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holy shit the west is incredibly evil

So I'm reading the dissenting opinion of Ugandan Judge Sebutinde which you can find in full here.

WARNING: LONG EFFORT POST!

The primary arguement and summary is essentially that this is a "politcal and historical" issue that should be resolved by diplomacy amongst states and not brought before the court. Seemingly even when that's impossible:

Unfortunately, the failure, reluctance or inability of States to resolve political controversies such as this one through effective diplomacy or negotiations may sometimes lead them to resort to a pretextual invocation of treaties like the Genocide Convention, in a desperate bid to force a case into the context of such a treaty, in order to foster its judicial settlement: rather like the proverbial “Cinderella’s glass slipper”.

As far as I can tell she doesn't address the fact that this case is being brought by South Africa, not a party within the conflict or materially tied to the outcome. She certainly doesn't indicate what their motives might be for doing so.

She does restate that there is a process for arguing for the prosecution of genocide under Gendocide Convention, but the implication her seems to basically be 'get this off my desk' or perhaps 'stop wasting my time until you have incontrovertible evidence'. I'd argue there's a bit of a problem with that, as I'll get to shortly, given her reaction to the evidence presented.

But first, some 'context' around October 7th.

12. On 7 October 2023, thousands of members of the Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (“Islamic Resistance Movement” or “Hamas”), a Palestinian Sunni Islamic political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip, invaded the territory of the State of Israel under cover of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into Israel and committed massacres, mutilations, rapes and abductions of hundreds of Israeli civilians, including men, women and children. (Israel reports that over 1,200 people were murdered that day, more than 5,500 maimed, and over 240 hostages abducted, including infants, entire families, the elderly, the disabled, as well as Holocaust survivors.) According to Israel, most of the hostages remain in captivity or are simply unaccounted for and many have been tortured, sexually abused, starved or killed while in captivity.

13. Soon after the 7 October attack, Israel, in exercise of what it describes as “its right to defend itself”, launched a “military operation” into the Gaza Strip whose objective was, first, to defeat Hamas and its network and, secondly, to rescue the Israeli hostages. South Africa claims that as a result of the armed conflict that ensued between Israel and Hamas over the past 11 weeks, 1.9 million Palestinians living in Gaza (85 per cent of the population) have been internally displaced; over 22,000 Palestinians, including over 7,729 children, have been killed; over 7,780 are missing and/or presumed dead under the rubble; over 55,243 are severely injured or have suffered mental harm; and vast areas of Gaza, including entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed including 355,000 homes, places of worship, cemeteries, cultural and archaeological sites, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.

I find some of the language here interesting. South Africa "claims" while Israel "reports". The language in the description of of the October 7th Hamas operation is full of sensationalist and emotionally charged language. "Invaded ... indescriminately ... committed massacres, mutilations, rapes and abductions of hundreds of Israeli civilians, including men, women and children". Notice how different the tone is here to when she summarises the effects of Israel's military operation in Gaza right afterward. It's also worth noting that far more sensationalised and emotional langugage describing the Hamas operation are not given any sort of 'Israel claims' caveat, only the vague statistics Israel offers and theories about ongoing abuse of hostages.

Perhaps that's due a difference in the evidence? So let's look at her response to that and her summaries...

The intervening paragraphs largely lay out the long claims by South Africa detailling the systematic way in which Israel has targeted civilian infrastructure, hit targets South Africa says are 'not military targets', and failed to punish or condemn genocidal statements and incitements from citizens, media, and government figures (I agree with all of that obviously). It then lays out in short Israel's counter claims that the war is only about Hamas and it does not target Palestinians at large (which is obviously bollocks, in my view).

