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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>13 May, 2021</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inside India’s COVID-19 Surge</strong> - At a hospital in New Delhi, supplies and space are running out, but the patients keep coming. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/inside-indias-covid-19-surge">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biden’s Great Economic Rebalancing</strong> - The President is looking to correct a capitalist economy that has gone askew, and reclaim a lost vision of shared prosperity. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/joe-bidens-great-economic-rebalancing">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Facebook and the Normalization of Deviance</strong> - The trouble with waiting to address problems long after you know that they exist. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/facebook-and-the-normalization-of-deviance">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India’s Crisis Marks a New Phase in the Pandemic</strong> - In countries where the storm is lifting, it’s time to turn outward and help the rest of the world. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/indias-crisis-marks-a-new-phase-in-the-pandemic">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>It’s Time to Kick Gas</strong> - And do it as quickly as possible. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/its-time-to-kick-gas">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>The lawsuit seeking to impose the “death penalty” on the NRA, explained</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Wayne LaPierre, the CEO and executive vice president of the NRA, standing onstage at a lectern." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2Gl4bsxB4NeSzefzItISJiauWGM=/205x0:3761x2667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69279736/1139485134.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Wayne LaPierre, the CEO and executive vice president of the NRA. | Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Thoughts and prayers.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hk7Ynr">
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In August 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed an <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf">audacious lawsuit</a> against the nation’s largest and most powerful gun rights group.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EloMmi">
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The suit alleges that several top leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) — including its CEO, Wayne LaPierre — engaged in a ridiculous amount of self-dealing with the organization. Among other things, the lawsuit accuses LaPierre of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private charter planes for himself and his extended family, accepting lavish gifts from NRA vendors, and spending $1.2 million in NRA funds on “personal expenses,” the list of which includes his golf club membership.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hiEP6A">
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Although the NRA initially denied the allegations, it filed a tax document with the IRS in November admitting it “became aware during 2019 of a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-irs-disclosure-990/2020/11/25/50521108-2d34-11eb-9c71-ccf2c0b8d571_story.html">significant diversion of its assets</a>.” The tax return also says LaPierre reimbursed the NRA for $300,000 in travel expenses.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dqbX8N">
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James’s lawsuit asks the court to impose several steep penalties on the NRA, including dissolving its corporate charter — a sanction NRA’s attorneys have characterized as akin to the “<a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">death penalty</a>” for a corporation.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F4xSHM">
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Needless to say, the NRA wants to avoid this outcome and has engaged in some fairly audacious legal maneuverings of its own to strip the state of New York of much of its power over the organization. Although the NRA is, by its own accounts, in <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">strong financial shape and fully capable of paying off its creditors</a>, the organization declared bankruptcy last January.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d3OhYb">
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The primary purpose of the NRA’s declaration, many outsiders surmised, is to cut many of its formal ties with New York and reincorporate it in the state of Texas, thus stripping James of much of her authority over the organization. On Tuesday, a federal bankruptcy judge agreed.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D3h0hy">
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Texas-based Judge Harlin Hale <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">formally rejected</a> the NRA’s attempt to use the bankruptcy courts in this way, ruling that “the NRA did not file the bankruptcy petition in good faith because this filing was not for a purpose intended or sanctioned by the Bankruptcy Code.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OK5p6h">
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If you’re confused by this complicated web of corporate and bankruptcy law, fear not. It is arcane and convoluted, and I will explain what the law has to say about all of these legal maneuvers. The bottom line is the NRA lost the first round of what is likely to be years of litigation over whether it can declare bankruptcy and what sanctions New York’s courts can impose on the group.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Csxelw">
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There is a very small chance that this all ends with the <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf">dissolution of the NRA</a>. That could mean the NRA’s current leadership would lose control of all the organization’s assets, including its valuable donor lists.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gU4bka">
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Meanwhile, there’s a larger possibility that New York’s courts will allow the NRA to continue operating but will also impose significant sanctions on LaPierre and other top NRA leaders. Those sanctions could include requiring reimbursing the NRA for their own alleged self-dealing, or even removing them from the NRA’s leadership.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tybb5H">
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And there’s an even greater possibility these lawsuits reveal humiliating information about LaPierre and other top officials. The NRA faced several <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/17/18167430/nra-2018-midterms-trump-spending-trouble">unexpected policy defeats</a> during the Trump administration, and it is <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/28/20936511/nra-nratv-ackerman-mcqueen-lawsuit-complaint">caught up in another round of litigation</a> with one of its former vendors. More embarrassing news about the gun rights group may discourage people from giving to the NRA in the future. NRA supporters, after all, typically give to the organization because they agree with its political views, not because they want to help pay for one of LaPierre’s trips to the Bahamas.
