Overview
The past does not repeat itself but is a continuous spiral that repeats our perspective from a higher angle. It is easy to be confused by constantly shifting perspectives.
The campus outrage at Israel’s genocide and the collaboration of the American Empire recalls the anti-Vietnam War movement fifty-plus years ago but is fundamentally different. The speed with which this movement has spread internationally indicates the difference.
Having been part of the predecessor reaction to Vietnam, I know that the primary motivator was the draft and the threat of very personal involvement. The primary motivator now is moral outrage. All wars are unjust and designed for the benefit of a ruling elite justified by whatever excuses can be found.
There is no excuse for genocide. All efforts to achieve goals by murder are equally evil. Having been the object of a historic instance of genocide does not permit you to commit your version.
Arming a genocidal nation-state is a crime against humanity for which a very high price must be paid.
A far more important difference between now and then is the institutional moral collapse we suffer. The forces of authoritarianism, fascism, and capitalist oppression are on their last legs, with the climate disaster as the ultimate consequence.
The moral squalor of this late stage of the American Empire cannot be taken down economically or through traditional politics, as everything has been corrupted to the point of dysfunction. The political tools have all been usurped by the oligarchs, but pure moral outrage is what is left.
Failing institutions based on failed religions are helpless in the face of mass moral outrage. The speed of the response to university student actions could be the trigger. We will see.
GAZA WAR
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has admitted that it cannot do anything but report the available numbers. It is certain that these numbers, as terrible as they are, represent only a fraction of the Palestinians murdered and injured.
The Zionist IDF is committed to genocide and will attack Rafa. It is becoming obvious to Biden that he has lost almost credibility by continuing to arm the IDF and claim helplessness in stopping the genocide that America is enabling. See above for my note on moral outrage.
Palestinians thank US campus protesters with signs in Gaza
Displaced Palestinians are hanging touching signs thanking student protesters across the US advocating against Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza.
Photographs from Deir al Balah, a town in southern Gaza, show Palestinians crafting signs expressing gratitude to students at several universities in the US for staging protests and encampments. Their signs, which have been hanging in Gaza for over a week, come as tensions boil over between universities and protesters on their campuses.
A sign in Gaza that reads, “Thanks for your solidarity! Emory University” pictured on 1 May. Dozens of protesters at Emory University in Georgia have established an encampment on campus. [Source: The Independent]
CLIMATE [Climate and Economy]
“Two children die in Gaza’s high temperatures as 1.2 million people living in tents under threat…
“High temperatures are bringing further danger to Gaza’s suffering population following reports that two children died from overheating in tents as temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius this week.”
https://www.newarab.com/news/gaza-two-children-die-heatwave-amid-threat-displaced
“Eco-collapse hasn’t happened but you can see it coming…
“This year, a simulation using an updated version of The Limits to Growth model showed industrial production peaking just about now, while food production, too, could hit a peak soon. Like the 1972 original, this updated analysis foresees distinct declines on the other side of those peaks.”
https://tomdispatch.com/eco-collapse-hasnt-happened-yet-but-you-can-see-it-coming/
“The crippling home insurance crisis hitting America. While climate is changing, the model for insurance has not…
“It’s no secret that there’s a housing crisis in America. Shelter has accounted for the bulk of core inflation over the past couple of years. But even if you can afford a home, you may not be able to insure it.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7745d8ba-d498-4b1c-b877-e42a691b954f
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
'Orangutan, heal thyself': First wild animal seen using medicinal plant
An orangutan in Sumatra surprised scientists when he was seen treating an open wound on his cheek with a poultice made from a medicinal plant. It’s the first scientific record of a wild animal healing a wound using a plant with known medicinal properties. The findings were published this week in Scientific Reports1.[Source: Nature]
We Finally Know What Drives Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (and Long-Covid)
Without further delay, their results found that ME/CFS comes with:
1. Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction
2. Impaired brain-muscle connection
3. Reduced cardiopulmonary performance
4. Altered neurotransmitter activities
5. Altered muscular gene activities
6. Altered immunological activities
7. Altered gut microbiota profile
‘Real Hope’ for Cancer Cure as Personal mRNA Vaccine for Melanoma Trialed
Andrew Gregory | The Guardian “Experts are testing new jabs that are custom-built for each patient and tell their body to hunt down cancer cells to prevent the disease ever coming back. A phase 2 trial found the vaccines dramatically reduced the risk of the cancer returning in melanoma patients. Now a final, phase 3, trial has been launched and is being led by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). Dr Heather Shaw, the national coordinating investigator for the trial, said the jabs had the potential to cure people with melanoma and are being tested in other cancers, including lung, bladder and kidney.” [Source: SingularityHub]
Daniel Dennett: ‘ Why Civilization Is More Fragile Than We Realized’
Tom Chatfield | BBC “[Dennett’s] warning was not of a takeover by some superintelligence, but of a threat he believed that nonetheless could be existential for civilization, rooted in the vulnerabilities of human nature. ‘If we turn this wonderful technology we have for knowledge into a weapon for disinformation,’ he told me, ‘we are in deep trouble.’ Why? ‘Because we won’t know what we know, and we won’t know who to trust, and we won’t know whether we’re informed or misinformed. We may become either paranoid and hyper-skeptical, or just apathetic and unmoved. Both of those are very dangerous avenues. And they’re upon us.'” [Source: SingularityHub]
If Starship Is Real, We’re Going to Need Big Cargo Movers on the Moon and Mars
Eric Berger | Ars Technica “Unloading tons of cargo on the Moon may seem like a preposterous notion. During Apollo, mass restrictions were so draconian that the Lunar Module could carry two astronauts, their spacesuits, some food, and just 300 pounds (136 kg) of scientific payload down to the lunar surface. By contrast, Starship is designed to carry 100 tons, or more, to the lunar surface in a single mission. This is an insane amount of cargo relative to anything in spaceflight history, but that’s the future that [Jaret] Matthews is aiming toward.” [Source: SingularityHub]
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Until next week . . .