And then we get to her judgement and opinion on whether the evidence supports claims of a potential genocide (not an actual ruling on one, keep in mind, the potential for a one with more evidence brought):

21 ... I am not convinced that a prima facie showing of a genocidal intent, by way of indicators, has been made out against Israel. The war was not started by Israel but rather by Hamas who attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 thereby sparking off the military operation in Israel’s defence and in a bid to rescue its hostages. I also must agree that any “genocidal intent” alleged by the Applicant is negated by (1) Israel’s restricted and targeted attacks of legitimate military targets in Gaza; (2) its mitigation of civilian harm by warning them through leaflets, radio messages and telephone calls of impending attacks; and (3) its facilitation of humanitarian assistance. A careful examination of Israel’s war policy and of the full statements of the responsible government officials further demonstrates the absence of a genocidal intent ... the scale of suffering and death experienced in Gaza is exacerbated not by genocidal intent, but rather by several factors, including the tactics of the Hamas organization itself which often entails its forces embedding amongst the civilian population and installations, rendering them vulnerable to legitimate military attack.

Now this is where I start just straight up calling bullshit. It's just a grab bag of Israeli propaganda lines.

Nothing matters before October 7th. Warnings of strikes when those strikes were often on shelters, refugee camps, hospitals, and neighbourhoods where people could not leave either due to other factors or because when they tried to we've seen they were often bombed or shot at by snipers and tanks even on the so called 'safe routes'. Israel has to bomb everyone and everything because they use civilians as human shields which if you're here I don't need to explain what a crock of shit that has always been.

If I was a genocidal state my reading from this would be simple; print some leaflets telling people to leave for deniability and then you can murder and carpet bomb and target civilians to your hearts content.

This absurd logical loophole gets even more ludicrous when she summarises her opinion of whether Israeli officials held any 'genocidal intent':

22. Regarding the statements of Israeli top officials and politicians that South Africa cited as containing genocidal rhetoric, a careful examination of those statements, read in their proper and full context, shows that South Africa has either placed the quotations out of context or simply misunderstood the statements of those officials. The vast majority of the statements referred to the destruction of Hamas and not the Palestinian people as such. Certain renegade statements by officials who are not charged with prosecuting Israel’s military operations were subsequently highly criticized by the Israeli Government itself. More importantly, the official war policy of the Israeli Government, as presented to the Court, contains no indicators of a genocidal intent. In my assessment, there are also no indicators of incitement to commit genocide.

They only meant Hamas, is a ludicrous supposition in many, if not most cases.

Government officials, including some of those specifically named in the case, regularly refer to any and every Palestinian as being 'Hamas'. The even refer to non-Palestinians and foreign organisations as Hamas. While this has been going on members of the government have called protesters around the world, NGOs, lawyers, South African, the BBC, and the UN 'Hamas'.

You don't reference The Amalek - a biblical story about destroying an entire country and specifically all of it's inahbitents in revenge - if you're only talking about a specific "Palestinian Sunni Islamic political and military organization" as she described Hamas earlier.

There is no reference to or acknowledgement that historically these very same Israeli officials have used Hamas and 'terrorist' without any distinction between the provable or legal designations and just Palestinians or people Israel doesn't like in general.

And finally, for the absurd cherry on this shit-sundae of rationalisations, the fact that the *"official war policy of the Israeli government, as presented to the Court, contains no indicators of a genocidal intent." Has any official war policy of any government, accused of ethnic cleansing or genocide, since the introduction of the Genocide Convention in history, ever just said 'Yeah it's our official policy to do genocide'? That's like saying a serial killer can't have intended murder because his Facebook bio says 'pacifist' in it. Just absolutely fatuous.

Then we have the rationales for why the measures requested by South Africa cannot be 'linked' to the rights under the convention or approved in her view...

(Continued in next comment)

Energy & Peripheral Development News I Forgot to Post 1/?

17 May 2017 Zimbabwe on course to complete Kariba South Expansion Project [by December 2017] — Xinhua

Sinohydro is carrying out the $533 million expansion project that will add 300 megawatts to Zimbabwe's electricity grid and help ameliorate power shortages in the country.

Zimbabwe's power demand stands at 1,400 Mw but is only able to generate 1,000 Mw due to ageing power plants. It plugs the shortfall through imports from neighboring South Africa and Mozambique.

Meanwhile, Gwasira said the power utility had also made headway towards expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station, Zimbabwe's largest power plant (with an installed capacity of 920 Mw). The expansion project, at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, will add 600 Mw to the national grid.

