#Camping Municipal

[elcorreografico]

Tapalqué. El pueblo low cost con balneario natural, termas y piletas

Tapalqué. El pueblo low cost con balneario natural, termas y piletas Descubre Tapalqué, el pueblo low cost de Buenos Aires con balneario natural, termas y piletas para disfrutar en familia.

Ubicado en la provincia de Buenos Aires, Tapalqué se presenta como un encantador pueblo que atrae a visitantes por su belleza natural y su oferta de actividades recreativas. A solo 270 km de la capital, este destino se ha posicionado como uno de los más bellos de la provincia, ideal para quienes buscan un verano diferente y variado. Con un balneario natural, termas y piletas, Tapalqué se…

[townpostin]

Government Services Camp Draws 720 Residents in Jugsalai

MLA Mangal Kalindi inaugurates "Aapki Yojana Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar" event A government services camp in Jugsalai saw 720 attendees, with 426 applications received for various welfare schemes. JAMSHEDPUR – Jugsalai Municipal Council organized a government services camp at Naseem Marriage Hall, drawing 720 residents seeking access to welfare schemes. The "Aapki Yojana Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar"…

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"WANT $5,000 FOR STREETS," Kingston Daily Standard. October 4, 1912. Page 2. --- Board of Works After More Appropriation. ---- Cannot Do the Work Needed to be Done This Fall Unless They Get That Amount. --- The Board of Works had an extensive program yesterday afternoon in addition to the new proposal of the Kingston Street Railway Company for the paving of Princess street from Division between Stephen and Adelaide streets street down and to the Grand Trunk station.

The need of increased expenditure for beautifying the residential districts and the improving of the streets, was early introduced in a letter to the Board from Mayor Hoag. As a result the Board purposes asking Council for $5,000 additional appropriation for this department. It is estimated that fully that amount will be needed this fall if the streets are to be put in proper shape.

"This department has been starved for years," said Ald. Couper, "and the really deplorable condition of our streets to-day is the fruits of the policy."

"We simply must have more money if we do the work that the citizens have a right to expect of us," affirmed the chairman. And according to present indications the committee will put up a real lusty fight at next meeting of council for that $5,000.

Ald. Fair started the music by stating that certain blocks in his ward, noticeably on William, and Earl streets were positively disgraceful and without doubt the worst in the city. A perfect deluge of claims and assertions filled the council chamber. Ald. Litton said Johnson street was without a parallel in the municipality. Ald. Couper added that Princess street, right up to the Bath Road could well lay claim for the record in neglect: Ald. Elliott gave as his opinion that Montreal street needed attention more than any; and the city engineer took up the cudgels most emphatically for Union street. Ald. Litton admitted that Union street was in sad need of aid from the engineering department. Ald. Fair wasn't easily Intimidated, however, and stuck to the certain blocks in William and Earl streets. Every one finally came to an agreement that the streets and crossings as a whole were a dishonor upon the fair Limestone City, and Ald. Fair's motion for $5,000 additional appropriation was carried with manifest determination,

Messrs. Smith, Davis and Macnee, representing the realities company were present to request the opening of Cowdy and Cherry streets between Stephen and Adelaide streets in connection with the subdivision on the property near Frontenac school The need of increased expenditure for the erection of workingmen's houses, and for the privilege of laying a sewer on Cedar street. The opening up of Thomas street was also requested but as this will not be needed till next spring the Board confined its approval to the two first named. The matter of the re-subdivision of some property at the corner of Victoria and Earl streets was represented by Ald. Harrison, and the request, a matter of form only, was granted.

A sewer on Ellerbeck street and new cement side walks on Smith street and on Collingwood street, down as far as King were asked for communications and the Board gave authority for the engineer's attention here.

The matter of moving the old sewer now passing through the GrandTrunk Railway property at the foot of King and Wellington streets, to Hay street was brought up and the chairman and engineer empowered to negotiate with the G.T.R. with power to act.

The work on Kensington avenue will also be proceeded with as rapidly as possible. The need of increased attention to the trees along the city streets also was a subject for discussion. The following members of the committee were present: Ald. Elliott (Chairman). Couper. Harty, Fair, Litton and Peters.

