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Monday, May 18, 2026

Dear Governor Shapiro- The word 'antisemitism' excludes Arabs and Muslims, and has come to mean criticizing Zionism which is a political movement that is shaping horrifically cruel policies and actions here and in Israel and Palestine. So maybe find a better word or phrase to use- like 'bigotry' or 'racist hate' or 'mental illness' to describe hate mongering violations and violence.

Dear Governor Shapiro,

Please don’t reward greed, corruption & the many lies told by con-artists who want our money and support, but not our democratic ideals.

We don't need bombs. We don't need Ballrooms... and we don't need more Data Centers. 

Taxpayers' money should be funding peoples' actual needs, not religious fantasies or CEO schemes & false advertising.

Don’t accept bribes, propaganda & bad advice from billionaires OR a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws. Bigotry and injustice are wrong: All forms of bigotry, injustice, racist hate, and violence are wrong.

The word 'antisemitism' excludes Arabs and Muslims, and has come to mean criticizing Zionism. Zionism is a political movement that shapes horrifically cruel policies and actions here and in Israel and Palestine.  

So maybe find a better word or phrase to use- like 'bigotry' or 'racist hate' or 'mental illness' to describe hate mongering violations and violence. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab 

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

What is Fringe ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Reducing inequality was “not only about fairness, but essential for the resilience of economies, the stability of democracies, and the viability of our planet”" .......Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds- Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran

Asia's oldest living organism, the ancient Abarkuh cypress tree - at least 4500 years old - is rooted in land that was already known as Iran at the time.

"Given the way things are going in the US, corporations seem to have more freedom of speech than university students. And it might not be long before datacenters have more rights than women."   The Week in Patriarchy  AI (artificial intelligence)

How a New Israeli Policy Cuts Off Humanitarian Aid in Gaza- Months into the ceasefire ["ceasefire"], Israeli officials barred thirty-seven international N.G.O.s. A Doctors Without Borders clinic is carrying on without antibiotics, or even chairs for patients

The True Story of Israel's Creation: Debunking Israel's Foundational Lies from Their Leaders' Mouths

Historical reckoning: The push for the US to acknowledge the Nakba... On the 78th anniversary of the mass expulsion of Palestinians, experts say US ‘political amnesia’ continues.

From the [first] Nakba to Gaza’s ruins: One man’s lifetime of displacement. Nakba survivor in Gaza recounts displacement after 1948 and 2023 and his unwavering attachment to his homeland.

Nakba: Jewish voices are challenging the stories Israel tells about itself A film director, historian and Holocaust survivor speak to Al Jazeera as opinions shift.

6 Things to Know About the Palestinian Nakba by the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) - May 12, 2026

"Living for decades in crowded refugee camps in the West Bank, the elderly survivors who MEE met spoke of their steadfast yearning to return to their former homes. Some said they still have dreams at night of working in the fields. Azza, who now lives in al-Amari camp near the city of Ramallah, recalls how Tell al-Safi used to be a self-sufficient village with an abundance of various crops - fields growing wheat, barley, corn, sesame, tomato and okra, while trees bore olives, apples, figs and almonds. "At the edge of the village, there was a water well and, using animals, water was pumped from the well to water tanks,” she recalled. “We didn’t need anything from outside the village.""

Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe, explained Middle East Eye breaks down the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, which continues to define events in Israel-Palestine today

"What they could not do in 1948, they are doing now...." From Nakba to genocide: A Gaza grandmother’s lifetime of loss and resilience. At 95, Fatema Obaid has survived two massive Israeli assaults, lost 70 family members and endured starvation and repeated forced flight - but still refuses to leave her homeland

TIME: The Solemn History Behind Nakba Day ... From 1947 to 1949, 531 towns were destroyed by Israeli militias- Of the 1.4 million-strong Palestinian population at the time, 800,000 were displaced; the massacres of families and towns left enduring scars on the survivors.

May 15th, 2026 marked 78 years since the beginning of the Nakba ethnic cleansing of Palestine: Zionists displaced more than 750000, including 90000 Christians. Many churches and villages were destroyed to establish the Jewish state of Israel on these ruins

“The past two and a half years have been one of daily horror and fear as Palestinians have watched our families and friends massacred, starved and tortured,” she said, describing this period as the darkest chapter in Palestinian history since 1948: British Palestinians feel ‘gaslit’ and unable to speak out, says leading activist

"It was like being given the choice between suicide or being murdered" Palestinians forced to demolish own homes to make way for Israeli theme park. Residents of al-Bustan district told to make way for Kings Garden, with knocking down own houses cheaper option

The secret mission to rescue the UN’s vital Palestinian refugee archive- Millions of documents chronicling generations of trauma saved from Gaza and East Jerusalem in 10-month Unrwa operation

Children shot, stabbed and pepper-sprayed in occupied West Bank - United Nations news 12 May 2026 ... Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming a growing number of Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.

