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Feb. 24, 2020 / 12:21 PM
NYC jury convicts Weinstein of 1st-degree assault, 3rd-degree rape
By Clyde Hughes
Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court Monday before the jury convicted him on two lesser counts of sex assault and rape. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A New York City jury on Monday found disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty on lesser charges of rape and sexual assault, but acquitted him on more serious counts of predatory assault.
The Academy Award-winning producer had been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women but charged in the cases of two.
Weinstein, 67, was found guilty of third-degree rape in the case of Jessica Mann and first-degree sexual assault in the case of Mimi Haley. The jury acquitted him on the two more serious counts.
Jurors first told New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke Friday they were hung on the two predatory counts, but were told to keep working.
RELATED Weinstein trial: Jurors start 3rd day with defense witness testimony
Weinstein will remain in custody until he is sentenced on March 11.
The accusations against Weinstein spurred the #MeToo movement in 2017, in which women and men spoke about incidents of sexual misconduct against powerful figures.
Weinstein did not testify at his trial, but his attorneys argued that his encounters were consensual and none of the women were forced into sexual situations. They argued that Weinstein had exchanged friendly communications with them after the incidents in question.
RELATED Weinstein jurors ask to re-examine emails, testimony; seek clarification on charges
Weinstein still faces additional criminal charges in California, where prosecutors accuse him of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013. One of the women testified during the New York trail as a supporting witness.
Shaunna Thomas, executive director of the support group UltraViolet, said although the verdict sends a "clear message" that abusers can be held accountable, more must be done to protect victims.
"While the evidence against Weinstein was overwhelming, today's verdict was not guaranteed," she said in a statement. "Survivors of sexual abuse often face tremendous obstacles in the legal system that block them from winning the justice they deserve. We must do better to ensure that survivors are not only protected under the law, but empowered to pursue a path toward justice."
U.S. News // 5 hours ago
Senate Democrats begin formal debate on stalled voting rights bills
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Senators returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and began debating two different pieces of voting rights legislation that have stalled in the chamber -- amid intense pressure to change rules to break a GOP filibuster.
U.S. News // 1 hour ago
Officials struggle to regulate pop-up COVID-19 testing sites
NEW YORK, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- In recent months, mobile COVID-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Microsoft to acquire 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard for nearly $70B
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Microsoft, the makers of Xbox, has agreed to acquire major video game publisher Activision Blizzard, the company announced on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit Ukraine amid Russian troop buildup, NATO dissent
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday began a three-day trip that will take him to Ukraine and Germany in an effort to ease growing tensions about Russia's intentions along the border with Ukraine.
Eastern U.S. looking at 2 more winter storms, unusual cold this week
Get ready for the possibility of more impactful winter weather. That's the message for Americans living in parts of the eastern U.S. who just dealt with a major winter storm that dropped more than a foot of snow.
Airlines call on Biden admin to halt 5G deployment near airports
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. airlines have again called on the Biden administration to not implement 5G technology near airports, stating to do so would cause "significant operation disruption" to air passengers, shippers and supply chains.
U.S. News // 11 hours ago
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin joins Illinois gubernatorial race
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced his candidacy for governor of Illinois on Monday, becoming the latest Republican to announce a challenge against Democratic incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Appeals court sends Texas abortion law challenge to state Supreme Court
Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday sent a challenge to Texas' six-week abortion law by abortion clinics to the state's Supreme Court for further interpretation.
Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The family of Austin McEwen, one of six employees who died in a collapse at an Illinois Amazon facility that was struck by tornadoes, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company.
Twitter expands 'misleading tweet' feature to 3 more countries
Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Twitter announced Monday it is expanding testing for a new feature allowing users to flag Tweets as "misleading" to Brazil, Spain and the Philippines.


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Free Essay Samples > Essays > Linguistics >  Stylistics > The Use of Taboo Words: Shock, Offend, and Challenge
The Use of Taboo Words: Shock, Offend, and Challenge
In every culture, there are certain words which are considered to be taboo – that is, they are seen as being too offensive or indecent to say in public. These words may relate to sex, bodily functions, religion or other aspects of life which are considered to be private or sacred. In some cases, the use of these words is seen as being so bad that it is actually illegal. For example, in many countries it is against the law to say certain swear words in public.