[resourcesmasterposts]

Verified Ways to Donate to Gaza Directly

(updated Sep 2024)

Donate to a Palestinian family directly:

GazaFunds.com - Spotlights 1 stagnant/struggling GFM each time you visit the page. Donate directly to a Palestinian family in urgent need of evacuation, medical treatment or basic necessities. Site run by Palestinians, all campaigns verified.

(*If you can't decide who/where to donate, simply go to GazaFunds.com. They take the decision out of your hands.)

Masterlist of 200+ verified Palestinian families' GFMs: Operation Olive Branch

eSIMs: (*urgent!)

Guide to buy + send eSIMs to Gaza

Crips for eSims for Gaza: Donate any amount to this team of volunteers who pool funds to buy + maintain eSIMs for Gaza regularly (see their financial accountability document).

Food:

Cruelty-Free Meals for North Gaza: 4 Palestinian friends on the ground in Gaza distributing vegan-friendly meals & water to displaced families in North Gaza. Proof of their work found on their GFM page. (gfm)

We Feed Gaza: Palestinian volunteers in the heart of Gaza distributing food & water to 344+ families. Details & proof in their gfm. Vetted & promoted by LetsTalkPalestine on IG. (gfm)

Other reliable campaigns by Palestinian volunteers on the ground in Gaza distributing food & necessities to displaced families: Care for Gaza, Direct Aid for Gaza

Water: (*urgent and crucial)

Gaza Municipality: The Municipality of Gaza needs funds to rebuild the water pipes in Gaza City to restore access to clean drinking water & waste management. Crucial in combating the spread of infectious diseases e.g. polio.

Help provide tents:

The Sameer Project: Provides tents & transport for families in Rafah who urgently need to evacuate. Has a team on the ground in Gaza who successfully supplied tents to 1% of the displaced refugees in Rafah. Run by Palestinians. (paypal, venmo) (chuffed)

@helpgazachildren: Funds go directly to Hussam, a Palestinian in Rafah who hosts a refugee camp. Funds will cover the cost of tents & transport fuel. Managed by a Palestinian @fairuzfan. (gfm)

Medical Aid:

Gaza Wound Care: Palestinian doctors in central Gaza treating injured/sick children & mothers in neglected displacement camps far from hospitals. Severe shortage of medicines, equipment, & medical supplies. Raising funds to treat diseases in refugee camps. (gfm) (paypal) (gogetfunding)

international charities: Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, Medical Aid for Palestinians

How to help if you can't donate:

Share + amplify Palestinian fundraisers in your irl + online circles

Organize or help to run an online/irl event to raise funds for Palestine

Boycott

Get involved with a protest/strike/direct action in your area

Contact your reps

Educate yourself + others, irl + online

Daily clicks on Arab.org

(Longer masterpost of all ways you can help)

These links focus on Palestinian-run grassroots initiatives that will reach Gazans on the ground, so all of these except eSIMs, PCRF, MAP, OOB are by Palestinians. Donating to international organizations is currently not ideal, as aid is still being stopped at the border. Please focus on Palestinian-run initiatives on the ground in Gaza instead.

Remember, small donations always add up. Any amount counts, even $1!

If you are unable to donate yourself, you can even adopt a fundraiser campaign to regularly boost and make materials promoting it online, or print posters and flyers about Palestinian fundraisers to encourage others to donate.

Poster/graphic about gazafunds.com

Flyers about eSIMs

Flyers about GazaFamilyFunds

[melaniehyams]

Italy, 2022

[thetreetopinn]

Sources for Somerton's Plagiarism from Hbomberguy's Video (as much as I could get)

I went back through Harry's video, focused entirely on the sources James Somerton pulled from in the hopes of creating as much of a comprehensive list as I could--though my Google-Fu is not very strong. I did however find something I thought was forever lost and that made me very happy--specifically the magazine Midlands Zone containing the column by Steven Spinks that Harry poignantly used as an illustration of gay erasure... while Somerton uses it to sound like HE is waxing remorseful about the very subject.

