and well-being and make the area more desirable. But the long campaign, which consisted of three petitions, heated meetings and numerous press articles, had usually been described in a paragraph at best.
That was until Stoke Newington historian Amir Dotan uncovered the details through documents passed down through Beck's family. It turned out the campaign was hanging by a thread throughout. Money had to be raised from local parishes to buy the park, and the committee's view was that while it was in Stoke Newington and South Hornsey, it would also benefit people in Hackney and Islington. But there was fierce opposition in the two areas, where locals felt the park was a "swamp" and Finsbury Park was close enough.
After finally winning his battle, Beck said: "It will be from the narrow streets of Shoreditch, from the pent-up alleys of Clerkenwell and Islington, that thousands and tens of thousands of our fellow beings will issue to enjoy the sweet breezes and lie under the shade of the old and handsome trees of Clissold Park.
The plaque unveiling. At the front are Joseph Beck's great-great-great-grandchildren, with their mother Liz Shaw behind them. Joseph Beck's great-grandson is sixth from the right. Picture: Sophie Cameron
"It will be on the soft grass that the little ones will romp and play and learn the charm of getting for a short time under the benignant of bright sunshine and fresh air."
Eighteen months ago, Amir had the idea of honouring Beck's work, as he knew that his old home was what is now Barton House GP practice, which is named after Beck's grandfather. And last month it was unveiled in front of Beck's family.
Amir said: "A councillor put me in touch with a heritage officer who put me in touch with a company that made another local heritage plaque not too long ago.
"I got in touch with the practice to get the manager's consent to install the plaque. From there it was raising money to get it made. The money was donated by Beck's family and the Clissold Park User Group. A local retired builder – Jeff Manning – was kind enough to install it."


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Publications/Bibliography
Couple Counseling
Generalized anxiety disorder ICD.10. V. F41.1and DSM-5 code 300. 82
Diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder according to international classification of mental disorders. ICD-10 Chapter V. F. Clinical Diagnostic Guidelines and DSM-5 Code (Dilling et al. 2008).
Fear that lasts long is generalized and not directed at specific objects or situations. It is free floating and, unlike fear, does not pose a real threat. Vegetative hyperexcitability and motor tension are also symptoms associated with anxiety.
The distinction between generalized anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders is very complicated. In the past, reduced work performance, hypervigilance, increased attention, alarmism, feelings of tension, as well as irritability and sleeping disorders were all described as symptoms of anxiety neurosis: Brunnhuber and Lieb regard generalized anxiety disorders as disorders that are associated with chronic complaints (Brunnhuber & Lieb 2000).3.3 Diagnostics – differential diagnosis
It is essential for the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder whether it is a primary anxiety or whether this symptom is another mental illness. Möller et al emphasize the importance of differentiating between symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as the distinction from generalized anxiety disorder. If this separation is not easy, it must be made clear whether the primary symptom is fear itself (Möller et al. 2005).
In patients with generalized anxiety disorder, the anamnesis focuses on the question. The excessive concern of patients for family, financial and professional matters which they are unable to control shall be ascertained. And the generalized anxiety disorder must not be mixed with other anxiety disorders such as organic psychoses, endogenous psychoses or psychogenic disorders, phobic disorders F40, depressive episodes F32, panic disorder F14.0, and obsessive compulsive disorder F42, as well as neurasthenia F48.0. According to Brunhuber et al. (200), generalized anxiety disorder usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 30.
4.2 Recommendation in therapy
In the therapy of generalised anxiety disorders, the main focus should not only be on the symptoms, but rather on the basis on which their causes develop and how to combat them. On the one hand the doctor or therapist should take enough time for his patient and on the other hand the motivation of the patient plays a decisive role. The affected person should stand by his fear and recognize that this fear is the main suffering (Möller et al. 2005).
A conversation with a patient alone can be helpful. The partner relationship in the therapies should represent a sustainable and respectful cooperation. The frequency of this disorder can be defined by its lifetime prevalence, which affects about 7 to 8% more women than men. The characteristic feature of this disorder is the exaggerated fear, especially with regard to the circumstances of life. Fears and anxieties can be, for example, worries about one's own child, such as the fear that something might happen to the child. Constantly worrying about the money, existential fears and fears for the future can also occur. These fears must last for a long time in order to be defined as a generalized anxiety disorder. For the DSM-IV, the duration is given as 6 months. In the ICD-10 V. F. is spoken of a duration of several weeks. During this time, patients usually react with distancing or distraction. The main signs of these symptoms are restlessness, trembling, muscle tension, which can also be called motor tension. At the vegetative level, overexcitability, anxiety and shortness of breath are present (Möller et al. 2005). Dilling et al (2011) also list the following individual symptoms: motor tension, dry mouth, upper abdominal pain, tachypnoe/tachycardia, dizziness, tension headache, sweating, concentration problems, nervousness and concern about future misfortune. The primary symptoms of the generalized anxiety disorder occur over several weeks (ibid.).
4.3 Diagnostics according to DSM-IV
According to DSM-IV, anxiety disorders of this kind are disproportionate worries and anxieties about various events and activities that must last at least 6 months. Anxiety care has a negative impact on professional and social life and everyday life. Affected people have difficulty over their suffering, fear and anxiety to get control. Further signs are disproportionate anxiety and fear, as well as fear expectation regarding everyday events and feelings of guilt.
To combat these symptoms, understanding and empathy are at the forefront. The patient's worries and symptoms should be taken absolutely seriously, especially the subjective perception from the patient's point of view. This means that the complaint is not to be perceived as an imagination, but as reality. The relatives must be informed and educated. Möller et al. emphasize pharmacological approaches, and the detection by psychoanalytical methods plays an important role (Möller et al. 2005).
4.4 Overcoming anxiety in psychoanalysis
In psychoanalysis, the patient is viewed holistically: Everything is important and is taken seriously and not only the symptoms and their suffering, but their causes. The psychoanalytic methods therefore endeavor to investigate underlying anxiety disorders and to work through early childhood repressions and traumas. The main goal is the strategy for overcoming fear. The therapy must be carried out continuously over several years. This can be explained by the fact that it is not only a matter of coping with anxiety disorders, but also of uncovering underlying structural deficiencies that have arisen from the object relationship, the triangulation: mother, father, child, as a result of ego weakness (Möller et al. 2005). It may be that your childlike behavior no longer believes in itself.
© Copyright - Akademie für ganzheitliche Medizin, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapiewissenschaften - Prof. Dr. Andrawis - Tel.: +43 650 744 8863 - Favoritenstrasse 37/16, 1040 Wien
Somatoform disorder Psychosomatic Medicine PSM


