13th = 31st

^ Bazinga!^

Teaching 1917

From: Yahoo

"Russia confronts its past in teaching of 1917 revolution"

Glorified during the Soviet era but denounced at the fall of the USSR, the 1917 Russian revolution is now taught in schools with a neutrality the Kremlin hopes will "bring the nation together". Just as Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates episodes from both Soviet and Tsarist history, school textbooks shy away from choosing one side or another when it comes to the revolution and its consequences.  "Current textbooks describe 1917 in a way that is intentionally neutral, so that events from 100 years ago don't threaten this new sense of national stability," said Leonid Katsva, a 59-year-old history teacher. "The Kremlin has a violent fear of any sort of revolution," he told AFP. A century after the revolution that launched the Communist era, textbooks ask children to describe what they do and do not like about the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, who seized power in 1917. Other assignments include separating fact from fiction in a Soviet film, book or painting, and telling a story from the point of view of both a Bolshevik and an anti-Communist. One widely used textbook cites the opinion of Western academics on the revolution and encourages students to consider Trotsky's writings, or Lenin's decision to grant independence to Finland but not Ukraine. The same book underlines the "international impact" of the 1917 revolution, while noting the failure of the social model it ushered in. Enver Abdulaev, a teacher who oversees a state review of history textbooks, says editions since 2013 have been "much more balanced" than those before. "You won't find either a blackening or a glorification of the Soviet past in them," he said. In Soviet-era textbooks, Lenin was presented as an eternal hero. His image could be found in every public space and each school child knew the lines from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky: "Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live forever". But with the opening of Soviet archives at the end of the 1980s, just before the break up of the USSR, the October Revolution came to be seen by many historians as a violent coup d'etat. For children who were educated in the 1990s, the Communist leader was a criminal responsible for the Bolsheviks' "bloody terror".  In the face of this ideological u-turn, it became difficult to find coherent educational material, to the extent that in 1988 the written history test for students in their final school year was cancelled. Teachers designed their courses around the revelations about the past then being published in the media. "We went from one extreme to the other: first the Bolsheviks were glorified, then their opponents were put on a pedestal," history teacher Katsva recalled. Dozens of new textbooks brought out over the course of the 1990s completely rewrote the history of the 1917 revolution, largely casting the Soviets and their supporters as villains. A joke at the time went: "Russia is a country with an unpredictable past." But when Putin came to power in 2000 he set out to use history as a tool to make Russians feel a sense of pride in their country again. In 2007 the president criticised textbooks from the post-Soviet period, saying that they instilled a "sense of guilt" rather than "promoting civic values to bring the nation together". Unlike the books from the 1990s, today's school texts no longer present the revolution as a "bloody Bolshevik experiment" but do cover Lenin's calls for his enemies to be repressed. "The modern textbooks set out the facts without imposing a judgement," Abdulaev said. But the history teacher with some 30 years experience added it was no longer possible to impose a black-and-white worldview on pupils. "Students don't just soak up the teacher's words any more. With the internet they live in a world with multiple voices."

^ I like that this says Russia doesn't simply glorify the crimes of the Communists as they once did. Of course a lot more needs to be done in all aspects of society to erase the everyday Communist presence that can be found in every nook and cranny throughout Russia 26 years after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Communist "experiment" was proven a failure. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-confronts-past-teaching-1917-revolution-035128396.html

Which Communist Date?

A Russian friend asked me when I thought Russia should celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Communist October Revolution this year (October 25th in the Old Style Calendar or on November 7th in the New Style Calendar.) I said that I didn't think Russia should celebrate either of those days (or any.)

The 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution - Великая Октябрьская социалистическая революция- not to be confused with the 1917 February Revolution- February in Old Style and March in New Style - where the Czar abdicated and democracy reigned for several months) brought about a totalitarian dictatorship that enslaved and murdered millions upon millions of innocent men, women and children within Russia, Europe and many other parts of the world for 74 years.

The victims should be remembered and the Communist murderers should be shunned everyday, but more importantly on the 100th Anniversary of the start of their reign of terror whether it is considered October 25th or November 7th.

History Of The Poppy

Du Legion.ca:

"Histoire du coquelicot"

Chaque année en novembre, le coquelicot jaillit par millions sur les cols à revers et boutonnières des Canadiens et des Canadiennes. La portée du coquelicot peut être retracée jusqu’aux guerres napoléoniennes au 19^e siècle, soit quelque 110 années avant même que le Canada ne l’adopte. Les archives datant de cette époque nous laissent savoir la densité avec laquelle les coquelicots fleurissaient sur les tombes des soldats dans la région des Flandres, en France. Des champs dont on disait que la terre était stérile avant la guerre ont explosé avec des fleurs de couleur rouge sang après la fin des batailles. Suite aux immenses bombardements de la guerre, les sols calcaires sont devenus riches en chaux en raison des décombres, permettant ainsi au « popaver rhoeas » de se développer et de prospérer. À la fin de la guerre, la chaux fut rapidement absorbée et les coquelicots se sont mis de nouveau à disparaître. Le lieutenant-colonel John McCrae, de Guelph en Ontario, un médecin militaire canadien durant la Première Guerre mondiale, a été le premier à reconnaître le coquelicot au Canada et au sein du Commonwealth. En effet, en mai 1915, John McCrae est celui qui a griffonné sur un bout de papier le poème « In Flanders Fields » (« Les cimetières flamands ») le jour suivant le décès d’un ami et frère d’armes. Il était loin de se douter alors que ses 13 lignes deviendraient intronisées au panthéon des pensées les plus profondes et des cœurs de tous ceux et celles qui les liraient. Le poème de McCrae fut publié en décembre de la même année dans la revue Punch, laquelle publication, trois ans plus tard, devait servir d’inspiration à Moina Michael, une enseignante américaine. En effet, Moina Michael prit l’engagement personnel de toujours arborer le coquelicot en signe de Souvenir.  Lors d’une visite aux États-Unis en 1920, une Française du nom de Mme Guérin eut vent de la pratique et, à son retour chez elle, décida de fabriquer et de vendre des coquelicots pour venir en aide aux enfants des régions de France dévastées par la guerre. Le 5 juillet 1921, l’Association des anciens combattants de la Grande Guerre (prédécesseur de la Légion) adopta officiellement le coquelicot comme symbole du Souvenir. Aujourd'hui, le coquelicot est porté chaque année pendant la période du Souvenir pour honorer ceux qui sont morts en service pour le Canada. La Légion encourage également le port du coquelicot pour les funérailles d'un vétéran et pour tout événement commémoratif en l'honneur des vétérans disparus. Il n'est pas inapproprié de porter un coquelicot en d'autres temps pour commémorer les vétérans tombés; c'est un choix individuel de le faire, pourvu que le coquelicot soit porté de manière appropriée. Et grâce aux millions de Canadiens et Canadiennes qui chaque année en novembre arborent le coquelicot de la Légion, la petite fleur rouge est toujours là… et le souvenir de ceux et celles qui sont tombés au combat demeurent toujours vivant dans nos cœurs.

Les cimetières flamandsSous les rouges coquelicots des cimetières flamands,
Qui parmi les rangées de croix bougent dans le vent,
Nous sommes enterrés. Et dans le bleu des cieux,
Les alouettes encore lancent leur cri courageux
Que plus personne n’entend sous le bruit des canons.

Nous sommes morts : il y a à peine quelques jours,
Nous connaissions les joies de la vie, de l’amour,
La fraicheur de l’aurore, les lueurs du ponant.
Maintenant nos corps sans vie reposent en sol flamand.