This is not a complete list, I'm sure. For one thing, I was only able to attempt to pull sources that Harry himself mentioned in the video. Surely there's so very much more out there. I expect there to be a great deal more internet archeology to unearth just how much writing and culture Somerton has stolen like he's the British Museum of Natural History but for gay people.

- - - - -

Harry's list of mentioned youtubers:

Alexander Avila - https://www.youtube.com/@alexander_avila Matt Baume - https://www.youtube.com/@MattBaume Khadija Mbowe - https://www.youtube.com/@KhadijaMbowe Lady Emily - https://www.youtube.com/@LadyEmilyPresents Shanspeare - https://www.youtube.com/@Shanspeare RickiHirsch - https://www.youtube.com/@RickiHirsch VerilyBitchie - https://www.youtube.com/@verilybitchie

Harry created a convenient playlist of videos by these and other people he wants to bring to everyone's attention.

Please give them your support.

- - - - -

Midlands Zone Magazine - Column by Steven Spinks

After a great deal of searching, I found an archive of the "Midlands Zone" magazine, where you can read through past issues dating all the way back to February 2014. I have also found the issue from which Somerton took Spinks' poignant discussion of gay erasure: Overall archive Specific Issue - Pages 16-17

It will not allow you to download it, but you can read it exactly as it appeared in print form.

- - - - -

My best effort to find the exact book or article Somerton lifted from to be able to get attention to the original writers

Tinker Bells and Evil Queens By Sean Griffin

The Celluloid Closet By Vito Russo Wikipedia article about the book Wikipedia article about the documentary My weak google-fu could not find where you can access the book or documentary. Check your local municipal or university library for book or documentary, or if you know a good source for one or both, please reblog with it added

Camp and the Gay Sensibility By Jack Babuscio

The Groundbreaking Queerness of Disney's Mulan By Jes Tom Personal site with links to social media accounts

Why Rebel Without a Cause was a milestone for gay rights By Peter Howell

Why "The Craft" is still the best Halloween coming out movie By Andrew Park

Opinion: From facehuggers to phallic tails, is 'Alien' one of the queerest films ever? By Dani Leever

Women and Queerness in Horror: Jennifer's Body By Zoe Fortier

[Pride 2019] We Have Such Sights to Show You: Hellraiser and the Spectrum of Queerness By Alejandra Gonzalez

Revealing the Hellbound Heart of Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' By Colin Arason

Queering James Cameron's Aliens (1986) By Bart Bishop

Demeter and Persephone in space: transformation, femininity, and myth in the 'Alien' films By David Greven

Fears of a millennial masculinity: Scream's queer killers By David Greven (Scholarly site, unable to access original work, offers a way to request a full copy of the text in PDF)

Queer Subtext in Stephen King's It - Part 1: 'Reddie' Character Analysis By Rachel Brands Rachel is the very unfortunate lady who found out she was being stolen from because she supported Somerton through Patreon and saw one of his videos early with her writing--lacking any form of citation or credit

How 'It: Chapter Two' Leaves Richie Tozier Behind By Joelle Monique

When Horror Becomes Strength: Queer Armor in Stephen King's 'IT' By Alex London

Why Queer People Love Witchcraft By Amanda Kohr

'The Favourite' Queers The Past And The Present By Giorgi Plys-Garzotto

(Wuko) Crush (Mako x Wu) By MoonFlower on YouTube

5 Terrible Movies With Awesome Hidden Meanings By J.F. Sargent

The Radicalization of Sexuality: The Queer Casae of Jeffrey Dahmer By Ian Barnard

Netflix's 'Dahmer' backlash highlights ethical issues in the platform's obsession with true crime By Shivani Dubey

The Possible Disturbing Dissonance Between Hajime Isayama's Beliefs and Attack on Titan's Themes Original Article by "Seldom Musings" (Author has made all posts not related to Attack On Titan private and has retired from the blog)

Everyone Loves Attack on Titan. So Why Does Everyone Hate Attack on Titan? By Gita Jackson

- - - - -

The following people are otherwise named in the video. There are no direct citations of articles or books by them in said video. I am unable to guarantee that I have identified the correct individual.

