What The Mural "Palestinian Loss of Land 1947 to Present" Doesn't Tell You

 

Yesterday afternoon, I went to my old neighborhood of Jamaica Plain to attend Spontaneous Celebrations' 46th annual Wake Up The Earth Festival.

Like many festivals there is food, music and face painting for the kids. However, the Wake Up The Earth Festival has long been a hodgepodge of left-wing causes though mostly environmental in nature. 

However, with all which has transpired since October 7th, I had a strong feeling there would be a more visible support for the Palestinians. Indeed, there were several signs such as "Free Palestine", "Over 14,000 Kids Killed in Gaza" and even one for the "Birds of Gaza". In case you're wondering, there was no sign calling for the hostages held by Hamas to be released let alone any condemnation for their actions on October 7, 2023.

There was one mural though that did pique my interest. The mural which was adapted from this map was called "Palestinian Loss of Land 1947 to Present". The mural struck me as much for what wasn't there than what was there. 

In the first mural, we see "Palestine 1947". What the mural doesn't tell you it was British Mandated Palestine, not an independent Palestinian state. British Mandated Palestine came to pass in 1920 following the demise of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. It is interesting that Israel is decried as a product of "settler-colonialism", but if British Mandated Palestine isn't settler colonialism, then what is?

In the second mural, we see "Israel Partition Plan 1947". What the mural doesn't tell you it was the United Nations Partition Plan which established both a Jewish and an Arab state through UN Resolution 181 which was passed by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947. In other words, a two-state solution. The Jews accepted the UN mandate, the Arab nations did not, and they soon invaded Israel only hours after its formal independence on May 14, 1948. 

Which brings me to the third mural titled "Israel 1949-1967". We see that Israel has more land, but the mural does not tell us this came about as a result of the failed attempt of five Arab nations (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon) to obliterate the Jewish state in the War of Independence or the Arab-Israeli War, 1948-1949. Had the Arab nations had accepted the UN Partition Plan not only would this loss of territory not taken place, but the Palestinians would have celebrated their 75th anniversary of statehood last year. But as it was between 1949 and 1967, the land described in the mural as Palestine was administered by Egypt and Jordan.

The fourth mural jumps all the way to "Israel 2024". Curiously, it skips over the 1967 Six-Day War in which Israel captured even more land following yet another invasion by Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq as well as Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Indeed, Israel captured the Sinai from Egypt but would return it under the terms of the Camp David Accords of 1978. When I see the "Palestinian Loss of Land" I see the consequences of the Arab failure to accept the 1947 UN Partition Plan. 

The final mural is simply titled "Freedom Equality Justice Diversity for All". What this mural doesn't tell us is how the map is to be divided in the future. Is it a two-state solution along the lines of the 1947 UN Partition Plan? Or is it Palestine from the River to the Sea? It is curious that whoever made this mural chose not to tell us. But given that the mural objected to a two-state solution from 1947, I highly doubt they would be amenable to a two-state solution now. 

Why Mike Trout Reminds Me of Ken Griffey, Jr.

(via ESPN)

Earlier this week, Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout went on the IL after tearing his meniscus in his left knee which will require surgery.

At the time of his injury, Trout was leading the AL in HR with 10. While Trout is expected to return to uniform before season's end it will mark the fourth consecutive season in which he has missed significant time due to injury:

Trout missed all but 36 games of the 2021 season with a strained calf that healed confoundingly slowly. He missed five weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury, although he still hit 40 homers.

Trout then broke a bone in his hand on a foul ball last July 3. He tried to return in August when it briefly looked like the Angels might make a postseason run, but he played only one painful game before shutting it down for the year.

Trout's string of injuries prompted ESPN's Stephen A. Smith to go nuclear:

How the hell is he always hurt? I don’t understand this. It drives me nuts when I see baseball players get hurt. What is it that you’re doing with yourself physically that you can’t stay healthy playing baseball? Now, you get hit by a pitch or something, that’s different, I get all of that. With these oblique injuries, you’re running around bases, catching one, then you’re running out for a fly ball, and all of a sudden, something gets tweaked. What the hell is going on?

Clearly, Smith knows nothing of baseball let alone that it is a 162-game season not including spring training and the post-season. It is physically grueling and becomes more so with age. 

In this respect, Trout reminds me a great deal of Ken Griffey, Jr. Junior Griffey was arguably the greatest player to wear a baseball uniform during the 1990s while Trout was arguably the greatest player to wear a baseball uniform in the 2010s. By the 2000s, Griffey, Jr could no longer stay healthy and now in the 2020s it is Trout who struggles to play a full season. 

