October 22, 2022

UN Commission of Inquiry finds that the Israeli occupation is unlawful under international law

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/10/commission-inquiry-finds-israeli-occupation-unlawful-under-international-law

There are reasonable grounds to conclude that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is now unlawful under international law due to its permanence and the Israeli Government’s de-facto annexation policies, according to the first report to the General Assembly issued today by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

Underlining that under international humanitarian law the occupation of territory in wartime is a temporary situation and does not deprive the occupied Power of its statehood nor its sovereignty, the three-person Commission called on the General Assembly to request an urgent Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel’s continued refusal to end its occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“Recent statements by the Secretary-General and numerous member States have clearly indicated that any attempt at unilateral annexation of a State’s territory by another State is a violation of international law and is null and void; 143 member States including Israel last week voted in favour of a General Assembly resolution reaffirming this”, stated Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “Unless universally applied, including to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, this core principle of the United Nations Charter will become meaningless”, she added.

In reaching its findings, the Commission reviewed the policies and actions employed by the Governments of Israel to maintain the occupation, and annex parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Commission’s review was based on interviews with experts and stakeholders, and submissions received following a call for submissions issued on 22 September 2021. The 28-page report focuses on the sustenance and advancement of the settlement enterprise, including statements made by Israeli officials indicating the intent to maintain permanent control over the land in violation of international law. The Commission concludes that by continuing to occupy the territory by force, Israel incurs international responsibilities and remains accountable for violations of the rights of the Palestinians individually and as a people.

snip

October 22, 2022

Better Call Boris: Ukraine government deletes bizarre tweet supporting Boris Johnson as next PM

The Ukrainian government has deleted a bizarre tweet that expressed support for Boris Johnson returning as UK prime minister following the resignation of Liz Truss after just 44 days.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/better-call-boris-ukraine-government-deletes-bizarre-tweet-supporting-boris-johnson-as-next-prime-minister-3888443



The official government Twitter account shared a bizarre meme on its official Twitter page expressing support for the return of Mr Johnson.

It comes as supporters of Mr Johnson are backing him to make an extraordinary political comeback a mere six weeks after he left No 10 for the final time, forced out by his own MPs.

Allies are urging him to run again for a second shot as Prime Minister following the dramatic resignation of Ms Truss, who left the role after 44 days in charge.

In the now deleted tweet from the Ukrainian government Twitter account, it shows the show's central character holding a cut-out of the former Tory leader with the slogan "Better Call Boris" next to it. It was an apparent reference to the hit show Better Call Saul, a Netflix series that stars Bob Odenkirk as lawyer Jimmy McGill, who becomes increasingly unethical to resolve problems as a small time attorney.

snip

October 22, 2022

A sign for delusional traitors, clear and present dangers

October 21, 2022

COVID variants BQ.1, BQ 1.1 make up 16.6% of U.S. cases - CDC

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ph.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/covid-variants-bq-1-bq-143917839.html

(Reuters) -The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday estimated that BQ.1 and closely related BQ.1.1 make up for 16.6% of the total circulating coronavirus variants in the United States, nearly doubling from last week.

The variants have spread quickly in the country in the last few weeks, particularly in New York.

The CDC said on Friday that BQ.1 last week was estimated to make up 5.8% of circulating variants, while BQ.1.1 had made up 3.6% of all variants.

The two variants are descendants of Omicron's BA.5 subvariant, which is the dominant form of COVID-19 in the country. The U.S. regulators have recently authorized vaccine boosters that target it.

snip



Rising cases of variants BQ.1 and XBB could make COVID drugs all but useless, study finds

COVID variants are evolving ways around vaccines and treatments, fueling deadly conditions for a winter surge

https://www.salon.com/2022/10/04/bq1-xbb-variants-resistant/

As colder weather sets in, public health experts are keeping a close eye on COVID-19 variants that could spell doom and gloom this winter, just like omicron did last year. Yet these nascent variants that are rapidly spreading abroad have an evil twist that omicron lacked: an ability to evade the drugs that humans have developed to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The two subvariants of particular concern are known as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, both off-shoots of the omicron variant BA.5 (but with several key changes.) Indeed, they seem able to evade many of the tools we have to defend against it, which could trigger a wave of hospitalizations, disabling victims with long COVID or death.

Also worrying are two other strains: one called BA.2.75.2, which seems to be spreading quickly in Singapore, India and regions of Europe; and XBB, which some research suggests is the most antibody-evasive strain tested, almost on the level of the SARS-CoV-1 virus (known then simply as "SARS" ) that caused an outbreak in 2003. This could make the new vaccines relatively useless (but still better than nothing.) Moreover, an outbreak caused by one of these highly drug- and antibody-resistant variants could be much worse due to many world governments performing far less testing and reduced public health surveillance compared to 2020 and 2021.

Despite some confusing remarks from President Joseph Biden, the pandemic appears far from over. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has essentially been given free rein the last several months, allowing it to mutate and evolve new ways around immunity and vaccinations. These tiny alterations are largely focused in the spike protein, the hooks surrounding the virus used to insert itself into cells and reproduce.

snip

October 21, 2022

Jonathan Pie RIPS Truss........epic AF

October 20, 2022

Combating inflation: the case for one-off wealth taxes

Monetary tightening only risks recession, whereas fiscal measures can set Europe on a sustainable recovery path.

https://socialeurope.eu/combating-inflation-the-case-for-one-off-wealth-taxes

As Europe heads into the tail-end of the year, the continent remains gripped by inflation fuelled by the war-related energy crisis, weak currencies and continuing supply-chain woes. Mortgage rates have also risen sharply. Yet more distress may be on the way, with a potential recession looming. Though there is no easy path to a ‘soft landing’, progressive fiscal measures—including temporary levies targeted at affluent taxpayers and emergency assistance for those in need—must be part of the armoury to curb inflation and its deleterious effects.