Act now: Fund People, Not Bombs .... from Jewish Voice for Peace "This week, the Senate will vote on Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block the sale of U.S. weapons to the Israeli military. In the coming months, it will also vote on a supplemental request by the Trump administration to fund the war on Iran that may be as large as $80-100 billion. Congress must vote to block these bombs to Israel and oppose any funding for the war. "

Abby Martin exposes the media's role in normalizing genocide.... & The Empire Files premiered its highly anticipated film about the devastating impact our environment and planet are experiencing due to the United States military-industrial complex. Titled “Earth’s Greatest Enemy,”

Know Her Name: Shireen Abu Akleh [a prominent Palestinian-American Journalist] spent 25 years making sure people could not claim they did not know what was happening. Then she was killed by Israeli military fire doing exactly that.

FOUR YEAR AGO Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian journalist, was assassinated by an Israeli sniper while covering the events taking place in the Jenin. Shireen was, and still is, an icon of the free Palestinian voice. May she rest in peace, and may her memory live forever. شيرين أبو عاقلة، شهيدة الحق.

"The moral and political degradation of Israel is the subject of this remarkable book. The author, Omer Bartov, has impeccable credentials for writing it: he was born on a kibbutz, he served as an officer in the IDF, and is currently professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University in the US." Avi Shlaim in The Guardian

“I continue to speak out because the kids are counting on us,” she said. “I continue because I would want people to speak out if it were my kids. It’s my calling to care about all children. It’s just who I am and I can’t not care.”

My Sister Najah (AY) By Mike Odetalla of Beit Hanina, Palestine

Aunt Jameela's Bread. A Story of Food, Family, and Love..... A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood and baking bread in his homeland

" “I think [Palestine] is the moral issue of our time and I believe it’s been used to undermine democratic institutions in the US,” Elghandour said. He referred to the cancelled invitation as a sign or “erosion of free speech and the first amendment”. “We’ve seen a livestreamed genocide,” he added. “And we’re supposed to worry about the feelings of the people who support that.” " Rami Elghandour

Jonathan Pollard, a former US navy intelligence analyst jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel, has said he will stand for election to the Knesset this year on a platform of ethnic cleansing.

 DEAR AMERICA

STOP THE BOMBS and the bigotry, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop accepting bribes & propaganda & bad advice from a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

Along the way we learned that slavery is wrong. We learned that domestic violence is wrong. We learned that racist hate is wrong. SO WHY are we funding Israel and why are we bombing Iran for Israel!!!

Violence is a problem- not the answer

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

Human Rights

"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- STOP THE BOMBS and the bigotry, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop accepting bribes & propaganda & bad advice from a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

 

The ‘Golden Rule’ mosaic is based on a work by US artist Norman Rockwell. It was presented to the @unitednations  in 1985 and is on display at UNHQ in New York.
Dear America

Please stop rewarding greed, corruption and the many manipulative lies told by con-artists who want our money and support, but not our democratic ideals.

Taxpayers' money should be funding peoples' actual needs, not religious fantasies or CEO schemes and false advertising.

END WAR!!! Real life is not a Hollywood movie or a video game with a clear hero saving the day. Real life is the interconnected work and wisdom of many individuals shaping a civilization that includes us ALL... Dialogue and diplomacy and well-informed insights based on factual information are the only way save the day and our planet. 

STOP THE BOMBS and the bigotry, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop accepting bribes & propaganda & bad advice from a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws. 

No more money for weaponry & a global arms race that undermines world peace, pollutes the planet, and pushes countless individuals and families into destitution and pain.

Treat ALL people the way you want people to treat you.  Let Golden Rule thinking and being save the day.  Set the right example with what you say and do.

We don't need bombs. We don't need Ballrooms... and we don't need more Data Centers.

We need fresh air and funds for schools, museums, libraries, healthcare, local police, park rangers, National Parks (plus State and local ones too), and we need serious and sensible efforts to curb pollution. 

FURTHERMORE, no more accepting bribes and bad advice from billionaires who grew wealthy by underpaying workers- and no more pushing funds away from Social Security and healthcare programs that We the People need! 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab 

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

What is Fringe ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

"Reducing inequality was “not only about fairness, but essential for the resilience of economies, the stability of democracies, and the viability of our planet”" .......Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds- Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran

Asia's oldest living organism, the ancient Abarkuh cypress tree - at least 4500 years old - is rooted in land that was already known as Iran at the time.