Between 1990 and 1999, while in a Seattle Mariners uniform, Griffey, Jr. made 10 consecutive AL All-Star Teams, won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, 8 Silver Sluggers, won the AL MVP in 1997 and finished in the top five in AL MVP four times. 

Griffey, Jr. was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2000. After a good inaugural season in the Queen City, Griffey, Jr. was hit by the injury bug. Between 2001 and 2006, Griffey, Jr. missed more than 400 games due to injury never playing more than 130 games in a season. 

As for Trout, between 2012 and 2020 he was named to 8 AL All-Star Teams, won the Silver Slugger 8 times and won the AL MVP thrice while finishing runner up four times with two additional top five finishes. Unfortunately, Trout's body is betraying as Junior Griffey's did.

Although Griffey, Jr. finished his career with 630 HR, he likely would have passed 700 HR if he had those 400 plus games back. Trout currently has 378 career HR. He would have far surpassed 400 had he had the chance to have played in 250 more games since 2021. 

I'm not the only one who has been likening Trout to Griffey, Jr. in this way. Consider the words of Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report who wrote on X, "Mike Trout vs. Ken Griffey Jr. through the age of 30 is a lot more fun to ponder than Mike Trout vs. Ken Griffey Jr. after the age of 31."

In the end time gets us all. It caught up with Ken Griffey, Jr. Now it is Mike Trout's turn not to bat.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Opposed Anti-Semitism Legislation Because She is an Anti-Semite

When Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene isn't busy plotting to oust Mike Johnson as House Speaker, she can be found opposing legislation combating anti-Semitism. 

Greene announced yesterday she would not support the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2023 because it "could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.”

The long and the short of it is that Marjorie Taylor Greene opposes legislation combatting anti-Semitism because she is an anti-Semite. Yes, Greene says anti-Semitism is wrong only to proceed to claim the Jews crucified Jesus. 

This is no different than Ilhan Omar claiming to care about the safety of Jewish students at Columbia University even if she considers them to be "pro-genocide". Not surprisingly, Omar also opposed the legislation because she too is an anti-Semite. 

As for Greene, her vote isn't likely to help her effort to oust Johnson. But her vote against the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act even if she was on the losing side has the effect of legitimizing anti-Semitism as socially acceptable political discourse in this country.

Why The Houston Astros Won't Be in Last Place in The AL West For Long

I don't follow MLB like I used too, but I do keep my eye on the standings.

From where I sit, the biggest surprise through the end of April is the Houston Astros finding themselves in last place in the AL West with a 10-19 record entering May 1st. 

Since 2017, the Astros have won six of the last seven AL West titles, four AL pennants and two World Series titles albeit in controversial fashion.

Considering these circumstances, I cannot imagine anyone had them behind the soon to be wandering Oakland A's at the any point in the season and yet here we are. 

Yet I cannot imagine the Astros being in the cellar for very long. 

There are two reasons for my way of thinking.

First, at one point, the Astros effectively had their entire starting rotation on the IL. But the rotation will soon be back to full strength. I cannot imagine a rotation of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Jose Urqidy, Cristian Javier and Ronel Blanco losing in this manner.

Second, the Astros also have the advantage of being in MLB's weakest division. Houston entered May only 6½ games back of the Seattle Mariners. By comparison, they would be both 9 games back of both the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians were they in the AL East and AL Central, respectively. 

With 143 games remaining in the regular season, the Astros have more than enough time to cover ground lost at the end of March and in April. Should they cover this ground then by September scarcely anyone will have remembered their misfortune.

On the other hand, should their struggles continue then the spotlight will focus on first-year Astros manager Joe Espada who had the unenviable task of succeeding Dusty Baker who led them to a second World Series title in 2022. Those are big shoes to fill and it remains to be seen if Espada can fill his own.

Ilhan Omar, Who Accuses Jewish Students of Being "Pro-Genocide", Supports The Pro-Genocide Hamas

During a visit to the occupation encampment at Columbia University on Friday, Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said this about Jewish students:

I actually met a lot of Jewish students that are in the encampment. And I think it is really unfortunate that people don't care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they're pro-genocide or anti-genocide.

Well, for starters, Omar doesn't give a flying fuck about the safety of Jewish students. Her agenda was to willfully promote hatred against Jews by claiming that Jewish students who support Israel are supporters of genocide. 

