#australian pro-palestinian movement

[eretzyisrael]

[stil-lindigo]

ABC News in Australia covers the story of how community groups all over the country are coming together as a community to provide for returning Gazan families.

El Rahman Inc. stands at the forefront of this community effort in Naarm/Melbourne, and on the organisation’s Instagram page, regularly posts updates on what supplies are currently needed. It accepts monetary and supply donations at drop off points (which are currently closed until the 28th Dec).

The PCIA has also been instrumental in organising resources for returning Palestinian families. For more widespread support not limited to Melbourne, please consider donating to the Arab Council of Australia, another independent non-profit which has a long history of supporting their community. They are based in New South Wales, which is home to Australia's largest population of Arabic-speaking Australians.

--

ABC's news report also highlights that between October 7 and November 20, Home Affairs granted 860 visas to Palestinians, including those seeking to depart Gaza. However, what they fail to give proper attention to is the fact that Israel has been preventing Palestinians from leaving.

[ link ]

Of the around 860 visas distributed, only 143 Palestinians have managed to successfully arrive in Australia, with the number of new names being added to 'the list' falling to a pathetic degree. To understand the grave conditions of Palestinians awaiting safe passage, this is a great article to read. And although politicians like Penny Wong insist they are doing everything in their power to help Palestine in this time, Australia still shamefully stands by its strongest ally, the US, and actively provides military surveillance of the Gaza Strip to Israeli sources through Pine Gap, a military base in Alice Springs.

In this time, it is imperative to maintain pressure on the Australian government. Protest and vocal pro-Palestine movement is the only thing that caused Australia to eventually vote for a ceasefire in the recent UN resolution, after their cowardly performance earlier. Resources like vic_socialists on Instagram, regardless of where you may stand on their performance as a party itself, has been outstanding in organising regular protest movements across all of Victoria. APAN also maintains a list of pro-Palestine events all around Australia on their website, although I'm not sure at this point if it's exhaustive.

[xclowniex]

So I have been doom scrolling on YouTube shorts those days,,, a video of someone buying/eating something that the pro palis are boycotting pop up.

It’s a simple innocent video, the comments are full of “boycott (brand name)” and watermelon emojis and “free Palestine” some even calling the YouTuber names and stuff.

This is harassment, this is full on harassment of someone who crime is buying from a brand they are boycotting.

Not going to lie but they started to sound like a cult at this point.

Instead of focusing all their energy on harassing random YouTuber and Jews and destroying properties, they could focus it on more useful and important things that will help stop this war.

Like idk, helping with the release of the hostages? Not supporting Hamas?

100%

The BDS movement is majorly problematic. They celebrated the shut down of a soda stream factory in the west bank a few years back yet they didn't do anything to help the palestinian workers who lost their jobs find new jobs so they can, ya know, feed their families.

BDS also claims that you should listen to all palestinian voices, yet is telling people to boycott standing together, an org which uplifts Palestinian and Israeli voices.

In regards to non BDS boycotts, it also a cult mentalility especially with that clip of that Australian Hasan fan who said "just don't drink coke on stream, just drink it in private as we are boycotting coke" like ah yes, only boycott a product in public and still give them your money in private, totally how a boycott works.

Like giving BDS some credit (which i hate to say) at least they focus on only a few things which is achieveable. Some of those long ass boycott lists (like that 300+ German list) is just unachieveable.

The whole reason for the boycotts is to make the Israeli government have less money so war cannot happen and to punish the Israeli economy. Essentially civilian created sanctions, however it will not work unless the majority of the population does so. Israel will also always defend themselves when they are attacked. So like you said nonnie, unless Hamas is gone and peace is achieved, Israel will continue to have wars with breaks in between until they are no longer attacked. And obviously war and after after war is bad for everyone on all sides as both Israeli's and Palestinians should not have threats to their safety due to their respective governments actions.

