@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

tobie1

@tobie1@mastodon.social

My interests vary wildly from politics to poetry and philosophy. I'm a born contrarian but my bark is worse than my bite, and I appreciate detailed posts, sharp commentary, verbal repartee and quirky habits. Some of my quirks are #FountainPens, #birding, and all manners of idealist thought. Committed to fairness, democracy, and environmental stewardship. Proud lifelong #Dem

I was on another server but it was closing down, so I switched to this instance. I'll say in advance, "Happy to meet you."

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

indivisibleteam, to random
@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar

Achieving safety and security for Israelis and Palestinians will not be achieved through a continued campaign of collective punishment. Email your representative and urge them to publicly call for a humanitarian ceasefire. https://act.indivisible.org/letter/email-your-members-congress-and-tell-them-publicly-call-humanitarian-ceasefire?source=mastodon&medium=directpost

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@indivisibleteam I'm sorry but that's not adequate to end current hostilities. There are two parties involved in the conflict and both must make concessions. Hamas must return the hostages and stop firing rockets. In return, israel must stop the campaign. One without the other will not work. I will call my member of Congress to remind him that I want a fair deal to end hostilities, not a one-sided surrender that will enable Hamas to continue to blackmail Israel with hostages.

@wdjorth

ZamhoidnLA, to random German
@ZamhoidnLA@mastodon.social avatar

Wie im Vorfeld befürchtet, am 8.1. mehrfach gesichtet: die Flagge der nationalsozialistischen, antisemitischen , damals eine DER Wegbereiter*innen der .

Dem großen Deutschen ist vorzuwerfen, sich auf den 8.1. "draufgesetzt" zu haben, ein Datum, das weit vorher bereits von rechtsextremen Verbänden wie angekündigt wurde, statt sich für alternative 's wie der am 20.01. der fortschrittlichen stark zu machen!

@AbL_Rlp_Saar @wirhabenessatt

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@ZamhoidnLA @AbL_Rlp_Saar @wirhabenessatt Gräßlich. Ich kannte die Flagge vorher nicht und musste sie nachschlagen. Leider muss ich nun mehr über Claus Heim (und Falladas Roman über die Landvolkbewegung der 1920er Jahre) lesen. Plus ça change...

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landvolkbewegung_(Schleswig-Holstein)

GottaLaff, to Florida
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🤦🏻‍♀️Insanity.

“’s top health official called for a halt to using mRNA coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, contending that the shots could contaminate patients’ DNA — a claim that has been roundly debunked by public health experts, federal officials and the companies” 💉😷

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/03/florida-surgeon-general-ladapo-covid-vaccine/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff Florida is home to a lot of elderly. As the occurrence of preventable diseases rise and hospitals get overwhelmed, they will have to think about leaving. I'm going to have to have this discussion with my mother soon.

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

In case you missed it, the crisis in the Middle East just got some new juice. A bombing in Beirut killing a Hamas leader. Israel denies it. Don’t rule out that they’re telling the truth. A LOT of different actors have motive to drag Hezbelloh into this.

tobie1, (edited )
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@shoq I heard about the incident, didn't hear about the denial. Don't know what to make of any of this but stand by my general position that chaos in the world serves Putins interests, as it weakens the US.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

Horrific — and the holding of the body is particularly egregious.

May her memory be a blessing. She was a kibbutznik. She wanted peace.

U.S. woman believed to be held hostage by Hamas, Judy Weinstein Haggai, was actually killed in Oct. 7 attack, spokesperson says - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-gaza-judy-weinstein-haggai-hostage-dead/

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark I'm trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Hamas would use a corpse as leverage in negotiations and just can't.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

is not over.

It took till now but my household has finally been hit. My husband tested positive this morning. He was coughing and had a soar throat so I quarantined him in his room yesterday already.

I hope I don't get it. I'm supposed to visit my 94 year old mother for new year's and don't want to risk infecting her.

in public.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@nitpicking I was not aware that Paxlovid could work as a prophylactic. I will ask my doctor. Thank you for that piece of information.

tobie1, to random
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

Well, this is rich. , who has killed 600,000 Syrians, says the Holocaust didn't happen. How long before this line becomes popular on TikTok?

