This is the kind of response I get when I email or call "my" representatives in congress: A screenshot of a reply from a US senator, The text reads: Dear Denny,Thank you for contacting me regarding the ongoing conflict in Israel. Your correspondence significantly informs my decision-making and better helps me represent the state. I continue to strongly condemn Hamas' attack on Israel. The brutal events of Hamas' barbaric assault left thousands dead and wounded, including American citizens. Make no mistake about it: these were coordinated terrorist attacks from a fanatical jihadist organization. Israel has every right to defend itself, and the U.S. must fully support our strongest ally and closest friend in the Middle East. This is especially important given Hamas' clear ties to the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. I fear that their bloody fingerprints are all over these horrifying tragic events. I am proud to continue supporting Israel in its time of need. More than one hundred hostages, including Americans, continue to suffer unthinkable horrors at the hands of terrorists - being beaten, raped, and tortured in tunnels without ever seeing the light of day. I am sure now, as ever, that Israel must root out this evil. I also have major concerns about corruption and support for terrorism within civilian organizations in Gaza, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Recent intelligence, widely reported, shows that ten percent of UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. That amounts to more than 1,200 UNRWA members sowing the seeds of terrorism and antisemitism throughout Gaza. The reports found that 12 UNRWA members actually participated in the savage October 7 attacks. I was glad to support the freeze in U.S. funding of UNRWA; it is disgraceful to think about the hate and violence fostered by UNRWA. Again, thank you for contacting me about this issue; I am proud to continue supporting Israel in this time of need. If you have any other concerns, or need help with a federal agency, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office it is an honor to serve as your voice in the Senate. Very Truly Yours, Eric S. Schmitt

Meanwhile...

Videos of malnourished children show Gaza’s forced starvation crisis | Al Jazeera Newsfeed - YouTube

Starvation is getting worse in north Gaza where 31% of children under the age of 2 are suffering from acute malnutrition, a percentage which has doubled since January.


I’m glad I avoid posting hot takes. Yesterday, Serif, the maker of the very popular Affinity suite of apps, shared the news that it had been acquired by Canva. The thing is, the Affinity apps are very popular alternative to Adobe’s subscription apps. They’re popular because they are excellent but, notably, they are not subscription based apps but rather are available as a one-time purchase.

But Canva, a MUCH larger company, only offers subscriptions. So, predictably, a lot of people quickly jumped to the conclusion that the current version of Affinity apps would be the last available for purchase and that in the future it would be subscription only. Today Serif posted The Affinity and Canva Pledge. The first item of four:

FAIR PRICING Perpetual licenses will always be offered and we will always price Affinity fairly and affordably.

Of course, there’s no way to know if this was the plan or if they may have changed course due to a day of social media complaints. Regardless, I’m relieved that they’ve made it clear!


Pondering a white supremacy that is so deeply embedded in the organization of US society in 2024 that it’s just become a kind of invisible foundational bias that allows us to think of ourselves as “civilized” when, on a daily basis, large sectors of our economy engage in war profiteering.

The majority of the US barely register the violence that resonates from the origins of the nation. From our own violent settler colonialism hundreds of years ago to slavery and to the present day violence that reinforces inequality in every possible layer of our society. From our economics to our political process, policing through education, white supremacy and patriarchy, is still the dominant organization of the US.

But, in general, we’re not a culture that actively engages in any kind of sustained, large scale discussion of our internal organization. That takes a kind of will and desire that we do not muster. We engage in a kind of willful ignorance, we allow ourselves to be distracted by the entertainments provided by those in power and in so doing forget our own collective power.

We go along with the idea that we are individuals not capable of change. A sort of easy, convenient self-delusion because the alternative of collective action is frightening. It’s an inconvenience and potentially dangerous. So we put our heads down and keep going.

A desperate march into increasing instability and madness.


The tide of public opinion in the US has finally turned against Israel and it only took the deaths of 32,000 civilians, countless war crimes, a declaration by the ICJ of plausible genocide and a deliberate campaign by Israel to starve over a million humans.

Majority in U.S. Now Disapprove of Israeli Action in Gaza

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After narrowly backing Israel’s military action in Gaza in November, Americans now oppose the campaign by a solid margin. Fifty-five percent currently disapprove of Israel’s actions, while 36% approve.


Listening to the current episode of the Politically Depressed Podcast: Who pays for your silence? and while the whole episode is excellent, this unspoken truth gave me pause:

Palestinians are paying the price of European anti-semitism.

It’s generally a good podcast by a young Lebanese activist living outside his country. Often meandering and sad, his effort to share and process his thoughts and observations of the state of the world.


Extreme heat could trigger the worst global financial crisis ever seen | New Scientist

Without dramatic action to curb greenhouse emissions, even high-latitude countries with cooler climates will suffer devastating, if indirect, financial losses as extreme heat disrupts global supply chains. The result could be the worst financial crisis the world has ever seen.

It is already well known that severe heatwaves have numerous health and economic impacts, including higher mortality rates, preventing people from working outside, destroying crops and disrupting industrial processes.