[thoughtlessarse]

From what the police have reported, recent arrests over apparent antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne have produced no evidence of any connection to the mass opposition and protests against the Australian government-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. The federal and state governments, led by the Labor Party, along with the political and media establishment as a whole, are nevertheless stepping up their offensive to exploit dubious graffiti and arson incidents to demonise opponents of the genocide in Gaza and deepen the assault on political dissent and basic democratic rights. Since late November, there have been eight murky attacks at synagogues or other sites identified with Jewish people in Sydney and one in Melbourne, five involving arson. The evidence released by the state and federal police so far has pointed to the possible involvement of criminal gangs, with no links to the anti-genocide protest movement. This has not stopped the corporate media, the Albanese Labor government and the New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian state Labor governments from demanding the suppression of pro-Palestinian protests and unveiling new laws to criminalise opposition to Israel’s ongoing US-backed atrocities, under the fraudulent banner of outlawing “hate speech.”

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[akajustmerry]

Sorry to bother you, but i would like to hear you opinion on the international day of action taking place on Invasion Day. I know these movements are incredibly intertwined and there have been a lot of pro Palestine movements and solidarity actions co organised by Aboriginal Australians and this years Invasion Day march will most likely be in solidarity with Palestine while also addressing more specific (although similar to the genocide thats currently occurring) issues in relation to Invasion Day, but I am unsure how to go forward without unintentionally overshadowing the significance of both days even though a lot of the what’s currently occurring is similar to why we protest, march and mourn on Invasion Day

hello, okay so just to be clear I'm not the speaker for Aboriginal people everywhere. I can only tell you my opinion as a single Aboriginal person who is also Arab. So, please, only take what I say as one opinion and not a rule.

I believe and know that all colonial powers are linked. Australia as a colonial power is inseparable from the UK and the USA. The UK are responsible for invading and establishing a colony in "Australia", just as they were responsible for invading and establishing a settler colony in Palestine, and the same goes for the US. And while the colonies of "Australia" and the US and "Israel" took on their own identies as settler colonial states, they share and maintain colonial roots with the UK.

So, you see, it's not just that the struggles are similar, they're the same. Literally, the same. So called Australia was colonised under the British law of "terra nullius", the legal concept that no one was here so it was free for the taking. Palestine was colonised by British and European Zionists who saw Palestine as "a land without people for a people without a land" which is just terra nullius by another name.

Palestine and Palestinians, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples share similar conditions because our oppressors are the same and are still in fucking cahoots. The Australian government is sending weapons to Israel and Israel bankrolls a LOT of Australian financing, tech companies, and universities. Our struggles for liberation are inseparable because the institutions oppressing us are inextricably linked.

I say all this to remind you that Invasion Day rallies and protests are not about the day itself. They are about how the day represents colonisation and the ongoing violence of it. They are organised to remind settlers that we First Nations peoples are still here and we do not condone the celebration of our colonisation and ongoing genocide.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Free Palestine movement is a global anti-colonial movement. To stand with Palestinians is to stand with every Indigenous person living under occupation and fight for their liberation. The Free Palestine movement isn't a stopgap movement or a charity movement, it's a land back movement. What you need to really sit with and ask yourself is why you're in the Free Palestine movement. Because if it's not because you believe that Indigenous people everywhere should have their land returned to them, then you're not really an ally.

What I mean is, there shouldn't ever be a question of which one you should support because the answer is both. They can't overshadow one another because our movement is the same, our struggle for liberation is the same. You and anyone else out there worried that supporting your local Indigenous peoples' liberation is going to overshadow Palestine or vice versa need to learn more about how our struggles are not separate. They're one struggle against the same Imperial colonial powers. When we say that none of us are free until all of us are, we mean it's because it will take all of us in solidarity to liberate one another because our oppressors are all the tentacles of the same imperial colonial monster.

Most rallies for Invasion Day in major cities will also be in solidarity with Palestine. One of the first times I went to Invasion Day in Eora/Sydney in 2014/15 I was moved to tears by a Palestinian speaker at the rally who said he'd been coming to Invasion Day rallies since he landed in this country as a refugee in the 90s because he instantly saw our shared struggle as Indigenous peoples under settler colonialism.