Nos mains inanimées vous tendent le flambeau :
C’est à vous, à présent, de le tenir bien haut,
De contre l’ennemi reprendre la querelle.
Si vous ne partagez des morts la foi rebelle,
Nos corps ne pourront pas dormir paisiblement
Sous les rouges coquelicots
des cimetières flamands.

~J.P. van Noppen

From Legion.ca:

"History of the Poppy"

Each November, Poppies bloom on the lapels and collars of millions of Canadians. The significance of the Poppy can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars in the 19^th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. Records from that time indicate how thick Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. Fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. During the tremendous bombardments of the war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the “popaver rhoeas” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again. The person who first introduced the Poppy to Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. John McCrae penned the Poem “In Flanders Fields” on a scrap of paper in May, 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier. Little did he know then that those 13 lines would become enshrined in the hearts and minds of all who would wear them. McCrae’s poem was published in Punch Magazine in December of that same year, and the poem later served as inspiration three years later for Moina Michael, an American teacher. Moina Michael made a pledge to always wear a Poppy as a sign of Remembrance.

During a visit to the United States in 1920, a French woman named Madame Guerin learned of the custom. Madame Guerin decided to make and sell poppies to raise money for children in war-torn areas of France. The Great War Veteran’s Association in Canada (our predecessor) officially adopted the poppy as its Flower of Remembrance on July 5, 1921. Today, the Poppy is worn each year during the Remembrance period to honour Canada's Fallen. The Legion also encourages the wearing of a Poppy for the funeral of a Veteran and for any commemorative event honouring Fallen Veterans. It is not inappropriate to wear a Poppy during other times to commemorate Fallen Veterans and it is an individual choice to do so, as long as it’s worn appropriately. Thanks to the millions of Canadians who wear the Legion’s lapel Poppy each November, the little red flower has never died, and the memories of those who fell in battle remain strong.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
~ May 3, 1915

^ For people (Canadians and everyone else) who don't know why poppies are used for Remembrance Day. ^

http://www.legion.ca/fr/souvenir/le-coquelicot/histoire-du-coquelicot

http://www.legion.ca/remembrance/the-poppy/history-of-the-poppy

Poppy Campaign

From the Canadian Governor-General's website:

"2017 National Poppy Campaign"

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada and patron of The Royal Canadian Legion, will receive the symbolic first poppy of the 2017 National Poppy Campaign from David Flannigan, Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion. The ceremony will be held at Rideau Hall on Monday, October 23, 2017, at 1 p.m. Poppies will be available to the general public beginning October 27, 2017. Each year, over 20 million poppies are distributed in communities across Canada.

About the National Poppy Campaign:Officially adopted in Canada in 1921 by the Great War Veterans’ Association (the predecessor of today’s Royal Canadian Legion), poppies are recognized as the national symbol of remembrance for the 117 000 Canadian men and women who gave their lives during military service around the world. The funds raised each year during the National Poppy Campaign go back into programs and services for veterans and their families.

Du site Web du gouverneur général du Canada:

"Campagne nationale du Coquelicot de 2017"

Son Excellence la très honorable Julie Payette, gouverneure générale et commandante en chef du Canada et présidente d’honneur de la Légion royale canadienne, recevra le premier coquelicot symbolique de la Campagne nationale du Coquelicot de 2017. Il lui sera remis par M. David Flannigan, président national de la Légion royale canadienne. La cérémonie aura lieu à Rideau Hall le lundi 23 octobre 2017, à 13 h. Les membres du public pourront se procurer des coquelicots à partir du 27 octobre 2017.Chaque année, plus de 20 millions de coquelicots sont distribués au Canada.

À propos de la Campagne nationale du coquelicot:Adoptés officiellement au Canada en 1921 par la Great War Veterans’ Association (groupe ayant précédé la Légion royale canadienne), les coquelicots sont reconnus comme le symbole national de la commémoration des 117 000 hommes et femmes morts au combat, dans le monde entier. Les fonds recueillis chaque année dans le cadre de la Campagne nationale du Coquelicot sont redistribués dans des programmes et services pour les anciens combattants et leur famille.

^ The Poppy is very important in most Commonwealth countries (like Canada and the UK) and wearing one on Remembrance Day is a good way to show support for the Canadian Military  - past and present. ^

https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=17021&lan=eng

https://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=17021&lan=fra

Amazon Cities

From USA Today:

"See the cities hoping to land 50,000 Amazon jobs, headquarters"

Dozens of cities are submitting bids by Thursday's deadline to land the second Amazon.com headquarters, where the Seattle-based company has promised to invest $5 billion and add up to 50,000 jobs. Cities are emphasizing a myriad of factors, including strong talent, quality of life, mass transit, real estate options, tax incentives and social media buzz.

The list of major contenders — and key elements of their bids — includes:

Atlanta: Emphasizing its mix of transportation, corporate talent and strong location with a welcoming business climate — and a suburb willing to change its name to Amazon.

Austin, Texas: Expected to emphasize its bustling progressive culture, talent and strong local economy.

Baltimore: Betting on its location between New York and Washington, D.C.

Birmingham, Ala.: Hoping to get noticed by coordinating a campaign with Jefferson County to put makeshift Amazon boxes throughout the area.

Boston: Emphasizing outstanding local talent, transit and real estate in a bid running in parallel to separate proposals by several other Massachusetts municipalities.

Bridgeport-New Haven, Conn.: Hoping its location is unbeatable.

Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y.: Hoping that the region's efforts to reinvent itself in the post-industrial age appeal to Amazon's entrepreneurial grit.

Camden County, N.J.: Highlighting its proximity to transportation, talent and power.

Charlotte, N.C.: Betting on its reputation as pro-business, paired with a socal media campaign.

Chicago: Emphasizing its quality of life and location.

Cincinnati: Highlighting regional cooperation in a joint bid with Dayton, Ohio and northern Kentucky.

Cleveland: Hoping that affordability and development options prove enticing.

Columbus, Ohio:Showing off the area's talent and university connections.

Dallas-Fort Worth: Maximizing regional appeal and identifying high-profile real estate options.

Denver:Not disclosing much but widely viewed as a leading contender due to its quality of life and bustling economy.

Detroit:Got rival football coaches to unite to promote a bid that emphasizes cheap real estate and cooperation with across-the-river Windsor, Ontario.

Gary, Ind.: Took out a full-page ad in the New York Times with its pitch.

Hartford-Stamford, Conn.: Promoting its access to talent and transit as the right mix.

Houston: Hoping its extensive land options and corporate talent strike a chord.

Indianapolis, Ind.: Pairing with Fishers, Ind. to emphasize real estate availability, local tech companies and a strong business climate.

Irvine, Calif.: Emphasizing high quality of life near the Pacific Ocean, a highly educated workforce and shovel-ready Orange County real estate.

Kansas City, Mo.: Betting the mayor's quirky campaign to review Amazon products will draw the company's attention.

Knoxville, Tenn.: Trying to overcome its small population with social media buzz.

Las Vegas: Hoping that low taxes prove to be a draw.

Long Island, N.Y.: Trying to capitalize on proximity to New York City, with multiple municipalities offering possible sites.

Los Angeles: Highlighting specific sites where Amazon could extend its West Coast roots.

Louisville, Ky.: Hoping that its status as a major logistical hub wins the day.

Memphis, Tenn.: Also emphasizing its appeal as a logistics hub, having already cobbled together a $60 million cash offer in city funds.

Miami-Dade, Fla.: Hoping that regional cooperation, including participation from Broward and Palm Breach counties, and quality of life will seal the deal.

