This is the second in a series of reviews of debugging books.
If you've been debugging for a while, you may start to notice there are patterns to successfully solving problems. Explaining those patterns can be difficult, which is why debugging is a great skill to learn through mentoring. But how do you know know what tool to use and when to use it? What is a good strategy for dealing with that latest bug report? How do you even tackle a problem in the first place?
Let me get the quibbles out of the way first. Agans comes across as the lovable, geeky uncle whose jokes don't land because he tries to be both formal and folksy. And two words: Comic Sans. There's no better way to make a diagram undermine a good point.
The advice he provides, however, is fantastic. It's unlikely there's better book on debugging in my reading queue. What's wonderful about Agans' book is its applicability, terseness, and relatability. If you've worked through some tough problems, the advice will be familiar. If you haven't, then you'll surely learn something. The use of "war stories" grounds the advice and gets the point across. It's the great strength of the book, alternating between the abstract and the concrete. Even better, it's not too specific. The text does not drag by trying to illustrate tool usage. The book's war stories may discuss dated technologies—that were dated when the book published—but it doesn't matter because they are not the central characters: it's the journey from problem to solution. Debugging without these rules would be like trying to make a movie without a script.
Notably, the rules do not prescribe any particular process. Instead, they aim for principles of thought. The rules, in an odd way, undermine the book in that, once you read them, you may not feel the need to read the book at all. They just feel intuitively correct.
The authors behind The Developer's Guide to Debugging expand on Agans' rules and try to put some formalism behind it. Grötker et al. give a general sounding title but aim squarely at C/C++ developers. For their target audience, they succeed admirably. The advice is solid. And they don't pollute the prose with full code listings, saving those for appendices. The discussion doesn't even require that you read the code listings to understand what is going on; I'm fairly certain the code was included out of a sense of completeness.
Of paramount importance to the authors is a structured approach to debugging. They attack this by looking at the data flow of C/C++ development. This gives you the locations (in time and space) to consider. After that, they take an expanded version of Agans' rules—The 13 Golden Rules of Debugging—and say how to find issues at these locations. An ordering on the rules gives it more formality, although I didn't find the ordering to be strictly necessary; it's really a partial order. The extra rules are to emphasize elements of software development and while practical, are not a necessity in the act of debugging.
A gratifying aspect of The Developer's Guide to Debugging is its treatment of tools. Instead of using them to illustrate the point, they emphasize that to actually act on the golden rules you must have a good set of tools, and know how to use them. Furthermore, those tools must have certain capabilities. The majority of the book is spent looking at different classes of problems and what tools for those classes should be able to accomplish. Inevitably there are examples of specific tools but those are kept mercifully short. Having worked with a fair bit of C/C++ over the years, I found the techniques and pitfalls they describe worth reading.
Grötker et al. do a good job of taking the rules of Agans and tailoring them for a particular domain. It almost feels like a procedure, but a loosely structured one. If you're interested in splitting semantic hairs, I'd call it more of a method than a procedure. I'm not convinced Grötker et al. hit the mark on providing the structured process they talk about, but they come pretty close.
What both books do, spearheaded by Agans' rules, is capture the essence of problem solving. After all, what is debugging if not problem solving? You are given a situation in which something does not do what it's supposed to do and your job is to make it do the right thing. This is the intuition that Debugging and the "Guide" are working from. The rules are there to give you perspective and make you ask questions, to make you think carefully about what it is you are trying to do. Tools are necessary to get at the details, but the most important tool is that of your intellect, experience, and a decent set of heuristics.
Debugging by Thinking goes for that angle, with considerably more ambition. Metzger's approach is to provide methods of debugging from six different personas: a detective, a mathematician, a safety expert, a psychologist, a computer scientist, and an engineer. It is a daunting tome of over 550 pages, and significant departure from the concision of the other two books.
Each persona gets a detailed description of the methods used to find bugs. These methods are based on the worldview of their corresponding fields. The detective and mathematician personas get considerably more attention than the other four, with nearly 70% of the text devoted to them. There are two (large) chapters with case studies that demonstrate how to apply some of the methods and are largely unnecessary, unless you find reading 20+ page C++ programs and terminal output enjoyable.
Describing Debugging by Thinking is difficult because it touches on so many topics. Metzger is not satisfied with the lack of rigour set forth in other approaches and aims to provide an explicit methodology for debugging. He characterizes his methodologies as cognitive (thought-based) instead of constructive (example-based). I didn't find this compelling. The way he describes "debugging by thinking" makes it sound as if other debugging approaches don't advocate thought. I have not found constructive approaches present themselves that way, even unintentionally. What they tend to lack is a good set of questions you should be asking, or a generalization of what actions are presented. That doesn't imply they are mechanistic or without reflection. Typically they assume the reader has already done some thinking and needs help with the details. That is, the developer has already asked some useful questions but doesn't know how to deal with a particular situation or setup.
Thankfully most of the book doesn't dwell on this premise and mostly sticks to the task at hand: coming up with methods for debugging. The amount of material covered is extensive, with particular attention to literature review. There is a lot of space devoted to describing the background of the persona's discipline, usually with an overview of pertinent studies to provide both perspective and evidence. The references and recommendations are incredibly thorough and worth exploring. The discussion on the psychology of errors is of particular interest.
The problem is that it never coalesces into something coherent. There are a few reasons for this, which is unfortunate because there are many good points raised. One reason it doesn't gel is that the book emphasizes structure and factual presentation over summary. In order for a methodology to be effective, it must be presented clearly. The irony of this text is that the methodologies are left for the reader to discern. In fact, "methodology" is never really defined. The best way I found to get an overview of the methods was to read the (extensive!) table of contents.
When looking at the contents to get the gist of the methods, you can see the rules of Agans and Grötker et al. peeking through. A summary of that nature is not presented in the book. Instead, it's a long collection of subsections. If you use the table of contents to look at the three chapters devoted to detectives, for example, the methods make sense, but then, after reading the text, you have to wonder why it took so long to make the point. Is it really important to provide so much background (and citations!) on fictional characters in a technical text? Most people are familiar with the concept of a detective. Going on for forty pages makes you miss the forest for the trees.
This leads to the significant shortcoming of the book: the writing. Never have I read such stilted prose. I don't like calling out such things, but it can't be overlooked. It's the kind of writing that only a natural language processor could love. It's so mechanical it's disorienting. There are long stretches where you can practically see the template at work. The repetition is stultifying. And if the repetition doesn't get you, the pedantry will. Lists enumerating all possibilities are written out in mind-numbing detail where a simple sentence would do. Or worse, it's not even a list and the options are written out in full sentences, with each sentence having the exact same structure. The blandness and verbosity of the writing overshadows the point of the book.
Debugging by Thinking partially succeeds in providing a deeper understanding of bugs and how to fix them, but there's a lot of work for the reader.
The title of this book is a travesty, in my opinion. It should really just be called "Debugging." That subtitle is sensationalist. I blame the publisher.
The rules are available as a poster on the book's website, debuggingrules.com. The design of the poster, however, is best described as "kitsch".
The detectives profiled are Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Professor Solomon. You're probably only familiar with one of them. I had no idea who Professor Solomon was and strangely enough, the book doesn't tell you.


This book offers the first comprehensive and critical literature review of fuzzy pairwise comparison methods derived from methods originally developed for crisp pairwise comparison matrices. It proposes new fuzzy extensions of these methods and provides a detailed study of the differences and analogies between all the reviewed methods, as well as a detailed description of their drawbacks, with the help of many numerical examples. In order to prevent the drawbacks related to the reviewed fuzzy pairwise comparison methods, the book introduces constrained fuzzy arithmetic in fuzzy extension of the pairwise comparison methods. It proposes new fuzzy pairwise comparison methods based on constrained fuzzy arithmetic and critically compares them with the reviewed methods. It describes the application of the newly developed methods to incomplete large-dimensional pairwise comparison matrices showcased in a real-life case study. Written for researchers, graduate and PhD students interested in multi-criteria decision making methods based on both crisp and fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices, this self-contained book offers an overview of cutting-edge research and all necessary information to understand the described tools and use them in real-world applications.


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text:
Dag: 9 oktober 2020
Four injuries in IOF quelling of Kafr Qaddum march
On: 9 oktober 2020 By: KhamakarPress
QALQILYA, (PIC) – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled on Friday the weekly anti-settlement march of Kafr Qaddum demanding the reopening of the village's main street, which has been closed for more than 17 years.
Murad Shteiwi, the Coordinator of the Popular Resistance in Kafr Qaddum, said that IOF soldiers attacked the participants in the march. Four Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets and dozens were treated for suffocation. They were treated in the field.
Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians suffered breathing problems after IOF soldiers attacked the tree-planting march east of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, on Friday morning.
Eyewitnesses reported that IOF fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas and sound bombs at the participants in the event. Dozens of civilians suffered breathing difficulty and a number of them were taken to hospitals.
