From Heatmap Daily: “Americans often refer to their electricity or gas providers as ‘public utilities.’ But only about 15% of the population is served by a government-owned, customer-owned, or member-owned electric utility.” The rest are private monopolies. #ClimateCrisis

Perspective on Palestine — Review of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

In The Hundred Years' War on Palestine Rashid Khalidi takes us through six turning points of modern Palestinian history woven with family and personal history, including his frontline experience escaping Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War. Khalidi has a long history as an advocate and an academic and writes a highly detailed account with an insider view. He covers the early Zionist movement, the Nakba of 1948, the Six Day War of 1967, the Lebanon War, the Intifadas and the rise of Hamas, giving context throughout as to who the geostrategic players are and how they change.

Continue reading →

My copy of EMPTY KYOTO and 2024 Calendar from @hermosawave@photog.social has arrived! 📸🎋⛩️

hermosawavephotography.com/emptykyot…

Chad holds up the book (cover showing the bamboo grove of Arashiyama), calendar (with a night shot of Kiyomizudera), and the box the book came in

My uncle-in-law was decorated with the “Order of the Rising Sun” 🎖️ for his contributions to basketball in Japan 🎊 This is his medal. When you tilt it in the light it really shines! ✨

Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays SHINING

Chili crab time! 🦀

Chad in a restaurant with a plate full of food in front of him wearing a paper bib with the logo for “Singapore Seafood Republic” brandishing chopsticks and a pair of scissors and looking like a happy psycho

Interesting ideological analysis of Cixin Liu’s popular Three Body series, especially this bit on how Chinese and American reactionaries use one another

madeinchinajournal.com/2023/12/1…

Screencap of the article with the following bit highlighted, “One similarity between Chinese and American right-wing nationalists, apart from the tropes mentioned earlier, is how the image of external threat is employed to delegitimate social justice struggles.&10;Whereas in China feminists and rights activists are attacked as victims of the influence of 'Western' values, US&10;conservatives connect their 'enemies' such as critical race theory, so-called gender ideology, or more recently, 'wokeism' to communism and the 'Cultural Revolution',&10;conveniently invoking the enduring image of the China threat.”

He also has this striking map showing countries coloured depending on if most of their wealth is owned by the bottom 80% or top 5%. (Luckily in this map New Zealand and Australia were not left out… still not suprised though)

From www.rubenmathisen.com/blank-2

Map of the world. Legend shows two colours: Green for if a country’ss wealth is mostly owned by the bottom 80%, orange showing if the country’s wealth is owned by the top 5%. The world map is entirely coloured ORANGE

Maps showing “% of Total Wealth Owned by the Top 1 Percent” per country by continent.

From www.rubenmathisen.com/blank-2

Map of North and South America showing the % of Total Wealth Owned by the Top 1 Percent for each country. Some highlights include: USA = 35%, Canada = 25%, Mexico = 47%, Venezuela = 28%. Brazil and Chile are the highest at = 49% and the lowest is Ecuador = 23%Map of Europe showing the % of Total Wealth Owned by the Top 1 Percent for each country. Some highlights include: UK = 21%, France = 27%, Germany = 29%, Turkey = 37%. Russia = 48% is the highest, and Belgium the lowest = 15%Map of Africashowing the % of Total Wealth Owned by the Top 1 Percent for each country. Some highlights include: South Africa at the highest of 55%, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia = 47%, Nigeria = 26%, Egypt =32%, Tunisia and Mali at the lowest = 24%Map of Asia and the Middle East showing the % of Total Wealth Owned by the Top 1 Percent for each country. Some highlights include: China and India = 33%, Saudi Arabia = 40%, Iran = 28%, North Korea = 25%, South Korea = 26%, Japan = 25%, Thailand 44%. Russia at the highest = 48% and lowest is Azerbaijan and Armenia = 23%

Another great video from About Here:

#density #urbandesign

It is Dec 15th in the year of our Lord Buddha 2566 and it is deva-damned 23°C out here‼️ 🥵

Looking up at two skyscrapers (the Osaka Front Buildings) and a blue skyWeather app screenshot showing Osaka had a high of 23°C today… and the forecast was Cloudy then Rain

Adobe PDFs… just… no… NO! 😫

Daughter’s grade 6 class is working on the topic of “materialism” right now. It is inspired by this photography project from a while ago where families around the world brought all thier belongings outside for a portriat:

https://gigazine.net/news/20110901_families_and_their_possessions/

I’ve heard of “ducks in a row” … but… 📸 🐦

more than 20 seagull all lined up, standing on the side of the bridge walkway

My 14 year old daughter to me: “I’ve never seen a grown man cry… except for when you watch Totoro. Every… single… time…”

Truth! 🥹🥹🥹🌱🌽🐈🚌

Blue skies and primary colours walking around the neighborhood today 📸 #Osaka #Tenma #Ogimachi

Building with blue windows nearly blending into the clear blue sky aboveBikes lined up along a wall with a mural that says “welcome to beautiful Tenma” in bright coloursYellow plate with egg sandwiches, green salad and an orange slice, beside is a cup of yellow corn soup, and a cup of coffeeColourful JR train with SUPER NINTENDO WORLD wrap passes over an Osaka intersection

Started reading The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi 📚

Only one chapter in and it’s more complex than I thought. Got new perspective on the “triple bind” of metropole (London) enabler (League of Nations) and settlers that don’t answer to the metropole. So much detail in this book.

Been shopping for overear headphones to replace my old Sony’s. Today these landed in my inbox randomly! They look great! Love the idea of repairables that can last forever. They are just missing the holy grail feature for headphones: a MUTE button 🔇

shop.fairphone.com/fairbuds-…

Started listening to the full-cast audio of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett 👼😈 📚

Finished How Infrastructure Works by Deb Chachra 📚

Enjoyed it a lot. Full of wonder! See my chapter notes here: www.goodreads.com/review/sh…

Osaka Tenmangu. Sugawara-no-Michizane stopped on his way to Dazaifu before being elevated to God of Letters. (Learn more about him and the fight against covid: chadkohalyk.com/2020/09/1…)

More 📸 flic.kr/s/aHBqjB6…

A Shinto shrine main hall with blue skyrows and rows of wooden prayer tablets. Shot taken from an oblique angle to show how many are stacked upon one anotherLarge paintings of three zodiac animals with the associated year above a shrine window. From right to left: Rabbit - Reiwa 5; Dragon Heisei - 24; Snake - Heisei 25. Large circular display of the Chinese zodiac. Photo taken from directly below