Podcasts about Area C

What happens when international law exists on paper but not in practice? This week, Fredrik Gertten and Leilani Farha speak with Allegra Pacheco, an American human rights lawyer who has dedicated her career to protecting vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank. As Chief of Party for the West Bank Protection Consortium, Allegra sees the realities of Area C in the West Bank, where over 600,000 Israeli settlers live in communities deemed illegal under international law while Palestinians face severe restrictions on movement, construction, and daily life.Together with Fredrik and Leilani, Allegra discusses what it will take to protect the occupied Palestinian territories. How might private security forces protect Palestinian communities? What leverage does the European Union actually possess? And why has the international community failed to enforce its own legal rulings? As the opportunity to protect a future for Palestine seems to dwindle, Allegra's perspective challenges us to think critically about what it will take to end one of the world's most protracted conflicts, and what it means to have hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.Support the show

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - A growing number of elected and former politicians in the North Island Powell River riding are calling upon the Conservative Party to withdraw their endorsement of Aaron Gunn, and demand he withdraw his candidacy. There were already 19 names on this jpoint letter when Cortes Currents spoke to the two women spearheaded this campaign.  “This has all happened within the last 48 hours. I believe (Bob Chamberlain) a former Vice President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs who sent out the first call for Gunn to be removed. After that many other chiefs supported the call for him to step down,” explained Arzeena Hamir, a former Regional Director of Area B in the Comox Valley Regional District.  Wendy Morin, a City Councillor from Courtney, added. “When I saw the repeated posts of comments that Aaron Gunn has made, particularly that the experience of residential schools etc was not genocide, that's what really struck me as really harmful to First Nations communities in our region. Especially since the House of Commons unanimously stated that residential schools were genocide and, that was from all parties, including the onservatives. I thought, wow, this is someone who's a candidate who's not even aligned with the previous MPs in the House of Commons. I just felt that it was really important to show solidarity with the First Nations communities in our region, in the region where Aaron Gun is running.” Arzeena Hamir:  “As elected and former elected officials, we just wanted to support First Nations leaders in really emphasizing that call because it's just an unacceptable viewpoint.” Wendy Morin: “We felt that it was important to show leadership on this and to show that local leaders across all different backgrounds, we don't all agree with each other. We don't all vote the same way, but on this issue we were very united.” Arzeena Hamir: “She and I sat down and crafted the letter and then sent it out for everybody else to sign.” Robyn Mawhinney, from Area C was one of the recipients,   “I, as a director in the Stratcona Regional District know that within the administrative boundaries of the Strathcona Regional District, there are 11 First Nations and there are many more First Nations when you look at the entirety of the North Island Powell River riding. I believe that reconciliation is multifaceted and much more than only economic reconciliation. I have grave concerns with our riding being represented by someone who doesn't appear to take this full spectrum of reconciliation seriously. First Nations Leadership Council and many other First Nations leaders have expressed concerns with Aaron Gunn and I support them.” Arzeena Hamir:  “We're not asking for the conservatives to not put up a candidate because everyone has a right to representation, but that candidate obviously was not vetted properly. Apart from his very awful views on First Nations, there's just a long list of very disturbing comments that this person has made. We don't believe that people like that should take the platform of a candidate.” “I think many people who just vote Conservative normally, don't even realize what he stands for. So this part of this letter is to raise that awareness in people so that they know, and hopefully choose otherwise.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - A timeline on the REC-REATE – Strathcona Gardens Revitalization Project website traces the origins of this project back to an operational review in 1998. At that time, most of the community was satisfied with the existing facility and the idea of building a new complex did not gain momentum until 2015. A community survey taken between February 2nd and March 2nd that year found that someone from 72% of the Campbell River and 64% of Area D households visited Strathcona Gardens at least once a year. Construction for Phase One,  the New Aquatic and Wellness Centre, finally began on September 10, 2024. However the estimated cost of this project had risen to $73 million and the Strathcona Regional District is exploring the idea that Quadra Island and Sayward taxpayers should be contributing. Nothing has been decided, but the SRD has received a stream of letters from hundreds of Quadra Island residents stating they do not use Strathcona Gardens and definitely do not want to pay for it! A little group calling itself the Friends of Area C collected hundreds of names on a petition opposing the suggestion that Quadra taxpayers should be included in Strathcona Garden catchment area.  Cortes Currents: How long have you been collecting signatures? “We've been collecting for two and a half weeks. We have well over 600. My last estimate, because I haven't actually collected the form, is that we're closer to 800 already.  We're actively canvassing, in some cases door to door. We have signing tables in front of the grocery stores. We have petition sign up locations at a multiple business locations throughout the island,” explained Mike Gall from the Friends of Area C. Cortes Currents: How long will you continue to collect? Mike Gall: “Well, I could set a limit and say 1,000. We think that would be a pretty good representation of the sense of the community. Or a week or so before the next board meeting, which will be February 19th. There's no set timeline for all of this because it's really a non-binding petition.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Campbell River's Strathcona Gardens is in the midst of re-development. Following a successful Alternative Approval Process (APP) in Campbell River and Area D, whose residents use this complex, in 2023 the Board authorized borrowing up to $64.6 million for this project. Crews are currently building the foundations. The SRD is exploring the possibility of using Area C property tax dollars to support this complex, but has not yet decided upon a course of action. This sparked a great deal of resistance from Area C residents who do not want to see their property taxes increased to pay for a ‘Campbell River' project. In a motion made by Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney in November, she referred to hundreds of items of correspondence to that effect. The flow of correspondence continues. Emails and scanned letters from 65 Quadra residents, 2 Read Island residents and 1 Maurelle Island resident were received as correspondence at the January 22, 2025 SRD Board Meeting. None of the 68 correspondents supported the project. One admitted to using the Strathcona Gardens approximately 4 times during her 40 years on Quadra Island.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - At their December 11 meeting, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board passed a bylaw to regulate bulk water processing, bottling and sales on Maurelle, Sonora, Stuart, and the Rendezvous islands. Three Campbell River Directors voted against receiving the staff report for this bylaw. Director Susan Sinnott explained,  “I just want to hear from staff, the reasons necessary. Is there a pending application for people to bulk water in the distillation sound area? Is there an imminent issue?” Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch replied,  “The impetus of this. Bylaws came from the directors. So I think it's probably more appropriate for the director to speak to it.” Cortes Island Director Mark Vonesch pointed out,  “This is the same bylaw we already passed for Area D, Cortes and Quadra Islands.” Director Sinnott:  “Well, thank you, my recollection was there was concerns about water usage and aquifer protection. I just wanted to know if this was similar. I don't know if there's an issue in the Desolation Sound area that's similar.” Robyn Mawhinney is the Regional Director for Area C, which includes Quadra, Maurelle, Sonora, Stuart, and the Rendezvous islands:  “Although it says the Desolation Sound Rural Land Use Bylaw it's funnily enough, not in Desolation Sound. It's Read, Maurelle, Sonora, Stuart, and the Rendezvous Islands. If you look at the bylaws, it's really about providing an opportunity for community to have a public hearing If there is an application for a commercial water extraction enterprise.”  Director Sinnot: So raising my question again, are we regulating something that's not ever going to happen? I can't imagine there's ever going to be a person that wants to bulk water bottling or any type of extraction of a very remote area without ferry service. So one, I don't like the idea of regulating things if we don't have to, but second of all, we're intruding into an area outside our jurisdiction if it's about water preservation.” Director Mawhinney: “I would suggest that providing an opportunity for the community to have input on a commercial enterprise, which could drastically affect their drinking water is reasonable. I think when you look at what happened in Merville, if you wait until an application is coming forward it's too late.” The concern about bulk water extraction can be traced back to a Merville property owner's idea to bottle and sell the water beneath his property. On March 8, 2023, two weeks before CVRD approved MacKenzie's application, Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney asked the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) to report on the possibilities for limiting groundwater extraction within Area C. The District had just gone through the severest drought in Campbell River's records and it was about to go through the drought of 2023. On September 25, 2024, the SRD passed bylaws prohibiting ‘bulk water sales, bulk water processing and bulk water bottling' on any upland or foreshore area of Cortes or Quadra except where expressly permitted within a zone. That was when Director Mawhinney then introduced what has erroneously been called the Desolation Sound Bulk Water Regulation. Director Mawhinney: “ We've had a public hearing and the community was in support of it, as they have been for Area D, Area B (Cortes Island) and the Quadra island portion of Area C.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - According to the 2024 Interim Housing Needs Report, in the next two years Cortes Island will need another 95 new housing units and Area C will need another 270. The studies underlying assumptions are that the Discovery Island's population will continue to grow by 8% over the next few years. One of the key findings is that “there is a need for housing that is affordable and accessible for those on a fixed income, particularly within the rental market. An aging population presents a greater need for at-home care options and smaller housing units that allow for downsizing. Seniors are also more likely to be living with a disability or activity limitation than other age groups and may have to pay for all household expenses on a fixed income” Another sector identified in the report was renters who are expected to face continued challenges because the increase to their housing costs will continue to be greater than increases in income. Around 45% of the renters who responded to recent surveys indicated they were paying unaffordable rents.  This is particularly alarming when you consider that a quarter of the respondents to Campbell River's most recent Point in Time Count stated had been homeless for less than 6 months and the #1 cause they cited was not enough income to pay rent.  There are currently 145 rental units on Cortes Island and 250 in Area C. Three of the comments cited in the report:  “This is a crisis that needs to be dealt with. The number of folks online that are desperate for housing is shocking. Any renter is at the mercy of their landlord to become homeless.”  As a small business owner and someone who grew up on Quadra Island, I see the struggle younger generations are going through to find housing. Rentals are increasingly hard to come by and finding property to buy for a young family trying to make a living on the island is not possible. There are younger generations that have grown up on the island and want to stay but just can't make it without some kind of affordable housing. As a business owner, I am experiencing a lack of labour options because of this.”  “There is a huge lack of affordable housing on Cortes. People are in a constant search of a place to live; some are elderly, many are young. People live in cars, vans, tents, derelict boats. People request a place to bring a trailer or a trailerable home.”    By 2041 Cortes Island is expected to need another 241 units and Area C another 633 units.

Recording of our November 20, 2024 webinar with Yonatan Mizrachi from Shalom Achshav's Settlement Watch team. This webinar was co-produced with our colleagues at Shalom Achshav, Canadian Friends of Peace Now, and La Paix Maintenant. The conversation was anchored by Hadar Susskind.  Yonatan Mizrachi, a leading expert from the Settlement Watch team, presents new insights from Shalom Achshav's latest annual report, "War and Annexation: How the Israeli Government Changed the West Bank During the First Year of War." In the wake of a year-long war in Gaza and nearly two years under a far-right, pro-settler government, the Israeli government's agenda in the occupied West Bank is clearer than ever: to advance annexation policies and further reduce Palestinian presence in Area C. Yonatan (“Yoni”) Mizrachi, who joined Shalom Achshav two years ago, co-leads the Settlement Watch team. He is also a co-founder and the former executive director of Emek Shaveh, an organization dedicated to protecting archaeology from misuse in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  View the report HERE- https://peacenow.org.il/en/war-and-annexation-how-the-israeli-government-changed-the-west-bank-during-the-first-year-of-war

Occupied Palestinian Territory In Gaza city the UN along with our partners, are providing services to tens of thousands of people, including those displaced over the past four weeks from besieged North Gaza. Yesterday, one of the UN's local partners was able to collect solid waste that has piled up along Tareq Bin Zeyad street. In multiple locations, partners are providing mental health and psychosocial support sessions, including for people newly displaced from North Gaza Governorate. However, what the humanitarian community is able to deliver falls far short of the massive needs in Gaza. Once again, OCHA calls for rapid, unimpeded humanitarian relief into and across the Strip. International humanitarian law demands that civilians have access to the essentials they need to survive: food, shelter, medical care and other critical assistance. Humanitarian also stress that civilians in the north and across Gaza must be protected. And turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that multiple operations by Israeli forces in the north this week included air strikes and other lethal war-like tactics, which appear to exceed law enforcement standards. According to initial information, eight Palestinians were killed and four others injured during Tuesday's operations in Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm. Meanwhile, OCHA says that from 29 October to 4 November, Israeli settlers carried out 35 attacks against Palestinians that caused casualties or property damage, including to olive trees that were vandalized. Since 1 October, OCHA has documented 177 settler incidents directly related to the olive harvest in 73 communities across the West Bank, most of which caused casualties or property damage. Operations by Israeli forces and movement restrictions have made access to health care across the West Bank increasingly challenging since October of last year, particularly in refugee camps and Area C. The UN and its partners, are responding by scaling up support to communities, including by providing more than 36,000 primary health-care consultations across refugee camps and through mobile health clinics in Area C last month. The UN Population Fund is also supporting mobile health teams, but funding shortfalls are a growing problem. UNFPA warns that without renewed funding, 96 Palestinians communities could lose out on these important services next year. Gaza/IPC reportAccording to an alert issued by the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee, there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within the northern Gaza Strip.The alert further underscored that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating, as we have just detailed. Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or who have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation.So, this is what I have on this, the full report is now online and available and includes of course a lot more details.Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon...Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister and minister of finance, speaks with reporters on Parliament Hill after chairing the first meeting of the revived Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations. She is joined by Mélanie Joly, the minister of foreign affairs. The Prime Minister's Office announced it would re-establish the committee in the wake of Donald Trump securing a second term as president of the United States.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Are Cortes property owners paying more taxes because their assessments went up? The topic came up at the Wednesday November 7, Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) meeting. Mike Harmston, Chief Financial Officer for the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), wanted to correct three widely believed myths. “The first one is the assessment increase automatically translates to a property tax increase. A lot of people compare property taxes  to a sales tax where they requisition a fixed amount. For example With a provincial sales tax at 7%, if the underlying price of the goods rises, the government automatically collects more money. Whereas in the  local government, we requisition a fixed dollar amount, so there's not always that automatic increase. Quite often, everything else being equal, when assessment values rise our applicable tax rates go down.”   To which Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island, responded, “I think it's worth noting that on Cortes this past year that the assessments were increased  more in proportion to the rest of  the district. So in Cortes's case, property tax increases did cause a property tax increase.”  David Leitch, Chief Administrative Officer of the SRD, objected to this, “No, that's not true.  It doesn't matter where the area is because we have shared service. We have individual services. So each one of those has a requisition taxation limit to it. So if you have a park service on Area B,  that has a requisition limit and it's not tied to any other areas.”  “All the areas will go up differently, but those individual requisition limits are not tied to assessment value.  They're all individually assessed. So you could go up twice as much as somebody else and in fact, if you did, it's more likely that the taxation assessment will go down. I don't know if it's ever happened that  the requisition goes up. I would say 99 percent of the time, if not 100, the taxation assessment will drop.” Gerald Whalley, Regional Director for Area A, pointed out, “David, I think what he's saying is that the mill rate will go down as the assessment goes up. That makes sense.  If there's a two participant service and the one area assessments go up but the other area doesn't, the mill rate will drop a bit - but each individual household will still pay a bit more in the higher assessment.” CAO Leitch: “When assessments go up, it almost always triggers a reduction in the rate.”  Director Vonesch: “In the mill rate. Yes, I agree with that."  Mike Harmston: “They're  both correct. What the slide is really focusing on is the amount of dollars we collect.  The amount of dollars we collect is independent from the assessment increase.  We don't even look at the assessments until the last minute  when we calculate the tax rate.” Director Vonesch: “If Quadra and I are sharing a service, and our property values increase by 20%, that would mean that Cortes would cover more of the cost of that service?”  Mike Harmston: “That's exactly right. If you two shared, then if yours went up 20% and Area C went up 40%,  both assessments increased, but there would be a proportional more tax shift to Area C.”  Director Vonesch: “Thank you.”  So it would appear that Cortes residents did pay more taxes last year because of their assessments, but there are probably years where we paid less. 

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) will be meeting with the Cortes Housing Society to discuss the possibility of making a short term loan to help bring power, water and sewage to some lots in the Rainbow Ridge affordbale housing project. While the SRD created a Housing Service earlier this year, it has yet to requiistion any funds and the request prompted some discussion at the Wednesday October 30 Board meeting. Regional Director Mark Vonesch, of Cortes Island, made the motion “that the Regional District work with the Cortes Housing Society to develop a plan for a short term loan through the Regional Housing Service so that the Cortes Housing Society can develop a part of its land with power, water, septic, and road access to facilitate long term lease agreements and thus create affordable housing opportunities on Cortes Island.” The seconder, Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C, asked, “I'm curious from staff the likely timeline on the report and if it would be returned in time for the Board to consider the request inclusion in the 2025 financial plan.” To which Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch replied, “I don't know what kind of model they're looking at in terms of a lease. The motion says a short term loan. I don't really know what that means. I can bring something back as preliminary to high level thoughts about what the society has in mind and bring that to the board, hopefully before the end of the year, there's only two meetings left before the end of the year.” Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott added, “I'm just curious about staff capacity and coming in with an innovative thing. I would prefer if the Cortes Housing Society wanted to do a delegation present to us and explain to us how they've exhausted their options, including going to B. C. Housing, which seems to me the place you go for this type of funding and shows that they've met the requirements and how they're going to provide housing that goes within the requirements for the provincial funder. I'm not sure if I would appreciate our staff working on this right now. We have a lot of other things that we need to get through.” “When we create a housing service, does it include the power to grant loans?” CAO Leitch: “Well, that's also tricky. I don't know if it's just even through the service to grant loans, but I'm going to say it's highly unlikely that the regional and district would offer a loan to society without any security, that would create a significant amount of liability.” “I'm not saying that's what they're asking for. I haven't had any discussions, but let's say they needed 3 million loan through the regional district, that would create a great deal of risk and vulnerability to the regional district if there is no secured asset to that loan. I don't know what the payback terms of that would be, are we talking about security? I don't know.” Director Vonesch attempted to clarify the matter, “Obviously the land would back any loan and the initial discussions that I've had is looking for a million dollars put power, water and sewage into 10 lots, sell those to 10 lots in a long term lease for let's say a hundred thousand that would pay back the loan.”