"In a video of a speech by Assad translated and published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Monday, Assad can be seen telling a listening crowd that 'there is no evidence that six million Jews were killed” during the Holocaust.'"

https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-claims-holocaust-was-a-lie-fabricated-to-justify-creation-of-israel/

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Kyle Griffin:

A federal judge has ruled that Republican Rep. must disclose 1,659 documents to government investigators in its probe — finding that the communication records were not protected by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff I've been wondering about whatever happened with Scott Perry's phone and if/when the DoJ would have access to it. Glad to know that a judge has finally ruled on this. Thank you for posting.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

I can’t wait until people meet this Donald Trump guy. Big fan of putting checks on Netanyahu, I hear. /s (if it needs that. Really shouldn’t.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/biden-israel-gaza-poll.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE0.GFxp.SWjPAGo71Rjf&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark @birdpoof I hate when people say, "The kids are alright." No, they're not if they truly believe Trump that would rein in Israel's military strategy. Good grief. I guess they have no idea that insensitivity to civilian casualties is not the same as carpet bombing, which would be Trump's recommendation.

skinnylatte, (edited ) to random
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io avatar

Excellent story covering some of the food politics in Indian universities https://www.theswaddle.com/hungry-for-education

(Vegetarian fascists are trying to make it hard for other students to eat, again)

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@skinnylatte Forcing food insecure populations to change their diets is pretty heartless. It shows a lack of appreciation for the hunger afflicting poor people in many regions.

Is there any reason to bring up caste? I'm married to a Tam Brahm; I've never heard him or anyone in his family judge others on the basis of their diet. I've always taken the push for a less meat-based diet to directed at the planet's biggest meat consumers who live in the developed world.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@skinnylatte Brahmins are not the wealthiest caste in India by a long shot so I find it hard to believe that they somehow are exclusively responsible for food insecurity in India.

tobie1,
@tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

@skinnylatte I'm afraid you and I will just have to differ on this. I don't see how a caste that represents 3-4% of the total population and of whom 55% live below the poverty line can be the sole source of food insecurity and income inequality in India.

QasimRashid, to random
@QasimRashid@mastodon.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @QasimRashid I've looked for confirmation elsewhere but haven't found it.

    The only Palestinian prisoner named in the article is Barghouti who was convicted in a court of law. His location was known, as was that of the other 300 convicted or detained Palestinian individuals, who all received regular visits from the ICRC to verify the conditions of their detention and their health.

    I see the false equivalence you are setting up and reject it categorically.

    bdsint, to random

    Like the accidental death of the Israeli hostages by Israel soldiers, and the death of Israeli soldiers by friendly fire, civilian deaths in Gaza are a tragic consequence of war. The fact of civilian deaths does not prove "indiscriminate" killing, war crimes, or genocide.

    Edit: the details emerging from the incident of the three hostages that were killed certainly show wrongful killing, which did not happen with more than a thousand suspected Hamas members who surrendered or were detained.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @kingbeauregard @bdsint @nathaliaassaad Israel was told by the US not to conduct an air campaign and has taken heavy casualties as a result. I realized on Oct 8 that no matter how Israel responded it was going to be accused of genocide and sure as clockwork, it happened with alacrity. Meanwhile Hamas fires rockets from schools and hides in (and under) hospitals and apartment bldgs and no one in the human rights community raises an eyebrow. It also takes & hides hostages & no one gives a damn.

    Tengrain, to random
    @Tengrain@mastodon.social avatar

    Hey, @TonyStark, have you seen this yet?

    https://theconnector.substack.com/p/once-you-are-accused-of-genocide

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Tengrain @TonyStark I appreciate the author's effort to bring some nuance into the discussion, but I feel like even he ends up accepting speculation as fact. I find it very hard to judge what's happening in Gaza. I've heard the place has been reduced to rubble, so was surprised when the UN Satellite Agency announced today that 18% of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged. I expected much higher. Maybe 18% is shockingly high. It's hard for me to say as a layperson.
    https://www.barrons.com/news/un-says-satellite-images-show-18-of-gaza-infrastructure-destroyed-since-war-92b85df8

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @TonyStark I may be overreacting. The news is just so bruising right now on so many fronts. There are people who are experts on military history, urban warfare, civilian infrastructure and so on but I'm not an expert in any one of these things so even for data that's uncontested -- and there's precious little of that! -- I'm not able to place it in any context.

    Alon, (edited ) to random
    @Alon@mastodon.social avatar

    The German Green Party canceled an award ceremony to Masha Gessen over an article Gessen wrote in the New Yorker in which they compared Israel to the Nazis and ranted about how German sensitivity to anti-Semitism is racist, and I felt prouder to have voted Green than I had in a long while.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Alon I haven't exercised my right to vote in Germany yet, but I intend to in the next election and my vote will likely be for the Greens.

