arlier

[Buffy the misogynist slayer (cervix haver) @Opiumbrella]

Deniz was 16. He was used to pull carriages around central park so his human could make money. All day, every day. Deniz collapsed and died on the pavement in the park yesterday. Yet another in a long of these horses to die in NYC so people can exploit them. This practice should be outlawed. It’s selfish and unnecessary.
RIP Deniz. I’m sorry humans failed you ♥️

[sabina @thespaceavenue]

eleven years ago btw

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This is an absolutely major story and almost no Western media covered it: India's water minister CR Patil said on Tuesday that "it is certain, not a single drop of water will go (to Pakistan) in the coming years."

Patil said that India is "actively working on it" after "directives" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As a reminder, Pakistan's dependence on water from India is close to total: the country is essentially built around the Indus river system, all of whose rivers flow through India before entering Pakistan.

The Indus system irrigates 80% of Pakistan's farmland, generates a third of its electricity, supplies its major cities with drinking water, and sustains the livelihoods of some 240 million people.

So, essentially, no water from India = annihilation of Pakistan as a state.

Pretty damn consequential, all the more given we're talking about 2 nuclear powers here. And all the more because, understandably, Pakistan's formal position is that water diversion would constitute "an act of war" (https://t.co/WLoDpGzc2W).

Unfortunately, Patil's statement isn't just talk: India already set up the legal framework to make this possible. Last year, they unilaterally suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, despite the treaty containing no withdrawal clause.

It used to be the one piece of India-Pakistan relations that worked, and had survived multiple wars and over six decades of hostility. Now India is saying officially that it will "never be restored" (https://t.co/2SnUNevFbX).

The one mitigating factor here is physics: you don't just "turn off" a major Himalayan river system. Diverting rivers of this magnitude means building massive storage and canal infrastructure in Himalayan terrain: projects measured in years.

But India IS ACTUALLY BUILDING that infrastructure: for instance it just approved in May the building of the so-called "Chenab–Beas Link Tunnel," an 8.7km ₹2,352 crore (~$280M) tunnel designed to divert water from the Chenab basin into India's Beas river system. The Chenab is one of the main tributaries of the Indus - and one of the three "western rivers" (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

Which means that, unfortunately, Patil's "not a single drop of water in the coming years" looks like a roadmap: the infrastructure to strangle Pakistan's water supply is being approved and tendered in plain sight.

This is also a story about selective media coverage and double standards: I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the West have never heard of any of this.

Now make this thought experiment: imagine China announced it was building infrastructure to cut off every drop of water flowing to India and its ministers proclaimed on television that "not a single drop" would cross the border. It would be wall-to-wall coverage, sanctions packages, and a thousand op-eds about Beijing "weaponizing water."

Heck we don't need to imagine because the simple fact of China merely building a hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (the upstream Brahmaputra) generated exactly the wall-to-wall alarm I'm describing, even though China threatened nothing and even though Indian officials said the threat is a "myth" given the fact that the river gathers most of its volume inside India from monsoon rains (https://t.co/GBgBybBPoE). Malign intent was still presumed from the act of construction, because it's China.

In India's case, the intent couldn't possibly be clearer: it's proclaimed by ministers on the record, and backed by India's actions. But because they're a courted Western partner, what they're doing - arguably the most extreme form of economic warfare imaginable, directed at a nuclear state - largely gets silence.

Src for screenshot: https://t.co/qav4muNkij

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

Mehdi Hasan, "We have the Geneva Convention"

"We have International Humanitarian Law"

"We have the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court"

"We have these metrics that were built up over the years, by the UK and the US; they led the world in writing these documents, these conventions"

"The European Convention of Human Rights, which everyone on the British right wants to pull out of, it was written by British lawyers"

"Much of that architecture is now being burnt down to protect Netanyahu, it's kind of insane"

"When historians come back to write these history books, it will be amazing to see how these laws, these conventions, they survived genocides, they survived some of the worst post war era conflicts"

"But they couldn't survive Gaza"

[Dr. Ghada Sasa, PhD 🇵🇸 @drghadasasa]

Herzliya was named after the founder of political Zionism Theodor Herzl. It was built over the lands of three Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed & destroyed by Israel in 1948: Ijlil al-Shamaliyya, Ijlil al-Qibliyya, & al-Haram (Sayyiduna 'Ali). 1/

[Mahmoud Maher @MahmoudMaher321]

💔 My brother is suffering from meningitis, and the illness has severely affected him to the point that he has lost much of his mental awareness and ability to communicate as he once did. His condition is extremely difficult, and he urgently needs ongoing medication, medical care, and treatment.
He has a large family who depend on him, and they are facing very hard circumstances. We are struggling to cover the cost of his treatment and basic necessities.
🙏 We kindly appeal to compassionate people to help him during this difficult time. Any donation, no matter how small, can make a real difference in easing his suffering and helping provide the care he needs.
🔄 If you are unable to donate, please share this message so it may reach someone who can help.
🤲 Thank you for your kindness and support. May God bless you.

https://t.co/6r71bKBEPe

[Abubaker Abed @AbubakerAbedW]

We're not talking about Dr Hussam Abu-Safiya enough. It's heartbreaking to see him this way.