The National Forces Committee in Nablus in cooperation with the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission called for participating in marches to plant trees in lands threatened with confiscation by the Israeli occupation, east of Beit Dajan. Dozens of Palestinian citizens had responded to these calls since the morning hours.
West Bank: 14 detainees at dawn Thursday
The occupation army has arrested at least 14 citizens, in raids on several areas in Jerusalem and the West Bank, including boys.
The Al-Asir Club said that the occupation forces arrested five citizens from Al-Arroub camp and the town of Al-Dhahiriya in Hebron, all of them former prisoners, and they are: the boy Muhammad Nasser Al-Badawi (17 years), Ibrahim Yusef Jawabra, Hamza Amjad Al-Titi (21 years), and the wounded boy Mahmoud Youssef Madi ( 17 years old) and he is the brother of the martyr Omar Madi and the brother of the captive Khader Madi, while the arrest of a citizen from the town of Dhahiriya, Rasmi Shafiq Al-Qaysiya (42 years), was arrested.
It is noteworthy that the wounded, Mahmoud Madi, suffers from previous head injuries caused by bullets of the occupation forces, and this is the fourth arrest he has been subjected to since he was a child, knowing that most of his family members were arrested.
From Jerusalem, the occupation arrested: Muhammad Abu al-Hawa, Mustafa Abu al-Hawa, Khalil Abu al-Hawa, and Dawud Abu al-Hawa, all of them from the town of al-Tur, and from al-Issawiya Ali Muhammad Ubaid, and the morning the occupation arrested the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Arafat Najib and Khalil Tarhouni, and Tarhouni was released later.
And local sources reported to "Al-Quds" that the youth, Saleh Abdel-Raouf Nazzal (36 years), was arrested at the eastern entrance to Qalqilya on Tuesday evening, and Walid Abdel-Jalil Ahmed's aggression from Kafr Qalil, south of Nablus.
And the town of Tamoun, south of Tubas, witnessed clashes with the occupation soldiers after storming
The house of Ahmed Abu Shamma, searched and confiscated mobile devices, which led to the injury of one of the youths.
One-year-old Palestinian toddler injured by Israel settlers
Israeli settlers in the West Bank, 31 August 2010
Israeli settlers injured a one-year-old Palestinian toddler after throwing stones at a car he was in on a West Bank road, reported Wafa news agency.
Illegal settlers from the Neve Daniel settlement to the west of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem threw stones at Palestinian cars driving on a highway between Bethlehem and Hebron in the south of the occupied West Bank.
According to local witnesses, Mahmoud Iyad Banat, was injured in the head after Israeli settlers hurled stones and smashed a window of a car he was in.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
In July, Israel's Settlement Council in the occupied West Bank announced the development of 164 new housing units in the Neve Daniel settlement.
The Director of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission, Hassan Breijah, said it is at the expense of land belonging to the Palestinians and that the Israeli occupation authorities will appropriate dozens of acres of agricultural land to build the new settlement project.
EU denies intent to cut aid to Palestinian Authorities
Spokesman of the European Union (EU) in Palestine, Shadi Othman, 22 January 2020
The European Union (EU) yesterday said it had no intention to cut its financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"The EU will continue to support the PA to enable it to perform its role in the Palestinian territories and fulfill its duties to the Palestinian people," the EU's communication officer in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, told reporters, explaining that Europe was the "largest international financial supporter to the Palestinian people."
Othman added that the EU was encouraging the PA "to take the tax revenues from Israel." "This is a Palestinian right, but this has nothing to do with the financial support that the union provides for the Palestinians," he stressed.
Israel's Walla news site recently reported that the EU had warned it would cut its aid to the Palestinians if the PA continued to refuse "tax revenues clearance through Israel."
READ: Despite ambiguity in international law, Palestinians are winning the 'legitimacy war'
PCHR: Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Summary for October 1-7, 2020
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to commit crimes and multi-faceted violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians. This week, IOF killed a civilian in Tulkarem, under the pretext of throwing Molotov Cocktails. Furthermore, IOF attacks rendered 18 Palestinian civilians wounded in excessive use of force, including 2 children, in the West Bank. In addition, settlers' attacks and confiscation of Palestinians' properties continued, under the pretext of working without permits.
This week, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) documented 197 violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) by IOF and settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt). It should be noted that the limitations due to the corona virus pandemic, has limited PCHR's fieldworkers mobility and ability to conduct field documentation; therefore, the information contained in this report are only part of the continued IOF violations.
IOF shooting and violation of right to life and bodily integrity: on 05 October 2020, IOF killed Sameer Ahmed 'Abed al-Jaleel Hamidy (24), from Beit Lid village in eastern Tulkarem, near 'Annab military checkpoint in Tulkarem, and kept his corpse in custody. IOF claimed that they targeted a group of civilians who threw Molotov cocktails at them. Although there were no eyewitnesses present at the time of the incident to confirm or deny the Israeli account; IOF could have used less lethal force especially that the Israeli military sites are fortified, and there was no serious threat or danger even if the sites were targeted with Molotov cocktails.
Furthermore, 18 civilians, including 2 children, wounded in IOF excessive use of force in the West Bank; 15 were wounded in IOF suppression of two peaceful protests in Kufur Qaddoum in Qalqilia; 2 others in Nablus and Jenin; and a child sustained serious wounds in occupied East Jerusalem.
In the Gaza Strip, 4 IOF shootings were reported at agricultural lands and 4 others at fishing boats eastern and western Gaza Strip.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians: IOF carried out 112 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, enticing fear among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week's incursions, 102 Palestinians were arrested, including 15 children.
In Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2 incursions into eastern Bureij refugee camp and eastern Khan Younis; during which, Israeli drone sprayed agricultural lands in border area with pesticides, east of Khan Younis, and arrested a child who sneaked into Israel and released him later.
Demolitions: PCHR documented one violation in Nablus, where IOF stopped working in an agricultural land and confiscated a bulldozer.
Settler-attacks: PCHR fieldworkers documented 2 attacks: 12 olive trees cut and 50 others burned in Salfit.
Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement: IOF declared closing the West Bank and Gaza Strip crossings on Friday, 02 October 2020, and Saturday, 03 October 2020, due to Jewish holiday of "Sukkot."
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said that West Bank crossings will be closed during the above-mentioned days, except for the following crossings: Barta'a checkpoint, Nabi Ilyas checkpoint for residents in seam points, and Ni'lin checkpoint, which will be opened and operated as usual on Fridays. The Coordinator added that only humanitarian and life-saving cases will be allowed to travel through Beit Hanou "Erez" crossing, while Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shaloum) will be closed.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip still suffers the worst closure in the history of the Israeli occupation of the oPt as it has entered the 14th consecutive year, without any improvement to the movement of persons and goods, humanitarian conditions and bearing catastrophic consequences on all aspects of life.
Meanwhile, IOF continued to divide the West Bank into separate cantons with key roads blocked by the Israeli occupation since the Second Intifada and with temporary and permanent checkpoints, where civilian movement is restricted, and they are subject to arrest.
I. IOF Shooting and other Violations of the Right to Life and Bodily Integrity:
At approximately 11:00 on Thursday, 01 October 2020, IOF moved into Qatanna village, northwest of the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched Saleem Mahmoud Shamasna's (50) house, arrested him and confiscated his vehicle. Meanwhile, dozens of young men gathered near Shamasna's house and threw stones at Israeli soldiers who responded by firing rubber bullets and teargas canisters at the stone-throwers and chased them. Resulted in a number of civilians in the area suffered teargas inhalation. It should be noted that Shamasna served almost about 7 years in the Israeli prisons in separate periods; in the last of which he spent 18 months in administrative detention.
At approximately 15:30, IOF stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Younis, opened fire at agricultural lands east of Khuza'a village, adjacent to the above-mentioned border fence. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 22:00, IOF moved into Sebastia village, northwest of Nablus, north of the West Bank, and stationed in al-Athar area, west of the city. Dozens of young men gathered and threw stones at Israeli soldiers who responded with live bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters. As a result, Adham Anwar al-Sha'er (29), from Barqa village, was shot and injured with a live bullet in his left eye while sitting with 3 of his friends in a restaurant, 30 meters away from the soldiers. Adham was taken to Rafidia Governmental Hospital for treatment and then he was transferred to al-Najah Hospital, where he underwent a surgery to remove his eye. It should be noted that Adham was shot while he was playing cards with his friends and he was not participating in the events, so there was no justification or reason to shoot him.
