Welcome to Byblos, Lebanon- Every time you walk into a library or open a book, you are unknowingly referencing a Phoenician port that has been standing for over 7,000 years...

 

Byblos - Lebanon

Welcome to Byblos (Jbeil)—one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the true "intellectual port" of history. Here’s the fascinating story: While the Phoenicians were introducing the alphabet to the world, the city of Byblos was the global heart of the papyrus trade. It was so central to the trade that the Ancient Greeks began calling papyrus itself "Byblos" after the city. Fast forward to today, and this legacy is hidden in plain sight within our languages:

Bible

Bibliography

Bibliothèque (Library)

Every time you walk into a library or open a book, you are unknowingly referencing a Phoenician port that has been standing for over 7,000 years.

MENA Visuals

@menavisualss

https://x.com/menavisualss/status/2047162535694995504

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United Nations

@UN

 

Books are a centerpiece of learning and advancement. They also have the ability to inspire and transport our minds, particularly during times of stress or difficulty. More from @UNESCO on Thursday's #WorldBookDay. 

 

 https://unesco.org/en/days/world-

 https://x.com/UN/status/2047299952553136240

A celebration of the power of books

Books are like a window onto another world – with each new page, they introduce us to new people, new cultures and new ideas. Every year, on 23 April, UNESCO celebrates World Book and Copyright Day in recognition of the power of books as a bridge between generations and across cultures.

Dear America- The devastation and cruelty of the Nazi Holocaust proved beyond the shadow of a doubt how modern weaponry and racist hate were a truly evil combination. We now have The United Nations, international law, and Universal Human Rights to steer more sane and compassionate choices for all human beings. Empower that please!

Yaqob's Mission: As a photojournalist, he aims to "share the truth about what is happening in Gaza with the world". His work highlights the deep psychological trauma and instability faced by children, where it is estimated that 96% of children in Gaza feel that death is imminent. Children Not Numbers

letter I just sent to my elected leaders 

Dear America,

Impoverishing America coming & going with misguided foreign policies plus a budget that aggressively funds war and weaponry to destroy faraway homes, jobs, and economies mainly helps destroy families and our future right here in America.

Many Americans already struggle to afford basics like food, housing, healthcare, and transportation. Misguided government spending compounded by corporate greed and corruption only makes this situation worse.

Our tax money should be invested in the people's needs NOT WAR!   Modern war is poisoning the planet. 

It is painfully obvious to me and many others that a large portion of America's leadership have been primed and/or bribed to hate Arabs and Muslims. How else to explain America's continued arming of Israel while Israel bombs refugee camps and apartment buildings filled with children in Gaza.

Don't put the cart before the horse: Long before Hamas or Hezbollah were created Israel was destroying Palestinian homes and communities. 

Israel has been destroying Palestinian homes, communities, farmland, jobs, schools, hospitals, and vital infrastructure for decades now. 

But heck even ignoring the Israeli bombs, bulldozers, checkpoints, closures, imprisonment of and cruel attitudes towards the native non-Jewish people of historic Palestine- why has America been supporting and arming Israel as it violates international law and all borders, illegally occupying the land that is supposed to be a part of Palestine... Syria... and now Lebanon!

Stealing land and resources is WRONG!  You want the Ten Commandments in our classroom so read them please:

6. Thou Shall Not Murder.

8. Thou shall not Steal.

9. Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Thou shall not Covet.  https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-are-the-10-commandments-their-meaning-and-significance.html

War has always been wrong, but once upon a time people in power were able to influence which voices were heard, how stories were told, and what side "won" and was remembered.... Times have changed.

The devastation and cruelty of the Nazi Holocaust proved beyond the shadow of a doubt how modern weaponry and racist hate were a truly evil combination. We now have The United Nations, international law, and Universal Human Rights to steer more sane and compassionate choices for all human beings.  Empower that please! 

Empower goodness and decency and diplomacy.  Empower the rule of fair and just laws. Empower Golden Rule Thinking at every turn.

Just as Israel's blatantly racist war on the indigenous Palestinians is evil and wrong, Trump's misguided "preemptive" war on Iran is evil and wrong in every way.