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</p>
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<h3 id="hU5q8w">
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Why does New York get to decide whether the NRA can continue?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ikh4AF">
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There is something a little odd about the fact that just one state, New York, may have so much authority over a major interest group such as the NRA. Not long after James filed her suit, the usual suspects denounced it as a power grab: Former President Donald Trump accused the “Radical Left New York” of “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-lapierre-ny-attorney-general/2020/08/06/8e389794-d794-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html">trying to destroy the NRA</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dql4v6">
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New York’s power over the NRA arises from an unusual quirk of American corporate law. Although corporations can do business in all 50 states or in foreign countries, new companies are typically chartered by states and are thus bound by the state’s corporate laws, not the federal government’s.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PsqC52">
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The fact that corporations typically get to choose which state to incorporate in often benefits the companies themselves. More than 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies, for example, are <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76951/why-are-so-many-us-companies-incorporated-delaware">incorporated in Delaware</a>. That’s because Delaware laws are particularly favorable to these corporations; also, many corporate lawyers are familiar with Delaware law and Delaware’s courts.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sdJePD">
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But this system also places a disproportionate amount of power in the hands of some states’ courts. The large number of companies incorporated in Delaware means that multibillion-dollar corporate cases of national importance are often decided by judges <a href="http://www.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/index.cfm?state=DE#:~:text=Under%20the%20Delaware%20Constitution%2C%20judges,qualified%20candidates%20for%20judicial%20appointments.">appointed by the governor of a tiny state</a> with <a href="https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/26/2020-census-give-delaware-second-house-member/7385909002/">fewer than a million residents</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YQo4ub">
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It’s not unusual, in other words, for a single state to wield the type of power New York now does over the NRA.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iOQ8uf">
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The NRA is 150 years old. Indeed, it is so old that it was formed in an era when corporations were often created by special acts of the state legislature — New York’s legislature <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">granted the NRA a corporate charter in 1871</a>, and the organization continues to operate under the charter to this day.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pJ2bsw">
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That means the NRA is subject to a wide array of New York laws governing corporations formed in the state, including one that permits the state attorney general to bring a lawsuit seeking to “<a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/notforprofit-corporation-law/npc-sect-112.html">annul the corporate existence or dissolve a corporation</a> that has acted beyond its capacity or power.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qiOoal">
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Under certain circumstances, a New York corporation may also be dissolved if “the directors or members in control of the corporation have <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/notforprofit-corporation-law/npc-sect-1102.html">looted or wasted the corporate assets</a>, have perpetuated the corporation solely for their personal benefit, or have otherwise acted in an illegal, oppressive or fraudulent manner.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QWZ4bt">
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The crux of James’s <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf">lawsuit against the NRA</a> is that LaPierre “exploited the organization for his financial benefit, and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members, and vendors,” and that he did so in violation of his legal “duties of care, loyalty and obedience to the mission of the charity.” The suit also claims several other senior NRA leaders “regularly ignored, overrode or otherwise violated the bylaws and internal policies and procedures that they were charged with enforcing” in order to divert assets to “insiders and favored vendors.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0RDs59">
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Thus, James claims the NRA has “acted beyond its capacity or power” by operating not as a legitimate nonprofit corporation that serves its stated mission but as a kind of personal enrichment machine for a handful of the organization’s senior leaders.
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</p>
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<h3 id="xMDKcm">
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What are the allegations against the NRA?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PdngnI">
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Realistically, James’s office faces a tough road if it hopes to dissolve the NRA. New York courts have likened this remedy to a “<a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-oliver-154?resultsNav=false">judgment … of corporate death</a>,” and they place a very high burden on state officials seeking to dissolve a corporation. The state often must show that the corporation committed “some sin against the law of its being” that is “material and serious … such as to harm or menace the public welfare.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YLfIpM">
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Yet, while it’s far from clear James can convince a court to impose a “corporate death penalty” on the NRA, her complaint does describe some very serious allegations against the NRA’s senior leadership, which <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/summons_and_complaint_1.pdf">stretch for more than 100 pages of James’s filing</a>. They claim the NRA <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation">misused as much as $64 million</a> over just three years, and they include some genuinely shocking claims of self-dealing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="52U1Pj">
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LaPierre, for example, is accused of chartering a private flight, priced at more than $26,995, for his niece and her daughter after they were unable to catch a commercial flight to an NRA event. The NRA allegedly paid more than $500,000 to fly LaPierre and his family to the Bahamas on at least eight different occasions, where LaPierre often stayed on a 108-foot yacht owned by one of the NRA’s largest vendors, as well as nearly $600,000 over five years for “consulting services” provided by LaPierre’s wife’s “executive assistant.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TeAATT">
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The NRA also purportedly agreed to pay LaPierre a simply enormous amount of money if he retired or was not reappointed as the organization’s CEO — so much money, in fact, that his annual compensation would have<em> </em>increased. One version of LaPierre’s “post-employment” contract specified he would be paid more than a million dollars a year through 2030 if he left his job.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XOCAtB">
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And then there’s the NRA’s relationship with certain favored vendors. According to James’s complaint, for many years the NRA’s largest vendor was the public relations firm Ackerman McQueen. The NRA allegedly paid Ackerman nearly $32 million in 2018 alone — and that’s on top of the fees the NRA paid to the Mercury Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ackerman.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FiwtZO">
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According to the complaint, however, the NRA’s arrangement with Ackerman appeared designed to hide what all that money actually paid for. LaPierre, who reportedly had a very close relationship with a late co-founder of Ackerman whom he would often speak to daily, allegedly “requested that invoices from Ackerman … contain very little detail about the work performed or services rendered.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kiiQum">
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To be clear, it’s not like the NRA received nothing at all from Ackerman — among other things, the PR firm <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/28/20936511/nra-nratv-ackerman-mcqueen-lawsuit-complaint">built the NRA’s now-defunct video streaming network NRATV</a>. But the relationship between the NRA and Ackerman has also turned sour. Among other things, the NRA sued Ackerman in 2019, claiming the firm misled it into wasting millions of dollars on NRATV and produced content even many NRA leaders viewed as “<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/28/20936511/nra-nratv-ackerman-mcqueen-lawsuit-complaint">distasteful and racist</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="12IAnf">
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In any event, these are just a few of the accusations in James’s complaint, which paints a picture of an organization that allowed LaPierre to spend lavishly on himself, his family, and his personal friends and close associates, with little oversight from within the NRA.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wmFi3p">
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The NRA’s response to James’s allegations has also evolved over time. In August, the organization put out a statement claiming it was “<a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1291468835317518356">well governed, financially solvent, and committed to good governance</a>,” but then admitted in its November IRS filing that it discovered “a significant diversion of its assets” in 2019.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DcnMiV">
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In October, the NRA <a href="https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/documents/292/77229/NRA-MDL-NYAG-countercomplaint.pdf">filed a lawsuit against James</a>, claiming her investigation of the NRA and subsequent lawsuit violate the Constitution because James intends to “obstruct, chill, deter, and retaliate against the NRA’s core political speech, which is protected by the First Amendment.” The NRA states in the suit that it “has undertaken efforts to improve its internal governance functions up to the present day.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RS4RDs">
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Regardless, even if James’s allegations are proven, they may not be enough to justify dissolving the NRA in its entirety. But they do suggest the organization is deeply corrupt and may need new management.