Followup:

In 2014, ZPC embarked on a project to extend the existing plant by addition of two more units with a total generation capacity of 300MW. The project was successfully completed and commissioned in March 2018, thereby making Kariba South Power Station the biggest power generation plant in Zimbabwe with a total generation capacity of 1050MW.

4 Aug 2023 President commissions (completed) US$1,5bn Hwange Power Station Expansion Project — The Chronicle (Zimbabwe)

8 April 2021 First Smart Electric Bus Fleet In Vietnam — VinBus.vn

10 May 2022 Cambodia builds up EV infrastructure to speed electric ambitions — Nikkei Asia

20 July 2022 China-Laos electricity supply achieves two-way transmission for the first time — Global Times

25 January 2023 Flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage — MIT

I had a better article for this before 🤔 oh well. Haven't seen as much discussion of this alternative storage tech for power stations! I've even seen flow battery vehicle concepts but the main thing is getting rid of the giga sized lithium ion bricks (we're using these for datacenters :squidward-nervous:) or uber expensive vanadium ion things. This shit is made out of plentiful materials.

March 26, 2023 Researchers develop electrolyte enabling high efficiency of safe, sustainable zinc batteries — Oregon State

Needless to say there is a LOT of zinc, it is also delicious & vegan 🍽️😋. Tests promise 50% efficiency when storing power & 80% when producing hydrogen, with an estimated life expectancy of ten years.

30 Mar 2023 Could Grinding Up Lithium Batteries Help Recycle Them? — Scientific American

The kind of plan that gets "greener" when it's actually using energy that isn't from fossil fuels.

6 June 2023 How a floating hydrogen farm has moved China closer to clean renewable energy — SCMP

Scientists have successfully converted seawater into hydrogen and oxygen without the need for desalination, pointing the way to an efficient new source of energy from electrolysed seawater

16 June 2023 Nation makes leaps with floating wave energy — China Daily

If this seems at all redundant with other offshore renewables, consider it can be set up easily in areas without a grid connection, random outlying islands (no offense islands in the pacific but damn god damn), regardless of there being very deep water. Nifty form of hydropower IMHO

21 June 2023 Bolivia taps China, Russia's Rosatom in bid to unlock huge lithium riches — Reuters

30 June 2023 Sinopec's first green hydrogen plant starts production in Xinjiang — Reuters

3 Jul 2023 At 453 KM/H, China Tests World’s Fastest, New-Gen High-Speed Train That Is Safer, Energy-Efficient & Intelligent — Eurasian Times

I think they need to start giving these things personalities!

5 July 2023 ‘Global China’ is a big part of Latin America’s renewable energy boom — The Conversation

Despite what all the articles tying the green revolution to lithium (as if we're gonna stop consuming electronics at the current trajectory??) as a conflict mineral would have you believe it's kinda being blown out of proportion. You've got the lithium itself being extended with all kinds of tech being developed rn like lithium-sulfur batteries (6 January 2023 Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future — ANL), cellulose additives that extend the # of recharges they get (4 Nov, 2022 Chinese scientists' new gel filling could triple lifespan of lithium batteries for EVs, drones — SCMP), & replacement of lithium with sodium (it has already begun 🕴️💼🪛 HAKADI Sodium ion 18650 3V 1500mAh Battery Original Na ion SIB battery Rechargeable Cell For E-bike Power Tools DIY 12V 24V 48V 72V Battery Pack). Looks laptop-sized to me! Green tech investment is not the ecological disaster that people who have no alternatives other than carbon sequestration told me it would be :shrug-outta-hecks:. (This is your cue to post links to devastation!)

8 July 2023 “A peaceful atom” on guard of Russia’s energy security — Eastern Herald

The share of this type of energy in the total production of Russian energy systems in 2020 amounted to more than 20%.

US/EU nuclear industries get ~12/20% of their nuclear fuel from Rosatom. Or maybe I made that up. You should check that.

2 August 2023 Global Race for Lithium Lands in Rural Brazil — NACLA (NYC-based NGO)

In promoting this investment, officials are making the case that lithium mining will remake the long-neglected region into a “valley of opportunity.” Central to that campaign is Sigma Lithium, which began production in April, the first of the new mining companies in the region to do so. Sigma promises to produce a “green” lithium using renewable energy and 90 percent recycled water, to hire local, and to voluntarily invest more than the country requires in local municipalities and environmental projects.

