Two new studies reveal signs of fundamental climate shifts in Antarctica

Two new studies reveal signs of fundamental climate shifts in Antarctica

Bob Berwyn writes: Antarctica’s vast ice fields and the floating sea ice surrounding the continent are Earth’s biggest heat shields, bouncing solar radiation away from the planet, but two studies released today show how global warming is encroaching even on the sunlight reflector in the coldest region on the planet. Research by scientists with the British Antarctic Survey focused on last year’s dizzying sea ice decline. During the austral winter of 2023, Antarctic sea ice extent was about 770,000 square…

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UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city

UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city

A reminder that Biden could — whenever he wants to — use his leverage to force Israel to open land routes to aid to stop the famine spreading from the north. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk. https://t.co/2jBl6dOHDZ — Richard Hall (@_RichardHall) May 21, 2024 The Associated Press reports: The United Nations says it has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks…

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Israeli soldiers and police assisting settlers that attack Gaza aid trucks

Israeli soldiers and police assisting settlers that attack Gaza aid trucks

The Guardian reports: Individual members of Israel’s security forces are tipping off far-right activists and settlers to the location of aid trucks delivering vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, according to multiple sources. Settlers intercepting the vital humanitarian supplies to the strip are receiving information about the location of the aid trucks from members of the Israeli police and military, a spokesperson from the main Israeli activist group behind the blockades told the…

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‘A watershed event’: ICC charges against Netanyahu first time court has gone after a Western leader

‘A watershed event’: ICC charges against Netanyahu first time court has gone after a Western leader

  Israel and the United States have both strongly condemned the International Criminal Court’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges, calling it “outrageous” and seeking support from other allies in opposing the court’s moves. On Monday, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan outlined specific charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, including “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “extermination.” The ICC also sought arrest warrants for…

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‘Israel will be ostracized all over the world,’ warns opposition leader Lapid after AP’s equipment is seized

‘Israel will be ostracized all over the world,’ warns opposition leader Lapid after AP’s equipment is seized

The Associated Press reports: Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating the country’s new ban on Al Jazeera. The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations. The AP denounced the move. “The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding…

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How changes in the Israeli military led to the failure of October 7

How changes in the Israeli military led to the failure of October 7

James Rosen-Birch writes: In public presentations, Saar Koursh, former CEO of the Israeli security firm Magal Security Systems — the company that built the Gaza border fence — often boasted that the blockaded territory was his “showroom.” “Anybody can give you a very nice PowerPoint, but few can show you such a complex project as Gaza that is constantly battle-tested,” Koursh said in a 2016 interview. Magal’s smart fence formed part of an integrated system of concrete barriers, high-tech sensor…

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AI risks making us less human

AI risks making us less human

Tyler Austin Harper writes: “Our focus with AI is to help create more healthy and equitable relationships.” Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder and executive chair of the dating app Bumble, leans in toward her Bloomberg Live interviewer. “How can we actually teach you how to date?” When her interviewer, apparently bemused, asks for an example of what this means, Herd launches into a mind-bending disquisition on the future of AI-abetted dating: “Okay, so for example, you could in the near…

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How Neanderthal language differed from modern human – they probably didn’t use metaphors

How Neanderthal language differed from modern human – they probably didn’t use metaphors

Neanderthal skull (foreground) contrasted with that of a modern human from the Palaeolithic. Petr Student By Steven Mithen, University of Reading The Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) fascinate researchers and the general public alike. They remain central to debates about the nature of the genus Homo (the broad biological classification that humans and their relatives fall into). Neanderthals are also vital for understanding the uniqueness or otherwise of our species, Homo sapiens. We shared an ancestor with the Neanderthals around 600,000 years…

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Biden, Netanyahu, and Hamas, denounce ICC prosecutor, while Bernie Sanders defends international law

Biden, Netanyahu, and Hamas, denounce ICC prosecutor, while Bernie Sanders defends international law

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq pic.twitter.com/bxqLWc5M6u — Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 20, 2024 The ICC prosecutor is right to issue arrest warrants for political leaders who engage in war crimes. The global community must uphold international law. Without these standards of decency & morality, the planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism. pic.twitter.com/KF7aD0JsHw…

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War on terrorism based on a mistake: New 9/11 evidence points to deep Saudi complicity

War on terrorism based on a mistake: New 9/11 evidence points to deep Saudi complicity

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon writes: For more than two decades, through two wars and domestic upheaval, the idea that al-Qaeda acted alone on 9/11 has been the basis of U.S. policy. A blue-ribbon commission concluded that Osama bin Laden had pioneered a new kind of terrorist group—combining superior technological know-how, extensive resources, and a worldwide network so well coordinated that it could carry out operations of unprecedented magnitude. This vanguard of jihad, it seemed, was the first nonstate actor…

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ICC prosecutor’s applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh

ICC prosecutor’s applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh

  The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked a panel of international legal experts (Lord Justice Fulford, Judge Theodor Meron CMG, Amal Clooney, Danny Friedman KC, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG KC) to assist him with evaluating evidence of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza: For months, we have engaged in an extensive process of review and analysis. We have carefully examined each of the applications for arrest warrants, as well…

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The rise of Jewish terrorism and the failure of Israel

The rise of Jewish terrorism and the failure of Israel

The New York Times reports: Gush Emunim [or “Bloc of the Faithful,” a religious political movement determined to settle occupied territories] the and other right-wing groups saw the [Camp David] accords [signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978] as a shocking reversal. From this well of anger sprang a new campaign of intimidation [against Palestinians]. Rabbi Moshe Levinger, one of the leaders of Gush Emunim and the founder of the settlement in the…

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Mixed reactions in Tehran after death of President Ebrahim Raisi

Mixed reactions in Tehran after death of President Ebrahim Raisi

The Guardian reports: Activists in Iran have said there is little mood to mourn the death of the country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan on Sunday. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, announced a five-day public mourning period after the deaths of Raisi, the foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other passengers on the helicopter. However, Iranians who spoke to the Guardian have refused to lament the death of a man who…

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Open AI offered to hire Scarlett Johansson for her voice. She declined. They then created a voice just like hers.

Open AI offered to hire Scarlett Johansson for her voice. She declined. They then created a voice just like hers.

Statement from Scarlett Johansson on the OpenAI situation. Wow: pic.twitter.com/8ibMeLfqP8 — Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) May 20, 2024 NPR reports: Lawyers for Scarlett Johansson are demanding that OpenAI disclose how it developed an AI personal assistant voice that the actress says sounds uncannily similar to her own. Johansson’s legal team has sent OpenAI two letters asking the company to detail the process by which it developed a voice the tech company dubbed “Sky,” Johansson’s publicist told NPR in a revelation that…

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