The reluctant recognition of Palestinian statehood by Britain, France, Australia, and Canada this week is a con - it is the same switch and bait that has been blocking the creation of a Palestinian state for three decades now.

At Israel’s insistence, let us note, the Oslo accords carefully avoided any mention of the ultimate destination of this process. Nonetheless, the message from western politicians and media was the same: this was heading towards a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel.

Looking back, it is evident why that did not happen when it still looked feasible. The Israeli leader of the time, Yitzhak Rabin, told the Israeli parliament that his vision was not of a state but of "an entity which is less than a state": a glorified Palestinian local authority utterly dependent on its bigger neighbour, Israel, for its security and economic survival.

In typical fashion, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the announcement as he pulled the rug from under his own act of recognition by dictating what kind of state Palestine would have to be. Not a sovereign one, in which the Palestinian people made their own decisions, but one that echoed Rabin’s “entity less than a state”.

Starmer insisted Hamas - Gaza’s elected government and one of Palestine’s two main political factions – could play no part in running this state. The Palestinian state would also, of course, have no military to defend itself from the genocidal state next door.A report this week in the Telegraph indicates that, even after formal recognition, Starmer is still imposing new conditions designed to hollow out his declaration.

They include: demands for new Palestinian elections - elections that can only take place with Israel’s permission, which it will not give; an overhaul of any latent Palestinian nationalism Israel objects to in the Palestinian education system, even as Israel’s own education system has long been laced with genocidal incitement; a requirement that the Palestinian Authority not compensate families of anyone Israel declares a "terrorist" - which pretty much covers any Palestinian killed or jailed by Israel.

Recognition of Palestine is a repeat of the West’s Oslo 'peace' fraud

Britain’s Keir Starmer is already pulling the rug from under his own grudging declaration. The only hope of change is of the unintended consequences variety

^{Middle East Eye}

Attorneys for the town of Carrboro and Duke Energy sparred in court for hours over this question before a judge, who asked them for more information. Carrboro says it sustained $20 million in property damage from Tropical Depression Chantal in July.

Is Duke Energy Liable for Climate-Related Property Damage After Funding Denialist Campaigns? - Inside Climate News

^{Inside Climate News}

Awesome to see Omarchy getting more visibility! Fireship’s vid spreading the Linux desktop to 500k+ viewers is huge!

I don't use this distro myself, but I still cheer for anything that helps motivate Windows users to make the switch.

Business leaders and trade organizations have been especially worried by attempts to stop work on wind farms that had already secured federal approval.

What they're afraid of is the broad realization that climate stabilization requires leaving deposits they've already started extracting in the ground. Shutting down already-in-progress projects is something which makes that politically easier going forward.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/business/energy-environment/oil-gas-trump-offshore-wind.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pE8.C4j_.jF58fb4sLt-s

Israel Premier Tech have been excluded from the Giro dell'Emilia cycling race on 4 October in Italy for safety reasons, the organisers told AFP on Saturday.

Adriano Amici, president of GS Emilia which organises the one-day race, said the team "will unfortunately not be present at our race. We had to make this decision for reasons of public security".

https://www.newarab.com/news/unrwa-calls-gaza-situation-hell-israel-kills-44-people?blockId=block_63227

After almost 2 years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Western powers have issued synchronised declarations recognising Palestinian statehood – a diplomatic move seemingly born out of the immense public pressure they face. What’s missing from the story is the concrete measures those governments could take to stop the slaughter in Gaza, as well as their complicity by continuing to supply weapons to Israel.

Palestinian statehood: Recognition amidst erasure?

When symbolism trumps substance: Western states rush to recognise Palestine while arming Israel.

^{Al Jazeera}

More than 5,000 actors and filmmakers, including Joaquin Phoenix, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo, signed an open letter on Sept. 9 pledging to boycott Israeli film groups.

Now, more than 1,200 other Hollywood figures, among them Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik and Sharon Osbourne, have signed a similar letter rejecting the boycott.

The good news is that this list of d-list creeps is like 20% versus the letter from decent people.

Hollywood now has dueling open letters over the Israel film boycott

Over 1,200 Hollywood figures, among them Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik and Sharon Osbourne, signed a letter on Thursday rejecting a previous call to boycott Israeli film groups.

^{NPR (LAist)}

“It’s either displacement or death in Gaza City or it’s displacement and death in al-Mawasi.”

