Escalation in the Middle East: “It’s the First Time I Have Been Afraid of my Neighbors” – DER SPIEGEL

In the building where the Jewish Gabay family lives, some doorframes have a mezuzah posted on them, a capsule containing Torah verses to protect the family. Just a few doors down, Arab words are written on the wall. The four-story building is home to 16 families – nine Jewish and seven Arab.

All the neighbors used to meet in the staircase when the rocket sirens would go off. They would wait together, say several residents, for the siren to fall silent, meaning it was safe to return to their apartments. This time, though, it was different, they say. Everyone decided they would rather stay in their own apartments than run into each other in the staircase.

“I ran into one of my Arab neighbors,” says Gil Gabay. “He had a wound on his head from an Israeli police projectile.” She thought she could see recrimination on his face. “He looked at me furiously, as if I had something to do with his injury.”

Jews are now suddenly seen as representatives of the Israeli police, while Arab Israelis are looked at as an extension of Hamas.

“We neighbors have always had a good relationship,” says Muhamed Khalili, a 36-year-old Palestinian, who lives on the second floor of House 9 with his wife and four children. “But now, I told my family: Don’t go into the staircase when the rocket siren goes off. I don’t know what the Jews think of us.” Maybe, Khalili says, they think he is responsible for the burned-out cars outside. It’s safer, he says, to stay home.

Source: Escalation in the Middle East: “It’s the First Time I Have Been Afraid of my Neighbors” – DER SPIEGEL

Russia freezes bank accounts of US broadcaster RFE/RL | News | DW | 14.05.2021

Russia sent bailiffs to the Moscow bureau of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Friday over unpaid fines.

RFE/RL said the move was an escalation in the Russian government’s campaign to push them out of the country.

“RFE/RL will continue to fight these desperate attempts by the Kremlin to censor uncomfortable truths,” said RFE/RL President Jamie Fly in a statement.

US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters Washington was “deeply troubled” at the move. It represented Russia’s “latest attempt to suppress independent media and deny the Russian people access to objective news,” she said.

Why did the US broadcaster face fines?

RFE/RL was designated as a “foreign agent” in Russia in 2017, a claim that the news outlet denies. Groups identified as foreign agents in Russia must disclose their sources of funding and media outlets under this tag must publish a disclaimer saying their publications are “fulfilling the function of a foreign agent.” If they refuse, they face fines.

Groups that are considered foreign agents face difficulties in funding and a stigma that can make it difficult to continue their work.

Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor filed 520 violation cases against RFE/RL, which could entail fines up to $2.4 million (€1.98 million).

Source: Russia freezes bank accounts of US broadcaster RFE/RL | News | DW | 14.05.2021

Indoor Mask Mandates Still in Place As New Yorkers Raise Concerns About New CDC Guidelines – Gothamist

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is currently deliberating over whether to change New York’s mask policy, which still indicates that everyone who can “medically tolerate” a face covering must wear one in public if they’re unable to distance themselves from others. The state adopted the CDC’s last change on April 27th, relaxing mask usage for fully vaccinated people for some social gatherings.

But Cuomo and his health team are mulling whether to add the new rules, which lift restrictions outdoors and almost anywhere indoors, except for public transit, medical settings like doctor’s offices, on planes, and in congregate living settings such as nursing homes and prisons. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to issue any policy changes, given the governor’s decision must first be made.

Source: Indoor Mask Mandates Still in Place As New Yorkers Raise Concerns About New CDC Guidelines – Gothamist

Hospitals overwhelmed as Covid cases surge in Osaka | Japan | The Guardian (Me: Olympics?)

A surge in coronavirus cases in Japan is forcing exhausted medical workers to make “heartbreaking” decisions about treatment as healthcare services are close to being overwhelmed, medics have said.

In Osaka, at the centre of the country’s fourth wave of infections, hospital beds are almost at capacity and reports say an estimated 17,000 people with virus symptoms are being treated at home or waiting to be admitted to a medical facility. In recent weeks more than a dozen have died before they could be hospitalised.

There are fears the deepening crisis in the western prefecture could be repeated elsewhere in the country, including in Tokyo, which is due to host the summer Olympics in 10 weeks’ time. The last state of emergency was lifted in Osaka a week earlier than in the Tokyo region, where variants are accounting for a rising proportion of new infections.

 

Source: Hospitals overwhelmed as Covid cases surge in Osaka | Japan | The Guardian

Edwin Poots elected DUP leader to succeed Arlene Foster | Northern Irish politics | The Guardian

Edwin Poots has been elected leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) on the promise of remoulding Northern Ireland’s biggest party and ratcheting up opposition to the Irish Sea border…

Poots, 55, is a young Earth creationist from the party’s conservative Christian wing who believes the planet is 6,000 years old, a belief that could impede the party’s effort to court new voters.

Source: Edwin Poots elected DUP leader to succeed Arlene Foster | Northern Irish politics | The Guardian

Colorado man suspected in wife’s death allegedly voted for Trump in her name | Colorado | The Guardian

A Colorado man suspected in the death of his wife, who disappeared on Mother’s Day last year, is also accused of submitting a fraudulent vote on her behalf for Donald Trump in November’s presidential election, court documents show. Barry Morphew told investigators he mailed the ballot on behalf of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, to help Trump win, saying “all these other guys are cheating” and that he thought his wife would have voted for Trump anyway, according to an arrest warrant affidavit signed by a judge in Chaffee county.

Source: Colorado man suspected in wife’s death allegedly voted for Trump in her name | Colorado | The Guardian

Eagle Brewing owner apologizes over ‘unacceptable’ comments | RNZ News (Me: in New Zealand – he cannot apologize his way out of being evil, racist and stupid)

Eagle Brewing owner David Gaughan’s comments have been strongly condemned by those in the craft beer industry as racist and deplorable.

Gaughan has since apologised and said he was considering resigning from the Kaiapoi-based brewery and wanted to unlearn racial bias and better understand Māori culture.

Operations manager at Auckland’s Lumsden Freehouse, Lucy Campbell, said Gaughan’s comments were “horrific” and the bar won’t be pouring Eagle Brewing’s beers again.

“We don’t pour beer from racists or bigots and that’s the end of the story really.”

Matt White owns Beer Jerk, which runs an online craft beer shop and a small bar in Auckland’s Eden Terrace.

“All of us people in the beer industry know each other. It’s a really small community. So, some screengrabs of David’s comments were shared in some private WhatsApp groups yesterday evening.”

He said they won’t be placing any more orders with Eagle Brewing on the back of the comments.

“We were just completely flabbergasted. And it’s actually it’s an almost visceral, physical feeling of just how sickened we are that somebody can have these feelings and these opinions and especially in craft beer. So the area that we work in is so accepting and inclusive.”

Source: Eagle Brewing owner apologises over ‘unacceptable’ comments | RNZ News

Jobless Benefits Don’t Make People ‘Lazy,’ Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo Says – The New York Times

There were a lot of worries during the coronavirus pandemic that the $600 weekly allowance under the Cares Act would discourage people from going back to work because it’s often more than they would make. But this has been studied by different groups of academics, who have found zero disincentive effect of that act.

People need to have meaning in their life. They need to make a difference in their job. People are looking for respect in the job that they are doing, and in the community they’re living in, and that’s much, much more dominant than the financial incentive.

And that’s very important because that means that No. 1, you shouldn’t be scared of taxing people. That’s not going to make them lazy. No. 2, you shouldn’t be scared of distributing money to people. That’s not going to make them lazy.

Using Lists Within WordPress Reader

Story Empire

Hola, SEers. Not only is it Cinco de Mayo, but it’s also a Mae Day on Story Empire. I’m delighted you’ve chosen to join me.

If you’re a WordPress user, you’re probably familiar with Reader. Most of us follow an abundance of blogs, and it can be overwhelming keeping up with them. In the past, I subscribed by email to each blog I followed. The problem was my inbox was always overflowing with notices of new posts. For me, a bursting-at-the-seams inbox equals stress, so something had to give.

Last year, I switched to Reader, but even that became problematic. Currently, I follow 377 blogs. Of that large group, there are certain blogs I comment on regularly, but I don’t want to scroll through 377 entries searching for them. These are my “Favorite Reads.” Another group of bloggers I’d like to visit don’t blog as frequently, so I often lose…

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Dodged a nuke

themacbit

Congratulations 🎉 if you are reading this article, you are alive. “I’m not sure about me, though.”. Get ready to witness a man saving the world. This is not about a Marvel movie, but a true incident from the cold war.

Talking about superheroes without me?

“Traditionally not cool”

Here is some background for readers interested in politics: Our story dates back to 1962, from the times of the cold war. Cuba asked Soviet Union for support against the US. Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev agreed to place missiles on the Cuba islands against America. When American spy planes discovered the Soviet missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy ordered blockage of Cuba by the US navy. 

American forces spotted an enemy Soviet submarine hiding in the Caribbean waters. This submarine was on a super-secret spy mission. The submarine carried nuclear weapons, enough to start a nuclear war between the two superpowers…

View original post 348 more words

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