"At approximately 22:00 on Thursday, 01 October 2020, while I was sitting in Sebastia Caffe in al-Athar area, west of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus, and playing cards with 3 of my friends. I saw about 30 Israeli soldiers stationed 30 meters away from the caffe's garden, but we did not care because we are accustomed to such incursions. Meanwhile, dozens of young men gathered and threw stones at Israeli soldiers who responded with rubber bullets and teargas canisters. During the clashes, my friends and I entered the caffe and continued our game. As soon as we stood up, an Israeli soldier targeted me with a live bullet in my left eye. After 2 minutes I lost my consciousness and woke up in the ambulance. I was taken to Rafidia Governmental Hospital where they told me that I lost my left eye. Lately, my family informed me that I was transferred to al-Najah Hospital in Nablus, and at approximately 10:00, on the next day I underwent a 3-hours surgery at al-Najah Hospital, and my left eye was removed. Later, I will have cosmetic operations in the removed eye".
-Adham Anwar al-Sha'er to PCHR's fieldworker
At approximately 02:30 on Friday, 02 October 2020, Israeli gunboats stationed west of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within the allowed fishing area and opened fire at them, causing fear and panic among the Palestinian fishermen forcing them to flee. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 07:00, IOF stationed near the annexation wall, adjacent to Faroun village, south of Tulkarem, banned the entry of the Palestinian workers into Israel through one of the holes in the annexation wall, even if they had permits. Meanwhile, verbal altercation erupted between the workers and the Israeli soldiers; during which, the soldiers attacked the workers. As a result, Ra'fat Ghaleb Mansour (32), from Kafr Qalil, east of Nablus, sustained 2 fractures in his leg after an Israeli soldier severely pushed. Mansour was taken to Dr. Thabit Thabit Governmental Hospital in Tulkarem.
At approximately 12:30, IOF stationed at the northern entrance established on Kufur Qaddoum village lands, north of Qalqilia, suppressed a protest where dozens of Palestinian civilians participated. IOF chased the young men who gathered in the area. Meanwhile, IOF fired live bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. As a result, 13 civilians, including a child, were wounded. (PCHR keeps the names of the wounded civilians).
At approximately 17:10, IOF stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Younis, opened fire at agricultural lands east of Khuza'a, adjacent to the border fence with Israel. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 16:30 on Saturday, 03 October 2020, IOF stationed at the northern entrance established on Kufur Qaddoum village lands, north of Qalqilia, suppressed a protest where dozens of Palestinian civilians participated. IOF chased the young men who gathered in the area. Meanwhile, they fired live bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. As a result, two civilians were shot with live bullets; one in the lower limbs and the other in the waist.
At approximately 17:30, IOF stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Younis, opened fire at agricultural lands east of al-Fukhari village, adjacent to the border fence with Israel. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into al-'Isawiya village, northeast of the occupied East Jerusalem. They were deployed in the village neighborhoods, where they established a temporary military checkpoint at the western entrance and searched the Palestinian vehicles. Meanwhile, dozens of young men gathered and threw stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the Israeli soldiers. IOF immediately moved into ' Obaid neighborhood from the western entrance and fired rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at the demonstrators. The clashes continued for 2 hours. As a result, dozens of civilians suffered teargas inhalation. Also, Ahmed Haitham Mahmoud (19) and Lo'ay Ashraf Mahmoud (23) were arrested.
At approximately 21:00 on Sunday, 04 October 2020, IOF reinforced with several military vehicles moved into Hizma village, north of occupied East Jerusalem, stationed at the city entrance and patrolled the streets. Dozens of young men gathered and threw stones at the Israeli soldiers, who responded with live bullets and teargas canisters. As a result, Ameer Ghazi Salah al-Dein (16), was shot with a live bullet in his head and was taken with the PRC's ambulance to one of the Ramallah's hospitals. Medical sources described his health as critical due to a skull fracture. Lately, IOF withdrew from the village and no arrests were reported.
At approximately 03:30 on Monday, 05 October 2020, IOF moved into Jenin, north of the West Bank, and stationed in Jabal Abu Thuhair and Khillat al-Suha, southeast of the village. Dozens of young men gathered and throw stones at the Israeli soldiers who responded with live bullets and teargas canisters. As a result, an 18-years-old civilian, from Khillat al-Suha, was shot with a live bullet in his pelvis and he was taken to Dr. Khalil Suliman Hospital. Many civilians suffered teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot. Before their withdrawal, IOF raided and searched Ahmed Khairy Khalaf's (30) house and arrested him.
At approximately 11:45 on Monday, 05 October 2020, IOF stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Younis, opened fire at agricultural lands east of al-Qarara village, adjacent to the border fence with Israel. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 19:20, IOF stationed in a temporary military checkpoint established at the entrance of 'Inab settlement, east of Tulkarem, fired several live bullets near the checkpoint. Later, the Israeli authorities announced in a statement that they monitored 3 Palestinian civilians throwing Molotov Cocktails at a military site in the area, and that IOF opened fire at them, targeting one of them. Israeli media stated that the wounded civilian was killed after being shot with a live bullet in his chest, and IOF kept his body in custody while and the two other civilians flee. The killed civilian was identified as Sameer Ahmed Hamidi (24), from Beit Lid, east of Tulkarem. Hamidi was a member in the Student Union Council in al-Khadouri University, and he was a former prisoner in the Israeli prisons, and was released 2 years ago. PCHR's fieldworker said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officially informed Hamidi's family about the death of their son. Although there were no eyewitnesses present at the time of the incident to confirm or deny the Israeli account; IOF could have used less lethal force especially that the Israeli military sites are fortified, and there was no serious threat or danger even if the sites were targeted with Molotov cocktails.
At approximately 20:00, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Sudaniya offshore, west of Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within (3-5 nautical miles) and opened fire at them causing fear and panic among the Palestinian fishermen forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 06:40 on Tuesday, 06 October 2020, IOF along the border fence, east of al-Maghazi refugee camp, opened fire at agricultural lands, adjacent to the above-mentioned border fence. No injuries were reported.
At approximately 09:20 on Tuesday, 06 October 2020, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Sudaniya offshore, west of Jabalia, and al-Waha, northwest of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 3 nautical miles and sporadically opened fire at them, causing fear and panic among the Palestinian fishermen forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 17:00 on Wednesday, 07 October 2020, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Sudaniya offshore, west of Jabalia, and al-Waha, northwest of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 3 nautical miles, opened heavy fire at them and fired sound bombs, causing fear and panic among the Palestinian fishermen forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.
II. Incursions and Arrests
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron. They raided and searched several houses, from which they arrested 4 civilians, including 2 children. The arrestees were identified as: Isma'il Sameer al-Fayoumi (17), 'Odai Hussni al-Najjar (9), Moatasem Wael 'Awadallah Zaydat (19), and Yazan Mahmoud al-Najjar (18).
Around the same time, IOF moved into al-Dhahiriya village in southern Hebron, where they raided and searched Ashraf Hussain Hasan Jabareen's (29) house and arrested him.
At approximately 01:10, IOF moved into Deir Abu Mash'al village, northwest of Ramallah. They raided and searched several houses, from which they detained 2 civilians, including a child. The arrestees were identified as Sa'd Ahmed Salem (19) and Mansour Ahmed Mostafa 'Ata (17).
At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Al-Tur neighborhood, east of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City. They raided and searched several houses, from which they arrested Ashraf Khaled al-Hadra (22) and Baker 'Emad al-Moghrabi (27) and withdrew later.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched 2 houses, from which they arrested Hamad Niam Ikhlayil (17) and Suliman Mohammed Abu Dayyiah (16), taking them to an unknown destination.
At approximately 02:10, IOF moved into Al-Mazra'a al-Sharqiya village in Ramallah. They raided and searched several houses, from which they detained Sameh Hussain Shikha (27), Ja'far Suliman Abu 'Aliyia (25) and Mohammed Jad Hussain Hifa (22).
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Hebron and stationed in al-Dahiyia area. They raided and searched Waheeb Hamdi Abu Hadeed's (26) house and arrested him.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Isawiya village, east of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City. They raided and searched dozens of houses, from which they arrested 16 civilians, including 5 children, and withdrew later. (PCHR keeps the names of the arrestees).
At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into Nablus, north of the West Bank. They raided and searched several houses and arrested 'Adnan Saier Abu Howila (19).
At approximately 04:25, IOF moved into Azzun village, east of Qalqilia. They raided and searched two houses belonging to 'Abed al-Shaheed Na'iem Zamari (21) and Sa'ied Ayoub Zamari (20) and arrested them.
At approximately 05:00, IOF moved into Tammun village, southeast of Tubas, north of the West Bank. They raided and searched several houses and arrested Mohammed Ghazi Mostafa Basharat (28).
At approximately 05:50, IOF moved into Sanur village, southeast of Jenin, north of the West Bank. They raided and searched several houses, from which they detained 2 siblings identified as Mohammed (22) and Saif (24) Yousef Farouq al-'Eisiyia.
At approximately 06:30, IOF backed by military vehicles moved 100 meters to the east of Khuzaʽa village, east of Khan Younis. They leveled and combed lands that were previously leveled amidst Israeli sporadic shooting. However, no casualties were reported.
At approximately 17:30, IOF moved into al-'Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched Mohammed 'Emad Dari's (19) house and arrested him.