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</p>
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<h3 id="kouSuE">
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What does bankruptcy law have to do with all of this?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="geMhK6">
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The purpose of bankruptcy, as the Supreme Court explained many years ago, is to “<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7870978431784548905">relieve the honest debtor</a> from the weight of oppressive indebtedness and permit him to start afresh free from the obligations and responsibilities consequent upon business misfortunes.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mCC3j9">
|
|||
|
|
The idea is that an organization sometimes takes on debts it cannot afford to pay, whether because of poor business decisions, bad luck, or court decisions ordering it to pay large sums of money. When this happens, it is normally better to allow the organization to pay off as many of these debts as possible, and continue to exist and employ some of its workers, than to have it simply collapse under the weight of its financial obligations.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8DWGyn">
|
|||
|
|
Given that bankruptcy exists to relieve debtors from unpayable debts, the NRA’s decision to file bankruptcy is more than a little odd. As Hale explained in his opinion dismissing the NRA’s filing, “The NRA has consistently represented to the Court and to its members” that it is “<a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">in its strongest financial condition in years</a>.” Like most large organizations, the NRA does have debts, but there is no indication it can’t pay those debts, or that it needs a federal bankruptcy court to step in and help manage its finances.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MR1wg0">
|
|||
|
|
Rather, as the NRA itself admitted in a court filing, the organization hoped to use the bankruptcy process to implement “a plan of reorganization that provides for the reorganized NRA to emerge from these chapter 11 cases as a Texas nonprofit entity.” The NRA, in other words, hoped a bankruptcy court would allow it to reincorporate in Texas, thus stripping New York state of much of its power over the NRA.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rQQ0xt">
|
|||
|
|
Yet, while bankruptcy courts sometimes have significant power to restructure a bankrupt corporation, Hale refused to play along with the NRA’s scheme.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gUIjOm">
|
|||
|
|
While debtors often file bankruptcy because they lose a lawsuit and, as a result, cannot afford to pay what they owe, multiple courts have held that, in Hale’s words, “a bankruptcy case filed for the purpose of avoiding a regulatory scheme is not filed in good faith and should be dismissed.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YOdAm4">
|
|||
|
|
So, after determining that the purpose of the NRA’s bankruptcy filing was to frustrate James’s effort to enforce New York’s corporate law, Hale dismissed it, ultimately agreeing with James that “the NRA is using this bankruptcy case to address a regulatory enforcement problem, not a financial one.” And that is not something federal bankruptcy law permits.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="3US2Zy">
|
|||
|
|
Is the NRA actually going down?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o5hJpw">
|
|||
|
|
So, the NRA lost the first round in its fight against NY regulators.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LqPOGi">
|
|||
|
|
Hale, however, is unlikely to have the final word on whether the NRA’s attempt to reorganize as a Texas corporation through bankruptcy will prevail.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SkiHBP">
|
|||
|
|
For one thing, the NRA may appeal Hale’s decision, and it is likely their appeals will ultimately be <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-documents---clerks-office/rules/federalrulesofappellateprocedure">heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit</a>, an extremely conservative court dominated by Bush and Trump appointees. So it’s possible the NRA will argue its appeal in front of a panel of judges who are very sympathetic to the NRA’s mission — and equally unsympathetic to Democratic attorneys general from New York.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pvTda2">
|
|||
|
|
Meanwhile, the NRA’s general counsel testified that he does not expect New York’s courts to try James’s lawsuit against the NRA <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">until early next year</a>. So even if the NRA’s attempt to file bankruptcy in order to reincorporate in Texas ultimately fails, it will be a long time before any New York judge weighs in on James’s allegations against the gun rights group — and even if James prevails at trial, the NRA will likely appeal that decision.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GbF9kk">
|
|||
|
|
What’s more, Hale wrote in his opinion that he was “<a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20705869/nra-bankruptcy-ruling.pdf">not dismissing this case with prejudice</a>,” meaning the NRA could potentially refile for bankruptcy in Hale’s court — though it’s unlikely a second filing would accomplish much, unless its circumstances change.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FW7Pf2">
|
|||
|
|
All of which is a long way of saying that dissolution of the NRA remains unlikely and is certainly not imminent. Nevertheless, the organization did suffer a significant loss in Hale’s court, and James’s allegations against it are very serious. Even if James’s lawsuit does not end in the NRA’s destruction, it could end with significant sanctions against LaPierre and his inner circle.
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>The Gaza doom loop</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zmWIxz7Fyerda49niU7VOZapgyQ=/189x0:2854x1999/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69279647/GettyImages_1232817723.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Israeli police run after a Palestinian demonstrator at the al-Aqsa Mosque during Israel’s Jerusalem Day on May 10. | Laurent Van Der Stockt/Getty Images
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
What’s happening in Israel and Gaza is the near-inevitable result of a grim status quo.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="goDKHM">
|
|||
|
|
Dozens have already died in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, and more will perish if the fighting continues to escalate.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d8Ic9k">
|
|||
|
|
But there is little chance that the root cause of all this death — the long-running political status quo in the Israel-Palestinian conflict — will be altered in the slightest. Israeli-Palestinian warfare has become routinized; it follows a familiar script that repeats itself endlessly.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zo0qz6">
|
|||
|
|
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, there have been three full-scale wars and numerous rounds of lower-level fighting. But the basic structure of the conflict — Israel’s blockade of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank, and Palestinian rule divided between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — has remained remarkably durable.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pp6tGN">
|
|||
|
|
It would seem as if the current round of violence emerged out of a complex series of events in Jerusalem, most notably heavy-handed actions by Israeli police and aggression by far-right Jewish nationalists. But in reality, these events were merely triggers for escalations made almost inevitable by the way the major parties have chosen to approach the conflict.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EL29rCxpNL8_DMtWCOrT6vvJf4Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510286/AP_21130298690487.jpg"/> <cite>Mahmoud Illean/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Israeli police entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 10. The Jerusalem Day holiday celebrates the unification of the city under Israel’s control following the 1967 Six-Day War, and comes amid protests over the eviction of Palestinian families.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9sSUYY">
|
|||
|
|
Both Israeli and Palestinian leadership have basically accepted the painful political status quo in Gaza, seeing the violence and humanitarian suffering it causes as bad, but basically tolerable as part of an effort to secure their hold on power. Israel’s leadership bears particular responsibility: As the most powerful actor in the conflict, it has the greatest ability to break the pattern. But the current factions in power in Jerusalem have strong ideological and strategic reasons for keeping its Gaza policy in place.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nHF8hM">
|
|||
|
|
As a result, the underlying status quo will likely outlive this conflict, guaranteeing more violence.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zB5Bom">
|
|||
|
|
“It’s like the worst version of <em>Groundhog Day</em>,” says Khaled Elgindy, the director of the program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute. “[Leaders] just put a Band-Aid on it and we go back to the pre-crisis normal.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nc2wss">
|
|||
|
|
It’s a horrible equilibrium, one in which “manageable” levels of violence stand in for doing something to actually improve the lives of Israelis or Palestinians. It is also a direct result of the deepest political structure governing the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the iron hand of Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza’s border.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="5bZsyL">
|
|||
|
|
The Israeli-Palestinian doom loop
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5mLS9G">
|
|||
|
|
The current violence began with a series of conflicts in Jerusalem.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E0xX5K">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/how-jerusalems-police-shoot-first-and-ask-later-analysis-667700">Israeli police</a> in the city blocked off the Damascus Gate, a popular gathering place for Arabs during Ramadan, sparking protests. An attempt by Jewish settlers to evict longtime Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah, an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, inflamed tensions dramatically, leading to violent clashes with Israeli police. Arab youth <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SyFU7k0IO">attacked ultra-Orthodox Jews</a> in the city and Jewish extremists assailed Arab residents. All of this culminated in a violent Israeli police raid on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/world/middleeast/jerusalem-protests-aqsa-palestinians.html">the al-Aqsa Mosque</a>, Jerusalem’s holiest site for Muslims, located on the Temple Mount (the holiest site in the world for Jews).