So I hope I've helped you see that there is no supporting one or the other or overshadowing because we are fighting for the same thing. It's why so many Palestinians advocate for other oppressed peoples and stand in solidarity with Black Americans, Indigenous peoples around the world, and vice versa because it's not that we're in lots of struggles in competition with one another. We're in one struggle, an end to our occupation, and our permanent and whole liberation.

[areawest]

The encampments started in the US, but it’s become a global movement! Students are demanding that universities divest from ties to genocide.

[nando161mando]

Pro-Palestinian supporters camping at Australian universities | Australia

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

DNC Shuts Out Pro-Palestine Uncommitted Movement (rollingstone.com)

In Chicago's Little Palestine, signs of Israel's war on Gaza are everywhere | Middle East Eye

Australian Human Rights Commission accused of mistreating pro-Palestine staff | Middle East Eye

Palestinians are being dehumanised to justify occupation and genocide | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera

Ukraine

Pokrovsk: Parents hide children from mandatory evacuations as Ukraine says Russia advancing fast on key city | CNN

Ukraine's collaboration law - are some being unfairly punished? (bbc.com)

Russia faces manpower woes after failing to stop Ukraine’s Kursk incursion | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Sudan

The world can't keep ignoring the resurging genocide in Darfur (thehill.com)

Yes there is famine in Sudan. So why isn't 'famine' being declared? : Goats and Soda : NPR

How Sudan’s civil war has ravaged millions of people’s lives in cities on the front lines | PBS News

War-ravaged Sudan battles cholera outbreak | Health News | Al Jazeera

Other

As more details emerge, key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism about Gaza cease-fire proposal | PBS News

Congo reports 1,000 new mpox cases. Africa asks for vaccines | AP News

The Taliban says it wants tourists in Afghanistan. Here’s what it’s like to visit right now | CNN

How Is Solar Energy Solving A Hospital Energy Crisis In Myanmar? (forbes.com)

Myanmar massacre: 'My family died in front of my eyes’ (bbc.com)

Improving tomatoes quality in the Sahel through organic cultivation under photovoltaic greenhouse as a climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

Fallouts of Russia-Ukraine conflict reach Africa’s Sahel, prompt letter to UN | | AW (thearabweekly.com)

[yourcousinthrockmortonskates]

I am too tired of reading about atrocities to go into the meat of the actual conflict rn.

But jfc so many people are justifying their bigotry. Gallant said they were fighting against "human animals" before saying they would be cutting off resources to Gaza. Considering acts like that affect not just Hamas, but the civilians trapped there - it's completely inhumane. And it's not just Israelis either - just a little bit of time on social media you'll see Americans too calling for the mass destruction of Gaza and continued comparison to animals.

And there's the antisemitism too. Suddenly those nazis you manage to avoid on social media start popping up again to talk about how the Holocaust wasn't enough. The article I linked has the example of the protests in Sydney, but there's images circulating of a protestor in NYC with a swastika too.

Protest organiser Palestine Action Group Sydney defended its right to protest "apartheid" in Israel but said a small number of "vile antisemitic attendees" had no place in their movement.

I'm glad to hear that there were condemnations for the antisemites in the crowd after the fact, but it should be stated up front that it's not welcome in the first place. No antisemite should be made to feel safe and proud about their beliefs.

[head-post]

HP Insight

International community urges peace, NATO urges war

The international community is increasingly noticing the desire for peace. For example, most countries are calling for the Ukrainian military conflict to be resolved through peaceful negotiations.

International conference on peace

On Saturday, within the framework of international co-operation, a videoconference on security issues was held with the participation of politicians and experts from Ukraine, Serbia and Armenia.

The videoconference Security Challenges and Ways of Overcoming Them in Post-Soviet Countries was attended by the leader of the Mother Armenia movement Andranik Tevanyan, political scientist Yervand Bozoyan, sociologist Artur Paronyan from Armenia; the head of the political party “Derzhava” Dmitry Vasilets, the head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Law Workers, Doctor of Political Sciences Alexander Semchenko from Ukraine; the head of the human rights organisation “Rodina” Yuri Derkach from EU; Dragana Trifkovic, the director of the Centre for Geostrategic Studies, from Serbia.

