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Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's remark on 14 January 1990 that massive Soviet Jewish immigration would require a "big Israel" focused attention yet again on Israeli intentions in the occupied territories and revived the controversy surrounding settlements. But while settlement and land expropriations have always received some coverage in the Western press, the other ways in which Israel continues to extend its hold on the West Bank and Gaza go largely unnoticed. One of the most important of these is land use planning-taking control of the lands remaining in Palestinian hands to restrict development and as a prelude to further expropriations.
Land use planning, land expropriations, and settlements are three interlocking aspects of a single policy aimed at the Judaization of the territories occupied in 1967. But while land use planning has been an important instrument of this policy, especially since the Likud came to power, it has gained importance in recent years as the Israeli government progressively exhausts the "legal" means it has devised for expropriating land: already by 1986, over 50 percent of the land of the West Bank and 30 percent of that of Gaza were under its control. [1] Planning has received further impetus since the intifada, when mounting international pressures on Israel to reach a settlement with the Palestinians lend urgency to its efforts to integrate the territories into the Israeli national system, and as media attention is focused on the more dramatic aspects of the uprising. Thus, while there is some press coverage of house demolitions for "security" reasons, there is little mention of demolitions on "planning" grounds (which have more than doubled during 1988 and 1989); there is talk of expulsions, but not of the unilaterally-implemented urban planning schemes that so re- strict Arab growth and development as to encourage "voluntary" emigration.
This paper aims at describing the policies, procedures, and practices of the Israeli planning authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, and to assess their role and impact on the process of colonization and Judaization. While the military orders cited and examples given are especially taken from the West Bank, the policies and practices in Gaza are virtually the same.
Master Plans and Planning Law
Before examining planning instruments per se, some background on Israel's strategic vision may be in order. The Israeli view of the future of the territories, even at the beginning of the occupation when the more "conciliatory" Labor was firmly in control, is clearly expressed in a 1970 government publication entitled Judea and Samaria: Guidelines for Regional and Physical Planning, which states: "in the course of the Six Day War, new territories to the north, center, and south of the former boundaries of the State of Israel were liberated. For the first time in twenty years, the West Bank of the Jordan has become a natural entity" (emphasis added). The Guidelines go on to list as a central planning objective "the development of the periphery of Samaria and Judea so that it may become integrated with the rest of the country." [2]
In accordance with this overall vision, a series of "master" settlement plans for the West Bank and Gaza have been elaborated since 1967 spelling out the strategic goals of the occupation. The first such plan was that conceived by Yigal Allon in July 1967 and presented in its final version in 1970. The plan stipulated a chain of Jewish colonies along the Jordan River, the Rift Valley, and the "Judean" desert to assure Israel's security. It also called for the colonization of the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The northern part of the Strip and the densely populated parts of the West Bank not colonized under the plan were to form part of a Jordanian- Palestinian state ruled from Amman. Although the Allon plan was never officially approved, it provided guidelines for the deployment of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza until Labor was voted out of office in 1977.
With the new Likud government that came to power, all pretense of returning territory to the Arabs was dropped. In 1978, a year into the Likud's tenure in office, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) was called upon to draft a new master settlement plan. At about the same time, the Gush Emunim submitted to the government a detailed and comprehensive colonization plan whose main objective was to establish a north-south chain of Jewish settlements on the hills and along both sides of the watershed in the West Bank. The plan also incorporated a road network aimed at fragmenting the Palestinian population and isolating Palestinian towns and villages. Nothing ever came of this plan, but it is likely to have influenced the WZO plan, which was finalized in 1981. The WZO master plan (known as the Drobless Plan after its author, the head of the WZO's settlement division) stated that
there is to be not a shadow of doubt regarding our intention to remain in Judea and Samaria. A dense chain of settlements on the mountain ridge running southwards from Nablus to Hebron will serve as a reliable barrier on the eastern front. This buffer zone of settlements will also create security for settlers in the Jordan valley. Both areas between concentrations of the minority [Arab] population and the area around them must be settled to minimize the danger of the rise of another Arab state in the region. [3]
According to the plan, "about eighty rural and urban colonies housing some 120,000 Jews were to be established by 1985." [4]
The plan was updated by Drobless in 1983 as the "World Zionist Organization Development Plan for 1983-86." The declared objective of the revised plan, also known as the "Master Plan for 2010," was to "disperse maximally large Jewish populations in areas of high settlement priority, using small national inputs and in a relatively short period by using the settlement potential of the West Bank and to achieve the incorporation [of the West Bank] into the national [Israeli] system." According to the plan, about 6,000 housing units, 23 settlements, 20 strongpoints, 500 dunums of industrial zones, and 100-150 kilometers of paved roads were to be constructed each year of the plan at a total expenditure of about $2.6 million.* [5]
The master plans are mainly strategic and do not concern themselves with the means of attaining the goals they spell out. Such means include first and foremost military orders amending the planning laws in force in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the eve of occupation. Under Jordanian law, planning in the West Bank followed widely accepted inter- national practices whereby town plans were drawn up on the basis of up- to-date physical and demographic surveys making it possible to take into account the anticipated social and economic needs of the local population. The Jordanian planning law of 1966, in addition to defining the planning structure and the functional relationships between the local, district, and national planning levels, provided for the participation and in- put from non-official organizations (such as the engineers union) and from the local communities whose interests are directly or indirectly affected by the plans. It also stipulated that village councils could act as local planning committees with powers similar to those exercised by the municipal councils.
More than ten major military orders have been issued to amend and alter the existing planning laws and regulations with the objective of tightening Israeli control over Palestinian development. [6] One of the most important results of these orders was the extreme centralization of the planning process and the widening of the planning powers of the occupation authorities. Military Order (M.O.) 393, issued in 1970, authorized the military commander to forbid, halt, or set conditions for construction. Under Military Order 418, issued in March 1971, all planning authority was vested in the Higher Planning Council, which was given extensive powers to suspend any plan or license anywhere within the West Bank, including the municipalities which in principle retained the authority to grant permits. While ultimate authority rests with the Higher Planning Council, it is its executive arm, the Central Planning Department, which is directly involved on a day-to-day basis in every aspect relating to planning, including the issuing of permits, carrying out demolitions, ruling on plans. The head of the department is a member of all four subcommittees created by M.O. 418 for settlement, demolitions, planning, and so on (see Figure 1).
A second crucial result of the military orders was the removal of all local participation from the planning process. Military Order 418 formally eliminated the input of all "non-official [i.e., non-Israeli] institutions" at all levels and abolished both the district planning committees, whose powers were assumed by the Higher Planning Council composed solely of Israeli officials, and the village planning committees. These last were replaced by a single "Local Committee for Planning and Construction" composed of representatives from the Military Government (now Civil Administration). The Local Committee, the name notwithstanding, involved no local participation whatsoever.**
While local Arab councils were abolished and replaced by exclusively Israeli instruments, Jewish regional councils were established by Military Order 783 of March 1979. One of the results of this situation was the Jewish councils were given jurisdiction even in areas where the Palestinian population outnumbered the Jewish settlers nine to one. These councils were allowed to plan and construct settlements, roads, and infrastructure and to control land use in general. [7] In effect, Jewish settlements did not have to go through any formal planning procedure (one of the provisions of M.O. 418 mentioned above was that the Higher Planning Council could exempt any person from the need to obtain a building permit, a provision that greatly facilitated the construction of Jewish settlements). The Israeli State Comptroller's report of 1984 determined that "according to the findings, the settlements in Judea and Samaria were established without due attention to the required planning procedures." [8] It was in this connection that Meron Benvenisti noted that "the separate planning process, one for the Israeli settlements and the other for Palestinians, initiated in the late seventies continued under separate administrations, different standards, and with clear efforts [by the Israelis] to use physical planning as a tool in the scramble for control over space." [9]
Regional and Road Plans
Having altered existing planning law through military orders, the occupation authorities could proceed with their efforts to integrate the territories into the Israeli system. A year after the first WZO Master Plan was made public in 1981, a regional master plan for the Jerusalem area was announced along with a number of local plans for towns and villages in the Jerusalem region.
The Jerusalem plan, called the Partial Regional Master Plan 1/82, was presented as an amendment to the Jerusalem District Regional Master Planning Scheme RJ/5 of 1942. It covered an area extending from Dura al-Qara in the north to Bayt Fajar in the south, and included the urban towns of Ramallah, al-Bireh, Bethlehem, Bayt Jala, and Bayt Sahur, in addition to forty-four Arab villages and seven refugee camps. The total land area covered by the plan was about 446,270 dunums (about 110,272 acres). Excluded from the plan were the 70,000 dunums (encompassing East Jerusalem and a number of villages that had previously enjoyed in- dependent status) annexed to the Jerusalem municipality in 1967. The 1982 regional plan was based on a projected Palestinian population of 272,000 for the year 2002, which was even less than the 275,000 Palestinians actually residing within the affected area at the time the plan was presented in 1982. The plan divided the area into six major zones, as follows:
The "Arab development" zones essentially comprise the densely populated village cores beyond which no construction or development activity is permitted without the explicit approval of the Higher Planning Council. Field investigations and aerial photographs show that even parts of existing Palestinian communities fall outside the boundaries set by the authorities for the "Arab development" zone:[10] thus, land designated for "future planning" or "agriculture" in particular frequently include built-up areas of medium to low density. Land in the "agricultural" zones may be used by the Palestinian owners, although any "non-agricultural" use is subject to the approval of the Higher Planning Council. All construction or development is immediately halted in the areas designated "future planning"-most often built-up areas near Jewish settlements-although the guidelines specify that "in the future" the Higher Planning Council "may consider the possibility" of further Arab development. The most stringent controls apply to the "special use" and "nature reserve" zones, which in effect are permanently removed from Arab hands even though their title does not immediately change. According to Meron Benvenisti, the "special use" zones (which frequently lie next to Jewish settlements) "are designated implicitly for Jewish settlements," while the declaration of nature reserve areas "is considered by the authorities an integral part of the land seizure program." [11] It hardly bears mentioning that placing close to 90 percent of the lands remaining in Palestinian hands off-limits to Palestinian construction severely limits the potential for Palestinian population expansion and development. It is dif-icult to disagree with Benvenisti's assessment that in the particular con- text of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, land use classifications are dictated by political rather than physical planning considerations. [12]
