#Fire prevention on construction sites

[quickshipfire]

Fire Prevention Tips for Construction Sites

Fires at construction sites present unique and dangerous problems when this type of emergency occurs. This type of fire situation is unique, so you need to know fire prevention tips for the construction site.

[constructionsafetynetwork]

Fire Safety Training in Construction

In the realm of construction, fire safety training is not just a regulatory requirement; it’s a vital practice that safeguards lives and property. This article will delve into why fire safety training in construction is essential, its key components, and how it benefits both workers and construction projects. Understanding Fire Safety Training in Construction Understanding fire safety training…

[odinsblog]

Everything about the Starship was the result of a series of decisions designed to make spaceflight cheaper. The methane fuel. The steel structure. The method of construction. Even the rocket’s enormous size. All of it was a gamble to create a system that is fully reusable, bringing the cost of getting to orbit down to a small fraction of what it is today and making space almost infinitely more accessible.

However, one decision in the process didn’t just result in the destruction of the rocket, it generated a cascade of failures, one that’s likely to set the program back by a least a year, erasing the chance of NASA’s scheduled return to the Moon in the process. That decision is 100% on Elon Musk.

HERE’S THE TL;DR VERSION

The no-clamps slow throttle-up meant Starship stayed on the pad for a long time, throwing up concrete, rock, and sand in all directions, damaging the pad, nearby facilities, and Starship itself.

By the time it left the pad, that debris had already destroyed three of Starship’s engines and likely damaged valves and systems that would lead to additional engine failures as well as an incorrect fuel mixture.

Starship was slow to reach every point in the flight plan, suggesting that other engines were not able to throttle up to compensate for the lost engines.

At what should have been stage separation, either software errors or more smashed hardware kept the main booster firing long after it should have shut down.

The result was an uncontrolled spin that required Starship to be destroyed.

WHY THIS IS 100% ELON MUSK’S FAULT

Starship is the work of hundreds of talented engineers and thousands of employees who put their best into making this thing go. The design is extremely daring, and something of a wonder. The engines are amazing, even if they have demonstrated that reliability is currently lacking. The whole system of construction promises to revolutionize the space industry.

But there are two parts that were left out of Starship that absolutely doomed this flight and the decision not to include them falls right with the guy at the end of the first row at “Star Command.”

Those parts were not parts for the rocket. They were parts for the launch pad.

For some reason, Musk became convinced early on that he did not want the launch tower to have:

A flame-diverter or flame trench to redirect the blast from the booster’s engines

A water deluge system to dump a massive amount of water around the launch tower during liftoff

The launch facilities at Kennedy have both of these. Even the launch pads used for the much smaller Falcon 9 have both a flame trench and a water deluge. They help to protect not just the launch pad, and the surrounding area, they also help to reduce the noise. Which sounds trivial, but that noise is energy. That’s what broke up the concrete under the Starship Stage Zero, not the fire. That’s what sent car-sized chunks flying in all directions.

A flame diverter and a water deluge would have greatly reduced, or even eliminated, the damage to the area around the pad. They would have prevented the blow back of debris that damaged Starship before it even left the ground. It might have headed off the whole cascade of events that resulted in that button being pressed 4 minutes into the flight.

We don’t have to guess about whose decision it was not to implement these systems, because Musk already said he decided to skip these systems over the recommendations of his engineers. Musk even had a preview of what was going to happen, as past test flights of the upper stage also resulted in significant spalling of concrete structures and damage to at least one of the ships. He just made them try different kinds of concrete.

The parts for a water deluge were actually on site, ready to install, but Musk decided to forego that installation—likely so he could enjoy the pun of launching his super-joint on 4/20. Which was something Musk had joked about doing months ago.

Hopefully he enjoyed the joke, because the EPA and FAA are going to be thinking long and hard before they authorize another flight from Boca Chica. All those engineers, and all those workers, and all their good work, is held hostage to Musk’s whims.

Also a victim of Musk’s decision to leave these vital pieces off the table? The Artemis Program at NASA. Musk has already been awarded the contract to create the first lunar lander for the new program, but that lander is absolutely dependent on Starship. It’s a sure bet that Musk won’t have his part of the program ready on schedule. It’s going to be some time before we even so another test flight.

In the meantime, SpaceX can repair the damage, build a flame diverter, install that deluge system, clean up the software, and ditch the whole “pitch over” means of stage separation for something simpler—like using the second stage engines to push the stages apart with an unignited shot of methane.

See you in 2024, Starship.

Maybe.

👉🏿 https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/22/2165317/-A-Starship-Post-mortem-Why-the-giant-rocket-failed-and-why-it-s-Elon-Musk-s-fault

[gothhabiba]

The immediate impact of the Israeli occupation was to exacerbate unemployment: service jobs for the Egyptian army and UN forces vanished, trade with Egypt halted, and the port was closed. Moreover, since the combined GNP of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was only 2.6 percent of the Israeli GNP in 1967, they faced inevitable integration into the Israeli economy as the occuption continued. Furthermore, Israeli policies increased the Strip's dependency. These practices included permitting only certain Gaza products to be sold within Israel, flooding the Gaza market with Israeli goods, restructuring Gaza's agriculture, and encouraging Arab laborers to work in Israel.

The Balance and Composition of Trade. After only one year of occupation, 72 percent of Gaza's imports came from Israel; no imports were allowed from Egypt, and 1 percent of its imports came from Jordan (the balance came from Europe). This represented a dramatic shift, since all the prewar trade had been either directly with Egypt or with Europe and Asia through the Gaza port. [...]

A decade later the shift in trading patterns was even more pronounced. [...] 91 percent of imports came from Israel, and nothing was imported from Jordan or Egypt. [...] Dates, strawberries, and vegetables were also sold to Israel, and local industries engaged in subcontracting for Israeli firms.

Agriculture and industry were both hard hit by Israeli competition. Israeli eggs, poultry, and even vegetables sell at lower prices than local produce, and virtually all canned and bottled goods come from Israel. [...]

A 15 percent excise tax and soaring inflation erode the profits of merchants and factory owners. Gazans have no way to hedge against inflation, since the Israeli shekel is the only legal tender on the Strip.

Restructuring Agriculture. Israel has prevented farmers from exporting to Israel any items that compete with Israeli produce and has imposed restrictions on the planting of certain crops. As a result, the output of melons, onions, grapes, almonds, olives, and fish has decreased. Farmers need permits to plant trees and vegetables.

[...] The government has encouraged production of some specialized crops, such as strawberries and dates. Farmers in Beit Lahiya village say that they were ordered to grow strawberries and would otherwise have been prevented from using their land and well. These strawberries are marketed exclusively through Ashkelon port by the Israeli export firm Agrexco. No permits, however, have been given to farmers to plant such crops as mangoes and avocados, which are also grown in Israel.

Arab Labor in Israel. In 1970, 10 percent of the Gaza labor force was employed in Israel, but at present approximately 40 percent (35,000 persons) work there. This includes 25,000 workers who are registered with the official labor exchange and another 10,000 who work illegally. The high unemployment within the Strip and the fact that wages inside Israel were five times those in the Strip made such employment irresistible.