text:
2008 Allis (Accessing Lancashire Library & Information Services) Staff Development Group Conference [conference review]
McGowan, Kim (2008) 2008 Allis (Accessing Lancashire Library & Information Services) Staff Development Group Conference [conference review]. Sconul Focus, 44 . pp. 68-72.
Available under License CC BY-NC
Official URL: https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/docum...
My accomplished friend, recently appointed to an important new job, described to me her 'creeping impostor syndrome'. She related how she's never had the luxury of feeling more than six paces away from the full public exposure of her (imagined) inadequacy. As someone who struggled with literacy at school and who went to university relatively late, I recognise the fraud disorder. In my case I'm expecting the 'rumble letter' to arrive in any day; my distinguished friend is prepared for two burly security men to appear in order to escort her from the premises. Judged 'kim-kind-but-dim' as a child I am inevitably drawn to debate on the support and engagement of non-traditional and dificult to reach library users. My emotional investment in the subject can make that involvement hard; I am transported back to bewildered youth. As such the Allis staff development group conference on the theme of Engaging your Community, with its presentations on engaging the Traveller community, the ethnic community and a prison community, contracted to be a moving affair; and so it proved. Delegates represented a range of library sectors, public, health, prison, further and higher education. We began by thinking about our own ideas of community and who in particular we felt we needed to work to reach. Over 60% of learners at my university are part-time and, as such, non-traditional. I'm keen to ensure that students juggling a raft of domestic and academic demands, (and probably an impostor syndrome to boot) recognise and feel able to access the library and information support that I'm here to provide. My colleagues spoke about the need to connect with teenage customers, prison oficers, foreign nationals, young adults, offcampus and overseas students, Travellers, the elderly and users with mental health, mobility or access problems.
Sconul Focus
Professional Services > Information Services
Kim McGowan, Learning Adviser, University of Cumbria, UK, reviews the conference: 'Engaging your Community', held at Woodlands Conference Centre, Chorley, UK, on 20 May 2008.
Kim McGowan
https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/1006


text:
Just three hours sleep and an hour and a half to go before the Regional count resumes in South Wales West. I don't yet know whether I am back or not.
It looks like the Welsh Liberal Democrats will be unchanged from the six seats they have held since 1999. This is not healthy and it is clear that we now need a fresh approach and a radical re-think as to where we are going and how we sell ourselves, our policies and our philosophy to the Welsh electorate. More on this later.
In the meantime here are some photos from the campaign to keep you occupied. This one was taken in Beddau, Pontypridd by our very forthright candidate, Mike Powell. It expresses the disillusionment felt with Labour by a number of voters, which most probably contributed to Mike's excellent second place there.
Meanwhile, a very funny thing happened to me outside one of the Swansea polling stations. I parked up for a few minutes after having dropped off an elderly voter and due to the rather stifling heat left my car doors open. When I turned around the car had been occupied. Fortunately, it was not an attempt to steal the vehicle, just a cat who was wondering what all the fuss was about. I believe that the aforesaid animal made the most of the attention it got in the sun from a stream of visitors to the local community centre all day.
The BBC now want to talk to me at 6pm. Do you think they want to ask about coalitions?
N.B. I think I should use this opportunity to express my commiserations to fellow blogger Glyn Davies on losing his seat. There but for the grace of God go all regional candidates. He will be missed from the Assembly as will a number of others.
# posted by Peter Black : 12:27 PM
Yes, it was a disappointing result for the LibDems! It was sad that in Cardiff West we did not finish 2nd! But 4th !!!!
Yet again as I have said I predicted it. They just have not broken out of Cardiff Central ghetto.
I don't think it bodes well for the council elections in 2008.
I also think they need to find good local candidates and not rely on "party hacks"
(in the process of moving back!!)
Good luck Peter. I just hope there's no recount. Why is there such a delay in South Wales West declaration? At least it's not a Scottish style fiasco.
You really have to be mad to go into a coalition with Labour after last night. It is clear that throughout Wales Labour was rejected by the electorate and only survived because of the electoral system and the fact the anti Labour vote was divided. It might suit Mike German and one other Lib Dem who will become a minister but at what long term cost to the Lib Dem party. Labour will continue to be unpopular even with Gordon Brown as PM. You risk being hammered in next year's council elections if you get into bed with a party in terminal decline in Wales.
Good to have you back Peter. Who can understand the mind set of the Welsh public? Surely there can't be so many of them that are actually content to be treated the way Labour have treated them?
# posted by Karen Roberts : 5:12 PM
The only people talking about a coalition with Labour are the media. We have genuinely not discussed our options yet.
A question for you Peter, as Mike Cridland has posted above in Cardiff West the Lib Dems finished fourth not second...and Mike said that that was predicted.
That's despite endless and spurious "two horse race" bar-charts and leaflets. As you have pointed out other parties are guilty of this as well. Do you think it's time for the Electoral commision or the political parties to frame some sort of "code of conduct" on this issue? It seems to me it devalues politics if voters feel they have been misled into casting a tactical vote by irrelevent or spurrious misinformation.
Voters are intelligent people, they are quite capable of finding out the facts for themselves and making their own minds up as they did in Swansea West with the similarly spurious claims of Plaid Cymru.
Voters are indeed intelligent people capable of making their minds up, Peter. However, that only makes the reasons behind using such clearly false claims less understandable - as they were obviously seen through by the voters of Cardiff North (LD 3rd), Cardiff South and Penarth (LD 3rd) and Cardiff West (LD 4th).
# posted by ianjamesjohnson : 10:12 PM
I have not seen the leaflets but it was not the claims that were a problem but the outcome.
I guess that depends on your political perspective. However, as the Lib Dems finished in 3rd in those three Cardiff constituencies in 2003, it was surely a little disingenous to use a graph showing the number of Cardiff councillors (especially in a leaflet intended for Vale of Glamorgan based Penarth!) to claim that it was a '2 horse race'.
At least in Swansea West, Ian Titherington could factually claim that his party was second at the previous election. I'm sure he would agree with you that it was the outcome that was the problem, not the claims! ;)
# posted by ianjamesjohnson : 10:42 AM
Actually, although I refrained from saying so at the time Ian Titherington was being very disingenuous in his claims. Although PLaid came second in 2003, in each of the two subsequent elections and in the number of Councillors elected the Welsh Lib Dems were clearly in second place.
Whatever the outcome the claims in terms of Councillors in Cardiff were perfectly legitimate.
Good to see you back in the Assembly Peter, well done.
Plaid used the "two horse race" arguement here in Pontypridd based on their 2003 result and not their 2005 one, though we did point out our/their 2005 result as way of clarification. Now they can't use their second place arguement in Pontypridd, they can use a "we are in 3rd/4th" though!
As for a partnership in the Bay. As a democratic party our members will decide at a special conference if we are to enter into another one. Peter has succinctly posted his views and those of others in our party. I, and many others, will be looking forward to having a healthy and open debate on this subject if the need arises.
# posted by Cllr Mike Powell : 3:37 PM
My comments above had more to do with the party building a organisation outside of Cardiff Central. Rather than on leaflets that were distributed. I recall that in the last local election Labour put out leaflets the night before that the race relations board described as racist. I find that far more object able than bar charts etc.. That certainly went beyond the pail. I also recall Peter Hain refusing to apologize for them, saying that other parties did the same thing. I guess it must be aright! :(.
# posted by Anonymous : 10:23 PM


text:
Q: Generate valid URL Google Places API I'm developing an application which has to do a Google Places API request.
http://code.google.com/intl/es/apis/maps/documentation/places/
I got the private key on the following website:
https://code.google.com/apis/console
Client ID: XXXXXXXXXXX.apps.googleusercontent.com
Client secret:  YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY   (it looks like     vNIXE0xscrmjlyV-12Nj_BvUPaw=    )
I'm using this code to generate the URL:
public class UrlSigner {