The European Central Bank, like many of its peers around the world, has turned to monetary tightening to stifle demand and ease inflation, which breached 10 per cent year-on-year in the eurozone in September (over 22 per cent in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The ECB raised interest rates by a record 75 basis points to 1.25 per cent. Key rate benchmarks, meanwhile, have been hiked to 6.75 per cent in Poland, 7 per cent in Czechia and 13 per cent in Hungary, by the respective national banks.

While the steep rise in interest rates may act as an inflation sledgehammer, it also risks sending economies into a tailspin. Surging unemployment and severe recession could be on the horizon as rising producer costs, tight money and leaner wallets challenge the margins of even the most successful companies.

A repeat of the Great Recession of 2008-09 must be avoided at all costs. The decade that ensued saw Europe struggle through multiple bouts of austerity, persistently high unemployment (particularly among young people) and elevated poverty. The tumultuous economic climate provided an environment conducive for far-right and populist parties to thrive across Europe, challenging fundamental freedoms and institutions integral to economic and political stability. The victory of Italy’s far right in that country’s recent elections is a major warning sign.

snip

October 20, 2022

Quarry House in California receives extensive renovation by AB Design Studio

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/14/quarry-house-ab-design-california/







Architecture firm AB Design Studio has remodelled and expanded a 1950s home that sits on a boulder-studded property in California. Santa Barbara's AB Design Studio was tasked with remodelling and enlarging a 1954 house that was in disrepair, including a subpar foundation made of stone rubble. House of Honey, a studio in the LA area, served as the interior designer.









The Quarry House is located in Montecito, a town in central California that lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. The single-storey home sits within a former rock quarry, hence the project's name. While the home's original architect is unknown, there are rumours it was designed by Lutah Maria Riggs – the first female architect in California to be named a fellow of the AIA. In the 1950s, Riggs designed a nearby temple for the Vendanta Society, which drew many bohemians to the area.




Honouring the area's creative and spiritual heritage was a guiding factor for the design team, along with retaining the large boulders that dot the property. "The house reflects the artistic and Zen qualities of the area's past – a place once inhabited by a collective of bohemian poets, writers and artists – by maintaining original elements and reusing stones found on-site," the team said.







To make more space, the architecture studio extended one end of the house to hold a primary suite. Just beyond, it added a detached guesthouse called the Living Room Pavilion. Together, the buildings total 2,435 square feet (226 square metres) and wrap around a newly constructed swimming pool.

snip

October 20, 2022

"We identified an ultrapotent pan-variant neutralizing antibody, that is a strong candidate for

clinical development."

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adc9127



https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1583165200244428801

October 20, 2022

Jen Psaki: 'Holy moly siena/NYT poll "more than a third of independent voters and a smaller but

noteworthy contingent of Democrats said they were open to supporting candidates who reject the legitimacy of the 2020 election…” as they focus on economic issues'

https://twitter.com/jrpsaki/status/1582340497720213505

October 20, 2022

Truss is gone. The Tory experiment is dying. Kill it off. Then don't forgive and don't forget.

Remember that Truss and Kwarteng only continued the madness of Osborne and Cameron. And hard years of repair lie ahead

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/20/truss-gone-tory-kwarteng



The lexicon is lost for synonyms for mayhem, havoc, chaos and pandemonium. The front pages of all the newspapers and their websites that led the way to this abyss have used them all up. Those who backed Liz Truss, those who engineered Brexit, those forever calling for cuts to the public realm – the Mail even whooping with glee at her catastrophic, market-killing budget – “At last a true Tory budget!” – shouted as loud for her demise, without a heartbeat’s pause for shame or remorse.

Truss is gone. The ideological hobgoblins she brought in and others of her fraternity turned on her. It’s not been “take back control” but out of control. Even two more years of this Tory disaster is unthinkable. Whether it’s tax cuts splurging on the rich, or the return by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to thumb-screw austerity, the country can’t take either option. Nor will markets be much soothed as long as the party that enabled all this and drove us over the Brexit cliff remains in charge of our weakening economy.

The question is whether Labour, Lib Dems (and moderate Tories) can drive a stake through the heart of her extreme brand of libertarian, state-destroying, Europe-baiting, austerity politics. Strike it dead so it never resurrects, so no one ever tries it again any more than they would advocate Stalinism. Look at where it has taken us: Cameron and Osborne’s cuts at a time of recession, when every precedent said it was time to invest, led to negative growth in household income, and the UK performing worse than any other country in Europe bar Greece and Cyprus. Post-financial crash, incomes in France grew by 34% and in Germany by 27%, while ours fell by 2%, according to the Resolution Foundation.

Look what the Tories’ Brexit did. The British economy fell faster behind those in the EU: it was 90% of the size of Germany’s in 2016, and now it has fallen to 70%. Our trade to the EU has fallen by 16%. But Britain’s loss has been far greater than those whom Truss liked to call “bean counters”, with their “abacus economics”, can measure. Reputation is priceless, though it too is weighed on the scales of the mercurial markets’ confidence in our debts. No reputation manager can fix the shame of being laughed at abroad. Sober countries look on amazed at how the Conservative party – yes, the party of bowler hats, the Carlton club, black and white balls, garden fete fundraisers – has melded into the realm of disreputables such as Trump, Bolsonaro, Berlusconi and Giorgia Meloni.

snip