Darren Elliott-Smith Michaela Barton David Church Claire Sisco King Amanda Howell Jessica Roy

- - - - -

Telos announced and cancelled a film likely based on this book: The Final Girl Support Group - By Grady Hendrix

- - - - -

I refrained from including certain sources.

First off only focusing on Somerton's work.

Secondly not including anything that might be visible enough to not require amplifying their voice (I cannot speak for all of those I have found links to, but journalism is frequently a thankless job).

Thirdly any source that is of a nature that is antithetical to the very existence of the queer community, such as the right-leaning source that didn't make it into Somerton's video, but Harry was able to identify as a source he had considered using.

If you feel I have missed a mentioned source--or you know of a source from material that was not covered in Harry's video--please do not hesitate to reblog with added details.

- - - - -

Please share this information far and wide, and please add to it if you find more material that can be positively identified and linked to the creator/writer.

[micheltaanman-blog]

Frankrijk - Camping Campix naast Parijs

[fatehbaz]

front page news for years now, "the homelessness crisis", newspaper printing letters to the editor from homeowners fretting about the "freeloaders" and how "dirty" homeless people are, the city progressively worsening their cracking down with ordinances. biggest issue in the city. apartments $675 in 2015 though unchanged go for $1500 in 2024. few months ago, significant new ordinance further criminalizing visible homelessness and banning people from parks and trails. multiple "community groups" now that hold events and pool money for advocacy, except they're not raising money to help poor people, they're raising money to pay for ads and banners and posters to say "keep them out of our neighborhood". imagine: in their free time, they go out of their way to attend potlucks, to get together, to talk about how much they don't like homeless people. it's that much of a priority in their lives. the place is reputed as by far "the most progressive city in the region". huge "enlightened (white) liberal" identity thing. many nonprofits.

this week, biking to work through middle class single-family neighborhood full of municipal employees. recoil and frown when i see the first yard sign: "no camping in parks! protect our children! protect our neighborhood!" but encounter more. many more. practically every other yard has the sign. these are administrators, plumbers, public school teachers, receptionists. people you interact with on a daily basis, who often have power over your well-being, who you hope would have your back, and these are the feelings and beliefs they are harboring.

very next morning. the big front page newspaper headline was the city announcing new contract, massive budget and payment to "private security force" to supervise several neighborhoods. giving them the power to issue warnings under city's new ordinances. (this is not the first year the city has paid mercenaries either. they've been doing it for about 5 years. they stand on street corners, tackle and remove "uncooperative" people from shelter vicinity, flaunting armor and weapons, glaring at passersby.) newspaper explains that someone on city council did try to add an amendment. they proposed that maybe the private security force (1) should not carry firearms, and (2) should at least wear body cameras if they were going to be a private company, interacting with the public, with the legal power to issue warnings. but nope. amendment rejected by 7 of the 9 councilors. the private contractors will carry guns and will not wear body cameras.

"most progressive city in the region" full of nonprofit careerists and liberal civil servant types cannot afford to put beds in shelters. cannot afford better social services. but they can apparently afford to pay massive sums to armed mercenaries. they will act with haste to introduce criminalizing ordinances. they will go out of their way even in their free time to rally and shout about keeping "dirty" people away from "our parks!"

[beehaiku]

🇵🇸 Palestine Aid 🇵🇸

on the ground in Gaza: food, water, & shelter

-Taawon: a nonprofit running a campaign providing food parcels, water, shopping vouchers, and tents in Gaza

-World Food Programme: UN branch providing food in shelters and camps

-Life for Gaza: Gaza municipality’s fund to rebuild vital infrastructure such as roads, waste collection, and water projects

-Arab Group for the Protection of Nature’s Revive Gaza Farmlands Project: APN’s project to replant farmlands to reestablish a source of food

-Care for Gaza: organization working to provide displaced families in Gaza with food parcels and cash

-Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s Gaza Relief and Recovery Plan: PCRF’s campaign to provide food, water, and essential medical supplies and treatment

-Mutual Aid for the People of Gaza: Mona Abu Hamda uses the money from this fund to purchase and distribute food parcels and other basic supplies