  // Note: Generally, you should store your private key someplace safe
  // and read them into your code

  private static String keyString = "YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY";

  // The URL shown in these examples must be already
  // URL-encoded. In practice, you will likely have code
  // which assembles your URL from user or web service input
  // and plugs those values into its parameters.
  private static String urlString = "http://maps.google.com/maps/api/place/search/json?location=40.717859,-73.957790&radius=1600&client=XXXXXXXXXXX.apps.googleusercontent.com&sensor=false";

  // This variable stores the binary key, which is computed from the string (Base64) key
  private static byte[] key;

  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException,
    InvalidKeyException, NoSuchAlgorithmException, URISyntaxException {

    // Convert the string to a URL so we can parse it
    URL url = new URL(urlString);

    UrlSigner signer = new UrlSigner(keyString);
    String request = signer.signRequest(url.getPath(),url.getQuery());

    System.out.println("Signed URL :" + url.getProtocol() + "://" + url.getHost() + request);
  }

  public UrlSigner(String keyString) throws IOException {
    // Convert the key from 'web safe' base 64 to binary
    keyString = keyString.replace('-', '+');
    keyString = keyString.replace('_', '/');
    System.out.println("Key: " + keyString);
    this.key = Base64.decode(keyString);
  }

  public String signRequest(String path, String query) throws NoSuchAlgorithmException,
    InvalidKeyException, UnsupportedEncodingException, URISyntaxException {

    // Retrieve the proper URL components to sign
    String resource = path + '?' + query;

    // Get an HMAC-SHA1 signing key from the raw key bytes
    SecretKeySpec sha1Key = new SecretKeySpec(key, "HmacSHA1");

    // Get an HMAC-SHA1 Mac instance and initialize it with the HMAC-SHA1 key
    Mac mac = Mac.getInstance("HmacSHA1");
    mac.init(sha1Key);

    // compute the binary signature for the request
    byte[] sigBytes = mac.doFinal(resource.getBytes());

    // base 64 encode the binary signature
    String signature = Base64.encodeBytes(sigBytes);

    // convert the signature to 'web safe' base 64
    signature = signature.replace('+', '-');
    signature = signature.replace('/', '_');

    return resource + "&signature=" + signature;
  }
}

The code works fine: it returns a URL, but the URL gives this error:

*

*That's an error.
  The requested URL /maps/api/place/search/json?.(...) was not found on this server. That's all we know.

I tried to change the ClientID (XXXXXXXXXXX.apps.googleusercontent.com) by XXXXXXXXXXX but it's still not working. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
Thank you very much!

A: The problem is that you reached no endpoint on the google-side. Even no places-api-service got your request.
try to use the following urlString:
private static String urlString = "http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/search/json?location=..."

the important difference is googleapis instead of google. Type your created url into your browser then you will see, that you get some json (even if it is a denied request). Then you know that your reached an api-endpoint.
edit: I think google has changed the domain to googleapis recently. The spanish-documentation which you use uses google and the english-documentation uses googleapis. I think the spanish documentation is not up-to-date. Maybe you post that info to google (maybe on the forum)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Hanging of Rainey Bethea, 1936: Last Public Execution in the United States
The last public execution in the United States took place at this location along the banks of the Ohio River in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1936. Rainey Bethea, an African American man, was sentenced to death after he was convicted by an all-male, all-white jury of raping Lischia Edwards, a white woman. He was hanged publicly in a lot beside the jail on August 14, 1936 at 5:32 AM. A crowd of almost 20,000 filled the vacant lot of the Daviess County Road Department to watch the execution. Enterprising vendors sold hot dogs and sodas to the crowd who waited throughout the night. In 1938, Kentucky legislation, embarrased by the press coverage of the hanging, passed a new law which outlawed public executions. The gallows were located where Owensboro's Executive Inn stood for four decades prior to its demolition and replacement with the Owensboro Convention Center.
Execution of Rainey Bethea with Sherriff Thompson and Arthur Hash
The last public hanging in the United States took place on August 14, 1936 in Owensboro, KY. Rainey Bethea was sentenced to death by hanging after he was convicted for raping Lischia Edwards. Ms. Edwards, a 70 year old woman, was found at 11 am on Sunday June 7, 1936 by concerned neighbors who thought it odd they hadn't heard from her that day. She had been robbed, raped and murdered by an intruder who accessed the room from a window. A celluloid ring known to belong to Bethea was found in the room as were his fingerprints. Once located, Bethea was charged with the single crime of rape in order to circumvent the legal question of which legal punishment would be used. The punishment of hanging was only available for the crime of rape and electrocution used for the crime of murder.
The crime gathered nationwide attention because the Sheriff of Daviess County at the time was a woman. Florence Shoemaker Thompson became sheriff on April 13, 1936, after her husband, Everett Thompson, unexpectedly died of pneumonia. Thus, the hanging would be the first execution in America to be carried out by a woman. The execution was scheduled for 5:12 am but Thompson didn't wish to perform the execution so she asked Arthur Hash, a former Louisville police officer, to perform it for her. Hash dropped the trap door at 5:32 am in front of almost 20,000 spectators. Bethea was pronounced dead at 5:45 am and the crowd of 20,000 onlookers returned to their homes.
Newspapers nationwide took great liberties in reporting the event, many claiming that the crowd grappled for souvenirs torn from the body. Several wire services reported that the crowd was unruly and out of control although many firsthand accounts contradict these representations. Because of the exaggerated accounts of the event, Owensboro was ridiculed on a national level and the practice of public executions was called into question. On March 12, 1938 Kentucky Governor Chandler signed Senate Bill 69 into law. This bill repealed the requirement from Section 1137 that death sentences for the crime of rape be conducted by hanging in the county seat where the crime was committed.
Local resident Perry Ryan researched the case and concluded that Bethea was likely guilty of the crime."He made five different confessions to the crime and in one of the confessions he told police where he had hidden Mrs. Edwards' jewels." However, Richard Brown, a member of the Kentucky state Human Rights Commission and a leader of the African American community, recalled hearing many stories indicating that the arrest and trial were racially motivated and Bethea's five confessions were coerced. This is a point of contention in the Owensboro community.
Associated Press. "After 75 years, last public hanging haunts Kentucky City." New Haven Register. August 11, 2011. https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/After-75-years-last-public-hanging-haunts-11578786.php#photo...
Katz, Josh. "On This Day: Kentucky Holds Final Public Execution in the US." Finding Dulcinea. August 14, 2011. http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--Kentucky-Holds-Final-Pub...
Murrmann, Mark. "20,000 Watched the Last Public Hanging 78 Years Ago." Mother Jones. August 14, 2014. http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/08/last-public-execution-rainey-bethea
Ryan, Perry thomas. The Last Publication in America. Lexington, kentucky. Alexandria Printing, 1992.
NPR Story on the Execution, 70 years later
Kentucky Room Biography file on Rainey Bethea
Locust St and the Banks of the Ohio River
Created by Tyler Jones (Instructed by David J. Trowbridge, Marshall University) on February 16th 2015, 1:12:03 am.
Last updated by Savannah Warren on September 4th 2020, 7:00:32 pm.


