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A post shared on Facebook claims the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps has purportedly started a military tribunal for Attorney General Merrick Garland‚ who is allegedly accused of treason. Verdict: False The claim is false and originally stems from a Mar. 26 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A spokesperson […]

'Very difficult and challenging salvage operation ahead'

'I was so offended'

An Australian bank representative recently yanked an unsuspecting woman back from the brink of the financial oblivion she was about to throw herself into resulting from an internet scam. Westpac Bank trains its employees to poke questions at anyone engaging in strange transactions‚ and after the teller’s suspicions were aroused‚ she was proven right every […] The post Hero Bank Teller Saves Customer from Losing Millions on a Scam appeared first on Good News Network.

Book Recommendations Front Lines and Frontiers A Dazzling Collection of Classic Tales: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury In this brilliant follow-up to The Martian Chronicles‚ Bradbury expanded his scope and cemented his reputation as a master storyteller. By Alan Brown | Published on April 2‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books‚ Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers‚ scientists and engineers‚ explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles‚ chases‚ clashes‚ and the stuff of excitement. Today I’m looking at a book from 1951‚ Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man‚ a follow-up to his popular fix-up novel The Martian Chronicles. At this point in his career‚ Bradbury was still largely a short fiction writer‚ but he was gaining wider attention and publishers were eager to publish another of his books. Bradbury still hadn’t completed a full standalone novel (that would come in 1953‚ with Fahrenheit 451)‚ so—as with The Martian Chronicles—they were willing to accept a collection of short stories connected by a framing narrative. For this review‚ I’m using a first edition Bantam paperback copy from 1952‚ discovered at my favorite local used book store. Like Bradbury’s other work‚ The Illustrated Man is full of cleverly constructed tales‚ all built with wonderfully evocative prose and brimming with a wide range of emotions. The book was very influential‚ inspired writers and musicians from a range of genres‚ and some of the stories served as the basis for a movie of the same name in 1969. I loved these stories when I first read them‚ even the scary ones‚ and my most recent reading confirms that I love them still. About the Author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was a prominent American science fiction and fantasy writer‚ playwright‚ and screenwriter‚ who started his career as an avid science fiction fan. I previously reviewed his 1957 book Dandelion Wine (find it here) a few summers ago. I’ve also discussed his 1946 collaboration with Leigh Brackett‚ “Lorelei of the Red Mist‚” when looking at an anthology containing her work (find it here). And most recently‚ I reviewed his wildly popular anthology from 1950‚ The Martian Chronicles (find it here). You can see more biographical information in those columns. There are some earlier stories by Ray Bradbury available on Project Gutenberg‚ including “Lorelei of the Red Mist.” The Anti-Science Science Fiction Writer? In my review of The Martian Chronicles‚ I pointed out that Ray Bradbury was one of the authors who brought science fiction out of the confines of genre fiction and into the mainstream of popular culture. But while Bradbury often used science fictional elements like rockets‚ robots‚ and other planets in his stories‚ he was uncomfortable with being labeled as a science fiction author. In his Wikipedia entry‚ I found a quote from an interview that summed up his thoughts on the subject: First of all‚ I don’t write science fiction. I’ve only done one science fiction book and that’s Fahrenheit 451‚ based on reality. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So Martian Chronicles is not science fiction‚ it’s fantasy. It couldn’t happen‚ you see? That’s the reason it’s going to be around a long time—because it’s a Greek myth‚ and myths have staying power. And at some point early in his career‚ Bradbury must have been perceived as having a bias against science itself. There is a rather defensive blurb on the back cover of the paperback I used for this review: “RAY BRADBURY is a little doubtful of the uses to which certain sciences are being put in the world. He thinks radio‚ television and motion pictures are wonderful‚ but decries the hogwash utilized all too often on these mediums by those in control. He believes in atomic power and automobiles‚ if used with common sense‚ but also believes that we may very well kill or maim ourselves with these devices if we do not put laws into effect to control them. He is not‚ as he has often been misquoted‚ against science‚ but rather against the mis-use of science by fools.” But regardless of the labels applied to Bradbury’s work‚ it was clearly something special. He took themes from science fiction‚ fantasy‚ history‚ myth‚ and