Milwaukee: Aiming for regional coordination in southeast Wisconsin as a key selling point.

Minneapolis-St. Paul: Emphasizing regional appeal and existing national retail companies.

Nashville, Tenn.:Expected to point to its status as one of the country's fastest-growing cities with considerable appeal to Millennials.

Newark, N.J.: Banking on the state's offer of $7 billion in tax credits, as well as proximity to New York.

Northern Virginia: Hoping that its strong talent, quality of life and proximity to power overcome a decision not to file a joint bid with Washington, D.C. or southern Maryland.

New York: Hoping that the city's global appeal and talent overcome its steep cost of living and real estate.

Orlando, Fla.: Pointing to talent, land and quality of life as winning attributes.

Philadelphia: Emphasizing its strong workforce and its pivotal location as a major transit hub.

Phoenix: Expected to show off its excellent land availability, airport, transit and universities.

Pittsburgh: Betting on the area's tech reinvention, strong talent and low cost of living.

Portland, Ore.: Hoping to grab Amazon's attention by identifying a specific city property that would benefit from political action to raise height limits to accommodate the company's needs.

Research Triangle, N.C.: The North Carolina hub hopes tech talent in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill rises above its competition.

Sacramento: Promising to move quickly to help Amazon expand, having identified multiple sites as possibilities.

Salt Lake City: Expected to emphasize outdoor living in a bid coordinated by the state of Utah.

San Diego: Hoping the area's undeniable quality of life makes up for an understated tech sector.

San Francisco-Oakland: Betting that the Bay Area's legendary tech talent and a regionally coordinated bid will prove enticing despite the high cost of living.

Southern Maryland: Hoping to capitalize on proximity to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore — with multiple bids reportedly coming from Columbia, Md. and Prince George's County — despite a decision not to coordinate plans with D.C. and northern Virginia.

St. Louis:Coordinating a two-state bid with areas in southern Illinois.

Tacoma, Wash.: Hoping that Amazon decides to stick close to home.

Tampa-St. Petersburg: Pegging its hopes on regional coordination.

Toledo, Ohio:Aiming to reinvent itself by identifying multiple sites for expansion.

​​​​Tuscon, Ariz.:Sent a cactus to try to get Amazon's attention.

Washington, D.C.: Hoping the city's booming development, talent, proximity to power and culture will overcome a decision not to coordinate bids with southern Maryland or northern Virginia.

Wilmington, Del.: Highlighting its strong location on the New York-to-D.C. corridor with comparably lower cost of living.

Westchester County, N.Y.:Emphasized its three commuter rail lines in proximity to New York City.

^ These aren't all the cities that have placed bids. I am curious to see (as I'm sure others are) as to where Amazon will decide to go to. ^

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/10/19/amazon-headquarters-bids/779232001/

Sobchak Running

From the BBC:

"Russia socialite Ksenia Sobchak declares presidential bid"

Russian socialite Ksenia Sobchak is to stand in the country's presidential election in March, when Vladimir Putin is widely expected to run again.  Ms Sobchak conceded she was an unlikely candidate and said she supported opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is barred from standing. However he had warned her not to stand and some commentators now predict an opposition split. The Kremlin welcomed her candidacy, saying it was fully constitutional.  Mr Navalny is currently serving a 20-day prison sentence for his role in organising "unsanctioned" protests.  He is banned from the election due to a fraud conviction which he says was fabricated.   This announcement was a long time rumoured, so Alexei Navalny made his views clear last month shortly before his latest arrest.  The anti-corruption blogger dismissed Ksenia Sobchak as a Kremlin stooge, a "liberal laughing stock" and an opposition "caricature", brought in to lend legitimacy to a sham vote. He scorned her as a showbiz celebrity, only seeking more social media "likes" and followers.  Ms Sobchak herself denies she is a spoiler, saying she will step down if Mr Navalny himself is allowed to run for president. That scenario looks highly improbable though.   So the socialite-turned-journalist has promised to be a "loudspeaker" for those fed up with the lies, theft and corruption of their leaders. It is language that she borrows quite heavily from Mr Navalny.  She would be the first woman candidate in 14 years, a point which her campaign video in a kitchen underscores. But Ms Sobchak also has the "Marmite" effect: she is as unpalatable to as many people as she attracts.  And crucially, it's not clear how far she'd actually go in criticising Vladimir Putin himself, a close family friend since her childhood.  Ms Sobchak, a journalist and TV presenter, called for the bar on him standing to be lifted. She said she wanted to be "a mouthpiece for those who cannot be candidates". "I am against revolution but I am a good middleman and organiser," Ms Sobchak wrote in a letter published on the website of Vedomosti business daily. Russia's election campaign starts around 7 December, when political parties are expected to hold congresses to nominate their candidates. A Russian citizen not backed by a political party has the right to register as an independent presidential candidate provided he or she collects at least 300,000 signatures. President Putin, who first took office as president in 2000, has not announced yet whether he will stand again.

Who is Ksenia Sobchak?

• Aged 35, she is the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the late mayor of St Petersburg and a man who in the 1990s employed then little-known former KGB agent Vladimir Putin

• Nicknamed "Russia's Paris Hilton", she won fame by presenting a popular dating reality show called Dom-2

• Denigrated by some as a party girl, she also gained attention for once presenting another reality TV show from a bubble bath

• She raised eyebrows by joining opposition protests in 2012 against Mr Putin

^ I watched "Dom 2" when Sobchak was the host and am trying to find out her positions on different areas and if she is any different than Putin or if this is just another way for Putin to find a loop-hole the way he did with Medvedev. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41669676

Disarming Hamas

From the BBC:

"Hamas must disarm to join Palestinian unity government - US"

The United States says the militant Islamist movement Hamas must lay down its weapons if it is to play a part in a new Palestinian government.  Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, and the rival Fatah faction recently agreed to end years of bitter division.  US special envoy Jason Greenblatt said any Palestinian unity administration would need to recognise the State of Israel and disarm "terrorists".  A Hamas official described the US demand as "blatant interference". Israel - which like the US considers Hamas a terrorist organisation - has said it will not deal with a Palestinian government that "relies on Hamas".  Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been ruled separately since deadly clashes between Hamas and Fatah broke out in 2007. Hamas won parliamentary elections in the occupied territories the previous year, and reinforced its power in Gaza after ousting Fatah from the enclave. Last Thursday, the factions agreed that administrative control of Gaza, including the Rafah border crossing, would be handed to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) by 1 December.  PA officials said there were no plans to appoint Hamas members to the government. About 3,000 Fatah security personnel will also join Gaza's police force, but there is no agreement on yet on the role of Hamas' 25,000-strong armed wing. In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Greenblatt said it was essential that the PA was able to "assume full, genuine, and unhindered civil and security responsibilities in Gaza" and that the humanitarian situation there was improved.  He also stressed that "any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence, recognise the State of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties - including to disarm terrorists - and commit to peaceful negotiations". "If Hamas is to play any role in a Palestinian government, it must accept these basic requirements," the envoy added. A senior Hamas official immediately rejected the US demands. "This is blatant interference in Palestinian affairs because it is the right of our people to choose its government according to their supreme strategic interests," Bassem Naim told AFP news agency.  Mr Naim said the US had come under pressure from Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Tuesday insisted he would "not conduct diplomatic negotiations with a Palestinian government that relies on Hamas" unless the following conditions were met:

• Hamas recognises Israel, "desists from terrorism" and disarms
• The bodies of Israeli soldiers and civilians held by Hamas are returned
• The PA exercises full security control in Gaza
• The PA continues to act against Hamas "terror infrastructure" in the West Bank
• Hamas severs its ties with Iran
• Funds and humanitarian equipment continues to flow into Gaza only via the PA

There was no immediate reaction from the PA to Mr Greenblatt's statement, but a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel's conditions would "not change the official Palestinian position to move forward with reconciliation efforts".