At approximately 19:00, IOF moved into Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood, east of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched a house belonging to a former prisoner, Hanadi Mohammed al-Helwani (42) and arrested her, taking her to a police station in the city. Few hours later, al-Helwani was released after threatening her to re-arrest her if she would not stop inciting against Israeli authorities and police on social media.
At approximately 22:00, IOF stationed at Mavi Dotan checkpoint, southwest of Jenin, arrested Ahmed Salah Nazzal (24), from Qabatiya village, southeast of Jenin, north of the West Bank.
IOF carried out (5) incursions in 'Ein Yabrud village, north of Ramallah; Beit Dajan village, northeast of Nablus; Idhna village and Al-Arroub refugee camp; and Qalqilya. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Tur neighborhood, east of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City. They raided and searched a house belonging to a former prisoner, Moatasem Abu al-Hawa (27) and detained him.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Yatta village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched three houses belonging to Khaldoun 'Ayed Shreteh, Nazieh Mahmoud Shreteh and Mohammed Mahmoud Shreteh and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 03:10, IOF moved into Beitunia village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched Hasan Yousef Dawoud Darakhil's (65) house and arrested him.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Al-Bireh city, northwest of Ramallah. They raided and searched Nour Mohammed 'Abed al-'Aziz al-Qadi's (23) house and detained him.
At approximately 06:20, IOF backed by 8 military vehicles moved 50-100 meters to the west of the border fence, east of Bureij refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip. They leveled and combed lands and repaired the border barbed-wire fence. At approximately 09:30, IOF redeployed along the border fence.
At approximately 13:30, IOF arrested Nehad Bader Zaghir (43), a former prisoner, while he was in al-Qataneen area in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City and took him to a police station in the city. Few hours later, Zaghir was released.
At approximately 21:40, IOF detained Saif Nader Ibrahim (15) and Wadee' Qasem Shaheen (15) while they were near al-Anfaq military checkpoint, west of Beit Jala city, under the pretext of throwing a Molotov Cocktail at the checkpoint.
IOF carried out (7) incursions in Birzeit city, northwest of Ramallah; Zububa and Rummanah villages, west of Jenin; and Dur, Beit al-Rush, Tarrama and 'Oyoun Abu Saif villages in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Um al-Dalia area, south of Hebron. They raided and searched Sameeh Saleem Qafisha's (25) house and arrested him.
At approximately 13:00, IOF arrested al-Aqsa Mosque's guards Mohammed al-Shalalda and Ahmed al-Dalal while they were in their workplace in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, taking them to a police station in the city. The Islamic Endowment Department (Awqaf) stated that the Israeli police released the guards after interrogating them for several hours. The Islamic Endowment Department clarified that the police released the guards without any conditions. It added that the guards were arrested without any reasons. Al-Awqaf stated that IOF recently deported many guards and al-Awqaf employees from al-Aqsa Mosque; among them was Zeenat Abu Sobeih, Head of the Guards at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
IOF carried out (8) incursions in al-Bireh city, Al-Mazra'a al-Sharqiya and Abu_Shukheidim villages, north of Ramallah; Sebastia village, northwest of Nablus; Beit Kahil, Beit Ummar and ad-Dhahr villages in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 00:00, IOF moved into Silwad village, northwest of Ramallah. They raided and searched several houses, from which they detained Mohanad Sameer al-Tawil (20), Jum'a Hasan Hammad (19), Handala Sameer Hammad (22), Mohammed Moneer Hammad (21), Sarhan Akram Hammad (20), 'ADEL Maher Hammad (21), and Mo'min Haroun Hammad (20).
At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Beit Fajjar village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to 'Ali Yousef Taqatqah (20) and 'Adel Abu Ya'qoub Derieh (27) and arrested them. It should be noted that both of them were previously arrested by IOF.
At approximately 11:20, IOF who were patrolling at Yitzhar bypass road, southwest of Tell village, southwest of Nablus, arrested Kareem 'Abed al-Men'iem Ramadan (35) while picking olive trees, under the pretext of a lack of necessary permission and coordination.
At approximately 14:00, Israeli drone sprayed agricultural lands with pesticides along the border fence, starting from eastern al-Qarara village towards al-Faraheen area in Abasan_al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis. IOF claimed that they sprayed the agricultural lands to get rid of the weeds, and for security reasons. As a result, the Palestinian farmers' crops sustained damage.
At approximately 14:00, IOF detained Montaser 'Ali al-'Ajlouni (21), from Hebron's Old City, while passing on the closed Shuhada Street. He was taken to an investigation center in "Kiryat Arba" settlement", east of Hebron.
At approximately 17:00, IOF stationed at container military checkpoint, east of Bethlehem, arrested Tamer 'Azi al-Shawamrah (29), from Um al-Sharayet area, south of Ramallah, while passing through the checkpoint.
IOF carried out (5) incursions in Far'un village and Kafa area, south of Tulkarem; Sa'ir and as-Samu villages in Hebron; and Deir al-Ghusun village, north of Tulkarem. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Yatta, south of Hebron. They raided and searched 'Esam Fayiz Hoshieh's (55) house, locked his family members in one room, and arrested him along with his son Amjad (24) before their withdrawal.
At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Nablus, north of the West Bank, and stationed in al-Hafiryat area, east of the city. They raided and searched 'Izz al-Deen Jamal Dowikat's (21) house and detained him.
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Mohammed Fawzi 'Obaid (23) and Mohammed Marwan 'Obaid (20) and arrested them.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Hebron and stationed in Jabal Jouhar area. They raided and searched Ayman Riyad al-Ja'bari's (40) house and handed him a summons to refer to the Israeli Intelligence Service in "Gush Ezion" settlement, south of Bethlehem.
At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into Jenin, north of the West Bank, and stationed in Jabal Abu Dahir area. They raided and searched Ahmed Khairy Suliman Khalaf's (30) house and arrested him.
At approximately 03:50, IOF moved into Beitunia village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched Mohammed Qart's (21) house and arrested him. IOF also confiscated his motorcycle.
At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Jab' village, south of Jenin. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Ahmed Fayiz Hamdan Salatna (19) and 'Eid Mohammed 'Eid Hamamrah (20) and arrested them.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Beit Fajjar village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Mohammed 'Emad Thawabta (22) and 'Abed al-Raheem Subhi al-Kar (24) and arrested them.
At approximately 13:00, IOF moved into Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched several houses, from which they arrested 4 civilians, including 2 siblings and their uncle. The arrestees were identified as 'Abdullah Bader Abu 'Asab (19), Eyad Mostafa al-Asmar (37) and Mousa (19) and Mohammed (17) Hitham al-Asmar.
At approximately 15:30, IOF stationed at al-Jalma military checkpoint, north of Jenin, arrested Fadi Samer Zakarna (19), from Qabatiya village, southeast of Jenin.
At approximately 16:00, IOF moved into al-'Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Mohammed Ghadeb 'Obaid (31) and Moatasem Hamza 'Obaid (18) and arrested them.
At approximately 20:00, IOF arrested Waheeb Abu al-Humus (26) while he was in front of his house in al-'Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.
At approximately 22:30, IOF moved into Bab Hatta neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched Mohammed Hasheem's (19) house and arrested him.
IOF carried out (4) incursions in Dura city, Fawwar refugee camp, Beit Ummar village in Hebron; and Far'un and Beit Lid villages, south of Tulkarm. No arrests were reported. Also, IOF fired flare bombs during their incursions.
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Hebron, where they raided and searched 'Othman Mostafa al-Ja'bari's (39) house and handed him a summons to refer to the Israeli Intelligence Service in "Gush Ezion" settlement, south of Bethlehem.
At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Dura City, southwest of Hebron, and stationed in Qarwash area. They raided and searched Mohammed 'Amer Gazzaz's (23) house and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-'Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched houses, from which they detained 6 civilians, including a child, and took them to a police station in the city. The arrestees were identified as Mohammed Ibrahim 'Obaid (19), Tareq Mousa 'Obaid (20), Reda Mohammed 'Obaid (16), Majd Basheer Ahmed (22), Mohammed Thaier Mahmoud (20), and Mohammed Mahmoud Mahmoud (19).
Around the same time, IOF moved into Al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. They raided and searched Ahmed 'Emad al-Badawi's (22) house and arrested him.
Around the same time, IOF moved into al-Hejjra village, east of Dura city, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched Ghassan Ibrahim Masharqah's (33) house and detained him.
At approximately 02:50, IOF moved into Ramallah, where they raided and searched Sufian Bassam Meqdad's (23) house and arrested him.
At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into ad-Dhahiriya village, south of Hebron, and stationed Wadi al-Ghamari neighborhood. They raided and searched 'Ahed 'Ali al-'Aqabi's (39) house and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 17:30, IOF moved into occupied East Jerusalem's Old City. They raided and searched 'Abed al-Rahman Ayman al-Bashiti's (16) house and arrested him.