Rpy L Hales/Cores Currents - The Active Transportation Planning grants that Quadra Island is about to receive, and both Cortes Island and Area D are applying for, opens the door to far larger opportunities.  As Meredith Starkey, Manager of Planning for the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), explained “Active transportation means anything human powered: walking, cycling, and rolling in the sense of skateboarding or some other type of device that you might use to roll."  "This is the BC Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program that's administered through the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. They have  a sub grant  that is specifically for active transportation network planning."  "What we have is the network planning grant."  “We just were directed by the Board to apply for Areas B (Cortes) and D. It's this same grant that we now have for Area C. The province provides  a maximum of $50,000. It's 50 percent grant funded and 50 percent funded by the Gas Tax for us and so in total, it's $100,000 to develop the plan." "That enables us to do all the foundational background research, the data gathering part, but then also to flesh that out into a full plan. On top of that,  we're able to pull out one high level priority from that plan and do all  the engineering work, the survey, the cost estimates and  concept design work that would need to happen so that we can actually make it shovel ready.  All the groundwork that we need in order to apply for the infrastructure grant,  which is the same fund but a different funding stream within it."  Cortes Currents: So this grant is the door opener and in the next grant you actually get to do some of the stuff.    Meredith Starkey: "That is correct."  Cortes Currents: Is there a financial cap for the second stage? Meredith Starkey: "The infrastructure portion of the grant is much, much bigger.  I don't actually know the cap on it now, but it's quite substantial."

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - At their Wednesday September 25 Board meeting, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board unaminously voted to support a We Wai Kai application for funding to make a feasibility study for the Caddisfly Wetlands Restoration project, south of Campbell River. This had been a topic of some debate a month ago, when the Board decided to defer making a decision on this project. Salmon once spawned in Caddisfly Creek and if they return, it could trigger a need for setbacks along the banks. This could directly impact building projects in Campbell River, as it is one of the sources of Caddisfly Creek. As CAO David Leitch explained, “There was some discussion at a previous board meeting about supporting this application and the folks from Campbell River had some hesitancy and anticipation that it possibly would interfere with some development applications they had in the works. We've attached some correspondence from the city staff which says there aren't issues and they would support the application.” Robyn Mawhinney, Regional Director for Area C, responded, “I'm really happy to see this request for resolution of support on the agenda. I am 100 percent in support of a resolution to support the We Wai Kai Nation's application to undertake wetland restoration planning activities for Caddisfly Creek.” John RIce, Regional Director for Area D, added, “I'm also quite happy to see this back on. I know that for Area D, where Caddisfly Creek is, the wetlands behind it have historically had a problem with high water. I'm hoping that there are a lot of things that can be addressed by this.” “I also want to point out that it's Area D's Stream Keeper (Greg Roberts) that has been working quite hard on Caddisfly Creek. There's still lots of things to do and I'm very thrilled to see Campbell River supporting this. I think if you're going to be the Salmon Capital of the World, you have to be able to support creeks that could possibly have Coho.” One of the Campbell River Directors who originally called for deferment, Ron Kerr, made the motion that all the SRD directors supported: “That a resolution of support be provided for the We wai Kai First Nation's application to the 2024 Disaster Resilience Innovation Fund Grant Program to undertake wetland restoration planning activities for Caddisfly Creek.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is considering a Grant in Aid policy which would funnel all applications through staff. According to Gerald Whalley, who has been a Regional Director since the SRD was formed in 2008, this is the third time the idea of a policy has come up. After an intense debate, the proposal has been forwarded to the Electoral Areas Services Committee and Municipal Services Committee for further discussion.  Some of the main points of the proposed policy include: Financial assistance will only be considered for registered, non-profit organizations that have an operational presence within the Strathcona Regional District. Applicants must provide a current financial statement and budget for the year the SRD will not fund core operating expenses, capital improvements to equipment, insurance, property taxes, or multi-year funding commitments The SRD will give priority to applications that do not exceed $5,000 and are from organizations that do not already receive funding from the SRD Mayor Julie Colborne of Zeballos explained that in the past, “We found that it would alter many of the contributions that are already being made.  We just felt that some of the restrictions were too restrictive.”  Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C agreed: “I just wanted to point out that the next item on the agenda is three requests for financial assistance from Electoral Area C,  and with this policy as is, none of these three very important and valid applications would be considered eligible.  That includes the Quadra Island Foundation's application for financial support because they are hiring a consultant to create a Vital Signs report for Quadra Island. Neither would liability insurance costs for the Quadra Island Conservancy, which maintains public land that is publicly accessible and is a highly used piece of land for outdoor recreation in our community for visitors and for residents, be covered. Lastly Quadra Island Concerts is asking for $1,000 to assist with administration insurance costs for bringing music to our community for the entire winter. I just want to point out that this policy would negate all three of those applications.”

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) wants a list of School District 72's properties on Cortes Island and Area C. As Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney pointed out, in a letter to the other rural Directors, some of them ‘may be a good fit for a housing project.' Mawhinney proposed that the SRD ask for a list.   At the Board's August 21 meeting, Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott made an amendment to Mawhinney's motion:  “I'm going to say that a letter be sent to School District 72, inquiring whether or not there are lands available for either  the school district to develop for housing, or over which they have an interest, that they own or have a license of occupation or right of access that they'd be interested in disposing to the Regional District.”

BJ Levy, President of the Chicago Federation of Musicians Local 10-208, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss his Local's unique history and how it was impacted by segregation. He also spoke about the 1942-44 Recording Strike and the union's efforts to organize hip-hop artists and electric dance music (EDM) disc jockeys (DJs). Joe Sebes, Chairman of the Parma Southwest Area Committee of Political Education, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the organization and its fundraising efforts to highlight and support labor groups in Northeast Ohio.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District Board SRD is considering amending the Grant in Aid process. A proposed ‘Financial Assistance to Organizations' policy from 2021 is being considered. Regional Directors Gerald Whalley from Area A, Robyn Mawhinney from Area C and Mark Vonesch from Area B (Cortes Island) voted in opposition, but were defeated.   The associated staff report refers to a recent grant in aid to the Cortes Island School, questions the relationship between the school and Parent Advisory Council and asks whether the funds being requested should actually have come from School District 72.   The policy brought forward in 2021 proposed that in the future:  Applications must be submitted directly to the SRD's Financial Officer. Only registered non-profits can apply. The funds are not to be used for core funding, operating costs, wages, insurance or multi-year funding etc. Applicants must include a written statement indicating how the grant-in-aid will benefit the community. The board will give preference to applications that do not exceed $5,000. Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney, of Area C, spoke in opposition: “I'm satisfied with the current model.  I think that the proposed policy that is included as a draft from 2021, does not benefit Area C constituents as it would deny applications for support with insurance fees, which can be a significant item for small organizations,  and the policy also denies support for groups which are not registered not-for-profits.   "Apart from the repercussions this could create in area C. It made me wonder about more loosely organized events looking for support, such as the Campbell River Canada Group, which we supported with fireworks funding earlier this year, so I'm supportive of option B, leaving the grant and aid working as it currently is."  Regional Director Gerald Whalley moved, “That the matter of policy for considering grants and aid not be pursued at this time.” Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott explained, “The city of Campbell has got a substantial confusion in terms of how much money we're spending for various things like permissive tax exemptions, grants and aids and where we sit relative to other communities, including the funding source right now, where it's tied to the percentage of revenue of the city's tax base, which continue means it's growing, which I don't know if that's an acceptable use of tax dollars.”  More in podcast