"Given the way things are going in the US, corporations seem to have more freedom of speech than university students. And it might not be long before datacenters have more rights than women."   The Week in Patriarchy  AI (artificial intelligence)

How a New Israeli Policy Cuts Off Humanitarian Aid in Gaza- Months into the ceasefire ["ceasefire"], Israeli officials barred thirty-seven international N.G.O.s. A Doctors Without Borders clinic is carrying on without antibiotics, or even chairs for patients

The True Story of Israel's Creation: Debunking Israel's Foundational Lies from Their Leaders' Mouths

Historical reckoning: The push for the US to acknowledge the Nakba... On the 78th anniversary of the mass expulsion of Palestinians, experts say US ‘political amnesia’ continues.

From the [first] Nakba to Gaza’s ruins: One man’s lifetime of displacement. Nakba survivor in Gaza recounts displacement after 1948 and 2023 and his unwavering attachment to his homeland.

Nakba: Jewish voices are challenging the stories Israel tells about itself A film director, historian and Holocaust survivor speak to Al Jazeera as opinions shift.

6 Things to Know About the Palestinian Nakba by the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) - May 12, 2026

"Living for decades in crowded refugee camps in the West Bank, the elderly survivors who MEE met spoke of their steadfast yearning to return to their former homes. Some said they still have dreams at night of working in the fields. Azza, who now lives in al-Amari camp near the city of Ramallah, recalls how Tell al-Safi used to be a self-sufficient village with an abundance of various crops - fields growing wheat, barley, corn, sesame, tomato and okra, while trees bore olives, apples, figs and almonds. "At the edge of the village, there was a water well and, using animals, water was pumped from the well to water tanks,” she recalled. “We didn’t need anything from outside the village.""

Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe, explained Middle East Eye breaks down the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, which continues to define events in Israel-Palestine today

"What they could not do in 1948, they are doing now...." From Nakba to genocide: A Gaza grandmother’s lifetime of loss and resilience. At 95, Fatema Obaid has survived two massive Israeli assaults, lost 70 family members and endured starvation and repeated forced flight - but still refuses to leave her homeland

TIME: The Solemn History Behind Nakba Day ... From 1947 to 1949, 531 towns were destroyed by Israeli militias- Of the 1.4 million-strong Palestinian population at the time, 800,000 were displaced; the massacres of families and towns left enduring scars on the survivors.

May 15th, 2026 marked 78 years since the beginning of the Nakba ethnic cleansing of Palestine: Zionists displaced more than 750000, including 90000 Christians. Many churches and villages were destroyed to establish the Jewish state of Israel on these ruins

“The past two and a half years have been one of daily horror and fear as Palestinians have watched our families and friends massacred, starved and tortured,” she said, describing this period as the darkest chapter in Palestinian history since 1948: British Palestinians feel ‘gaslit’ and unable to speak out, says leading activist

"It was like being given the choice between suicide or being murdered" Palestinians forced to demolish own homes to make way for Israeli theme park. Residents of al-Bustan district told to make way for Kings Garden, with knocking down own houses cheaper option

The secret mission to rescue the UN’s vital Palestinian refugee archive- Millions of documents chronicling generations of trauma saved from Gaza and East Jerusalem in 10-month Unrwa operation

Children shot, stabbed and pepper-sprayed in occupied West Bank - United Nations news 12 May 2026 ... Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming a growing number of Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.

Act now: Fund People, Not Bombs .... from Jewish Voice for Peace "This week, the Senate will vote on Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block the sale of U.S. weapons to the Israeli military. In the coming months, it will also vote on a supplemental request by the Trump administration to fund the war on Iran that may be as large as $80-100 billion. Congress must vote to block these bombs to Israel and oppose any funding for the war. "

Abby Martin exposes the media's role in normalizing genocide.... & The Empire Files premiered its highly anticipated film about the devastating impact our environment and planet are experiencing due to the United States military-industrial complex. Titled “Earth’s Greatest Enemy,”

Know Her Name: Shireen Abu Akleh [a prominent Palestinian-American Journalist] spent 25 years making sure people could not claim they did not know what was happening. Then she was killed by Israeli military fire doing exactly that.

FOUR YEAR AGO Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian journalist, was assassinated by an Israeli sniper while covering the events taking place in the Jenin. Shireen was, and still is, an icon of the free Palestinian voice. May she rest in peace, and may her memory live forever. شيرين أبو عاقلة، شهيدة الحق.