^ This goes along with the in-easy feeling I had when I visited the West Bank last week. Hopefully, Hamas will finally decide that their violent terrorist tactics have not worked in the past and will not work in the future and move away from it to a peaceful and diplomatic position to achieve their goals. If they do not then the Palestinians in the West Bank should not unify with them. If they (PA in the West Bank) do then it will only set things decades back. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41678217

Madrid Suspends

From the BBC:
"Catalonia crisis: Spain moves to suspend autonomy"

Spain is to start suspending Catalonia's autonomy from Saturday, as the region's leader threatens to declare independence. The government said ministers would meet to activate Article 155 of the constitution, allowing it to take over running of the region. Catalonia's leader said the region's parliament would vote on independence if Spain continued "repression". Catalans voted to secede in a referendum outlawed by Spain. Some fear the latest moves could spark further unrest after mass demonstrations before and since the ballot on 1 October. Spain's supreme court declared the vote illegal and said it violated the constitution, which describes the country as indivisible. Article 155 of the constitution, which cemented democratic rule three years after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked. BBC Madrid correspondent Tom Burridge says that for Madrid this is about upholding the rule of law in Catalonia, protecting the Spanish constitution and disciplining what it sees as an unruly, disobedient devolved government. However, the central government wants to minimise the risk of large-scale demonstrations, our correspondent says. Civil servants and government lawyers have thought long and hard about what measures to adopt and when and how they should be implemented.  Mr Rajoy is due to attend an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday afternoon.  On Saturday the government will be expected to draw up a list of specific measures under Article 155 of the constitution, launching the transfer of powers from Catalonia to Madrid.  The article says: "If a self-governing community does not fulfil the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain, the government... may... take all measures necessary to compel the community to meet said obligations, or to protect the above-mentioned general interest." It is thought the measures implemented could range from taking control of the regional police and finances to calling a snap election.  Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list.  Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures. And Xavier Arbós, a constitutional expert at the University of Barcelona, said the situation was moving into "uncharted territory".  He told the BBC: "We simply do not know what measures the Spanish government could enact. We do not know how the powers of the Catalan government could be affected."

^ Madrid has acted and handled this completely wrong from the very beginning. Madrid had a chance to fix things until their brutal crack-down on election day which left 893 civilians  - whose only "crime" was trying to vote - injured. The Spanish State seems to be slowly imploding - and not just because of Catalonia - but because of Madrid itself (it even needed the EU's help and money not to long ago.) Rajoy needs to re-evaluate his actions and try to bring Catalonia back into a unified Spain peacefully before things get even more out of control and the possibility of a second Spanish Civil War becomes more real. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41678086

Disability Friendly Cities

From Disability Scoop:
"Cities Ranked On Disability Friendliness"

Factoring everything from affordability to accessibility and quality of life, a new ranking is grading the nation’s cities on how desirable they are to people with disabilities. For the fourth year in a row, Overland Park, Kans. is topping the annual listing. It is followed by Grand Rapids, Mich., Denver, Salt Lake City and Aurora, Colo. The annual ranking evaluating the country’s 150 most populated cities is produced by the personal finance website WalletHub. The analysis is based on 28 criteria relevant to people with disabilities including the availability of health care providers, park accessibility, the employment rate for those in this population and the cost of living.  WalletHub ranked each city in three broad categories — economy, quality of life and health care — which collectively were used to assess what it called the “most livable places for people with disabilities.” Extra weight was given to some factors including the earnings and employment rate for people with disabilities, the share of poverty for those in this demographic and the effectiveness of state Medicaid programs, WalletHub said. Coming in dead last was San Bernardino, Calif. Greensboro, N.C., Providence, R.I., Winston-Salem, N.C. and Brownsville, Texas rounded out the bottom five.

^ Those cities ranking at the top (being the most disabled-friendly) should be proud and other counties around the country and the world should take note of what and how they accomplished that. Those cities at the bottom (being the least disabled-friendly) should hold their heads down in shame and work to fix the issues and problems immediately. ^

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2017/10/10/cities-ranked-disability/24282/

Fake Win

From the BBC:

"Iraq takes disputed areas as Kurds 'withdraw to 2014 lines'"

Iraq's military says it has completed an operation to retake disputed areas held by Kurdish forces since 2014. On Monday and Tuesday troops retook the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk and its oilfields, as well as parts of Nineveh and Diyala provinces. Peshmerga fighters had seized the areas while battling so-called Islamic State. The military operation came three weeks after the Kurds held an independence referendum, which Iraq's prime minister said was now a "thing of the past". Mr Abadi called for dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government on Tuesday night, saying he wanted a "national partnership" based on Iraq's constitution.  People living in the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas overwhelmingly backed secession in the referendum, but Mr Abadi declared it illegal and rejected calls from Kurdish leaders for negotiations. A statement issued by the Iraqi military on Wednesday announced that security had been "restored" in previously Kurdish-held sectors of Kirkuk province, including Dibis, Multaqa, and the Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields. "Forces have been redeployed and have retaken control of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa, Mosul dam, Sinjar and other areas in the Nineveh plains," it added. Peshmerga fighters moved into the areas after IS swept across northern and western Iraq in June 2014 and the army collapsed. A senior Iraqi military commander also told Reuters news agency: "As of today we reversed the clock back to 2014."    A statement issued by the Iraqi military on Wednesday announced that security had been "restored" in previously Kurdish-held sectors of Kirkuk province, including Dibis, Multaqa, and the Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields. "Forces have been redeployed and have retaken control of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa, Mosul dam, Sinjar and other areas in the Nineveh plains," it added. Peshmerga fighters moved into the areas after IS swept across northern and western Iraq in June 2014 and the army collapsed. A senior Iraqi military commander also told Reuters news agency: "As of today we reversed the clock back to 2014."

^ Iraq should not see this as a victory. They didn't win anything. The Kurds allowed them to take the disputed area. The Kurds are the ones who also did most of the major fighting against ISIS and are the reason that terrorist group is nearly destroyed in Iraq. The Iraqi Government and Military were minor players in that fight - they couldn't even protect the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad from being over-run by regular Iraqis. The Kurds in Iraq deserve more praise and their independence and Baghdad and the rest of the world (including the US, EU, UN, etc.) own a huge debt to the Iraqi Kurds for dealing with ISIS. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41663350

Countdown To Countdown

Channels are going to start the Countdown to the Countdown to Christmas before Halloween. I'm just starting the 13 days til Halloween today.

