Oh yes definitely The Little Prince is a must-read.
The Brothers Lionheart, by Astrid Lindgren is one of my childhood favourites. Originally Swedish but has been translated into English.
The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt another childhood fav., it has been translated from Dutch. Actually, anything by Dragt I loved, but not sure which have translations or not.
In terms of adult fiction, I was hooked on Stig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (he only wrote the first 3 though).
Someone mentioned Kurt Vonnegut; I recommend the one I've read of his: Slaughterhouse 5.
The Circle still gives me pause more than 5 years later. It's by Dave Eggers.
Switzerland is not an EU country...
Lol, what? Australia is a US lackee more than anywhere else. And the CIA was definitely involved in the Whitlam sacking.
and here I thought it was a parody...
15yo me gets an angry phone call from the dad where I'd scored a weekly long-term babysitting gig after the first or second night: don't think for a second that you're coming back! (I'm paraphrasing here).
I give a one-word reply and he hangs up.
All I did was leave after getting paid without saying bye while they were checking on the kids. (They were asleep). Because I didn't want to be coerced to get a ride like last time.
Took me years to realise they were in the wrong.
I am angry at the politicians in the US etc for their continued support of the mass slaughter and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.
I'm also angry at the Israeli head of state and political machine, who controls the IDF. When I say 'the IDF' I mean of course the military arm of the state of Israel. The Likud charta explicitly states the aim of one Israel 'from the sea to the river' - oh, the irony!
What Hamas has done on Oct 7, even if all stories are to be believed, pales in comparison to what Israel has done to innocent Palestinians - schools, universities, hospitals, aid workers, journalists, etc -before and since. And it was clearly provoked by years of being occupied in an open-air prison. So I'm sorry if I'm not interested in the 'we're only defending our own' shtick.
A two-state solution is only possible if Israel withdraws, stops occupying Palestine and allows it to exercise full sovereignty of its borders, governancet, and defence.
Look it's hard to say if it saved lives in the overall ww2 tally, but surrender to save lives was the rationale of the Generals eg in The Netherlands. They looked at what the Luftwaffe had done to Rotterdam, looked at what weapons they had themselves, considered the prospect of what was going to happen to Utrecht next, and decided that further resistance was futile. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_World_War_II#German_occupation
Funny story, I was mistaken for an Israeli patriot today, just because of my accent and what I was wearing. I was reassured, if you like, that the world is not going to ostracise Israel and Israel will keep existing. That was the gist of it anyhow. Of course I have no doubt israel will keep existing, what with all the support of the world's hegemons. What worries me is that Israel will keep existing in its current form: a fascist, genocidal ethnostate. Describing the only armed resistance against occupation permitted by Israel to take hold, as an 'army', creates a false sense of equivalence between Hamas's militants and the IDF with all its powerful tech. To describe what's been going on in Gaza for the past 10 months as a war between two armies simply defending their own people is, well stunning, when faced with all the evidence of the IDF's targeted mass killings of Palestinian civilian lives, as well as their callous disregard for Israeli lives (eg Hannibal directive).
First what needs to happen is the US stop unconditionally funding the IDF.
(I mean, it is in their charter)
pretty sure it's no longer in their charter.
Also why do you keep calling it an army. Gaza doesn't have an army.
Quite a few nations capitulated against the Nazis within days or even without a fight to avoid war. It saved a lot of lives. Does that make it the right choice? Who is to say...
What's for sure is that Boris shouldn't have vetoed the peace agreement in 2022.
You put the someone in a re-education camp
Pray, how do I login to the same account on my second phone? Or do you mean you can link multiple computers to the account on your phone? In which case, I'm not running that on my old laptop.
Edit: I'll answer my own question:
Multiple mobile devices ... are not currently supported.
https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007320551-Linked-Devices
Well, that's news to me.
Signal app size 165MB. Conversations: 42MB.
I can't message someone on Signal without installing Signal or Molly which also uses Signal servers, which has to be trusted on good faith (can't run my own). Ergo a walled garden just like Whatsapp.
I can't register with just a username & password. I have to trust their PR saying they don't store my ph #.
US has some of the worst legislation when it comes to privacy; when the agencies decide they want your data, Signal will not be allowed to tell you. And don't give me the bs line that they only store 3 pieces of info about you. Unless you've built their server software you don't know what they collect am store.
I use Signal. It's the in thing in my circles.
The desktop version cannot be used independently; you still need to make and maintain an account on a smart phone. Also the desktop version uses crazy memory. It's a pos. I no longer use it. Also you're limited to 2 devices: one phone & one comp. I sync my xmpp chats between 3 or 4, depending.
This is what I would do.
Signal is so bloated compared to Conversations on Android. Also it's a walled garden requiring your ph number to register (edit: and requires owning a smart phone👎). Based in the US so not great for privacy. Marginally better than Whatsapp suppose.
Edit: and it requires a smart phone.
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> But while the Albanese government soaked up the plaudits for engineering Assange’s long overdue return, several of the signs on display that evening hinted that not everything was well on the home front. “Assange, McBride, Boyle”, offered one. Another particularly well-worn sign had the demand: “Fix the PID Act”. The WikiLeaks publisher may be free, but the Public Interest Disclosure Act – the whistleblower protection law for federal public servants in Australia – remains broken, as recent high-profile cases demonstrate all too well.