The topic of discussion was the expansion of NATO’s influence after the collapse of the USSR and the negative experience of the bloc’s aggressive expansion, which is observed in Serbia, Ukraine, and, in particular, in Armenia’s political processes.

Tevanyan stressed that today, during the global clash between the West and Russia, NATO’s attempts to deploy conflicts along Russia’s borders are observed, using those states that were part of the USSR. The proof of that is the holding of “colour revolutions” according to one scenario. In his opinion, post-Soviet states need to consolidate with Russia and fight against “pro-Western illegitimate authorities.”

The UN crisis and its implications

Recent historical events show that many international organisations, which were designed to maintain peace, have lost their importance in the international arena.

The crisis of the UN is particularly visible in the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel has repeatedly insisted on the termination of the UN Relief and��Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and believed that its functions can be performed by other humanitarian organisations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last July that Israel was ignoring the rulings of the UN International Court of Justice because the West, led by the US, was patronising Tel Aviv.

NATO completely ignores the UN

The US has effectively destroyed the previous world order that was established at the Yalta Conference by establishing its Washington Order.

Washington continues to destroy the system of checks and balances in the global world picture by ignoring UN decisions. In 1999, US aircraft launched massive strikes on Yugoslavia. The US used depleted uranium shells and cluster bombs, bombed both military and civilian facilities, and targeted sectors of the state’s economy. The UN did not authorise the use of force, so officially the intervention was illegal.

In 2003, the US military struck Baghdad with cruise missiles, and less than an hour later, US, British, Australian and Polish ground forces invaded Iraqi territory. Human Rights Watch has confirmed 90 incidents in which civilians were killed as a result of NATO bombing. According to the organisation, between 489 and 528 civilians were killed during the operation. According to WHO, the number of cancer cases in the region has increased due to depleted uranium shells. What was the purpose of the brutal military strikes?

The US said Iraq had nuclear weapons that could be harmful to Washington. The operation was not approved by the UN and caused discontent in the international community. No weapons of mass destruction were found.

In May 2024, a former US president said Washington was wrong to believe Iraq had nuclear weapons. The war led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the long destabilisation of the region. So maybe the purpose of the military intervention was originally different.

NATO is an international military and political organisation created after World War II to protect Western countries from hypothetical expansion by the Soviet Union. However, events show that it is the world that needs to defend itself from NATO, not the other way round. The organisation originally created to defend itself has started to attack others on the contrary.

THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.

Dragoš Cebo for Head-Post.com

Send your author content for publication in the INSIGHT section to headpost.social@gmail.com

[dianneyorton]

Support students who speak out for justice and defend student rights

Australian National University expelled two students!

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has confirmed that Beatrice Tucker was expelled from the university. It is not clear who the other expelled student is or why he was expelled, but Professor Genevieve Bell, president of the Australian National University, said that anyone who is "excluded" from the campus is "clearly in violation of our code of conduct." People familiar with the matter confirmed that the ANU believes that this person's remarks were interpreted as supporting terrorist organizations. However, student Beatrice Tucker's idea is that Hamas should have our unconditional support, not because I agree with their strategy, but because if you have no hope, if you are sanctioned every day, if you are told that you can't drive a certain road because Israelis are given priority, and you can only wait there for 12 hours, this is the reality of life in Palestine. However, after Tucker made these remarks, he became the target of right-wing media such as The Australian and Zionist organizations such as the Executive Committee of Jewish Affairs of Australia. They demanded that Tucker be expelled immediately and accused her of supporting "terrorism." These organizations also called for the closure of pro-Palestinian camps at Australian universities, and the spread and escalation of anti-Israel activities on campus. As Americans, we firmly condemn the ANU’s attempt to suppress free speech and academic freedom, as well as malicious actors in the media and Zionist lobby who called for Tucker’s expulsion. Universities are places where students are allowed to express their views in a respectful and appropriate manner. No one should be persecuted for expressing solidarity with the Palestinian resistance movement recognized by international law. We support university students’ right to free speech, free expression and the right to protest. The ANU should revoke the disciplinary actions against Beatrice Tucker and another pro-Palestinian student, and cut all ties with companies and institutions that support Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