Whether your business is a reputed name in youth programs serving multiple locations or you're a one person show just getting started, you're focused on creating a unique customer experience. Our suite of tools can make it impossibly simple to do just that. We work with you to identify tools that best serve your customers' needs and offer pricing that's just right for you.
Keep me posted about new events and programs from .


Our youth program is a very important part of our church and one that we take great pride in.
Our program is divided into three sections; Service, Fundraising and Fellowship.
Our youth have been involved in WINGS, PADS, Feed my Starving Children, The Elk Grove Food Pantry, Hurricane Katrina relief, The Fisher House for U.S. Veterans as well as numerous service projects around our own church.
We have been able to fundraise to send our youth group to the past three ELCA National Youth Gatherings, to various youth quakes and zones as well as fundraise for different missions such as Fisher House, Cropwalk for Hunger, and the ELCA World Relief Fund.
Our teens have found a home here at Martha & Mary and have made lifelong friends that they enjoy spending time with. We have gone to Great America, Ignite the Fire concerts, camping, as well as lock-ins, swimming and pizza and movie nights.
We welcome all youth to join us!


text:
Beach towns hit by Sandy scramble to clear hidden debris before summer
Wayne Parry, Associated Press
With only a few months left before the summer, the goal of keeping tourists safe and escaping the season without a lawsuit prompted by Sandy's floating toys is tough to imagine.
On the surface, things look calm and placid. Just beneath the waterline, however, it's a different story.
Cars and sunken boats. Patio furniture. Pieces of docks. Entire houses. A grandfather clock, deposited in a marsh a mile from solid land. Hot tubs. Tons of sand. All displaced by Superstorm Sandy.
"We did a cleanup three weeks ago. Then when we went back the other day, you could still see junk coming up in the wash," said Paul Harris, president of the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association, which helps take care of beaches on which the group goes surf fishing. "They go and clean it again, and two days later, you have the same thing again. There's nothing you can do about it; you can't vacuum the ocean."
Coastal areas of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are racing to remove untold tons of debris from waters hardest hit by the Oct. 29 storm before the summer swimming and boating seasons begin — two of the main reasons people flock there each year and the underpinning of the region's multibillion-dollar tourist industry.
The sunken debris presents an urgent safety issue. Swimmers could cut themselves on submerged junk, step on one of thousands of boardwalk nails ripped loose, or suffer neck or spinal injuries diving into solid objects. Boats could hit debris, pitching their occupants overboard, or in severe cases, sinking.
The cleanup won't be easy, fast or cheap.
"The amount of debris that needs to be removed is mind-boggling," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said, ticking off the statistics in his state: 1,400 vessels sunk, broken loose or destroyed during the storm. In just one shore town alone, Mantoloking, 58 buildings were washed into Barnegat Bay, along with eight vehicles, and a staggering amount of sand carried from the ocean beaches into the bay.
"Everything you can imagine is sitting in our waterways," he said.
Barnegat Bay is likely to have some no-go zones in place for at least part of the spring and summer as cleanup work progresses. "Big Al" Wutkowski, a locally famous striped-bass fisherman who volunteers as the Barnegat Bay Guardian for the American Littoral Society environmental group, is worried about what still lurks beneath the waves.
"When people start putting their boats back in the water in April, I know they're going to start hitting stuff," he said. "It's impossible not to hit stuff. It's also a lot shallower in places now. A lot of the lagoons are filled in with sand. People can't get their boats in or out."
Florida-based contractor AshBritt Environmental removed 42 boats from New Jersey waterways in recent weeks. Others were corralled by the State Police, or by private salvage companies acting on behalf of owners.
Property owners are not being held financially responsible for debris that washed or blew off their property into waterways unless they hire a private company to retrieve a boat they plan to repair and keep, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The state, which issue contracts last week for the water cleanup work, plans to seek full reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of $60 billion in Sandy relief approved by Congress.
Much of the work will involve cranes atop barges that pluck the largest debris from the bottom. Divers could be used for smaller pieces. Once that's done, many waterways will need to be dredged, with the sand placed back on beaches.
The private owners of an amusement pier that collapsed in Seaside Heights, N.J., pitching the Jet Star roller coaster into the ocean, are working with insurers to devise a plan to dismantle the ride and get it out of the ocean.
Seaside Heights also plans to send teams of divers to scour the ocean bottom in popular swimming areas before letting people back into the water, fearing parts of the wooden pier, metal pieces from boardwalk rides and other debris still linger in the ocean. Cars from the pier's amusement rides were found on beaches as far as 8 miles away in the days after the storm.
The Polar Bear Plunge, in which swimmers briefly dash into and out of the frigid surf to raise money for charity, was moved this year from Seaside Heights to Long Branch, a beach 24 miles to the north where hidden debris wasn't a concern.
New York and Connecticut face similar problems.
"We have everything from floating oil barrels, gasoline tanks, household hazardous waste products, buckets, tires, bathtubs, you name it," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment on Long Island.
"We're concerned not only about pollution, but boater safety," she said. "Come the spring, this stuff is going to be submerged partially or totally, but the boats are going to have some very serious issues."
Rob Weltner, president of Operation Splash, said the Freeport, N.Y., volunteer group has spent the past 20 years collecting 1 million pounds of debris, mostly from waterways on the south shore of Long Island.
"Twenty years is out the window," he said. "Gone, gone. Sandy hit us right at the time when we would normally be putting the finishing touches on our cleanups. Every place I look I go, 'Oh, my God, not again, man. We just had that place looking beautiful and it's going to take us another 10 or 15 years to get it back looking decent again."
Among the items found by the group since Sandy are hot tubs, floating docks, damaged boats, barbecue grills, patio furniture, umbrellas, hundreds of trash cans and the grandfather clock.
Crews in Hempstead, N.Y., have removed 379 tons of debris from waterways since Sandy hit. Neighboring Babylon has retrieved 50 tons, including two tool sheds fully intact, with tools still inside, and 24 destroyed boats.
Fairfield, Conn., needs to remove debris left in marshlands by the storm, including bicycles, picnic tables and backyard furniture, said First Selectman Michael Tetreau. The town is waiting to use special equipment from the state to remove the debris without harming the marshes.
Fairfield also saw significant beach erosion and needs to dredge its harbor and marina because sand was pushed into the waterways. Tetreau doubts the work will be done before Memorial Day, and said there may be limits on boat traffic.
In Brick, N.J., the lagoon on which Mayor Stephan Acropolis lives is filled with junk, including the front door and part of a wall from one of three houses that burned during the storm. Also in the lagoon are a kids' picnic table, a 50-gallon plastic barrel holding who-knows-what, and two docks from homes two blocks away.
Acropolis is counting on the state to quickly remove the marine debris to prevent even deeper economic losses from the storm.
"Someone goes out crabbing; they buy gas for the boat, maybe they have to rent the boat in the first place. They buy bait, they buy lunch," Acropolis said. "It's a big economic impact. People live here because they want to be on the water, out on a boat. If we don't get this cleaned up, we're going to have a problem."
Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Freeport, N.Y., and John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., contributed to this report.
Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tags: sandy
Photo Credit: This Feb. 5, 2013, photo,shows a home in the middle of Barnegat Bay, that was washed into the Bay from Mantoloking N.J. during Superstorm Sandy. Wayne Perry / AP Photo
Samantha Shankman, Skift
Brand new look unveiled at New York City's public beaches
American Airlines took $55 million revenue hit from Sandy and pilot disruptions
Hertz says Sandy impact will be neutral to positive as Orbitz reports spike in rates
Samantha Shankman , Skift
Stranded flyers should look to small regional airports to leave New York
The UK's tourism industry is robust and vitally important to its economy — which is why it's even more important th… https://t.co/1LWOQwb9o3