Who would run the US empire until the new President is elected and sworn in?
screenshot of https://x.com/MurdochCadell/status/1814279642628710605
ALT text
>Dave’s been in jail for 64 days. Due to immediate concerns for his safety, we can’t say more except to say his situation is grim. He has no access to natural light & restricted contact with his daughters. Help #FreeMcBride by donating to his fundraiser👇🏼🙏 > >https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride
screenshot of https://x.com/MurdochCadell/status/1814279642628710605
ALT text > Dave’s been in jail for 64 days. Due to immediate concerns for his safety, we can’t say more except to say his situation is grim. He has no access to natural light & restricted contact with his daughters. Help #FreeMcBride by donating to his fundraiser👇🏼🙏 > > https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride
cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/17903564
> > I told the truth about the Australian Defence Force’s unethical, harmful and highly politicised leadership which fostered a culture of impunity in Afghanistan. As my team and I continue to fight these unjust criminal charges, I am asking for your support! > > You can support David's appeal here: https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride > > ---- > (Edit) More information: > > David McBride sent to prison | The West Report https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-sent-to-prison-the-west-report/ > > What Fate for David McBride? - with lawyer Eddie Lloyd | Consortium News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czj540q8YDQ > > Michael West interviews McBride - https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-full-interview/ > > video by BoyBoy https://youtu.be/sYt4CxFfQUU?si=P_E2FLkKYMKRbHRT > > video by friendlyjordies https://youtu.be/jdYYIVoCvsM?si=Nhc2Uxnj0kadKUIu > > [Article] Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride sentenced to prison, by Michael West | May 14, 2024 https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-david-mcbride-sentenced-to-jail/
cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/17903564
> > I told the truth about the Australian Defence Force’s unethical, harmful and highly politicised leadership which fostered a culture of impunity in Afghanistan. As my team and I continue to fight these unjust criminal charges, I am asking for your support! > > You can support David's appeal here: https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride > > ---- > (Edit) More information: > > David McBride sent to prison | The West Report https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-sent-to-prison-the-west-report/ > > What Fate for David McBride? - with lawyer Eddie Lloyd | Consortium News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czj540q8YDQ > > Michael West interviews McBride - https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-full-interview/ > > video by BoyBoy https://youtu.be/sYt4CxFfQUU?si=P_E2FLkKYMKRbHRT > > video by friendlyjordies https://youtu.be/jdYYIVoCvsM?si=Nhc2Uxnj0kadKUIu > > [Article] Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride sentenced to prison, by Michael West | May 14, 2024 https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-david-mcbride-sentenced-to-jail/
> I told the truth about the Australian Defence Force’s unethical, harmful and highly politicised leadership which fostered a culture of impunity in Afghanistan. As my team and I continue to fight these unjust criminal charges, I am asking for your support!
You can support David's appeal here: https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride
---- (Edit) More information:
The latest from his Twitter / X account - run by his legal team: https://x.com/MurdochCadell
David McBride sent to prison | The West Report https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-sent-to-prison-the-west-report/
What Fate for David McBride? - with lawyer Eddie Lloyd | Consortium News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czj540q8YDQ
Michael West interviews McBride - https://michaelwest.com.au/david-mcbride-full-interview/
video by BoyBoy https://youtu.be/sYt4CxFfQUU?si=P_E2FLkKYMKRbHRT
video by friendlyjordies https://youtu.be/jdYYIVoCvsM?si=Nhc2Uxnj0kadKUIu
[Article] Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride sentenced to prison, by Michael West | May 14, 2024 https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-david-mcbride-sentenced-to-jail/
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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is at risk of suicide if the UK High Court next month rejects his final appeal against extradition to the US, his lawyer warns.
Many allegations against the Elbit Eight have been rejected by a jury in a London trial.
The judge's ruling can be read here: https://cryptome.org/2023/12/kunstler-v-cia-077.pdf
A New York court ruled that a former Spanish military officer illegally surveilled people visiting the activist at the Ecuadorian embassy in London
edit:
More coverage on the case Kunstler vs CIA:
CIA Loses Bid to Throw Out Lawsuit for Violating Rights of Julian Assange’s Visitors at Ecuadorean Embassy: Case Sets Stage for Exposing CIA Clandestine Surveillance of Attorneys and Journalists https://www.laprogressive.com/law-and-the-justice-system/cia-slammed-for-violating-rights
Judge Rules Assange Visitors May Sue CIA For Allegedly Violating Privacy https://thedissenter.org/judge-assange-visitors-may-sue-cia-for-spying/
I'm personally not convinced that el-pais got the headline right unfortunately, unless they know something other journalists covering the case don't...
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Some context:
https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-david-mcbride-pleads-guilty/
https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/the-leadership-rewarded-and-encouraged-dishonesty-20231106-p5ehuu
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/17/left-with-no-defense-mcbride-plea
The irony of Masha Gessen almost not being awarded the prize because of their writings on Gaza is almost too thick to cut
More coverage:
Die Verleihung des Hannah-Arendt-Preises an Masha Gessen in Bremen musste im Hinterhof stattfinden (German language) https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=108755