President Trump rejecting the annexation of the occupied West Bank is a “very important moment”, says director of Mediation Group International, Martin Griffiths.

The way Netanyahu laid out his agenda at the UN “haunts us”

^{Al Jazeera}

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/36751985

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Peter Link

2025-09-27 14:50:45

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats - World-Outlook

This article documents the wave of protests in Chicago and its suburbs in September 2025 opposing stepped-up immigration raids and deportations and the Trump administration's threats to deploy National Guard troops in this city.

^{world-outlook.com (World-Outlook)}

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/36751985

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Peter Link

2025-09-27 14:50:45

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats - World-Outlook

This article documents the wave of protests in Chicago and its suburbs in September 2025 opposing stepped-up immigration raids and deportations and the Trump administration's threats to deploy National Guard troops in this city.

^{world-outlook.com (World-Outlook)}

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/36751985

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Peter Link

2025-09-27 14:50:45

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats - World-Outlook

This article documents the wave of protests in Chicago and its suburbs in September 2025 opposing stepped-up immigration raids and deportations and the Trump administration's threats to deploy National Guard troops in this city.

^{world-outlook.com (World-Outlook)}

By Cathleen Gutekanst
(an activist living in Chicago)
September 27, 2025

CHICAGO, Illinois — On September 16, 2025, Joe Botello, an Elgin, Illinois, man born in the United States, was zip-tied, questioned, and had his front doors shattered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was one of four men shown on a video released by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present at the raid. Botello was let go later after showing proof of citizenship.

“I’m just blessed that I’m still alive,” Botello said. “I’ve been hearing it and seeing it through social media. But it never crossed my mind that it was going to happen here at the house … where I live.”

The raid came amid escalating threats by U.S. president Donald Trump that he would target this city by sending in federal troops to “fight crime.” While troops have not yet been deployed, an immigration crackdown by ICE is already underway. “Operation Midway Blitz” began in early September, mostly in Chicago’s suburbs with large immigrant populations like Elgin.

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats - World-Outlook

This article documents the wave of protests in Chicago and its suburbs in September 2025 opposing stepped-up immigration raids and deportations and the Trump administration's threats to deploy National Guard troops in this city.

^{world-outlook.com (World-Outlook)}

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/09/25/britain-is-slowly-going-bust

One thing I’ve run into as I’ve been playing some of my retro games is that, when using a controller with an Nvidia Shield + Moonlight or even with just a Steam Deck, the emulators often have a massive amount of controls that I can’t really interact with. All of the controls are hotkey based, for save states, loading states, etc.

Most of the games I’m wanting to play are controller based, but it feels like the tools to enjoy them are all keyboard based. Do you just use the built in save functionalities? How does it all work?

The White House is backing a plan that would see Tony Blair head a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip – initially without the direct involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Israeli media reports.

Under the proposal, Blair would lead a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita) that would have a mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for as long as five years.

But any role for the former Labour leader would inevitably prompt intense controversy. After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, he took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015 and he enjoys a high standing with many Gulf leaders. But Blair is bitterly resented by many Palestinians – who see him as having impeded their efforts to attain statehood – and more broadly across the region for his role in backing the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Washington backing plan for Tony Blair to head transitional Gaza authority

Reported proposal for international body to oversee Gaza for up to five years counters UN-backed plan for faster transition to Palestinian rule

^{Patrick Wintour (The Guardian)}

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-fires-agents-pictured-kneeling-during-racial-justice-protest-2020-2025-09-27/

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fani Willis, the Atlanta area prosecutor who charged President Donald Trump in an election interference case, The New York Times reported on Friday.

First James Comey, now Willis - we're now at the purging enemies you hate stage.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-doj-seeks-information-georgia-prosecutor-willis-nyt-reports-2025-09-27/

Cross-posted from lemmy.sdf.org/post/43049861

Archived

[...]

[Anuk Pitukthanin, Director of the Mekong Studies Centre] said the rare earth mining issue must be managed beyond local communities and treated as a regional concern.

Kanwee Suebsaeng, list MP for the Fair Party and deputy chair of the House committee [in Tahiland] said the House considered the Clean Air Bill yesterday, 25 September. One section deals with transboundary pollution. He asked the drafters how Thailand could bring civil action against foreign operators whose activities in neighbouring countries harm Thailand.

[...]

Zung Ting from the Kachin environmental network reported that conditions in Myanmar’s Kachin State have worsened over the past decade, and even more since the 2021 coup.