fables‚ and delivered them with wonderfully poetic prose‚ infused with heartfelt emotion‚ and written in a way even literary critics could admire. It is no surprise that‚ whatever he said about himself and his work‚ the science fiction community has always been proud to call him one of their own. The Illustrated Man This book has a thin but compelling framing device. The unnamed narrator‚ sleeping rough‚ is joined at his fire by a man who is covered by tattoos that mutate as you look at them; if you stare at them long enough‚ they tell you stories of the future. The man is tortured by their images‚ as they also warn watchers of the threat he might pose to them in the future. This framework allows the stories to cover a wide range of unconnected topics‚ and a number of those tales are set on the fictional Mars of The Martian Chronicles‚ a setting Bradbury was not yet willing to abandon. The first story in the collection is one of Bradbury’s most widely known tales‚ “The Veldt‚” which originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. If I am reading the ISFDB website correctly‚ in addition to The Illustrated Man‚ the story has appeared in at least a dozen anthologies in English‚ not to mention being translated into about sixteen other languages. I’m pretty sure my first reading of the story was in one of those anthologies‚ borrowed from the local library. The story features a “house of the future” of the kind suburban families dreamed about in the mid-20th century‚ which can do everything its owners desire‚ not only chores and cooking‚ but providing entertainment as well. At the heart of this home is a nursery that can bring anything a child imagines to life‚ an idea that predicted the virtual reality devices that are beginning to emerge in our own time. But in this case‚ instead of the antiseptic stories from their children’s books‚ the children conjure up the image of an African veldt‚ where a pack of lions seems to be either killing or eating their prey in a perpetual loop. When it comes to horror‚ an everyday threat presented effectively can beat any Lovecraftian eldritch being ever created‚ and here it is the amoral greed of spoiled children‚ amplified by the power of technology‚ which brings terror to the suburban family. “Kaleidoscope” is the story of a rocket is destroyed in mid-journey‚ with its crew now floating in spacesuits‚ awaiting death. How they face their inevitable demise varies‚ and there is a bittersweet twist at the end. “The Other Foot” is a follow-up to a story from The Martian Chronicles‚ “Way in the Middle of the Air‚” in which the Black inhabitants of a southern town hire rockets to Mars‚ leaving the White inhabitants with no one to persecute. Now‚ the arrival of a rocket piloted by a white man is anticipated by a Black community on Mars‚ and among those who flock to see him are people who think they should treat the visitor in the same way they had been treated back on Earth. But when they hear an atomic war has reduced the population to a pitiful few who need to flee to Mars to survive‚ they see that maybe the old cycle of pain and prejudice should be broken. “The Highway” is set on a farm along a backwoods roadway in Mexico. The people in the cars rushing by are concerned with nuclear war and the end of the world‚ but it is all a matter of perspective‚ as the farmer does not see anything that will affect his own life. In “The Man‚” the self-absorbed captain of an exploration rocket is frustrated by the indifferent reception he gets from natives of a new world. They are all talking about a man who recently visited‚ preaching peace‚ and healing the sick‚ and tell the captain he will not find the man here. The captain goes off to search the next world‚ not realizing it is his own anger that keeps him from finding what he seeks. “The Long Rain” follows a military unit marooned on Venus‚ and here Bradbury’s evocative prose turns the rain and storms into an unending and visceral horror. The unit is trying to reach a Sun Dome‚ a snug installation that will provide shelter and safety. But storms and setbacks winnow down the personnel until only the lieutenant in charge reaches safety. Because of the madness that infected the unit‚ however‚ it’s not clear whether his success is real or imaginary. In “The Rocket Man‚” a young boy and his mother grapple with the frequent and extended absences of the space-faring father‚ who after bittersweet interludes at home on Earth with the family‚ always answers the urge to return to the interplanetary voyages that he loves. He is a modest man‚ and does not like to wear his uniform‚ but at one point they convince him to put it on‚ and Bradbury captures the moment with a paragraph I will never forget: “It was glossy black with silver buttons and silver rims to the heels of the black boots‚ and it looked as if someone had cut the arms and legs and body from a dark nebula‚ with little faint stars glowing through it. It fit as close as a glove fits to a slender long hand‚ and it smelled like cool air and metal and space. It smelled of fire and time.” The father finally relents‚ promising his family that the next voyage will be his last‚ which turns out to be true‚ but in the saddest possible way. In another