Everyone must keep pushing for his immediate release.

The only issue Dr Hussam has is his citizenship. If he were of a Western origin, it'd be the story every single day.

[Born Free Foundation @BornFreeFDN]

🐘 Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, is completing her final checks before moving to the Born Free supported Pangea Elephant Sanctuary. After decades in the circus, she’ll soon have space, care & companionship.
Learn more in our latest news update: https://t.co/TMm7lXmbIK

[Rohingya Humanitarian Initiative (RHI) @Rhi1012946Rhi]

We're so close — only £194 left to reach our goal.

Your donation will help vulnerable Rohingya refugee families in the camps receive essential support. If you're unable to donate, please share this post to help us reach more people who can.
https://t.co/kipRUILAjF

[Omar Hamad | عُـمَـرْ 𓂆 @OmarHamadD]

The feeling that washes over me whenever I see someone talking about the great work we accomplished in Gaza, building its very first library, is simply indescribable.
https://t.co/K3LnaNJPFH

[The Sameer Project @sameerproject]

This is a burn that reached our Tawba Clinic in Jabalia. The cause of burns: crowding at the community kitchen where he got pushed to the hot pot. Burn cases come weekly to our medical points.

With high temperatures in Gaza, burn patients have to sit in the heat in a worn tent and deal with sweating and potential infections. The Sameer Project medical points provide burn creams and painkillers for burn patients.

Support the treatment of burn patients by donating to the Medical Campaign: https://t.co/LLwKJegeB1

Other ways to donate include:
https://t.co/OmIU4SifDD (Paypal option, please make sure to add a message saying "Medical")
https://t.co/WNZu0ERJci (Venmo option, please make sure to add a message saying "Medical")

[MO @Abu_Salah9]

حادثة خطيرة جداً وقعت في قطاع غزة .. لا يجب السكوت عنها وتجاهلها

قام الجيش الإسرائيلي باختطاف هذين المسعفين إلى مكان مجهول، أثناء توجههما لأداء مهمة إنسانية لإنقاذ الجرحى في غزة

ولا يزال مصيرهما مجهولاً، لا نعلم عنهما شيئاً

[Chris Doyle @Doylech]

Whereas Israeli soldiers who participated in the genocide in Gaza.... are welcome.

[Mohammed jawad 🇵🇸 @Mo7ammed_jawad6]

Rafif stands today in front of an unexploded missile—one that is taller than my little daughter herself.💔💔

This is not just a passing image; it is part of our daily reality. A life lived between fear, anxiety, and endless terror. Our children are growing up in conditions no child should ever have to endure or witness.

While children elsewhere dream of playgrounds, schools, and happy days, the children of Gaza are growing up amid the sound of explosions, surrounded by rubble, and confronted with scenes far beyond their young years.

Rafif does not see this missile as a headline in the news. She sees it standing right before her—a silent reminder of a reality imposed upon her childhood.🥹💔

Please, don’t stop talking about Gaza and its children. Don’t let the world become accustomed to this tragedy or pass it by in silence. Behind every photograph is a child trying to survive, and behind every child is a story of fear, pain, and hope—waiting for someone to listen.🙏💔🇵🇸

[Oceana UK @OceanaUK]

🚨 THOUSANDS of animals are being killed as a result of getting accidentally caught in fishing gear, such as trawling nets - new research shows

Each year industrial vessels in the UK are catching:

🪶 10,000+ seabirds
🐋 1,000+ porpoises, dolphins & whales
🦭 500+ seals 1/2 🔽

[Ahmad In Gaza @mmajajjd799]

I've repeatedly asked for help with treatment, but no one has responded. 💔 My pain increases day by day, and I'm still waiting for a merciful hand to save me.
🙏😞
https://t.co/UkjYxyvVxJ

[Zachary Foster @_ZachFoster]

“Steal their women & children” is the new Zionism. you can’t make shit up anymore

[Praise @tufpraise]

now are y'all seeing this?!? like REALLY SEEING THIS???

[mostafa ahmed From Gaza🍉🇵🇸 @mostfa_mushtaha]

Mustafa, 21 years old, is the sole survivor of his family.
180 members were killed, and I'm left with my orphaned nephew, Yazan.
Due to injuries to my hands (metal plates) and feet, I'm unable to work.
We're living in difficult circumstances and need your support to get through this.
Thank you to everyone who has offered us a helping hand.

Donation link below:⬇️🙏🏼😔
https://t.co/Vhoqh1wYsi

[Omar Hamad | عُـمَـرْ 𓂆 @OmarHamadD]

Just because I was born in a geographical spot not of my choosing, I had to endure all this horror, all this continuous blood, killing, and slaughter. I had to prioritize survival before dreaming of living, making escaping death a grand achievement instead of realizing my simple dreams.

How can geography be a destiny weighing heavily on our chests? And how can imaginary lines on a map dictate the amount of pain allowed for our hearts?