Kachin holds vast resources amid high global demand for rare earths to feed clean energy supply chains and stockpiles in the United States, the European Union and Japan. Mining sites are located in Kachin, with China playing a major role in extracting ore and adding value.

He said China focuses on processing to add value at home, while avoiding mining on its own soil due to severe environmental harm. Chinese policy shifted to limit domestic rare earth mining by Chinese firms, pushing operations into several areas of Myanmar. Activity rose sharply after 2015, then increased again after the 2021 coup.

[...]

The absence of control is alarming. Rare earth mining sites in Kachin have increased by more than 60 percent, with over 5,000 chemical ponds across about 400 mines. Similar mines and ponds have spread to Shan State. The impact falls heavily on local communities and indigenous peoples, with severe flooding every year. More countries are now moving into Myanmar to seek rare earth ores.

[...]

Pollution from these rare earth mines is now affecting Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and reaches the Mekong. He urged all parties to learn from the disaster in Kachin and prevent further cross-border pollution.

[...]

Assoc Prof Dr Narumon Thabchumpon of the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, said political debates often get stuck on territorial limits. She proposed the no-harm principle. States must not cause serious harm to other states, and sovereignty comes with responsibility.

She urged ASEAN to table cross-border pollution from rare earth mining at the summit in November under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. She also called for talks on environmental and health security under RBC frameworks. Local authorities should be strengthened, with early warning systems and buffer zones put in place.

Legal Committee Pushes For Immediate Halt To China's Rare Earth Mining In Myanmar

Chulalongkorn University hosted a seminar about the contamination problem facing the Kok, Ruak, and Mekong Rivers from rare earth mining

^{Jeff Tomas (CTN News-Chiang Rai Times)}

One thing I've run into as I've been playing some of my retro games is that, when using a controller with an Nvidia Shield + Moonlight or even with just a Steam Deck, the emulators often have a massive amount of controls that I can't really interact with. All of the controls are hotkey based, for save states, loading states, etc.

Most of the games I'm wanting to play are controller based, but it feels like the tools to enjoy them are all keyboard based. Do you just use the built in save functionalities? How does it all work?

Ó hAnnaidh had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, last November.

But sitting at Woolwich crown court, the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, agreed with Ó hAnnaidh’s defence team, who had argued there was a legal mistake in the way the charge was brought against him.

Ó hAnnaidh told supporters outside the court on Friday: “We will not be silent.” His defence team, led by Brenda Campbell KC, argued that the attorney general, Richard Hermer, had not given permission for the case to be brought against the defendant when police informed him he was to face a terrorism charge on 21 May.

Terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh thrown out

Chief magistrate at Woolwich crown court rules that charge brought against musician is unlawful and ‘null’

^{Matthew Weaver (The Guardian)}

Ó hAnnaidh had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, last November.

But sitting at Woolwich crown court, the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, agreed with Ó hAnnaidh’s defence team, who had argued there was a legal mistake in the way the charge was brought against him.

Ó hAnnaidh told supporters outside the court on Friday: “We will not be silent.” His defence team, led by Brenda Campbell KC, argued that the attorney general, Richard Hermer, had not given permission for the case to be brought against the defendant when police informed him he was to face a terrorism charge on 21 May.

Terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh thrown out

Chief magistrate at Woolwich crown court rules that charge brought against musician is unlawful and ‘null’

^{Matthew Weaver (The Guardian)}

Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan found herself going it alone before a grand jury that formally charged the former FBI director on Thursday night.

Lindsey Halligan, the new federal prosecutor hand-picked by Donald Trump to target his longtime foe James Comey, was all alone when she convinced a grand jury on Thursday to indict the former FBI director, according to two people with knowledge of the secret proceedings.

Halligan took over as U.S. attorney for the prestigious Eastern District of Virginia on Monday. Three days later, she found herself the lone representative of a 300-member office spearheading a case that her predecessor — and many of the assistant U.S. attorneys who report to her — considered too weak to bring charges.

Her singular role was extraordinary.

Rarely does a U.S. attorney in a large office lay out the potential charges to a grand jury, much less one three days on the job with no prosecutorial experience and no background working the case.

Trump's U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan got James Comey indicted — by herself

Lindsey Halligan, picked by President Donald Trump to target James Comey, was alone when she convinced a grand jury to indict the former FBI director.

^{Carol Leonnig (MSNBC)}