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In this section is stuff from outside RMS:
- Movie/Play Review
- Regional News
- World News
Movie/Play Review
“Play Time”, the original Jodi Picoult play, put on by The Trumbull Hall Troupe, was an entertaining play about finding, and saving the child within you. When I sat down in my seat and looked around, I could tell that the Trumbull Hall Troupe put quite a bit of effort into the play. When the play started, it was very impressive to see all the costumes, sets, and local actors, who were having a great time on stage. Everyone looked so comfortable up there; they made it easy to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
This play was extremely creative. Every year kids wait to see what amazing and unique play Jody and her helpers have come up with this year. It was a twist on The Wizard of Oz, Cats, Toy Story, and there were hints of other stories in there too. Many of the actors were recognized to be best friends, acquaintances, science partners and siblings whom we all admire. The parts were well woven into the play and all the actors got into their parts. It was clear they were all having fun up there. Tori Chernin, Allyce Good, Avery Judd, Ross Patten, Abby Mayo, Katie Zegans, Laurel Mendelsohn and Ella Tsapakos were all enrolled in this play. They did a lovely job at their duties and were all amazing.
I noticed many classmates and friends of mine. I would like to complement all the actors, because the play would not have been as exquisite without them. They did as the script said even if it was embarrassing. The actors have great acting skills which fit the part and fit the person. I was impressed with Ellen Whilber’s song- writing skills and how well the songs were fit into the play. The leads were strong. The Hanover and Lebanon school district should be proud. Great singers came from both schools.
Others, and I, I’m sure, were delighted to know that all the profits of the show went to local charities. Plus some donations went to flood relief. Even though some costumes were ruined in the flood, The Trumbull Hall Troupe was gracious, and did not take the money, but gave it out of the kindness of their hearts. In my opinion, that kindness made me feel proud of the community that I live in, and how giving they are.
I cannot say enough good things about this play. Watching it made me feel mixed emotions, and it takes great actors to do that. The play ran smoothly. It was a joyful and fun experience. I excitedly await next year’s charming performance! My complements to The Trumbull Hall Troupe!
By Emily Winslow
This play was extremely creative. Every year kids wait to see what amazing and unique play Jody and her helpers have come up with this year. It was a twist on The Wizard of Oz, Cats, Toy Story, and there were hints of other stories in there too. Many of the actors were recognized to be best friends, acquaintances, science partners and siblings whom we all admire. The parts were well woven into the play and all the actors got into their parts. It was clear they were all having fun up there. Tori Chernin, Allyce Good, Avery Judd, Ross Patten, Abby Mayo, Katie Zegans, Laurel Mendelsohn and Ella Tsapakos were all enrolled in this play. They did a lovely job at their duties and were all amazing.
I noticed many classmates and friends of mine. I would like to complement all the actors, because the play would not have been as exquisite without them. They did as the script said even if it was embarrassing. The actors have great acting skills which fit the part and fit the person. I was impressed with Ellen Whilber’s song- writing skills and how well the songs were fit into the play. The leads were strong. The Hanover and Lebanon school district should be proud. Great singers came from both schools.
Others, and I, I’m sure, were delighted to know that all the profits of the show went to local charities. Plus some donations went to flood relief. Even though some costumes were ruined in the flood, The Trumbull Hall Troupe was gracious, and did not take the money, but gave it out of the kindness of their hearts. In my opinion, that kindness made me feel proud of the community that I live in, and how giving they are.
I cannot say enough good things about this play. Watching it made me feel mixed emotions, and it takes great actors to do that. The play ran smoothly. It was a joyful and fun experience. I excitedly await next year’s charming performance! My complements to The Trumbull Hall Troupe!
By Emily Winslow
Regional News: Occupy and Occupy Dartmouth protests fizzle
At the beginning, the Occupy Dartmouth protests were a mix: partially to protest the violence in Boston, and partially to do whatever it is that the rest of the Occupy movement's after. That continued for some time, but then activity decreased from many people to a few.
