A further symptom of the fascism currently metastasizing across our society — fueled by greedy self-interested Republicans and facilitated by a cowardly self-interested Democrats
I’m old enough to have lived through the advent of the World Wide Web. I was so enthusiastic about the potential of these technologies. It was going to finally democratize information and do away with misinformation and pseudoscience, and promote critical thinking, freedom and democracy. I crafted an entire career around my optimism about this stuff. It’s now obvious in retrospect that none of that happened and we have collectively regressed on all those fronts. I’m not making a causal claim about damage that the internet might have done. I don’t know if this stuff would have happened anyway. But, it certainly didn’t deliver on the promise we were so excited about. IMO it all went wrong when we handed the keys to the whole thing over to commercial entities.
The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war....
I hope everyone understands that this entire project is a facade, designed to provide Biden and his administration with a hook on which they can hang claims of deniability without actually meaningfully hampering Israel’s genocide campaign.
For decades, Joe Biden has proudly declared that he is a Zionist, and he has repeated that claim since Hamas’s 7 October attacks on Israel. But for the student anti-war protests gripping the US, the words “Zionist” and “Zionism” have become a watchword – pejorative and emblematic of the violent state policies driving...
“and about just as many view it as a belief in Israel as a Jewish and democratic state (72%),”
This, right here, is a big part of the problem. The notion of an ethnostate is antithetical to a democracy. You cannot be both. It’s definitionally impossible. A state practicing some of the mechanics of democracy does not make it a democracy. If the supremacy of one ethnic cohort is a fundamental tenet of your state, there is no amount of ‘liberalism’ or rhetoric that will turn you into a democracy. If you are part of this 72%, I implore you to examine the cognitive dissonance you are practicing. I strongly suspect that many of this 72% have not critically examined the fallacy of people’s claims of Israeli democracy. Of those that have, I suspect that many are intentionally misrepresenting the situation since afterall, actively supporting a violently oppressive ethnostate isn’t a great look.
In a long-awaited report, the State Department lays out numerous suspected international humanitarian violations by Israel in its war on Gaza, yet suggests no changes in policy or consequences....
The US is an active, willing and enthusiastic partner in these war crimes and in all likelihood many others that haven’t been reported yet. Let’s not pretend that the state department has any authority to investigate Israel’s actions.
I would like to understand what the implications of the investigation are. Is it actually possible that some of the criminals in the church leadership will face consequences? In short, are bishops going to jail?
The Biden administration’s report on whether Israel has violated U.S. and international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza has been delayed and will no longer be released Wednesday as planned, three Senate aides and a House aide told POLITICO....
Biden, his administration, and the bulk of the Democratic Party deserve every bit of blowback that they are going to get from their racist, bloodthirsty, gaslighting-filled stance on Gaza. The immorality of it all is bad enough, but it’s also just politically stupid given how so much of the electorate feels. I am painfully aware of the existential threat to democracy that this election poses. For Democrats to gamble US democracy itself on their desire to fuel a genocide is unforgivable. If this godforsaken country actually elects trump, it will be entirely the result of Joe Biden and the sclerotic Democratic Party leadership. We deserve much better.
I’m not saying this claim is true or that it isn’t true. I will say, however, that Blinken has no credibility. He flushed all that away when he became an active, enthusiastic and vital part of the genocide machine. Don’t talk to me about what he says. Again, his words hold no value and I am aware of how dangerous it is that we cannot take such high ranking officials seriously anymore. At this point, he’s a war criminal and deserves to be tried for that.
A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses....
In a just world, ghouls like Blinken would hang for the material contributions they made to crimes against humanity like those the US and Israel are prosecuting.
Former President Donald Trump told an entirely fictional story on Saturday about how he had supposedly outwitted his Democratic opponents by releasing “the tape” of the 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was a key factor in Trump’s first impeachment....
Israel’s military has said it plans to move displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what it called “humanitarian islands” in the middle of the strip, ahead of any offensive in Rafah....
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Israel announced that they were setting up ‘bathing facilities’ for Palestinian refugees at these ‘humanitarian islands’.
A while back, I launched a site that used a stock trading mechanism to rank posted links and content. It was kind of a speculation market. There was a flurry of activity as a community embraced the game aspect of it, even though no actual money was involved. However, I learned that it’s difficult to manage such a system when many clever people are trying to game it. Eventually pulled the plug as I didn’t make enough time to properly grow it. Still think the concept has merit.