War on Gaza: UN special rapporteur accuses Israel of acts of ‘genocide’ - YouTube

Francesca Albanese says Israel has violated three of the five acts listed under the UN Genocide Convention Including: Killing members of a specific group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole and in part. She also found that genocidal acts were approved and given effect after statements of genocidal intent by senior Israeli military and government officials. These acts, Albanese argues, are part of a ‘settler-colonial process of erasure’ - which has been underway for more than 70 years. She recommends - among other things - an immediate arms embargo on Israel. And for member states to support South Africa in its attempt to prosecute Israel at the International Court of Justice.


Ex-U.N. Official Craig Mokhiber: Israel Must Be Held Accountable for Violating Ceasefire Resolution - YouTube

“Israel has the world record” for violating U.N. resolutions and is certain to violate this ceasefire resolution, as well, even though it expressed “the very broad consensus across the global community against Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.” Israel continued bombing Gaza after Monday’s vote, and top Israeli leaders have vowed to continue the war that has killed over 32,000 Palestinians so far.


Israel’s attempt to destroy Unrwa is part of its starvation strategy in Gaza | The Guardian

Israel’s vendetta against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) illustrates the callousness with which Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has fought the war in Gaza. It also reflects an effort to use Hamas’s 7 October attack as an opportunity for demographic re-engineering.


Study documents slowing of Atlantic currents

While scientists have observed oceans heating up for decades and theorized that their rising temperatures weaken global currents, a new study led by a University of Maryland researcher documents for the first time a significant slowing of a crucial ocean current system that plays a role in regulating Earth’s climate.


UN Security Council passes resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire - YouTube

The United Nations Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages as the United States abstained from the vote. The remaining 14 council members voted for the resolution on Monday.


I opened photos to look for a photo and ended up at some older images.

A tiny house in the woods in the evening. Several lanterns light the porch and a flower garden in front of the cabin. My cabin in the evening.

A Beardy guy with glasses looking at a small deer as he reaches out with both hands, scratching the deer's cheeks and neck Giving Petunia a neck scratch.

A sunset lights the clouds over a lake A sunset over the lake.


Yes, and the US is complicit.

Half of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine - Vox

Every resident of Gaza is at risk of crisis levels of food insecurity — and half are at risk of famine.

Yes, you read that right: Nearly six months into the Israeli invasion after the October 7 attacks, every single Gaza resident is at risk of at least crisis-level food insecurity…

It’s a crisis that has unfolded at a speed utterly unprecedented this century — and also one that was repeatedly predicted and entirely avoidable if Israel were not placing severe restrictions on aid.


Does Israel need to be forced by the US to end the war in Gaza? | YouTube

All of Israel’s modern wars have ended with US intervention, but the current war in Gaza has gone on for half a year because “Biden is a slow learner”, argues University of Pennsylvania political scientist Ian Lustick… Lustick and Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti talk to host Steve Clemons about the current situation on the ground and the debate within the Democratic Party in the United States.


One of these men has spoken to US Congress and is currently invited to speak again:

  • Adolf Hitler (Date of genocide: 1941 - 1945)
  • Pol Pot (Date of genocide: 1975 - 1979)
  • Benjamin Netanyahu (Date of genocide: 2023 - present)

The list of historical genocides does not yet list Israel but it will.


Engaging in land theft, forced famine and genocide, Israel is embracing its status as a pariah state.

Israel seizes 800 hectares of Palestinian land in occupied West Bank | Al Jazeera

The US said last month that Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank was inconsistent with international law, signalling a return to longstanding US policy that had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump. … Earlier this month, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said, “The establishment and continuing expansion of settlements amount to … a war crime under international law.”


“A Failure of Humanity:” IRC’s David Miliband on Impending Famine in Gaza | Amanpour and Company

Israeli military action continues to devastate the civilian population in Gaza. A three-day siege of Al-Shifa Hospital is in progress despite the fact that thousands are sheltering there… The bombardment is pushing Gaza towards a devastating humanitarian crisis: A U.N.-backed organization reports that more than a million people – half the population of Gaza – are on the brink of catastrophic hunger.


What unfolding genocide looks like:

“If you want to know what an unfolding genocide looks like, open your eyes. It looks like the forced famine of 1.1 million innocents. It looks like thousands of children eating grass as their bodies consume themselves, while trucks of food are slowed and halted just miles away.” -Rep. Ocasio-Cortez


Floods, Wildfires & Hurricanes: US Home Insurance Teeters on Financial Crisis | Amanpour and Company - YouTube

Around the world, climate change is impacting the way we live. In the U.S., the housing crisis is being pushed to the brink as insurers struggle to cover homes impacted by natural disasters. Bloomberg reporter Leslie Kaufman joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss her recent reporting on this very issue.


Again, look to the US as a root cause.

‘The Greatest Heist In History’: How Haiti Was Forced To Pay Reparations For Freedom : NPR

In recent weeks, thousands of refugees from Haiti have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, desperate for a better life. Most left Haiti years ago, after a 2010 earthquake ravaged what was already one of the most dismal economies in the world. They had originally settled in places like Chile, but the politics of the region have made them feel unwelcome, discriminated against, and fearful of the future.