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Vancouver Island Regional Library increased its operating budget for 2024 to $38 million. That is 15% more money than last year. Executive Director Brent Hyman explained that this increase is necessary because the library's  previous management did not budget properly and more money is needed for wages, benefits and leases. He has been giving presentations to the library's funding partners. He has already spoken in Victoria, Nanaimo, and some of the other regional districts. Six of the library's 39 branches are in the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) and he gave a presentation at the SRD Board's March 27th meeting.  
“For the SRD,  the total levy breaks down to about $67 per capita.  Much like the school act, that doesn't necessarily mean everybody's using the service. Unlike schools in the region, that serve about 5 % of the population, we're serving about 33% for significantly less funding than schools,” he explained.   
Cortes Currents: True, but there is also a significant difference in usage between a student attending school for more than 9 months of the year and someone who drops-in to the library a few times. 
Hyman pointed out, “We do benchmarking, in preparation for this type of presentation and we look at comparator populations.” 
He said there is a library in Campbell River, which is contributing about $700,000 below the average funding amount. It also serves Electoral Area D, which is paying $30,000 less than norm. The library on Quadra Island serves Area C, which also provides about $30,000 less. There are libraries in Gold River, Sayward, Tahsis and Cortes Island, all of which pay about $16,000 below the average amount. Heyman claims Electoral Area A and the village of Zeballos, which do not have library branches, should also be providing another $16,000. 
The Regional District's rural inhabitants use the library more than their urban counterparts. Close to ¾ of the SRD's population lives in Campbell River, but only 54% of the circulation goes through that library. Less than 6% of the SRD's population is in Area C, but 22% of the region's circulation is through the Quadra Island branch. Another 6% goes through the Cortes Island branch. Similar statistics are reported from the Sayward, Gold River and Tahsis branches. 
However one of the biggest funding shortfalls comes from the federal and provincial governments.  
Brent Hyman: “Local government levies are about 94% of our budget. That's been true since the 1980s. The province is down to 4%, but has a lot to say about what it thinks it should get out for 4%.” 
“Why is it in Canada that the level of funding from both the provinces and the feds lag below the G8 averages? And so there are a number of recommendations in the report, primarily to federal and provincial governments about seeing critical infrastructure and treating it as such and funding it as such.” Image credit Open book - Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Area C ‘opted-in' to the Short Term Rental Accommodation Act at the SRD Board meeting yesterday. There was a spirited discussion in which the Director from Area D and two of his Campbell River colleagues discussed their reservations. Regional Director Mark Vonesch showed everyone an exception that would allow some absentee landlords to continue operating their short term rentals. When the final vote was taken Area C's motion to opt-in was approved with only two dissenting Directors.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The SRD Board will be meeting again today and three items about BC's Short Term Rental Act are on the agenda. The Ministry of Housing responded to Cortes Island's decision to opt in. 58% of the respondents of Area C’s survey on whether to opt in replied ‘Yes' and Area D will not opt in.  
 On February 28, the SRD approved Cortes Island's decision to opt in to BC’s Short Term Rental Act. The Ministry of Housing responded to this in an email last week. 
 “The request to opt-in to the principal residence requirement will take effect November 1, 2024, to give hosts notice to comply. In the meantime, this spring the Province will be standing up a new STR Compliance and Enforcement unit to investigate, take enforcement action related to short-term rentals, and direct platforms to remove non-compliant listings.” Vonesch was informed that the Ministry needs to receive a copy of the SRD resolution approving Cortes Island’s action by March 31, 2024.    Cortes Island and ‘other interested local governments' will be removed from the exempt land list this spring.  “If the Province grants a change to exempt land status, that change remains in effect indefinitely unless a subsequent request to reverse the exemption is made by March 31 of a future year.” In related news, on March 5 Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C   launched a survey to see if her constituents also want to opt in. 58% of the people who 405 repondants stated 'Yes' and  41% stated 'No.' Area C has not announced a final decision and this matter will be discussed at today's meeting.  In the same staff report it states John Rice, Regional Director of Area D, the Director has chosen to not opt-in to the principal residence requirement but is looking for public input regarding the regulatory aspects of STRs within the zoning bylaw. This will be discussed at a later date in a separate report.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Robyn Mawhinney has learned a lot since she was elected Regional Director almost 14 months ago. As we enter into yet another new year, she gave her reflections 2023 and what is ahead for Area C in the coming months. “I'm really pleased that there are new avenues for having community voices heard and included in decision making,” she began. “Area C now has an Advisory Planning Commission, with nine members. They represent diverse geographies across Area C, from Read Island to Granite Bay and across Quadra Island, and demographics, and as well different business interests. I really appreciate that folks were willing to step up and volunteer for a role like this.”   “There is an Outer Islands Fire Brigade steering committee, with three members each from Sonora Island and Read Island.” “The Surge Narrows Revitalization Project Committee had a meeting with SRD staff and myself.” “Having local residents directly involved in providing input on these projects and communicating with SRD staff will support better outcomes, outcomes which will benefit the residents. So I'm really pleased that there are new and improved avenues for community consultation and inclusion.”   “One of my goals has been relationship building through clear communication. Every two weeks, I write a director's report which is published locally and also shared with email subscribers. I've had a fair amount of positive feedback on it, and I feel like my consistent reporting could go in the achievement column if you're making columns for these kinds of things.” CC: What have been the challenges this past year? Robyn Mawhinney: “Something I have definitely learned, and been learning in the last year is what some staff have referred to as the speed of government. Many of the projects that I've been working on are still in progress.” “You asked me about the challenges, and I think sometimes that challenges are opportunities in disguise. There's been a lot of learning, stepping into the role of director, learning the details of how all the processes work, and building relationships with colleagues, staff, other electeds, and constituents.” “I think it's interesting when I talk to staff who have been in their roles for decades and they say they are still consistently learning because there are so many situations that are unique and require novel considerations.” “There's lots of things in progress.” “I'm not sure 2024 is going to resolve housing, but it's definitely a key issue for Area C, the regional district and our country.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Former Regional Director Jim Abram may have been confusing the proposed SRD Housing Service with a Federal grant program when he criticized it during an interview with CKTZ News.  
Abram claimed that building permits are required under the new housing initiative, and the islands are ‘going to get nothing, most likely,  other than, you know, a little  less money in your pocketbook because it's going to go into your taxes.'  
He also spoke against the ‘affordable housing bandwagon': ‘There's only so many people that you can accommodate with your existing infrastructure.' 
Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Isand, responded, “The points that he's making that have alarmed a lot of people, in my opinion very unnecessarily, and are not based on the facts. The housing service is about developing a  way for us to requisition a small amount of tax from people. The average property on Cortes is going to pay $31.80 maximum per year.  For 2024, right now it's at zero. We have nothing planned.  It's going to be used for us to collectively pool our money to make housing happen.” 
So let's look at some of Abram's facts.   
CC: Is there any requirement for building permits under the proposed SRD housing service? 
Mark Vonesch: “The short answer is no, the Regional District Housing Service has nothing in it that says we have to have building permits.” 
“What Jim's referring to as far as building permits, is the Housing Accelerator Fund. So this is one grant  that the Regional District has applied for. Part of the requirement of the grant is having a way to measure new housing builds and the internal measurement for that is traditionally housing permits.”  
Regional Director Robin McWhinney of Area C mentioned the confusion between the Accelerator fund and proposed SRD housing service, in her December 12th Directors Newsletter. Even if the SRD application is approved. Cortes island, Area C and Area A will not be able to obtain Accelerator funding  because we do not use building permits.” 
(This is a grant and unrelated to the SRD housing service, which is seeking to raise startup capital through our property taxes.)   
CC: So why don't we use building permits? 
Mark Vonesch: “My sense is Cortes does not want a building permit. We have some of the best builders around on our island, and they are building to the code, whether we have building permits or not.”  
Robyn Mawhinney: “I haven't heard from any residents on Quadra Island who are in favour of adding another level of local government oversight and fees that  would be associated with building service and building permits and building inspections. Creating a new bylaw or service is a lot of work for staff and for me and for the community to attend community meetings and weigh in on things like that. It's not something that I'm pursuing unless I hear a reason why we should be, and I haven't heard one yet.”  
Abram also claims that Cortes and Quadra  islands have reached their capacity in terms of population. 
Mark Vonesch: “That's a fine statement to say. Somebody else could say we haven't reached our capacity, but what data are you actually looking at to make that statement?”  
“One of the things that I'm moving forward on, together with the Cortes Housing Society, is looking quite seriously at 'what is our capacity?' First of all, starting with the base, what is the health of our aquifer? What is the health of our watershed?  Where can we have more development that's going to be sustainable in the long term? And how can we do development in a way that is ecologically sensitive, that recognizes our imprint on the land but also produces housing.”

In this episode we hear Natalie on her morning walks talking to us about the displaced families in her community, the stop on arab labor, the effect of parents on their children, the superheroes that live amoung us, and more. She ends with a segment about Regavim and illegal arab construction happening all throughout Area C, and the foreign journalists who favor the Arabs, which is telling as to the way the rest of the world views Israel. To contact Natalie email: natalie@israelnewstalkradio.com Returning Home 19NOV2023 - PODCAST

Listen to the Rebels defeat the Tigers to earn another berth in the MSHSL State Tournament.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) wants to set up its own housing service. They hope to raise up to $10,000,000 for applicable projects and non-profits. This is to be administered through loans, which developers must pay back, but would initially be funded through property taxes. The SRD will be seeking your approval through an Alternate Approval Process. If 10% of the electorate (i.e.- 3,456 people) notify the SRD that they are opposed to this new service before 12:00 noon on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, it will be considered defeated and the SRD will have to consider other ways of raising the money. A recent report from the CMHC estimates that in order to restore affordability, Canada will have to build 3.5 million housing units by 2030. 
Meanwhile in the SRD, 45% of the renters who responded to last year's Housing Needs Report stated they were paying more than they could afford for shelter. They were said to be ‘at risk' of homelessness. This was brought home by Campbell River's recent Point In Time count, in which 33% of the city's unhoused population reported they lost their homes because they did not have a sufficient income.  
Last August, Senior Manager Aniko Nelson told the Board that if they set up the proposed housing service, “We will  enable ourselves to champion housing related projects throughout the region, as opposed to being that local government which is unable to assist those that are working so hard to provide affordable housing and below market housing throughout the region.” Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney, of Area C, subsequently told Cortes Currents, “The Regional Housing Service and borrowing bylaws would afford opportunities for the Strathcona Regional District to partner with local housing societies across the Regional District. The SRD can work to address specific challenges, such as workforce, housing and social housing issues. Each project would be individually examined and measured by the board.” Aniko Nelson: “It would enable partnerships with First Nations, which are looking to provide housing throughout the region right now. There's First Nations that are currently purchasing land. It would enable us to work together with those First Nations to provide that housing. It would allow us to work with other not-for-profit agencies that are providing housing and working towards applications to support funding for those initiatives and it would also enable us to provide opportunities for provincial lobbying.” Robyn Mawhinney: “In a Regional District, everything is siloed in services. If there isn't a service, there isn't a way for the regional district to approach a subject or work on a specific item. One of the benefits of having a Regional Housing Service would be that the Regional District is able to access Federal funds such as the Housing Accelerator Fund. The SRD was able to apply for a Housing Accelerator grant because it could show it was working towards setting up a housing service. That decision was made at the August 16, 2023 Board meeting. Cortes Island Director Mark Vonesch said,  “I support the creation of a Regional Housing Service. Looking at our campaigns eight months ago, a lot of us ran on the fact there's a lot of need for housing in all of our communities, including Cortes.” 
At that time, the proposed loan limit was $6 million. Director Vonesch suggested that be raised to $10 million:

In the occupied Palestinian territory, Palestinian women and girls endure systemic discrimination, human rights violations, and the harsh consequences of occupation, with specific gender-related repercussions. These challenges are exacerbated by occupation policies such as expanding settlements, eviction threats, house demolitions (especially in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank), and the 15-year blockade of the Gaza Strip.

ft. Sari Bashi (Human Rights Watch), Amjad Iraqi (+972 Magazine) & Lara Friedman (FMEP) In the wake of Hamas's massacres of citizens & residents of Israel on October 7th, Israeli leadership has articulated its aim of destroying the “human animals” in Gaza, leading many to sound the alarm that Israeli intentions are genocidal. Coming in the context of 16 years of a brutal Israeli blockade, and targeting a population a large percentage of which is present in Gaza as a direct result of the Nakba 75 years ago, which left them and their families unable to return to homes in what became Israel, Israel's current war on Gaza is wreaking incomprehensible levels of civilian death, injury, and destruction. The possibilities for expanded conflict loom, including in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where the IDF & IDF-backed settlers have escalated their terrorism of Palestinians and their efforts to Palestinians from Area C of the West Bank, and on Israel's border with Lebanon. In parallel, delegitimization and repression of Palestinian voices and support for Palestinians and Palestinian rights are increasing around the globe, including in Israel and Palestine. Join FMEP for conversations with trusted partners who will ground us in what's going on, what's at stake for Palestinians, Israelis, the broader Middle East, and the rest of the world; what Israeli, Palestinian, and American leadership are envisioning as next steps, and also for the day-after this war ends; and what the opportunities and obligations are for grassroots mobilization, civil society actors, and human rights defenders in this moment. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

ft. Inès Abdel Razek (Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy), Fadi Quran (Avaaz), & Lara Friedman (FMEP) In the wake of Hamas's massacres of citizens & residents of Israel on October 7th, Israeli leadership has articulated its aim of destroying the “human animals” in Gaza, leading many to sound the alarm that Israeli intentions are genocidal. Coming in the context of 16 years of a brutal Israeli blockade, and targeting a population a large percentage of which is present in Gaza as a direct result of the Nakba 75 years ago, which left them and their families unable to return to homes in what became Israel, Israel's current war on Gaza is wreaking incomprehensible levels of civilian death, injury, and destruction. The possibilities for expanded conflict loom, including in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where the IDF & IDF-backed settlers have escalated their terrorism of Palestinians and their efforts to Palestinians from Area C of the West Bank, and on Israel's border with Lebanon. In parallel, delegitimization and repression of Palestinian voices and support for Palestinians and Palestinian rights are increasing around the globe, including in Israel and Palestine. Join FMEP for conversations with trusted partners who ground us in what's going on, what's at stake for Palestinians, Israelis, the broader Middle East, and the rest of the world; what Israeli, Palestinian, and American leadership are envisioning as next steps, and also for the day-after this war ends; and what the opportunities and obligations are for grassroots mobilization, civil society actors, and human rights defenders in this moment. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

Aumenta il costo dell'Area C a Milano. Per la prima volta da quando è entrata in vigore (gennaio 2012) il ticket per la Ztl è passato da 5 a 7,50 euro per le auto. Per i veicoli di servizio, invece, il costo è passato da 3 a 4,50 euro. Milano, in questo modo diventa la seconda città più cara d'Europa, battuta esclusivamente da Londra. Entrare a Milano costa di più che accedere al centro di Parigi e a quello di Berlino. Ma vediamo cosa cambia per i residenti e per chi si deve trasferire nel capoluogo lombardo per ragioni di lavoro.Questo show fa parte del network Spreaker Prime. Se sei interessato a fare pubblicità in questo podcast, contattaci su https://www.spreaker.com/show/4869332/advertisement

Disruptive Element Music, Managing Director, Brett Leboff, tells his story of an Israeli/Palestinian creative coexistence project in Area C in the West Bank - a rare meeting place for Jews and Palestinians (both 'educated' by the powers-that-be, that the 'other' is a threat to their existence) to share perspectives, poetry, music and to experience, firsthand, their common humanity.

The comment period is open for the public to review the New Mexico Environment Department's recommendation to excavate the 11.8 acre unlined dump, called Material Disposal Area C, or MDA C, at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Public comments are due Monday, November 6 th . --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ccnsupdate/support

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been nine years Transport Canada (TC) transferred administration of three wharves in Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets (Area C) to the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). The SRD was also given $2.9 Million for maintenance and upgrades that were to be completed before November 2024. The work was not done and now the cost of upgrading the wharves Owen Bay on Sonora Island, Surge Narrows on Read Island, and Port Neville on the northern shore of the Johnstone Strait, has risen.   
The SRD hoped to recover the shortfall through the area's property value taxes, ‘the annual requisition not to exceed the greater of $137,187 or $O.0935 per $1,000 of net taxable assessments.'   
On June 29, 2023, the SRD Board decided to gage the electorate's support through an Alternative Approval Process. This would allow the District to proceed unless 10% of the voters state they are opposed. A minimum of 242 negative responses would suffice to defeat the motion. By the time the process ended, there were 418 elector responses, 385 of which were deemed to be valid. The motion was defeated. 
Transport Canada informed the SRD they will not take either the wharves or the funds back.  
Staff drew up a number of possible options, including: transferring the wharves to Area C's parks service, divest the wharves to First Nations, community groups or private entities, or using the funds to demolish the wharves

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Kristin McCarthy talks to Shira Livne (ACRI/Association for Civil Rights in Israel) about all things annexation. Including, how is annexation related to the current judicial reforms? What has annexation looked like previous to the current government? How significant are the changes in governance that the current government have taken? Should we consider the West Bank, or perhaps only Area C, annexed? For bios and resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/has-israel-annexed-the-west-bank/

Human rights advocate Samer Daoudi and international human rights attorney Jonathan Kuttab discuss the recent demolition of the Jubbet adh-Dhib village school by the Israeli army on May 7, 2023. The demolition of the school is emblematic of a larger strategy to deny Palestinians access to education and, accordingly, the ability to even live in area C, argues Samer Daoudi. Jonathan Kuttab contends that the demolition of the school is in keeping with the goal of preventing the Palestinians from exercising their right to self-determination.

This is TRT World's Daily News Brief for Monday, May 8th. *) Russia launches large-scale strikes across Ukraine Russia has launched a large-scale wave of strikes across Ukraine, injuring at least five people in Kiev and setting ablaze a foodstuff warehouse in the Black Sea city of Odessa. The fresh attacks come as Moscow prepares for its Victory Day, which marks the anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany. In his campaign against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has evoked the spirit of the Soviet defeat of Nazi forces, alleging that Kiev is in the grip of a new incarnation of Nazism. *) Car-ramming incident kills seven in US In United States' Texas, at least seven pedestrians have been killed and several others injured when an SUV mowed down people near a homeless shelter for migrants. Some migrants were among the dead in the incident in Brownsville, a city on the border with Mexico, according to local police. It was not clear if the driver had crashed into the group intentionally or lost control of the vehicle. He was taken into custody and charged with reckless driving. *) PKK supporters attack Turkish election observers Supporters of the PKK terrorist organisation have attacked election observers in the Netherlands as voting in Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections took place. Part of a bigger group, PKK supporters assaulted ballot box observers of the People's Alliance as polls were closing at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre. Police intervened against the attackers, who shouted slogans in favour of the PKK, and maintained security in the area until the votes were counted and sealed. *) Israel demolishes EU-funded Palestinian school Israeli army forces have demolished a European Union-funded Palestinian school in the occupied West Bank for lack of a building permit, according to a local official. The al Tahadi school, which housed over 60 students, was located in the Oslo Accords-described Area C of the occupied West Bank that is under Israeli army control. Israel widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C. The EU slammed Israel over the demolition, saying: Demolitions are illegal under international law, and children's right to education must be respected. And finally… *) Pulitzer Prize day honours journalism's best work The Pulitzer Prizes will be awarded today to honour outstanding journalism from 2022, as well as arts categories focused on books, music and theater. The winners will be announced during a livestream beginning at 1900GMT. The public service prize winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive 15,000 dollars. The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917. And that's your daily news brief from TRT World. For more, head to trtworld.com

Plan a trip to Israel in 2023: https://serveisrael.com/volunteer/ Nearly thirty Jews were murdered in Israel in 2022 simply because they were Jews. The world was silent. An Israeli Minister visited the Temple Mount on a Jewish holy day and the world flew into an outrage, saying that this could spark violence, and was a violation of the status quo. A vineyard was destroyed in Samaria this week. Only 300 meters away, a mosque, which is located in Area C, and has had a demolition order for the past 15 years, sits untouched.  The US could not have been more strong in their condemnation of Itamar Ben Gvir's visit to the Temple Mount this week. The US State Department also roundly condemned Israel's announcement that they plan to legalize a yeshiva in Homesh, the same site where a Jewish community was destroyed in 2005.  Watch today's program to find out just how vehemently opposed the State Department is to Jews living in the Heartland of Israel.  Follow The Israel Guys on social media:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/theisraelguys Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theisraelguys Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theisraelguys Purchase TIG Merch:  Heartland Tumbler: https://shop.theisraelguys.com/store/... “Israel” Leather Patch Hat: https://shop.theisraelguys.com/store/... Next Level T-shirt: https://shop.theisraelguys.com/store/... #israelnews #theisraelguys #americaisrael  Source Links:   https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/01/0... https://arlenefromisrael.info/from-is... https://www.israel365news.com/364865/... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/wa... https://www.timesofisrael.com/illegal... https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7... https://www.jns.org/2-67-million-tour... https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-biden... https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/... https://twitter.com/regavimeng/status...

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP Non-resident Fellow Peter Beinart is joined by Ziv Stahl (Yesh Din) to sketch out what the new Israeli government has said - and in some cases already started to implement - its policy on settlements, outposts, and Palestinian life in Area C will be. In addition, Ziv discusses the deepening challenges facing human rights organizations and their employees.

An Israeli news source revealed a Secret document claiming the European Union will help Arabs take over Area C. Jesus prophesied similar events would immediately precede His Second Coming. The stage is certainly being set for these events. We'll discuss it on this edition of End of the Age!

The European Union is trying to help the Palestinians take over Area C in Judea and Samaria. The UN Human Rights Office is criticizing Israel for the deportation of a terrorist. And northern Galilee was ranked number 5 on the top 23 places to visit in 2023. All this and more on today's show!

Today's broadcast is  C1E70A for Wayback Wednesday, December 21st, 2022. Today's episode is "The Best of 2022 – St. John's Picks" - a look back on John's favorite tracks of calendar 2022 on Nerd Noise Radio (includes tracks from Channel 1 and from Channel 2)    Track# - Track – Game – System – Composer(s) - Originally from – Originally selected by - Timestamp    01) Earcatcher – 00:00:00    02) Intro – 00:00:07    03) We Interrupt this program – 00:03:48    04) Intro (continued) - 00:04:38    05) Radix Malorum Est Cupidatas – N/A (VGMusic Discord: Sample Pack Contest XII) - N/A (Widlchip) - zenkusa – C1E66 – KungFuFurby – 00:20:40    06) Gambit – Spider-Man / X-Men: Arcade's Revenge – SNES – Tim and/or Geoff Follin – C2E8 – St. John – 00:26:54    07) BGM 4 (Stage 3-2) - Shadow Dancer – Genesis – Keiisuke Tsukahara – C1E69 – St. John – 00:30:53    08) Area C (aka "Darkness") – Puyo Puyo Tsuu – Arcade / Mega Drive - Tsuyoshi Matsushima, Einosuke Nagao, Nobuaki Yamasaki, and/or Tomoo Minami – C1E67 – St. John – 00:32:53    09) Track 7 – Keio Flying Squardon – Sega CD – Tsukasa Tawada – C2E10 – St. John – 00:34:54    10) Flight – Panzer Dragoon – Saturn – c: Yoshitaka Azuma / a: Tomoyuki Hayashi – C1E69 – St. John – 00:39:17    11) Tunnel – X – Gameboy – Hirokazu ("Hip") Tanaka and/or Kazumi Totaka – C1E67 – St. John – 00:42:59    12) Shop – Phantasy Star – Master System (PSG) - Tokuhiko Uwabo – C1E67 – St. John – 00:44:20    13) Jus' Dance (Sole Channel Mix) - Gran Turismo Sport – PS4 – Mr. V – C1E69 – St. John – 00:45:11    14) Confined Spaces – n++ - Multiplatform – ASC – C1E64 – St. John – 00:52:46    15)  noidea.xm - N/A (Battle of the Bits: Super Pseudo-SNES Compo) - N/A (Wildchip – S3XMODIT) - Chip Champion – C1E66 – KungFuFurby – 01:00:46    16) Unknown Track 22 – Team Innocent – PCFX (HuC) - Kenji Kawai – C1E69 – St. John – 01:02:43    17) Battle – LaPlace no Ma – PC Engine – Unknown – C1E68 – St. John – 01:04:29    18) Sirena Beach – Super Mario Sunshine – GameCube / Switch - Kōji Kondō, and/or Shinobu Tanaka – C1E64 – St. John – 01:06:36    19) Nocturne – 3D Museum – LaserActive – Goh Hotoda – C1E61 – St. John – 01:08:45    20) Fantasy – Final Fantasy X – PS2 – Junya Nakano – C1E64 – St. John – 01:10:54    21) Benevolent Deeds – Reigns – iOS / Android – MAGO – C1E64 – St. John – 01:14:18    22) Goddess of Love – Immortals: Fenyx Rising – Multiplatform – Gareth Coker – C1E62 – St. John – 01:16:45    23) Dry Desert Sky – Two Dots – iOS / Android – Upright T-Rex – C2E9 – St. John – 01:20:17    24) New Beginning pt. 1 – L.A. Noire – Multiplatform – Andrew and/or Simon Hale – C1E69 – St. John – 01:22:18    25) Twilight – LoZ: Twilight Princess – GameCube / Wii – Toru Minegishi and/or Asuko Ohta – C1E68 – St. John – 01:23:17    26) Freak you Out – Vay – Sega CD – Shigeki Sako – C1E68 – St. John – 01:26:24    27) Inside Deep Darkness – Lagrange Point – Famicom (VRC7) - Akio Dobashi, Noriyuki Takahashi, Katsuhiro Suzuki, and/or Atsushi Fujio – C1E68 – St. John – 01:28:22    28) Cabin – Friday the 13th - NES – Hirohiko Takayama – C1E68 – St. John – 01:30:34    29) Password Screen – Castlevania Bloodlines –Genesis – Michiru Yamane – C1E68 – St. John – 01:32:03    30) The Icon of Sin – DOOM Eternal – Multiplatform – Mick Gordon – C1E64 – St. John – 01:33:56    31) Challenge – Final Fantasy X – PS3 – Masashi Hamausu – C1E68 – St. John – 01:39:15    32) Metroid Prime Battle – Metroid Prime – GameCube – Kenji Yamamoto and/or Kouichi Kyuma – C1E68 – St. John – 01:41:57    33) Kao Kao Kao (Face Face Face) - Midnight Resistance – Gensis - Azusa Hara, Hiroaki Yoshida, Fuse, Tatsuya Kinichi, and/or Hitomi Komatsu – C1E67 – St. John – 01:44:36    34) Hurry! - Final Fantasy X – PS2 – Masashi Hamauzu – C1E68 – St. John – 01:47:23    35) Boss 3 – Legendary Axe – TG16 – Atsumi Chikuma and/or Toshiaki Takimoto – C1E68 – St. John – 01:49:53    36) Ghost Valley – N/A (Super Mario Kart [album] - originally Super Mario Kart [game] - N/A [originally SNES] - c: Soya Oka / a: The OneUps – C1E63 – St. John – 01:51:36    37) This is Your Story – Final Fantasy X – PS2 – Masashi Hamauzu – C1E69 – St. John – 01:54:45    38) The Lunarians – Final Fantasy IV (FFII US) - SNES – Nobuo Uematsu – C1E62 – St. John – 01:56:58    39) Sealed Temple – LoZ: Skyward Sword – Wii / Switch - Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yakota, Taeshi Hama, and/or Kōji Kondō - C1E69 – St. John – 01:59:02    40) Building Mode 5 – The Sims – PC – Jerry Martin and/or Marc Russo – C1E62 – St. John – 02:01:44    41) The Thunder Plains – Final Fantasy X – PS2 – Nobuo Uematsu – C1E62 – St. John – 02:08:04    42) Moth and Cortisone – 3D Museum – LaserActive – Yasuaki Shimizu – C1E61 – St. John – 02:11:41    43) OST 08 – Magic the Gatherirng: Shandalar – PC – Roland J.Rizzo -C1E64 – St. John – 02:15:53    44) Cobbleston, Nestled in the Hills – Octopath Traveller – Multiplaform – Yasunori Nishiki – C1E69 – St. John – 02:17:36    45) The Travel Agency – Final Fantasy X – PS2 – Masashi Hamauzu – C1E64 – St. John – 02:20:36    46) USA Race 2 – Trickstyle – Dreamcast / PC – Richard Beddow – C1E64 – St. John – 02:23:29    47) World A – Art of Balance – Multiplatform - Martin Schjøler - C1E64 – St. John – 02:26:44    48) La sons et Perfume (Pacific Mix) - 3D Museum – LaserActive – Goh Hotoda – C1E61 –St. John – 02:29:08    49) Message from Nightopia – NiGHTS into Dreams – Multiplatform – Naofumi Hataya – C2E7 – St. John – 02:30:46    50) Island of Memory – Doshin the Giant – GameCube – Tatsuhiko Asano – C1E69 – St. John – 02:33:26    51) Shadow Man – N/A (Volume 2) [Originally Mega Man 3] - N/A [originally NES] - c: Yasuaki Fujita / a: The OneUps – C1E63 – St. John – 02:37:28    52) The Flatfields – Quizzes and Dragons – Arcade – Isao Abe – C1E69 – St. John – 02:43:10    53) Title Theme – Art of Balance – Multiplatform - Martin Schjøler - C1E64 – St. John – 02:44:51    54) Surrender – n++ - Multiplatform – Sam KDC – C1E64 – St. John – 02:46:50    55) Outro – 02:52:51    Music Block Runtime: 02:32:18, Total Episode Runtime: 03:12:01    Our Intro Music is "Record of Samus" (aka "Results Theme") from Metroid Prime on the GameCube and Wii, composed by Kenji Yamamoto. Our Outro Music is "Results Parade" from the Check Mii Out Channel on the Wii, composed by Kazumi Totaka.    You can find Phoxmonkey on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/phoxmonkey    You can find Secure Point Solutions here:    Website: https://www.secureps.net/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecurePointIA    And here is the YouTube video that James Bierly of Secure Point had wished me to share: Secure Point Solutions Presentation at the InnoVenture Iowa and Bunker Labs event.    Link to the full list of every track featured on Nerd Noise Radio in calendar 2022 in case you wanted to submit tracks for a potential future "Best of 2022 – Listener Picks" - REMEMBER: to unlock Listener Picks, we need a minimum of 20 unique tracks form a minimum of 5 unique contributors:    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uZn4WX9uhY7xXbDzRJxovxVZXyQxZGvOwpuChi-JxcM/edit?usp=sharing    I have mentioned repeatedly how Channel 1 is inspired by NPR's Hearts of Space, so I figured that I'd finally share a link to their website so you can hear the template and inspiration for yourself: https://v4.hos.com/home    St. John's personal and podcast Mastodon accts:    @StJohnDSM@mstdn.party    @NerdNoiseRadio@universodon.com    Produced using Ardour 6 / Audacity 3 in Ubuntu Studio [Linux] 22.10 (as well as Manjaro Xfce)    You can also find all of our audio episodes on Archive.org as well as the occasional additional release only available there, such as remixes of previous releases and other content.    Our YouTube Channel, for the time being is in dormancy, but will be returning with content, hopefully, in 2022. Meanwhile, all the old stuff is still there, and can be found here:     https://www.youtube.com/user/NerdNoiseRadio    Our episodes (and occasionally, other content, including expanded show notes) can be found on our blog here:    nerdnoiseradio.blogspot.com.    Nerd Noise Radio is also available on The Retro Junkies Network at www.theretrojunkies.com, and is a member of the VGM Podcast Fans community at     https://www.facebook.com/groups/VGMPodcastFans/    Or, if you wish to connect with us directly, we have two groups of our own:     Nerd Noise Radio - Easy Mode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/276843385859797/ for sharing tracks, video game news, or just general videogame fandom.    Nerd Noise Radio - Expert Mode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/381475162016534/ for going deep into video game sound hardware, composer info, and/or music theory.    You can also follow us on Twitter at @NerdNoiseRadio. And we are also now on Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and Vurbl.    Thanks for listening! Join us again one week from today (12/28/2022) for C1E70B: "The Best of 2022 – Hugues' Picks". Delicious VGM on Noise from the Hearts of Nerds....and wherever you are....Fly the N!!!      Cheers! 