2. What are taboo words?
Taboo words are those which are seen as being too offensive or indecent to say in public. They may relate to sex, bodily functions, religion or other aspects of life which are considered to be private or sacred. In some cases, the use of these words is seen as being so bad that it is actually illegal. For example, in many countries it is against the law to say certain swear words in public.
3. The history of taboo words:
The use of taboo words is thought to date back to early human history. It is believed that early humans used these words as a way of reinforcing social bonds and showing solidarity with others in their group. Taboo words were also used as a way of showing disrespect or hostility towards others outside of the group.
The first written record of a taboo word comes from the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes who used the word 'bdella' in his comedy 'The Frogs'. This word was a reference to the female genitalia and was probably seen as being very shocking at the time!
4. The modern use of taboo words:
Despite their long history, taboo words continue to be used today. In many cases, they are used in an attempt to shock or offend others. In other cases, they may be used simply because people are not aware that they are considered to be offensive.
One area where the use of taboo words is particularly common is in relation to sex. This is because sex is often seen as being a taboo subject matter itself. People often use sexual swearwords as a way of joking about sex without having to talk about it directly.
5. The power of taboo words:
Taboo words can be powerful because they can evoke strong emotions in both the person who says them and the person who hears them. They can also be used to challenge social norms and get people thinking about topics which they might not normally think about.
6. The negative effects of taboo words:
However, there are also some negative effects associated with the use of taboo words. For example, they can make people feel uncomfortable or offended if they hear them used in a casual or insensitive way. They can also be used as a way of deliberately trying to cause upset or harm others.
7Conclusion: Taboo words were invented by people and now the same people are trying to vanish them from their languages while some are trying to avoid them others are using them
What is the definition of a taboo word?
A taboo word is a word that is considered to be offensive or taboo by most people.
Where do taboo words come from?
Taboo words come from different cultures and languages. They can be created when a new word enters the language, or when an existing word takes on a new meaning.
How do people react to hearing taboo words?
People react to hearing taboo words in different ways. Some people find them offensive, while others may find them humorous.
Why are some words considered more taboo than others?
Some words are considered more taboo than others because they are seen as being more offensive or harmful.
Is there a difference between swearing and using a taboo word?
Swearing and using a taboo word are two different things. Swearing is using profanity, while using a taboo word is using a word that is considered to be offensive by most people.
Cantaboo words be used in positive or negative ways?
Taboo words can be used in positive or negative ways depending on the context in which they are used
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church attributessexual intercoursesexual magicsexual thoughtstaboo actionstaboo languagetaboo words
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Few Florida Carriers Filed for Arbitration in 2022, But It's Coming, Attorneys Say
Jan 26, 2023 insurance, property
After American Integrity Insurance Co. filed for a binding arbitration endorsement on homeowner policies one year ago, many in the industry expected a wave of other insurers to follow suit as claims litigation costs continued to rise in Florida.
So far, though, that hasn't happened. An official with Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the largest carrier in the state, said last week that the carrier has no plans to file for a similar endorsement that would offer premium discounts if policyholders agree to arbitrate rather than litigate claims disputes. And no other major Florida insurers appear to have asked the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to approve arbitration clauses.
Florida Senate Bill 2A, adopted in December, may have taken away much of the perceived need for alternative dispute resolutions when it repealed one-way attorney fees and assignment-of-benefits agreements, the big drivers of claims litigation in the state.
But attorneys on both sides of the aisle said this week that more arbitration clauses are coming – if not this year, then next or in 2025. If the trend materializes, it will significantly change the way claims disputes are examined resolved and will raise new issues for policyholders, lawyers, expert witnesses, judges and the arbitrators themselves.
"I expect to see more and more insurance carriers going to binding arbitration," said John Riordan, of West Palm Beach, an insurance defense attorney with the Kelley Kronenberg law firm. He spoke Tuesday at the Windstorm Insurance Network conference in Orlando. "Carriers like it."