To this end, we must unite and firmly support the student anti-Semitic movement. University students are the future of our society, and their voices are vital. We should support and encourage them to stand up and fight for justice and equality. Everyone should be respected and accepted, regardless of their race, religion or background. We must educate and guide the next generation to become respectful and inclusive leaders. At the same time, we must also work with students to ensure that campus is a safe, friendly and loving place. Our unity and action will show the world that we refuse to tolerate hatred and that we will work for a better, more just future.

[eretzyisrael]

by Shiryn Ghermezian

Radio Skid Row has deleted its Instagram account as of Tuesday but Sky News Australia noted that it has shared numerous anti-Israel posts on the social media platform, including one that glorified notorious Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled. A member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is an internationally designated terrorist organization, Khaled hijacked a Tel Aviv-bound plane in 1969 and attempted another hijacking in 1970 of an El Al flight.

Nicole told the Australian news outlet that Radio Skid Row manager Manu Montero called her in for a meeting after she covered up on station equipment a sticker that featured a Palestinian flag and the words “Free Palestine.”

During the meeting, Nicole apologized for covering the “Free Palestine” sticker before talking to management first. She discussed her opposition to the “Free Palestine” movement and its connection to vandalism and other forms of violence in Australia, and how it has made “Jewish people feel uneasy and safe in Sydney.” She also talked about being a Jewish person who had family murdered in the Holocaust. She told Sky News Australia that another person who Montero invited to the meeting, a woman, laughed at Nicole when she talked about the Jewish experience and her heritage.

Montero responded by talking about the radio station’s opposition to Israel, accusing the country of colonization and saying Israel does not have a right to exist, Nicole recalled. Her husband, who attended the meeting to support her, asked Montero if Nicole could continue hosting her Skid News show if she stayed away from discussing politics. Montero replied no, that she had to actively support the Free Palestine movement, speak about it and attend pro-Palestinian rallies. Montero also denied that Oct. 7 happened entirely, Nicole told Sky News Australia.

Radio Skid Row and Montero have not publicly commented on Nicole’s firing.

[swldx]

BBC 0427 30 May 2024

12095Khz 0358 30 MAY 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55334. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z then ID@0359z pips and newsday preview. @0401z World News anchored by Chris Berrow. A Hong Kong court has found 14 democracy activists guilty of subversion and acquitted two in the biggest national security case. They are among 47 who were charged but only 16 of them entered not guilty pleas - subversion carries a maximum term of life imprisonment. They were all charged in 2021 with trying to “overthrow” the government by organising an unofficial election. From veteran politicians to student campaigners, they represent the gamut of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Their arrest marked the biggest crackdown under the National Security Law (NSL) imposed by China in 2020. Beijing says the law is essential for Hong Kong’s stability but rights groups say it has crushed civil liberties and created a climate of fear. The leading candidates in Mexico's presidential election have held their final campaign rallies ahead of the vote on Sunday. Either Claudia Sheinbaum, a close ally of left-wing incumbent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or Xóchitl Gálvez, a former senator for the country's main centre-right party, is almost certain to become the country's first female leader. The US FBI has offered assistance to Australian authorities after a hacking group claimed to have accessed the details of 560 million customers worldwide. Hacking group the ShinyHunters earlier posted details of their alleged breach on the dark web along with an offer to sell the information for US$500,000, sparking an investigation by Australian authorities. Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players (historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles) were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project. U.N. agencies said on Tuesday the two main crossings into the southern Gaza Strip remained shut, virtually cutting off the Palestinian enclave from outside aid with few stocks positioned inside. The global agency's humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists Israel had shut both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings for aid and people as part of its military operation in Rafah, where around 1 million uprooted people are sheltering. Before Spain's amnesty law for Catalan independence activists is expected to pass, tens of thousands have demonstrated against it in Madrid. Approximately 20,000 gather, as stated by authorities, while organizers from the conservative People's Party (PP) estimated the crowd size at around 80,000. @0406z "Newsday" begins. Backyard fence antenna, JRC NRD-535D. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

The police are now facing criticism for permitting the protest to proceed and did not intervene while advising Jewish Australians to ‘stay home’ for their well-being.