story set on Mars‚ “The Fire Balloons‚” a group of Episcopal priests travel as missionaries‚ not to preach to humans‚ but to the Martians. Father Peregrine—who strikes me as an academic‚ as his concerns are always of a philosophical nature—travels into the wild with the more pragmatic Father Stone. The Martians they find are floating balls of glowing energy‚ and save the two priests from a landslide. Father Peregrine then decides to step off a cliff‚ and the Martians save him again. The glowing beings then speak to the priests about how they have transcended their physical bodies. The earthly Father Stone then has an epiphany that‚ just like there is a Truth on Earth‚ there is a Truth on Mars‚ and Truths on other planets as well‚ which make up a larger universal Truth. It is an ecumenical message that my young self found far more compelling than the narrow definitions of truth I heard from some of our ministers in church‚ and still resonates with me today. “The Last Night of the World” finds that a contented couple might not need to do anything different when they face the end of everything. “The Exiles” is another tale that echoes a story in The Martian Chronicles‚ in this case the story “Usher II‚” where an eccentric genius builds a technological trap to destroy the government officials who are behind censorship on Earth. In “The Exiles‚” the battle with censors is much more symbolic‚ with dead authors and their fictional creations working together to fight a rocket bringing the last copies of banned books to be destroyed on Mars. The story defies logic‚ but its emotional core holds a powerful message. “No Particular Night or Morning” is the story of a space traveler overwhelmed by the immensity of space‚ and his descent into madness. One of my favorite stories in the volume is “The Fox and the Forest‚” the tale of a couple who travel back in time to avoid a dystopic future where a ruined Earth is plagued by war. Because the man is a scientist whose knowledge is essential to the war effort‚ they are pursued through time by government officials. But while they are willing to resort to murder to prevent their return‚ their efforts are in vain‚ and their fate as inevitable as history itself. “The Visitor” is a tale in which Mars is used as a dumping ground for people with a new and fatal disease. A new patient arrives—a young man who can create mental images that transport others into a virtual world that helps them temporarily escape their plight. He soon becomes a pawn in a brutal battle over his services‚ which soon destroys the goose that laid the golden egg. “The Concrete Mixer” posits a Martian invasion of Earth defeated not by military force or disease‚ but by overwhelming the Martians with the inexorable force of capitalism. A man purchases a mechanical doppelganger in “Marionettes‚ Inc.”‚ which will allow him to take a vacation from a clinging and oppressive marriage‚ only to find the robot developing a mind of its own‚ and deciding to replace him once and for all. An army unit from Earth moves into “The City‚” only to find it uninhabited. But the cybernetic metropolis remembers what humans did the last time they encountered its late inhabitants‚ and has a plan for revenge. The plot is thin‚ but the story packs an emotional punch. In “Zero Hour‚” the children of Earth are all playing the same game‚ called “Invasion‚” at the same time‚ at the behest of their imaginary friend. But if you are alien invaders looking for help from the other side of a dimensional barrier‚ who better to enlist for help than impressionable young children? And what greater horror can an adult face than having their own children turn on them? In the last story in the collection‚ “The Rocket‚” Fiorello Bodoni has always dreamed of going to Mars. But the junkyard operator finds he has only enough money to send one family member to Mars‚ and no one wants to leave the others behind. But then a full-sized prototype rocket is offered for sale to his junkyard—it can’t take them to Mars‚ but it can allow them to them pretend to take the trip together. Sometimes‚ the journey is more important than the destination‚ and this sweetly sentimental story celebrates the power of imagination. The final segment of the framing device‚ however‚ turns to horror again as the narrator looks at the last tattoo on the Illustrated Man‚ where he sees himself being strangled‚ and runs away in terror. Final Thoughts The Illustrated Man follows in the footsteps of The Martian Chronicles by presenting a wide selection of well-written and compelling tales‚ but offers an even broader range of topics and subject matter. The stories run the gamut from sweet and sentimental‚ to wry commentary on the human condition‚ and even to outright horror. And they illustrate recurring themes in Bradbury’s work‚ insisting that censorship in any form is evil‚ and people need stories that spur their imaginations‚ even when they are unsettling. Now it is your turn to provide your observations‚ whether they are about this book‚ or about Bradbury’s fiction in general. I look forward to hearing from you.[end-mark] The post A Dazzling Collection of Classic Tales: <;i>;The Illustrated Man<;/i>; by Ray Bradbury appeared first on Reactor.