Although the 1982 Jerusalem plan was the only regional plan made public, it is believed that a regional master plan for the northern part of the West Bank has also been prepared and that it is referred to by officials in the Central Planning Department as a guide for local town plans or building permit considerations. Supporting this assumption is the fact that the plans prepared in 1985 for towns in these areas follow very similar patterns to those used in the preparation of plans for towns and villages in the Jerusalem area.
An important component of Israel's land use planning in the West Bank was the 1983 Partial Regional Road Plan No. 50, a road network based on east-west axes linking the existing and proposed Jewish settlements to one another and to the major metropolitan areas within Israel. The grid, clearly aimed at promoting Jewish settlement in all parts of the West Bank and at facilitating its complete integration with the Israeli sys- tem, bypassed the Palestinian communities, isolating and fragmenting them and restricting their potential for growth and development. The plan further allowed for the expropriation of large tracts of land not only for the roads themselves but to accommodate the unprecedently wide setbacks (from 100 to 150 meters on each side) stipulated in the plan as a means of checking Arab expansion.*** [13]
Local Plans
At the same time that the Partial Regional Master Plan for the Jerusalem district was published by the planning authorities, a number of local planning schemes (whose boundaries were in accordance with those indicated on the regional master plan) were prepared for towns and villages in the vicinity of Jerusalem. These became known as the "Shamshoni" plans after the Israeli architect S. Shamshoni, who was commissioned by the Central Planning Department to prepare plans for about 180 villages within the Jerusalem district. During the following two years, the Central Planning Department commissioned Shamshoni to prepare additional plans using the same guidelines for another 103 towns and villages in the northern part of the West Bank (Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarm districts), presumably in keeping with the unpublished plan for the northern district mentioned above.
The local plans divided each town or village into the same zoning categories-"village development," "future planning," "agricultural," "nature reserve," and "special use"-as were adopted for the regional plan. And like the regional plan, the salient feature of these local plans was their total disregard for the facts on the ground. A representative example of the Shamshoni plans is that of El Azariya (Bethany, biblical Gethsemane), one of the first to be completed. A comparison between the actual land use for the town, situated east of Jerusalem on the main high- way leading to Jericho, and that provided for under the plan is instructive.
The land area of El Azariya is approximately 10,500 dunums. The western part of the town was annexed and incorporated into the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem. In addition, the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim was established in 1977 on lands expropriated from El Azariya and neighboring localities with the stated objective of "preventing the eastward expansion of El Azariya and Abu Dis" and to create a "strongpoint" east of Jerusalem overlooking the "Judean" desert and the Jordan Valley.† [14] The 1986 population of the part of town remaining in the West Bank was about 11,000.
Actual land use of El Azariya, as determined by a very thorough field investigation conducted in 1986 and confirmed by aerial photographs, is as follows:
The plan proposed for El Azariya by Shamshoni on behalf of the Central Planning Department defined four major land use zones plus the road zone for the planned expansion of the Jerusalem-Jericho highway passing within the boundaries of the plan, as follows:
It will be noted that under the plan Arab construction is allowed on only 650 dunums of the 1,950 dunums that are already built up, while only 2,080 are allotted for agricultural purposes. Thus, the Palestinian- owned lands to which the Palestinians in principle have access represent less than half of those lands remaining after the outright expropriations for Ma'ale Adumim and after splitting off part of the village to the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem. It should be noted that the area designated "future planning" zone is adjacent to the area of town that is now part of the Jerusalem municipality, while the "special use" zone abuts on Ma'ale Adumim.
Needless to say-and as with the other Shamshoni plans-there were no surveys conducted prior to formulating the plan and no consultations with the elected village council or members of the community. The projected population on which the plan was based was less than half of the population actually residing in the part of the town remaining in the West Bank at the time the plan was prepared, and no consideration was given to the characteristics or patterns of land ownership distribution. The zoning was not outlined on a photogrammetric map showing the morphology of the area that is customarily used in town planning. Rather, it was outlined on a rough photocopy of an aerial photograph. The area of the building zone was calculated arithmetically by simply dividing the assumed number of families over a selected density. It did not require great insight for Palestinians to conclude that the common objective of these "plans" was to limit the growth of Palestinian communities and severely restrict any future development in the areas of housing, education, health, industry, and agriculture.
Public Response
The regional and local land use planning schemes and the regional road master plan made public from 1982 to 1985 met with strong Palestinian public opposition that took many forms. Individuals whose property was affected submitted legal objections and appeals. Municipal and village councils as well as professional organizations (engineers, doctors, lawyers, and so on) called press conferences and held public meetings ex- plaining the dangers of the proposed plans. In 1983, representatives of the various districts established the "Committee to Follow Up Objections against the Proposed Regional Road Master Plan." Letters were sent to representatives of various countries and to the UN, and numerous articles condemning the plans were published in local newspapers.
Due to the objections and protests, the Jerusalem District Regional Plan and the Shamshoni local town plans were shelved and did not ac- quire the legal status required even under the amended planning law.
As a result of the rejection of the plans, and in response to increasing pressures exerted by the Palestinian local councils demanding to exercise their right to formulate and prepare their own planning schemes, the Israeli occupation authorities allowed the village councils of Al-Ram, El Azariya, Bir Nabala, and several other localities to formulate and present alternative plans. These towns, all within the area of the Jerusalem Regional Master Plan, had been actively opposed to the Israeli plans and all had pressing needs for expansion and development as a result of significant population increases. After these villages set out to prepare alternative plans, other villages followed suit.
Thus, between 1985 and 1987 over fifty-five counterproposals of villages were drawn up on behalf of the Palestinian local councils by Palestinian planners‡ according to internationally accepted guidelines and criteria of town planning to reflect the true development requirements and future needs of the affected communities. But when these were presented to the Israeli planning authorities for discussion, it became clear that permission to draw up alternative plans had been given on the assumption that they would involve only minor modifications of the Israeli plans. In fact, the counterproposals presented were in total contrast to the Israeli plans both in terms of land use and zoning regulations and, more significantly, in terms of the areas allocated for future expansion and development. Not a single plan was approved, and all negotiations on this issue have halted with the outbreak of the intifada.
Although none of the Israeli land use plans have passed into law, they have in fact been put into effect by the Central Planning Department; building permits have been and continue to be granted (or, more frequently, denied) on the basis of its regulations and restrictions.
Building Permits and Demolitions
In the absence of legally enacted land use plans, the primary instrument for controlling Arab growth has been and continues to be the granting or withholding of building permits. Building permits are required for any construction, regardless of type or location, outside the boundaries of the twenty-five towns in the West Bank that have municipal councils.§ Otherwise stated, all construction in the rural or semi-rural towns or villages of the West Bank where 70 percent of the population lives requires the approval of the Central Planning Department and the Higher Planning Council.
The process of obtaining building permits under Israeli rule is complicated and frustrating. Regulations stipulate that no application for a building permit will be considered until the applicant proves his owner- ship of the land on which the building is planned. This provision deprives a large number of people of the right to a building permit, especially in the rural areas where a significant portion of land was registered under collective village, tribe, or family ownership or in the name of the village mukhtar as a means of avoiding property taxes during the Ottoman and British rule. If land ownership is shared by an "absentee" (a euphemism for a person who left, was expelled, or in any case was absent during the 1967 hostilities and who has not been permitted to return, a situation that affects several hundred thousand people), the process becomes even more complicated as the Custodian of Absentee (unattended) Property becomes involved.
In addition to the proof of ownership requirement, no building permit is issued without a detailed plan approved by the Higher Planning Council. This procedural change introduced by the Israelis (previously plans had to be approved by the district planning committee, composed of local citizens) complicates matters since permit applicants have virtually no access to the Higher Planning Council, which moreover is hardly eager to expedite the processing of building permits in Arab towns and villages: long-planned meetings to consider a given application are frequently postponed with considerable delays in rescheduling.
Figure 2 shows the procedure for obtaining a building permit. The boxes with broken lines indicate steps that have been added to the standard procedure for obtaining building permits by the occupation authorities. For example, the "information committee" (on which a representative of the Central Planning Department sits), which is to check whether the surveying maps match the local regional plan, can arbitrarily reject a permit or do so on the basis of insufficient setbacks from proposed roads (some of which are not even known to the public) or for violating zoning requirements under land use plans that have not even acquired legal status. Thus, as an example, the construction on the Jerusalem Teachers Cooperative housing project in Bir Nabala, for which a permit had been granted by the Central Planning Department, was ordered halted because the proposed site location conflicted with the pro- posed regional road plan; the permit was then cancelled by the Higher Planning Council and all appeals to the Council and the High Court of Justice to allow the teachers to complete their project have been in vain. In another example, the village council of Dayr el Ghusun, in the Tulkarm district, applied in 1986 for a permit to build a village community center to house its offices, a clinic, a kindergarten, and a cooperative society. Despite the fact that all the requirements were met, the permit was denied on the grounds that the land on which the center was planned fell outside the village "building zone." The alleged boundary of this zone was arbitrarily marked in red around part of the village built-up area by the head of the Central Planning Department in such a way as to just exclude the land on which the project was planned. All attempts by the village council to obtain the permit have so far been in vain, and the case in principle is still pending.
During the last two months of 1986 and most of 1987, no building permits were issued at all, as the Central Planning department was closed to the public due to a major scandal involving bribery and other irregularities within the department. [15] In 1988, 994 of the building permit applications filed during 1988 were processed, out of which only 221 were approved.
A corollary to the granting of Palestinian building permits is the demolition of Palestinian houses, which falls within the province of the Sub- committee for Inspection. The Inspection Subcommittee is responsible for locating buildings that have been constructed without a valid permit or before a long-awaited permit was obtained, which can then be ordered demolished as illegal by the Central Planning Committee (whose head is a member of the Subcommittee).