    I figured Gessen's take would be similar to Judith Butler's, and evidently it is.

    tobie1, to random
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    This is so sad to read. André Braugher, so talented, with so much acting left to do, has passed away at 61.
    One of the most memorable moments in Homicide was when one police officer asks Pembleton (the cop played by Braugher) something along the lines of why they do what they do when it's just a drop in the proverbial sea. He answered, "We speak for the dead." Chills ran down my spine when he said that.
    Rest in power, André Braugher.
    https://www.npr.org/2023/12/12/1218964271/andre-braugher-dead-brooklyn-99-homicide?utm_medium=JSONFeed&utm_campaign=news&utm_source=press.coop

    Swede1952, to ilaughed

    Blue Jay

    Here is a photo of a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) that I took in October 2023. I haven't seen any of these birds in a few weeks, I know that they are still around though. Perhaps they are deeper in the forest. My guess I'll see them more when it starts getting really cold, especially it snows. Yes, it occasionally snows in Louisiana.

    "The oldest known wild, banded Blue Jay was at least 26 years, 11 months old when it was found dead after being caught in fishing gear. It had been banded in the Newfoundland/Labrador/St. Pierre et Miquelon area in 1989 and was found there in 2016." - allaboutbirds.org

    #photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #bird #birdwatching #birdphotography #birdsofmastodon #BlueJay

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @Swede1952 As it happens, a Blue Jay today laid claim to my feeder and frightened off any smaller bird that wanted to feed there. I'm in Maryland. I was surprised to see a Blue Jay in December.

    GottaLaff, to Russia
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    😳 Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey , who is imprisoned in a penal colony east of Moscow, has gone missing, his team says, and his whereabouts are unknown.

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/europe/russian-opposition-leader-alexey-navalny-missing-intl?cid=ios_app

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff God damn. The Russian govt under Putin is very good at disappearing people.

    The Heritage Foundation is hosting Orban in a pro-Putin lovefest today. May every participant hang their heads in shame.

    dukepaaron, to Jewish
    @dukepaaron@babka.social avatar

    Can someone please explain this one to me?

    "A " and owned falafel restaurant" in cannot do a single thing about Israel's military campaign against .

    What you're looking at is people normalizing incitement against their Jewish neighbors."

    https://www.rawstory.com/philadelphia-protesters-circle-jewish-chef-restaurant/

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @PamelaBarroway @dukepaaron @TonyStark I'm calling it a night but I'll read The Forward piece tomorrow. And, I'm close enough to Philadelphia to go to Goldies, so I'll try to stop in there one evening.

    Rest up, good people. It's not the end of the world even if it feels that way.

    GottaLaff, to Israel
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said, potentially marking a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the - war.

    https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-houthi-yemen-ships-attack-israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-716770f0a780160e9abed98d3c48fbde?taid=656ca7c035aad000013d39e8&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Thus far the US has been able to intercept incoming fire but it's scary to think what might happen if interception fails.

    GottaLaff, to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    Another blast from the past!

    I did a Miller Beer radio commercial in 1983 with Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Uecker, Dick Butkus, and Bubba Smith. So much fun. I was the voice of a sexy girl on the beach flirting with Rodney. Rodney was surprisingly friendly (many stars aren’t). I ended up acting with Bubba, a sweetheart, on some TV shows. Bob & Dick were more aloof.

    Here’s the box containing a copy of the original audio of the radio spot, on a reel, that the producers sent me.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @GottaLaff Reel to reel. I love the analog age and often wish we could go back to it, but then I wouldn't have the occasion to hear your great stories. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

    mekkaokereke, to random
    @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

    🤔 I often post about how many innocent Black folk (millions) spend up to 2 years in jail, just because they can't afford bail. About how the less likely you are to be a criminal or in a gang, the more likely you are to experience prison violence. About how I am not hard. I'm soft as a kitten's belly! And yet 15 minutes in a cell with me, and I could have you confessing to crimes you didn't commit, just to get out of jail and away from me.

    But Chauvin gets stabbed, and now y'all wanna talk? BFR.

    tobie1,
    @tobie1@mastodon.social avatar

    @mekkaokereke Awful. How many people sit in prison for years waiting for their trial?

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • provamag3
  • rosin
  • thenastyranch
  • tacticalgear
  • InstantRegret
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • magazineikmin
  • khanakhh
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • kavyap
  • JUstTest
  • modclub
  • ethstaker
  • cubers
  • normalnudes
  • everett
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cisconetworking
  • osvaldo12
  • megavids
  • Leos
  • tester
  • anitta
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •