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Turkey's cat island park where you'll be surrounded by friendly cats as soon as you sit there.

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This is when they need to let somebody like Mike Tyson Come in to the ring with the so called bully and see who is really a bully.

Disabled 12-Year-Old Girl Tossed Out Of Wheelchair, Beaten By Bullies At School

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Stray cat breaks into Lynx’s enclosure at zoo

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A Brotha Got In 'The Man's' Face For Getting In His Business

Some folks are going to learn to stay up outta other people's faces with their bullshit.

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wow, this cat is super

The moment where he calculates.

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Trump Pleads Total Immunity to SCOTUS While Claiming to be an Everyman

#Youtube

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What I can do on Monday

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Saturday, April 27, 2024

University protests and political arguments (NYT) Arnold Kling, an economist, published a book a decade ago that offered a way to think about the core difference between progressives and conservatives. Progressives, Kling wrote, see the world as a struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed, and they try to help the oppressed. Conservatives see the world as a struggle between civilization and barbarism—between order and chaos—and they try to protect civilization. The debate over pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia and other universities has become an example. If you want to understand why university leaders are finding the situation so hard to resolve, Kling’s dichotomy is useful: The central question for colleges is whether to prioritize the preservation of order or the desire of students to denounce oppression. There are also divisions among students. Pro-Palestinian students will say that Israel is the true source of disorder, while pro-Israel students will say that Hamas is the true oppressor.

Tennessee Parents Question Whether Arming Teachers Is the Answer (NYT) Devon Dixon believes guns serve a purpose. That is why she is licensed to carry and conceal firearms. She is also a mother living in the Nashville suburbs with three school-age children. She worries about their safety, especially after three 9-year-olds were among the six killed in a school shooting in the city last year. “It’s pretty heavy on my heart,” she said. But those concerns weren’t enough to persuade Ms. Dixon that Tennessee lawmakers were right to pass a bill on Tuesday that would allow teachers and other school employees to carry concealed handguns on campus in an effort to protect students. The skepticism has come not just from those who want tighter restrictions on firearms but also from some who generally believe strongly in gun rights. Their reluctance was rooted in doubts about the wisdom of placing such a daunting responsibility on teachers and other school workers.

Angry farmers in a once-lush Mexican state target avocado orchards that suck up too much water (AP) You know how people always talk about conflicts over water that are supposed to take place once our planet starts to dry out far into the future? Those are happening right now in Mexico. Mexico has been facing an extensive and intensive drought for a while now, and farmers have begun feuding over water, with local subsistence farmers taking on commercial avocado and berry farmers. The subsistence farmers claim that commercial farmers have long diverted water sources away from local towns, leaving local residents deprived of the water necessary to live their daily lives. Recently, things have come to a head—residents and subsistence farmers from the town of Villa Madero marched up to commercial farming operations, ripping out the illicit water pumps and holding pools that the commercial farms are allegedly using to steal water. That action might have been satisfying in the moment, but local leaders are worried about repercussions from the groups who back the commercial farmers—avocado farmers often pay protection fees to national cartels, which might retaliate for the damage.

Europe needs to be stronger, not a U.S. ‘vassal,’ says France’s Macron (Washington Post) French President Emmanuel Macron made the case for a stronger, more independent European Union, arguing that Europe needs a more credible defense policy to stand up to Russia and not be a strategic “vassal” to the United States. In a sprawling speech delivered under the soaring ceilings of the Sorbonne in Paris, Macron outlined his updated vision for Europe’s “strategic autonomy,” including plans to bolster European defense production and expand industrial policy to stand firm against Russia and compete with economic superpowers that no longer play by free-trade rules. Europe needs to create a union that is more integrated, better defended and more competitive—and never too reliant on the United States. Macron stressed that Europe can no longer rely on the United States alone for its security. “The United States has two priorities: the United States first and the China question second. The European question is not a geopolitical priority,” he said.

Spain’s leader is mulling his future while denouncing a ‘smear campaign’ against his wife (AP) Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez left Spain in suspense after announcing he may step down because of what he called an “unprecedented” smear campaign against his wife. Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, stunned the nation Wednesday by announcing that he was canceling all official events until next week, when he will unveil his future plans. The announcement came hours after a Madrid provincial judge agreed to study allegations of corruption brought by a right-wing group against Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez.

Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from the front lines over Russian drone threats (AP) Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines. But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds. Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks. The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means “there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection,” a senior defense official said.

China warns diplomatic ties with U.S. could face “downward spiral.” (AFP) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his second visit to China in less than a year, said he hopes for progress but has also raised concerns on areas of difference between the two countries, including Russia, Taiwan and trade. China, which has also been infuriated by President Joe Biden’s economic pressure, said relations between the world’s two largest economies are “beginning to stabilize,” but that “negative factors are still increasing and building.” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Blinken that the U.S. should not “trample on China’s red line” on security, sovereignty and development.

Almost every Chinese keyboard app has a security flaw that reveals what users type (MIT Technology Review/Citizen Lab) Almost all keyboard apps used by Chinese people around the world share a security loophole that makes it possible to spy on what users are typing. The vulnerability, which allows the keystroke data that these apps send to the cloud to be intercepted, has existed for years and could have been exploited by cybercriminals and state surveillance groups, according to researchers at the Citizen Lab, a technology and security research lab affiliated with the University of Toronto. These apps help users type Chinese characters more efficiently and are ubiquitous on devices used by Chinese people. The four most popular apps—built by major internet companies like Baidu, Tencent, and iFlytek—basically account for all the typing methods that Chinese people use. Researchers also looked into the keyboard apps that come preinstalled on Android phones sold in China. What they discovered was shocking. Almost every third-party app and every Android phone with preinstalled keyboards failed to protect users by properly encrypting the content they typed.

“Politicians are not made of stone.” (BBC) Australian ex-Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed to ABC News that during his time in office he reached points of pure exhaustion and struggled with anxiety. “Politicians are not made of stone, yet they're often treated as though they are, including by each other,” he said. He has shared on social media that he wants to “normalize” the act of asking for help when struggling with mental illness, even for people with jobs like his.

Israel could still force an exodus into Egypt (Washington Post) Amid a somber Passover in the Holy Land, a chilling reality remains: Israel could soon trigger an exodus into Egypt. For weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled his intent to launch a full-scale offensive into Rafah, the southern Gazan city that’s now home to more than a million Palestinians seeking safe haven in their war-ravaged territory. Netanyahu and his allies want to wipe out militant group Hamas’s footprint in the city—no matter the skepticism of experts who reckon the Islamist organization is far from defeated or the concerns of foreign diplomats and aid workers who fear the calamities for civilians that would follow the Israeli onslaught. A major move would trigger the frantic flight of hundreds of thousands of Gazans, many of whom arrived in the city after their homes and neighborhoods elsewhere in Gaza were pulverized by the Israeli military in its post-Oct. 7 war against Hamas. For months, there’s been speculation over whether Egypt would allow tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee to safety in the Sinai desert. Cairo is not keen to admit a refugee influx, given both its own internal security concerns and larger Pan-Arab worries that the Palestinians will be blocked from returning to their homeland like a previous generation of Palestinian refugees.

Flooding Inundates Kenya, Killing at Least 32 and Displacing Thousands (NYT) Days of heavy rains have pummeled parts of Kenya, leaving at least 32 dead, 15 injured and more than 40,000 people displaced, according to officials. They said that flooding had killed nearly 1,000 farm animals and destroyed thousands of acres of crops, with more rain expected across the country. The rains began in March during what is known in the country as the “long rains,” but precipitation intensified over the past week, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department. In Nairobi, where some of the heaviest rain has fallen, more than 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. Edwin Sifuna, a senator in Nairobi County, said on social media that the local government there was “clearly overwhelmed,” and he called on the federal government for help.

South Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid problems (AP) South Africa is gearing up for celebrations Saturday to mark 30 years of freedom and democracy. But much of the enthusiasm and optimism of that period has subsided as Africa’s most developed economy faces a myriad of challenges. They include widening inequality as the country’s Black majority continues to live in poverty with an unemployment rate of more than 32%, the highest in the world. According to official statistics, more than 16 million South Africans rely on monthly welfare grants for survival. Public demonstrations have become common as communities protest against the ruling African National Congress’ failure to deliver job opportunities and basic services like water and electricity. An electricity crisis that has resulted in power blackouts that are devastating the country’s economy added to the party’s woes as businesses and homes are sometimes forced to go without electricity for up to 12 hours a day.

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Ariel Henry resigns as Haiti's PM as transitional council takes power

Finally, Let them be good for Haiti.

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Shuler King - Kanye West Said He Is The Almighty

Mental illness is really sad, especially when the person can actually get treatment, but they won't.

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Shuler King - She Did It

I honestly think he has something to say in this video, Because of she walked up on me with those eyes. I don't think both of us would be standing there

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Keep your black cats (well, all cats) indoors to protect them from Halloween ignorance any danger.

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Lynching in America: Anthony Crawford's Story

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Fondly remembering the time that a cat owner casually entered their calico Maine Coon in a cat fancier’s competition and the judges lost their minds because the cat was 1) male and 2) able to bear children