[...] Even those holding regular jobs face difficult conditions. For example, it is illegal for them to remain inside Israel from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. But employers and workers collude in circumventing the law so that the workers will not have to spend several hours every day commuting. Farmers let laborers sleep in huts, abandoned buses, or even in the open under the orange trees. In town, workers jam into hostels, sleep on construction sites, or spread out on the floor in restaurants. There have been cases of disasters when workers locked into factories at night were unable to escape when fires broke out. [...]

The overall impact of Israeli economic policy is to turn the Gaza Strip into a large labor camp. The Strip is a source of cheap labor for Israel and its internal economic base is continually eroded.

– 1985. Ann M. Lesch, "Gaza: Forgotten Corner of Palestine." Journal of Palestine Studies 15.1, pp. 43-61. Emphasis mine.

[quitealotofsodapop]

DBK is most certainly confused as hell! But the moment he hears Wukong is in Danger, he's all on storming the Celestial Palace against his former brother's, this time with permission from his in-laws! It's also during this situation the truth about his rampage 500 years ago becomes known to the Celestial Realm. Xiwangmu, who has figured out Uwkong was not pregnant on the Journey, has even more reason to respect DBK.

Prev.

DBK is all sorts of messed up when he gets revived, but he immediately softens when he hears a tiny excited "BABA!" at his hoof. Immediately the feared demon king drops to his knees to embrace his child, barely larger since he last saw him centuries ago. His wife is close behind, cupping her husband's face and peppering him with kisses as she sobs with joy.

Red Son and Iron Fan are the only people who matter to DBK in that moment.

Then he notices his in-laws. And what appears to be the Pilgrims? Why are they all here?

DBK: (*finally gets a good look at the room/construction site*) The Room: (*His wife's parents, her nephew, and her cousin are all watching him closely. A pair of dragons + their pup stay at a safe distance. Macaque is alive again and is struggling to keep the Staff upright. And a trio of Pilgrim-looking fellows look extremely out-of-place.*) DBK: "Uh... ok, I am completely at a loss for what is happening right now." Nezha: "The Brotherhood have taken over Heaven. Azure Lion has taken the Emperor's power for himself, and taken Sun Wukong as a hostage." DBK: "Those fools! But, why is Wukong unable to fight back against them?" Macaque: "He's very weak from delivering a stone egg." DBK: "HE DID WHAT!? After I nearly ripped heaven asunder to prevent him from doing so!" Tang, history nerding: "Wait - that was the reason for your rampage 500 years ago?! You were trying to stop Wukong from creating his Stone Egg?" DBK: "Of course! He approached me to act as a vigil for Flower Fruit Mountain while he buried himself. When I discovered that the process is more often-than-not fatal, I became adamant on distracting Wukong by any means necessary!" Nezha: "You were not successful, sadly. Me and Iron Fan kept watch for the last 5 centuries - though I was not given context on why. I now understand why that was. I nearly strangled Wukong when I learned what the purpose of his "meditation" was." DBK, surprised: "Truly?" Pigsy, gesturing to the Ao-Long's: "Yeah, it was only when a certain baby dragon got lost playing with your kid did anyone know about this." Mei, puts up hand proudly: "I dug up Uncie Wu!" (*DBK turns to PIF, his face uncertain*) DBK: "My love, is this all true?" PIF, nodding: "Yes dear. When I saw the reincarnations of Wukong's pilgrim brothers touch upon the island, I sensed that it was time to slowly reunite our family. I retrieved Red Son from Guanyin, and of course, you know how much trouble he can get into on a good day. Eventually, things got a little away from us when Macaque came back into our lives - you must see the recording of the Trial that happened because of that. And of course my parents eventually found out about their grandson from my involvement." Red Son, smiling proudly: "I set the Jade Emperor on fire!" Jade Emperor: "He did." Xiwangmu: (*hiding fond laughter behind her sleeves*) DBK, turns to face his in-laws: "In that case, I will accept any rapport offered to me in kind. My main priority is my family, and if Iron Fan wishes to include you in it - I would honour her choice." Sandy: "Guess, thats gonna include Mr Monkey King now too, huh?" DBK: "What?" Pigsy, getting frustrated: "We'll explain it later!"

So yeah, big brother Bull got some ears to shout off, and a few former-Brothers to interrogate.

Yellow Tusk actually breathes a sigh of relief to see DBK burst through the cloud layer into the Celestial Realm, furiously shouting "SUN WUKONG!" as he charges at the doors to the throne room. Finally a good distraction.

[otakusparkle]

The Manor Safety Class is now open!

While visitors are having a happy summer trip, please also pay attention to your own safety~

Beach side...

- Hello everyone, this is Oletus Radio and Television program! There are many friends on the beach during the summer vacation, follow our camera and take a look!

- When exercising under the scorching sun, pay attention to sun protection! Also pay attention to replenishing water in time~

Norton : "Who hit me!?"

Demi : Always pay attention to safety when playing on the beach to prevent drowning~!

Patricia : Also pay attention to heatstroke prevention and cooling down~

Daily life...

- Pay attention to electrical regulations! If an electrical appliance catches fire, cut off the power supply quickly.

- If you encounter a fire, do not take the elevator to escape, but take the safe passage!

- Always pay attention to electrical safety at home, and do not touch electrical appliances with wet hands or wet cloth! If you encounter circuit or appliance aging, leakage, etc., you should immediately unplug the plug and cut off the power supply.

- Obey traffic regulations when you go out, walk on the sidewalk, don't run red lights, don't look at your phone or play around in the street, and always pay attention to traffic safety!

- Be civilized and smart in surfing the Internet. Do not indulge in the Internet, pay attention to protecting personal information, and be alert to telecommunications fraud traps!

Phone screen : "Grand prize"

Out for a journey...

- Minors should not go out alone to play! They should follow their parents when going out to avoid getting separated!

- You should maintain good hygiene habits when outside, wash your hands frequently, and don't touch or eating anything recklessly.

- During holidays, there are more people in scenic spots. You should avoid cutting in line, making noise, littering, and traveling in a civilized manner.

- Obey the instructions on various signs, do not climb over the guardrails, do not go to prohibited areas, and do not go to undeveloped tourist areas without permission!

Board sign : "No climbing over the fence"

Rainy season...

- Extreme weather such as thunderstorms and typhoons occur frequently during the summer vacation.

- When going out on rainy days, pay attention to road conditions to avoid falling into dangerous areas such as manholes, pits, construction sites, etc.

Dungeon : "This is not the dungeon, this is sewer."

- In heavy rain and strong winds, stay away from billboards, street lights, temporary buildings, etc and take shelter in buildings in a timely manner.

- During thunderstorms, be sure to close doors and windows, cut off the power to household appliances, and try not to answer or make phone calls.

[gallusrostromegalus]

so if AEIWAM has Rukia starting off as lieutenant, what's the justification for sending her to the Living World at the beginning of the story?