According to law enforcement, they allowed the pro-Palestine demonstrators to proceed to the Sydney Opera House, believing it was more effective to oversee their movement rather than attempting to obstruct it.

“I don’t know why this protest went ahead in any event after so much bloodshed in Israel,” New South Wales premier, Chris Minns told Seven’s Sunrise. He noted that the police had “obviously made an operational decision about the safety of Sydney” to allow the march to proceed, adding that “those circumstances were what they are”.”

Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told ABC Radio National, “I think we should all be concerned.”

To quote Tidewalker77:

After watching the events that took place in Israel there has never been a better argument against gun control. Many people slaughtered, executed by what looks like no means to defend themselves or their families. Buy the guns, learn how to use them. Fight back. Those people relied on the government to keep them safe. They never expected to be overtaken in such a way. When the shit hits the fan it will be only up to you to save yourself and family. Don't for one minute think this could never come to America.

[newstfionline]

Monday, December 7, 2020

The massive US election turnout (NYT) Almost 160 million Americans voted this year thanks to the broad expansion of voting options. It may change U.S. elections forever. With all but three states having completed their final counts, and with next week’s deadline for final certification of the results approaching, the sheer number of Americans who actually voted in November was eye-opening: 66.7 percent of the voting-eligible population. But a backlash from the right is brewing. Republicans at the state level are vowing to enact a new round of voting restrictions to prevent what they claim is widespread fraud.

‘They’re Playing With Our Lives’: What Happens Next for DACA’s ‘Dreamers’ (NYT) Despite being a college graduate, Maria Fernanda Madrigal Delgado had no choice in 2011 but to clean buildings and flip burgers in fast-food joints for cash because she was not eligible to work in the United States. She had grown up undocumented in Southern California after being brought to the country as a child from Costa Rica. In 2012, after President Barack Obama unveiled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that shielded hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allowed them to work, she got a job as a legal assistant. In May, at 31, she will graduate from law school in San Diego. Yet almost from the moment DACA was created, it has been dogged by legal challenges, which have kept Ms. Madrigal and other so-called Dreamers on tenterhooks. Soon after President Trump took office in 2017, he canceled the program. The Supreme Court ruled in June that he had done so improperly, but the administration erected new roadblocks. “It’s literally like we’re in a Ping-Pong game,” Ms. Madrigal said. “They’re playing with our lives.” On Friday, a federal judge ruled in favor of DACA recipients, ordering full reinstatement of the program and opening it to new applicants. But Ms. Madrigal isn’t celebrating. “I am aware this is not the end,” she said. “There can be another challenge.”

With 3 Billion Packages to Go, Online Shopping Faces Tough Holiday Test (NYT) E-commerce became a lifeline for consumers and companies during the pandemic. But this holiday season, online shopping will strain the industry as never before: An estimated three billion packages will course through the nation’s shipping infrastructure—about 800 million more than delivered last year. This flood of packages is hitting shipping companies at the end of a year of frenzied demand for everyday household items by a public largely stuck at home and wary of doing its buying in person. The deliveries could make or break some smaller retailers already on the edge financially because of lockdowns and fewer customers in their stores. Packages that don’t arrive by Christmas will be a disappointment for customers but a disaster for these struggling retailers, which have been forced by the coronavirus pandemic to rebuild their business around e-commerce. The future of retailing is increasingly online, and companies don’t want to give customers any reason to think they can’t deliver.