-The Sameer Project: a Palestinian-led initiative that raises funds to provide tents, cash aid, and medical care in South Gaza

-Islamic Relief Worldwide: UK-based international aid organization providing hot meals, water, and hygiene supplies

-UNRWA: UN organization providing assistance to Palestinian refugees

on the ground in Gaza: medical aid

-Doctors Without Borders: international organization running field hospitals and providing access to sanitation and medical treatment

-Medical Aid for Palestine: provides medical aid and supports healthcare services in Gaza

-Children Not Numbers: a non-governmental organization focused on providing medical aid and medical evacuation for children

eSims

-Connecting Humanity provides a guide and links for buying eSims and will connect your purchase to someone in need

personal fundraisers

-Funds for Gaza: rotating collection, pick a fundraiser from a vetted list

-Gaza Funds: picks a vetted fundraiser for you based on urgency and how close it is to the goal (there’s also Sudan Funds, which does the same thing with Sudanese fundraisers)

-@/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi’s vetted fundraiser list allows you to confirm a fundraiser is legitimate

spotlight fundraisers (all vetted)

-Hyam Shehab’s family: donate here

-Kareman Dohan’s family: donate here

-Osama el-Haj’s family: donate here

-Ahmed Hammad’s family: donate here

for evacuated Palestinians

-Network For Palestine is a volunteer organization in Cairo that helps evacuated Palestinians in Egypt build new lives via multiple fundraisers that can be found in their linktree

misc

-Operation Olive Branch is a project working to compile personal fundraisers and mutual aid funds; many of the organizations in this post can also be found on their spreadsheet

-@/palipunk’s masterlist has places to donate but also a lot of resources for learning more about Palestine

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 A child, killed in an Israeli airstrike, is found in the arms of his dead father by Palestinian civil defense personnel under the rubble of their residential home in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after a long night of IOF warplanes bombing their way across the entirety of the enclave.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏠💥🚑 🚨

ZIONIST BOMBING CAMPAIGN KILLS DOZENS ON DAY 176 OF "ISRAEL'S" WAR OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP

On the 176th day of "Israel's" ongoing war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 7 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of at least 71 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while another 112 others have been wounded over the previous 24-hours.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported on Saturday that a total of 26 personnel have been killed since the beginning of the Zionist aggression on Gaza, including 15 team members who were killed while performing their duties.

PRCS crews also reported transporting the bodies of two martyrs, killed as a result of occupation artillery shelling of a civilian structure in the Al-Maghazi Camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

Israeli occupation forces continued with their offensive near Al-Shifa Medical Complex, located in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, besieging the hospital for at least 10 consecutive days, while horrific attacks on civilians, patients and medical personnel in the hospital are being reported, including field executions of civilians, illegal detentions, torture, and forced displacement of local residents and civilians sheltering in the complex.

Elsewhere, Zionist occupation forces bombed a residential home belonging to the Abdo family on Al-Wahda Street, in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of 10 family members.

In yet another horrific atrocity, Zionist soldiers assassinated a police officer in Gaza City as he drove his wife and children in his civilian vehicle, killing all seven family members.

IOF warplanes also bombarded The Shuja'iyya Club, a local sports club in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, resulting in the martyrdom of several citizens, including members of the popular committees in charge of organizing the distribution of humanitarian aid.

The Zionist occupation army also targeted starving Palestinians waiting for food aid on Salah al-Din Street, in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, wounding a number of civilians.

Occupation bombing, shelling and gunfire also continues to target civilians across the northern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces also completed the destruction of the city of Prisoners, north of the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, leveling 21 out of 24 buildings in the area.

Simultaneously, Zionist warplanes bombed several civilian homes near the Prisoner Towers, west of the Al-Nuseirat Camp, martyring five civilians.

Occupation fighter jets also bombarded the town of Al-Mughraqa, along with the Al-Nuseirat Camp, Al-Maghazi and in the vicinity of the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the central Gaza Strip.

The IOF also targeted the headquarters of the municipalities of Al-Bureij and Al-Zawayda in the central Governate of the Gaza Strip, which can no longer provide basic services as a result.