South Florida Plaintiffs' attorney Dan Rheaume agreed but argued that the outside-the-courtroom system will favor insurance companies. Arbitration will not allow insureds to appeal a decision or to even complain about it, thanks to confidentiality clauses that will likely be built in to policy wording.
"Arbitration has had a very low success rate for plaintiffs," he said.
An American Association of Justice report in 2019 found that only about 6% of plaintiffs walked away from arbitration with a monetary award. In 2022, the Association noted that that the win rate in arbitration against banks and financial services firms was just 1.8%.
The reports examined forced arbitration, often required by large retail corporations, cell-phone companies, banks and some employers before consumers can buy their products or work at the company. The American Integrity endorsement is voluntary.
Insurance corporations may likely be better prepared than the average homeowner or small-business person, critics have said. A contractor facing arbitration over a business interruption claim denial, for example, may not have a certified public accountant ready to testify in arbitration about precise business losses, one attorney said. A distraught owner may play well with a jury, but an arbitrator may want to see actual loss calculations.
And insureds may give little thought to the consequences of arbitration once they're offered a discount on premiums, especially at a time that consumers are seeing soaring premiums in Florida, Rheaume said.
Nonbinding arbitration has long been utilized in Florida. But some lawyers have called it a waste of time since unfavorable rulings are often taken to court, anyway. Riordan expects nonbinding reviews to be phased out in coming years. But the experience has given participants an idea of what to expect if more insurers move toward binding arbitration.
The outcome may also depend largely on who the arbitrator is, Rheaume and Riordan agreed. Many hired arbitrators may not know insurance law, which can hurt both sides. Some may allow expert witnesses while others may not. Florida law requires only that the umpires be licensed attorneys with at least two years' experience.
"You have to get the right arbitrator," Riordan said.
A better system might be to require a cadre of three arbitrators to decide claims disputes, said one attorney in attendance at the conference session.
The American Integrity endorsement, approved by OIR in February 2022, is considered to be well-written and something of a model for other carriers to follow, lawyers have said. Tampa-based American Integrity held almost 3% of the Florida homeowners insurance market in 2021 and its aggressive market actions have been closely followed by other carriers.
Senate Bill 2A, last month's reform measure, essentially codified parts of the insurer's arbitration clause and now requires arbitration offers to meet certain requirements:
The policy must offer a premium discount or credit to the policyholder in exchange for agreeing to binding arbitration.
The arbitration requirements must be explained in a separate endorsement attached to the policy and the policyholder must sign a form electing to accept arbitration.
The form must explain the rights that the policyholder is giving up, including the right to trial by jury.
Before arbitration begins, the parties must first attempt to settle the dispute through nonbinding mediation, as defined by state law. The Florida Department of Financial Services offers a mediation service for insurance disputes.
One question that remains to be answered is whether bad-faith claims against insurers can be covered by arbitration. Riordan said that historically, arbitration clauses do not include non-contractual issues. But Rheaume said that doesn't mean some insurers in the near future won't attempt to dictate that bad-faith issues must be decided outside of courts.
"It's going to take a lot of litigation to settle all of this," Rheaume said. "There's going to be a lot of growing pains."
Bad-faith claims have been an expensive thorn in the side of insurers for years, and many have said that Florida's law, until recently, made it too easy for plaintiffs' lawyers to file bad-faith suits, even when claims have been paid. The Legislature addressed that in December, raising the bar and requiring that breach of contract be shown before bad-faith litigation can be initiated.
Still, if those types of claims are not addressed in arbitration clauses, it's possible that claimants' attorneys could lose a case in arbitration then file a bad-faith lawsuit in circuit court. "Well, they can try to do that," Riordan said.
He noted that his firm already has seen some of the first lawsuits from policyholders over American Integrity's arbitration clauses, suggesting that the policyholder did not read or understand the policy endorsement. It could be two years before those cases are resolved.
Courts through the years have generally found that arbitration in business contracts is acceptable. Only in a case of interstate commerce has the U.S. Supreme Court found that forced arbitration was not appropriate, according to the American Bar Association Journal.