Lights go out, roads dicey as wintry storm batters Northeast (AP) The first big wintry storm of the season began dropping what forecasters say could be more than a foot of wet, heavy snow Saturday on parts of the Northeast, making travel treacherous and cutting off power to tens of thousands. Morning rain gave over to snow in the afternoon in New England. Accidents littered the Massachusetts Turnpike, where speed limits were reduced to 40 mph (64 kph). As of late Saturday night, about 200,000 customers were without power in Maine, according to the utility tracking poweroutage.us. Another 53,000 customers didn’t have power in New Hampshire and about 22,000 were without power in Massachusetts. Forecasters warned the windy nor’easter could result in near-blizzard conditions and could dump a foot (30 centimeters) of snow on suburban Boston. In Canada, southern Quebec and New Brunswick also expected a wallop.

Venezuela election comes amid humanitarian crisis, hunger (CNN) In some countries, voting is compulsory and failure to show up at the polls can be penalized, often with a fine. But in Venezuela the penalty can be more severe than most: If you don’t vote, you don’t eat. “For the ones that don’t vote, there is no food,” Diosdado Cabello, one of embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s most powerful allies, said during a campaign rally on Monday. “Whoever does not vote, does not eat. A ‘quarantine’ without food will be applied,” he repeated to a cheering crowd. Venezuelans will head to the polls on Sunday as the country elects a new parliament, known in the country as the National Assembly. [The opposition is boycotting the vote.] Sunday’s election happens against the backdrop of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The World Food Program says one in three Venezuelans struggles to put enough food on the table and, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, almost 5 million Venezuelans have left the country, fleeing not just hunger but violence and persecution. Crippled by years of mismanagement and US sanctions, the Venezuelan economy is still in a downward spiral, mostly because output from the country’s oil industry—which according to the OPEC account for 99% of its exports—continues to decrease. Heading in the opposing direction, inflation reached 4,087%. Across the country, the dollar has now replaced the Bolivar as the main currency.

Britain and EU resume trade talks in ‘final throw of the dice’ (Reuters) British negotiators arrived in Brussels on Sunday for a last-ditch attempt to strike a Brexit trade deal with the European Union and avert a chaotic parting of ways at the end of the year. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Saturday and instructed their teams to resume talks after they were paused a day earlier due to an impasse over three key issues: fishing, fair competition and ways to solve future disputes. “This is the final throw of the dice,” said a British source close to the negotiations. Since Britain formally left the EU on Jan. 31, negotiators have missed a series of deadlines to reach a deal with the world’s largest trading bloc before a status quo transition period ends on Dec. 31.

Thousands of anti-Lukashenko protesters march in Belarus, dozens detained (Reuters) Thousands of demonstrators marched in the Belarus capital Minsk and elsewhere on Sunday as weekly protests demanding the resignation of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko continued, prompting police to detain more than 100 people. Belarus, a country of 9.5 million that Russia sees as a security buffer against NATO, has been rocked by mass protests since an Aug. 9 presidential election which Lukashenko said he won. His opponents claim the vote was rigged and want him to quit. Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, has shrugged off the scale of protests, saying they are sponsored by the West, and shown little signs of willingness to start a dialogue with the opposition.

Japan’s capsule with asteroid samples retrieved in Australia (AP) A Japanese capsule carrying the first samples of asteroid subsurface shot across the night atmosphere early Sunday before successfully landing in the remote Australian Outback. The spacecraft Hayabusa2 released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid. At about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above ground, a parachute was opened to slow its fall and beacon signals were transmitted to indicate its location in the sparsely populated area of Woomera in southern Australia. About two hours after the reentry, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned landing area. The retrieval of the pan-shaped capsule, about 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, was completed after another two hours. The return of the capsule with the world’s first asteroid subsurface samples comes weeks after NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a successful touch-and-go grab of surface samples from asteroid Bennu. China, meanwhile, announced this week its lunar lander collected underground samples and sealed them within the spacecraft for return to Earth, as space developing nations compete in their missions.