Bernardo CT made Aliyah from Mexico City in 2006, and spent over 16 years in Israel's security forces, during which time he carried out hundreds of operations. His expertise covers high-risk police tactics, special operations (SOF), dignitary protection (CP) and close quarters battle (CQB). He  served as a Federal Air Marshall, personal bodyguard to the Chief of Staff (IDF), a combat instructor and counter assault team member within the Israeli Security Agency.Bernardo is also the founder of Tsevet Lohamim ("team of warriors"),  a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring lone soldiers, minorities, & at-risk youth, unlocking their leadership potential in preparation for military service. It was through that program over 12 years ago that I met the men who remain among my closest friends to this day.  But there are a lot of things Bernardo's resume won't tell you. When I first moved to Israel, craving interactions with people my own age, but lacking the money to move to Tel Aviv, Bernardo and his two roommates Rachel and Daniel allowed me to move into their living room free of charge until I could afford to pay rent.  Prior to the trip on which he enlisted in the IDF, Bernardo had never been to Israel. Though he was among the strongest in the tryouts for the special forces of the Nahal Brigade, he accidentally quit in the middle by raising his hand, not yet speaking enough Hebrew to understand what the commander was saying.  After losing friends in the Lebanon war, Bernardo re-enlisted, this time into the special forces (Palsar Nachal). Many of those training him were suffering from PTSD from the war, and they took that out on Bernardo and the other trainees. We spoke of some of the tougher experiences of Bernardo's combat service - one of his commanders was hit with an IED, and friends were shot. After spending some time as an officer in the dignitary protection unit, Bernardo decided to go back to combat service, and tried out for and was accepted into Yamas, one of the most active and elite units in Israel.  Yamas specializes in utilizing low visibility undercover tactics to capture violence criminals in high risk areas and counter terrorism throughout Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. Bernardo's job on the team was to break doors, which came with a great benefit: “Even if the mission was not successful, I at least got to break down a door, and that's always fun.”  We discussed violent missions, but also the many occasions on which Bernardo used restraint when the rules of engagement would have allowed him to shoot to kill.  He told me the powerful story of a mission (on which he risked his life and many of his teammates were injured) to arrest a Palestinian who had killed another Palestinian. Israel risking the lives of it's elite soldiers to bring about justice for Palestinians in Area C (sovereign Palestinian territory) is a story that is not often told in the media.  Bernardo served alongside Jews, Druze, Christians, and Muslim Arabs in Yamas, another fact that is often missing from the media's narrative.We spoke about Israel's edge in undercover operations as compared to other armies, and closed with Bernado's advice for future lone soldiers. Bernardo is an instructor at Tactical Fitness Austin, which will be partnering with Legion Alpha in February to bring subsidized Krav Maga to the Austin community.  Bernardo can be found on Instagram, Linkedin, and reached by email at Bernardo@TacticalFitnessAustin.com. 

Patrick Batten is a candidate for Poway School Board running in Area C covering parts of Rancho Penasquitos, Rancho Bernardo, and 4S Ranch. Patrick is attempting to win the race to fill the seat of departing incumbent TJ Zane. The US Marine Corps Patrick shared his background growing up with a single parent facing tremendous financial challenges. He discussed his time at San Diego State University and his career as a US Marine in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Educational Curriculum We discussed his “Brilliant at the Basics” curriculum proposal focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic. This led to further discussion of vocational education, critical race theory, and home economics courses. We also covered options available to students at PUSD to attend Design 39, JROTC at Westview High School, Spanish and Mandarin bi-lingual immersion programs in elementary schools, and 4H specialty classes at Poway High School. PUSD Finances and School Bonds Patrick Batten spoke about Poway Unified School District's financial condition, the broken air conditioning at Rancho Bernardo High School and Bernardo Heights Middle School, the failed Measure P bond, and the infamous Billion Dollar Bond. We also spoke about teachers/administrator union endorsements and how those relations impact financial budgeting for the district. COVID and Education We spent a good amount of time covering the way Poway Unified managed the COVID crisis including district communication challenges, masks, remote education, and how other schools successfully got students back in school sooner than PUSD. There was so much more covered in this podcast interview including the role of parents in education, the school board listening to constituents, Poway Federation of Teachers, Poway School Employee's Association, Contractor's Union, school safety, school board dynamics, school infrastructure, technology in education, book banning, STEM, and mental health services for students. Thanks to the livestream audience for so many great questions and comments. We value your input! Thank you! #PowaySchools #PUSD #PowayUnified #PatrickBatten #Election2022 Relevant Links: Patrick Batten for Poway Unified School Districthttp://www.patrickbatten.com/ Patrick Batten for Poway Unified School District – Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/PatrickBattenforPUSD Patrick Batten – LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/patbatten/ Patrick Batten for Poway Unified School District – Twitterhttps://twitter.com/patbatten Get proven and easy-to-implement strategies to build your business and pursue your happiness. Sign up now. It is FREE! https://johnrileyproject.com/ Be sure to share this video with a friend! Sponsors Happiness76.com – your source of gear that celebrates Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. https://happiness76.com/ ☆☆    STAY CONNECTED    ☆☆ SUBSCRIBE for more reactions, upcoming shows and more! ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJJSzeIW2A-AeT7gwonglMA FACEBOOK ➡ https://www.facebook.com/johnrileyproject/ TWITTER ➡ https://twitter.com/JohnRileyPoway INSTAGRAM ➡  https://www.instagram.com/johnrileypoway/ Sponsorship Inquiries https://johnrileyproject.com/sponsorship/ Donations https://johnrileyproject.com/donations/donation-form/ Music https://www.purple-planet.com

The Palestinian Authority is busy trying to illegally take over Area C in Judea and Samaria, which in effect, will create a de facto Palestinian State. At the same time, terrorist organizations in Area A of Judea and Samaria have gotten so large and violent that the IDF is in the midst of rooting them out.  Two years ago, the PA officially reneged on all agreements with Israel, including security agreements. This means that the Oslo Accords, which are now nearly thirty years old, are officially dead.  On today's program, we explain why any attempts from the PA to form an agreement with Israel, or create legitimacy with the international community, mean absolutely nothing. The Oslo Accords are dead, the IDF is cleaning house, and the Arabs are trying to take over Judea and Samaria.