At approximately 20:30, IOF arrested Deputy of Fatah Movement Secretary, Yaser Hasan Darwish (39), while he was in Beit Hanina village, north of occupied East Jerusalem.
IOF carried out (4) incursions in Aqabat Jaber refugee camp; Tulkarm City; and Ash-Shuyukh and Sa'ir villages. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Beita village, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched Qassam 'Enad al-Jaghoub's (31) house and arrested him.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Aida Camp, north of Bethlehem. They raided and searched People's Committee Office after blowing up its doors. Head of People's Committee for Services, Sa'eed al-'Izzah, said that IOF deliberately damaged the office in addition to nearby houses within terror campaigns. He clarified that IOF damaged and blew up the People's Committee office doors before storming it. They also damaged a number of nearby houses. Al-'Izzah pointed out that the the People's Committee office belongs to the Refugee Affairs Department and works to serve the camp residents and provides humanitarian services for them.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Yatta city, south of Hebron. They raided and searched Husam Tayseer Rab'i's (31) house and detained him.
At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into al-Eizariya village, east of occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched 'Ali Baheej Bassa's (20) house and arrested him.
At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into al-Hashimia village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched Hassan Nayif Mohammed Jarar's (29) house and arrested him.
At approximately 02:45. IOF moved into Qusra village, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched several houses, from which they arrested Waleed Tawfiq Salama (22) and Ibrahim Yousef Darwih (24).
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Qabatiya village, southeast of Jenin, north of the West Bank. They raided and searched Mo'min Ahmed Mostafa Saba'nah's (28) house and arrested him.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Hebron, where they raided and searched Bashar 'Abed al-'Aleem Da'na's (37) house and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
At approximately 07:00, IOF raided al-Jamla school for boys, which is located in Wa'ret al-Erfan area in northern Jenin. IOF detained the teachers and the school guard's IDs. They then raided the headmaster room, opened the digital video recorder (DVR), copied all material from it.
At approximately 11:00, IOF arrested 'Emad Ahmed Jadallah (35), from Tarrama village, south of Dura City, southwest of Hebron, after he headed for investigation in the Israeli Intelligence Services (Shabak) in "Gush Etzion" settlement, south of Bethlehem. The Israeli Intelligence Services summoned Jadallah via a phone call, and he was taken to a detention center in the settlement.
At approximately 15:15, IOF stationed adjacent to Zikim military base along the coastal border fence of the northern Gaza Strip, arrested 'Izz al-Deen Sa'ieed Slman Abu Qeleeq (16), from the Bedouin village. Abu Qeleeq sneaked into the Israel via the border fence. Two hours later, IOF released him.
IOF carried out (4) incursions in Kufur Qaddoum village, east of Qalqilia; and Yatta, as-Samu and al-Sima villages in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
III. Settlement Expansion and Settler Violence in the West Bank
a. Demolition and Confiscation of Civilian Property
At approximately 12:00 on Monday, 05 October 2020, IOF moved into Furush Beit Dajan village, northeast of Nablus in Jordan's northern valleys, north of the West Bank. They headed towards a bulldozer that was excavating a water tank for irrigating crops in a plot of land belonging to Thabet Mohammed Redwan Thabet, from Beit Dajan village. IOF ordered the bulldozer's owner to halt working, checked the ID cards of him, the land's owner and his friend and questioned them for 2 hours. After that, IOF confiscated the bulldozer, which is owned by Harbi Abu Dahilah, from Jiftlik village in Jordan's northern valleys and took it to an unknown destination under the pretext of illegal construction in Area (C).
b. Israeli Settlers' Attacks
On Sunday, 04 October 2020, Othmaniya Mohammed Othman, from Kafr ad-Dik village, west of Salfit, learned that Israeli settlers attacked her land and cut olive trees with electric saw in Khaneq al-Kuhul area.
"on Sunday morning, my father went to his land like other farmers who did the same to harvest their olive trees. My mother inherited this land from my grandfather. My father noticed that the olive trees were cut recently as they went to the land on 29 September 2020, and there was no attack on the land. It should be noted that Israeli settlers attacked a land of our neighbor, Abed Suleiman Ali Ahmed."
– Mansour Nasser Mansour, 39, (son) to PCHR's fieldworker
At approximately 15:00 on Wednesday, 07 October 2020, Israeli settlers from " Leshem" settlement established on Palestinians' lands in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit, set fir on a land called "Ereq al-Tout", east of the village. As a result, 50 olive trees in a plot of land owned by Yusuf, Mustfa, and Eftaih Abdullah, from Deir Ballut village, were burnt.
Mark Ruffalo condemns Israel's "assymetrical warfare" against the Palestinians
"There is no reason that an ally of America should not be held to the same standards as any other nation", the Hollywood star said
The United States (QNN)- The well-known Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo condemned the Israeli "asymmetric warfare" against the Palestinians and slammed Israel's oppression and apartheid on the Mehdi Hasan Show on Wednesday night.
The star, known for playing the Hulk, said "there is no reason that an ally of America should not be held to the same standards as any other nation."about:blankFacebook URL
Ruffalo added that conversations with Palestinians and "hearing their stories" connected him to the issue.
"Watching this asymmetrical warfare being acted upon them, and violence being acted upon them, and who pays the price? The citizenry," Ruffalo said.
"What I see there is wrong," he added.
Ruffalo added that after announcing his support for the Palestinian cause, he "was called an anti-semite," which was "really tough" to hear."
"The fact that so many people will take it to that extreme, when you're talking about that kind of inequality, that kind of oppression, that kind of apartheid," he said.
Ruffalo also compared Israeli racism and apartheid system to the situation in the United States, saying "and here we are in America, and we're looking at the very same thing. I mean, this is kind of an apartheid system. There is two Americas. There is the BIPOC America and there is the white America and that's an injustice."
Ruffalo has previously criticized the occupation state. In 2014, he condemned the Israeli aggression on Gaza, tweeting news on the Israeli bombardment of Gaza's only rehabilitation hospital.
He is also known for advocating progressive leaders such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn in the US and UK.
Category: Politics, Quds News Network Tagged Terrorism Leave a comment/
Israeli settler burns hundreds of old olive trees in Ramallah
Israeli forces prevented locals from putting out the fire until it approached a near illegal settlement
Ramallah (QNN)- An Israeli settler has set hundreds of old fruitful olive trees on fire in the village of Safa in western Ramallah.
According to WAFA, the settler threw Molotov cocktails at olive farms in the West of As Safa, where hundreds of old olive trees exist, burning hundreds of olive trees.
The fire continued for three hours as Israeli forces prevented locals and landowners from saving their trees and putting out the fire.
Israeli forces used drones to put out the fire after it approached the illegal settlement of Oralnim, which was built on the village's land.
Olives are perhaps the most well-known and abundant Palestinian product, with trees lining valleys and terraced hillsides throughout the occupied West Bank. Farmers start harvesting olives at the start of October, however, settlers' attacks start targeting olive trees with the beginning of the harvesting season.
More than 7,000 Palestinian-owned trees were vandalized in 2018, according to the U.N. In the whole of 2017, it was less than 6,000, the year before only 1,600. Rights groups confirmed that Palestinian crops have long been vandalized by settlers without any serious effort by the Israeli authorities to stop it. Moreover, Israeli authorities provide protection and support for terrorist settlers.
Category: Quds News Network, Terrorism Tagged Terrorism Leave a comment/
1200 worshipers perform Friday prayer with social distancing at Al Aqsa mosque
Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- 1200 worshipers joined Friday prayer with social distancing at Al Aqsa mosque today, while Israeli authorities continued to prevent Palestinians from outside the Old City from performing prayers at the holy mosque, using Jewish holidays and COVID-19 restrictions as a justification.
For the third Friday in a row, Israeli forces continued to close the road to the Old City and closed Bab Al Amoud, preventing worshipers from praying at Al Aqsa mosque.
Israeli forces set dozens of new checkpoints and carried out random searches, preventing dozens of them from reaching the Al Aqsa mosque.
The Israeli restrictions forced dozens of worshipers to perform prayers at the closest area to the holy mosque.
Israeli forces imposed random fines on worshipers in the neighborhood of Al Misrarah after they insisted to perform prayers near Bab Al Amoud.
Israeli authorities prevent Palestinians from performing prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque, while on the other side, allowing dozens of settlers to celebrate holidays in the courtyards of Al Aqsa mosque and the streets of the occupied city.
Category: Politics, Quds News Network Tagged Health, Islam Leave a comment/
'Israel' arrests 3 Palestinians in Khan Yunis, Gaza
Gaza (QNN)- Israeli forces arrested three young Palestinians in eastern Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and opened fire at agricultural lands in eastern Gaza on Friday.
Local sources said Israeli forces, stationed behind the separation fence, arrested three Palestinians who were close to the fence.
