Been There, Done That, Got In A Knot

Marseille "La Joliette" And The "Hangar J4" Before The Gentrification

Marseille, La Joliette, Hangars J1 to J4, in 1980s or 1990s

Recently I had to realize that I witnessed in September 1997 the last days of a part of Marseille before its irrecoverable change: The so called "Hangar J4", at that time a ferry terminal in Marseille's harbour at the J4 mole/quay. That part of the harbour was located in the La Joliette neighbourhood (hence the J in the name), and most of the buildings of that ferry terminal were about to be demolished over the coming years.

I have neither taken any images there, nor have I been able to keep any of my images from that holiday in France (both of which I highly regret), so I searched for what was available on the Web: Unfortunately images and information are scarce, all the more astonishing as the new (and beautiful) buildings have retained the "J4" name. That area of Marseille must have been a bit of sore site for the people of Marseille, yet now that it is gone they seem to hold the name in fond memory. The only remaining building seems to be J1, and even its future is uncertain today – the other building have been destroyed, with the Hangar J4 being the first to vanish in 1997 without much fanfare.

DSK framed?

At 1:31 — one hour after [chambermaid Nafissatou] Diallo had first told a supervisor that she had been assaulted by the client in the presidential suite — [Hotel Security Chief] Adrian Branch placed a 911 call to the police. Less than two minutes later, the footage from the two surveillance cameras shows [Hotel Chief Engineer Brian] Yearwood and an unidentified man walking from the security office to an adjacent area. This is the same unidentified man who had accompanied Diallo to the security office at 12:52 PM. There, the two men high-five each other, clap their hands, and do what looks like an extraordinary dance of celebration that lasts for three minutes.

Not that I care much if DSK is innocent or not – nobody in a position with power is innocent – but this shows just how politics is a game for power in our so called "democracies".