Now, the movement is nothing more than some half-empty tents, some wet signs, and a few hardy protesters.
The Occupy Dartmouth protests are technically a part of the larger Occupy Boston movement. For some time, large cities were the only ones with an Occupy movement. But as it gained traction, more and more decided to join in. Why not? If you're unemployed and have nothing to do, why not go protest?
However, the downsides to this began to multiply. Police cracked down on protesters doing illegal things. The weather began to worsen. And protesters grew bored.
But that didn't stop the protesters. In fact, the Occupy Dartmouth protests started partially because of the police crackdowns in Boston. It started off strong, with a bunch of tents and a pile of signs. But as the weather worsened, the protesters grew bored, and wet, and generally disillusioned with the protest. This didn't only happen at Dartmouth: it also happened at many other Occupy protests, including Occupy Ede, Occupy Minot, and others.
The last post on the Occupy Dartmouth Facebook page was on Monday, consisting of a few photos added to the album "baby, it's cold outside." The page has been dormant since then.
Why did it fail, or at the least, lose steam? Well, for one, there wasn't really a clear goal or set of clear goals in mind. Unlike many other protests, there wasn't any one thing that Occupy protesters were protesting against. It was a protest against everything: against arrests of Occupy members, against Wall Street, against big salaries, against the 1%, against everything.
The Occupy Dartmouth movement is not expected to return to a high level of activity again.
By Owen Versteeg
Now, the movement is nothing more than some half-empty tents, some wet signs, and a few hardy protesters.
The Occupy Dartmouth protests are technically a part of the larger Occupy Boston movement. For some time, large cities were the only ones with an Occupy movement. But as it gained traction, more and more decided to join in. Why not? If you're unemployed and have nothing to do, why not go protest?
However, the downsides to this began to multiply. Police cracked down on protesters doing illegal things. The weather began to worsen. And protesters grew bored.
But that didn't stop the protesters. In fact, the Occupy Dartmouth protests started partially because of the police crackdowns in Boston. It started off strong, with a bunch of tents and a pile of signs. But as the weather worsened, the protesters grew bored, and wet, and generally disillusioned with the protest. This didn't only happen at Dartmouth: it also happened at many other Occupy protests, including Occupy Ede, Occupy Minot, and others.
The last post on the Occupy Dartmouth Facebook page was on Monday, consisting of a few photos added to the album "baby, it's cold outside." The page has been dormant since then.
Why did it fail, or at the least, lose steam? Well, for one, there wasn't really a clear goal or set of clear goals in mind. Unlike many other protests, there wasn't any one thing that Occupy protesters were protesting against. It was a protest against everything: against arrests of Occupy members, against Wall Street, against big salaries, against the 1%, against everything.
The Occupy Dartmouth movement is not expected to return to a high level of activity again.
By Owen Versteeg
World News: A U.S. Leader of the Iraq War Reflects on its Quiet Conclusion
From theatlantic.com
CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait -- It's really happening. The last U.S. military convoy of nearly 700 troops is expected to drive out of Iraq into Kuwait on Sunday. There are just 14 convoys of gear left to haul out and more than 95 percent of all expected truckloads have already reached Kuwait's Camp Arifjan since President Obama decided in October to end the war.
"We're ahead of schedule," said Maj. Gen. Ken Dowd, commander of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command and the head coach of what feels like the logistical Super Bowl. On Wednesday, Dowd excitedly showed off an intricate sorting process of never-ending fields of trucks, armored vehicles, used tires, and shipping containers filled with old axles, body armor, and even exercise equipment, all to be shipped out.
Since President Obama's announcement that no U.S. troops would stay beyond the end of this year, the U.S. has moved 2.2 million pieces of equipment through Kuwait, rolling 1,500 trucks a day at the peak of the exodus in late November. By the end of this weekend, 2,300 troops are expected to check out at Kuwait's Camp Virginia and fly home.
But it wasn't until the last 24 hours that it really began to sink in for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, who is forever wedded to Iraq. Dempsey served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, returned to command the Army's 1st Armored Division in Baghdad in 2003 and again to lead the Iraqi security forces training mission in 2005 for two years before rising to the rank of four-star general.