They added that Israeli forces opened fire at agricultural lands in eastern Khan Yunis, forcing farmers to leave their lands.
Israeli forces also used live rounds against locals in the Zaitoun neighborhood, who were harvesting olives from their farms, located close to the separation fence.
Israeli forces deliberately open fire and commit different crimes against Gaza's farmers on a daily basis.
Palestine urges international organizations to halt Israel's plan to demolish a school near Ramallah
Days of Palestine – Ramallah – The Office of the Prime Minister called Thursday upon the international and human rights organizations and friendly countries to intervene to thwart an Israeli plan to demolish Ras al-Teen school, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The call came in the aftermath of an Israeli court's verdict issued today which ordered the demolition of Ras al-Teen School east of Ramallah city, under the pretext that it was built without the necessary construction permit. The court also rejected an appeal against its imminent demolition.
Read More: Israeli Occupation Forces demolish a home near Ramallah
About 50 Palestinian children are enrolled in the school, which is run by the Palestinian Education Ministry. The school is located in a part of the occupied West Bank classified as Area C which accounts for around 60% of the West Bank area and remains under full Israeli control.
"Demolishing the school is tantamount to targeting the efforts of donor countries in building Palestinian institutions and providing infrastructure to serve the Palestinian community," said the Prime Minister's Office.
Read More: Kuwaiti organizations call on parliament to criminalize normalization with Israel
Israeli occupation forces have already confiscated building material from the said school over the past two months. A demolition order was issued during the construction phase. A petition was later submitted to appeal the demolition order and an interim order was issued preventing the demolition until October 7, 2020.
Category: Days of Palestine, Politics Tagged Palestine Leave a comment/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Ubuntu Forums > The Ubuntu Forum Community > Ubuntu Community Discussions > The Cafe > Music industry giants, afraid of internet streamed video coverage of court case!
View Full Version : Music industry giants, afraid of internet streamed video coverage of court case!
Here is an interesting situation, where the record companies are doing what they can to stop a Judge allowing the court case from being filmed & streamed over the internet, as the defendants council has requested.
It would seem that the last thing the record companies want, is for people to see how they handle themselves in court. They are scared of bad press, which is pretty funny when the main reason they prosecute file sharers is to scare file sharer's so they will stop!


Ninety years later, it's still easy to see why Douglas Fairbanks' adventure films made the money they did. Fairbanks was the lighthearted trickster onscreen; a man who dispatched all manner of threats with total confidence; won the pretty girl with a combination of charm and skill, and did it in exotic places.
For the factory worker, the desk jockey or the housewife, this was escapism; and a safe investment, too. Fairbanks' 'big' productions, like The Mark of Zorro (1920), Robin Hood (1922), and The Black Pirate (1926), were all of one type: reliable mixes of drama, action, romance and laughs that you could count upon to entertain you when handing over your cash.
This makes them predictable, but not necessarily good. I've often found Fairbanks' work hokey and formulaic; his stock character, while charmingly upbeat, is so many steps ahead of his enemies that he rarely seems imperiled. No peril, no drama. Joie de vivre gives way to mere silliness, and I begin to feel overtaxed, since his films aren't particularly short, either.
Don Q, Son of Zorro has these same flaws, but I liked it alright. Maybe because it maintains a balance some of the others don't—allowing a talented supporting cast to carry more of the relevant screen time. Or maybe because it feels more… brisk? Sure. Don Q is brisk, and Fairbanks' eponymous character moves through it briskly. How Don Q moves is, I think, the thing I want focus on most.
I'd like to see the ratio of Don Q scenes that conclude with Fairbanks still in them to those from which Fairbanks is seen to exit. And of the latter, a second ratio: exits stage-left and -right versus exits straight up. The vertical always seems to be an option for Don Q—always there's a ledge or a haycart or something like that upon which he can leap to escape danger, cut down his commute, or conclude a conversation. That's how the Son of Zorro bids goodbye to Dorlores de Muro (Mary Astor), the lovely noblewoman he meets on his Spanish tour.
This is not his attempt to impress her; it's simply who and what he is. For Don Q, the world is full of multi-directional pathways: the type you and I can imagine, perhaps, but lack the wit and athletic prowess to find and exploit. A comparison might be the early work of Fairbanks' friend and business partner, Charlie Chaplin. The Tramp could make something out of anything. That's why great slapstick, contrary to its image, is the most profound comedy: because it demands that we view everyday objects and situations as triggerpoints for creative action. It frees one's emotions, and I find it innately hopeful about the human condition.
What Chaplin did with props, I believe Fairbanks accomplished with sets and space. To make a modern comparison: watching Don Q for the first time is a bit like the moment many gamers of my generation had when the arena-style games we played began featuring truly interactive environments. There was still a goal to achieve, but if you wished to hop on a ledge, or sidestep left and look at your reflection in a puddle, you could do that, and you might even be rewarded for it. To be freed from the strict boundaries of the quest: that was exhilarating.
Regardless, one of strengths of Don Q is that Fairbanks doesn't have to shoulder the whole load. Astor delivers more than is required of her, which is more than you can say for some of his leading ladies (see The Black Pirate); while Donald Crisp suitably glowers as Don Sebastian, a Spaniard who secretly murders the visiting Austrian Archduke, then has Don Q framed for it. Crisp, who also directed the film, doesn't exude charisma in this role, but that's the point: to be a sullen bore is to be the antithesis of Douglas Fairbanks.
Noteworthy, too, is Jean Hersholt, playing degenerate social climber Don Fabrique Borusta. Borusta is a small man on the periphery of big things; his one talent is listening and soon, he hears enough to blackmail Don Sebastian and secure himself a governor-style position. Hersholt played a lot of scumbags in the 1920s, and had a gift for elevating them as characters. In every way but the most bluntly physical, his Borusta is a greater threat to Don Q than Sebastian is. Were he the main villain, rather than an irritant, Don Q would have been a more compelling film, though not a better action film.
Fairbanks himself plays a duel role: both Don Q and Don Q's father, Zorro. (Fairbanks' then-wife, Mary Pickford, achieved a similar trick back in 1921, playing a mother and son in Little Lord Fauntleroy). Father and son are identical but for aging makeup, and the makeup's so good you can imagine what Fairbanks would have looked like, had he lived into his sixties. The action sequence shared by Don Q and his dad was my favourite in the film.
Like many of Fairbanks' blockbuster features, Don Q isn't about very much. The film's pleasure is found in watching the kinds of events you were hoping to watch, and its quality is measured in its capacity to deliver those events, one after the next, without a stutter. If you stopped to think about Don Q, then suddenly, it might not be your cup of tea.
Don Q is available on DVD (packaged with Fairbanks' The Mark of Zorro), courtesy Kino International.
I saw the film live, this past Sunday, at Toronto's Revue Cinema, where it appeared as part of programmer Eric Veillette's 'Silent Sundays' series, now celebrating its second anniversary. Piano accompaniment was provided by William O'Meara. You can read more about Silent Sundays and the Revue here. Veillette's website is Silent Toronto.
A year ago I had the privilege of working on the Douglas Fairbanks Nitrate Stills collection, housed at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. While completing my degree in Photographic Preservation at the museum, I interned in the Motion Pictures Department, where I was introduced to the collection and put in charge of cataloguing its contents and ensuring its safe storage.
The role of the still photographer in the silent era is an under-researched area of silent film history. More than simply producing publicity materials, the photographer aided the production in establishing a mood or capturing a character's disposition. Without dialogue, the silent film actor conveyed emotion through the face and the body, and photography was often used as a testing ground for this.
Over 10,000 negatives make up this collection. They were compiled by Fairbanks and donated to GEH in the late 1950s by his son, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Today, they are part of the Department's Motion Picture Stills, Posters, and Paper collection, headed by archivist Nancy Kauffman. The collection documents almost every aspect of Fairbanks's career.
There are some 1,500 negatives from The Thief of Bagdad alone, portraying every aspect of the film's meticulous production design. It would seem that a photograph of every urn, every Persian carpet and every jewel was necessary. The same could be said for Robin Hood, with its 1,200 negatives. Fairbanks was his own producer, which partially explains the enormity of the collection—he exercised control over almost every aspect of his films, including Don Q.
In digitizing and rehousing these negatives, I gained a new understanding of not only the films of Douglas Fairbanks, but what went into the production of films from the silent era. Often I stumbled across the most iconic of Fairbanks images, noting how meticulously retouched they were to make him appear youthful. And, how Fairbanks's dark skin was lightened when he was photographed with Mary Pickford.
Among these iconic photographs, there would be accompanying images; similar but not the same: often with a head turned, a slight change in the muscles of the eyebrow or a shift in the weight of the body—seemingly meaningless differences that actually altered the effect of the photograph. Knowing the control Fairbanks exerted over his own image, it's hard to believe that he didn't have some say in what photographs were published and which poses were utilized as emblems of his larger-than-life characters.