How will the future design engineer interact with their computer systems? Speaking to the computer? Virtual Reality? Automatic storage of design rules/styles, which the designer assembles? Real time CFD to permit 'sculpting' the flow field, stress field, etc.? This project will examine the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to support hint based creation of new parts and products. It will incorporate value driven design ideas with state of the art optimization and analysis automation to accelerate the new product design process while also allowing automated documentation of the decisions lying behind design choices.
Combined with the latest GPU hardware, Deep Learning, Data Mining and AI methods this will allow advanced designer – machine interaction, providing insights into the next generation of engineering design software.
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Prof Andy Keane, Computational Engineering and Design Research Group, Email: [email protected], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 2944.
This project is funded by Rolls-Royce plc as part of their support to the R-R University technology Centre for Computational Engineering at Southampton. The studentship covers UK/EU level fees. In addition to the basic tax free student stipend of £15,009 pa, R-R will provide a further tax free stipend increment of £9,000 pa. The stipend will rise in subsequent years. Funding for travel to international conferences will be available.
Click 'Visit Website' below and follow the link to apply online. Select the programme - PhD in Engineering and the Environment. Please enter the title of the PhD Studentship in the application form. As part of the selection process, the strength of the whole application will be taken into account, including academic qualifications, personal statement, CV and references.


text:
Q: How to merge multiple spring boot apps in one? I am facing an issue here.
I created three independent Spring boot applications which needs to be run one after the other, in order. They all are using command line runner to run.
How can I merge these three applications into one such that I have the same functionalities.
I followed thisthis but the main application (parent of all three) runs and nothing happens.
Can someone suggest me how can I achieve it? And also share some resources?

A: Have a look at this tutorial: https://spring.io/guides/gs/multi-module/
If u just want to start all together i would suggest to containerize the application with docker.


Know More About Global Corporation, The Company Behind Halal Restaurants in Japan!
Global Corporation headquarters is located in Yokohama city, Kanagawa Prefecture.
They provide halal foods for both Muslims living in Japan and Muslims tourists.
Global Corporation only dealing with halal-certified foods and muslim friendly foods, which the halal-ness of each products are strictly checked, whether any ingredients Muslims can't consume or not, through product specification got from manufacturer.
This time we interviewed Mr. Sugaya, Sales Department Head who also has cooking license.
Why you are dealing with halal foods?
On the first place, we imported and sold halal foods from Malaysia. Then demand on halal foods from restaurants are rapidly increasing so we need to increase product variation. Furthermore, when we wanted to have a meal together with our Malaysian friends, they didn't have much option to choose from. That's why, we are trying our best to increase the number of halal restaurants.
What is your unique point?
We just and only dealing with products that selected carefully from each manufacturer.
We offer a large selection of the most popular product, halal beef, available from Italian and Japan domestic beef, until branded and fine Ozaki beef.
What is things that you are very careful about?
First, we are strictly selecting products which Japanese also can enjoy.
As we are placed in Japan, basically we recommend to use Japanese seasonings. However, there is time where better to use seasonings from abroad, according to the food. At that time, we asked about what taste you want to bring forth, or what kind of customers you want to attract, then we offer products accordingly.
In our warehouse area, there are only halal certified or muslim friendly products.
As we have numbers of halal restaurants and retail stores, we are doing our best in providing service complies.
Halal Gyudon too! Tasty and Halal Frozen Bento from Royal Co. Ltd!
Have More Fun With Muslim-Friendly Nail Care Service From HALAL NAIL TOKYO!
HANA TAJIMA FOR UNIQLO 2017 SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTION is soon to be on sale from 10th March on!
HANA TAJIMA FOR UNIQLO 2018 Fall/Winter Collection Start On Sale on August 17!
12 stores in Japan deal with HANA TAJIMA FOR UNIQLO 2017 SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTION!!


text:
Building an equitable and sustainable future together.
innovofound@gmail.com
Climate change is a deeply personal issue for me. Looking at the mounting scientific evidence, looking at the trajectory the planet is on, looking at the events looming ahead on the path of our civilization - extreme weather, water shortage, rising sea level, mass migration - it pains me to visualize the future in the worst possible light.
There's no doubt in my mind that human will survive as a species. We are, after all, the tough descendants of a small group of humans in prehistoric Africa. Our ancestors made it against all odds, and we will make it too. However, the unimaginable turmoil that we must go through to adapt to a new climate and a new world map is just, unimaginable. The Syrian crisis, in its relatively small scale, is already threatening to unravel the peace and stability in Europe. I shudder to imagine a looming crisis that's potentially 10x, 100x, 1000x in scale, which continues on relentlessly for years, decades, or even centuries to come. That's the dark place that my mind refuses to go to.
At this point in time, we live at a peak of the civilization. There are still a lot of issues, but most of us enjoy our lives in a larger context of peace and prosperity. We get to witness the incredible advances in technology and improvements in living standards. We get to see millions of people lifted out of poverty in China where cities rose out of nowhere like a mirage; we get to see a rocket lift off and land itself on a tiny floating platform like a miracle; we get to see the human ingenuous mind, adventurous spirit, and unfailing aspirations demonstrated in every corner of the world. We are truly blessed.
I can't help thinking that it's therefore our duty and obligation to help heal the earth and alleviate the pain our future generations would have to suffer. We owe it to our children and to all our future generations. We have the technologies and the means to charge forward into a world powered by solar, wind, geothermal, and other forms of renewable energy. We have the opportunity to heal the planet, stabilize the climate, and lift millions more out of poverty at the same time.
I am eternally grateful to the extraordinary people I have worked with in the past years on this mission. It's a mission larger than any one of us and it's a mission deserving every last breath of us. Join us, we can do this together.
©2018 Innovo Foundation. 4800 Baseline Rd. E-104 #360, Boulder CO 80303


text:
(function() {

    'use strict';

    function TrailappCategoryService(ApiService) {
        var service = {};
        var self = this;

        service.allCategories = function() {
            if (!self.categories)
                self.categories = ApiService.getWithSystemId('/api/categories/all');
            return self.categories;
        };

        return service;
    }

    TrailappCategoryService.$inject = ['ApiService'];

    angular.module('trailapp.categories', ['ngResource'])
        .factory('TrailappCategoryService', TrailappCategoryService);