The Higher Planning Council and the Central Planning Department, then, maintain tight control over the complementary activities of granting permits and destroying buildings (on planning grounds; security demolitions are ordered by the military). The 1986 report of the Israeli State Comptroller observed that the planning authorities prefer to retain a "free hand" in granting building licenses. In commenting on the report, Meron Benvenisti remarked that the authorities seem determined to use planning as an instrument of punishment and reward for political and security purposes. [16]
The acuity of Benvenisti's observation became especially clear during the intifada. In the first part of 1988, the military head of the Civil Ad- ministration in the West Bank declared the approval as a sign of "good will" of about 500 of the thousands of building permit applications that had been languishing awaiting processing for years, often from the late 1970s or early 1980s. He promised more permits if the intifada subsided. Meanwhile, the planning authorities stepped up their house demolition operations, especially in towns and villages where the intifada activities had been particularly intense: in a number of cases (Silet El Harthieh, Beita, El Esawiya) houses were demolished on "planning grounds" immediately following punitive demolitions in the same localities for alleged intifada activities (houses destroyed for security reasons are dynamited, while those destroyed for "planning" reasons are bulldozed). In other instances, the military simply appeared to take advantage of the climate of the intifada. In Jiftlik, for example, where the authorities had long wished to take possession of the rich agricultural land for which the villagers' title was unclear, they simply expelled the local population en masse, blew up their houses, and seized the land. Thus, the total number of houses demolished by the planning authorities in the West Bank and Gaza on the grounds that they were built without permits was at least 255 in 1988, 331 for 1989, and 42 during the first two months of 1990 (excluding those demolished on security-related grounds, or 221 for 1988 and 368 for the first three quarters of 1989). This represents an increase of about 250-300 percent compared to the three years prior to the intifada.
Recent Developments
As already mentioned, the changing political climate wrought by the intifada has given new impetus to Israeli efforts to tighten their hold on the occupied territories in anticipation of international pressures to relinquish land in exchange for peace. At the same time, the intifada has afforded the Israelis new opportunities to press through the kinds of land use plans they were unable to pass in the face of organized Palestinian public opposition during 1982-85-not only is the population preoccupied with the day-to-day struggle, but the charitable organizations and other institutions that normally would have mobilized territory-wide support for the towns and mounted publicity campaigns in their behalf have been shut down. The support network has in essence been interrupted. It was thus that the occupation authorities have taken advantage during 1989 of the prevailing conditions to accelerate their efforts to implement a significant portion of the planned road network, with emphasis on those segments bypassing Palestinian towns and villages through which the movement of Jewish settlers had been generally hazardous.
On 2 February 1989, the Higher Planning Council approved plans for eleven villages, although no announcement was made until May 1989. At that time, three of the plans-for Nahalin, in the Bethlehem district, and Hizma and Shibtin, both in the Ramallah district-were formally deposited.¥ A fourth plan, for Kufayr in the Jenin district followed shortly thereafter. Since November 1989, seven more plans have been deposited for the towns of Talfit, Arranah, Araqa, Kufr Qud, Arbuna, and Raba, all in the Jenin district, and for Talluza in the Nablus district. The plans, prepared by the Central Planning Department, as usual without any input from the local inhabitants, are aimed mainly at fixing a tight line around the built-up areas beyond which no building or other development would be allowed. [17] In the cases where plans had already been drawn up by Shamshoni in the early 1980s (for example, Hizma and Talluza), the areas of the development zones provided in the 1989 plans have actually been reduced compared to the earlier plans despite the increase in their populations.
It should be noted that no Palestinian plans existed for any of these eleven towns, and it is believed that the absence of Arab counterproposals is one major reason for selecting these localities over others. Another factor may be that all the affected towns either have no local councils or have a council that has been suspended, leaving them without any viable administrative body capable of mounting an effective campaign against the plans. Indeed, eight of the plans (for Arranah, Araqa, Kufr Qud, Arbuna, Raba, Hizma, Shibtin, and Talluza) have already received final approval and become law, while the remaining three (Nahalin, Kufayr, and Talfit) have not yet been passed as a result of active objection by town residents with proper technical and legal support. There seems little doubt that more plans will be deposited.
Although, with or without regional or local plans the Israeli authorities maintain full control over any building and development in the occupied territories through the issuance of permits, passage of these plans will nonetheless strengthen Israel's hand by providing a legal barrier against Palestinian expansion and development.
Since December 1987, the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza have been mounting the most effective challenge to Israeli rule in twenty- two years of occupation. Their struggle-which is first and foremost a struggle against dispossession, a struggle for the land-has been accompanied by important diplomatic moves on the part of their leadership, the PLO, which has recognized Israel and openly, unambiguously called for a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet even as these complementary events-the intifada and the PLO diplomatic initiative-have galvanized an important segment of world opinion for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel is tightening its grip on the land. Even as increasing attention is focused on Israeli human rights violations-the killings, the beatings, the mass arrests-the more insidious but less apparently dramatic work of the occupation proceeds not only unhindered but at a faster pace: roads are being built every day in the occupied territories, new facts are being created, more and more Palestinian land is being taken out of Palestinian control.
Just as settlements constitute a "serious obstacle to peace," so too do Israel's innocuous-sounding planning schemes and the physical facts they create. The obstruction of the implementation of these plans is a matter of most urgent concern if the option of a peaceful settlement of this land- based conflict is to remain viable and available.
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Rami Abdulhadi, a Ph.D. in engineering, is the founder and director of the Center for Engineering and Planning, a professional Palestinian institution active in the areas of physical, social, and economic development planning in the occupied territories.
* The Dayan-Weizman plan of 1978 and the Sharon plan of 1981 represent variations on the major plans described above. All constitute the general guidelines for land use planning carried out by the occupation authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
** The Local Committee, whose meetings are always attended by the head of the Central Planning Department, is composed of representatives from the surveying, infrastructure, legal affairs, health, education, and transportation departments of the Civil Administration. While the last three departments sometimes send Arabs as representatives, they are employees of the Civil Administration and in no way represent local interests. The Committee may also, if it so chooses, invite a Palestinian from the district in which the village under consideration is located in order to give testimony, but this is not usual procedure. The only other Palestinians with any involvement, however tenuous, at any level of the planning process are the members of the Regional Local Committees, one for each of the six regions of the West Bank (Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Ramallah), all of whom are Arab employees of the Civil Administration. Moreover, these committees have no power; their main function is to receive permit applications and other requests from local residents and to direct these to the Local Committee for Planning and Construction.
*** Although the road plan has not been put into effect as a whole, parts of it have been implemented at various intervals between 1983 and 1990 despite public Palestinian opposition and formal objections. Moreover, large areas of land-280,000 dunums thus far-have been expropriated in preparation for implementing the plan.
† It is interesting to note that the master plan for Ma'ale Adumin, approved in 1980, included an area of about 37,000 dunums while the total combined area allocated by the Israeli planning authorities for El Azariya and Abu Dis did not exceed 1,500 dunums. In his 1988 Annual Report, the Israel State Comptroller observed that hundreds of housing units, public buildings, and industrial structures in Ma'ale Adumim were constructed without a license (Annual Report, no. 38, pp. 915-17, in Hebrew).
‡ Although a few villages-notably those associated with the Israeli-sponsored Village League commissioned under pressure from the occupation authorities Israeli planners to draw up their plans, none of these was ever presented.
§ While municipal councils can grant permits and are to act as local planning councils, their licensing authority is in fact limited by Military Order 418, which gives the Higher Planning Council the power to suspend any of the plans or licenses they grant.
¥ Depositing a plan means announcing in the local newspapers that the plan has been completed and approved by the HPC and that it can be seen and examined at the Central Planning Department by anyone whose property may be affected. The time allowed for objecting is two months from the date of its announcement in the newspaper. If no objections are submitted, or if the Higher Planning Council determines that the objections do not warrant reconsideration, the plan goes into effect at the end of the two-month period and automatically becomes law.
1. Meron Benvenisti, et al. The West Bank Handbook: A Political Lexicon (Jerusalem: Jerusalem Post, 1986).
2. E. Efrat. Judea and Samaria: Guidelines for Regionalnd Physical Planning Jerusalem: Planning Dep't., Israeli Ministry of Interior, 1970), p. 1.
3. Meron Benvenisti and Shlomo Khayat. The West Bank and Gaza Atlas (Jerusalem: WBDP/Jerusalem Post, 1988), p. 64.
4. Benvenisti and Khayat, p. 64.
5. Benvenisti, West Bank Handbook, p. 62.
6. Benvenisti, West Bank Handbook, p. 167.
7. Benvenisti, West Bank Handbook, p. 130.
8. Benvenisti, West Bank Handbook, p. 168.
9. Meron Benvenisti. West Bank Database Project (WBDP) 1987 Report (erusalem: Jerusalem Post, 1987, p. 35.
10. The Center for Engineering and Planning/Ramallah has been commissioned by over fifty West Bank municipal and village councils since 1985 to prepare town planning schemes. The work involved the preparation of detailed surveying maps based on aerial photographs, and elaborate field studies covering the demographic, land, social and economic situation for each town or village. The plans outline the future development requirements in the areas of housing, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, commerce, education, health and other services.
11. Benvenisti and Khayat, pp. 57, 60.
12. Benvenisti, West Bank Handbook, p. 140.
13. For a detailed discussion of Road Plan No. 50, see Aziz Shehadeh, et al. Israeli Proposed Road Plan for the West Bank: A Question for the International Court of Justice (Ramallah: Law in the Service of Man, 1984).
14. E. Efrat. Towns and Urbanization in Israel [Hebrew] (Tel Aviv: Achiasof Publishing House, Tel Aviv University, 1988), pp. 228-29.
15. Benvenisti, WBDP 1987 Report, p. 36.
16. Benvenisti, WBDP 1987 Report, p. 36.
17. Christian Science Monitor, 5 July 1989, p. 1.
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Cowboy Info
Thanks to the many Cowboys who support this event every year, in celebration of the African American Cowboy in present and past. Without your participation this event could not be possible, with much love Thank you very much and come again.
A Big Shout! goes to all the Cowboy Clubs That Support the festival each and every year
(just to mention a few)
Easy Rider saddle club------------Kingstree SC
Carolina dirt-road rider------------Blackville SC
Easy Rider Saddle Club-----------Lancaster SC
WWW Riders------------------------N. Augusta
Tri-County Saddle Club-----------Dublin Ga.
Sumter Community Riders--------Sumter SC
Long Rider Saddle Club-----------Woodstock Ga.
Rocking J Stable & Riders---------Monroe NC
Riders for Christ --------------------Marion SC
Queen City Saddle Club-----------Charlotte NC
Ebony Riders------------------------Shelby NC
East Coast Trail Riders-----------NC
Bounty Hunters---------------------NC
To all cowboys who are not club members, a great big shout out goes to you as well, for your continued support each year.