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yRtGoR">
|
|||
|
|
Then Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem. Ostensibly, this was a display of solidarity with the protesters on the ground. But it appears to have been a political calculation — Hamas attempting to capitalize on Palestinian anger over Jerusalem to expand its own influence, especially in the wake of recently canceled Palestinian elections that would likely have strengthened its political position.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aEbEEt">
|
|||
|
|
“This is much more about internal Palestinian politics than it is about what’s been going on in Jerusalem,” says Michael Koplow, the policy director at the Israel Policy Forum.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7zF7Wp">
|
|||
|
|
The attacks on Jerusalem crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to as a “<a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/netanyahu-gaza-terrorists-crossed-red-line-with-jerusalem-rockets-667789">red line</a>,” breaking the unspoken rules that limited the pace and range of rocket attacks to limited barrages mostly targeting southern Israel. Israel responded with overwhelming force; massive air strikes targeting Hamas emplacements in densely populated Gaza. This prompted more rocket attacks from Hamas and, in turn, more bombings from Israel. As a result, at least <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/05/12/world/israel-jerusalem-gaza">seven Israelis and dozens of Palestinians are </a>dead — with no end in sight.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid">
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G8ipwKxtIOi2Uo0oJnv758td_fI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510295/AP_21131710036016.jpg"/> <cite>Heidi Levine/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Israeli firefighters respond to damage created by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Holon, near Tel Aviv, on May 11.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dG0PbgPte2NPbymfGPGFAmmZfYQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510296/AP_21130376188508.jpg"/> <cite>Oded Balilty/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Palestinians evacuate a protester wounded by Israeli police at the Lions Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 10.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TZW5K7">
|
|||
|
|
But while the events that led to this point are unique, the broader pattern of events is not. This week’s violence is part of a recurring pattern determined by structural factors in the conflict. If the events in Jerusalem hadn’t prompted Hamas rocket fire and Israeli escalation, something else almost certainly would have.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qJEg39">
|
|||
|
|
“The most likely scenario is unfortunately the one we’ve been in for the past 15 years,” says Ilan Goldenberg, the director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IvzsM0">
|
|||
|
|
Goldenberg coauthored <a href="https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS-Report-Gaza-final-v2-web2.pdf?mtime=20190102140854&focal=none">a report</a> in 2018 documenting what he terms “the cycle of violence” between Israel and Hamas. It documents the ways in which the political status quo is arranged in a way that makes frequent violent flare-ups all but inevitable.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y35MT5">
|
|||
|
|
The stage is set, Goldenberg and his coauthors say, by the policy approaches of both sides. Israel aims to minimize the threat posed by Hamas and other militant factions, imposing a harsh blockade on Gaza that limits the flow of goods and people into the territory. Hamas aims to cement its hold on power and expand its influence relative to its Palestinian rivals, seeing violence against Israel as a key tool in this struggle. This creates an underlying reality in which fighting breaks out again and again.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zeQ75c">
|
|||
|
|
“Eventually, humanitarian and economic pressure builds inside Gaza, and Hamas escalates its use of violence both to generate domestic political support and to pressure Israel to ease the economic situation,” they write. “Israel responds with its own escalation, including military strikes inside Gaza and punitive economic measures that further choke the Strip.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yxYDCS">
|
|||
|
|
Once the fighting starts, it’s not clear how much it’ll escalate. Sometimes it ends swiftly and with minimal loss of life. Other times — as in 2008 to 2009, 2012, and 2014 — it turns into an all-out war, with hundreds of (mostly Palestinian) casualties. The current fighting is rapidly moving in that direction, with Israeli leaders pledging to continue the bombardment of Gaza indefinitely.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6tie8g">
|
|||
|
|
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to strike and bring complete silence for the long term,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/12/israeli-bombardment-continues-on-gaza">said on May 12</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UL1UUT71RlpCNZ3ZSm1QxFv2r34=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510298/AP_21132427251837.jpg"/> <cite>Adel Hana/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
A damaged building in Gaza City that was hit by an Israeli airstrike on May 12.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0HNRAw">
|
|||
|
|
Ultimately, the warring parties either unilaterally decide to stop bombing, or else agree to an internationally brokered settlement that does little to change the fundamental dynamics. This is the nature of current conflict: Many people die, and many more suffer, without any real prospect for change.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BITvU0">
|
|||
|
|
“The question isn’t why this keeps happening,” Elgindy says. “It’s why anyone isn’t doing anything to prevent it from [continuing to] happen.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="B0ATjy">
|
|||
|
|
The doom loop has deep roots in Israeli politics
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mlj55s">
|
|||
|
|
It’s clear that that this status quo produces horrors. The problem, though, is that these terrible costs are seen as basically tolerable by the political leadership of all the major parties.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zQEIg4">
|
|||
|
|
Hamas continues to be able to rule Gaza and reaps the political benefits from being the party of armed resistance to Israeli occupation. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas appears cowed by Hamas’s power — <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-officially-delays-palestinian-elections-blaming-israel/">most analysts</a> believe he canceled the Palestinian election because he thought he would lose — and so is content to let Israel keep his rivals contained in Gaza.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NUCsav">
|
|||
|
|
Israel is the most powerful actor of the three: It controls access to the Gaza Strip and operates a military occupation in the West Bank. If the Israeli leadership wanted to take actions to short-circuit the cycle of violence, like easing the blockade of Gaza, it could. But despite the persistent rocket threat, the leadership isn’t willing to try something new.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="92qEOF">
|
|||
|
|
Why?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9T8S7V">
|
|||
|
|
The last time I was in Israel, on a reporting trip in November 2019, I spoke with Yehuda Shaul, the founder of Breaking the Silence, a group that helps Israeli soldiers tell their stories about service in the Palestinian territories. He told me that the traditional categories used to describe politics — left, right, and center — are fundamentally inadequate when it comes to explaining what happens in Israel.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y4HPkK">
|
|||
|
|
These days, he argues, most of Israel’s leadership falls into what he terms the “annexation” camp or the “control” camp.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2aoMgL">
|
|||
|
|
The annexationists are Jewish extremists, who want to formally seize large chunks of Palestinian land while either expelling its residents or denying them political rights — ethnic cleansing or apartheid. The “control” camp, which includes current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sees things primarily through the lens of military and physical security: how the Palestinians are ruled is less important than minimizing the threat they pose to Israeli lives.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4KbFMB">
