Nicky Forster

A rather milquetoaste statement trying to open the door to Jews in the Australian diaspora to shift their opinions

It is both shocking and unsurprising that the Australian Jewish News has refused to publish this letter, which is deliberately framed in a very conservative and gentle way about something as horrific as what Israel is doing so as to open the door to people to change their minds.
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The Jewish Council of Australia strongly condemns comments made on the Instagram page of a mosque in western Sydney, threatening ‘Christchurch 2.0’.

www.jewishcouncil.com.au/media/the-je...

Damian, it’s lovely to meet you.

Why would he start now?

I know an 80s sitcom premise when I see one

A screenshot of text, reading: Legitimate conflict and forgiveness 241. Nor does this mean calling for forgiveness when it involves renouncing our own rights, confronting corrupt officials, criminals or those who would debase our dignity. We are called to love everyone, without exception; at the same time, loving an oppressor does not mean allowing him to keep oppressing us, or letting him think that what he does is acceptable. On the contrary, true love for an oppressor means seeking ways to make him cease his oppression; it means stripping him of a power that he does not know how to use, and that diminishes his own humanity and that of others. Forgiveness does not entail allowing oppressors to keep trampling on their own dignity and that of others, or letting criminals continue their wrongdoing. Those who suffer injustice have to defend strenuously their own rights and those of their family, precisely because they must preserve the dignity they have received as a loving gift from God. If a criminal has harmed me or a loved one, no one can forbid me from demanding justice and ensuring that this person – or anyone else – will not harm me, or others, again. This is entirely just; forgiveness does not forbid it but actually demands it.

Re-reading Francis’s encyclicals, and there are some true bangers.

Fratelli tutti, man.

“…true love for an oppressor means seeking ways to make him cease his oppression; it means stripping him of a power that he does not know how to use, and that diminishes his own humanity and that of others.”

Some Ukr/supporters think the minerals deal, exploitative as it is, may be worth it because then the US has to defend its cash cow. But: Trump's way to defend is likely to be letting Ru dominate Ukraine politically as long as it doesn't touch the minerals. Then the deal is as good as surrender.

In The Age today.

If you can't get the editorial parts of the paper to acknowledge this reality, at least you can buy an ad.

An antidote to the idiocy and brutality - give this conversation your previous time instead.

if you're reading this 50 years from now I need you to know that this series of world events isn't as dumb as it probably seems, it's actually much, much dumber than you can possibly imagine

New analysis shows pursuing the deployment of nuclear in Australia’s grid could add at least 2 billion tonnes to national emissions, on a global path that is consistent with 2.6°C of warming.

www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/media-releas...

First Nations and nuclear power: our people, our Country, our animals nuclear power

There are so many blaring issues competing for our attention, especially as Australia barrels toward an election under extraordinarily VUCA circumstances.
Let’s not forget to ‘start where we are and do what we can’: events.humanitix.com/first-nation...

EARS, by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith 8 track album

Thanks Tim - did just that, then promptly and deeply Sunday-napped for an hour. Just what I needed! Allow me to return the favour: kaitlynaureliasmith.bandcamp.com/album/ears

YouTube video by thejuicemedia Honest Government Ad | Our Last Fair Election?

will the next be the last fair election in australia?

another ad from the australien gov’t that’s surprisingly honest… @thejuicemedia.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kYI...

‘Every life is a universe’: The ceasefire must hold

Whoever destroys a single life, the Torah considers it as if they destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a single life, the Torah considers it as if they saved an entire world.
Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a
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Pritzker: If we don’t want to repeat history, then for god’s sake, in this moment, we better be strong enough to learn from it.

except from HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT on how it's a coup

"In other countries, this would be called 'an authoritarian coup.' In America, mealy-mouthed officials call our transition into a mafia state 'deeply troubling' and do little to curb the damage."

-- HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)

YouTube video by Jewish Council of Australia Members of the Melbourne Jewish community explain why they support the Jewish Council of Australia.

Melbourne Jewish community members explain why they support the Jewish Council of Australia.

Videography by Simon Aubor.

youtube.com/shorts/CNiT8...

#melbournejewishcommunity #australianjewishcommunity #jewishdiversity #diversityinjudaism #jewish #jewishaustralia #jewishmelbourne

When Trump says Ukraine should have never let the war happen, never started it, etc he means the exact same thing the russians mean when they say they want peace: Ukraine should surrender to russia. Trump and Putin are aligned and working towards the same goal. They are not negotiating.

Imagine being rich enough to do anything you want and choosing to take food and medicine from starving children to give yourself even more money.

This is not a peace negotiation. This is the beginning of a US-russian alliance. All that's left is for the US to commit troops to help the weak russian army conquer Ukraine and remove Zelensky. Forget the betrayal; it was expected. This is pathetic US deference to the weak russian dictatorship.

I mean.. it’s the definition of a sleeper banger, isn’t it?

Nobody wants an emergency, but perhaps we should want some of the remarkable things that can happen during them. On the top of my list of those things is how in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane, a fire, an earthquake,  people take care of each other and work together without the kind of vetting and fretting whether they agree entirely about politics or religion or other matters. We are in an unprecedented emergency in the United States with fallout that poses threats to environments, economies, human rights and even survival beyond our borders, and we could use some of that energy. As political scientist Erica Chenoweth said in Saturday's Meditations in an Emergency interview, "The best study on the subject in my opinion suggests that in the long term, institutions really can’t save us; that civil society and mass mobilization are a more potent check on a backsliding democracy in the long term than relying on institutional checks and balances alone."  Right now the courts are doing important business as they render verdict after verdict against Trump and Musk thanks to lawsuits brought by states, federal employees, and others with standing. Some of the Democrats in office are being amazing, and others in the opposition party are being waffles, milquetoasts, cookies that crumble, and other  refined-carbohydrate items. As is now clear, the administrative branch of the federal government of the United States is engaging in a coup attempt against the legislative and judicial branches, against the law and constitution itself, and against your rights and mine and the security and stability of the world. They can be defeated and at a minimum held in check, and the sooner they are the more limited the damage. But as Chenoweth points out, it's up to us. Are we up to it?

In this emergency, I think it likely that we are going to need to pitch a very big tent and invite everyone in who doesn't want to live in a dictatorship... www.meditationsinanemergency.com/big-tents-an...

Not long ago, Trump’s son-in-law was praising Gaza as fine beachfront real estate.

Now Trump is saying that the USA will “own” the Gaza Strip & “create jobs”.

It’s hard to tell what’s policy & what’s distraction with Trump, but this certainly looks like property theft through genocide.

Hateful.

I guess they didn’t provide all those weapons for nothing.

Cartoon of police line up. 1 is a Nazi. 2 is Musk doing Nazi salute. 3 is a person in black holding a Molotov cocktail. 4 is a worried looking woman holding a sign reading “Australian Jews Against the Genocide”. Behind the glass, Australian Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, with his arm around another worried looking woman, is saying “Er no, I’m not the actual police … but let me save us all a lot of time - it’s no.4, RIGHT?”

The great David Pope

Aboriginal flag with the words “Always was, always will be” written on it

Always was, always will be

Boy, do we miss this kind of brilliant, calm and humane man, heading towards the 21st c.

"There's two kinds of dangers - Carl Sagan"