"The moral and political degradation of Israel is the subject of this remarkable book. The author, Omer Bartov, has impeccable credentials for writing it: he was born on a kibbutz, he served as an officer in the IDF, and is currently professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University in the US." Avi Shlaim in The Guardian

“I continue to speak out because the kids are counting on us,” she said. “I continue because I would want people to speak out if it were my kids. It’s my calling to care about all children. It’s just who I am and I can’t not care.”

My Sister Najah (AY) By Mike Odetalla of Beit Hanina, Palestine

Aunt Jameela's Bread. A Story of Food, Family, and Love..... A beautiful new book by Palestinian-American Mike Odetalla about childhood and baking bread in his homeland

" “I think [Palestine] is the moral issue of our time and I believe it’s been used to undermine democratic institutions in the US,” Elghandour said. He referred to the cancelled invitation as a sign or “erosion of free speech and the first amendment”. “We’ve seen a livestreamed genocide,” he added. “And we’re supposed to worry about the feelings of the people who support that.” " Rami Elghandour

"Lethal Israeli attacks on an engineer and drivers transporting water have intensified the water crisis that is fuelling the spread of infectious diseases; Médecins Sans Frontières has called the weaponisation of water supplies a campaign of collective punishment. Never mind the estimated $70bn cost of reconstruction; homes are still being flattened. Families in tents face a rat infestation. Essential medicines are unavailable. Hospitals and schools lie in ruins." The Guardian view on ceasefires that aren’t: Israel never stopped killing in Gaza

NPR- Skeletons in their clothing: Recovering bodies from the rubble in Gaza....An Israeli drone buzzes over a sea of debris in northern Gaza, where homes were turned into mass graves...

The short film “Every Day in Gaza” has won the First Prize in the Short Film category at the 71st edition of the David di Donatello Awards, often referred to as the “Italian Oscars.” Produced in 2025, the film tells the story of a barber from Gaza who narrates, in his own voice, the horrors and devastations of war. To date, the film has been screened in over 90 cinemas worldwide.

This isn't Gaza today, it's Yaffa (Jaffa) in 1948. No H*mas, no October 7. Just the same story repeating itself: erase, then occupy.

In Gaza, reconstruction is urgently needed. Despite the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of displaced people are still living in overcrowded make-shift sites, with nowhere else to go. Thousands of people continue to live in UNRWA buildings, where our teams supply clean water, sanitation staff maintain hygiene, and children engage in learning activities. #UNRWAworks

"When a real and final catastrophe should befall us in Palestine the first responsible for it would be the British and the second responsible for it the Terrorist organizations build up from our own ranks [Jewish]." Albert Einstein April 10, 1948

"They massacred Arab babies" -1948 headline reporting on the Palestinian village of Dier Yassin where Zionist terrorists armed with bayonets slaughted men, women, and children.

"Liberation - Catharsis" by Najat El-Khairy- a collector and lecturer on Palestinian embroidery who uses her art to preserve this cultural legacy.... "The olive grove and doves are prominent features in the artwork. The olive grove with its trees represents peace, while the two doves in the sky symbolize freedom and the right of return."

Jonathan Pollard, a former US navy intelligence analyst jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel, has said he will stand for election to the Knesset this year on a platform of ethnic cleansing.

Dear America- Along the way we learned that slavery is wrong. We learned that domestic violence is wrong. We learned that racist hate is wrong. SO WHY are we funding Israel and why are we bombing Iran for Israel!!!

DEAR AMERICA

Violence is a problem- not the answer

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

Human Rights

"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

What is Fringe ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab


 

       What is Fringe


What is fringe-

used to be

abolitionists

used to be

fair wages

used to be

used to be

used to be

freedom

and

ohhhhhh sooooo much more we take for granted now...

human rights

voting rights

equality

diversity

respect

the rule of fair and just laws

used to be.


                                                                                                poem copyright ©2026 Anne Selden Annab 

Sunday, May 17, 2026

"Reducing inequality was “not only about fairness, but essential for the resilience of economies, the stability of democracies, and the viability of our planet”" .......Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds- Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

People protest against extreme wealth in London. The report found that in almost every region, the top 1% was wealthier than the bottom 90% combined.
Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Wed 10 Dec 2025 02.00 EST

Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.

The authoritative World Inequality Report 2026, based on data compiled by 200 researchers, also found that the top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90% combined, while the poorest half captures less than 10% of total global earnings.

Wealth – the value of people’s assets – was even more concentrated than income, or earnings from work and investments, the report found, with the richest 10% of the world’s population owning 75% of wealth and the bottom half just 2%.