Arbitration clauses will undoubtedly help Florida insurers avoid massive jury verdicts, years of expensive appeals and nettlesome class-action lawsuits. The American Integrity model requires each side to pay its own legal fees and costs, including expert witness fees, which can be considerable and a deterrent for claimants.
That model also requires the insurance carrier to pay for the arbitrator. Of course, that raises questions of bias. How impartial will an umpire be if he or she is paid by the insurer and wants to continue hearing insurance cases, asked one attorney at the Windstorm conference session.
Other questions have cropped up: Which rules of civil procedure will be followed in arbitration proceedings? American Integrity stipulates that the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Florida's Revised Arbitration Code should be adhered to. But other insurers, based in other states, could require that arbitration proceedings follow, say, New York rules or be heard in other states – a disadvantage for Florida policyholders, Rheaume and others have said.
"American Integrity's endorsement is pretty good. It has very few ambiguities," said Rheaume. "But other carriers, they may not go in a similar direction."
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Home News PURC wins healthy funding boost
PURC wins healthy funding boost
Pakuranga United Rugby Club was awarded a $10,000 cheque on Saturday night from nib and The Blues, as part of its community initiative to support grassroots sports. The nib $10k Relay was hosted at half-time during the Blues vs Chiefs match at Eden Park on May 1.
Pakuranga United Rugby Club has beaten out nine other junior rugby clubs to win the grand prize in the nib Little Legends $10k Relay.
The relay race, hosted by nib New Zealand (nib) in partnership with The Blues, took place during half-time at the Blues vs Chiefs match on Saturday (May 1).
The event saw 100 kids (aged 12-13 years) take to the field, running in their club teams and working together to try and secure the $10,000 prize which will support the health and wellbeing of their junior club rugby players and community.
Rob Hennin, nib New Zealand chief executive officer, said community sports play a critical role in encouraging an active lifestyle, so helping up-and-coming Kiwi rugby players was a natural fit for the business.
"Many local and major sporting activities were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic so we wanted to do something special to support the health and wellbeing of our junior rugby players," Hennin said.
"Congratulations to Pakuranga United Rugby Club and to all the teams who ran a great race. We look forward to seeing how the funding is put to good use in our local sporting community."
Pakuranga United Rugby Club operations manager Amanda Dyason said the relay race provided a great opportunity for junior players to work together and encouraged healthy competition among the community.
"The team had an amazing night and it was a real honour to take home the generous prize of $10,000. Our club has grown organically around a male-dominated environment but we're committed to offering a more inclusive rugby programme to our community," Dyason said.
"This funding is going to enable us to upgrade our facilities from male only to multi-gender so we're very grateful for that."
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald added, "As a code more broadly, we're also working towards being more inclusive. Having hosted our first women's match between the Blues and Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday (May 1), we're very pleased to have been able to partner with nib for this initiative and help Pakuranga United upgrade their facilities."
The 10 finalist clubs were:
· Hikurangi Rugby Club (Northland)
· Kumeu Rugby Club
· Northcote/Birkenhead
· Old Boys Marist (Northland)
· Otahuhu Rugby Club
· Pakuranga Rugby Club
· Papatoetoe Rugby Club
· Suburbs Rugby Club
· Takapuna Rugby Club
· Waitakere Rugby Club
Leon MacDonald
nib Little Legends
pakuranga united rugby club
Rob Hennin
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Prelude to Brown - 1881-1949: The Kansas Cases
Before Brown v. Board of Education became part of the national legal landscape, African American parents in Kansas had initiated eleven court challenges to segregated public schools. During a span of nearly seventy years from 1881 to 1949 the Kansas Supreme Court became the venue for the constitutional question of public schools and segregation.
Why did desegregation cases arise in Kansas? The free state heritage, central geographical location, and makeup of its population positioned Kansas to play a central role in the major questions of educational freedom and equality. Kansas law at first had little to say on the subject of school segregation. In 1868, the law allowed, but did not require, separate schools. Some schools admitted children without discrimination and one of the first Superintendents of Public Instruction, Peter McVicar, vocally opposed segregated schools.