(in the manga, she doesn't get the lieutenant's position until after the end of the Soul Society Arc, even though everyone agrees she's the obvious candidate for it. the position is left vacant after Kaien Shiba's death, with the actual duties being split between 13th company's two 3rd seat officers -- whose names ofc I don't remember, but one of them is Isane Kotetsu's younger sister?)

(I seem to remember Rukia initially not actually having *any* officer's seat because Byakuya wanted her kept away from the more dangerous missions. which is why she's on bog-standard Hollow patrol at the beginning of the series)

(idk if this throws a wrench in your worldbuilding, but you've got a whole construction site going on so what's one more trip hazard? 😅)

About four months before the canon series begins:

-----

Ukitake probably would have been less upset if he'd received the message at the office. Or in person.

Instead, the message had been delivered to him by private courier at his home, right in the middle of dinner. Interrupting his dinner after a long day was enough of a reason for Ukitake to read the boy the riot act, but the sheer- What the hell was he thinking? Was he thinking at all??

He squinted at the letter again. Technically, it was only sent to him on the order of "The Kuchiki Clan" so this could, theoretically, be the nonsense of several different people, and not necessarily Byakuya specifically.

"Best to go address them collectively." He sighed, folding up the letter, sticking it inside his robe, and getting up.

"Sentaro? Kiyone?" he called from the hallway, putting on his Captain's Haori, as this was Official Business. "I need to step out for a bit, you two are in charge until I get back."

"Sir!" Sentaro saluted with enough force that he winced from hitting himself in the head.

"Let me come with you!" Kiyone said cheerfully.

"No, this is a private matter. You stay here and make sure the Division doesn't catch fire." Ukitake said, tying Sogyo No Kotowari to his belt. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but the average mule could learn a thing or five about stubbornness from Byakuya and a show of force might be necessary. He waved to his two third-seats, and stepped out the door.

It wasn't a long walk, but the cool night air gave him some time and space to think.

Someone in the Kuchiki clan had filed a Legal Injunction to prevent the promotion of one Rukia Kuchiki to any seated officer's position. It had arrived less than an hour after Ukitake had sent in the paperwork to finally fill his long-open lieutenant's position, and Rukia wasn't back from her patrol in the Rukongai, so it wasn't Rukia who had told them. Someone was keeping a much-too-close eye on the 13th's operations, and interference like this was dangerous as well as disrespectful.

There was a brief pause at the front gate of the compound where the new guard attempted to rebuff Ukitake by saying he needed to have an appointment.

Hm. I actually am angry. Ukitake decided, as the little prick went on about the importance of security to the clan. He turned away from the guard, squared up in front of the gate, and with a moment's concentration, he kicked through the bar and both doors to the gate neatly off their hinges, quietly enjoying the way one of them cartwheeled over the grounds and around the main building until it came to a stop with a loud splash inside the koi pond.

"Ah. Ukitake-Taicho is on his way to the main house." The guard said over his communicator as Ukitake strode into the compound, having done a very sensible about-face. "Perhaps open the main doors for him."

Indeed, he watched the servants scramble to open the main doors to the house, the maid taking her post to greet him and the others scuttling away at speed to not be on the scene, one of them going so far as to dive into a nearby bush.

"Welcome Ukitake-taicho." Bowed the maid. "The family is currently at dinner."

"Oh good I can speak to all of them!" He beamed, breezing past her and any pretense of etiquette and striding into the family home.

There was an ominous rustle of blossoms in the courtyard.

"I love him like a son, Senbonzakura, but he's behaving rather badly and needs to be corrected." Ukitake explained, not breaking his stride save to give the zanpaktou a sideways glance. "-Unless this is somehow Ginrei's tomfoolery, in which case your master will probably turn him inside out before I have the chance."

Satisfied, the ancient tree stilled.

"Thank you." Ukitake nodded, turning down the hall and came to the dining room, whose doors seem to have been surreptitiously left open rather than risk the wrath of his foot.

"Jushiro," Byakuya spoke calmly as though this were no more than a social call. "-this is a surprise."

"It is a surprise!" Ukitake agreed, voice strained as he tried to keep his tone lighthearted, tossing the legal injunction onto the table. "-I thought you all knew better than to try to tell me how to run my division!"

Byakuya, two of his uncles, a spare cousin and a handful of houseguests all stared at the letter.

"Sorry to interrupt dinner, but the letter only designates that the directive has come from a clan member so I'm not entirely sure whose nonsense this is." Ukitake explained, hands casually on his hips as he waited for an answer.

Byakuya took a sip of water, set his glass down, delicately dabbed his lips dry, and then stood up. "It is my directive, and no-one else's." Behind him, Ginrei reached over to swipe the document from the table and read it at speed. "I think that I've been quite reasonable, given the circumstances."

"Would you like to elaborate on your reasoning here?" Ukitake asked, a sentence that most people recognized as a giant red flag to about face on whatever they had been doing.

If Byakuya had a spiritual animal though, it was probably a Bull, and he interpreted the red flag as a signal to charge. "Given the paucity of heirs the Kuchiki Clan possess, as the head of the family I cannot allow any member to be exposed to an unnecessarily risky position. I am perfectly content for Rukia to be a shinigami but I cannot condone the additional risk of being a seated officer, let alone a lieutenant."

"Are you INSANE?" Hissed Ginrei, staring bug-eyed at his grandson.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about." Byakuya huffed.

Ukitake pressed his hands together in front of his face and sighed deeply. Ah. Yep. That's what I thought.

"Captain Kuchiki." He said, tipping his hands forward for emphasis. "Do you want to step out into the garden with me?"

"Not particularly. I am in the middle of-" Byakuya began and Ginrei grabbed the entire tablecloth in both hands and pulled, ripping the entire meal from the table with a loud shattering of dishware and even Byakuya flinched at the severity of the display.

"OH HOW CLUMSY OF ME." he snarled at his grandson, sauce dripping off his kimono. "Why don't you take our guest out to the garden while this gets cleaned up?"

"...Yes." Byakuya muttered. "I understand the Koi pond has a new architectural feature."

Out in the garden, it was darker, calmer, and easier to speak freely.

"Do you remember the oaths you took when you joined the court guard, and the additional ones you took as captain?" Ukitake asked as they stood in front of the Kio Pond and observed the actually rather aesthetically pleasing way the door had managed to land mostly upright with one end buried in the mud at the and then tipped just enough to be caught by one of the carefully placed standing stones in the middle of the pond, fish gumming at it excitedly.

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Citizens of the Soul Society against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Court Guard and None Other, that I take this obligation freely, without any compulsion, reservation or secret purpose, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter." Byakuya recited easily.

"Good, good- um." Ukitake rubbed his hands and grimaced as he tried to figure out how to put this "-That bit about 'allegiance to the Court Guard and None Other' You understand what that part means, right?"

"That I have sworn loyalty to the Court Guard and nobody else." Said Byakuya, still confused.

"Right. Right- you understand how 'Nobody Else' includes your own family, right? You're Captain first and Kuchiki second, and an injunction like this looks like the head of a Noble House interfering with the running of the Court Guard and that a hell of a lot like Sedition." Ukitake growled the last word.

Byakuya's eyes widened and he was silent for a long moment. "...Ah."