Cover Services

From the BBC:

"Quebec bans niqab for public services with neutrality law"

A Canadian province has passed a controversial religious neutrality law that bars people from wearing face coverings when giving or receiving a public service.  Quebec recently expanded the law to include services provided by municipal and public transit services. Women who wear a burqa or a niqab will now have to show their faces while receiving a government service.  Quebec's National Assembly passed Bill 62 by a 66-51 vote. The provincial Liberals, who have been in power since 2014, tabled the bill two years ago.   Bureaucrats, police officers, teachers, and bus drivers, as well as doctors, midwives, and dentists who work in publicly funded hospitals and health centres, will have to have their face uncovered.  The law will also stop provincially subsidised childcare services from offering religious education.  Quebec's Bill 62 does not specifically mention the Muslim faith.   The government says the bill includes all types of face coverings and is not meant to target Muslims. But the new legislation would affect Muslim women who wear face veils when it comes to accessing government services, whether taking the bus or using the library, or getting healthcare and education.   Critics say the law will marginalise Muslim women who cover their faces by limiting access to government work and services.   Bill 62 does allow people to request exemptions. A woman who wears a face veil could ask for an "accommodation" to receive a government service while having her face covered.  That request can be refused if "warranted in the context for security or identification reasons or because of the level of communication required", according to the bill.  It is unclear how many women in Quebec wear religious face coverings, though an Environics survey from 2016 suggests about 3% of Canadian Muslim women wear the chador and 3% wear the niqab.  Similar legislation has been proposed in Quebec twice before as part of the province's efforts to impose state secularism.  Before losing the 2014 provincial election, the Parti Quebecois proposed a so-called Charter of Values bill.  That would have banned all public servants from wearing "ostentatious" religious symbols or clothing, including turbans and yarmulkes.  It would also have mandated that a person's face be uncovered if they are to receive a government service.  Legal experts have said they expect Bill 62 to be challenged in court.  A number of European countries have passed legislation banning Islamic face veils, including France and Belgium in 2011.

^ I've read the law (in French) and it seems to do exactly what this article says so I believe it may be challenged in court, but will survive. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41669614

QR Rubles

From the MT:
"Russia Unveils QR-Coded 200, 2,000 Ruble Bills"

Russia’s Central Bank and the National Mint Goznak unveiled new 200- and 2,000-ruble bills on Thursday. The front side of the new banknotes are fitted with a QR code which links to the bank’s website where there is detailed information on their artistic design and security features.  Speaking at a Moscow-Vladivostok-Sevastopol teleconference from the state-run TASS news agency’s office, Central Bank chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said the bills will begin circulating in December. “First in October, the new banknotes will be received in the regions that are depicted on them: the Far East, Crimea, as well as Moscow,” Nabiullina said. The 200- and 2,000-ruble bills will enter into circulation in stages after banks and businesses upgrade their technology to accommodate them, she said. Following a public vote, the Chersonesus museum-reserve in the annexed Crimean peninsula and Sevastopol’s Monument to the Scuttled Ships were chosen to be featured on the 200-ruble bill. Vostochny Cosmodrome and a cable-stayed bridge connecting mainland Russia’s Vladivostok with Russky Island are featured on the 2,000-ruble bill.

^ It seems interesting to have QR-codes on currency. I am curious to see how it actually looks in person and how easy it is to use the code and also what information you get after using the code. ^

https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russia-unveils-qr-coded-200-2000-ruble-bills-59250

Anne Frank Halloween

From USA Today:
"Anne Frank Halloween costume pulled after social media criticism"

A Halloween costume company has pulled an Anne Frank girls costume off their website Sunday, after the costume received criticism on social media.  The company, HalloweenCostumes.com, had offered a costume that featured a long sleeve blue button-up dress, a brown shoulder bag and a green beret listed as "Anne Frank costume for girls." The costume description described Frank as a World War II hero and an inspiration stating "we can always learn from the struggles of history." Social media users on Twitter didn't take to the costume or its description.   Public Relations Specialist at Fun.com, Ross Walker Smith issued a statement via Twitter apologizing for the criticism on the girls costume. "We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays," Walker Smith said on Twitter. "We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time."

^ I worked at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC, I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, I just got back from Yad Vashem in Israel and it still amazes me after working and going to these Holocaust museums/memorials at how little people around the world know about the Holocaust or its current impact 70 years later. I guess the only thing I can say about this Anne Frank Halloween costume is that I'm glad the company chose her wearing regular clothes and not her death camp uniform with shaved head.  ^

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/10/15/anne-frank-halloween-costume-pulled-after-social-media-criticism/766809001/

Israel: Leaving

We checked-out of our hotel a little after midnight and waited by the entrance to be picked-up by a driver I had hired from Bein Harim Tour Company months ago. They were the same ones we had problems with when we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport and the driver even tried to leave us at some random place instead of our hotel. Because of this bad treatment I was waiting for something awful to happen. I was not disappointed. Bein Harim never showed up!!!!!!!!!!!! I had confirmed everything back in September and was given written confirmation on the dates and times so I know it wasn’t something I had done. It was Bein Harim and their disorganization. I got the feeling of being scammed when going from the airport to the hotel and we got scammed again by them when trying to go from our hotel to the airport. I would NEVER recommend anyone use Bein Harim Tours to transfer from Ben Gurion Airport to your hotel or vice versa. Just take a regular taxi. Since I had heard that Ben Gurion Airport was very tight with their security when flying out of Israel I had planned for extra time. Since Bein Harim never picked us up we had the receptionist at the hotel call a taxi which came a few minutes later. Even though I had already prepaid for Bein Harim I now had to pay the taxi around $100 for the trip. The taxi driver smelled of bad body odor and his taxi smelled of bad incense, but he got us to the airport pretty quickly. When we got to the entrance of the airport the taxi guy turned all the inside lights on and stopped for half a second at the check-point then dropped us off at the terminal.

I was hoping for a better experience leaving Israel than we had when arriving – but that wasn’t to be. Everything seemed disorganized. We waited for the luggage area to be opened. A woman security guard asked us a few brief questions and then left with our passports. When she came back she put a yellow sticker on the back of the passports and let us go to the airline check-in. We were again flying Swiss Airlines.. There were two lines for Swiss Economy (we were really in their Premium Economy Class) and of course I picked the wrong lane. The Swiss employees – all Israelis – were very slow and lazy. They took a long time to even come to the counters and then even longer talking/joking with each other and texting on their cell phones. When they finally started checking people in the lane I had chosen still had no employee. I asked a very surly employee in the other lane if ours was open and he just said “Yes.” After about 10 minutes of waiting a man who had been sitting at another desk flirting with his co-worker walked over to our counter and after getting things ready there finally opened. He didn’t say one word to us. He didn’t us for our passports, he didn’t ask where we were going and he didn’t ask where our final destination was so our bags could be checked right through. I finally had to ask him if our bags were going through to Boston and got a very curt “Yes.”

After checking-in we went to Israeli Exit Immigration. There was a guy standing right in front of the lane for “Foreign Passports” and I went up to him and tried to give him my passport. He was more concerned that I had interrupted his texting and pointed to some self-scan Immigration kiosks. We went over to them and I tried several times (my sister even tried scanning my passport once) and nothing happened. My sister had no problems with her passport and got the same postage stamp-sized Exit Border Card like we got when we arrived. I walked back to the guy and handed him my passport and told him the kiosk told me to see an Immigration officer. He said something in Hebrew, scanned my passport, and basically threw my passport and Exit Card at me and told me to leave him alone. I called him a “prick” and walked away. After Exit Passport Control (with the same dumb self-checkout machines that never work as you see in the markets) we went through Israeli Security. It was not the strict security I was expecting and whereas at Logan we had to take off our shoes and belts and go through a full body scanner in Israel we kept all that on and just walked through a metal detector that looked like it had been in some public school in New York City for decades. After security there was a large waiting area with lots of Duty Free stores and a few places to eat. There was a Pizza Hut open and so we ordered a pizza – even though it was so early in the morning – the cashier barely spoke English – almost no one at the Airport seemed to speak English and it’s really the only airport in the whole country and you would expect them to know English. We then dealt with a woman at a closed coffee shop who also didn’t speak English and then went to another coffee shop and then sat down. When our pizza was ready I went to get it and asked him for two plates. The guy had no idea what “plates” were and I pointed to the plates right next to him and showed two fingers. It wasn’t until an Israeli passenger behind me said it in Hebrew that he finally gave them to me. So much drama for something so simple.