The increase in the African American population with the arrival of the "Exdosters" from the South in the 1870s, however, hardened attitudes in Kansas. Some schools began to separate children by race. In 1877, the Kansas legislature passed a statue specifically allowing first class cities (those with populations of 15,000 or more) to conduct separate elementary schools. This law remained in effect into the 1950s. With the exception of Wyandotte, high schools were not segregated in Kansas.
Read the 1876 law and the 1877 amendment.
View a scanned copy of the 1876 law. View a scanned copy of the 1877 law.


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FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
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NAPOLEON A BIOGRAPHY
A introduction of Napoleon a biography :
Napoleon Bonaparte was born at Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769.
Such a bald, even banal statement is necessary when we consider that
every aspect of the man's life has been turned into the stuff of legend. In
1919 Archbishop Whateley tried to push beyond legend into myth by
suggesting, tongue-in-cheek, in his Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon
Buonoparte, that Napoleon had never existed, that his was a proper name
falsely attributed to the French people collectively.
The psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, while accepting the reality of Napoleon's existence, argued that his significance was wholly collective and not individual: that he represented the resurgence from the depths of the French unconscious of the savage and irrational forces the Revolution had tried to suppress through the cult of Reason (Deesse Raison). Even those who accepted the importance of Napoleon the individual argued about his origins and his date of birth. Napoleon a biography
There has in some quarters been a curious reluctance to accept that he was a Corsican at all, even though born on the island. Some have asserted that he was descended from the Greeks, the Carthaginians or the Bretons. Others, remarking his 'Oriental complex' (of which more later), and noting that in the ninth century the Arab invaders of Europe reached Corsica, claim an Arab, Berber or Moorish strain in his provenance; hence (on this view) his excessive superstition, his belief in ghosts, Destiny and his own star, and his preference for Islam over Christianity. Napoleon a biography
The historian and critic Taine traced his descent to an Italian condottiere, while Disraeli, on the grounds that Corsica had once been peopled by African Semites, claimed Napoleon as a Jew (presumably, given Napoleon's later antipathy to the Jews, an anti-semitic one). Kings of England, the Comneni, the Paleologues, and even the Julian tribe have been pressed into service as Napoleon's forebears. The prize for the most absurd candidate as
Napoleonic ancestor must go to the Man in the Iron Mask and for the
most unlikely parents to the footman and goat girl, proposed by his most
scurrilous enemies. Napoleon a biography
BIOGRAPHYNAPOLEONNapoleon a biography
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Fascinating: "A Reluctant Bride (The Bride Ships Book #1)" by Jody Hedlund
about the book....
A New Life Awaits Her across the Horizon
Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins harbors little hope for a better life. So when she's offered the opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. The journey abroad is her only prospect to escape a bleak future--both for herself and to help her sister, who's suffering in a workhouse.
Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves everything behind and takes to the sea to escape the pain of losing his family. As the ship's surgeon, he's in charge of the passengers' welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be. He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.
With hundreds of single men congregating along the shore of Vancouver Island, eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph miss their chance at true love, or will they overcome the obstacles that thre…
Heartwarming: "The Highest of Hopes (Canadian Crossings Book #2)" by Susan Anne Mason
A great start to the Three Sisters Island Series: "On a Summer Tide" by Suzanne Woods Fisher
A beautiful allegorical tale: "Flight of the Raven" by Morgan L. Busse
Kept me Hooked from Beginning to End: "Outbreak" by Davis Bunn
Wonderfully Entertaining: "When You Are Near" by Tracie Peterson
A solid start to the series: "The Tinderbox" by Beverly Lewis
A Valuable Resource: "The Maxwell Leadership Bible"
Solid suspense: "Justice Delivered" by Patricia Bradley
Gripping: "Border Son" by Samuel Parker
Infused with fascinating historical detail: "Far Side of the Sea" by Kate Breslin
Fascinating: "A Reluctant Bride (The Bride Ships B...