|
|||
|
|
“The driving principle [of the control camp] is a national security idea,” Shaul explains. “We are in a zero sum game: between the river and the sea, there is room for one sovereign power. It’s either us or the Palestinians.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zOFAh2">
|
|||
|
|
The status quo in Gaza serves both groups. From the annexationist view, keeping the Palestinians weak and divided allows Israeli settlements to keep expanding and the seizure of both the West Bank and East Jerusalem to continue apace. Lifting the blockade on Gaza, and working to promote some kind of renewed peace process involving both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, jeopardizes the agenda of “Greater Israel.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R2mRfV">
|
|||
|
|
“It is Israeli policy to fragment Palestinians politically and geographically, to isolate them into these different areas. It’s classic colonial strategy of divide and conquer,” Elgindy says.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid">
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BO2LOpwjt56FoCttsBXVdWVqKjU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510304/AP_21132441365258.jpg"/> <cite>Majdi Mohammed/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Palestinians mourn Rasheed Abu Arra, who was killed while confronting Israeli forces in Aqqaba near the West Bank town of Tubas, on May 12.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AiuDfmT0ezKtxcnb4AiG92rnmaI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510306/AP_21132441446105.jpg"/> <cite>Majdi Mohammed/AP</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Rasheed Abu Arra’s mother lays hands over her son.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DmYpTb">
|
|||
|
|
Meanwhile, the “control” camp sees this as the least bad option. Any easing of the Gaza blockade would risk Hamas breaking containment and expanding its presence in the West Bank, which would be far more dangerous than the rockets — a threat heavily mitigated by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. In this analysis, periodic flare-ups are a price that has to be paid to minimize the threat to Israeli lives — with heavy escalations like this one required to restore a basically tolerable status quo.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3p3mKI">
|
|||
|
|
I witnessed one of these flare-ups on the same trip where I met Shaul, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/27/21075868/israeli-democracy-war-netanyahu">reporting from Israel and the West Bank</a> as Israel and Hamas exchanged fire. After a few days of mayhem and air raid sirens, life just went back to normal in Israel — as if nothing had happened, as if dozens of Palestinian lives had not just been snuffed out (there were no Israeli deaths in that round).
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A4jLnA">
|
|||
|
|
“A lot of the Israeli security and political establishment has sort of internalized this idea that … there’s a sort of stable equilibrium,” says Koplow. “You get occasional rockets, and Israel will respond with a few missile strikes on Gaza, but it happens very occasionally and things immediately quiet down.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iqSoqp">
|
|||
|
|
For much of Israeli history, a third camp — which Shaul calls the “equality” camp — presented a different vision for achieving Israel’s security needs. Epitomized by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s government formed in 1992, it believed that Palestinians deserved a political voice as a matter of principle — either in a single state or, more typically, through a two-state arrangement. Such an agreement would sap Palestinian support for violent groups like Hamas by taking away the population’s underlying grievance: the lack of a state to call their own.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v9XAsp">
|
|||
|
|
Yet the equality camp practically collapsed after the failure of the peace process and the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. Its political vehicles among Israeli Jews, the Labor and Meretz parties, make up a little more than 10 percent of Israel’s current Knesset (parliament). The result is indefinite occupation with no end in sight; no fundamental rethinking of the approach to either Gaza or the West Bank.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cDOqe5">
|
|||
|
|
“As a society, the view is that the risks necessary to solve [the conflict with the Palestinians] are not worth it and it won’t work,” Goldenberg says. “So all we can deal with is the problem in front of us today, without really thinking long-term. We’ll deal with the other problems tomorrow — that’s basically the Israeli attitude.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N2mSqn">
|
|||
|
|
None of this excuses Hamas from its role in escalating the current conflict, or makes the deep divisions between Palestinians themselves less significant. The status quo is not only Israel’s fault.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0fu9bY">
|
|||
|
|
But the Israeli government sets the terms for how Israelis and Palestinians interact, the underlying policy architecture that shapes the options available to the various different sides.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5tGcmXw3BIzP4BMzKE6W-3KghKw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22510327/GettyImages_1232811196.jpg"/> <cite>Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
An image of the Dome of the Rock constructed with rubber bullets and stun grenades fired by Israeli police against Palestinians in Jerusalem on May 10.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gAI0hP">
|
|||
|
|
So long as the annexation and control camps are in the driver’s seat in Israel, it will pursue policies that aim to maintain control over Palestinian land while simultaneously minimizing the security threats intrinsic to the enterprise of military rule over a hostile population. The Gaza situation is an outgrowth of this reality, the sort of policy that one pursues in a world where a more fundamental revision is ideologically foreclosed.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LGgLVZ">
|
|||
|
|
Barring some international intervention, it’s hard to see how things get much better — and easy to see how the same terrible things keep happening, over and over again.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pRYO0L">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CxhxJL">
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>Open for a surprise: The endearing results of Twitter’s new image crop</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/axd3N1n6KjFaK9_7lznxzZY3yTQ=/0x317:550x730/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69279515/E0qqF0VVgAUnVM5.0.jpeg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Twitter
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter users rarely agree on anything. When they do, it’s an opportunity for community building.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1t5pMz">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter recently made a small but striking change to its interface: It changed the aspect ratio of cropped images on users’ mobile feeds, meaning many photos that would usually be cropped can now be displayed in their entirety.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lt4QBz">
|
|||
|
|
The sudden shift — one among a slew of changes Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1369680667886444548">began testing</a> in March — gave many people the impression that the social media site had done away with automatic image cropping overnight. (In actuality, the old cropping ratio is still in effect on desktop browsers, and cropping is still happening on mobile but in a different ratio.) Once users started noticing, celebrations ensued, with an outpouring of art-sharing, meme-making, and gentle ribbing. The response provides an interesting lesson in how we use social media and why such unexpected changes often become opportunities for vital community building.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="xwJCGA">
|
|||
|
|
Welcome to the vertical art party!