News criminal Prime’s Adaptation of Ed Brubaker’s Criminal Adds Captain Marvel’s Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have joined the series By Molly Templeton | Published on April 2‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed More crimes are coming to Prime Video. In January‚ the streamer ordered up a series based on the Eisner Award-winning comic series Criminal‚ by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker is co-showrunning the series alongside author Jordan Harper (Everybody Knows). And now the series has a pair of directors with their own comic-book adaptation history. Deadline reports that Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden‚ the co-directors (and co-writers) of Captain Marvel (pictured above)‚ will direct the first four episodes of the show. The pair are among that interesting list of directors who made their name with a lauded indie (in this case‚ Half Nelson) and went on to direct a mega-franchise film. Since Captain Marvel‚ they’ve directed films and TV‚ including episodes of Mrs. America and Masters of the Air. In 2019‚ Brubaker told Deadline‚ “Criminal tells the interweaving saga of several generations of families tied together by the crimes and murders of the past.” The series began in 2006; the first ten issues told one story about a pickpocket and a heist (collected as Criminal Vol. 1: Coward) and one about a soldier investigating his brother’s murder (Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless). Almost ten years ago‚ Jake Hinkson argued that Criminal is “the crime epic we really need‚” writing: Here’s a series that’s about as gritty as any ever made—if made into a faithful film it would be a hard R—but it has an emotional resonance that’s lacking in the superhuman antiheroics of Sin City. In the Criminal universe‚ everyone is all too human. Looks like he’s going to get his wish—though it remains to be seen how gritty the adaptation is. Criminal is apparently in preproduction in Portland. The cast has yet to be announced. [end-mark] The post Prime’s Adaptation of Ed Brubaker’s <;i>;Criminal<;/i>; Adds <;i>;Captain Marvel<;/i>;’s Directors appeared first on Reactor.

Joe Biden‚ the “devout” Catholic who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue‚ issued a proclamation on Good Friday‚ the day Christians remember Jesus’ death on the cross before his Resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday. Biden chose Good Friday to publicly announce that he would designate the following Sunday as an important day in American life. The day would commemorate the dying of an old self and the beginning of a new kind of identity. Yet this religious quasi-resurrection did not involve Jesus‚ but people who claim that their “gender identity” overrides their biological sex. Biden did not mark Good Friday or Easter Sunday in his proclamation‚ rather he marked “Transgender Day of Visibility.“ “Transgender Americans are part of the fabric of our Nation‚” Biden declared. “They deserve‚ and are entitled to‚ the same rights and freedoms as every other American‚ including the most fundamental freedom to be their true selves.” Of course‚ Biden did not admit that this freedom for transgender people “to be their true selves” amounts to stifling everyone else’s freedom to call a spade a spade‚ along with parents’ freedom to protect their children from an ideology that will leave them stunted‚ scarred‚ and infertile. Indeed‚ Biden took the opportunity to condemn those who dare dissent from the orthodoxy of his new state religion. “But extremists are proposing hundreds of hateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids and their families—silencing teachers; banning books; and even threatening parents‚ doctors‚ and nurses with prison for helping parents get care for their children‚” the president said in the proclamation. Note the subversion: Parents are not trying to silence teachers or ban books; they’re fighting to get pornographic materials out of school libraries and to protect their children from the lie that a boy can become a girl and vice versa. Biden calls these efforts “hateful‚” but he describes life-altering drugs that put kids on a path to permanently mutilating their bodies as “care.” It’s no accident that Biden—or whoever drafted this proclamation for him—left any mention of Good Friday or Easter out of the proclamation. His statements in that document operate out of an entirely different worldview than that of traditional Christianity. Christianity preaches the gospel: that all of us are sinful and need redemption‚ that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty and reconcile us to God‚ and that he rose from the dead to show his divinity and to give us hope for our ultimate resurrection. The Catholic Church to which Biden belongs preaches this gospel. Yet gender ideology promises its own weaker version of the gospel: that society is sinful and needs to repent of hating transgender people‚ that people who identify as transgender can reject their biological sex and be accepted for “who they are” in the gender identity opposite their sex‚ and that “gender-affirming care” and societal acceptance will give transgender people the well-being they deserve. Demonizing and silencing opponents is a fundamental part of this project‚ because the transgender gospel calls on all society not just to accept transgender identity but to celebrate it. Traditional Christianity poses a problem for this because the Bible teaches that God made humans male and female‚ and neither the scriptures nor Catholic tradition condones the idea that a person can reject his or her biological sex and become a member of the opposite sex. For these and other reasons‚ Republicans attacked Biden’s proclamation on Good Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson‚ R-La.