America should not be trusting Israel and its Zionist minions to translate and negotiate, or give good advice. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

"It’s no accident, Israel murdered her. From Shireen to Amal, the press vest is a target for Israel." Assal Rad

May 11, 2022: Palestinian American Arab Christian Journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was assassinated by Israeli sniper fire while she was documenting and exposing Zionist violence & Israeli crimes

"Remember this was the Israeli military's first response after murdering Shireen Abu Akleh in broad daylight, repeatedly lying about it and then getting away with it. Doing Journalism was [IS] enough to get you killed by Israel." Yousef Munayyer

Israel’s military “prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission by firing a sound grenade and live ammunition at the ambulance”... Journalist Amal Khalil had been buried in rubble after an Israeli strike that also injured another journalist, Zeinab Faraj. In total Israeli strikes killed five people on Wednesday, including Khalil, despite the ongoing ceasefire. Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted “war crimes”.

Trump wants $1.5tn for the Pentagon – and cuts to healthcare and housing. The president’s proposed $445bn increase in military spending would batter popular domestic programs as millions struggle

The TWO BILLION DOLLARS a week that Donald Trump was spending on his reckless war in Iran could have funded saving more than 87 million lives, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday. He also warned the normalisation of violent language, such as threatening to bomb Iran back to the stone ages, was very dangerous since it encourages every “wannabe autocrat” to use similar threats and tactics, including the destruction of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

"All they will find is sand" Eyal Weizman on the demolition of Gaza in The London Review of Books April 2026

The terrifying reality of life under US sanctions by Brian Feeny in The Irish Times... & Francesca Albanese responds "Surely my life is not easy. But it is nothing compared to that of the Palestinians under Israeli Apartheid, who continue to be genocided and tortured. With or without sanctions, I will not stop standing for justice. Together we can and we will. #UNA"

News is propaganda everywhere with America duped, taxpayers robbed, & international law ignored while war mongering Israel aggressively gains endless power and resources.

"Israel created the largest group of child amputees in modern history and now blocks prostheses... The cruelty is always the point." Assal Rad

"We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion dollars killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum," he said. "And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only plausible but necessary, it speaks to a broken kind of politics." Zohran Mamdani April 17, 2026 NPR interview

The United States is destroying itself - The daily news can’t adequately convey the administration’s sabotaging of our government, economy, alliances and environment

Israeli forces have fired teargas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their school.

‘My life has become a rollercoaster’: Francesca Albanese on death threats, danger and dread after accusing Israel of genocide. When the UN special rapporteur published her report Anatomy of a Genocide in March 2024, she was lionised by some and demonised by the Trump government. She describes what happened next...

What Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli right really mean when they invoke ‘Greater Israel’ - The concept is about much more than acquiring territory, it is also about Netanyahu’s desire for Israel to become a regional superpower.

Israel’s attack on UNRWA is central to its genocide of the Palestinians: UNRWA’s mandate to provide for Palestinian refugees makes it a direct threat to the Israeli genocidal project.

‘Everything is gone’: Israel destroys entire villages in Lebanon ... Rights groups fear tactic of ‘domicide’ trialled in Gaza, where entire areas are made uninhabitable, is being used again

We reiterate the urgent need Israel to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law and ensure civilians are protected. Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful attacks in Lebanon and displaying a callous disregard for civilian life, fueled by the impunity Israeli officials feel they enjoy.

Dear America- Israel's aim is to be THE GLOBAL SUPERPOWER that we once were.

American leadership has been opting to waste billions and now trillions of our tax money on war, all for what?

Please stop funding and fueling Israel's wars and the ongoing destruction of historic Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria... and Iran.

War and terrorism are for tyrants, not for freedom or justice. Bully tactics teach all the wrong lessons.

Billionaires want Ballrooms. The rest of us want clean water; safe neighborhoods; good schools, libraries, & museums; National Parks; playgrounds; PBS; good job opportunities for ourselves and our children; affordable heath-care; AND PEACE.

Real freedom, justice, and democracy are being embezzled by corporate greed and political corruption to empower Israel and war.