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q4at75">
|
|||
|
|
Two of the fundamental truths about modern social media is that every platform has its own quirks, and that different communities of users evolve and transform these characteristics in a way that makes each platform unique. Whether they’re well-liked, core features (such as Twitter’s overall brevity) or inconveniences users must work around (like Twitter’s lack of an edit button), it’s how a platform’s users respond to and incorporate these traits into their daily lives that matters.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MikHmG">
|
|||
|
|
On Tumblr, for example, users evolved the “gifset,” a bundle of interlocking animated images that tell a story and could really only exist as a creative entity on Tumblr. On Vine, the fact a video could only be six seconds long became <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/10/28/13439450/vine-shutdown-loss-to-black-culture">the linchpin</a> of the entire platform, spawning a new medium of microvideos that continue to shape internet culture. One of TikTok’s defining qualities is the ability to reuse audio from someone else’s videos; while lots of sites enable remixes, TikTok users, building off earlier apps such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical.ly">Musical.ly</a> (which merged with TikTok in 2018), routinely utilize each other’s original art as the basis for <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/1/19/22233525/sea-shanty-tiktok-wellerman-song">glorious strings</a> of duets, virtual choirs, and other vocal creations.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9ysh2Z">
|
|||
|
|
Less popular features and quirks can reliably unite an entire community in complaining. On Twitter, users have spent years lobbying for an image crop that works correctly.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GLyAmk">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter began to crop photos <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2014/friendlier-photo-sharing-is-here.html">around 2014</a>, when it introduced different default aspect ratios for users to apply to their own photos during uploading. At one point in 2015, it <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2015/a-new-look-for-your-twittercom-photos.html">announced</a> it would completely do away with image cropping; it later reneged on that decision, and by 2018 it was <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/topics/infrastructure/2018/Smart-Auto-Cropping-of-Images.html">using AI image detection</a> to automatically crop the images people added to their tweets, much to their chagrin.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bQmWiV">
|
|||
|
|
Until this recent change, the auto-crop feature typically forced all images, regardless of size and original framing, into a landscape orientation, often trimming photos in unpredictable and sometimes nonsensical ways. The desire to circumvent the Twitter crop grew so strong that <a href="https://influencermarketinghub.com/twitter-image-size/">elaborate tutorials</a> emerged explaining <a href="https://twitter.com/kophing_/status/1028000217654652928">exactly how to crop</a> and display images so they’d show in their entirety without being placed on the algorithmic chopping block.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U8z4yG">
|
|||
|
|
Another way Twitter users evolved and adapted to the crop is the “<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/open-for-a-surprise">open for a surprise!</a>” meme, where they strategically post photos (knowing Twitter will crop out the best parts) and invite others to click on the full version for a “surprise.” <a href="https://twitter.com/ShouldHaveCat/status/1333897981049917440">For example</a>:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7uNMk6Fcqr97YlVGqXgVkuCr4xo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22506414/Screen_Shot_2021_05_11_at_9.46.25_AM.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/ShouldHaveCat/status/1333897981049917440" target="_blank">Twitter</a></cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Clicking into the photo reveals a bevy of kittens — surprise!
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JwIKr8">
|
|||
|
|
With the Twitter crop thoroughly established as a source of both endless hilarity and petty annoyance, the change in aspect ratios quickly became cause for celebration. While some users understandably <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/5/22421574/twitter-crop-issue-bigger-images-rollout">mourned the hit to the “open for a surprise!” meme</a>, conversation about the new image crop spread across the platform, with trends like “RIP Twitter crop” and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VerticalArtParty">#VerticalArtParty</a> gaining traction.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="modai3">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
RIP Twitter crop!<br/>Here is a favorite that I took recently in NYC <a href="https://t.co/uJUu3S2gaT">pic.twitter.com/uJUu3S2gaT</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Rishi (<span class="citation" data-cites="rishi_kara">@rishi_kara</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/rishi_kara/status/1390074242285412353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote></div></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<div id="IK18gc">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
It’s time for a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VerticalArtParty?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VerticalArtParty</a> ! Post your vertical art that got slaughtered by twitter crop!<br/><br/>This one is an old pencil piece of mine. I misspelled my last name on it because I finished it after an all nighter. <a href="https://t.co/oXTLe635fZ">pic.twitter.com/oXTLe635fZ</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Karla Ortiz (<span class="citation" data-cites="kortizart">@kortizart</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/kortizart/status/1390089271927742464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RrbEgU">
|
|||
|
|
To be clear, the site hasn’t actually done away with the crop; it’s merely changed the aspect ratio, meaning awkward crops can <a href="https://twitter.com/shuailormoon/status/1390842918781427714">still happen</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/foq_212cp5BftkZaKBsJJRWxd0U=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22506415/Screenshot_20210511_081455_Twitter.jpg"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/shuailormoon/status/1390842918781427714" target="_blank">Twitter</a></cite>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dJw9Lh">
|
|||
|
|
Or maybe, depending on your point of view, it’s still a fun gift:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="L0fNYW">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
“open for a surprise” still works if you try hard enough <a href="https://t.co/3Bpv7jG00O">pic.twitter.com/3Bpv7jG00O</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— vy ️ (<span class="citation" data-cites="vyxnilla">@vyxnilla</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/vyxnilla/status/1390110454660296706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4ihXRM">
|
|||
|
|
And because the new crop ratio still applies only to mobile and not laptop browsers right now, the issue of presentation is still a source of frustration for many artists. For example:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="mkrZwV">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
desktop really said yes crop behead unicorn… <a href="https://t.co/LAjir1GaxW">pic.twitter.com/LAjir1GaxW</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— isadora zeferino (<span class="citation" data-cites="imzeferino">@imzeferino</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/imzeferino/status/1390093460825427968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QwOeNg">
|
|||
|
|
People have already started <a href="https://twitter.com/MOlTIEMOlTIE/status/1390061349921767429">updating</a> their image guidelines, which are very important to visual artists who use Twitter, to accommodate the new crop ratio. It is unclear whether the recent change is permanent, whether more changes are forthcoming, or when, if ever, the new ratio will be applied to desktop browsers. Still, there’s another crucial reason to celebrate the change.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="5G83zV">