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Outlander Season 2 Episode 10
Jamie relies upon Claire's knowledge of history to lead the Jacobite army into a crucial battle. Claire is reminded of the true cost of war as she attends to the dead and dying.
Serie: Outlander
Director: Philip John
Guest Star: Alex Hope, Alice McMillan, Andrew Gower, Bridget McCann, Duncan Lacroix, Edward Kingham, Gerard Horan, Graham McTavish, Grant O'Rourke, Gregor Firth, Jim Sweeney, Julian Wadham, Magnus Sinding, Romann Berrux, Sarah Higgins, Scott Kyle, Stephen Walters, Tom Brittney, Tom Cox
Episode Title: Prestonpans
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby,…
Danny Rand resurfaces 15 years after being presumed dead. Now, with the power of the Iron Fist, he seeks to reclaim his past and fulfill his destiny.
Set in present day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a ruthless and cunning politician, and his wife Claire who will stop at nothing to…
The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where…
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate receives a series of tapes that unravel the mystery of her tragic choice.
A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world…
Genre: Science Fiction, Western


I saw this presented by Matt Preston on Masterchef and was a little sceptical. It sounded too good to be true, so of course my inquisitive cooking mind had to give it a go.
The only ingredient he used was bananas. Healthy, simple and delicious. Egg free, nut free, dairy free and fat free.
I have added a tiny bit of honey for flavour rather than sweetness, and chai spice powder.
It is cold, thick, airy and just like icecream.
I have also been scooping some of this frozen deliciousness into my smoothie jar, adding milk and hey presto…a delicious bananorama smoothie.
Bananas: A great snack providing sustained, long lasting energy. A low GI food perfect before or after exercise.
High in Potassium, an electrolyte used to conduct electrical currents through all cells and therefore is crucial. Potassium is needed to build strong healthy bones, and has also shown to reduce blood pressure and therefore prevent cardiovascular disease.
Fibre: to maintain a healthy digestive system.
Vitamin 6: bananas are a fabulous source of vitamin B6 which is important in the production of serotonin – a neurotransmitter. neurotransmitters are hormones which help carry messages from nerve to nerve. serotonin is very important in the regulation of mood, the learning process and sleep.
I always say 'a banana a day keeps the bad moods away'. Bananas are natures answer to a happy pill.
And more: Vitamin C, antioxidants and other vitamin B vitamins such as folate, niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
Honey: wonderful antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It also contains small amounts of B vitamins, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.
So you can see that a frozen dessert such as this is guilt free and super healthy. Enjoy! Have a peek at some of our other icecream recipes below.
Oh WOw! what a great idea! Thanks for sharing Katie.
As an ice cream addict I'm going to have to try this on the weekend!


Sickness. Heartache. Loss. Pain. Worry. Trouble. Do these words resonate with you today? The last several weeks it seems everywhere I look another friend or family member is hurting. Sick or in pain. My heart is heavy today as I pray for my friends, for my family, for you. Allow me to start this post with a disclaimer . . . the following words will not explain why these things come or how to stop them. I simply do not know those answers. What I hope these words will give you is hope. Hope that Jesus knows our pain and suffering. And He is here with us through it.
I recently came on staff with an amazing group called Planting Roots. It is a fairly new ministry to women impacted by the military in some way (active duty, reservists, moms, wives, sisters, ect). I could write an entire post about how God is working there and how excited I am to be a part of this, but that is for another day. The key verse Planting Roots uses is Jeremiah 17:8. As I refreshed my memory on this verse I was reminded of some lessons God brought me through a couple of years ago. I started digging back through some event notes and before I knew it was carried away in study with Him. What He has laid on my heart would make for an awfully long blog post, so I am going to break this up into a little series for us to learn together, okay? Okay!
It all starts with the words of the prophet Jeremiah in, chapter 17 verses 7-8. He has just been warning the people of oncoming destruction if the nation does not repent of its' wicked ways. Jeremiah had a most difficult message to deliver but he was consistent in his obedience to the message God gave him. Not only did Jeremiah tell us of the destruction that our sin would bring, but he also told us much about the righteous path of following God.
The words rock me to my core. "It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." How can a tree survive an entire year of drought and still bear fruit? How can we survive the horrors and trials of this world? How can we survive and still bear the resemblance and "fruit" of God? This tree, its leaves were always green. Always. Not just on the good days, but always! Isn't this amazing?
Verse 7 makes things very clear to us. If we want to not just survive, but thrive in this world we are going to have to put our trust in Christ. Our confidence must always be 100% in Him. It's the only way my friends. It is the only way we can survive. Cancer. Endless stays in the NICU. Car wrecks. Divorce. Loss of a child. Infertility. Affairs. Sickness. Never ceasing physical pain. Hatred. Financial failures. Abuse. This world. Our hearts must be like the roots of that tree. Firmly rooted in the right type of soil, in the right location, and with our trust in the right God.
It's the only way to survive.
This world doesn't make sense. It isn't fair. Bad things happen. Unexplainable, terrible things happen to good people. It doesn't make sense to us. We will never understand it.
I don't know about you but I don't usually feel like the tree in this verse. But I so desperately want to. It's easy to say with words that my trust and confidence are in the Lord. It is an entirely different thing to actually keep it there when things get tough. When the storms come, when life is unfair and hard, what does the condition of my heart look like? Am I firmly rooted in Him? Am I planted by the water where I can be nurtured through the drought? What type of soil has my heart fallen into? Will it get me through this? Will I survive? Will I thrive?
I want to take the next week or so and dive in to what this looks like for me and you on a practical basis. How do we take these words of Jeremiah and heed them in a way that will help us not only place, but keep our trust in the Lord. I want the leaves of my tree to always be green. In the rain, in the drought, in the storm and in the sunshine. Always.
Will you join me? Where are you at today? What hardship are you facing? I know you are out there. I read your posts. I see your faces. I know you are hurting. How can I pray for you today?


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One person seriously hurt in two vehicle crash in Wildomar
City News Service (CNS) - January 21, 2023 0
WILDOMAR (CNS) - One person was seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision in Wildomar last night.The crash occurred around 9:10 p.m. at the intersection of...
Teenager fatally shot during confrontation in Wildomar
WILDOMAR (CNS) - A 16-year-old boy was gunned down during a confrontation in Wildomar, and authorities were working to identify a suspect today.The fatal shooting occurred...
EVMWD board selects Andy Morris as president
Submitted Content - January 6, 2023 0
LAKE ELSINORE – Director Andy Morris was appointed president at Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District's Thursday board meeting after a 4-0 vote by the...
Fuel spill prompts cleanup at Wildomar filling station
City News Service (CNS) - January 5, 2023 0
WILDOMAR (CNS) - Fuel overflowed from a vehicle and spilled in a Wildomar gas station parking lot today, prompting a cleanup operation.The spill was reported...
Former Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit honored for over a decade of city service
Tony Ault - December 23, 2022 0
With more than a decade of service to Wildomar, former Mayor Ben J. Benoit from District 1 was honored by his many fellow council...
Home Instead's Be a Santa to a Senior program kicks off in Southwest Riverside...
Submitted Content - December 8, 2022 0
TEMECULA – As the community prepares to celebrate the season of giving, Home Instead® encourages Southwest Riverside County residents to share the holiday spirit...
Woman killed in crash in Wildomar
City News Service (CNS) - December 3, 2022 0
WILDOMAR (CNS) - A woman passenger was killed in a crash in Wildomar, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department reported today.The crash occurred around 6:40 p.m....
Wildomar area nurse named a regional Healthcare Hero
Diane A. Rhodes - December 1, 2022 0
When Nancy Aragon was nominated for ImageFIRST's second annual HeroesFIRST award, she said she was surprised. When she was named a finalist in October,...
Wildomar teen helps USA Baseball 18U team claim gold over Panama
The USA Baseball 18U National Team, which includes Wildomar's Vaughn Neckar, competed in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier...
Wildomar woman selected in ImageFIRST's HeroesFIRST contest
Submitted Content - November 24, 2022 0
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. – ImageFIRST Healthcare Laundry Specialists announced the five winners of their second annual HeroesFIRST Contest – where ImageFIRST associates recognize...


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MAG teams up with Facebook to reduce casualties from ISIS mines in Iraq
MAG - October 3, 2019
MAG has launched an innovative project with Facebook and the US government to help people in northern Iraq learn how to stay safe from the landmines and unexploded bombs left behind after years of war.
The initiative uses Facebook's advertising tools to deliver simple graphics to at-risk groups describing how to recognise dangers, how to stay safe if an explosive device is discovered, and how to alert the authorities to the problem.
The pilot project, which will run until November 2019, will target users living in Ninewa, a governorate in northern Iraq that is home to 2.5 million people.
One of the risk education graphics being shared with Facebook users in Ninewa, northern Iraq. It translates as 'Don't go near! Don't touch! Report immediately!!'