Heartwarming: "The Highest of Hopes (Canadian Cros...


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The ever-growing settlements
Last week, James Zogby, the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), published a post entitled "The Politics of Palestine." It's the usual lament about the endless oppression inflicted upon Palestinians by Israel (and its US supporters), and of course, there is the inevitable reference to the "ever-growing settlements" that make the Palestinians feel "increasingly squeezed."
The fact that Zogby can rightly assume that even people who have only the foggiest idea about the Middle East will think that these "ever-growing settlements" are a major obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict illustrates perfectly how divorced from reality much of the commentary and debate on this subject really are.
As Zogby knows full well, the "ever-growing settlements" haven't grown for many years.
Veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat acknowledged as much publicly when he stated in an interview last November that "despite Israel's continual policy of 'occupation and settlement building,' an aerial photograph provided by European sources shows that settlements have been built on approximately 1.1% of the West Bank."
Even before, this was no secret – though there were definitely attempts to conceal this fact: a news report from mid-2010 was featured in Ha'aretz with a headline announcing that "Israeli settlements control 42 percent of West Bank;" the subheader highlighted the claim that "21 per cent of the settlements' built up areas lie on private Palestinian land," but the report itself finally acknowledged that "the settlements' built-up area is just one per cent of the territory."
Years earlier, a report published in January 2003 documented that settlement watchdog groups like Peace Now and B'tselem estimated that the settlements were taking up between 1.4-1.7 percent of the West Bank. The report also pointed out that
"since their establishment nearly three decades ago, settlements have been the cause celebre of critics seeking to attribute the persistence of the conflict to Israeli policy. The criticism falls into two categories: moral/political arguments that settlements are 'obstacles to peace,' and legal claims that settlements are illegitimate or a violation of international norms. The pervasiveness of these claims masks the fact that, upon closer scrutiny, they are false, and they hide the true source of grievances and ideological fervor that fuel this conflict."
When Saeb Erekat acknowledged last fall that just 1.1 percent of the pre-1967 West Bank territory had been gobbled up in some forty years of relentless Israeli settlement expansion, Evelyn Gordon asked at Commentary's Contentions blog: "So if settlements cover only 1.1 percent of the West Bank, why does the entire West deem them the main obstacle to peace?" Answering her own question, she argued:
"Because admitting that settlements aren't the main obstacle to peace would force it [i.e. the West] to confront an unpalatable truth: that the real obstacle to peace is Palestinian unwillingness to accept a Jewish state in any borders.
It's not that evidence of this has ever been lacking. In July, for instance, a poll found that 66 percent of Palestinians view the two-state solution as a mere stepping-stone to Israel's eradication. Last month, a whopping 89.8 percent of Palestinian respondents in another poll said they opposed waiving the "right of return" – their demand to eradicate the Jewish state demographically by flooding it with five million descendants of refugees – "even if [that means] no peace deal would be concluded."
Similarly revealing is the fact that in the very same interview in which Erekat admitted that the settlements take up just 1.1 percent of the West Bank, he also acknowledged "that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had offered a final peace settlement that would include territorial concession equivalent to the entire West Bank, the return of thousands of Palestinian refugees into the West Bank,* and the division of Jerusalem." Yet, Palestinian President Abbas explained in an interview with the Washington Post in May 2009 that he had not accepted Olmert's proposals because the "gaps were wide."
In this context it is also noteworthy that at the outset of the negotiations, Abbas had explicitly stated that the Palestinians were open to adjustments of the 1967 lines as long as they would end up with an equivalent of the "6,205 square kilometers" of territory that made up the Jordanian-ruled West Bank and the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip before the Six-Day-War in 1967. But when Olmert presented an offer that fulfilled these demands, Abbas still felt justified to claim that the "gaps were wide."
Needless to say, none of this prevented the Palestinians and their supporters to continue repeating the popular mantra about the devastating impact of the "ever-growing settlements." But anybody really interested in peace would have to address the problems of the ever-growing Palestinian "refugee" population consisting of millions of Palestinians who nurture the fantasy that they can claim a "right of return" to the places their grandparents left when the Arab states failed in their attempt to undo Israel's establishment in 1948.