‚ said the White House “betrayed the central tenet of Easter—which is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.” “Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’—is outrageous and abhorrent‚” Johnson said‚ referring to a ban on religious art during the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. (Both the White House and an organization involved in the Easter event that banned religious imagery said the rules prohibiting religious imagery at the White House Easter Egg Roll go back decades.) The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as “Transgender Day”—is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note. pic.twitter.com/ZCExyVkAVS— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 30‚ 2024 “This is what Biden cares about and who he caters to‚” Sen. Ted Cruz‚ R-Texas‚ posted on X with a screenshot of the president’s proclamation. “He is devaluing Easter and elevating trans recognition. Downright shameful and despicable.” This is what Biden cares about and who he caters to. He is devaluing Easter and elevating trans recognition.Downright shameful and despicable. pic.twitter.com/UgFBnvKZ82— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 30‚ 2024 “We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only—the resurrection of Jesus Christ‚” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement Saturday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sought to dispel “misinformation” about the proclamation. She noted that Easter Sunday “happened to coincide with Transgender Visibility Day.” Biden has commemorated Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31 since 2021‚ Jean-Pierre said‚ while the date of Easter Sunday varies each year according to a lunar calendar. “As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family‚ President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American‚” she added. Karine Jean-Pierre says it's "misinformation" that Biden declared Easter Sunday as "Transgender Day of Visibility."(She's lying) pic.twitter.com/1MrKrGRgzn— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 1‚ 2024 Speaking to reporters Monday‚ Biden appeared to deny marking Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility‚ however. According to Jacqui Heinrich‚ a White House correspondent for Fox News‚ another reporter asked Biden: “Speaker Johnson called it outrageous that Easter Sunday was Transgender Day of Visibility‚ what do you say to Speaker Johnson?” “He’s thoroughly uninformed‚” Biden responded. “Uninformed how?” the reporter asked. “I didn’t do that‚” Biden replied. via the pool: Q: Speaker Johnson called it outrageous that Easter Sunday was transgender day of visibility‚ what do you say to Speaker Johnson?Biden: “He’s thoroughly uninformed.”Q: Uninformed how?Biden: “I didn’t do that.”^may be a reference to Transgender Day of…— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 1‚ 2024 Johnson responded by posting a screenshot of Biden’s proclamation and asking‚ “This you‚ Joe Biden?” Biden has marked Transgender Day of Visibility each year since 2021‚ but that doesn’t excuse his decision to issue his proclamation for it on Good Friday without noting either Good Friday or Easter Sunday in the proclamation. Despite Jean-Pierre’s insistence that Biden can celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility and Easter on the same day‚ the unfortunate timing of Biden’s proclamation only highlighted the inherent tension between transgender orthodoxy and traditional Christianity. The president’s own proclamation also included condemnations of the Christians who refuse to celebrate transgender identity‚ as if their opposition were rooted in “hate.” The true scandal isn’t that the transgender holiday happened to line up with Easter‚ but that the White House is trumpeting the pseudo-religious holiday in the first place and using it as an excuse to demonize those who disagree. The coincidental timing only emphasizes how Biden is dividing Americans on this issue‚ drawing attention to something Christians should have been following for years. This transgender activist revealed the pride at the heart of transgender ideology: the idea that humans know better than God. I think few things are as important as honoring God during Holy Week. Read more here:https://t.co/vRWJzTZo3A pic.twitter.com/4WPWRn5ITz— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 6‚ 2023 The post Joe Biden’s Terrible‚ Horrible‚ No Good‚ Very Bad Transgender Easter Fiasco appeared first on The Daily Signal.

