Biden has no red line. He is a war criminal. The ICC should issue an arrest warrant for him. Now. There should be no special privilege for him.
Two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately stop its assault on Rafah, Israeli warplanes began to drop bombs on refugee tent camps in what had previously been declared a “safe zone.” At least 45 people, including children and infants, were killed in the bombing.
As Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights, Netanyahu’s deflection and Biden’s complicity in Israel’s invasion of Rafah present a stark contrast to the humanitarian principles they claim to uphold. He emphasizes that if the United States were in Gaza’s position, the nation would be mourning the death of 2 million American children after eight months of relentless warfare.
The iPad is the touch first computer for the rest of us
Well, now, this is an interesting iPad headline and different from most that I've seen: Why Reviewers Lament iPadOS While Users Absolutely Love It | PetaPixel. Jeremy Gray at PetaPixel writes:
In the days and weeks after the launch of the new iPad Pro from Apple, I noticed quite a bit of discourse responding to critical reception of the tablet that boils down to this: If iPadOS is so bad, why are so many creators using nothing else?
Hmm. I'm familiar with the reviewer opinion that iPadOS is too simple, too locked down. I'm not sure I've seen reviewers ask why so many creators are using iPads.
Fast forwarding to oblivion.
In 2008, the late American climate scientist Wally Broecker warned of the global repercussions of polar ice loss. Today, his predictions echo louder than ever as Greenland ice haemorrhages at an alarming rate, threatening rapid sea-level rise. Over the past 15 years, the Arctic Circle region has been heating up at four times the global average; it’s now more than 3C above levels in the 1980s. In 2023, we witnessed a staggering loss of Antarctic Sea ice.
Seems appropriate to post this again.
MACKLEMORE - HIND’S HALL - YouTube
All proceeds to UNRWA USA. Donate Here: https://www.unrwausa.org/ HIND’S HALL
Because allowing humanitarian aid is counterproductive to their genocide Israel continues its efforts to destroy UNRWA.
Israel’s parliament has voted to approve a bill that would designate the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees as a terrorist organisation. The bill also calls for a complete severing of ties from UNRWA. Israel previously said UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 attacks, but an independent review concluded there’s no evidence to back the claim.
While Americans enjoy our long holiday weekend our government is burning Palestinian children in tents and generally committing war crime and genocide.
Well done America. Well done.
Palestinians search charred remains of Rafah tent camp
Emergency crews in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah have worked through the night to recover the remains of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike… Many of the dead and injured are women and children. The Palestinian Red Crescent says people were ‘burned alive’ in their tents. The injured are being treated in overwhelmed and under-equipped hospitals.
Fuck Trump Fuck Biden Fuck the Supreme Court Fuck the US House Fuck the US Senate
This broken, violent, corrupt fucking country is a stain on the Earth.
FUCK YOU JOE BIDEN.
Israel’s war on Gaza live news: ‘People burned alive’ in attack on Rafah | Al Jazeera
- Israeli forces have bombed a tent camp housing displaced people in a designated safe zone in Rafah, killing 45 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The attack has triggered an international outcry, leading to calls for a ceasefire.
- The attack on the camp in Tal as-Sultan came after Israeli forces bombed shelters housing displaced Palestinians in other areas including Jabalia, Nuseirat and Gaza City, killing at least 160 others, according to Palestinian officials.
If I’m in the cabin my favorite place to work is the futon and Rosie’s favorite place is my lap. A stand to suspend the iPad above her provides a partial solution though I still have difficulty positioning the keyboard and trackpad. 🤣
As reported by The Forward, the background story of Theodor Meron one of eight legal and academic experts convened in January by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in the investigation of possible crimes by Israel and Hamas.
By the age of 14, he had survived the Holocaust; by 44, he was an Israeli diplomat; now, at the age of 94, Theodor Meron recommended the International Criminal Court seek arrest warrants of Israeli and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A serious, qualified person who has served the US, Israel and the international community his entire life.