})();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Widget tweaks error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'widget_tweaks' with Django forms I am trying to customize my Django forms using widget tweaks for an app I'm building with a group and I keep getting an error:
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'widget_tweaks'
I don't understand why.
I installed the module on my mac with $ pip install django-widget-tweaks and placed 'widget_tweaks' in the INSTALLED_APPS = [...] part of my app's settings.py file. Those were the only 2 things I saw that I needed to do after reading the documentation for how to use widget tweaks.
settings.py file snippet:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'PupsToPet.apps.PupstopetConfig',
    'widget_tweaks',
   #'django.contrib.easy_maps',
]

A: I had this same problem and it was killing me!
(for me) The problem was that I was working in an virtural env in PyCharm) but I have a global python as well. From my command line I was running manage.py runserver, the problem being that my global python doesn't have the widget-tweaks library installed. ( I didn't realize I wasn't running from the venv)
If you're like me the solution is make sure you're in the right environment,
from PyCharm I did tools -> run manage.py task -> runserver
and it worked...

A: Try to install with pip3:
pip3 install django-widget-tweaks

A: Ahh this is working for me look when write
python -m pip install Pillow
this problem solved for me

A: My problem was resolved after upgrading my pip version from 21.0.1 to 21.1.1 using pip install --upgrade pip

A: I got this since I added 'widget_tweaks', above the started apps.
You need to add it under the started apps, you can add pip installed like this INSTALLED_APPS += [ 'widget_tweaks', ] under INSTALLED_APPS.
Only add pip installed apps in INSTALLED_APPS += [] and started apps in INSTALLED_APPS = [].
Or you can just add the pip installed apps bellow the started apps. Like this:
Settings.py only showing INSTALLED_APPS
...
INSTALLED_APPS = [

    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'PupsToPet.apps.PupstopetConfig',
    ...

    # Started apps first
    'app1',
    'app2',
    ...

    # pip installed at the bottom
    'widget_tweaks',
    ...

]
...


Good for:starting the day in style with an inspired breaky in a chic setting.
Good for:stocking your pantry with Asian groceries.
Good for:homewares, jewellery and affordable art.
Good for:delicious curries for dinner with a large group of pals.
Good for:woks and knives that are cheap and do a good job - lots of restaurants get theirs here too.
Good for:a super quick meal.
Good for:sweet or savoury Asian style baked goods.
Good for:first dates, and late night jazz.
Good for:a late night snack in a chilled atmosphere.
Good for:the roast duck and crispy pork combination with rice is outstanding.
Good for:consistently great coffee made by committed and passionate staff.
Good for:trendy threads and gorgeous basics for the stylish lady.
Good for:shopping a hand picked selection of the best independent labels from around the world.
Good for:gourmet burgers with delicious flavour combos and unbeatable buns.
Good for:trying a new, seriously great wine... with a burger delivered from downstairs.
Good for:a quiet place to read and recuperate.
Good for:stories and culture of WA - and dinosaurs!
Good for:rowdy, late night eats, when a kebab just isn't going to cut the mustard.
Good for:a delicious, mid-week dinner with friends.
Good for:delicious waffles smothered in a range of tasty toppings!
Good for:seeing your favourite band live in an intimate setting.
Good for:supporting independent and innovative, local theatre.
Good for:an afternoon beverage with friends in the sunshine.
The PICA Bar & Café shares its name with the adjacent contemporary art gallery and is popular with the artsy after work crowd. The dark floorboards are offset by high ceilings, white walls and sun drenched windows, making for a welcoming ambience. Seating options are a mixture of tables and couches, as well as a casual outdoor courtyard area packed with long picnic tables and shaded by trees.
Good for:a quick pick me up during a busy day of sightseeing around the PCC.
Good for:an inspiring venue for performers and their audiences, housed in an architectural landmark.
Good for:coffee that packs a punch.
Good for:picking up a bunch of flowers and a card on your lunch break.
Good for:ramen, with a side of booze.
Good for:no frills, authentic South Indian and Malaysian food.
Good for:pre-theatre dinner and post-show drinks.
Good for:a delicious shared feast before heading to a show nearby.
Good for:sampling some local beers in a lively pub.
Good for:indulging your inner child for a couple of hours.
Good for:challenging yourself to an extreme dessert.
Good for:sharing dinner with close friends.


They might not be an endangered species, but for the staff at Australia's Taronga Zoo, these veiled chameleon hatchlings are important ambassadors for conservation. The tiny tots, which are native to Yemen and Saudi Arabia, will mature within the year – and then they'll be able to show off a beautiful array of colours. "Veiled chameleons are a visually amazing species that we're fortunate to have at Taronga," says reptile supervisor Michael McFadden. "While they're not endangered, they do play an important educational role in helping us to get people excited about reptiles and reptile conservation." At just five centimetres long, the hatchlings are the first born at the zoo in over five years.
Who says opossums aren't cute?
It might be cute, but waking up wild otters is a crime that carries hefty fines!
Who knew that watching a pleasantly plump water vole eating grass was just what we needed to get us through the mid-week mayhem?