subset: commoncrawl


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From signals to action at the pace of consumers
We help you make sense of all of the data signals that we collect for you – revealing interest and intent signals throughout the consumer journey. We then turn them into powerful, effective campaign strategies. We activate your campaign across all paid media channels – once we find a valuable consumer, we need to find them wherever they are across the Web and mobile, fast.
Drive results across all stages of the consumer journey
We help you to meet and exceed your campaign goals, including new audience reach, branding, prospecting, incrementality or direct conversion. We have vertical execution and deep knowledge of media buying operational efficiency to execute and adapt to a wide-variety of consumer goals, media KPIs, verification constraints, and inventory requirements.
Reach users across all devices and all times
We ensure that you can connect with your most valued consumers across all of their digital touch-points.
Desktop, Mobile Web and In App, Connected TV and Cross-Device
Ad Types:
Rich Media, Standard Banner Ads, Native, Local, Video
Connect in a viewable and safe environment
Our goal is to help you to meet and exceed the 'real' business goals that matter. To do this we need to take every step possible to connect with 'real' consumers in brand safe environments. With our ability to see consumer signals across your earned, shared and owned channels, we see real sharing, clicking, viewing and buying activity – the behavior of actual humans not machines. Over the years, our efforts have been applauded by our customers and partners alike. In 2015, Integral Ad Science (IAS) recognized us as one of their top performing partners in the area of fraud detection.


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Recipe from Amy Dibiase, former executive chef, Roseville.
I have been cooking since a very young age. A lot of pasta and gnocchi. Soups and stews. I grew up in a very large Italian family, so there was always something going on with cooking. I was always surrounded by food, whether we were going to a party or to my grandmother's for lunch after church. But I didn't even really know what a chef was until I was in high school. We had to do a project on a possible occupation, and I chose to do mine on being a chef. It's what made me decide to go to culinary school.
I went to the California Culinary Academy and am classically French trained. But there are always hints of Italian aspects of the food I do. Right now, for the restaurant I am making arancini, which are risotto balls that are deep-fried.
When I'm not working, I don't cook very often. My boyfriend is a general manager at a restaurant, so we go out to eat a lot. Mostly at home, we make breakfast because that is the only time we are home. Or we make Mexican. I am from Maine, so I wasn't even exposed to Mexican food until college. I like making carnitas.
At work, when we have a chance, we do some family-style meals with the staff. We make each other something to eat or whatever is leftover. We have specials every day — Sunday night is short-rib night, so if anything is left, all the cooks will stay after and make each other short ribs. And everyone wants to work Monday night because we make burgers. For special occasions at the restaurant, I make my grandmother's gnocchi, which we cook together during the holidays. Your family's favorite sauce will work great with gnocchi. We prefer a spicy bolognese.
Serves 6
1 large russet potato (about 1 pound)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
Bake the potato until tender. Then, peel the skin off and cut into chunks, which you can mash with a fork or puree in a food processor.
Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle the flour all over. Add the egg to the well. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and add more or less than a teaspoon, according to taste.
In small amounts, drag the flour into the egg using your fingertips. Continue incorporating until the potato/flour/egg mixture starts to form a dough.
Place the dough on a flat surface, like a cutting board. Form the dough into several small rounds and roll each round into tight logs with a diameter of the size of a nickel. Using a dough cutter or butter knife, cut the logs into one-inch pieces.
Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water. Gnocchi are done when they float to the top of the pan. Drain and serve with sauce of choice. The gnocchi can be served later the same day or frozen and used at a later time, after a few seconds' reheating in boiling water or hot sauce.
More from SDReader
- More stories by Pamela Hunt-Cloyd
- Gluten-Free Apple Galette — Oct. 26, 2011
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies — Feb. 3, 2010
- Belgian Endive Soup with Hoegaarden Beer — June 10, 2009
- Gingerbread House — Nov. 12, 2008
- Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets — Sept. 3, 2008


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Curvy teen Dakota James fucked hard – Do You Like My Ass
Submitted by on August 11, 2014 – 8:30 pmNo Comment
Dakota James brought us one mind blowing piece of ass asking if we like her booty after hypnotizing us with her sexy twerking. There's nothing more mind blowing than an shiny oiled up booty like Dakota's twerking for our entertainment before getting down to suck some cock. If her shiny booty twerking wasn't enough to blow your world just wait until you see this smoking hot blonde bounce that ass on a cock.


