wednesday newstrip

Border Patrol chief blames Democrats & journalists for Minneapolis chaos · 'No rizz': Gen Z T.®umpers are rejecting 'no charisma' Republicans · mega-wealthy residents in glamorous California enclave demand their neighbors pay millions to protect the only road leading to their mansions · thousands rally & hundreds of businesses close in protest against ICE presence in Minnesota · renewed call for councils to ban 'ugly trend' of using synthetic turf along nature strips & in new homes sweeping Australian suburbs · 'Get out now;' residents ordered to flee as Victoria tipped to hit record 49C · New Zealand’s house price crash is cause for celebration · Ted Cruz warned DoNuts T.®ump that he would face a 'bloodbath' in the November midterm elections if prices continued to rise, prompting the president to respond, 'fuck you, Ted' · Gregory Bovine has been removed from his role as Border Patrol 'commander at large' & will return to his former job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon, according to a DHS official with knowledge of the change.

geographies: Leonora

 

the more things change, the more . . .

The Palestinian death toll has risen to 821 people, and more than 3,300 have been injured since Israel began its offensive in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

A United Nations agency says nearly fifty percent of those killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip are women and children.

Ϋ

"But this is reality. You do your utmost to try and explain the difference between people aiming at women, children and babies in order to kill them because they are Israelis, and on the other hand – a democratic state trying to defend its citizens."

Dan Gillerman, retiring Israeli ambassador to the United Nations

Ϋ

"Many people in Israel call us traitors and war criminals because we talk about the war while it is still going on," said Teddy Katz of the Israeli peace group, Gush Shalom.

"But the truth is that this government ordered a criminal war."

Gush Shalom is one member of a coalition that held a news conference on Wednesday, January 7, 2009, to brief the media on peace camp positions.

Some speakers at the news conference focused on what they held to be Israel's real motives for the war - election success and, according to Katz, sanitising corrupt political reputations is also a factor.

Ϋ

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said senior Israeli military officials have confessed that there was no gunfire emanating from the school when it came under fire from one of its tanks.

Tel Aviv has attempted to justify its Jan 6 attack on the United Nations school as a response to "militant gunfire" and has released footage of the incident to substantiate its claims.

Gunness, however, asserted that the footage released by Israel dated back to 2007 and was not related to the current incident.

A post from gamma ways, january 10, 2009.

wednesday newstrip

'Europe will not be blackmailed': sweeping retaliation on the cards after T.®ump’s Greenland threats · life in Cuba is about to get harder as T.®ump threatens oil supply · Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was hammered by an immigration expert after falsely distorting DHS' own data on the criminal charges of detainees · T.®ump’s '‘Board of Peace' for Gaza to require $1 billion payment for permanent membership · Israel objects to US lineup of 'Gaza executive board', says the lineup runs contrary to Israeli policy · FBI Director Kash Patel has taken the unprecedented task of having agents comb through vast amounts of data at the agency in an effort to dig up dirt on opponents of President T.®ump · Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), a T.®ump-endorsed lawmaker & sitting member of the House Intelligence Committee – one of Congress’ most powerful oversight panels – was widely ridiculed over the weekend after railing against aircraft condensation – a common target of debunked conspiracy theories.

The Art of Conversation

In this split & drifting space, strange 
bonds are knit. In a landscape of batt-
ling giants or of the beginning of the 
world, two tiny persons are speaking.
The art of conversation consists in the 

exercise of two fine qualities — never 
interrupt any one who is speaking; &
overlook the deficiencies of others 
when conversing with them. Men, at 
last reduced to silence, commune with

the signification of things, allow them-
selves to be touched by enigmatic, in-
sistent words that come from elsewhere.
Words are not bound directly to other 
pictorial elements. They are merely in-

scriptions on blobs & shapes. But in 
this context, words do not replace mis-
sing objects, occupy no hollow spaces.
A lady of true refinement will always
give your words candid consideration.