Funding and arming terrorism and violence is evil and wrong: America should not be funding, arming, defending, or trusting today's Israel in any way, shape or form.

Violence is a problem- not the answer.

Pope Leo urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to chose peace. This should not be a peace “imposed by force”, he stressed, but one achieved through dialogue – “not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them”.

Red Cross ICRC: Indiscriminate warfare is indefensible and incompatible with law... Deliberate threats, whether in rhetoric or in action, against essential civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities must not become the new norm in warfare. Any war fought without limits is incompatible with the law. It is indefensible, inhumane and devastating for entire populations. Across the Middle East, our teams are seeing the destruction of infrastructure essential for civilian life. Power plants, water systems, hospitals, roads, bridges, homes, schools, and universities have come under fire. Most alarming are potential threats to nuclear facilities. Any miscalculation can cause irreversible consequences for generations to come.

In 1945, 50 nations came together in San Francisco to create a new organization for peace, prosperity & human rights- the United Nations

"The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. This intergovernmental organization born out of the ashes of the Second World War remains indispensable to the pursuit of world peace, justice, equality and sustainable development" https://www.un.org/en/

The right of refugees to return to homes and lands they were expelled from is an individual right and cannot be unilaterally abrogated by third parties.  https://imeu.org/resources/resources/fact-sheet-palestinian-refugees-the-right-of-return-under-international-law/441

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

DEAR AMERICA

"It’s no accident, Israel murdered her. From Shireen to Amal, the press vest is a target for Israel." Assal Rad

Lebanon 2026: Rescuers trying to help Amal Khalil were reportedly blocked from getting to her by an Israeli sound grenade.

Palestine May 2022, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 51-year-old Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Assal Rad

@AssalRad

It’s no accident, Israel murdered her. From Shireen to Amal, the press vest is a target for Israel. 

 

https://x.com/AssalRad/status/2047069049394507994

 

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May 11, 2022: Palestinian American Arab Christian Journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was assassinated by Israeli sniper fire while she was documenting and exposing Zionist violence & Israeli crimes

"Remember this was the Israeli military's first response after murdering Shireen Abu Akleh in broad daylight, repeatedly lying about it and then getting away with it. Doing Journalism was [IS] enough to get you killed by Israel." Yousef Munayyer

 

Israel’s military “prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission by firing a sound grenade and live ammunition at the ambulance”... Journalist Amal Khalil had been buried in rubble after an Israeli strike that also injured another journalist, Zeinab Faraj. In total Israeli strikes killed five people on Wednesday, including Khalil, despite the ongoing ceasefire. Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted “war crimes”.

Rescuers trying to help Amal Khalil were reportedly blocked from getting to her by an Israeli sound grenade. Photograph: Mohammed Zaatari/AP

 

Israeli strike kills journalist after ongoing attacks blocked rescuers, Lebanon says

Amal Khalil had been buried in rubble after an Israeli strike that also injured another journalist, Zeinab Faraj 

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed a journalist on Wednesday after rescuers were blocked from accessing the building where she was buried under rubble because of further Israeli fire, according to several witnesses.

Amal Khalil was covering developments near the town of al-Tayri with the photographer Zeinab Faraj when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them.

They ran into a nearby house, which was then also targeted by an Israeli strike, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Rescuers were able to retrieve Faraj, who had a head wound, according to Elsy Moufarrej, who runs the Union of Journalists in Lebanon.

When they returned to help Khalil, a sound grenade blocked their access to the damaged building, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, a senior Lebanese military official and press advocates.

The health ministry said Israel’s military “prevented the completion of the humanitarian mission by firing a sound grenade and live ammunition at the ambulance”.

She was later found dead by civil defence, who pulled her corpse from under the rubble.

In total Israeli strikes killed five people on Wednesday, including Khalil, despite the ongoing ceasefire.

Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting of journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted “war crimes”... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/lebanon-accuses-israel-of-blocking-attempt-to-rescue-journalist-after-bomb-strike

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Trump wants $1.5tn for the Pentagon – and cuts to healthcare and housing. The president’s proposed $445bn increase in military spending would batter popular domestic programs as millions struggle

In seeking a mammoth increase in military spending while cutting social programs, Trump is again showing how hollow his promises were about making life better for typical Americans.’ Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Steven Greenhouse

 

 

 

 

 Tue 21 Apr 2026 

With Americans focused on Donald Trump’s deeply unpopular war against Iran, far too few Americans are focusing on another disastrous Trump idea: increasing the Pentagon’s budget to a colossal $1.5tn. Just as Trump’s Iran war has hurt millions of Americans by sending gas prices skyward, Trump’s supersized Pentagon budget will hurt millions of Americans because Trump, to help finance that budget, is pushing for painful cuts in health, education, and housing programs.

By proposing a record-breaking $445bn increase in military spending, Trump is showing he’s gung-ho for guns, but not for butter, even though millions of Americans are struggling financially and are eager for more butter – social spending – to make their lives easier. Trump’s proposed military budget would mean a spectacular jump – it would be 42% above this year’s budget and two-thirds bigger than Joe Biden’s last Pentagon budget. Asserting that human needs are woefully underfunded, a coalition of 289 groups denounced Trump’s “gigantic” increase as “grossly irresponsible”, especially since the US already spends more on its military than the next nine biggest defense-spending countries combined.

Trump evidently wants this $445bn increase so he can thump his chest even more about the US’s military might and brag about all the shiny, new hardware he is building, especially the new Trump-class “Golden Fleet” battleships named after you-know-who. (Those battleships will cost an astonishing $9bn to $13bn each.) Beyond that $445bn jump in military spending, let’s not forget that Trump wants Congress to approve a separate $200bn for his not-so-successful war against Iran.

 Trump’s Pentagon spending spree could prove disastrous in several ways. To help fund his increase, Trump is seeking a 10% cut in discretionary domestic spending, chopping such popular programs as medical research, job training, home heating assistance, environmental protection and disaster relief after hurricanes. After all the grievous damage that Trump has already done to government programs, the public doesn’t want more cuts – it wants increased spending on healthcare and other social programs.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/21/trump-military-pentagon-budget  

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The TWO BILLION DOLLARS a week that Donald Trump was spending on his reckless war in Iran could have funded saving more than 87 million lives, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday. He also warned the normalisation of violent language, such as threatening to bomb Iran back to the stone ages, was very dangerous since it encourages every “wannabe autocrat” to use similar threats and tactics, including the destruction of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The funeral of Mohammad Taha Jafari, who lost his life in the bombing of Shajarat al-Tayyiba Primary School, is held in Minab, Iran, on 30 March 2026. Photograph: Hamid Vakili/Anadolu via Getty Images

US spending on ‘reckless’ Iran war could have saved 87m lives, says UN

Head of UN’s humanitarian agency frustrated that $2bn weekly cost of conflict comes amid big cuts to aid budgets

The $2bn (£1.5bn) a week that Donald Trump was spending on his reckless war in Iran could have funded saving more than 87 million lives, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday.

He also warned the normalisation of violent language, such as threatening to bomb Iran back to the stone ages, was very dangerous since it encourages every “wannabe autocrat” to use similar threats and tactics, including the destruction of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Speaking at Chatham House in London, Fletcher, a former UK diplomat and adviser on foreign policy to successive prime ministers, also accused British politicians of forming a circular firing squad for more than 10 years which has left the UK in a “defensive crouch”.

The scale of the recent UK aid cuts had been so severe that people giggle at conferences where the UK claims to be thought leaders on the subject, he said, before later adding the judgment might seem harsh.

Fletcher, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is wrestling with a humanitarian aid funding crisis he described as cataclysmic, amounting to a 50% cut in his budget.

This is driven not just by the US but also by international cuts to overseas aid driven by a mix of ideology and demands from defence budgets.

He said the war in Iran was having a ripple effect across the globe and predicted that, with food and fuel inflation reaching close to 20%, “we will feel the impact for years in sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa pushing way more people into poverty”.... READ MORE   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/20/us-spending-on-reckless-iran-war-could-have-saved-87m-lives-says-un

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