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Nude Yoga Girl first appeared on Instagram less than a month ago. To a certain extent, her account is precisely as advertised: a girl, nude, doing yoga. But it looks like nothing else on yoga Instagram — or nudity Instagram, for that matter.
The account consists solely of dramatic black-and-white photos of the 25-year-old model and photographer doing advanced yoga poses in the buff, with expert use of shadows to keep things SFW. No mountaintops, no pine trees; no bedroom furniture or anything suggesting this is all an elaborate thirst trap. Occasionally she will wear shoes or jewelry, sometimes including fashion credits. It's all calm, sophisticated, and as tasteful as a photo of a nude yoga girl can be.
In the past month, she's accumulated more than 33,000 followers. People leave comments on her photos to tag friends, but also to say that they appreciate her athleticism, her photography, and her openness on topics like her formerly restrictive diet and how she found self-acceptance through yoga. As she told the Cut, "The account is anonymous, but I still want to be close with my followers, and I try to do it with my captions."
Read full article


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These shorts are not for the faint of heart. A selection of classic frights: murders, vampires, a demon from another dimension, a haunted home, and unwanted dinner guests.
CHANDELIER – United States – 17 minutes – Alexander Yan
Recreations of moments, big and small, from the tumultuous relationship of Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander leading up to his brutal murder at her hands.
PORTAL TO HELL – Canada – 11 minutes – Vivieno Caldinelli
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper stars as a crusty and reclusive superintendent who takes a break from impossible-to-please tenants to engage in the ultimate fight against evil all because a couple of cultists open a multi-dimensional gateway in the basement.
WANDERER – Canada – 16 minutes – Mark O'Brien, Jake Wilkens
A young backpacker arrives at the vacation home of a couple. The lady of the house gives him a hesitant welcome, but the man of the house is eager for a partner with whom to wax philosophical deep with into the night. Everyone has more on their mind than they let on.
THE GUESTS – Australia – 11 minutes – Shane Danielsen
A woman awaits the return of her husband while lonely and isolated in her new home with her young baby. A buzz at the door signals the arrival of unexpected guests for a housewarming party she had not planned. More guests arrive and a nightmare begins. CANADIAN PREMIERE.
THE MILL AT CALDER'S END – USA – 14 minutes – Kevin McTurk
A man returns to his childhood home, a haunted windmill, intent on breaking a family curse. A gothic ghost story in the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.
O NEGATIVE – Canada – 14 minutes – Steven McCarthy
A weak female vampire and the man that cares for her set up in a hotel room. He must find a way to feed her addiction.


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Filter results:
Limited to:
Lovell, J. L. (John Lyman), 1825-1903
Formal head and shoulders cabinet card portrait of George Montague, an instructor in bookkeeping and Treasurer of Massachusetts Agricultural College from 1868 until his retirement in 1884. "Lovell, Amherst" printed on front. "Prof. Montague, presented by R. A. Cochran '82" written on back. "University of Massachusetts Archives" stamped on back.


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07772 271756
If you have any questions in regard to the following, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Privacy is important. And I have no interest in collecting information from you that you don't want to share.
The information this site collects falls into two categories: that which identifies you and that which is anonymous.
Any information that would identify you will have been provided in the contact form, and is necessary if you want me to reply to your message.
The anonymous information is used for services such as Google Analytics (tells me where my visitors are coming from, what they're looking at and – often more importantly – at which point they leave my site).
The kind of information these two services collect is:
Please be assured though, I will not disclose, give, sell or transfer any personal information about my visitors, unless required by law (and there's not much I can do about that).
Occasionally I may link to a page or other content away from this web site and, therefore, outside of my control. This will usually either be to a web site – such as the BBC or Wikipedia – or, in the case of a book or film, it may be to Amazon.
In the case of links to Amazon and other merchant sites, I may receive a tiny tiny miniscule referral fee if you use that link to make a purchase, something in the region of 5 per cent of the order. Hardly enough to set myself up on a Caribbean island for life and it doesn't change the price you pay for the items.
If you want to know more, or have any questions, about the privacy of this site, then please get in touch.


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Friday, May 29, 2015 - 4:00pm
Place: Knights of Columbus Hall - 535 Center Street - Antigo
Time: 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Phone: 715-623-2189
Cost: $9 regular - $7.50 junior
Bar opens at 3:30pm
Dinner includes your choice of fried or baked cod, choice of potato, cup of soup, ry bread, glass of bear and dessert.
Now serving shrimp dinner or shirmp/fish combo as well. Carryouts available. Call 715-623-2189.


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A workspace revolution is coming
Slowly but surely, the way in which we think about workspace, how we work and productivity has been changing, too. We are now approaching a tipping point — and the results of this will transform the working experience for millions of people. For smart businesses, this is a revolution that will create competitive advantage, cut costs and help attract and retain talent.
Tipping point
What has got us to this point?
1. Digitalisation and new technologies are changing how people work
The rapid acceleration of technology has changed what's possible. Within two years, 80 per cent of the world's population will own a smartphone. The cloud has grown exponentially. Artificial intelligence, automation, virtual and augmented reality are not futuristic technologies. They are here today in our homes and cars, in our pockets, on our wrists, and enabling us to work differently than we did before. Put simply, it's now increasingly easy for a person to plug in and work from anywhere.
2. People want the personal productivity gains
Workers are increasingly aware of the new ways of working that shifts in technology are bringing — particularly those digital natives who have grown up with this technology and whose expectations are less shackled by what was possible before. They know they can work anywhere, and they also know that they can work in different ways that suit them and their lifestyles. This means that they appreciate flexibility. Why should they commute for two hours or more each day? Why should they have to work in cities if they prefer the countryside? They want to work for a business within which they can experience the benefits of a collaborative community, wherever they are, without wasting hours of their day.
3. Businesses can benefit, financially and strategically
Third, businesses are increasingly aware of this and they know that a smart strategy on flexible working can help them to secure the best talent. That's an advantage in a competitive world. But what businesses also increasingly understand are the financial and strategic advantages a flexible workspace strategy brings. A flexible workspace approach cuts real estate costs and allows businesses to concentrate on their core business, rather than being forced into also becoming a real estate business.
This allows large businesses to become nimble. A business can move people into a new market quickly and take them out again when required. They can move their people closer to their suppliers. They can do all of this without committing to long leases and expensive relocation costs.


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Christmas Mice Shortbread
Norma DeRemer
My daughter showed me these and I am going to make these for my next party for sure. They are so easy and so cute. I will also make these with chocolate coating for other parties I plan. What fun and your guest will love them.
These would also be great for kids parties. They would also love to help make them and placing them on a saucer next to Grandma and Grandpa's cups of coffee or on a plate of cookies for Santa.
These would also be great for kids parties. They would also love to help make them and placing them on a saucer next to Grandma and Grandpa's cups of coffee or on a plate of cookies for Santa.
15maraschino cherries with stems, drained
2/3 cwhite baking chips or chocolate chips
1/2 tspvegetable oil
1 pkg(5.3 ounce) shortbread triangles
30sliced almonds
15white baking chips or chocolate chips
·shredded coconut
15red cinnamon candies
How to Make Christmas Mice Shortbread
- Cover work area with pieces of waxed paper about 18 inches long.
- Dry the cherries with paper towels being careful not to pull of the stems and set aside.
- Place 2/3 cup of chips and the oil in a 6 ounce custard bowl and microwave uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 10 seconds or until chips are softened;remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
- Hold 1 cherry by stem (mouse tail) and dip into melted chips, covering completely.
- Immediately place them on shortbread triangles, with tail at 45 degree angle.
- Plave 2 sliced almonds against front of cherry to form mouse ears. Repeat with remaining cherries, shortbread and almonds.
- Using the remaining melted chips as glue and a tooth-pick to spread the melted chips, attach the flat side of a whole chip (flat side back) to the base of the almonds to form the mouse head.
- Using melted chips as glue, attach a few shreds of coconut for whiskers and a cinnamon candy for the nose.
- Let cool without moving 50 to 60 minutes or until melted chip mixture is firm and completely set.
- Store in cool place up to one week. Decorate your cheese platter with them by placing them on shortbread triangles. But you can use other purchased or homemade flat-surfaced cookies for the bace of your mice decorations.
About Christmas Mice Shortbread
Course/Dish: Fruit Appetizers
Other Tags: Quick & Easy For Kids