In yet another horrific crime, IOF warplanes bombed a civilian residence belonging to the Musa family in the Al-Maghazi Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing several family members and wounding a number of others, while the explosion from the blast also wrought massive destruction on nearby houses.

In the south of Gaza, local paramedic and civil defense crews say they transported the bodies of 13 Palestinians who were slaughtered in mass killings after the occupation bombing of the town of Al-Qarara, north of Khan Yunis.

Violent raids continued when Zionist aircraft bombed central Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, martyring two Palestinian civilians and wounding a number of others, while occupation warplanes also wrought massive destruction after bombing several multi-storied residential buildings in the Austrian neighborhood west of Khan Yunis.

The Zionist occupation army, including tanks, armored vehicles, and warplanes, have been hammering, with violent airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling, targeting various areas of Khan Yunis, with special attention paid to the eastern and western neighborhoods of the city, and also in the vicinity of Nasser Medical Complex.

Several firebelts were also launched by IOF fighter jets targeting the Khuza'a neighborhood, east of Khan Yunis, along with the Sufa and Abasan areas, northeast of the city.

It is also being reported that the number of dead as a result of the IOF bombing of the Abu Muammar family home in Rafah City, in southern Gaza, on Thursday morning has risen to 14.

The infinitely rising death toll resulting from "Israel's" war of genocide in the Gaza Strip has now exceeded 32'705 Palestinians killed, with more than 25'000 of the victims being women and children according to the United States Pentagon, while an additional 75'190 civilians have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression beginning on October 7th, 2023.

#source1

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#infographicsource

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[bcacstuff]

Exploring the Hunku - By Jake Norton (part 1)

I guess part of me has always been an explorer.

No, not that kind of capital "E" Explorer - I haven’t discovered new lands, walked off the map, completed bold first ascents or any of that headline-grabbing stuff. But, I’ve been fortunate enough in my travels and adventures to wander off the beaten path somewhat, to explore terrain that, if not new to the world, is new to me, unfamiliar in all ways, be it on Everest’s North Face, the slopes of Gurla Mandhata, my own back yard, or elsewhere.

Our venture up the Hunku Khola from Chheskam to Kongme Dingma was just such an exploration. Sam and I and our team were not in uncharted waters; if we’re being honest, there is little in Nepal outside the extreme alpine realm that has not seen the feet of a herder or the staff of wandering ascetic over the ages. No, the Hunku is well known to the Kulung Rai and other locals, but not so to the outside world. I know of only a handful of people who have been up there before, one being Tim Macartney-snape, and if you know him and his history he’s not one for following the known path. So on December 6, we headed off into the somewhat unknown.

Sunset at camp 1 on the Mahakulung Muddhi-Kongmedingma Trail at the Mangan Khola.

Sam hikes up through lush forests of the Hunku Valley.

Our amazing team taking a breather.

New ways to traverse cliffside trails.

Steep and slick but full of beauty.

The new trail - dubbed by the excited community of Mahakulung as the Mahakulung Muddhi-Kongmedingma Trail - follows the Hunku Khola as it roars through a narrow canyon of its own creation. Unlike many treks in the Nepal Himalaya - and quite different than its nearby neighbor, Khumbu - this trail ambles through dense jungle, towering forests of East Himalayan Fir (Abies spectabilis), Musure Katus (Himalayan beech, Castanopsis tribuloides), Bull oak (Quercus lamellosa), Himalayan birch (Betula utilis), and rhododendron (both falconeri and arboreum). It’s a misty place as well, with afternoon cloud wafting up the valley, enshrouding the landscape in mystical ether turning to ethereal ice during the night.

While the Hunku finds its source up high in the melting ice of the Hunku Glacier on Baruntse and the alpine lakes of Seto Pokhari and Paanch Pokhari, its power is fed downstream by countless tributaries large and small, azure cascades coming down from numerous unnamed 5,000 meter peaks and larger, named ones like Naulekh and Mera. Thankfully, the municipalities of Mahakulung (Gudel, Bung, and Chheskam) built bridges across most, ranging from simple trusses to deluxe covered bridges and simple sticks-on-rocks for yet others still.