In violation of international law Israel will continue the war and the US will continue to support Israel. Both believe they are above the law.
ICJ rules Israel must stop Rafah operation, what’s next? | Al Jazeera
The court was not convinced that Israel had taken sufficient measures to protect civilian life and voted – 13 judges to two – that Israel must take effective measures to enable any UN-backed commission of inquiry to enter Gaza and probe genocide allegations.
The court also reaffirmed its previous January 26 ruling that Israel must scale up aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
An excellent interview with anarchist and historian Sophie Scott-Brown. A brief but informative exploration of anarchism, direct democracy and the politics of right-wing populism.
During a typical day my attention turns over various aspects of humans and the climate crisis. At least once a day, some days it might be half a day, the thoughts come and go along with a generally persistent climate anxiety. Often times the thoughts are replays of variations of questions about why humans are failing to act to preserve their future. Today as I walked my dog Cosmo I considered the different approaches we could be taking.
Some of us who haven’t given up on climate action often advocate a mix of approaches. I firmly believe that we are in an emergency that requires every kind of action possible. The most commonly discussed: Individual lifestyle changes, protests, calling/writing lawmakers to pressure for systemic change.
It seems to me that in the US at least those most likely to express concern are on the liberal side politically. Let’s just say it’s roughly 50% of the country that will claim to be concerned on some level that climate change is a real problem. I don’t know what the breakdown is in terms of those that consider it an emergency that requires serious effort, right now.
My casual observation based on family members that I interact with is that 80% acknowledge it is a real problem. But for the most part that 80% live lives which in no way express a change reflective of the problem. What I observe on Mastodon is similar but my lens is just posts of a tiny subsection of various communities and it’s just glimpses via posts.
That said, just stepping back and offering an admittedly too-vague, too-limited, too-anecdotal observation of the big picture based on all possible observations that one person might have this is what I see.
- The US political process is largely corrupted by corporate lobbies and has been for decades. It’s also just broken in a variety of ways. The result is that legislation for encouraging good behaviors and regulating bad behaviors has only happened at a minimal level and is still not nearly enough. It’s not even close to what is needed and there are few signs that what is needed will not happen. Far too little, far too late.
- American citizens generally seem aware of the above problem with the political and law making process.
- American citizens generally do not act in large numbers to lobby government for changes. Lobby here might include making phone calls, emailing, visiting law makers in local offices.
- American citizens generally do not protest or otherwise engage in large public demonstrations. The few actions that do happen are usually the efforts of a very small percentage of the population. I’d guess that less than 1% of the US population has ever attended a climate related protest.
- I’d guess that only a small percentage make much of an effort at lifestyle change, no way to measure this. Based on my observations of family members, well, it’s bleak. It’s fair to say that with only one exception my extended family have made zero effort in terms of life style changes.
As I cast around looking for any evidence to be hopeful that my fellow citizens are taking any action or willing to begin taking actions I see no evidence that it will happen. The media has certainly increased it’s coverage of the increasing frequency of intense, climate induced disasters. In fact, the headlines are almost impossible to ignore now. But that increase in coverage has had no measurable impact on the behaviors of those I see around me.
I get the sense that there is this collective delusion, a coping mechanism that is not quite working. A daily denial that allows for people to get up and function in a pretend normal. And yet, sometimes it feels like we are in a collective panic, a kind of slow motion stampede that goes nowhere as there is no obvious exit.
We see the converging crises, we see the fraying edges and the coming apart. We’re in the long emergency that will have no end.
The US and Israel continue war cimes, ordered to stop by ICJ.
ICJ orders Israel to halt Rafah offensive in new ruling
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, reports Reuters.
Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the body’s president Nawaf Salam said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in Gaza now, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah, he said.
Lou Plummer has a beautifully written post reflecting on his memory as a young student of hearing the news about the The Greensboro Massacre. It’s a thoughtful post not just about the violence of that day but of how that moment is rooted in history and how we, at this moment, continue in the same struggle. The violence and effort to suppress people struggling for justice in 1979 is very much a part of our daily lives today.