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Irregular Report 24
Here and There
Velo Vortmax finds the time after a long hiatus to comment extensively on the Landis/CAS decision which he considers an abject injustice. He criticizes Christaine Ayotte in particular and the CAS panel in general not only for its decision, but also for the prejudicial manner in which it was rendered:
The CAS Panel condemned Maurice Suh, Dr. Davis, et al., in a vicious written attack as attempting to undermine the current anti-doping crusade by introduction of trivial objections to LNDD and WADA testing protocol. In this matter the CAS Panel could and must be considered irresponsible as every person, even athletes, enjoy due process protections and an opportunity to present their defense by experienced professionals. It is a requirement of any defense in doping arbitration hearings to attack sloppy laboratory work, incompetence, mistakes, anything that might have caused the Adverse Analytical Finding, especially when any one factor or combination of factors probably did cause the Adverse Analytical Finding; as did happen in the Floyd Landis case. Floyd Landis' defense of his innocence should have been praised by the CAS Panel not condemned. This is inexcusable and sets a bad precedent for other accused athletes who which to defend their honor from senseless predatory defamation and bad laboratory science. The CAS Panel should be ashamed of their conduct and apologize to Mr. Floyd Landis and his defense team now.
Rant draws some possible parallels between reports of problems with untested theories of lead analysis at an FBI crime lab and the WADA anti-doping facilities cycling depends on to test its athletes.
Racejunkie writes about the "brave new world" that is testing for PEDs at the Tour de France, and after its long over. Think you tested "negative"? Think again. And much to the relief of the "seniors" at the UCI, Viagra has been deemed "legal".


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Shorten treatment time with weekly aligner changes.
It's 2016 and Align Technologies has done it again. In the past the recommendations where that each aligner needed to be worn 2 full weeks. Now with G7, the aligners have been designed to get the same movement and results in 1 week, without compromising outcomes.
You are going to love your new Invisalign smile and now with Invisalign's G7 you can get your ideal smile that much sooner.
Download the Invisalign G7 PDF below that fully describes this feature plus much more!


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Resident Evil 4
Traveling around the world bites. Sure, you're getting a chance to take a break from your boring daily life, to see a place so different from your own. Of course, you'll probably have to deal with confusing directions, seasickness, jet lag, and whatever phenomena associated with conventional transportation. Airport security can prove to be quite an adventure. Baggage claim is its own horror show. The food is a hit or miss, either making you crave more or puke it up in a smelly puddle of filth. The language barrier can be tough to overcome, especially if you haven't had time to familiarize yourself with the basic conversational aspects. Those damned souvenir peddlers won't leave you alone, assuming that you've got some cash to spend. Can't forget to keep those valuables close at hand, lest you look away for five seconds to discover that they've mysteriously vanished. Indeed, exploring a foreign place can prove to be a truly "memorable" experience.
"Coming through!"
Take Leon Kennedy. This guy is one of Raccoon City's finest, currently serving the American government and its interests. His latest assignment places him deep in the heart of the European backcountry, a desolate place where few outsiders ever witness. Unfortunately, Leon's not there to sign diplomatic treaties, participate in international negotiations or any of that utterly boring crap. He's been handpicked to go on one of the most important rescue missions in decades. Ashley Graham, the president's daughter has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult and is presumably being held for ransom. Oooh, how original. It's up to our hero to infiltrate the isolated town, save the girl from probable death, and bring her back to the country and father she loves so much. Needless to say, Leon's trip to Europe isn't going to be the typical vacation.
Okay. There's a damsel in distress, and a hero who is more than capable enough to rescue her. Sounds like the usual clichéd game, doesn't it? Luckily, Leon's quest will prove far stranger and more dangerous than the core plot implies. Within minutes of arriving in that decrepit farming town, you'll soon realize that something's very wrong with the locals. Seeing farmers with pitchforks and axes may seem normal. At least, until they scream at you in butchered Spanish, stagger in your general direction and try to impale you with their equipment. Yeah, that's a great way to welcome the turista to your humble villa. However, these Ganados aren't being homicidal just because Leon is from the States. They've been infected with Las Plagas, symbiotic parasites that live inside the people's bodies and turn them into zombie-like slaves. Pale skin aside, these people look like normal people…until they bleed green slime and sprout some nasty-looking tentacles. Considering that Leon will have to take on small armies of these people nearly every area he explores, he'll have his work cut out for him.
"Are you talking to me?"
However, Leon's not just going to stand there and take that kind of sickening abuse. After years of combat training in Raccoon City and the American government, he's been blessed with some truly badass fighting abilities. He'll start the game with a basic handgun and knife, but he'll eventually get to wield shotguns, rifles, semi-automatics, magnums, explosives, and plenty of other weapons of minor destruction. When Leon is faced against group after group of mindless villagers, he'll be able to choose among his varied arsenal, aim it with stunning accuracy, and annihilate anything that gets in his way. Busting a 9mm cap into a Ganado may do a little damage, but it's nothing compared to a powered-up shotgun blast or a well-placed Incendiary Grenade. Given the sheer amount of enemies attacking you at once, you'll have to make sure that every shot counts. Should a foe manage to get close enough to our hero, it'll grab, stab, choke, crush, and do plenty of other nasty things to him. Luckily, Leon is also trained in close quarter combat, complete with suplexes, punches, and a few other attacks. Also, there's nothing more gratifying than beheading a foe with one of Leon's manly roundhouse kicks. Naked Snake, eat your heart out.
There is one problem with this one-man army's attack plan, however. While Leon Kennedy is nigh unstoppable with enough firepower, he's severely limited with the amount of items he can carry at once. All of his mission possessions are confined to a small case that can barely hold everything needed. If your weapon of choice happens to be the Rocket Launcher, you'd better pray that you have enough space to accommodate it. You'll have to carry your own ammunition, with each box taking up some space. Can't forget about Leon's health restoration items, either. You'll have to be creative as to how you manage your storage space, carefully choosing which items seem the most useful and tossing the rest. Even if you can afford to buy some size upgrades for your box, you still might find yourself throwing away the least important stuff. Considering the amount of money and items that the enemies drop, it's a fair bet that you'll run out of space in no time. Such an underlying strategy of rationing your supplies may prove challenging at first, but it'll become second nature in no time.
Leon aims his shot very carefully.
However, Resident Evil 4 isn't just about senselessly gunning down everything in your path, even if it is the most fun aspect of the game. Leon is still on a mission to find and save the president's daughter. Once he meets up with Little-Miss-Jailbait, he'll have to protect her from the onslaught of Ganados and other evil stuff. You'll get to beckon or dismiss Ashley with the press of the button. Unfortunately, you can't leave her behind for very long; given enough time, one of your foes will pick her up and carry her away to some unspeakable doom. Also, Ashley will prove fundamental in solving certain puzzles and accessing some areas. That's right, I said puzzles. Normally, you'll just have to maneuver tiles, press a certain button, or step on a few switches. Leon must not only scour a small Spanish town, but dungeons, churches, sewers, military installations, and a few other strange places. While most of the game goes along a fairly straight path, you'll often have to explore a series of areas in search of a key, emblem, and whatever other item that will allow you to progress further in the game. Thankfully, most of the special items take little effort to find, and nearly all of the puzzles are too simplistic to cause any real problems. They're just there to serve as a break from the usual killing sprees you'll get to enjoy.
While this epic rescue mission will take up the bulk of your experience with Resident Evil 4, there are a few things worth looking into once Leon completes his mission. You'll get to try out the Mercenaries mode, which basically operates as a mini-game that gauges your proficiency as a killer. Getting high scores in this mode not only gets you a few boasting rights, but it also unlocks some weapons for use in the main game. Also, you'll be able to replay the game from the beginning with all of your high-powered endgame weapons, which can always be further upgraded for even more baddie-blasting awesomeness. All of the hidden items and treasures will return to their usual spot, allowing you to nab some much-needed cash to fund your potentially expensive arsenal. If all else fails, you get to see Leon clad in his classic Raccoon City police officer uniform. Who says that nostalgia is a bad thing?
Leon versus a ton of people trying to kill him. Will it never end?
The success of Resident Evil 4 can't be attributed solely to the excellent gameplay. Annihilating the armies of Las Plagas and the wide variety of their hosts may be fun and strangely addictive, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. This game makes killing not only entertaining to do, but to watch as well. Sure, it may be a gory, putrid nightmare of sickening proportions, but there are few games that can boast the kind of visual and audio quality that Resident Evil 4 wields so well. The background noises and music add so much tension and fear to an already captivating game. Everything in this game, from the rusty walkways to the Ganado's blood-red eyes, is presented with the finest detail. You'll get to explore the festering walls of the Spanish town, see the castle filled with fancy paintings and intricate artwork, and get lost in some godforsaken laboratories where some of the truly fearsome foes reside. You can see the faded bloodstains covering the walls, the shadows playing off the flickering lights, the horribly scarred and mutated skin of your foes, and plenty of other nice details. The villagers will even scream things like "MATALO!" or "Aqui esta!" and a few other badly formed Spanish phrases at you.
Also, there's nothing quite like seeing an enemy grow a mess of slimy tentacles out of their neck after you've beheaded them. The bosses are both beautiful and ugly at the same time, offering a tremendous amount of detail for something so horrible to look at. I'm not talking about evil goatees, either. You'll get to see parasitic fish, giant mutants, and a guy that sprouts massive spider legs from his face. Leon looks better than most of his contemporaries, sporting a sleek physique and some corny dialogue to boot. There are few heroes who can say, "Rain or shine, you're going down!" and still look like a total badass. Should you happen to be overwhelmed by the constant danger, the game offers a wide variety of special death animations for Leon. Ever see a hero get his face melted off by acid? Ever see one getting impaled on a huge spike, with his blood and guts slowly dripping out of him? How about seeing him get his head cut off with a chainsaw, with absolutely no censoring whatsoever? Yeah, it's all in there, just waiting to amaze and horrify at the same time. While many of the things in this game are disgusting, it still looks better than all the rest.
You can get a nasty cut of those traps, so it's best just to shoot them.
You know what the funny thing is? I hate survival horror games. I've found them to be tedious and unnerving. However, there's something about Resident Evil 4 that draws me back again and again. Maybe it's the action-packed gameplay, the execution of the story, or even the wonderfully vivid presentation. Whatever it is, this game is something special. It places you in the shoes of a capable hero, drops you off in the middle of nowhere, and expects you to learn how to survive against impossible odds. It provides a simple but intriguing storyline, complete with a cast of great characters and memorable dialogue. While it does have a few unimaginative puzzles, the game pits you against some of the most fearsome and ugly sins against creation that the gaming world has ever seen. But above all else, Resident Evil 4 is just plain fun. You can't go wrong with that.