A package of “good will gestures” presented by Defense Minister Benny Gantz will result in de facto Palestinian annexation of large sections of Area C – the portion of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli jurisdiction. This according to the right-wing NGO Regavim. It includes “legalization” of hundreds of illegally-built structures and expansion of Arab villages, isolating and choking existing Jewish communities and threatening the security and feasibility of the entire settlement enterprise. Naomi Kahn, Director of the International Division of Regavim, an Israeli NGO dedicated to protecting Israel's land resources, told reporter Arieh O'Sullivan that the package if it goes through would reward the Palestinian Authority's continued efforts to create facts on the ground and establish a de facto Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel. (photo: Yaniv Nadav/flash90) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pierfrancesco Maran"Le città visibili"Solferino Librihttps://www.solferinolibri.it/Dove inizia il cambiamento del Paese.Nelle città di tutto il mondo stanno cambiando gli abitanti, i loro desideri e le loro priorità: la casa, lo spazio pubblico, il modello di sostenibilità ambientale, il modo di lavorare.In Europa, come negli Stati Uniti, esiste una visione più o meno condivisa del modo in cui rendere le città più sostenibili, più giuste, più belle.Ed è una visione che si confronta con tante difficoltà, con le abitudini e i conservatorismi non solo della politica e dell'impresa, ma anche dei singoli cittadini: rompere gli equilibri è faticoso.Pierfrancesco Maran, assessore del Comune di Milano alla Mobilità, all'Urbanistica e ora alla Casa, racconta la sua esperienza sul campo in queste pagine che affrontano le sfide e i nodi della trasformazione di una metropoli moderna, tra nuova identità e riscoperta delle tradizioni, all'insegna dell'innovazione nella progettazione del verde, dell'edilizia, della qualità dell'aria, del turismo e dei grandi eventi, della valorizzazione delle periferie e dell'economia della conoscenza.Una riflessione concreta di grande attualità sull'oggi e sul domani dei luoghi del cambiamento attraverso cui passa il futuro del Paese.Le parole di Francesco Costa«Come sono le città oggi e come diventeranno domani. Chi sono le persone che le abitano, come stanno cambiando le loro vite e i loro lavori. Pierfrancesco Maran, uno dei protagonisti della trasformazione di Milano degli ultimi anni, racconta difficoltà, opportunità, contraddizioni che vivono le aree urbane in questo periodo di grandi scossoni sociali, con lo spirito di chi cerca sempre soluzioni nuove. Una guida al presente delle città per essere pronti al prossimo futuro.»La necessità di comprendere i bisogni di chi abita le città«Siamo così saturi di immagini e notizie da far fatica a distinguere quelle importanti, a prenderci il giusto tempo per riflettere e analizzare, a volte siamo addirittura socialmente obbligati a esplicitare una nostra opinione su fatti complessi, prima ancora di averla completamente formata. Negli ultimi mesi, anche grazie a questo libro, ho potuto dedicare tempo per riflettere, per comprendere i bisogni di chi abita le città, per ragionare sulle opportunità di domani, studiare qual è lo spirito del tempo degli abitanti della città, nativi e nuovi arrivati.»Il futuro delle città«Nelle città di tutto il mondo stanno cambiando gli abitanti, i loro desideri e le loro priorità: la casa, lo spazio pubblico, il modello di sostenibilità ambientale, il modo di lavorare. In Europa, come negli Stati Uniti, esiste una visione più o meno condivisa del modo in cui rendere le città più sostenibili, più giuste, più belle. Ed è una visione che si confronta con tante difficoltà, con le abitudini e i conservatorismi non solo della politica e dell'impresa, ma anche dei singoli cittadini: rompere gli equilibri è faticoso.»Pierfrancesco MaranAlle elezioni comunali di Milano, del 2011 è diventato l'assessore più giovane della giunta di Giuliano Pisapia, che a 30 anni gli ha affidato Mobilità e Ambiente.Cinque anni dopo è stato riconfermato da Beppe Sala con le deleghe a Urbanistica, Verde e Agricoltura.Grazie a lui sono state introdotte Area C, la liberalizzazione dei sistemi di car sharing e si è raggiunto l'accordo di programma per la rigenerazione degli scali ferroviari.Nel 2021 è risultato il candidato più votato non solo della città, ma di tutta Italia, e ora guida l'assessorato a Casa e Piano quartieri.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

The Filmmaker and the Advocate are traveling again! While traveling to Palestine on a research trip at the invitation of the Norwegian Refugee Council, The Advocate was confronted with her family history and what her parents call "The Palestinian Heartache." Her trip through the villages of Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories left her focused on the hope of a future where the Palestinian people have a voice. The Advocate also talks about learning to persevere in her work while while carrying sadness, and fighting with human rights.All that, plus a week-long stopover in Pittsburgh to launch Fair Housing Month. Formerly a hub for the steel industry and home to jazz legends, the city's population has dropped by more than half in recent years, and the number keeps on dwindling.  The city has yet to fall victim to some of the more virulent forms of financialization - and the Advocate is hoping to keep it that way.And where has the Filmmaker been lately? Listen to the end to find out!*See Leilani's photos from her trip to Palestine here.*Please note this episode was recorded in early April, before the religious holidays and prior to the recent violence that has emerged.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Maher Husseini is the CEO of Jaguar Security and Investigating. His job is to bring law and order to a place reminiscent of the Wild Wild West, otherwise known as Area C, on the Sinai Peninsula. How do you create order out of the chaos caused by drug dealers, thieves, rapists, money launderers and terrorists? […] The post Do What You Love with Passion appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Maher Husseini is the CEO of Jaguar Security and Investigating. His job is to bring law and order to a place reminiscent of the Wild Wild West, otherwise known as Area C, on the Sinai Peninsula. How do you create order out of the chaos caused by drug dealers, thieves, rapists, money launderers and terrorists? Mr. Husseini joins Dr. Lycka to talk about it.    Guest Bio: CEO of Jaguar Security and Investigations of Houston Texas. Being passionate about security, Jaguar is available on both national and international levels.   Guest Contact Info: WEBSITE: https://jaguarprotection.com/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jaguarsecurity1 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Jaguarsecuriyandinvestigationd/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jaguar-security-and-investigations INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jaguarsecurity/     Thanks for listening to the show! It means so much to us that you listened to our podcast! If you would like to continue the conversation, please email me at allen@drallenlycka.com or visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/drallenlycka.    We would love to have you join us there, and welcome your messages. We check our Messenger often.   As a big thank you for listening to our podcast, we'd like to offer you a free copy of Dr. Lycka's bestselling book. The show is built on “The Secrets to Living A Fantastic Life.” Get your free copy by clicking here: https://secretsbook.now.site/home   We are building a community of like-minded people in the personal development/self-help/professional development industries, and are always looking for wonderful guests for our show. If you have any recommendations, please email us!   Dr. Allen Lycka's Social Media Links Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/drallenlycka Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dr_allen_lycka/ Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/drallenlycka LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenlycka YouTube:  https://www.YouTube.com/c/drallenlycka   Subscribe to the show We would be honored to have you subscribe to the show – you can subscribe to the podcast app on your mobile device.   Leave a review We appreciate your feedback, as every little bit helps us produce even better shows. We want to bring value to your day, and have you join us time and again.  Ratings and reviews from our listeners not only help us improve, but also help others find us in their podcast app. If you have a minute, an honest review on iTunes or your favorite app goes a long way! Thank you!

Maher Husseini created Jaguar Protection to help protect Area C. Maher talks about how he hires people from Isreal and Palestine t help to protect citizens who have faced years of violence. Find out how you can help and all of the amazing things he is doing. He also talks about the reality show he is working on to shed light on Area C and the things that have been going on. https://jaguarprotection.com/

One morning we woke up and Soviet Union was gone.  None of us saw this coming. When I started teaching in the 1970s, I told students there were three conflicts that would go on forever:  Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Israel-Palestine.    But two of those are resolved: Northern Ireland and South Africa. Is it possible that the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict could be resolved short of a catastrophe?  I am going to discuss four scenarios that work elsewhere but will not work here.  Those scenarios are explained more fully on Deep Blue under the title “Strategic Options in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”   Suggestion: download a map of the West Bank with Areas A and B and C outlined.  A and B are where Palestinians live.  C is where most Jewish settlements are.  When the Israelis talk of annexing the West Bank, most mean Area C.   I discuss the difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.  Today the balance of those two groups is about 48-48.  But what if the Ashkenazim began to leave and the balance shifted to 60-40 in favor of the Sephardic Jews?  What would that mean?  The professor I mentioned is Ian Lustick.  He is very good. 

In the inaugural episode of Palestine: In Between, I'll be speaking with Raya Ziada of Manjala, a grassroots cultural and agricultural initiative within Palestine as well as Yara Dowani, a manager and farmer at Om Sleiman farm, the first CSA in Palestine. We'll be discussing the unique challenges faced by farmers within the Occupied West Bank's Area C, ancestral agricultural Palestinian practices being revived today, agroecology, and how sustainable farming can be a path to food sovereignty for Palestinians. Music: Three Colors by Podington Bear. Three Colors by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Fathomless_-_Ambient/Three_Colors