After eating we headed to our gate. We boarded on-time and had the same seats as before. When we took off I was actually very glad to finally be out of Israel. While I had a good time there overall there were way too many problems and issues.

The flight to Zurich was uneventful. When we got to Zurich (the same terminal as before) we had to walk a long way in a semi-circle right after getting off the plane and found ourselves at Swiss Security. That was surprising since we didn’t go through Swiss Security when we had arrived from Boston and were going to Tel Aviv. There were no major issues going through, but afterwards we had to wait several hours for the monitor to tell us which gate to go to. Of course, like before, it was the furthest from where we were. The Zurich Airport at the same one machine to get a WiFi password valid for 2 hours and the men had to walk up 3 flights of stairs to the bathroom. When we were waiting for our gate to be announced we saw several gates get blocked off with barriers. Apparently, it was the airline doing Passport checks and secondary screening. They did the same thing at our gate but we only had to do the Passport check and not the extra screening. I am surprised that they did all of this extra stuff to go to the US and yet did absolutely nothing extra for when we were going to Tel Aviv.

The flight to Boston was long and tiring, but nothing major happened. When we landed at Logan I was prepared for problems and issues since I have had them at Logan before. We deplaned and went to US Immigration/Customs. Logan just completed a new Immigration Arrivals section this year and yet it was pretty confusing. The signs didn’t add up with the lanes and several foreigners went to the US Citizens only lane. We had to first go to the stupid kiosks where you scan your passport, answer the same Customs questions you already answered on the printed form on the plane and then waited for one of two Immigration officers to go through everything again. I don’t see how this is supposed to save time when you are just doing the same thing that the Immigration officer is going to re-do. We did have a little wait, but it wasn’t that long (nothing like the wait or the chaos in Israel.) There was a funny thing that happened when we were waiting in line to see the officer. Besides the fire alarm going off (I wasn’t going to evacuate until I got my bag even if they told me to) a guy with a very thick Spanish accent kept going on the announcements and only saying one or two words before cutting off. Each time he finally added another word to his sentence before cutting off and for every new word we cheered. By the time we got to the Immigration officer the guy was finally able to say his whole, very short, sentence. It was like the Little Engine that could. The Immigration officer took our slips and passports asked us where we were coming from (to which we said “Israel”) handed our passports back to us and said “Welcome Home.” It was sweet and simple. Sadly, I didn’t get a single Immigration stamp in my passport this whole trip.

After Immigration we picked-up our bags with no issues and headed out of the terminal. It was by far the quickest and stress-free Immigration/Customs arrival I have ever had at Logan. We got the shuttle to the off-site airport parking lot we have used many times before, paid and then headed right into rush-hour Boston traffic. We got lost once because we listened to our GPS rather than follow the street signs, but eventually made it out of Boston. We stopped for dinner at Friendly’s (because that’s what you do at the very end of traveling for 22 hours straight.) We made it back home, saw the house was fine, started unpacking, I downloaded some pictures to Facebook and tried to relax as best we could. The next day I picked up my dog from the kennel  - she had just been groomed – and then came home to start writing these entries. Even during my trip I was hounded by several people on Facebook to add pictures and write about the trip even before the events and tours had happened. 

All-in-all I have to say that the trip to Israel was a good one. It was not the best trip I have ever taken and it was not the worst trip I have ever taken. I spent around 8 months researching, planning and even had everything pre-paid for the trip (including coming with Swiss Francs for Zurich and Israeli New Shekels for Israel) and now it seems that I didn’t get as much of an experience as I thought or hoped I would. I do believe the Israelis have to work on their organizational skills. They seem to have everything organized for military matters, but not for: airports, schedules, signage, driving, tours, basic living, etc.) There also doesn’t seem to be a Hebrew word for “Customer Service” and telling someone “Is Ok” doesn’t mean it really is okay or that you solved anything. We kept hearing, throughout Israel and the West Bank, how few tourists come visit and that they were so glad we had come and to tell our friends to also come. Maybe if they fixed the issues I wrote above more people would come. Also, there’s no need to be scared about security check-points (there were none at any stores, hotels, markets, restaurants or the majority of religious sites as I had been told and had read about) throughout Israel. They are few and far between and when they were there it was more of the kind of security people used decades ago – both the practices and equipment used. I encountered tighter security going to the musical “Chicago” in Moscow a few months after the Chechen terrorists took over a theater and many hostages were killed by both the Chechens and the poison gas the Russians used to free them – then I did anyplace in Israel (including David Ben Gurion Airport.) I know some people will ask if I would recommend going to Israel. I DO NOT recommend using Bein Harim Tourism Company for airport/hotel pick-ups/drop-offs, but DO recommend going to Israel (as long as you realize they go by  Mediterranean time and not Israeli time and that everything will be a lot more expensive.) With that said you will get to see lots of important and historical places (both from Biblical times as well as more modern times.)

Israel: Jerusalem

The next day we went on a tour of Old and New Jerusalem. After being stuck in holiday traffic there the day before I was expecting the same, if not worse, today. We met our tour guide in Tel Aviv and headed to Jerusalem. Rather than driving all around the city and getting stuck the bus dropped us in the Old Section of the city and we just walked everywhere. Our guide wasn’t all that great. He walked too fast, weaving in and out of all the people and not really making sure everyone in our tour was keeping-up. He also didn’t say very much and when he did he spoke very quietly. We did see the Dome of the Rock from the outside. Our guide said that no non-Muslims - especially Jews  - were allowed to enter it and then showed us a covered path that non-Muslims had to take to enter the Dome. We were getting conflicting information. I’m not really sure if Christians are allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock or not. I know Jews can’t. We walked throughout the Jewish and Muslim Quarters and saw Israeli police and soldiers at the spot when the two quarters meet. That's really the only time we saw any patrols. We walked underground for a very short time seeing the old market and then went through different bazaars. We then went to the Wailing/Western Wall. It was only the second time we had to go through any security while in Israel. You had to put your bag on the X- Ray machine and then walk through a metal detector.  It was very crowded and our guide only gave us 10 minutes. Women had to go to the Female side and Men to the Male side. I had to cover my head with a skull cap (there was a bin of them where people who had just come from the Wall took their’s off and threw it in the bin where those of us just entering the Wall had to pick one of the “dirty” ones to wear. Not the most hygienic. There were so many people on the male side that I didn’t make it to the actual Wall.

After the Wailing/Western Wall we saw different sections of the Christian Holy Sacraments (on the Via Dolorosa) on our way to the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was crucified. While waiting outside the Church we heard the Muslim Call to Prayer which was pretty loud. We then went into the Church. It is one of my favorite places of the whole trip. It was very large and beautiful (on the inside.) The outside looked sandy and plain. I even got to touch the stone where Jesus was laid after he died so his body could be cleaned.

After the Church we walked to a restaurant in the Muslim Quarter. It was clearly for tour groups, but was such a small room. There was a buffet lunch – although not as good as the one in Jericho. The owner was annoying and pushy. When we left we saw 5 different tour groups enter the same restaurant and I remember thinking there wasn’t enough room for all of them in that small place. After lunch we walked to our bus and left the Old Part of Jerusalem and drove to Vad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Museum.

I used to work at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC and had long heard about Yad Vashem and how great and big it was supposed to be. I have to say the grounds of Yad Vashem are much larger than the USHMM, but the actual exhibit building seemed the same size. Our tour guide wasn’t allowed to say anything inside the Museum and so he told us a time to meet him at the exit. I have studied the Holocaust for a long time and so was telling my sister what happened during it, but I wonder what the majority of people in our tour group learned, if anything, since there was no guide to help them. The one aspect I did not like at Yad Vashem was the Children’s Memorial. The outside was very nice, but then you walk into a completely dark room with only a few candles and you have to walk throughout the memorial holding the railing and not being able to see. Once outside you could see the different trees and memorials to the Righteous Among The Nations (the non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.) I won’t say I “enjoyed” Yad Vashem   - especially when you consider what the museum is about, but I will say it was one of those places I always wanted to see for myself and am glad I finally got to go. That was our last stop in Jerusalem and we were then brought back to our hotel in Tel Aviv.

West Bank: Bethlehem/Jericho

The next day we were going to the West Bank. When I booked the tour months before I had to give all our passport information to the Israelis to get an Israeli permit as well as a Palestinian permit (we never actually saw these permits though.) The Israelis and Palestinians also wanted to make sure that no Israeli citizens were going on the tour since both sides forbid Israelis from going to the Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank. So Israelis aren’t allowed in the Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank and the Palestinians aren’t allowed in the Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank or in Israel itself.  I was a little apprehensive to leave Israel and go to the West Bank, but at the same time I wanted to go there since not many people visit. We started the tour in a small van and then changed into a big bus in Jerusalem. We had an Israeli tour guide (a few Israeli guides are given permission by both the Israelis and the Palestinians to enter the West Bank to take non-Israeli tourists around.) We had some traffic within Jerusalem (because of the holiday and road closures) while picking-up people from their hotels. We then entered the Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank – there was an Israeli check-point, but we didn’t even slow down for it. Then we started seeing very scary warning signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English about how dangerous it is inside the West Bank and reminding Israelis that they aren’t allowed there. We entered the Palestinian-controlled part of the West Bank. There was a Palestinian check-point but again we didn’t even have to slow down. Right after the check-point we stopped and picked-up a local Palestinian guide. She kept telling us (in English, French and Spanish – even though it was an English-only tour) that she was a Palestinian Christian and that Christians used to be the majority in Bethlehem, but now the Christians are the minority and the Muslims are the majority there. I didn’t care for the Palestinian guide. She was very pushy, spent more time talking in French and Spanish than she did in English and kept saying “Listen my brothers and sisters in Christ….” before every sentence.  Even our Israeli tour guide (who stayed with us) kept getting annoyed with her and snapped at her several times – which was funny. We got off the bus and walked to Manger Square and then to the Church of the Nativity (where Jesus was born.) Everywhere we went people gave us the “Peace” sign and kept telling us how peaceful Bethlehem was while at the same time you could see posters praising different martyrs (terrorists who bombed targets in Israel and Israeli-controlled West Bank) so what the people were saying wasn’t what they were preaching. You could also see several areas of destroyed homes from Israeli retaliation raids. I continued to feel uncomfortable the whole time I was in the West Bank.

We started at the Church of the Nativity and no one had told us beforehand that most of the Church was being renovated and that whole areas – especially the areas we had to wait to get to the actual spot where Mary, Joseph and Jesus had been – were covered-up. It was very crowded and took a long time to go anywhere. Our Palestinian guide kept trying to push us (literally) to spread-out only to then have to push to get into a small door. I eventually told her to leave me alone. After that she didn’t dare touch me or try to tell me what to do. After the Church of the Nativity we went to a Souvenir Shop that was associated with the tour company. It had all the same basic souvenirs as every other shop around Israel and the West Bank.

There are two people from this tour (besides my sister and me) that stand out. One is a guy from France whom the Israeli tour guide kept calling “Paris.” “Paris”  - I never learned his name  - was always just a few feet away from my sister and me and that became a running joke between her and I. I even took a picture of my sister and when I looked at it back at the hotel I saw that “Paris” was in it right next to her too. The second person was an American whom the Israeli tour guide called “New Jersey.” She was pretty odd. She was short and had a very high-pitched voice (like Bernadette from “The Big Bang Theory.”) She just seemed to keep popping-up one minute by my sister and myself and then the next minute she had disappeared. I even heard her talking to “Paris” and when “Paris” asked her if she was from near New York City she said “No” even though New Jersey is closer to New York City than France is to New York City. A side-note: the Israeli tour guide was talking to some girls from Switzerland and said he had visited their country before and mentioned the name of some town and asked if it was near where they were from. The girls said “No. It is very far away - - a whole 45 minutes away.”  Again they were closer to this town at 45 minutes away than the Swiss town was to Israel.

After the Souvenir Shop we went to Sheppard’s Field and visited a nice, little, old church there. After visiting this church the Palestinian guide left – since she wasn’t allowed inside Israel -  and we left the West Bank (again we didn’t have to stop at either the Palestinian or Israeli check-points.) For some reason our tour company (Bein Harim) thought it was a smart idea to leave Bethlehem and the West Bank to re-enter Israel, go to Jerusalem to drop a handful of people off at their hotels. We spent 3 hours in traffic in Jerusalem because of the holiday road closures only to re-enter the West Bank (again no issues with any check-points) and go to Jericho.

Jericho was clearly more militant-looking than Bethlehem was especially when first you first entered that part of the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. We still saw the different martyr posters along with many military-style clothing (not from anyone who looked like an official.) Like in Bethlehem we didn’t personally experience any issues in Jericho, but you could feel tension right below the surface (like I did when I was in Northern Ireland.) Jericho is known as the oldest, inhabited town in the world. Most of the town looked like a Third World town with bomb damage, etc. We had a buffet lunch at a restaurant  - where you paid one price for the food and could have as much as you wanted and only had to keep paying for your drinks. I had the best pita pizza – tomato sauce and cheese on pita bread – there. It was pretty good.

After lunch we went to the ruins of old Jericho. We watched a short video in English about the history of Jericho and its ruins and then walked around the ruins themselves. It was like a mini-Masada (although Masada is better.) Our tour guide told lots of stories from the Bible – especially those pertaining to Jericho. After the ruins we stopped at a look-out point and saw a monastery on a mountain (we didn’t actually go anywhere near the monastery) and had some figs. I’m not a huge fan of figs, but they were free. It was getting close to being dark and we left Jericho and the West Bank. I was relieved once we were back in Israel. I wouldn’t recommend people going to the West Bank by themselves or staying after dark. From the West Bank we drove back to Jerusalem and this time the tour guide didn’t try to stop at every hotel like he tried to earlier in the day when we got stuck for 3 hours. He dropped everyone off who was staying in Jerusalem at the Light Rail Station (an American woman was killed by a Palestinian terrorist on the Light Rail earlier this year so it most have been a little nerve-wracking for these tourists to have to use the train.) We then headed back to Tel Aviv.

Israel: Haifa/Rosh Hanikra

After enjoying our free days we jumped right into more tours. Again we were picked-up from our hotel and taken to a bus and then met our guide (Norbet.) Norbet is originally from France and even though it was an English-only tour he translated everything into French for the few French and French-Canadians on the tour (which got annoying.) We first went to Caeserea roman ruins. I have been to Roman ruins in different parts of Europe and so wasn’t so impressed with this one. It had everything all the other ones did, but was still nice to look at. After Caesera we drove to Haifa. We didn’t see much of the city except for driving to the Bahá'í Gardens. It was the first time since we went through TSA security at Logan Airport in Boston 6 days earlier that we had to go through any type of security – or had even seen any security. It was just a guy with a wand looking in your bag. The Gardens gave a great view of Haifa and so it was nice that we got to go there. We didn’t stay long and after leaving Haifa we went to Acre.