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Vedas is not only a set of Holy Scriptures of the Hindus, it has as the literal which means (information), have supplied the globe with an answer to the mystical inquiries connected to spirits, life and reincarnation, queries which have often remained a mystery and unexplained by the scientific advancement of humankind. Following the tips of someone in a pancreatitis assistance group who is still sick, suffering discomfort, and searching for answers through surgeries and procedures is like following financial suggestions from your uncle who has gone bankrupt 3 occasions or that fat lady down the street who offers you tips on how to lose weight—it just does not make sense.
The 2012 to 2014 HLE figures in this publication represent the anticipated life years in Good" wellness for an person, assuming 2012 to 2014 mortality and overall health status rates apply all through that individual's life. And I never want even my enemy to pass via such hell that I passed by means of in the hands of those fraudulent on-line lenders,i will also want you to help me pass this info to other individuals who are also in need to have of a loan as soon as you have also receive your loan from Mr. Larry Scott, i pray that God need to give him extended life. But The Spice of Life does not just add in its tweaks to the game without having providing the player methods to assist manage its program: 3 new products have been added to assist players conquer their hunger.
Eliminating all saturated fats, oils, and alcohol is simply a wise, healthful choice unless you enjoy discomfort. Deliberately i am ready to lead my life w/ the pain is reduced and i really feel extensive pain in Back when i consume some oily … Read More


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It's great to be here with CVSA - thank you, for the crucial leadership you provide in the commercial vehicle safety community.
Those aren't just platitudes. While I am not a roadside inspector, I truly appreciate the important work that you do.
As David (Palmer) mentioned, I learned a lot about the motor carrier world from my work on Capitol Hill. I have also accompanied your inspectors in California, Maryland, Texas and Virginia as they performed Level I inspections of trucks and buses in all weather conditions.
And, in the last eight years the NTSB has completed investigations of more than 30 truck and bus crashes and issued dozens (168) of safety recommendations aimed at improving safety.
Like Steve (Keppler) and many others here today, I've had the opportunity to work with every administrator since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created. I can tell you that Administrator Anne Ferro has not just initiated efforts she has delivered on her initiatives. There are new rules, including a ban of texting and handheld cell-phone use for truck and bus drivers, as well as efforts to better address fatigue through electronic onboard recorders and crackdowns on marginal operators.
Yes, FMCSA still has a lot of work to do, but there have been many successes. I know everyone is looking forward to Administrator Ferro's remarks later this morning.
Today, I want to talk about motor carrier safety, of course, but I also want to share some lessons that the NTSB has learned in investigations across all modes of transportation.
These lessons reaffirm the truth of that time-honored saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire."
Let me introduce the NTSB's "firefighters," our investigators and staff who work so closely with many of you. Yes, they are from the government, and they really are here to help - Gary VanEtten, Pete Kotowski, Jennifer Morrison, Steve Prouty, Mike Fox and Julie Perrot.
My first tale has to do with you and your work: commercial vehicle safety. This audience, more than most, knows well the death toll each year on our nation's roadways from commercial vehicle crashes.
Many of you in law enforcement have had to do the hardest job there is: death notifications. You have my deep appreciation and great respect for the job you do - around the country, on average, about 11 CDL traffic accident-related notifications every day. In two months, the equivalent of all of the people at this conference - gone.
Yes, commercial vehicle safety is a huge issue - you know this, because the vehicles are large, they operate at high speeds and that can be a lethal combination.
Let me share what we learned in our investigation of the May 2011 bus crash in Doswell, Virginia.
The precipitating factor was nothing new - the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The bus went off the road, struck a cable barrier, rotated counterclockwise, overturned, and rolled onto its roof - killing four people and injuring 49 more.
No surprise to you - a bus traveling through the night at 4:55 a.m. - that wasn't the first fatigued driver behind the wheel. Nor was this crash the first safety issue for this operator. There were a number of early warning signs - smoke alarms, so to speak, in the weeks, months and years before that predawn morning when the driver fell asleep and ran off the road.
The bus operator, Sky Express, showed signs as a troubled carrier from the time it went into business. In its six years of operation, Sky Express had been visited five times - once for a safety audit (scheduled beyond the 18-month window) and four times for subsequent compliance reviews, which repeatedly identified deficiencies in the carrier's operations.
Yet, Sky Express did little or nothing to fix these problems.
Yes, where there's smoke, there's fire. As inspectors and investigators, you know full well that little things can turn into big safety issues ... if they aren't addressed.
The Doswell crash investigation brought to 25 the number of bus crashes investigated by the NTSB the last 10 years. Again and again, we have seen the same failings: a fatigued driver, poor occupant protection and marginal operators that are only put out of service after a fatal accident.
The more than 100 recommendations we have made over the years to improve bus safety fall into three main categories: better Federal government oversight, improved occupant protection and implementing advanced vehicle technologies that can assist drivers, such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.
The FMCSA under Administrator Ferro's leadership has sharpened its focus on high-risk bus and truck companies. With your help, on the first anniversary of the Doswell crash, the FMCSA shut down 26 bus operations.
Did that make our roadways safer?
Does commercial vehicle safety require constant vigilance?
This audience, more than any other, knows the answer to that question.
At the NTSB, we have the opportunity to look across modes. In doing this, we are able to see patterns and common themes. For one, America is a nation on the move. Last year, 730 million passengers flew on U.S. scheduled airlines. More people than that - some 750 million - traveled on motorcoaches. That number continues to grow each year.
And, as you well know, that number is dwarfed by the number of trips made by trucks. Freight operations are extremely diverse and keep our economy moving. Every item we buy has been on the interstate highway system at some point.
Yet, there are some commodities where it makes sense for another form of transportation. How many of you think of pipelines when it comes to transportation?
Yes, pipelines are a form of transportation. There are some 2.5 million miles of pipelines in this country - enough to circle the earth 100 times. Each year, those millions of miles carry gas for your homes as well as liquid petroleum products that may then be transferred to highway tankers to get to their final destinations.
This past July, the NTSB concluded our investigation into the Marshall, Michigan, spill that released 840,000 gallons of crude oil into Michigan wetlands. At $800 million - and counting - this is the most expensive onshore cleanup in U.S. history and five times the next most-costly onshore oil spill.
And, a year ago, we concluded our investigation into the 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people, injured dozens, destroyed 38 homes and damaged 70 more.
In both cases, we found problems with risk management, emergency response and safety oversight. And, in both cases there had been problems before. Yes, there were repeated "smoke alarms."
Five years before the Marshall, Michigan, release, the operator - Enbridge - detected the very defect that led to 2010 failure. And, the defect was located within a corrosion area that Enbridge had already identified - the year before. Yet, for years Enbridge did nothing to address the corrosion or cracking at the rupture site.
As for PG&E, the company whose pipeline ruptured in San Bruno, it had a litany of failures. For example, in 1981, following a pipeline rupture in San Francisco, it took PG&E more than nine hours to shut down the gas flow. The NTSB found inadequate recordkeeping as a contributing cause.
And, in our investigation of a 2008 house explosion caused by a PG&E gas distribution pipeline in Rancho Cordova, California, we identified lack of quality control during pipe installation as well as inadequate emergency response procedures.
Yes, where there's smoke, there's fire.
In addition, we've repeatedly seen that federal and state officials are stretched thin. This is why we've issued recommendations to ensure that both federal and state pipeline regulators have regulations and practices with teeth and the resources to enable them to take corrective action before a rupture and not just after.
My third tale concerns commercial aviation.
On February 12, 2009, a Colgan Air airplane, en route from Newark to Buffalo, crashed five nautical miles short of the runway at Buffalo's airport, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.
The Colgan Air crash brought into the harsh spotlight issues that had plagued the airline industry for decades. Our investigation determined the crash was due to poor pilot performance, but it also highlighted safety concerns with pilot commuting, fatigue, training and more. These safety concerns had factored into other NTSB investigations and they were not the first instances of problems for this carrier. For example, although they were both based in Newark, neither crew member had accommodations in the Newark area.
The captain spent the night before the accident in the crew room. And, to get to Newark, the first officer had flown the previous night in the jumpseat of a cargo flight from Seattle to Memphis. And then took another jumpseat flight from Memphis to Newark. Further, the captain had a history of poor performance on practical flight tests during his career, including two while employed by the airline.
Yes, for this airline there were a number of alarms that should have prompted action. And, yes, tragically, in this case, where there was smoke, there was fire.
What do these stories mean for you?
They serve as a reminder that past performance is a strong indicator of future performance. If you keep seeing issues within a company, what does that tell you about its enforcement posture? What does it tell the company's individual employees? And, what does it tell the regulator?
Bad things can, and do, happen to good organizations, but the continued presence of smoke can be highly informative.
In healthy companies, companies with strong safety cultures, people are assigned to look for leading indicators - for the smoke - and not to hide it. Employees are empowered to speak up if they see a problem.
And, in safety-conscious companies, there is a clearly defined organizational structure with safety responsibilities as well as ongoing evaluation and commitment to continuous improvement.
Yes, when a company has a strong safety culture it manages and values safety just as it manages and values other vital business functions.
In an unhealthy company, there may be no safety policy and no documented standard operating procedures. There may be insufficient training and little data collection and analysis to identify risks and mitigation measures.
In short, safety is not a priority.
What do you - CVSA members - have to do with "where there's smoke there's fire?"
You are the ones on the front lines. You often see the first signs of smoke. When it comes to highway safety, you are the "firefighters," but you also have a unique opportunity to prevent fires.
Through your work, you make a difference.
I know that you don't get very many "thank you's" as you are putting an operator out of service or failing a vehicle during an inspection, so listen up...
Thank you. And to our friends working across the border: Merci and gracias. You are the backbone of the enforcement program. Thank you - all - for your dedication, your professionalism and for what you do each and every day to improve highway safety and, ultimately, to save lives. It doesn't get any more important than that.