In reality, however, Omar is projecting her own qualities on those Jewish students at Columbia and elsewhere with whom she disagrees. Those who are occupying Columbia and other campuses have made it clear they support Hamas. By visiting Columbia, Omar has made it equally clear she is in solidarity with the occupiers including her own daughter. 

Indeed, if anyone can be considered to have pro-genocide views it is occupiers at Columbia University who chant "Long Live Hamas!!!"

The only reason Hamas exists is to kill Jews. That makes Hamas an inherently genocidal organization. If you doubt me then please go ahead and read the Hamas Covenant for yourself.

Thus, any student occupying Columbia or any other college campus who chants "Long live Hamas!!!" or "We are Hamas!!!" can be considered pro-genocide.

This also extends who stands in solidarity with the college occupiers. That means you, Ilhan Omar.

The Cinematography is The Story in Days of Heaven

 

On Saturday night, I went to the Brattle Theatre to see Days of Heaven. Released in 1978, it stars Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz and directed by Terence Malick. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the late Nestor Almendros earned an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

It was a well-deserved win for Almendros because the cinematography is the story in Days of Heaven. Never have wheatfields, turkeys and even locusts looked more beautiful. While the story is set in the Texas panhandle, Days of Heaven was filmed in southwestern Alberta not far from where my Mom grew up. The vast farmland and skyline reminded me of the times I visited the Crowsnest Pass in the late 1970's around the time Days of Heaven was released. I could also tell Days of Heaven was shot in Canada because of the use of Canadian Pacific Rail freight trains. 

If not for the picturesque scenery, the story itself is fairly ordinary. Gere and Adams star as a couple (Bill and Abby) posing as brother and sister who find work on a large farm owned by Shepherd. The farmer, who is never named, falls in love with Abby and Bill persuades Abby to pursue the farmer after overhearing the farmer has a year to live. Bill and Abby are accompanied by Bill's real younger sister Linda (Linda Manz) who also narrates the film. 

Manz was only 15 when the film was shot and would be brought in to narrate the film a year later as Malick was struggling to edit the final product. Manz's narration is a stream of consciousness yet at the same time sounds like a teenaged girl who came of age during WWI nowhere near a classroom. Sadly, Manz passed away in 2020 of lung cancer at the age of 58. 

Days of Heaven was Malick's second film after Badlands which was released in 1973. I have never seen Badlands but understand Days of Heaven is in some ways not dissimilar from his debut film and would very much like to see it. Remarkably, Malick did not make another film for 20 years until the The Thin Red Line. Malick has been more prolific in this century and is currently at work in post-production on a new film called The Way of the Wind which is now due for release next year.

As for Days of Heaven, the farmer and Abby marry while Bill and Linda move into the big house. They all seem happy except for Bill who yearns for Abby. You know the good times aren't going to last. The days of heaven are short-lived. But its images stay with you for eternity.

Memo to Antony Blinken: Students Occupying College Campuses Are Silent About Hamas' Actions Because They Are Pro-Hamas

While in Beijing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken characterized the occupations of university campuses such as Columbia, NYU and Yale as a "hallmark of our democracy" while decrying their silence on Hamas:

In our own country, it's a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time, and I think that reflects the strength of the country, the strength of democracy. It is also notable that there is silence about Hamas, as if it wasn't even part of the story.

One could make the case that Blinken made a point of characterizing these occupations as a "hallmark of our democracy" because he was in China and wanted to draw a contrast between our two countries. Yet I cannot imagine Blinken calling a congregation of election deniers, COVID deniers or Tea Partiers a "hallmark of our democracy."

Yet I think Blinken's comment concerns the occupiers' silence on Hamas is far more dubious. Why should this come as any surprise to Blinken? There have been demonstrations in praise of Hamas attack on Israel from day one. Why would these occupiers have anything to say about Hamas when they are busy chanting, "Kill the Jews!!!" as was the case at Northeastern University here in Boston? Why would these occupiers have anything to say about Hamas when they are busy telling us "Zionists don't deserve to live" as was the case at Columbia University?

In fact, the only time these occupiers aren't silent on Hamas is when they praise Hamas with chants like "Long live Hamas!!!" "We're all Hamas!!!"

In other words, those who are occupying college campuses nationwide are pro-Hamas. They have made this loud and clear. So why hasn't Secretary Blinken gotten the message?