In almost every region, the top 1% was wealthier than the bottom 90% combined, the report found, with wealth inequality increasing rapidly around the world.

“The result is a world in which a tiny minority commands unprecedented financial power, while billions remain excluded from even basic economic stability,” the authors, led by Ricardo Gómez-Carrera of the Paris School of Economics, wrote.

The share of global wealth held by the top 0.001% has grown from almost 4% in 1995 to more than 6%, the report said, while the wealth of multimillionaires had increased by about 8% annually since the 1990s – nearly twice the rate of the bottom 50%.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2025/dec/10/just-0001-hold-three-times-the-wealth-of-poorest-half-of-humanity-report-finds

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran

Report released by inspector general concluded US military no longer had infrastructure to comply with two federal statutes. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog.

A report released by the department’s inspector general concluded the US military no longer has the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy, and operate a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE).

Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of making deep cuts to the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) program, designed to handle training and procedures critical in limiting civilian harm in theaters of war... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/15/pentagon-civilian-death-program?CMP=GTUS_email

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

Asia's oldest living organism, the ancient Abarkuh cypress tree - at least 4500 years old - is rooted in land that was already known as Iran at the time.

Asia's oldest living organism, the ancient Abarkuh cypress tree - at least 4500 years old - is rooted in land that was already known as Iran at the time.
The Cypress of Abarkuh (Persian: سرو ابرکوه Sarv-e Abarkuh), also called the Zoroastrian Sarv,[1] is a Persian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) tree in Abarkuh in Yazd Province of Iran. It is protected by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran as a national natural monument and is a major tourist attraction with a height of 25 metres (82 ft 0 in) and with a perimeter of 11.5 metres (37 ft 9 in) at its trunk and 18 metres (59 ft 1 in) higher up around its branches. It is estimated to be over four millennia old and is likely the oldest living lifeform in Asia.[2]

According to legend, the tree was planted by Zoroaster, the founder of the Zoroastrian religion. It is said that Zoroaster left to spread his teachings to an Iranian city towards Balkh and met Shah Vishtaspa. He stopped at Abarkuh and supposedly planted this tree.[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarv-e_Abarkuh

"Given the way things are going in the US, corporations seem to have more freedom of speech than university students. And it might not be long before datacenters have more rights than women."

 The Week in Patriarchy  AI (artificial intelligence)

Pity the poor AI datacenters facing ‘discrimination’

The centers are diverting much-needed resources from regular people. Local resistance has the industry playing defense 
 
 
  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]  

‘The people getting filthy rich from AI will never have to live next door to their moneymaking creations.’ Photograph: Mark Hertzberg/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

How a New Israeli Policy Cuts Off Humanitarian Aid in Gaza- Months into the ceasefire ["ceasefire"], Israeli officials barred thirty-seven international N.G.O.s. A Doctors Without Borders clinic is carrying on without antibiotics, or even chairs for patients.

The Jabalia neighborhood of northern Gaza, where Doctors Without Borders set up a clinic, was heavily damaged by Israeli air strikes.Photograph by Mahmoud Issa / Reuters

On a hazy morning in November, a group of aid workers with Médecins Sans Frontières (M.S.F.), known in English as Doctors Without Borders, crossed into Gaza for a two-month mission. Jennifer Hulse, an emergency physician from the U.K., led a medical team. “We all had as many bags as we could physically carry,” Hulse said. Inside were essential supplies such as surgical tools and engine oil for generators. Her assignment was to help the Gaza Health Ministry restore access to health care in the north, where Israeli attacks had flattened nearly every building in sight.

The team first spent several days at Gaza’s sole remaining hospital focussed on pediatrics—Al-Rantisi, in Gaza City, which was barely operational after Israeli air strikes. The roof had collapsed in places. Doctors were seeing patients in a waiting room with only a few cots. “It was very cold, even inside the buildings,” Hulse told me. When a storm blew through, she mistook thunderclaps for explosions. She learned that parents sometimes arrived with the bodies of infants who seemed to have died of hypothermia. Her team quickly put together a plan to help coördinate repairs, secure new electrical generators, implement a triage system, and organize trainings for staff. “We were just trying to get it functional again,” she said.

Next, Hulse travelled to Jabalia, in the northern reaches of the Gaza Strip, where the situation was even worse. She was driven through rutted streets in which not a single building remained intact. The area had previously been served by several health-care facilities, including a primary-care center—now destroyed—and... READ MORE  https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/how-a-new-israeli-policy-cuts-off-humanitarian-aid-in-gaza