"It was on the flight over that I reflected on the fact that this has been a 20-year journey for me," said Dempsey, looking tired but driven after a long day of meetings with Kuwaiti leaders. For guys like him, he said, "Iraq was the defining element of the last 20 years of our career.
"But the exit from Iraq is not an exit from the region, he stressed, announcing that U.S. officials were moving forward with plans to hold some U.S. troops in Kuwait under the legal authority of a 1991 defense-cooperation agreement, rather than seeking a new pact with the fractured government.
"It's on that basis that we're taking some of the forces that were in Iraq and we're repositioning them here for a period of time," Dempsey told reporters traveling with him at Camp Buerhing in northwestern Kuwait. Some media have reported that the U.S. wants to leave a brigade of roughly 4,000 troops in the region before their deployment expires next year. Dempsey said no decision has been made.
For Dempsey, the war's end is more of a "milestone" than a "culmination," he said, listing a long to-do list for Iraq's security. He knows the politics behind the language of the Iraq War as well as anyone, refusing to be lured into declaring it a success or failure. "I try to avoid false dichotomies," he said. But he says he's proud the U.S. has given Iraqis "an enormous opportunity" to build something, and in doing so the chairman lays bare that Iraq has not yet achieved the potential the U.S. had sought.
"I'm concerned but I'm also proud," Dempsey said.
CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait -- It's really happening. The last U.S. military convoy of nearly 700 troops is expected to drive out of Iraq into Kuwait on Sunday. There are just 14 convoys of gear left to haul out and more than 95 percent of all expected truckloads have already reached Kuwait's Camp Arifjan since President Obama decided in October to end the war.
"We're ahead of schedule," said Maj. Gen. Ken Dowd, commander of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command and the head coach of what feels like the logistical Super Bowl. On Wednesday, Dowd excitedly showed off an intricate sorting process of never-ending fields of trucks, armored vehicles, used tires, and shipping containers filled with old axles, body armor, and even exercise equipment, all to be shipped out.
Since President Obama's announcement that no U.S. troops would stay beyond the end of this year, the U.S. has moved 2.2 million pieces of equipment through Kuwait, rolling 1,500 trucks a day at the peak of the exodus in late November. By the end of this weekend, 2,300 troops are expected to check out at Kuwait's Camp Virginia and fly home.
But it wasn't until the last 24 hours that it really began to sink in for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, who is forever wedded to Iraq. Dempsey served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, returned to command the Army's 1st Armored Division in Baghdad in 2003 and again to lead the Iraqi security forces training mission in 2005 for two years before rising to the rank of four-star general.
"It was on the flight over that I reflected on the fact that this has been a 20-year journey for me," said Dempsey, looking tired but driven after a long day of meetings with Kuwaiti leaders. For guys like him, he said, "Iraq was the defining element of the last 20 years of our career.
"But the exit from Iraq is not an exit from the region, he stressed, announcing that U.S. officials were moving forward with plans to hold some U.S. troops in Kuwait under the legal authority of a 1991 defense-cooperation agreement, rather than seeking a new pact with the fractured government.
"It's on that basis that we're taking some of the forces that were in Iraq and we're repositioning them here for a period of time," Dempsey told reporters traveling with him at Camp Buerhing in northwestern Kuwait. Some media have reported that the U.S. wants to leave a brigade of roughly 4,000 troops in the region before their deployment expires next year. Dempsey said no decision has been made.
For Dempsey, the war's end is more of a "milestone" than a "culmination," he said, listing a long to-do list for Iraq's security. He knows the politics behind the language of the Iraq War as well as anyone, refusing to be lured into declaring it a success or failure. "I try to avoid false dichotomies," he said. But he says he's proud the U.S. has given Iraqis "an enormous opportunity" to build something, and in doing so the chairman lays bare that Iraq has not yet achieved the potential the U.S. had sought.
"I'm concerned but I'm also proud," Dempsey said.