text:
Jun 23, 2018
Thank you very much Dr./Professor, Liliana Florea. I've learned a lot. It's a very good opportunity to improve my knowledge. This means a lot to me.
Mar 14, 2016
Very informative course. Because I am new to this, it was at times confusing. But overall, great teaching and great experience. Thank you.
автор: Paul S•
Aug 29, 2018
The instructor clearly knew her material. She tried to present it systematically with enough information to give students the ability to perform the programming tasks. There were, however, a number of areas where there is substantial room for improvement.
1. The slides were underutilized. Listing a command name is not enough information to use it. For the most part this was adequately done in the lectures, but having details on critical implementation formats in slides would have been a helpful visual.
2. The class was all about using command line instructions. When the command line was shown on screen it was hard to read and frequently covered over by the video controls. Moving it up and making it large enough to read would be very helpful.
3. Although some details of the output file structure were presented a lot was left for the student to dig out of other sources. If you don't know what to look for this makes things very difficult.
4. The class is about using genomic analysis programs but the instructor did not provide information about where to download the appropriate files from.
автор: Jaydeep S•
Apr 30, 2018
This is a very poorly designed and executed course. The teacher should have used a bit more practical examples and the video lengths is too long. I have to leave it halfway, because I don't see any point of wasting my time with it. Its sad that this is part of such a great specialization module. I hope the user comments allow the course designers to implement some changes to this course.
автор: Tran N•
Feb 25, 2019
It was a quite challenging experience, especially the final module. The problem you have to deal with is not "how to properly use the programs/tools", instead, we have to learn "how to play with the parameters" so that we can have the right answers for the quiz/exam questions. There were a lot of failures throughout this course, I had to watch the lectures again and again, deeply dive into the discussions in course forum, search google and seqsanswer/biostar forum, etc.... I became hating the lecturer and the mentors for theirs not so well organized lectures and answers ... But afterall, I've learned a lot. Thank you!
автор: Dahis M•
Jan 30, 2019
Detailed and challenging.
автор: Yawei W•
Apr 15, 2019
I really like this course! (The exams are a bit challenging though.)
автор: Sael M A•
Jul 14, 2018
Great resource to learn unix codes and prepare your self for analysing genomic data
автор: Faiez S•
Dec 17, 2016
I have learnt so much from this course.
автор: Anna•
Mar 11, 2016
Very interesting and detailed course.
Most I liked the tasks: they are very detaild. Thanks to them I've leraned a lot of new things.
автор: sandeep s•
Dec 05, 2016
Excellent course. Thanks :)
автор: Alvaro E U G•
Jun 29, 2016
автор: Dorota A•
Aug 09, 2016
Very detailed and simply explained introduction to work in linux environment for biologist
автор: 刘晨•
Apr 20, 2016
It is easy to learn the basic knowledge,And It is very useful
автор: Francia V D L R•
Sep 10, 2017
thank you for the course!
автор: Mohammad Z A•
Mar 06, 2017
very information with hands on training exercises.
автор: Gabriel d S G•
May 11, 2017
Great course. The last exam is a little bit tricky, specially when some commands are large and confusing. But with the help of forums, you can still find the right answers.
автор: George C•
Apr 09, 2018
A really hard introduction to bioinformatics pipelines, it was difficult but was stimulant!
автор: Ramya G•
Sep 08, 2017
Learned a lot in this course. Very useful if you want to do NGS analysis. Week2 and Week4 were too vast. Flowcharts would be useful to know in which step we are in the analysis. VM didn't work for me. I installed all the tools on my machine to finish the assignments.
автор: yaohuan23•
Aug 13, 2017
the best course i have ever ever taken.
автор: Minli X•
Jan 26, 2016
The course content is very solid. It focuses heavily on the tools and technique, and there lacks the concepts and biology behind those tools. But I would guess there is some prior courses in this specialization explaining the concepts, though I didn't take them.
The tools explained in this course is the most popular ones for handling up-stream analysis. They are the must-have ones for current bioinformatician jobs.
The instructor, Dr Liliana Florea, did a great job, walking you through those tools step-by-step. I also found the exercises (exams) highly useful.
The course title is not the most accurate one. The title is not very catchy either. This course is more about the tools for analyzing next generation sequence data.
автор: yijin•
Feb 27, 2016
very basic and useful command line tools for genomic data analysis.
автор: Latifa M•
May 23, 2017
Simple, straight forward and descriptive
автор: Ming L•
Dec 05, 2017
nice design
автор: Edgar L•
Apr 13, 2018
Clear, very practical and applicable
автор: Gouri V•
Mar 14, 2016
Very informative course. Because I am new to this, it was at times confusing. But overall, great teaching and great experience. Thank you.
автор: Wenbo L•
Jul 07, 2016
This is perhaps one of the most clearly taught courses I have had on Coursera. Thank you for putting in time to teach us!