Sam shows his excitement at finding scat of a large leopard on the trail.

Bamboo tickets and high peaks.

A new bridge on day 3 crossing a tributary to the Hunku Khola. Bridges were built by locals from Mahakulung.

A new suspension bridge crosses the Hunku Khola on day 4.

Chilly mornings.

The boys on a break. Left to right: Sam Heughan, Tshering Dorje Sherpa, Gopal Magar, Karka Kulung Rai, and Jhanak Karki.

Sam crosses a less-modern - and fully iced - bridge on the upper Hunku Khola.

Porters crossing an old wooden bridge on the Hunku Khola.

Our trail - choked at times with bamboo or slick with mud, glazed with ice - meandered along the Hunku’s path. Folded as they are, the Himalaya do not lend themselves to easy trails, however, and the Muddhi-Kongmedingma is no exception: a straight line from Point A to Point B is rarely possible, with Ridge C and Valley D more often standing in the way. While most days the trail had a net gain of about 1500 vertical feet, we’d easily double that with ups and downs along the way.

But, that’s not to say days were hard; they were, taken all together, about perfect. Much of that is thanks to our team, and wonderfully motley crew of folks helping schlep our gear and prepare meals and keep us company along the way. And, this being the first real commercial trip up the valley, we never knew with certainty where the next flat ground would be found and if it would have water nearby. So, some days were cut short, some were stretched longer. Vagaries of the valley forced the abandonment of one acclimatization day at Watelma Chaur, but to little consquence: we were nimble, Sam was strong, our team able.

Six days of fairly magical, mystical trekking took us through climatic zones from forest to alpine, through sun and snow and ice, mornings of frost to afternoons of heat and frigid nights tempered by a blazing fire. We found scat from jungle cats (Asiatic wildcat? Maybe, but quite doubtful.) and leopards (common or snow, we do not know), enjoyed unspoiled nature at its best, and barely a trace of humanity - not a lodge, not a house, not a helicopter or plane. The only person outside our team we encountered until Khumbu was a resourceful Sherpa named Gelu from near Bung who heard of our affinity for both jhway kathe (raksi heated and adorned with sauteed fenugreek) and tongba (fermented millet prepared as a delicious hot drink) and decided we were a good business proposition, hauling several liters of both in his doko up valley. (Note, his instincts proved remarkably correct.)

Jhanak Karki, skull shaman.

Keeping warm by the fire at camp on day 4.

Misty morning majesty.

Fresh snow helped make day 5 on the Mahakulung Muddhi-Kongmedingma Trail even more stunning.

Steep and slippery demands creativity.

Sam enjoys a cold head shower along the trail.

Sun, shadow, and cloud play on the shoulders of Naulekh.

Sunset at our tiny cliff camp on the Hunku Khola.

Eventually, we emerged from the forest some 2500 feet below Kongme Dingma and entered the subalpine zone. Here, along with incresingly majestic views of Naulekh and Peak 41 and Chamlang and more, we bushwhacked for an hour through sprawling hillsides of sunpati (dwarf rhododendron, or Rhododendron anthopogon), which is used in most incense from South Asia. So strong and fresh, every step released a burst of aroma making the whole valley akin to walking around Bodhanath during times of prayer. Amazing.

And then, the pain began.

Not bad pain, but certainly some, the hurt of altitude and the cold that comes along with it, the toll extracted physiologically, penance for the privilege of the high country. And, like a first marathon or a first drunk, it hits the uninitiated hardest. We made it to Kongme Dingma, a small, vacant settlement at 15,750 feet, windswept and austere beneath the towering giants of Peak 41, Naulekh, and Chamlang. For Sam and Jhanak, each step of the last 3000+ feet was an altitude record, and inevitably the night brought with it headache and lassitude, the hallmarks up here. But, they fired back with their own hallmarks - grit and positivity.

We spent the night sheltering from demonic, 60 mph wind gusts under Gelu’s tarp-roofed hut. Dung-seasoned dust whipped about as we ate dal bhat, played cards with the team, laughed and talked and smiled and knew that this too would pass, tomorrow would dawn another day.