‘Occupied Gaza’ Prior to Oct. 7‚ there were roughly 2 million Arab citizens of Israel but no Jewish citizens in the Gaza Strip. Gazans in 2006 voted in Hamas to rule them. It summarily executed its Palestinian Authority rivals. Hamas canceled all future scheduled elections. It established a dictatorship and diverted hundreds of billions of dollars in international aid to build a vast underground labyrinth of military installations. ‘Collateral Damage’ Hamas began the Israel-Hamas war by deliberately targeting civilians. It massacred them on Oct. 7 when it invaded Israel during a time of peace and holidays. It sent more than 7‚000 rockets into Israeli cities for the sole purpose of killing noncombatants. Hamas has no vocabulary for the collateral damage of Israeli civilians‚ since it believes any Jewish death under any circumstances is cause for celebration.Hamas places its terrorist centers beneath and inside hospitals‚ schools‚ and mosques. Why? Israel is assumed to have more reservations about collaterally hitting Gaza civilians than Hamas does about exposing them as human shields. ‘Disproportionate’ We are told that Israel wrongly uses disproportionate force to retaliate in Gaza. But it does so because no nation can win a war without disproportionate violence that hurts the enemy more than it is hurt by the enemy.The U.S. incinerated German and Japanese cities with disproportionate force to end a war both Axis powers started. In Iraq‚ the American military nearly leveled Fallujah and Mosul by disproportional force to root out Islamic gunmen hiding among innocents. Hamas has objections to disproportionate violence—but only when it is achieved by Israel and not Hamas. ‘Two-State Solution’ Prior to Oct. 7‚ there was a de facto three-state solution‚ given that Israel‚ the West Bank‚ and Gaza were all separate states ruled by their own governments‚ two of which were illegitimate without scheduled elections. It was not Israel but the people of Gaza and the West Bank who institutionalized the “from river to the sea” agenda of destroying its neighbor. Israel would have been content to live next to an autonomous Arab Gaza and West Bank that did not seek to destroy Israel in multigenerational efforts to form its own “one-state solution.” ‘Cease-Fire’ The so-called international community is demanding Israel agree to a “cease-fire.” But there was already a cease-fire prior to Oct. 7. Hamas broke it by massacring 1‚200 Jews and taking over 250 hostages. Hamas violated that peace because it thought it could gain leverage over Israel by murdering Jews. Hamas now demands another cease-fire because it thinks it is no longer able to murder more unarmed Jews. Instead‚ it now fears that Israel will destroy Hamas in the way Hamas sought but failed to destroy Israel. Did Hamas call for a cease-fire after the first 500 Jews it massacred on Oct. 7? ‘Ramadan’ President Joe Biden believes that the Muslim religious holiday of Ramadan requires Israel to agree to a cease-fire. But did either Hamas or any other Arab military ever respect Jewish—or even its own—religious holidays?The Oct. 7 massacre was timed to catch Israelis unaware while they celebrated the Jewish religious holidays of Simchat Torah‚ Shemini Torah‚ and Shemini Atzeret on Shabbat. Moreover‚ Hamas’ surprise attack was deliberately timed to commemorate the earlier sneak Arab attack on Israel some 50 years earlier. On Oct. 6‚ 1973‚ the Israelis were the target of a surprise attack when celebrating the religious holiday of Yom Kippur. Arab armies also assumed they would achieve greater surprise when attacking during their own religious holiday of Ramadan. So‚ Arab militaries fight opportunistically during Jewish holidays and their own Islamic holidays. Egyptians and Syrians still boast of their 1973 surprise attack on Israel as the Ramadan War. Only Westerners‚ not Arabs‚ believe there should be no war during Ramadan. ‘Civilian Casualties’ Israel risks the lives of its soldiers to prevent civilian deaths. Hamas risks the lives of its civilians to prevent terrorists’ deaths. Israel considers it a failure‚ but Hamas considers it globally advantageous‚ when more civilians die than its soldiers. ‘Foreign Aid’ The Biden administration threatens to cut off or slow-walk aid to Israel if it continues to retaliate against Hamas‚ even though Hamas started the war. So the administration promises to give more aid to Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres than it gave to Gaza before Hamas’ attack. ‘Prisoners’ The international community that favors Hamas nevertheless knows it would be safer to be a prisoner of Israel than of Hamas. It knows women are not going to be raped in custody by Israelis‚ but are by Hamas. And the unarmed are more likely to be mutilated and decapitated by Hamas than Israelis. Is the international community more likely to charge Israel than Hamas for war crimes because the Jewish state seeks to avoid civilian deaths that Hamas finds useful? (C) 2024 Tribune Content Agency LLC The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.  The post Gaza: Truths Behind All the Lies appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. “First” there were apps like Telegram and Signal‚ springing up to address people’s fear that their private communications taking place online are being randomly and unlawfully accessed and spied on by governments. This was something that went from niche to mainstream‚ mostly thanks to the Snowden revelations. But over time‚ these chat apps themselves revealed a number of “imperfections” – leaving privacy enthusiasts wanting for more‚ and better. There has been no shortage of attempts to perfect the existing apps relying on encryption – but also people’s phone numbers‚ etc. And for the last couple of years there has been one called SimpleX Chat‚ that just rolled out a new version. The app is end-to-end encrypted‚ open source‚ but also refrains from using any type of user ID (such as phone numbers‚ usernames‚ or even‚ apparently‚ random numbers in this context). While full (E2E) encryption is generally treated as the best we can get these days‚ security and privacy-wise – day after day‚ information emerges about a flurry of ways either governments or private tech giants trying (via regulation) or by straight-up developing what would otherwise be considered hacker tools – to break those protections. Now‚ SimpleX Chat introduces a beta (in free source “release canon” – that’s one step above initial alpha testing‚ one below RC – release candidate) version of “quantum resistant encryption.” But what exactly would that be? Its developers say that “post-quantum cryptography” has been their interest for the last two years‚ that is‚ since the app’s initial release‚ but that they essentially held back on implementing it before there was some standardization. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)‚ however‚ failed to deliver on that front for multiple reasons‚ says a blog post‚ and now SimpleX‚ in the best tradition of free and open source‚ is trying to solve its own problem‚ instead of waiting for somebody else to write that code for them. SimpleX apparently took some pointers from Signal and Tuta encryption schemes‚ to now come up with what it believes is the better version of “the design of quantum resistant double ratchet algorithm.” The explanation of what that is plays off of the Signal protocol – to state that SimpleX developers “could make break-in recovery property of Signal algorithm quantum-resistant” – and‚ “why‚ probably‚ Signal didn’t‚ is because irrespective of the message size SimpleX Chat uses a fixed block size of 16kb to provide security and privacy against any traffic observers and against messaging relays.” And – “In case the message is larger than the remaining block size‚ e.g. when the message contains image or link preview‚ or a large text‚ we used zstd compression (lossless data compression algorithm) to provide additional space for the required keys without reducing image preview quality or creating additional traffic.” This feature is currently opt-in. The post Simplex Chat Launches Quantum-Resistant Encryption in Beta appeared first on Reclaim The Net.