|
|||
|
|
The new crop ratio may help combat racist tendencies in Twitter’s AI
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dPNTyx">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter’s automatic image-crop function is supposed to algorithmically detect the subject of a photo before cropping it. But its AI’s judgment is often revealing.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UwVcmQ">
|
|||
|
|
Sometime the results are funny. Consider <a href="https://twitter.com/yibosgay/status/1390038267438018560">this photo</a> of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/27/21192718/the-untamed-netflix-review-rec-mdzs-cql"><em>Untamed</em></a> star Xiao Zhan walking away from the camera, which the algorithm cropped very pointedly:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wFXwrbflyoRB_XJ-i0VWDxQ4Tvo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22506424/E0ppGkrXoAIY4R6.jpeg"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://twitter.com/yibosgay/status/1390038267438018560" target="_blank">Twitter</a></cite>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AGX06o">
|
|||
|
|
But as some users have periodically pointed out, there are very serious biases at work in the autofocus algorithm Twitter uses: Like <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/2021/3/31/22348722/ai-bias-racial-machine-learning">many other algorithms</a>, it has a tendency to be racist. People <a href="https://hackaday.com/2020/09/23/community-testing-suggests-bias-in-twitters-cropping-algorithm/">began noticing</a> and testing how it worked in September 2020, and they repeatedly demonstrated that the algorithm defaulted to showing white people over Black people.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="piMrzA">
|
|||
|
|
The tweet below shows Twitter’s algorithm automatically cropped two images to display the lighter-skinned person, each time in instances where they’re displayed at opposite ends of a photo shot in portrait orientation:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="WeDYMJ">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
Trying a horrible experiment…<br/><br/>Which will the Twitter algorithm pick: Mitch McConnell or Barack Obama? <a href="https://t.co/bR1GRyCkia">pic.twitter.com/bR1GRyCkia</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Tony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri (<span class="citation" data-cites="bascule">@bascule</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/bascule/status/1307440596668182528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eZMFPF">
|
|||
|
|
Here are the original, uncropped images from that tweet:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WbCDtBLaAFvuoNCby_v5Ots1Lyg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22507098/3.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lDww49">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter automatically focused on the lighter-skinned man in both photos.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aWPJi6">
|
|||
|
|
In response to tweets calling out these examples of racial bias, a Twitter spokesperson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/21/twitter-apologises-for-racist-image-cropping-algorithm">apologized</a> and promised the site would keep hacking away at the algorithm, noting, “It’s clear from these examples that we’ve got more analysis to do.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oZXk24">
|
|||
|
|
The newly revised crop ratio seems to be a direct result of Twitter’s promise to work on finding a solution, as many users were <a href="https://twitter.com/pookleblinky/status/1390482128454959104">quick to speculate</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="1IZcjS">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
Hey, do you think twitter removing crop was because it took them 6 months to try fixing the old crop’s racism problem and finally went “fuck it, can’t crop out Black faces if you don’t crop in the first place”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Anosognosiogenesis (<span class="citation" data-cites="pookleblinky">@pookleblinky</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/pookleblinky/status/1390482128454959104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MhdVl2">
|
|||
|
|
It’s unclear whether the new crop ratio has actually addressed the issue of automatic detection bias. Different users are reportedly <a href="https://twitter.com/PodiTalk/status/1390802149056163842">seeing different results</a> when uploading older images meant to test the algorithm.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RpCsHH">
|
|||
|
|
What we’re left with, then, is a platform that’s <a href="https://twitter.com/nobodymovepal/status/1390417926092693506">flawed</a> but also in flux — and it’s when Twitter is in flux that we get glimpses of what really knits an internet community together.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="CRQS3K">
|
|||
|
|
The updated image crop gave many Twitter users a moment of connection
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="cmvdxf">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
I didn’t realize the “twitter crop” was a point of contention for so many people.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Kelechi (<span class="citation" data-cites="heykelechi">@heykelechi</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/heykelechi/status/1390357856571035652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B2T9qZ">
|
|||
|
|
It’s not really surprising that so many people care so deeply about the Twitter crop, if you think about the platform not as a bunch of code but as a village. The inhabitants of that village all have their specific gripes about village life — but sharing those gripes and occasional joys with their neighbors is part of what makes the village feel like home.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vN3Pjr">
|
|||
|
|
You don’t have to be an artist or a photographer to appreciate that when thousands of artists flood Twitter’s virtual streets with outpourings of creativity, all in response to a relatively banal code change, it’s not really about a couple of extra pixels. Sure, it’s partly about the satisfaction of being able to post tall images, but it’s also about everyone experiencing the same change and having something to celebrate together.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="BVEaP2">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
No more crop?? <a href="https://t.co/CT2onIIyKd">pic.twitter.com/CT2onIIyKd</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Izz. (<span class="citation" data-cites="izzakko">@izzakko</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/izzakko/status/1390080600019591168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i4fo2W">
|
|||
|
|
This shared collectivity undergirds much of the internet. For better or worse, the desire to do what everyone else is doing is <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/18/3/362/4067545">a key motivating facto</a>r behind the spread of memes: You see someone making a meme, you want to make a version of the meme, and the meme spreads.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QmHLwn">
|
|||
|
|
This principle usually doesn’t apply to coding changes on a social media platform, but perhaps it should. As I said above, internet communities build themselves around each platform’s individual quirks and uniqueness. So when those things change, the community enters a moment of flux where it can choose how to react. Will it respond with backlash, a flurry of complaints, a mass exodus? Or will the community adjust and adapt?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0qNDEj">
|
|||
|
|
In the case of Twitter’s new crop ratio on mobile, people found an opportunity for communion, a rare event in an era of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22384308/cancel-culture-free-speech-accountability-debate">increasingly polarized</a> social media discourse. More pixels showing up on people’s phone screens became a way to find connection — and to showcase gorgeous art, of course.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eiuyLu">
|
|||
|
|