"Gods help me if Yamamoto had seen this- you understand why we have these rules, right?"

"The warring clans era-" Byakuya started.

"-was still going on when I was a boy!" Ukitake yelped. "It's not long gone-!"

"-Least of all for the Captain-General." Byakuya nodded, wincing. "I. Have made a mistake. I will withdraw the injunction immediately."

"Thank you." Ukitake sighed.

"Thank you also for your. Discretion." Byakuya said, carefully eyeing Ukitake.

"He won't hear about it from me." Ukitake put his hands up in disengagement, the major crisis averted but still- "Look. Is this about how I run my division or is it about you and Rukia?"

Byakuya watched a particularly round red carp swim by, knuckle between his teeth, before answering. "...The Latter."

Ukitake nodded slowly, and took off his captain's Haori and undid Sogyo no Kotowari from his belt, folding up the coat and setting it aside on the ground, sword atop it. "There. My Official Business is concluded. May I speak to you as a friend?"

Byakuya glanced up at him and nodded, turning to face his longtime friend-

The crack from Jushiros backhand rang out through the night loud enough to startle the fish.

"How DARE you disrespect Rukia like that? Do you think she's stupid? Weak?" Jushiro snarled, wide eyed and furious.

Byakuya didn't react for a moment out of shock. Some of his colleagues always had violence on the table as an option (Unohana could reassure someone they would be alive for a long while yet in a way that make one's blood run colder than a january morning), but coming from Ukitake was a nasty surprise, like being bitten by a previously friendly dog. Byakuya's cheekbone reddened and Jushiro tried to pretend his knuckle wouldn't be bruised in the morning, but eventually Byakuya closed his eyes, turning away from him.

"...No."

"Then what's this about?" Jushiro demanded.

"She has to do a tour in the living world to be a seated officer." Byakuya spoke quietly. "-And even someone like Kaien Shiba was killed by a Hollow."

"I know." Jushiro sighed, rubbing his brow in frustration. "I know." he repeated, softly this time, dropping his hand and grimacing.

Byakuya looked sideways at him, eyes shining.

"Believe me- I've done everything I can to prepare her for this and then some. She's as ready for this as anyone can be." Jushiro tried to reassure him. "...But you can't keep her locked away from the horrors of the universe. That'll kill her more surely than anything she might face in battle."

Byakuya sighed, rubbing his face, but nodded. "No. You're right." He mumbled, looking exhausted. "She needs to go, and I have no right to stop her."

Jushiro opened his arms, offering Byakuya an embrace, and to his surprise, Byakuya stepped in, leaning heavily on his friend's shoulder.

"It hurts." Byakuya mumbled.

"I know. Gods above, I know." Jushiro sighed, rubbing Byakuya's shoulder. "Can you believe what you just said?" Byakuya nodded into his shoulder.

"As in, can you believe it right now?"Jushiro asked, pushing Byakuya back upright and holding him by the shoulders. "Because Rukia is going to be here any-"

"NII-SAMA! NIIIII-SAMAAAAA!!" Rukia almost shrieked with joy, bounding through the house behind them and sliding onto the porch with such force that she actually slid right off it and into the garden lawn, quickly recovering and sprinting for them. "GUESS WHAT?! UKITAKE-TAICHO JUST NOMIN- oh hey Ukitake-Taicho! What are you doing here?" She started and stopped.

"I lightly misjudged your arrival home, but don't worry, I haven't told anyone yet!" he smiled cheerfully.

"Oh- Um- Ukitake-Taicho nominated me to be his Lieutenant!" She beamed, all brightness and joy at Byakuya. "This means I can finally take my tour of duty in the Living World! I know, I know it's a serious responsibility but- Oh come on! It's so cool! I'll get to see what's been going on in the human world- there's that magical Cocola Juice that Kira tried that almost cured his depression, and building with the Tests Of Skill Renji saw-oh! Maybe I'll learn how to drive an Automobile like Momo did!"

Byakuya managed to smile softly at her as she rambled about the other wonders of the living world, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm very proud of you." he said, and meant it, even if he was holding back the and I'm absolutely terrified for you.

Rukia sniffled, eyes welling up with tears. "R-really?"

"Of course. You've grown into a fine shinigami. Hisana would be proud too." he smiled gently, opening his arms.

Rukia's lip wobbled, and then she tackled him for a hug, sobbing into his chest. Byakuya stroked her back as she babbled her apologies about being so excited but she's waited AGES for this and she wanted Hisana to see and-

Byakuya looked up at Jushiro as she cried, looking on the verge of tears himself. Jushiro squeezed his arm to reassure him before putting his own hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Rukia! This is a happy occasion!" he teased.

"Sorry, Ukitake-taicho." she sniffled, almost rubbing the tears away on here sleeve before stopping and pulling out a handkerchief, a habit Byakuya had spent the previous forty years ingraining into her.

"Why don't you go tell Ginrei the good news and I'll see if the kitchens can whip up something celebratory?" Jushiro smiled and Rukia nodded, bolting off, nearly sliding off the porch again, and calling for her adopted grandfather.

"Thank you, again." Byakuya whispered. "I had been exceptionally foolish. If the injunction had gone through- even without the captain-general's reaction- ...I would have terribly hurt her."

"Yes. Yes you had." Jushiro nodded. "But I'm glad I caught you in time, for both your sakes. Let's go see about getting Rukia some cake, or should we break out the good sake?" ***

The following morning, Byakuya awoke to a bright light and a piercing headache.

"Nii-sama?" Rukia called softly, and once again, Byakuya was forced to wonder what God had blessed Rukia with an apparent immunity to Hangovers.

"Rukia?" he groaned.

"Can I ask you something? Well. Two things?"

"Sure, just- ow. Come in and close the door after you?" He groaned, sitting up. Six AM, barely four hours since the party had wrapped up. Rukia entered, shutting the door against the early morning light and sitting down beside his bed.

"I- it occurred to me while I was cleaning up and I couldn't sleep, but- I promise, I won't be angry, but I need to know-" She sighed. "It's been one thing or another preventing me from doing my required tour of duty in the living world for AGES, and- You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" Byakuya was silent for a moment. "Some of it, yes." He admitted.

"...Why?" She asked, sounding pained. "I- I promise I've trained and studied as hard as I can-"

"If something happened to you, after I promised Hisana- I- I don't know what I would do!" He snapped, entirely too distraught for this hour of the morning. "I'm sorry, Rukia. You're my sister and all I have left but it was still wrong of me to try to hold you back, just because I was scared of losing you."

Rukia stared at him, stunned, before she tackle-hugged him again, slamming him back into the bed.

"...I love you too, Nii-sama." She mumbled from the middle of his chest. "-But you are so STUPID sometimes!" she groaned from his chest.

"My Apologies." he sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "It's genetic, so you need to watch out for it too."

Rukia tipped he head up, squinting at him.

"That is. A Joke." he smiled down at her and she groaned, rolling off his chest to lie next to him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, enjoying her presence while he could.

"What was the other thing you wanted to ask?" he said after a few moments of pleasant silence, the morning chorus of birds starting to sing.