Sigma expects its Grota do Cirilo mining site to be in production for 13 years, generating over $5 billion for the company and over $200 million in payments to local municipalities. This year, the company expects to pay around $10.7 million to Araçuaí and its neighboring town Itinga, just under a tenth of the two municipalities’ combined GDP according to data from Brazil’s 2022 census. Sigma has also instituted programs to construct wells for rural communities, create lines of microcredit for local women entrepreneurs, and pay for the preservation of local forest land.

What a Sigma move. [dodging tomatoes]

3 Aug 2023 New photocatalytic system converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel more efficiently than natural photosynthesis — CityU Hong Kong

No idea about the efficacy of this based off their claims, but have a gander

06.08.2023 UK Concerned About China's Possible Spying Using Imported Electric Cars — Sputnik

I think we did this one here

14 Aug 2023 China's ecological civilization a profound contribution to humanity — Global Times

You gotta love Carlos 😎

25 Sept 2023 Fracking Fallout: Is America's Drinking Water Safe? — OilPrice.com

Why not take your chances! What's the worst that can happen? Water catching on fire? Mass wildlife dieoff?

1 Oct 2023 Indonesian president launches Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, funded by China — Associated Press

This is an actual nazi making this statement. An actual nazi who gave a standing ovation to another nazi in parliment. Not a serious country.

archive.today • Where Is Hamas Getting Weapons? Increasingly, From Israel. - The New York Times

Israeli military and intelligence officials have concluded that a significant number of weapons used by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks and in the war in Gaza came from an unlikely source: the Israeli military itself. For years, analysts have pointed to underground smuggling routes to explain how Hamas stayed so heavily armed despite an Israeli military blockade of the Gaza Strip.

But recent intelligence has shown the extent to which Hamas has been able to build many of its rockets and anti-tank weaponry out of the thousands of munitions that failed to detonate when Israel lobbed them into Gaza, according to weapons experts and Israeli and Western intelligence officials. Hamas is also arming its fighters with weapons stolen from Israeli military bases.

[...]

[Hamas's] manufacturing abilities are now sophisticated enough to saw into the warheads of bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds, to harvest the explosives and to repurpose them.

The top comment

So let me get this straight:

The Israelis apparently had ample intelligence warning of an impending Hamas attack a FULL YEAR prior to October 7 … and yet Netanyahu and his right wing cabinet chose to ignore those threats. Now according to this article, many of the weapons used in the attacks were from Israel themselves?

I’m sorry, I just don’t understand why Bibi Netanyahu continues to get a pass from Israel’s citizens to remain in power? He is an abject security failure and is steering his country towards less security and world isolation.

three yankoids confirmed to have gotten owned in a drone attack in Jordan

cracker news network

BREAKING | 3 US service members killed and 25 injured in a drone attack on a US base in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border, according to US Central Command.

EDIT: Unclear if its Al Tanf in Syria ,and they try to spin it with "Jordan" .

EDIT 2 : ITs Al Tanf Syria .. those Fuckers ! Those cowardly little fuckers ... So its 3 Terrorist Killed and 25 Injured !

source

Uganda has Distance itself from its Judge ...

NSA finally admits to spying on Americans by purchasing sensitive data

I wonder what the repsonse would be if I changed NSA to China and posted this to reddit?

Pelosi said that pro-Palestine protesters are "agents of Russia" like 24 hours ago. And the libs are already running with it. Amazing.

https://np.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/1adijub/nice_try_russia/

JOE BIDEN: “In beer brew here... Huh ish issah use to make the brew beer here.. Issh Weer-fining... Oooooh Earth Rider... Thanks for the Great Lakes!”

Come on vote for this guy

People have posted it before but the transcription of the Biden rally is the most jokerfying thing I've ever read

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Genocide Joe, how many kids have you killed in Gaza?
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

...

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Israel kills two mothers every hour!
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! (Inaudible.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! (Applause.)