text:
Musical Explorers
Georgian Folk with Ilusha
Native American with Martha
South African Zulu with Bongi and Tshidi
Musical Explorers Digital
Meet Martha! Lessons Resources for Teachers
Martha Redbone's Native American roots lie in the Southeastern region of the United States, home to the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Shawnee tribes. The traditional music of these tribes is centered upon songs that accompany dances that continue to be performed at powwows and other social gatherings. The songs feature short sections of lyrics, often sung in call and response, accompanied by drums, rattles, whistles, pipes, and flutes. All of these instruments have spiritual significance and are made from natural elements: For example, gourds become rattles, and logs become water drums. Starting in the 1700s, Native American music was altered by the arrival of British traders who introduced the fiddle, and by African influences shared throughout the South.
Martha Redbone has continued to teach traditional Southeastern tribal music throughout most of her career, as an expression of her deep commitment to preserving and sharing her Native American cultural heritage. At the same time, she has developed her own singular style of American Roots music that is a direct reflection of her own roots: her Cherokee- Choctaw-Shawnee mother and African American father; the Appalachian hills of Harlan County, Kentucky where she spent her early childhood; and the eclectic grit of her teenage years in Brooklyn. Combining the vocal style of her gospel-singing father with the spirit of her mother's Native American culture, she proudly broadens the boundaries of Native Americana.
Meet Martha!
Introduce your students to Martha with this "Meet Martha" video. Visit the video index to watch all the videos for Martha and the other Fall Semester artists.
Meet Martha! (PDF)
Introduce students to Martha with this digital resource.
Lesson 1: Learning "Social Dances"
Students will learn two Southeastern tribal social dances, and will perform the different roles for each dance.
Lesson 2: Learning "40 Wheels"
Students will learn to sing the original song "40 Wheels"; explore the musical elements in the song; and learn how musical elements can help tell a story in a song.
The following resources provide background information about the musical genre and culture. Some are intended to be shared with students; others are for teachers who may want to explore further on their own.
Visit sroartists.com/artists/martharedbone to hear more music by Martha.
Joanne Shenandoah, "Prophecy Song"
Keith Secola, "You Got Land?"
Indian Blues: American Indians and the Politics of Music, 1879–1934, John W. Troutman
Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet, Robert Cwiklik
IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas, Gabrielle Tayac
A Primer of Handicrafts of the Southern Appalachians, James Andrew Crutchfield
When Turtle Grew Feathers: A Folktale from the Choctaw Nation, Tim Tingle


text:
The Two Wrongs of the Gaza Narrative
No, Hamas is not acting in response to 'legitimate grievances,' and no, Israel is not violating the laws of war.
It happens every single time Israel and Hamas go to war. We see the same arguments the instant Hamas's rockets go up and the IDF's bombs fall down. Immediately a great many of Israel's critics latch on to two profoundly wrong narratives and then spread those wrong narratives far and wide, undermining the formal truths of an intractable conflict.
Those two wrongs are simple: 1) that Hamas is lashing out at Israel because it possesses "legitimate grievances" against Israel; and 2) that Israel's response—in large part because it's almost always deadlier than Hamas's attack—is "disproportionate" to the threat and thus both illegal and immoral. Let's deal with each in turn.
First, I want to be abundantly clear that I am not asserting that Palestinians do not possess legitimate grievances against Israel. Israel is not perfect, and its American allies and supporters should not pretend that it is. It is worth untangling and understanding, for example, the land dispute that's triggered violence in East Jerusalem. It's worth questioning Israeli settler policies and practices, and it's worth asking whether the West Bank is now so carved up by Israeli settlements that it will be increasingly difficult to form a viable Palestinian nation as part of any permanent "two-state" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But I want to be equally clear that none of that analysis applies to the actions of Hamas, a jihadist terror organization whose stated aim is abundantly, perfectly clear: the destruction of the state of Israel. Its dedication to jihad is obvious from its charter. Its slogan is, "Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes."
Cole 2 years ago
Does anyone (including David!) have suggestions for reading material on the history of this conflict? Preferably more of a history/political style than memoir or personal stories, but I would love to learn more about the conflict, as every time it comes around I am pretty lost in the back and forth.
Ben Clark 2 years ago
If killing 50 innocent and defenseless children doesn't violate the laws of war, it should. Jesus said that those who harm children would be better off tying a weight around their necks and throwing themselves in the ocean.
nbp 2 years ago
David, how does the law of war work with regards to non military aspects of a group or government like hamas? Is it your contention that Israeli strikes against administrative buildings and personnel that belong to the hamas government, such as police, sanitation, etc, are valid legal targets? It is widely reported that the IDF struck all police stations in Gaza. I fail to see the military benefit of such attacks and thus their legality.
Brian F 2 years ago
Mr. French -
As others here have noted, the column did an excellent job in discussing the Law of Armed Conflict applied to the latest Israel-Hamas clashes.
But also as others have noted, the fueding-neighbors analogy seems to disregard one of the key drivers off the recurrent situation, that some significant number of people in Israel are living in houses and on property that had been taken from others without compensation or due process. It's interesting to note that when this aspect has been raised in the comments, the responses tend to address geopolitics rather than the individuals affected.
With your legal incisiveness and dispassion, and clear-eyed Christian charity, I for one would very much like to hear your commentary on that part of the situation.
In making this comment, I have in mind "The Lemon Tree" (highly recommended if you haven't read it already: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2006/06/the_lemon_tree_1.html ).
The Stray Goose 2 years ago
Let's just take the equivalent size of 'Palestine' from California and give it to the Palestinians. Why not?! The CA Democrats have already ruined it - the Palestinians CAN'T make it any worse! And then everybody gets an early Christmas present of Shut The Hell Up. I like it!
Juan J 2 years ago
I knew there was a reason I always disliked Philly fans.
Btw, the taking of someone's land and giving it to someone else is what started the whole mess. The disgruntled party is the one that had their land taken away.
Displace Texans from their state or South Carolinians from their state and tell me how calm they'll be 75 years after the fact. Their pride and guns will never let them accept defeat.
Jason Gibson 2 years ago
Thank you David for providing context.
I was a supporter of the war on terror then had doubts but feel the need to reflect on it in a balanced way. You have done that and I thank you
Joe Delanis 2 years ago
I don't really care about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict up to this point. I don't care "how we got here." I care about the here and now.
And what I care about *right now* is if the following are true:
-Hamas, or Palestinian terror groups in general, are launching rocket strikes against Israeli civilians
-Those terrorists do so while *embedded* within the Palestinian civilian population
-The Israeli armed forces - and not some paramilitary or terrorist group (i.e., an Israeli equivalent of the IRA or UDF) - is conducting the retaliatory strikes, as part of a sanctioned government actuon
-Israel disseminates warnings to the Palestinian civilian population in which the terrorists are embedded, so as to try to minimize civilian casualties when Israel launches retaliatory strikes
-Israeli retaliatory strikes are targeted with the attempt to hit the specific location from which the rocket(s) were launched, and are not a "general bombardment" of a relatively large geographic area (e.g., attempting to hit the house from which a Hamas rocket was launched, instead of the entire city block on which the house sits)
I'm sure the Palestinians have myriad grievances which deserve a fair hearing, whether those grievances are contemporary or historical.
But that fair hearing won't start until the attacks on Israeli civilians stops.
Leo Monterosso 2 years ago
Exactly correct..
Anne W (Raw5254) 2 years ago
One of the best podcasts I've listened to on this issue is Martyrmade. It is extremely well done, despite being very complex. I need to listen again. Also, he does not take sides.
Jimmy Abyad 2 years ago
David, I'm not here to defend Hamas' charter or argue that Israel's response is inappropriate. However, this discussion still misses the context of the situation. This article admits that Israel is "imperfect" yet still infers that Israel's intentions are inherently good versus the Palestinians who have inherently bad intentions and I think that misses the mark. The reality on the ground is greatly of Israel's making. Yes the Palestinians (and especially Hamas) have done awful things but the daily reality of Israel's mistreatment and dehumanization of Palestinians is awful. It's a great injustice that only gets mentioned as a "land dispute" in this article. Both people desire peace and a future forward (apart from extremists) yet Israel has exponentially more power and only uses it to keep the Palestinians as "less than" humans. I don't understand what people think should be their "appropriate" response here. They cannot vote, cannot move, have no land ownership guarantees, and are killed or expelled at will by an exponentially more powerful state. This power imbalance must be accounted for. I think Israel has to take steps to either make Palestinians citizens or give them a separate state but the status quo is not sustainable.
Trumeau 2 years ago
How can you do that when the Hamas and PLO hate each other guts? It's disingenuous to claim that's all Israel fault. Those organizations are corrupt and incompetent and responsible for a lot of Palestinians pain.
I am certainly not claiming that it is "all Israel's fault." There is no morally perfect party in this issue. What I am speaking to is the reality on the ground that there are 5 million Palestinians living under a military occupation that has persisted for decades. These Palestinians do not have a country, cannot move, cannot easily purchase or keep land, have difficulty getting jobs, and can be murdered or pushed out of their homes but an extremely powerful military state at will with no protections. All of that is definitely under Israel's control. Israel's security concerns are very real and should (and have been) be engaged but they in no way justify a brutal and indefinite occupation of another people.
Add onto this the slow erasure of Palestinian communities from society and from their lands. Again, it's a power structure upheld and sustained by the Israeli state that cannot be changed until Israel chooses to do so. The Palestinians aren't and will not always act perfectly but that should not be expected of them in order to give the Palestinian population basic human rights and life.
I am sorry but you also fail to take into consideration the role of Hamas and the PLO. Those organizations have a much bigger impact on making the lives of Palestinians better than Israel. I do remember the several intifadas, the multiple suicidal actions. Israel has a right to protect itself against people who want to destroy them. We should expect that Palestinians act better until then I totally understand why Israel is acting that way.
And this is where it looks like we greatly disagree. I don't see how it is acceptable to oppress five million people until they "behave" or "act better." This is completely unacceptable. Yes, the PLO and definitely Hamas have acted corruptly and made their own mistakes and the Palestinians should hold them accountable. But that is NO justification for Israel occupying and doing what they have done for decades. The Palestinians should have a right to self-determination and make those decisions for themselves.
And we shouldn't pretend that all of Israel only thinks one way. There are many in Israel that seek to end the occupation. It is in no way sustainable. There are proposed paths forward and actions that can be taken. It won't be easy but it is certainly better than the status quo.
I feel like you are putting everything on Israel shoulder when these organizations share a lot of the blame. They represent the Palestinians. Hamas was freely elected and then never allowed another election. Same thing for the PLO. Also I remember when Hamas kicked out the PLO from Gaza Strip. I feel sincerely bad for the innocent Palestinians but changing these organizations behaviors is an essential step. There are many Israelis who believe in 2 state solution but I fear that as long as these organizations don't change or get replaced it will not happen.
About David French
Senior editor of The Dispatch and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He's the author most recently of Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. David writes The French Press newsletter for The Dispatch. Subscribe to The French Press »
More from David French