Altitude is a fickle thing, each person’s specific physiology responding differently to it. Until you’ve been up high, it’s generally a mystery as to how you’ll do, how your body will adapt - or not - to the dearth of oxygen. Some do well, some less so, but most will get it sorted out if given time and tools. Time is the keystone, as the body is working overtime to produce red blood cells and increase hypoxic efficiency; thus, a day off, an active rest day, at Kongme Dingma was essential to let the body do its thing.

Sam taking it all in as we leave the forest and enter the alpine.

Chamlang - the sentinel of the Hunku - was hidden for days but finally shows itself in the upper valley.

Gelu, our friend and beverage purveyor, stops for a tea and dal bhat break on the trail.

Sam Heughan taking it all in high on the Mahakulung Muddhi-Kongmedingma Trail.

Enjoying the views high on the Muddhi-Kongmedingma Trail.

(more in part 2 of this article)

[townpostin]

Your Scheme, Your Government, Your Doorstep: Camps Held in Jamshedpur

Camps organized by Mango Municipal Corporation and Jamshedpur Akhilesh under the initiative; beneficiaries submit applications. Under the "Your Scheme, Your Government, Your Doorstep" program, camps were set up at Uliyan Tribal School and Deendayal Upadhyay Community Hall. JAMSHEDPUR – On Friday, under the "Your Scheme, Your Government, Your Doorstep" initiative, camps were organized by Mango…

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Jap Hospital Bill Disowned," Vancouver Sun. October 13, 1943. Page 7. --- Special to The Vancouver Sun NEW WESTMINSTER, Oct. 13. - Objection to the principle of paying hospital bills for former Japanese residents of New Westminster who are now interned in the Interior was voiced at the City Council meeting Tuesday night.

Tom Reid, MP, member for New Westminster, will be requested to take the matter up with the Dominion Government, which the Council felt should be responsible for all hospitalization charges of alien enemies.

A bylaw providing for registration of bicycles in New Westminster will be prepared. The finance committee will decide on the fee to be charged.

The practice of commercial vehicles parking on streets in residential areas will be curbed in a bylaw.

The city will also prohibit the repairing of motor vehicles on city streets.

A grant of $150 was made towards the proposed Pro-Rec physical training classes in the city. The T. J. Trapp High School auditorium and the Dontenwill Hall will be used.

[27moremoons]

الدفاع المدني: أكثر من 1500 خيمة في مخيمات النزوح بقطاع غزة غمرتها مياه الأمطار خلال اليومين الماضيين، مما أدى إلى تلف أمتعة النازحين وإصابتهم بحالات ارتعاش بسبب البرد .

• في محافظة غزة: 242 خيمة في ملعب اليرموك ومتنزه بلدية غزة و185 خيمة في مجمع السرايا.

• في رفح: 170 خيمة غمرت بالمياه في شارع البحر ومحيط استراحة “فش فرش”.

• في خان يونس: 665 خيمة تضررت في منطقة جامعة الأقصى وبركة حي الأمل.

• في الوسطى: 210 خيمة في مناطق دير البلح والبصة ووادي السلقا.

فرق الدفاع المدني رصدت تسرب مياه الأمطار بمستوى يزيد عن 30 سم في العديد من الخيام.

Civil Defense: More than 1,500 tents in displacement camps in the Gaza Strip were flooded by rainwater during the past two days, damaging the belongings of the displaced and causing them to shiver due to the cold.

• In Gaza Governorate: 242 tents in Yarmouk Stadium and Gaza Municipality Park and 185 tents in Al-Saraya Complex.

• In Rafah: 170 tents were flooded in Al-Bahr Street and around the “Fash Fresh” rest house.

• In Khan Yunis: 665 tents were damaged in the Al-Aqsa University area and the Al-Amal neighborhood pond.

• In the Central Governorate: 210 tents in the areas of Deir Al-Balah, Al-Basah and Wadi Al-Salqa.

Civil Defense teams monitored rainwater leakage at a level exceeding 30 cm in many tents.