Oprah is a bullshit artist. She has always been a bullshit artist and she got rich peddling bullshit. Her efficiency promoting pseudoscience throughout her career makes her a blight on society, forever deserving scorn for the people she helped to hurt. We are collectively dumber because of her efforts, and she gets to live her life lavished by luxury and adulation as a result.
Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food. “We’ve been eating animal feed for two months,” he added....
Between this and the protest vote in Michigan, we may finally see movement from the Biden administration. I’m hearing that there’s discussion about Joe, perhaps, furrowing his brow the next time he’s at the ice cream shop as a sign of solidarity with his increasingly outraged electorate.
I’m still on the fence about whether I can stomach knowing that I voted for the genocidal monster that can barely remember his name because he’s better than the fascist genocidal monster that wants to end whatever semblance of democracy we might have. This country is just the worst.
As other have said here, this is obviously an attempt to create a foundation of legitimacy for their own invasion of Taiwan. What I don’t understand about diplomacy at this level is this: Why do they care? What I mean is, everyone in this deliberating body knows what they are doing, and everyone observing it knows as well. Furthermore, as a permanent, veto holding, member of the Security Council, China faces no actual oversight from the UN as a whole. So, why bother with the show?
Massive explosion rocks SpaceX Texas facility, Starship engine in flames (interestingengineering.com)
These New Attacks on Academic Freedom May Be Just the Beginning (www.commondreams.org)
Funny 🤣 (sh.itjust.works)
With authoritarianism on the rise has the internet helped or hurt the cause for democracy and collective rule?
As a follow-up, is there signs that the internet/technology may play a role in making a better society for all?
US military says Gaza Strip pier project is completed, aid to soon flow as Israel-Hamas war rages on (apnews.com)
The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war....
How Zionism became a synonym for violence and oppression (www.theguardian.com)
For decades, Joe Biden has proudly declared that he is a Zionist, and he has repeated that claim since Hamas’s 7 October attacks on Israel. But for the student anti-war protests gripping the US, the words “Zionist” and “Zionism” have become a watchword – pejorative and emblematic of the violent state policies driving...
Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. (theintercept.com)
In a long-awaited report, the State Department lays out numerous suspected international humanitarian violations by Israel in its war on Gaza, yet suggests no changes in policy or consequences....
‘It wasn’t a big deal’: secret deposition reveals how a child molester priest was shielded by his church (www.theguardian.com)
US report on Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza delayed, aides say (www.politico.com)
The Biden administration’s report on whether Israel has violated U.S. and international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza has been delayed and will no longer be released Wednesday as planned, three Senate aides and a House aide told POLITICO....
Abortion bans drive away up to half of young talent, new CNBC/Generation Lab youth survey finds (www.cnbc.com)
Young Democrats face Gaza blowback as they try to mobilize students for Biden (www.cnn.com)
Blinken tells CNN the US has seen evidence of China attempting to influence upcoming US elections | CNN Politics (www.cnn.com)
Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes (www.propublica.org)
A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses....
Trump, at Fund-Raiser, Says He Wants Immigrants From ‘Nice’ Countries (www.nytimes.com)
Fact check: Trump, telling a completely fictional story, falsely claims he released ‘the tape’ of his Zelensky call (www.cnn.com)
Former President Donald Trump told an entirely fictional story on Saturday about how he had supposedly outwitted his Democratic opponents by releasing “the tape” of the 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was a key factor in Trump’s first impeachment....
Israel talks with Hamas back on as terror group drops permanent ceasefire demand (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Israel says it plans 'humanitarian islands' for Gaza displaced (www.bbc.com)
Israel’s military has said it plans to move displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what it called “humanitarian islands” in the middle of the strip, ahead of any offensive in Rafah....
What other voting systems that exist in other social media sites that does not use upvote and downvote?
Oprah Exits Weight Watchers Board After Admitting She Took Weight Loss Meds, Stock Tumbling (futurism.com)
Israeli troops ‘fire on people waiting for aid’ as Gaza death tolls hits 30,000 (www.msn.com)
Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food. “We’ve been eating animal feed for two months,” he added....
Tumblr and WordPress blogs will be exploited for AI model training (www.techspot.com)
Joe Biden joke about 'good sex' with Jill Biden raises eyebrows (www.newsweek.com)
Conservatives are mad again
Fetterman to Democrats criticizing Biden: ‘Get your MAGA hat’ (thehill.com)
China sides with Russia at UN, urges end to weapons for Ukraine (www.newsweek.com)
China has sided with Russia on the Ukraine issue at the United Nations while telling the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Kyiv....