"Oh yeah!" Rukia sat up, gesturing out in the general direction of the gardens with her thumb. "What's the front gate doing in the Koi pond?"

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Herta Muller

That is why it is not even considered whether the worldwide outrage over the many dead and the suffering in Gaza might not be part of Hamas’ strategy. It is deaf and blind to the suffering of its people. Why else would it fire on the Kerem Shalom border crossing, where most aid supplies arrive? Or why else would it fire on the construction site of a temporary harbor, where aid supplies are soon to arrive? We have not heard a single word of sympathy for the people of Gaza from Mr. Sinwar and Mr. Haniye. And instead of a desire for peace, only maximum demands that they know Israel cannot fulfill. Hamas is betting on a permanent war with Israel. It would be the best guarantee of its continued existence. Hamas also hopes to isolate Israel internationally, at any cost.

In Thomas Mann’s novel “Doktor Faustus”, National Socialism is said to have “made everything German unbearable to the world”. I have the impression that the strategy of Hamas and its supporters is to make everything Israeli, and therefore everything Jewish, unbearable to the world. Hamas wants to maintain anti-Semitism as a permanent global mood. That is why it also wants to reinterpret the Shoah. The Nazi persecution and the rescue flight to Palestine are also to be called into question. And ultimately, the right of Israel to exist. This manipulation goes as far as to claim that German Holocaust remembrance only serves as a cultural weapon to legitimize the Western-white “settlement project” of Israel. Such ahistorical and cynical reversals of the perpetrator-victim relationship are intended to prevent any differentiation between the Shoah and colonialism. With all these stacked constructs, Israel is no longer seen as the only democracy in the Middle East, but as a colonialist model state. And as an eternal aggressor, against whom blind hatred is justified. And even the desire for its destruction.

The Jewish poet Yehuda Amichai says that a love poem in Hebrew is always a poem about war. Often it is a poem about war in the middle of a war. His poem “Jerusalem 1973” is reminiscent of the Yom Kippur War:

“Sad men carry the memory of their loved ones in their backpack, in their side pockets on their ammunition belts, in the bags of their souls, in heavy dream bubbles under their eyes.”

When Paul Celan visited Israel in 1969, Amichai translated Celan’s poems and read them out in Hebrew. This was where two survivors of the Shoah met. Jehuda Amichai was called Ludwig Pfeuffer when his parents fled from Würzburg.

The visit to Israel stirred Celan. He met school friends from Czernowitz in Romania who, unlike his murdered parents, had been able to escape to Palestine. Paul Celan wrote to Jehuda Amichai after his visit and shortly before his death in the Seine: “Dear Jehuda Amichai, let me repeat the word that came spontaneously to my lips during our conversation: I cannot imagine the world without Israel; nor do I want to imagine it without Israel.”

[girlactionfigure]

*ISRAEL REALTIME* - "Connecting the World to Israel in Realtime"

HAMAS TERRORIST CELL NEUTRALIZED INSIDE "IBN SINA" HOSPITAL IN JENIN

▪️HOSTAGE DEAL - Hamas rejects deal out of hand, says permanent ceasefire required before hostage release talks.

▪️AID… Large police presence preventing Order 9 protestors, hostage family members and soldier family members from blocking aid trucks yesterday.

▪️HEZBOLLAH SAYS.. 10 attacks on Kiryat Shmona and Meron radar base, including firing 2 very-large missiles.

▪️IDF CONTINUES ATTACKS ON LEBANON… a rather long list of villages and targets shared, and descriptions of attack results of destroyed buildings.

▪️TULKARM - SAMARIA, counter-terror operations overnight.

▪️ANOTHER WORK SITE, this time a construction site in Tel Aviv, caught with 4 illegal Palestinian workers (meaning no valid work permit).  Workers arrested, manager arrested, location ordered closed by police for 30 days.  If you suspect illegal Palestinian workers at a job, contact police.

▪️B-52 CORRECTION (ish).. yesterday we published a widely distributed report of B-52’s arriving in Israel, and deleted it a short time later.  The possibly accurate part of the reports state that 3 U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers landed at an Israeli Air Force base, instead of deploying to Qatar.

The various manipulations of the report stated they landed at Ben Gurion airport (false), they were given to Israel (false), they are here to bomb Hamas and Hezbollah for Israel (false), they landed in Tel Aviv (false), they landed in Jerusalem (so very false), and that various Israeli enemies are in big trouble now that Israel has B-52’s (they are not in Israel’s control, nor does Israel have bombs they use).

Further, there is no confirmation that 3 B-52’s actually landed in Israel - no mainstream source or IDF spokesperson statement.

We declare the report: mostly false, and possibly completely false. 

▪️LEAD OPPOSITION PART YESH ATID announced they will hold party primaries to elect a chairman in March.

▪️UNRWA… New Zealand joins the funding suspension list.

[localcanadiancreature62]

@aria-greenhoodie Enjoy. I hope you're glad from me subjecting you to your own handiwork of making me even more brainrotted about this show.

Father O'Pimm backstory: Father O'Pimm was born rich. His father Gordon O'Pimm is the wealthy owner of a successful jewelry company while his mother Barbara Mcnally is a prostitute whom his father paid to bang except oopsie she got pregers so now the fucked up priest is born. However Barbara didn't want anything to do with Tinsley as she wanted to sleep around as she pleased while not being tied to one person as keeping the child would mean she wouldn't have her fun anymore so she gave the child to Gordon as the man had to deal with a bastard child.

He legally changed the child's identity by changing his surname to be O'Pimm rather than Mcnally and changing his birth name Tinny to be Tinsley instead,further marking the boy as HIS child rather than that harlot woman's. Young O'Pimm was treated as a member of the higher class,despite constantly being abused by his father for being a failure of an heir by being too energetic and troublemaking,behavior unfit for a future heir to the O'Pimm Jewels company.

The abuse ranged from being smacked in the face,kicking him as he pitifully laid on the ground,making him sleep in the cold pouring rain despite having a luxury bedroom for him,and so on,and the worst part is that O'Pimm just wanted his father to love him. This abuse went on for the whole 10 years of O'Pimm's life until Gordon decided to sell him to some architect head in order to give the man another (slave) worker in exchange for 5 million dollars which is a pretty big deal to a medium wage architect. The architect head was a neglectful caretaker,as he never bothered to notice the boy's grave injuries from welding or metal work during construction,and he also raised the boy in poor conditions as he let the boy sleep in a small wooden hut with a floor mat as a bed and a cooler with frozen food as well as moldy soda for sustenance,a far cry from the luxurious life he used to lead.

O'Pimm was miserable as ever yet he worked hard and tried to be in the architect's good graces in order to prevent the man from making him live in even worse conditions,he was content for now. And it only got worse as he got older and eventually got fired at age 16 due to another worker breaking all of the construction equipment and then HE got blamed for it. This is an incredibly devastating event to the poor boy as that construction site was the only home he had left after his father abandoned him and now the architect rejects him too.

He then had to live on the streets as a young street rat while he stole and pickpocketed for a living,being miserable once more as he was all alone in the cold unforgiving world with no one to help him. O'Pimm then became sickly and weak over the years as his rich boy immune system isn't used to being exposed to so much dirt and bacteria which the american city streets have plenty of,the man catching various diseases such as the flu a cold a fever and diarrhea all at the same time at the ripe age of 19. He then began to lose hope of him surviving in such a harsh world without a penny to his name despite being a wealthy man's son,all while being weak and diseased to top it all off as he thought of running in front of a carriage to end everything.

But then he found a dirty Bible on the side of the road as he went over to try to get himself ran over,reading through the contents as His words comforted him in his time of need. Young O'Pimm deciding that this book will help him go through his troubles as he brought it with him everywhere,the book becoming his most valued possession. Two years later,O'Pimm lost his book and ended up finding another one in some desolate Church,where a high priest berated him for "touching the sacred text with his filthy vermin hands" but then the young boy explained that he NEEDED another book or else he wouldn't be able to survive without His words,the priest then realizes that this boy is not just some vermin peasant but in fact a devoted follower of the Lord so the man decided to turn the young O'Pimm into a deacon aka a trainee priest apprentice as he took the boy under his wing,giving him shelter in his room and going out for meals with him.

This relieved the poor 20 something year old's worries for a while as he continued to work under that priest's tutelage until he eventually grew and became an official priest himself. He even got married to a lovely florist lady named Dorothy Goodman after managing to charm her with his upright,faithful behavior after they dated for like five years. Young Tinsley O'Pimm is now known as Father Tinsley O'Pimm as he's now a 45 year old gentleman rather than a pathetic 16 year old street rat. Life was good for the good and holy man as he had a stable job a stable residence and a stable relationship. Until it wasn't. "William Lucipher" plagued O'Pimm for the first time,and it was to try to convince the man to make a deal with him by offering a way to exact revenge on his terrible father in exchange for suggesting that the old priest use his extensive knowledge on demons the occult spirituality and the like for something else other than singing praises to a long haired peace loving hippie (God) which is to create religiously tied codes for an extraordinary steel mechanism (the portal) with a bunch of other meatsack losers to gain the fame and recognition that his father denied him of the moment the man abandoned him.

O'Pimm refused,as he had it good with his life and he would like to keep it that way rather than chasing some crazy ambition for boundless success. This infuriated the triangle as this dumb religion clown passed up his offer in exchange for "happiness with his wife",disgusting. So like with all of his other "partners",Bill gave the man terrible nightmares in order to goad him into accepting his deal. He resisted every time as he knew he didn't really want what the demon tempted him with even with how promising it was,but with every resistance came even worse nightmares.

Which started to affect the poor priest's perfect life as he took up drinking in order to stave off the nightmares and get some sleep no matter if it's just a few hours due to blacking out,despite never being one to abuse substances before. The alcoholism made him snappier,and angrier,more tired,which lead to him randomly taking his anger about the nightmares or annoying heretics on his beloved wife as he started to get physical on her,slapping or punching Dorothy even when he was never a man of violence nor did he ever get angry enough to do such terrible things.

He started acting like this at work too,with him attempting to strangle heretics or noisy children that distract during sermons at random as if he was some maniac,the high priest knew he was going through a rough patch with his wife and actively fighting his alcohol problem so he let it slide while letting the man off with a forced hiatus from priest duties although he threatened to fire him if he came back from the hiatus and still acted this way. The fact that his life was falling apart just because of some demon meddling with it was driving O'Pimm insane,not to mention the sudden anger issues that were brought out due to the alcoholism somehow making the dormant anger from his youth return full force.

The nightmares got worse as the days went by,and the triangle then began to physically torture him too by possessing him when he's sleeping or possessing him and making him act crazy while trying to have a civil moment with his wife or using the candles at the Church to burn his spotless bald head. Dorothy wasn't having any of this,the abuse the sudden change in her sweet husband's behavior and said husband's dwindling insanity,so she filed for a divorce no matter how much O'Pimm pleaded for her to stay and let him explain everything. The high priest was getting impatient as well with the man STILL being violent and trying to kill people for no reason even after the hiatus,deeming such behaviors to be unfit for a man of God and he decided to demote him to a trainee priest,knowing that the man wouldn't be able to handle his usual more difficult duties when his mind is in such an unstable state.

O'Pimm was absolutely FURIOUS when all of this happened,he grieved his former picture perfect life that he built after years of suffering only for him to realize it was all ripped away by that damn triangle William Lucipher and his horrid nightmares as well as the torture it kept inflicting on him. He sought to exact revenge on the creature, despite knowing that embarking on an obsessive mission will soon make his sanity crumble even more and further alienate him from his loved ones but he didn't care.

All he knew,was that he needed to eradicate that demon immediately so that it won't ruin his life any further. And as if God Himself answered his prayer,a newsletter with the cutline saying "Kill the triangle in my brain. Reward: Opium" which is why he grabbed the article and discovered that it was about a fellow named Thurbert who had also gone through horrors at the hands of this beast with the man writing that he needed people to help get rid of William,so he took up the offer and went over to the address written at the end of the article,ending up at the man's door with three other fellows. This was only the beginning of his obsessive mission and it will only get worse over time..

[scotianostra]

June 22nd 1861 saw the death of Edinburgh firefighter James Braidwood.

Braidwood was born in Edinburgh and educated at the Royal High School. His father was a builder and after leaving school, Braidwood joined the company as an apprentice. Here he learned about construction methods and took a particular interest in the way fires spread in buildings.

In the early 19th century people were leaving Edinburgh’s Old Town for the more comfortable surroundings of the New Town. The old buildings became slums and fire-traps. Edinburgh had very limited fire services and, following a series of deadly fires, which culminated in the Great Fire of Edinburgh of 1824, Braidwood persuaded the authorities and insurance company brigades to work together. He formed the world’s first municipal fire brigade, organising men and machines.

He was the first to promote entering burning buildings to fight the seat of a fire. He trained his men at night to get them used to dark conditions and instructed them to carry rope to escape from burning buildings, practising their climbing skills on Edinburgh’s North Bridge.

Braidwood became the first Superintendent of the new London Fire Brigade in 1833, with a team of 80 full-time firefighters at 13 stations. In this capacity, he carried out fire prevention surveys places like the Royal Naval Dockyards and Buckingham Palace. Braidwood’s manual on fire-fighting included many basic principles which are still quoted during fire training today. He also invented one of the first forms of breathing apparatus to be used by firemen.

On June 22nd 1861 Braidwood was killed by a collapsing wall while fighting the infamous Tooley Street Warehouse fire on the south bank of the River Thames. Queen Victoria was particularly concerned about the event and the fate of James Braidwood and in her diary she wrote ‘poor Mr Braidwood … had been killed … and the fire was still raging. It made one very sad.’ the second pic is his statue in Edinburgh’s Parliament Square , close to the site of his first fire station.

James Braidwood was buried at Abney Park Cemetery on 29 June 1861. The funeral procession was a mile and a half long and shops were closed with crowds lining the route. As a mark of respect every church in the city of London rang its bells.

[xavierbautistagarcia]

The Venetian Fortezza in Crete

The fortress of Réthymno, known as Fortezza, is an impressive Venetian construction located in the town of the same name on the Greek island of Crete. Its walls rise on a small elevation, known as Palayókastro, offering a panoramic view of the Aegean Sea and the city.

The Fortezza was built by the Venetians between 1573 and 1580, during the period of Venetian rule over Crete. This fortification was built in response to raids and threats from pirates and the Ottoman Empire, which had already conquered much of the eastern Mediterranean. The fortress was intended as a defence for the city and a place of refuge for the population in case of attack.

The fortress has an irregular polygonal shape, adapted to the geography of the terrain. Its high and wide walls are built of stone and surround an enclosure that includes several buildings and structures, such as warehouses, a hospital, barracks, and the Church of St Nicholas, which later became the Ibrahim Han Mosque during the Ottoman occupation.

One of the most prominent features of the Fortezza is its defensive structure, which includes bastions at each corner, designed to provide better fire cover and to defend the walls. There are also several portals, the main one being the Porta Guora, a monumental entrance leading to the inner citadel.

Despite its imposing construction, the fortress could not prevent the Ottomans from conquering Réthymno in 1646 during the Cretan War (1645-1669). After the conquest, the Ottomans used the fortress for their own military and administrative needs, making some modifications to the existing structures.

Today, the Fortezza of Réthymno is one of the most visited historical sites in Crete. Visitors can explore its extensive walls, towers and interior buildings, as well as enjoy the spectacular views over the city and the sea. The fortress also hosts cultural events, such as concerts and theatrical performances, especially in the summer months.

[llewelynpritch]

UPDATES FROM UNIST'OT'EN

‘What’s been happening at the Healing Centre?

The Unist’ot’en Clan and the employees and volunteers at the Healing Centre had six successful land-based healing programs over the winter and spring, welcoming Wet’suwet’en people in need of treatment and healing from substance use and the trauma of colonization. The Healing Centre, with its remote location, offers a unique healing environment, allowing participants to enjoy the outdoors, go hiking or snowshoeing, take part in the sacred waters of the Wedzin Kwah, and otherwise be free to exist in a way that is impossible and unsafe in an urban rehabilitation clinic. At Unist’ot’en, participants are also able to engage in programming with their spouses and families, where as in other rehab spaces, participants are separated from their families and forced to heal alone.

The FNHA held a weeklong program at the Centre in June, with participants taking part in a Psychological First Aid Training and sharing powerful traditional knowledge from across nations. We hope to have them back and are grateful for their support of our work and space! What a pleasure to have you with us.

The annual Summer Work Party in June focused on Fire Prevention and Safety, with participants coming from all over Turtle Island and beyond, including New York, Washington, Montreal, and Germany. We cleaned up dry brush from all across the grounds, planted an herb and vegetable garden, and created connections and lasting friendships with both new and returning supporters.

Want to be a part of our Healing Revolution?

Come to our August Work Party!

We would love to have you join us in August. Come for as little as a week, or come early and stay late! We welcome visitors year round, but Work Party is the only time new supporters can come for less than two weeks.

But will I be helpful?

Yes, you will be! All skillsets are needed, but especially: Chainsaw operators, construction tradespeople, cooks, cleaners and organizers, gardeners, medics, fire fighters, drone operators, and people who love to get their hands dirty with hard work. Drivers are also needed, so if you have a reliable vehicle but only a few days to spare or are unable to stay at camp for long, please consider becoming a driver to get much needed supplies and people from Vancouver to Houston, BC.

What happens at Work Party?

We have structured days with three excellent meals and free time each evening for card games, hiking, and swimming in the clean river, just downstream from where we get our excellent drinking water. There is a set schedule for a morning meeting where we decide on our projects for the day and check in with each other about our capacities, then there are set times for meals, with projects happening between them. There are medics on site, snacks and drinks provided all day, tenting under the stars, hot showers a couple of times a week, laundry available once every ten days, and plenty of opportunity to get to know your fellow volunteers, the land, and the Unist’ot’en clan.

What’s happening with the Pipeline? Will I get arrested?

There is no active blockade on Unist’ot’en territory, and unfortunately the pipeline is still forcing its way through despite our clear and obvious lack of consent. Traffic from the construction still drives past our Healing Centre and disrupts our peace, but the chance of being arrested at camp is essentially the same as that of being in the city. By participating in helping to keep the Healing Centre operational, you are helping to preserve what few considerations are being taken by the province and industry. As long as the Healing Centre is in place, the river will be protected and her people will be able to continue to access desperately needed programming.

Okay, I want to come! What next?

Before applying to come to camp, please read the preparing for your visit page on our website and pay particular attention to the consent guidelines and guidelines for behaviour. Behaviour going against our guidelines will not be tolerated.

After reading the above page, we welcome you to register here! Please tell your friends and share with your community. The river needs you!’

LINK

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRvpF6BY6nkPDfCo9A8S3wkhcCnWsGwE4HZREKouZnS-7GgmcwY5clJ39yLNtQTepEfRrzOb1L7elhg/pub Unist'ot'en Updates and Work Party Details @UnistotenCamp ‘The Unist'ot'en Camp exists to uphold the clan's decision to prevent all pipelines from entering their unceded lands. Wet'suwet'en unistoten.camp’ ('Help Stop The Rot International UK CA' Llewelyn Pritchard 1 August 2024) 

'STOP THE ROT' LINKS 2024

2. https://lnkd.in/eKN2hQmR https://lnkd.in/eXdX799r STOP THE ROT INTERNATIONAL FREE RESOURCES UPDATED #FreeResources #International #StopTheRot #FossilFuelDisasters #CivilResistance #ClimateGenocide #ActNow #TellTheTruth #BeTheChange #RightsOfNature #ClimateJustice #HumanRights #GlobalCitizens #UpgradeDemocracy #Information #XRHumanitysEmergencyServicesSocialClimateJusticeLocal 22 July 2024

3. https://lnkd.in/eKN2hQmR https://lnkd.in/eXdX799r STOP THE ROT INTERNATIONAL FREE RESOURCES UPDATED #FreeResources #International #StopTheRot #FossilFuelDisasters #CivilResistance #ClimateGenocide #ActNow #TellTheTruth #BeTheChange #RightsOfNature #ClimateJustice #HumanRights #GlobalCitizens #UpgradeDemocracy #Information #XRHumanitysEmergencyServicesSocialClimateJusticeLocal 22 July 2024

4. https://pampalmater.com/ ‘Educate. Empower. Transform. Follow me on a powerful journey of education, empowerment, and transformation and be part of a growing community that is committed to meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and social justice for all!’ Dr. Pam Palmater Clearing the lands has always been at the heart of Canada's Indian Policy [blog] Originally published in Globe & Mail 27.2.20 Facebook YouTube Chair in Indigenous Governance @Pam_ X Twitter Instagram Publications Resources Blog Contact Shop #TransformationalPowerOfEducation #ClimateJustice #HumanRightsAreRightsOfNature  22 July 2024

Indigenous Truth Before Reconciliation

5. Russell Diabo Truth Before Reconciliation 'Defend the land, the environment and our people. Justin Trudeau's "Framework" legislation on "Rights Recognition" is a direct threat to Indigenous Peoples Right of Self-Determination. It needs to be stopped and be restarted with the People from the ground up.' X Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Threads YouTube https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/first_nations_strategic_bulletin/2021/FNSB_Jan_July21.pdf First Nations Strategic Bulletin Index https://mediacoop.ca/author/russ-diabo

6. https://youtu.be/9omxCI1lEMA RUSS DIABO TRUTH TELLER FIRST NATIONS TURTLE ISLAND #Landback #SelfDetermination #Justice #ClimateJustice #RightsOfNatureAreHumanRights #DefendTheDefenders

7. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED https://youtu.be/9omxCI1lEMA Q & A's About Recognition & Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework Legislation Russ Diabo 22 July 2024

[racefortheironthrone]

I was rereading some of your old union questions and I was wondering if there was some reason why hiring halls wasn't more common.