In Acre we stopped at the shop of the last Jewish family in the town who was also a metal-worker (most of Acre are Israeli Arabs – not Palestinians.) We stayed at that shop way too long, but I was finally able to go to an Israeli Post Office and buy stamps for my post cards. I had been trying for days throughout Israel to get stamps, but they were so hard to find - as was a mailbox, but I think I found a working one and put all my post cards in it. I'll have to wait and se if anyone writes me that they got a postcard. We then went to a local restaurant where they had long tables with different salads and lemonade on it. You could then order shawarma, chicken schnitzel or falafel. I got the shawarma and it was pretty good.

After lunch we drove up to the Lebanese border to Rosh Hanikra. Rosh Hanikra was built by the British during World War 2 to bring supplies from Palestine to Lebanon. Once the British left and the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948 the Israelis destroyed parts of the place so the invading Arab armies (coming from Lebanon) couldn’t use it. There was a cable car at the site, but the line was several hours long because of the holiday – if you are sick and tired of always hearing about the holiday and the closings and crowds caused by it you are not alone – I was very sick and tired of always hearing and experiencing the delays. Instead of the cable car we left our big tour bus and got into a smaller bus that drove us to the tunnel and grottoes. I have been to grottoes (in Malta) and underground caves before and while these ones were very small and we spent less than an hour there it was still a very cool place. Rosh Hanikra was our last destination for that day and so we then drove back to the hotel.

It wasn’t all that late when we got back and so we walked to a busy street and had dinner at a Mexican/Tex-Mex Restaurant called “Mexicana.” It was pretty good. After the restaurant I walked into a nearby market to get some waters for our next tours. I  got four bottles (all we needed) and saw they had a Kinder Egg -  it was the first Kinder Egg I have had since December 2014. I brought that and the water to the cashier. She said something in Hebrew and then switched to English. She told me I couldn’t leave the store until I bought 6 bottles of water. I told her I didn’t want 6 bottles – only 4 bottles. There was now a huge line behind me and I was getting extremely angry at this stupid woman. The only thing that saved me from opening up every swear word I knew and making a huge scene was the Kinder Egg. I hadn’t seen any Kinder Eggs in any of the other places I had previously been to (and as it turned out didn’t see any Kinder Eggs anyplace else afterwards) I bite my tongue and got the 6 bottles of water and my Kinder Egg and said a few, very loud, choice words to that dumb woman as I was leaving the store. We then went back to the hotel to rest up for our next tour.

Israel: Free Time

The next two days we had nothing scheduled to do. We had planned it that way because it was the Jewish Sabbath and things would be closed – we didn’t know about the holiday though until we arrived in Israel. We spent the free days (the two together: Friday and Saturday and then the one separate on Wednesday – we had scheduled a free tour of Tel Aviv for that day but it was cancelled because of the holiday) mostly at the beach. It was very hot and sunny and the Mediterranean Sea was so nice. We bought some towels and used a machine to rent 2 beach chairs and 2 umbrellas. You then had to search the beach for the guy who sets-up the chairs and umbrellas for you. We had two different guys and I didn’t like either one. They acted as though they didn’t speak English when you spoke to them and then you would hear them flirting in English to other people. You also couldn’t pick where you wanted them to set everything up – wherever they were standing when you finally found them was where they put everything.

One thing that was funny is a group of Americans were telling funny and dirty jokes in English near my beach chair and when one of them said they should be quiet because what they were saying was rude and inappropriate another one of them replied that I was a Sabra (a native-born Israeli) and so didn’t understand them anyways. I’m not sure if being called a Sabra is good or not but they were telling some very funny jokes and I had to keep from laughing. By the time we left the beach I had a minor sun bun (luckily we managed to find a store that had after-sun lotion and sun screen – it wasn’t easy to find since the name of the store was only in Hebrew and we were told the name in English.) During our free days we ate breakfast at the hotel (we didn’t know what most of the items were, but there were a lot of them – their potatoes with garlic sauce were great.) We then had lunch at a café or restaurant on the beach and a few times went to an ice cream shop (I kept getting asked if I wanted my milkshake made with milk or water – which is weird.)

We walked a little further into Tel Aviv one day to get some shawarma and eventually we found a place. On the second free day we were too tired to walk anywhere for dinner and so we asked the Russian receptionist to help us order Dominos’ Pizza and have it delivered. Their website was only in Hebrew and a little confusing, but the receptionist did a great job and in the end we not only had good tasting pizza, but also the first non-Kosher food (our pizza had ham on it) in 5 days.

Another good thing on our free days was being able to wear shorts and sandals. It was always so hot and yet on the tours I had to wear pants and shoes (even though other people were not dressed correctly and still allowed into the different religious sites.) The two back-to-back free days were nice since we went swimming at the beach both days and the third free day at the end of the trip was peaceful since we got to relax after having four 12 hour tours in a row.

Israel: Masada/Dead Sea

The next day (our first full one in Israel) we had a tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. The hotel’s breakfast buffet didn’t start until 7 am and most tours (in Hebrew, Russian and English) started around that time. You would think the hotel would have realized that and made it’s breakfast from 6 am- 9 am instead of 7 am- 10 am. We ate at the 24 hour bakery/café instead. We were met at our hotel by a guide who walked us to a bus. The whole thing was a little crazy. You had to know the company’s (Bein Harim) system. You got met at your hotel by a guide and brought to a bus. Then that bus brought you to a park in Tel Aviv where a bunch of other buses and vans were waiting and you had to find which one was for your tour and sometimes you then had to change again when you got to Jerusalem. Some guides explained all of this and others didn’t. When we got to our correct tour bus we had a female guide (I forget her name.) We drove to an Elvis Diner rest stop (it wouldn’t be our only time there) and had to pay for the restrooms – it was the only time in Israel we had to pay for them. Then we stopped at an Ahava Dead Sea Soap and Lotion Store. Next we entered the Israeli controlled part of the West Bank – there was a check point, but we didn’t even have to slow down. We dropped some people off at a Dead Sea resort (that we would return to in the afternoon) and then headed to Masada.

Masada was pretty impressive. The palace/fortress was immense. It was very hot (in the mid-90s) and very sunny that day. We took a very crowded cable car up to the top and then our guide walked us around the grounds explaining things. She was very informative and gave lots of history. I took a lot of pictures and enjoyed the views from the top of Masada to the Dead Sea miles away. At the end of the visit we were ushered onto the bus and couldn’t use the bathroom or get drinks.  One thing I didn’t like is that because we had gone out of our way to drop the people off at the resort earlier in the day we weren’t going to have lunch until 3 pm and I was starving. We then drove back to the Dead Sea resort and were given 2 hours free. The guide brought us to a cafeteria and left us. The place was expensive and wasn’t very good. It wasn’t until we got to the beach that I saw  the really good smelling places to eat. We rented some towels and then went to the changing rooms to change and then put our stuff in a rented locker and headed down to the sea.

Since it was a holiday it was very crowded. I was surprised that the Dead Sea wasn’t deep at all. It only went to my ankle. I did swim – well float – and took some pictures. All in all I wasn’t that impressed with the Dead Sea. While the scenery was nice, like I wrote before, the sea itself wasn’t deep at all. When it was time to leave we got on the bus and they drove us close to our hotel in Tel Aviv – we arrived around 7 pm. We went back to the 24 hour bakery/café for dinner and then back to our hotel.