Twitter is an ephemeral platform, with continuity and consensus sustained by retweets, hashtags, and memes. While not typically a repository of nuanced cultural debate, the site frequently yields great beauty, whether through viral pet videos, stunning photography, or mesmerizing artwork.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WcFu3r">
|
|||
|
|
It’s significant that many Twitter users rallied around an updated image crop as an example of positive change: Even when the site’s community can’t agree on anything else, it can generally agree that more art and creativity is a good thing. The new ability to better showcase that art and creativity is an unexpected win for us all.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ramesh Powar back as Indian women’s cricket head coach, replaces WV Raman</strong> - It remains to be seen how Powar works alongside Mithali.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Champions League | Chelsea vs Manchester City final moves to Porto with 12,000 fans</strong> - The May 29 showpiece was moved from Istanbul to the 50,000-capacity Estádio do Dragão due to England imposing tougher pandemic travel restrictions on Turkey that would have prevented fans flying in.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India retain top spot in ICC Test Team rankings after annual update</strong> - India head the table after gaining one rating point for an aggregate of 121, having accumulated 2914 points from 24 matches</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kiren Rijiju announces ₹5 lakh each for bereaved families of hockey stars</strong> - Both M.K. Kaushik and Ravinder Pal Singh were a part of India’s 1980 Olympic gold-winning team.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Australia skipper Tim Paine backs Steve Smith to regain the captaincy</strong> - Former players and media pundits have pushed for master batsman Smith to be reinstated.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CM credits first tranche of input assistance to farmers under Rythu Bharosa scheme</strong> - Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the government has so far spent ₹17,029 crore on the Rythu Bharosa scheme.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>TTD hikes service charges of kalyana mandapam in Vizag</strong> - Decision taken after the building was refurbished at a cost of ₹2 crore</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ponder over house arrest to avoid choking of prisons, Supreme Court tells legislature</strong> - Bench, in a judgment, highlights ‘alarming’ statistics of prisons</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bitumen scam case: ED takes possession of company’s property</strong> - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken possession of a property worth ₹3 crore of Classic Coal Construction Private Limited in Ranchi in connectio</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Gap between two doses of Covishield extended to 12-16 weeks, says government</strong> - The present gap between two doses of Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, is 6-8 weeks.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Elisabetta Belloni: Italy appoints first female spy chief</strong> - “Woman of courage” Elisabetta Belloni is appointed head of Italy’s secret services.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pierre-Charles Boudot: Top French jockey under investigation for rape</strong> - Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Pierre-Charles Boudot has denied assaulting a woman in February.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Lampedusa: Italy’s gateway to Europe struggles with migrant influx</strong> - Italy appeals for EU help as 2,000 arrivals within days fill Lampedusa’s migrant camp.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Radovan Karadzic: Ex-Bosnian Serb leader to be sent to UK prison</strong> - The 75-year-old was convicted in 2016 of genocide during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia shooting: Suspect Ilnaz Galyaviev charged with murder</strong> - Seven pupils and two members of staff were killed in the attack on Tuesday in the city of Kazan.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Real robotaxi service gets a step closer in San Francisco</strong> - Waymo and Cruise have both applied for permits to deploy a commercial service. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1764798">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Tests, thoughts, and a 10 am EDT Twitch stream</strong> - If you can’t make the morning Twitch stream, we still have tons of impressions to share. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1764076">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Steam’s “price parity rule” isn’t wreaking havoc on game prices</strong> - Game publishers aren’t “passing on the savings” from “cheaper” online storefronts. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1764632">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Colonial Pipeline resumes operations after ransomware prompted closure</strong> - Closure led to panic-buying, price hikes, and other disruptions in East Coast states. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1764758">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Vizio TV buyers are becoming the product Vizio sells, not just its customers</strong> - Vizio’s ads, streaming, and data business grew 133 percent year over year. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1764690">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>Yesterday I paid a stranger to knock me unconscious, shove a foreign object up my ass and film the whole thing.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Or As My Doctor Insists On Calling It, A Colonoscopy
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/YZXFILE"> /u/YZXFILE </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb2o47/yesterday_i_paid_a_stranger_to_knock_me/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb2o47/yesterday_i_paid_a_stranger_to_knock_me/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>My Bluetooth speaker wasn’t working so I threw it into the lake…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Now it’s syncing.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/4GotMyFathersFace"> /u/4GotMyFathersFace </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb0t46/my_bluetooth_speaker_wasnt_working_so_i_threw_it/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb0t46/my_bluetooth_speaker_wasnt_working_so_i_threw_it/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>What do lesbian pirates say while having sex?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“Scissor me timbers”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ThyGoat11"> /u/ThyGoat11 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb6rzo/what_do_lesbian_pirates_say_while_having_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb6rzo/what_do_lesbian_pirates_say_while_having_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>An engineer, a physicist, a mathematician, and a philosopher are at a coffee house.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The physicist says, “You know, engineering is just applied physics,” and they all laugh. The mathematician says, “You know, physics is just applied math,” and they all laugh again. Then the philosopher says, “Well, you know, math is just applied philosophy,” and the engineer says, “Shut up and make our coffee.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/anchises868"> /u/anchises868 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb7v0g/an_engineer_a_physicist_a_mathematician_and_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/nb7v0g/an_engineer_a_physicist_a_mathematician_and_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>Why don’t envelopes reproduce?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Because they’re all mail!
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
I thought of this myself. Proud of it.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/blueblarg"> /u/blueblarg </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/naotq3/why_dont_envelopes_reproduce/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/naotq3/why_dont_envelopes_reproduce/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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