The Trump Administration is Cracking Down Against a Global Movement to Boycott Israel (TIME) On the same day that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the first high-ranking American diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, he also doubled down on the Trump administration’s opposition to a global pro-Palestinian movement to boycott Israel. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement relies on putting political and economic pressure on Israel. The goal is to push Israel to recognize the rights of Palestinian citizens currently living in Israel; allow Palestinian refugees, who were driven out of the country as early as 1948 when Israel was created, to return to their homes; and withdraw from all land that it seized after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, including the the occupied West Bank—which is claimed by the Palestinians. BDS was formally launched in 2005 by a coalition of about 170 Palestinian grassroots and civil society groups. Fifteen years later, it’s grown in prominence. While it has chalked up only a few economic victories, it has garnered substantial visibility, supporters and also critics internationally, including on the U.S. college campuses, and in state legislatures and Congress. On Nov. 19, Pompeo promised to cut federal funding for organizations supporting the BDS campaign. “We will immediately take steps to identify organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct, and withdraw U.S. government support for such groups,” Pompeo said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was standing nearby, replied, “It sounds simply wonderful to me.”

Christmas tree-lighting in Bethlehem a muted, virtual event (AP) Only a few dozen people attended the lighting of the Christmas tree in the biblical city of Bethlehem on Saturday night, as coronavirus restrictions scaled back the annual event that is normally attended by thousands. A small group of residents and religious leaders participated in the tree-lighting ceremony at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born. Others watched it virtually due to restrictions prompted by the virus pandemic. Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman said Christmas is being observed this year in ways like no time before. “We resorted to modern technology and to the virtual world to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas tree, wishing hope and optimism would flutter upon Palestine and the world,” Salman said.

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UK: Bucking liberal opinion, some British rockers reject anti-Israel boycotts

Via City Journal (Seth Barron): 

Nick Cave, the brooding Australian poet and original Goth rocker, performed in Tel Aviv this week in what he described as active opposition to the campaign to boycott Israel. Calls to join the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel annoyed Cave, who saw it as a crusade to “censor and silence musicians.” Not signing the boycott wasn’t enough, he decided; he wanted to play an Israeli venue, to spite the boycott’s self-righteous, politically correct organizers. “So really,” explained Cave, “you could say in a way that the BDS made me play Israel.” The same week that Cave thumbed his nose at prominent anti-Israel campaigners Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) and avant-garde producer Brian Eno (of Roxy Music), famed misanthropic emo-rock idol Morrissey told a German journalist that he “loves” Tel Aviv. Calling the boycott “absurd and narrow-minded,” Morrissey added that “being politically correct is incorrect. . . . It means forbidding freedom of speech. That’s how the BDS movement sounds to me.” The last track, "Israel," on Morrissey’s new album, is an anthem to identity and difference in the face of hatred. “In other climes they bitch and whine/Just because you’re not like them/Israel, Israel” croons Morrissey. “The sky is dark for many others/They want it dark for you as well/Israel, Israel,” he sings, skewering the hypocrisy of BDS campaigners who focus on every Israeli fault while ignoring the Middle East’s massive human rights abuses. (...) Though it might seem as if Morrissey is just being provocative, his rebuff of BDS meshes with his pro-Brexit advocacy for regional European identities. Both these tendencies are congruent with the oppositional roots of rock ‘n’ roll, and punk rock in particular—especially in England. John Lydon—known formerly as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols—sneered at BDS and its bien-pensant supporters a few years ago, remarking, “if Elvis-fucking-Costello wants to pull out of a gig in Israel because he’s suddenly got this compassion for Palestinians, then good on him.” Lydon continued, “I have absolutely one rule, right? Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won’t understand how anyone can have a problem with how they’re treated.” (...) The rock-inspired punk ethos has always been two-fingers-up to established authority, and especially to party lines that demand adherence to a set of orthodoxies. British musicians’ anti-BDS sentiments don’t necessarily suggest that they favor Israeli settlement policy or that they urge a hard line against Hamas, but rather an appreciation for the predicament of a small country, with much of the world against it, soldiering on anyway—and up yours if you don’t like it. And in a supposedly post-national era, Israel’s definition of itself as the Jewish State might also hold appeal for these aging rockers, who remember a prouder, more happily British Britain. As Ringo Starr put it, commenting on Brexit: “I think it’s a great move, you know, to be in control of your country is a good move.”

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