So I discuss hiring halls a bit here, but just to explain to new readers, a hiring hall is a particular mode of labor relations whereby the union takes over the power to hire and fire workers from management while agreeing to provide workers to a given job site upon request from a business that has a contract with the union. One way to think of it is that the union has essentially put the HR department under worker control.

The union then undertakes to match requests for a certain number of workers to the same number of union members (in the case of a closed shop) or dues-paying workers (in the case of an agency shop) who have applied to the hiring hall for work. In order to prevent corruption and favoritism, the union assigns or refers workers on the basis of some non-discriminatory rule. To quote from IATSE (the theater worker's union) Local #18's rules for referrals:

"Referrals are to be based upon such recognized factors as ability to perform specific services requested by said Employer, availability for employment at the time of such request, and seniority as defined by the length of service in the industry or for a specific employer."

Finally, the hiring hall also undertakes a responsibility that the labor that it's providing to employers is of high quality. At a minimum, this involves keeping detailed records on union members' "good conduct" on the job site. Most hiring halls tend to require, in addition to union membership and/or dues, that a worker has completed an apprenticeship or other form of licensing or certification process in a trade, and has a minimum amount of experience as a trainee. Finally, some hiring halls even attempted to regulate personal behavior standards when it came to alcohol, on the grounds that workers who are habitual alcoholics are likely to drink on the job, which compromises the quality of their labor.

Hiring halls tend to be confined to a fairly narrow set of industries - you see them in construction, longshoring and warehousing, maritime, theater, agriculture. So why aren't they more common?

Well, one major factor is that employers tend to be highly resistant to allowing unions to take over something that they consider to be a core role of management - and thus it's kind of the last thing they'd agree to in a union contract. Thus, the relative balance of power between labor and capital becomes pivotal: where employers are strong and unions are weak, you don't see hiring halls; but where employers are weak and unions are strong, you're more likely to see hiring halls.

Another factor is labor law - the hiring hall tended to be associated with closed shops, and a lot of countries ban closed shops. (The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 banned the closed shop but left hiring halls alone, so hiring halls had to shift to agency shops.) Moreover, historically the NLRB has been rather suspicious of hiring halls, in part because the NRLB had pioneered the model of union shops associated with the then-new CIO unions and wanted to steer unions towards that model rather than the hiring hall, which was associated with older craft unions. As a result, NRLB bureaucrats tended to discourage the formation of hiring halls when they made labor law decisions or conducted arbitration and mediation during collective bargaining.

A third factor is the union's capacity - as you can see from above, operating a hiring hall takes a lot of work (and financial resources to pay for that work). A lot of unions find that degree of extra effort to be more than they're willing or able to muster. The United Farm Workers, for example (and this is a topic that I'd welcome further asks about, because it's a fascinating story of the rise and fall of a social movement), ran into a good deal of difficulty trying to set up a system of hiring halls in the wake of their first breakthrough victory in the grape-growing industry in California in 1970.

As detailed in the excellent history From the Jaws of Victory by Matthew Garcia, Cesar Chavez was more interested in the UFW as a social movement than in doing the work to ensure that contracts were signed in a timely fashion, that hiring halls (which had to be set up on far-flung farms all over the state of California) were operational in time to handle the seasonal hiring rush in the fields, that they were adequately staffed by competent people (Cesar Chavez had a rooted ideological objection to paying union staffers more than a poverty wage), that they kept adequate records and matched workers to referrals efficiently, and that they were operating in a non-discriminatory and efficient manner. As a result, a lot of UFW hiring halls developed a reputation for being shady or slow and inefficient or favoring Mexican workers over Filipinos - which became something of a hindrance in maintaining existing membership and organizing new workers.

[saa-na]

i walked to my favourite cafe again today. there's a huge construction site in front of it and the construction workers take their breaks in the cafe. they're doing something with concrete now, setting up the support beams for something. i left my headphones at work so i listened to them while they talked about all kinds of concrete structures they liked or thought were bad or had oddities. impressions in the concrete they'd noticed. then they told horror stories about forest fires they'd seen or prevented. after i walked through the library i listened to two drunks. they had a bottle of clear liquor and talked about needing paper cups so they can go somewhere to get drunk. i thought it fun. why not drink right from the bottle? one of them said "handsome weather..." and then gave me the after you -gesture. i recognized that the situation might get gross in a second as the other one of them was in a foul mood so i slinked to my favourite little independent clothing store where i was greeted with a smile and listened to the workers be nice to eachother and to the customers and thought about the way working jobs i hate is damaging to me. for the rest of the day i've just been cleaning. spent a forever just vaccuuming the rug.

[partisan-by-default]

The tribe, which is located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, has been fighting for almost a decade to reintroduce their sacred salmon, the winter-run Chinook, to the McCloud River. For millennia, the tribe ensured the safe travel of the Chinook upstream to colder waters, so the fish could reproduce. They’d light fires at night along the river, as well as physically carry fish in baskets on foot if there were obstacles along the way.

Then came the Shasta Dam. Up until the 1930s, many Winnemem Wintu lived on the lands surrounding the McCloud River without legally owning it. Congress passed the Central Valley Project Indian Lands Acquisition Act to take whatever allotment lands tribal members owned in advance of the dam’s construction. The plan was to flood the immediate area to create a reservoir with the waters of the upper Sacramento, Pit, and McCloud Rivers. Tribal members were displaced, and hundreds of ancestral Winnemem Wintu villages, sacred sites, and burial grounds now sit underwater at the bottom of the reservoir.

The dam also blocked the salmon from being able to return to their spawning grounds, leading their population to decline. Climate change, the dam, and proposed changes to nearby estuaries now pose further threats to the endangered fish.

The tribe’s lack of federal recognition prevents it from having the same protections other nations do. As such, the Winnemem Wintu’s opportunities to return to unaffected portions of their land — now considered public lands or private property held by non-Indigenous peoples — are limited.

But today, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day no less, the tribe purchased 1,080 acres of their ancestral lands. More than $2 million in private donations were used to fund the sale. What was left over, as well as separate grant funding, will support the construction of an eco-village, which will marry Indigenous living traditions with future-forward land management practices.