...

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Miscarriage (inaudible) —
AUDIENCE: (Applause.) Let’s go, Joe! Let’s go, Joe! Let’s go, Joe!

...

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
AUDIENCE: Let’s go, Joe! Let’s go, Joe! Let’s go, Joe!
THE PRESIDENT: I’m sorry this is taking so long. (Applause.)

...

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.) AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

The liberals have reached the starship troopers phase

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/01/24/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-campaign-event-manassas-va/

Edit: forgot to add source

cnn source

Evergrande is being liquidated. Not sure what it means yet, but it doesn't seem unexpected. Glad to see continued efforts to reign in property speculation anyways.

Japan joins fascists in blindly following accusations by the genocidal Zionist fascists in withholding funds from UNRWA

British corporate media reports that Italy has joined in the repudiation of the rules-based international order. With this, the number of rogue states who have ceased funding of the UNRWA in retalation for the ICJ's verdict has now reached five, including the nuclear-armed hermit kingdom of Britain, as well as the settler states of Canada, America, and Australia.

I was going to post the archived article but for some reason it comes up as a white screen. What did I do wrong? Here's the naked link.

Edit: We hebben een serieus probleem. Republic-turned-monarchy Netherlands and former Nazi-aligned Finland have joined the rogue state coalition.

Edit 2: Germany now as well lmao. come on west, leave the UN already!

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-suspends-cash-for-un-agency-serving-palestinians-amid-probe-into-hamas-attack-1.6744404

Canada is joining the United States in suspending funding for a UN agency that supports Palestinians, in response to allegations agency staff played a role in the Hamas attack on Israel last October

Ottawa has ordered a temporary pause on "any additional funding" for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

director for the agency known as UNWRA says it has terminated staff suspected of involvement in the Hamas attack, without sharing what role they may have played.

U.S. State Department says it believes 12 staff are facing accusations of involvement.

The UN agency says 153 of its staff have died during the Israel-Hamas war, and roughly 13,000 staff are still trying to deliver aid in the Gaza Strip

0 killed by Hamas, must be because they ARE Hamas

The war began Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7.

"War" "began"

In retaliation, Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip that the Hamas-run Health Ministry says has killed more than 26,000 people, including militants.

"militants"

Israel is tightly controlling entry points into Gaza and restricting supplies, making it difficult for humanitarian aid to get inside.

Last November, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly praised the agency for providing the essentials of life in Gaza, noting it's "the only organization able to concretely do this" and that Canada is "a significant donor" to the agency.

At the time, Global Affairs Canada noted that Canada's funding for UNRWA work in Gaza is not just for humanitarian relief.

The money was also aimed at helping "identify, monitor and follow up on neutrality violations" within the organization and boosting "transparency and accountability of UNRWA's approach to humanitarian principles," the department said.

Jewish groups and past Canadian governments have taken UNRWA to task over social-media statements by the agency's staff that they argue don't uphold neutrality.

mrw you are insufficiently neutral about genocide

They have also voiced concerns that UN aid could be diverted to Hamas, which Canada and others deem a terrorist organization.

"Concerns" "could"

Former prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government cut off Canadian funding for UNWRA in 2010, amid allegations it was too closely tied to Hamas.

Funding resumed under the federal Liberals in 2016.

civil war in '24

"The HUGE Russian offensive is coming"!

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Ancap Update:

Argentina's Economy Minister, Luis Caputo, announced that the government has decided to remove the chapter dealing with the tax reform from the draft General Framework Law in order to facilitate its approval.

In Caputo's announcement, where he said that the government would remove the chapters dealing with tax reform from the General Framework Law, he also said that pension reform and retirement formulas would also be removed from the text.

Guillermo Ferraro, Argentina's Infrastructure Minister, will leave his post for "personal" reasons, and the country's Economy Ministry, headed by Luis Caputo, will take over the functions of this ministry.

Some wierd Monastic Feudal Island Nation tried to run the Ansrallah Blockade with a fucking Oil tanker.... It resently also partiticpated into terror bombings against the UN Forces.. What do these fucking babarians expect ?