Sources:
This Is Not a Pipe, by Michel Foucault
The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette (1860), by Florence Hartley

dubious benefit

 

wednesday newstrip

Dozens of writers have pulled out of the Adelaide Writers' Week after it dropped a Palestinian author, Randa Abdel-Fattah, from the program due to "cultural sensitivities" following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack · a popular craft beer has been urgently pulled from Australian supermarket shelves over safety concerns, amid fears it could dangerously over-carbonate & create a 'bottle bomb' · five Indonesian fishermen have been jailed & three more charged after their vessel was spotted hidden among mangrove trees in the Northern Territory with an illegal catch of sea cucumbers on board · Elongated Muskrat’s AI tool Grok has been used to create sexually violent & explicit video content featuring women, according to new research · GTA 6 third delay fears won't go away despite positive leaks · research paves the way for safer colonoscopy bowel prep for people with compromised gut health · 'toughest conditions imaginable': Victorians urged to shelter inside from heatwave as tropical cyclone heads for Queensland.

The Withdrawal List

the 66 global organisations the US is leaving under Trump

31 United Nations organisations

Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – Economic Commission for Africa
ECOSOC – Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
International Law Commission
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
International Trade Centre
Office of the Special Adviser on Africa
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
Peacebuilding Commission
Peacebuilding Fund
Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
UN Alliance of Civilizations
UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and 
     Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
UN Conference on Trade and Development
UN Democracy Fund
UN Energy
UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
UN Human Settlements Programme
UN Institute for Training and Research
UN Oceans
UN Population Fund
UN Register of Conventional Arms
UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
UN System Staff College
UN Water
UN University.

35 non-UN organisations

24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact
Colombo Plan Council
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Education Cannot Wait
European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats
Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories
Freedom Online Coalition
Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund
Global Counterterrorism Forum
Global Forum on Cyber Expertise
Global Forum on Migration and Development
Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Cotton Advisory Committee
International Development Law Organization
International Energy Forum
International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law
International Lead and Zinc Study Group
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
International Tropical Timber Organization
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Pan American Institute of Geography and History
Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation
Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships 
     in Asia
Regional Cooperation Council
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century
Science and Technology Center in Ukraine
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

geographies: Hyden

 

wednesday newstrip

Imran Khan & wife handed 17-year jail terms in corruption case · images removed from Epstein files less than a day after being posted · 'We feel excluded': expensive tickets & T.®ump’s shadow dampen World Cup excitement in Mexico · judge accepts guilty pleas from Colorado funeral home owners for abuse of 191 corpses · DoNuts T.®ump admitted he's building the White House ballroom as a 'monument to myself because no one else will' · ICE reimagines Santa Claus as an armed immigration officer in controversial holiday ad · sister of Epstein victim reported him in 1996, but FBI failed to investigate, files reveal · Australia announces special honors list to recognize acts of bravery during the Bondi attack · Pam Bondi Beach’s approval rating plunges as she faces Epstein fallout · T.®ump's ego projects stem from childhood neglect: family member.

A poem from Donald J. Trump

I was sitting at the 
table. We had finished 
dinner. We're now 
having dessert. & we 
had the most beautiful 

piece of chocolate cake 
that you've ever seen, 
& President Xi was en-
joying it. & I was given 
the message from the 

generals that the ships 
are locked & loaded, 
what do you do? & we 
made a determination 
to do it, so the missiles 

were on the way. & I 
said, Mr. President, let 
me explain something to
you—this was during 
dessert—we've just fired 

59 missiles, all of which 
hit, by the way, unbeliev-
able, from, you know, 
hundreds of miles away, 
all of which hit. Amazing.


from: Circus Economies
gradient books, December 2017

A line from Donald J. Trump

The First Emperor of Qin
sported a striking headpiece of
human flesh as a show of his
glory. Teamed it with a figure-

hugging dress that some re-
porters thought was made from
bacon or, perhaps, prosciutto.
Scaly warts covered the few

exposed portions of his body.
I have sex dreams about random
people, he said. I will build a
great wall to keep them out.
from: the veil drops
Moria Books, March 2017

Ten years ago, at Series Magritte

             The Art of Living             



The orange people
used to be every-
where. Now only
a few scattered centers
are left. All small,
except, of course, for
Donald Trump, the
center of the universe,

with his swollen head
& disconnected brain.
The body transformed
by a business suit; but his
face still stained from the
clothes he wore before.