[*Note: since the return of Palestinian refugees to the West Bank would be something decided by the Palestinians, Erekat presumably meant Olmert's offer to accept some Palestinian refugees into Israel]
At The Atlantic, Zvika Krieger has been debating with Robert Wright whether a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still possible. Krieger, who argues against Wright's contention that it is "too late" because of the settlements, has outlined some of the long-known options for a border, and he has also provided an interesting post with some less well-known information about various plans and initiatives to deal with the challenges involved in moving up to 100 000 settlers out of the territories that would become part of a Palestinian state. Both of Krieger's posts include a number of informative links; of particular interest is perhaps the website of the organization Blue White Future, which tries to work for creating conditions conducive to a two-state solution even in the absence of negotiations.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Israel, Palestinian, peace, refugees, settlements. Bookmark the permalink.
8 responses to "The ever-growing settlements"
Nathan West | April 11, 2012 at 00:04 | Reply
See this article, from today's The Times of Israel. According to the article:
The former senior state legal official who prepared a landmark report for prime minister Ariel Sharon on unauthorized building in the West Bank has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of destroying Israel's democratic and Jewish future by undertaking massive and indiscriminate settlement expansion designed to prevent Palestinian statehood.
(Emphasis added).
My view is that your country likes to beat itself up. There is not going to be a settlement of the dispute so worrying about a people moving here or there is all nonsense.
Warped Mirror PMB | April 11, 2012 at 01:58 | Reply
I wanted to add a link to this piece in an update, but will perhaps wait for the full interview they promise to publish. I actually share many of Sasson's concerns about the implications of the settlements for Israel insofar as they strenghten 1staters on the right & left – but that's a big topic which I hope to be able to address in a longer post sometime soon. However, IMO, there are real problems with the ideological settlers for whom the claim to the historic land of Israel is more important than Israel as a Jewish & democratic state.
The building Sasson refers to has been taking place within existing settlements, as you can also see from this sentence:
"She drew particular attention to the government's readiness to establish a new settlement in place of Migron — "a regression" that would constitute the first officially authorized settlement since the start of the 1990s."
"The building Sasson refers to has been taking place within existing settlements"
Point well taken.
My own experience with settlements is riding along the Jordan River. There I saw small towns dotting the landscape – or, actually, more like a moonscape or, if you ever travel in the US, like the Badlands of South Dakota – that the setters have enhanced with modern agriculture that seems both remarkable for the ability to grow things on dead land and out of place in that environment. Then again, much of Israel seems remarkable for the ability to turn dead land into something remarkable.
The Palestinian towns along the Jordan were less well developed, using roof buckets for catching water. That, I understand, is traditional and is used in Jordan, not just on lands on which Palestinians live. Be that as it may, the Palestinians did not seem, from what I saw, to have done much to develop the land on either side of the Jordan. There were a few places here and there in Jordan which seemed, from what I could see, to employ some of the techniques used by your country.
What I thought most bizarre was Jericho, which is an isolated, albeit famous, city. I understand it has a refugee camp. But, there is nothing near the town for miles, other than dead land. So, there seemed to be no obvious reason for the refugee camp, as the land immediately surrounding the built up area there seems all rather unclaimed and, like everywhere else except where an actual effort to improve the environs, worthless – absent, in any event, someone following the path of your country's industrious farmers. Is there a legal restriction imposed by the Israelis on just building on the empty land along the outskirts of places like Jericho. If not, I can tell you that those I was with had the reaction that the Palestinians are full of you know what, at least in that region.
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New Class Traitor | July 30, 2014 at 16:33 | Reply
Reblogged this on Spin, strangeness, and charm and commented:
Petra Marquardt-Bigman explains that, contrary to popular belief, the built-up are of "the settlements" in the West Bank is only 1.4-1.7 % of the total (according to leftist sources, no less!), and that even a minimal land swap could take care of the problem. But… that would force the "Palestinians" to do something they are not prepared to do — give up the dream of destroying Israel by violence or by demographics.
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