text:
Spicy P stays cool when asked about Kawhi Leonard's departure, trade rumours
Aidan WallaceMore from Aidan Wallace
Updated: July 16, 2019 5:09 PM EDT
He's the NBA's most improved player and he's a Toronto Raptor, that's his focus.
Pascal Siakam was calm, laid back when asked what he thought the Rap's chances of repeating as champs were despite Kawhi Leonard's decision to leave Toronto and sign with the L.A. Clippers, TMZ Sports reports.
"We're still champs right now," Siakam said, "we're going to figure out next season, next season."
During the interview, Siakam was asked if he was still celebrating the Raptors championship to which he replied, "Nah, bro."
Despite being the centrepiece of a potential trade between the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder, Siakam stated, "It's the NBA … s— happens. It's the NBA. It's a business."
Siakam told TMZ he hasn't received an invitation to Drake's new basketball court in his mansion but said it looked "lit".
Drake gave fans a look at the new court on his Instagram account, showcasing two videos, one showing the court from a skylight in the mansion and the second showing Drake shoot a basketball that swishes through the net.
Pascal Siakam
TIPOFF: Raptors at Timberwolves
Raptors work their magic on Wizards, setting franchise record with 140 points
Wizards coach thinks Raptors have a chance


Derek: Archiving this event. Thanks to everyone who attended!
Geocaching HQ 24-hour Road Trip Kickoff!
8 Geocaching HQers. 6 Souvenirs. 300 Miles. 24 Hours.
Help send off the Geocaching Road Trip '15 Crew from Geocaching HQ with applause and donuts at this early event.
A team from Geocaching HQ is off to find geocaches that can earn all six souvenirs of the Geocaching Road Trip '15—all in 24 hours. Of course, we'll be filming the whole thing for everyone to watch later.
Join us as we kick off our epic road trip by earning the Meet Your Road Trip Crew souvenir at this event. We'll bring donuts!
Place: Picnic table next to the Burke Gilman Trail, beneath the Aurora Bridge. Very close to Beneath Aurora (GC49HR7).
What: Eat donuts and send off the Geocaching HQ road trip crew for the new geocaching video.


Located in Fox Creek, Super 8 by Wyndham Fox Creek is a 5-minute drive from Silver Birch Golf Club and 5 minutes from Fox Creek Church. This motel is 6.1 mi (9.9 km) from Iosegun Lake.
Make yourself at home in one of the 63 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Complimentary wired and wireless Internet access is available. Bathrooms have complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and coffee/tea makers, as well as phones with free local calls.
Enjoy a meal at the restaurant, or stay in and take advantage of the motel's room service (during limited hours). Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at the bar/lounge. A complimentary continental breakfast is included.


Awarded to soldiers for exemplary conduct over a large number of years. This qualifying period has changed several times since 1830. The reverse design on the medal has also changed many times over the years.


You know that little ditty by Johnny Cash? The one that begins with "I've been everywhere man, I've been everywhere, man…?" Well, there were times this summer when that song could have been my anthem.
June belonged to Iceland where I spent nearly two weeks photographing the southern coast and midnight sun. Home for only a day and suffering from sleep deprivation, I boarded another plane, but this time it was pointed to New York.
July began with a camping trip to the headwaters of the Mississippi River and ended with seven days in and around Santa Cruz, CA. By the time I was home long enough to re-established my position in the pecking order with the dogs, it was time to leave for Munich, Germany. Ironically, this trip was via Iceland; so, should you need advice about the best restrooms in Keflavik International Airport, send me a note… I'm your man.
Despite the travel and opportunity to make images in some fairly exotic locations, I do enjoy practicing my craft close to home. While I still have thousands of photos to edit and process from my Icelandic adventure and paddle throughout the Elkhorn Slough, I can't suppress the urge to shoot the places that I know best. So while it's likely the next few blogs will focus on the flora and fauna of Iceland or California, this gallery is all about the upper Midwest.
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