From Lou’s post:
In November of 1979 I was a junior high student in Jacksonville, NC when I heard on the news about what the media initially called a shootout between the Ku Klux Klan in conjunction with a group of Nazis and Communist labor organizers in Greensboro, three hours away. I remember being confused that the Klan and Nazis, who in my mind were relics of a dark but distant past were still active and engaged in violence. And, I’d never even heard of Communists on American soil. It was a tumultuous time in America that month.
The US really is in a constant struggle with itself (as are humans everywhere). From day one of European contact it’s been violence and grift. Harsh but true. The the social dynamics of class conflict, the struggle of the compassionate working poor for their dignity and self determination continues to be opposed by other working poor doing the bidding of oligarchs and tyrants. 500 years ago. 100 years ago. Today. Struggle always.
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest.” - Ella’s Song, Sweet Honey in the Rock
I just had one of my favorite meals. Relatively climate friendly, simple, healthy, easy, quick to make, low cost, vegetarian/vegan:
- Baked potato using microwave
- Microwave 1/2 cup of refried beans with taco seasonings and enchilada sauce or salsa mixed in to make it into a kind of thick sauce
- Pour the refried beans over the potato and mash it up a bit
- Optional: cheese, browned/fried or raw onions, bell peppers, or other veggies
Biden Should Oppose US Sanctions on ICC | Human Rights Watch
US President Joe Biden should oppose threats and calls for punitive actions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), 121 human rights and civil society groups said today in a letter to President Biden.
On May 20, 2024, the court’s prosecutor announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for three leaders of Hamas and two senior Israeli officials. Some members of the US Congress have threatened to retaliate against the ICC, including by imposing sanctions against court officers, if the court moves forward with arrest warrants against Israeli officials in its Palestine investigation.
Related reading: Carl Sagan’s The Demon Haunted World
The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI. | by Joan Westenberg | Medium
We have witnessed a multi-generational decline in reading comprehension. We read less, retain less of what we read, and struggle to engage in critical analysis. And if this trend continues, we risk undermining the very foundations of our society.
Semafor recently posted a story suggesting that Apple News is proving to be a significan source of income for some publishers. It’s a default app on Apple devices so I’m not too surpsised that it is popular. Tech enthusiasts tend to use RSS readers and I don’t hear much said about Apple’s News app.
Like many digital publishers, The Daily Beast was struggling at the end of 2023. Facebook, long a primary driver of clicks to the publication, had turned away from news. Search traffic had become increasingly erratic, as Google adjusted its algorithm to combat a flood of AI-powered junk.
But it had a new lifeline: Apple.
I really like the magazine grid style of the visual design of the News app. It’s very well done! The display of articles is also well done. And when you follow a publisher you can tap into their publication for a very nice display of their specific articles.
There are four two downsides:
- The lack of support for RSS means I can’t read blogs so I still need a reader app.
Lots of ads in articles and the magazine grid view of the articles- The display of articles is littered with Apple+ articles I don’t pay for and don’t want to see
The display of articles shows placeholders for articles from publishers I’ve hidden
That’s a poor experience. For non-tech folk who don’t want to bother with RSS it’s an easy option. But for anyone that’s used an RSS reader it’s a downgrade from an an ad-free experience that allows for easier sharing and more customization.
Corrections! It’s possible to resolve two of the above mentioned downsides:
- There is an option for Apple News in the settings app to “Restrict Stories” which will hide stories from sources you do not follow.This fixes the problem the blank placeholders I mentioned.
- It’s possible to use an app like NextDNS to block Apple’s ads in the news app: 1. Download app 2. Create account at NextDNS 3. Add these domains to the deny list of your configuration (you set this up on their website) news.iadsdk.apple.com, iadcontent.apple.com, iadsdk.apple.com 3. Open app and enable it.