Ninewa, and Mosul, its capital city, were heavily affected by the conflict between the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and Iraqi government forces. More than three years of conflict had a devastating impact on the area: more than 125,000 square metres of the governorate are now believed to be contaminated with improvised landmines and other explosive devices. Many landmines manufactured by ISIS are sensitive enough to be triggered by a child but powerful enough to disable a tank.
The initiative aims to reach at least 85 per cent of Facebook users in Ninewa—an estimated 1.4 million people—and will be supported by MAG teams working on the ground. A dedicated website (www.staysafefrommines.com) also contains essential information on how to stay safe from mines in three languages. The messages have already reached over 800,000 people in the region since the initiative launched in September.
Since 2016, MAG has removed more than 17,000 explosive items from Ninewa—many found in and around homes, schools, and health facilities. MAG teams have given risk education sessions to more than 175,000 people, teaching them how to recognise, avoid, and report explosives. These sessions are typically delivered in person by MAG staff. However, with tens of thousands of families continuing to return home after the fall of ISIS, there has been a need to develop a way to provide life-saving education to larger audiences, more quickly.
MAG team with two young shepherds who were spotted walking close by a dangerous area. The team stopped the boys and went through important risk education messages with them. Many landmine victims in the region are young boys.
This need was the foundation of the collaboration between MAG, the US government and Facebook.
Portia Stratton, Country Director for MAG in Iraq, said: "Almost half of landmine victims are children, so it's important as many people as possible learn how to keep their families safe until we can clear the danger.
"Our staff usually give lessons in-person, but that means the reach is limited and more costly. Using Facebook to get to hundreds of thousands of at-risk people via their phones could have a real impact in helping reduce the casualties from these devastating devices."
A spokesperson for Facebook said: "Facebook is honoured to play a part in helping reduce landmine casualties in Iraq. With so many now using Facebook around the world, ads are another way to share urgent information with communities who might be at risk. We hope that these messages in Iraq could one day save a life."
"With so many now using Facebook around the world, ads are another way to share urgent information with communities who might be at risk. We hope that these messages in Iraq could one day save a life."
Facebook Spokesperson
Sol Black, Program Manager for Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen Emergency Response at the US State Department said: "As part of our constant search for new and innovative ways to keep people safe from explosive hazards left by ISIS in Iraq, the United States Department of State is proud to partner with MAG and Facebook to deliver targeted risk education to Iraqis living in areas most heavily impacted by improvised explosive devices, landmines, and other explosive hazards left by ISIS.
"By leveraging an existing communications platform already used by the majority of Iraqis, this Department of State-facilitated initiative uses an innovative approach to deliver life-saving information to those Iraqis most likely to encounter dangerous explosive hazards."
MAG is a global landmine clearance charity that's helped over 18 million people in 68 countries rebuild their lives and livelihoods after war.
We have worked in Iraq since 1992 to make land safe for populations affected by decades of conflict.


I have been quite into the cream eyeshadow base of late, and I wanted to share two of my first purchases in this realm. Both are that stand-by champagne cream colour but with different finishes. The first is the Milani Shadow Eyez in Champagne Toast, which was in my February Favourites, and the second is the Jordana 12HR Made to Last Eyeshadow Pencil in Continuous Almond, a recent purchase.
The Milani Shadow Eyez has a metallic finish and is perfect for layering with shimmery or satin shades for an added metallic boost. It's very easy to blend, and it gives you a little bit of time to work with it before it dries. I haven't experienced any creasing, and it lasts all day. I do use a primer beforehand, but my eyelids are heavily prone to creasing. I apply it all over my lid and along my lower lashine then use my finger to soften the edges. Next, I follow up with my eyeshadows.
The Jordana Eyeshadow Pencil is a great matte alternative in a creamy almond shade. It is easy to apply from the stick to your eye, but it does dry much faster than the Milani. I have to apply to one eye and blend before going to the next eye. I also don't apply this along my lower lashline because I find it gets into fine lines. I am thinking it's because it's matte so the formula is a bit more drying. It has a great lasting power because of that. This would be a great go-to if you like to have a neutral base before you apply shadows.
I love these neutral creamy shadow sticks! It's nice to have a matte and metallic option in my arsenal to help prep for shadows that will last all day.
Do you use eyeshadow bases?


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Newt Gingrich Wants GOP Back In The Economic Dark Ages
Stan Collender Subscriber
Newt Gingrich (R-GA), a high-level advisor to President-elect Donald Trump during the campaign, tweeted last Friday that one of the most respected agencies in the entire federal government – the Congressional Budget Office – "should be replaced."
Gingrich was promoting with his tweet, CBO is "a left-wing, corrupt, bureaucratic defender of big government and liberalism." Later in that same post, Gingrich said CBO was "obsolete, inaccurate, and dishonest.
CINCINNATI, OH- JULY 6: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) introduces Donald Trump during a rally. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), a high-level advisor to President-elect Donald Trump during the campaign, tweeted last Friday that one of the most respected agencies in the entire federal government – the Congressional Budget Office – "should be replaced."
Why? According to the Gingrich-authored blog post Gingrich was promoting with his tweet, CBO is "a left-wing, corrupt, bureaucratic defender of big government and liberalism." Later in that same post, Gingrich said CBO was "obsolete, inaccurate, and dishonest.
That's pure political tripe (my editors would never let me use what I consider the most accurate description for what Gingrich said).
The CBO is incompatible w/ the entrepreneurial, common sense Trump way of doing things & should be replaced https://t.co/MsBZJvCaDZ pic.twitter.com/2EKrfGc5J2
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) January 13, 2017
Since the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act created it in 1974, CBO has been the most legitimate and successful part of the federal budget process.
It's not even a close call. Congress has repeatedly been unable or unwilling to adopt (or, like last year, even to consider) an annual budget and is still ignoring and misusing many of the budget act's other provisions. It also has notoriously and repeatedly demonstrated its incompetence with government shutdowns, including two while Gingrich was speaker.
Meanwhile, for more than 40 years CBO has consistently produced much of the best, most honest, and most respected spending and revenue information for members of the House and Senate to use when making decisions.
Gingrich's knee-jerk rant notwithstanding, CBO has stood out during the current era of hyper-partisanship as a highly professional apolitical agency whose only goal is to get the numbers right no matter whose numbers they may be. CBO's directors have been both Republicans and Democrats (It's currently led by Keith Hall, a former chief economist for the Council of Economic Advisors for President George W. Bush who was later appointed to be commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics), and it may well hold the record among all government organizations for the devotion and long tenure of its nonpartisan staff.
For those who have forgotten, the GOP heavily applauded CBO and its Democratic director during the Clinton administration when its analysis determined that, contrary to what the White House was saying, the president's proposed health care plan should be "on budget" and, therefore, would balloon the deficit. Gingrich, who was House minority whip at the time, was one of the Republicans leading that standing ovation. Several of his Republican House colleagues noted at the time that CBO was agreeing with the GOP that the Clinton proposal would be a government rather than a market-driven solution.
Almost 23 years late, in a fit of mind-blowing inconsistency Gingrich is leading Bronx cheers and catcalls for CBO and its Republican director because its estimate of the budget impact of the Affordable Care Act makes it harder for Republicans to develop a healthcare plan of their own.
What does Gingrich want? His post says "replacing the Congressional Budget Office would be a bold step in the right direction for Congressional Republicans." What he really wants, however, isn't just a replacement, but rather a new organization that instead of providing the best possible estimates, forecasts and projections, helps the majority enact its agenda.
This would be an extraordinary step backwards. Until CBO was created, Congress had no independent and reliable source of information to use when voting on anything. The committee that proposed the legislation typically had an interest in making the numbers as positive as possible so the estimates were often as tainted as they could be. In other cases, Congress had no choice but to rely on the Office of Management and Budget – the president's agency for the analysis -- something that representatives and senators found unacceptable more than 4 decades ago.
Gingrich seems hell-bent on going back to those dark ages of federal budgeting when a lack of unbiased information was the rule.
That shouldn't even be discussed...and Gingrich should apologize to CBO for his almost libelous accusations.
Stan Collender
I have been involved with the federal budget and congressional budget process throughout my entire career. In addition to being one of the few people who has served on t...


Have you ever dreamed of being trapped in a space ship that transports you to another planet where you meet dwarfs that are forced to fight with skeletons riding motorcycles? As you run away from this life or death battle, you end up in a theater. The security guard welcomes you to sit down to watch a movie. As the movie is playing, the screen starts to break up into pieces gradually. The room is silent and the image fades. Suddenly, a wave of water comes out of the screen and fills up the theater. As the viewers are swimming towards the exit door, alligators swim behind them. Unfortunately, you become the alligator's lunch and you spent several days and nights inside the alligator's stomach. Your fate dramatically changes when the alligator sneezes super hard and vomits you. You swim back home until you see yourself in another Incredible Adventure.
All of this was part of a dream or did this really happened?