#cnn international

[addictedgallery]

“’We are not going back.’ These words from Kamala Harris summarise the moment we are in, and in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!” ~ Shepard Fairey

[mysharona1987]

What are the odds when Israel presents its defence tomorrow, they’ll all suddenly remember this case exists after all?

[i-am-aprl]

So yesterday's powerful case for the genocide was hard to find and not broadcasted on major networks but today's response to yesterday is readily available everywhere? Got it, makes sense.

[drsonnet]

Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center..Finally, #CNN SPEAKS (May, 2024)

Sde Teiman: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center | CNN

| تحقيق لسي إن إن: - انتهاكات وتعذيب لمعتقلين فلسطينيين على يد جنود إسرائيليين في مركز اعتقال سري بالنقب. - شهادات مخبرين إسرائيليين كشفت أن المعتقلين الفلسطينيين يعيشون ظروفا قاسية للغاية.

Update from #Khan Yunis (May, 2024) :

Palestinian citizens, who have been kidnapped by Israel's military from Khan Yunis | (Jan., 2024)

Palestinian men detained by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza have told Middle East Eye how they were physically tortured with dogs and electricity, subjected to mock executions, and held in humiliating and degrading conditions. (March, 2024)

www.middleeasteye.net

long live the resistance : This is what Farouq looks like after severe... (tumblr.com) Dec, 2023

[palestinegenocide]

‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 230: Israel lashes out at West Bank in wake of ICC request

Airstrikes continue across the Gaza Strip as the Israeli ground invasion continues in Jabalia and Rafah, displacing thousands. Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched a wide-ranging invasion of Jenin refugee camp, killing 12 people.

[link]

[an-onyx-void]

Elizabeth Warren suggests Israel’s actions in Gaza could be ruled as a genocide by international courts | CNN Politics

[geminisee]

The last twelve months were the hottest twelve months ever on record.

x

“In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger. We are the danger.”

- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

[gamer2002]

Must be something he has eaten

[madtomedgar]

I often wonder what the world would look like if pressing local or state level issues people claim to care about generated the same kind of action and enthusiasm that massive national news stories with complicated power mapping do. Idk even when I'm 100% with the people who are up in arms. Like what if just as many people in MA had turned out for the ROE act as turned out to protest the overturn of Roe after the fact? What if the rent control actions were as well attended as the ceasefire actions? I have had many instances where I am trying to get progressive people who regularly go to big demonstrations to show up for something state level they have said they care about and they just won't. And what I'm left with after that is the conclusion that where their interests actually are is feeling like a part of something big and heady rather than accomplishing a concrete goal and that's. Demoralizing.

[attari786]

Experts from the United Nations are urging for a focus on gender-inclusive humanitarian efforts in Gaza

Israel should quickly carry out a truce and substantial helpful measures that focus on the necessities of Palestinian ladies and young ladies as per the Worldwide Courtroom's decision of 26 January

2024, UN experts* said today.

For Read More click the link below

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Internal Revenue Service in a speech Tuesday against repeated threats from Republicans to cut the agency’s funding.

“Playing politics with IRS funding is unacceptable. Cutting it would be damaging and irresponsible,” Yellen said.

The IRS was allocated an influx of $80 billion by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year. The funds are intended to help crack down on tax cheats and improve taxpayer service.

But the funding has become politically controversial.

Most recently, House Republicans voted to rescind $14.3 billion from the IRS to pay for an emergency aid package for Israel in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks, but the bill is unlikely to even get brought up for a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson said the IRS cuts would offset the spending for Israel, but independent budget experts have repeatedly said that taking money away from the IRS’ enforcement actions will actually add to the deficit. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said last week that cutting $14.3 billion from the IRS would reduce the amount of tax revenue the agency can collect by $26.8 billion over 10 years.

The House GOP has made several efforts to claw back some IRS funds since taking control of the chamber in January, and some Representatives have even called for abolishing the IRS altogether. Earlier this year, Republicans were successful in rescinding $20 billion from the IRS as part of a deal to address the debt ceiling.

Many Republicans claim the IRS will use the money to hound middle-class taxpayers and small business owners, though the Biden administration has said that taxpayers earning less than $400,000 a year won’t face an increase in taxes due to the new funding.

“Let me be as clear as possible. The IRS agenda in using Inflation Reduction Act funds is as follows: If you are middle- or low-income, better service; if you are wealthy, more scrutiny,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a speech he gave Tuesday following Yellen’s remarks.

IRS IMPROVEMENTS

The Biden administration is eager to show how the new funding is helping the IRS improve its taxpayer services and ramp up enforcement efforts.

“The new funding is driving change across the IRS, and we are seeing a wave of improvements that the agency hasn’t seen in a generation,” Werfel said.

During the 2023 filing season, the IRS was able to answer 3 million more calls and cut phone wait times to three minutes from 28 minutes compared with the year before after hiring 5,000 new customer service representatives. And by ramping up enforcement on millionaires this year, the IRS has collected $160 million in back taxes.

The IRS has also already met its goal, set earlier this year, to make sure taxpayers can respond to all IRS correspondence online. Previously, there were certain forms that could only be responded to on paper through the mail. As a result of this change, the IRS estimates more than 94% of individual taxpayers will no longer have to send mail to the agency.

The IRS has also put a plan in motion to digitize all paper-filed tax returns by 2025. The move is expected to cut processing times in half and speed up refunds by four weeks.

There are more improvements the IRS expects to roll out next year.

For example, the existing online tool known as “Where’s My Refund?” will be able to give taxpayers more detailed information about the status of their refund after filing their federal tax return, including whether the IRS needs them to respond to a letter requesting additional information.

The IRS is also expecting to provide more in-person tax filing support at its Taxpayer Assistance Centers. Taxpayers can go to those sites to receive free help from trained volunteers. The agency’s goal is to increase the number of taxpayers receiving free tax preparation help by around 50,000 in filing season 2024.

While these improvements are intended to give taxpayers fewer reasons to call the IRS, new technology is cutting down on wait times when they have to pick up the phone. The main IRS line now has a call-back option when the expected wait time exceeds 15 minutes. A caller can hang up and receive a call back later.

In addition, the IRS is currently working on building its own free tax filing program, known as Direct File, that will launch as a limited pilot program next year and be available to some taxpayers in 13 states.

[drsonnet]

All states must pressure Israel to immediately halt its ground operations in #Rafah and ensure unfettered access for humanitarian aid in line with their obligations to prevent genocide

Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns

[sincericida]

Andrew Garfield says there's "a lot of intimacy" in new film with Florence Pugh

Actors star in "We Live In Time," coming to brazilian cinemas on October 31.

British actor Andrew Garfield , 41, revealed in an interview with “Vanity Fair” that his new film with Florence Pugh , titled “We Time In Time” , required a lot of intimacy between the two protagonists, because it is something explored in the production. The drama hits theaters on October 31.

“We worked really hard, you know, on getting to know each other, gaining trust in each other, because there’s a lot of intimacy in this movie. It’s intimacy, emotional, mental, physical,” he explained.

“It takes a lot of courage to step in, especially for, I think, a woman on a film set. And she [ Florence Pugh ] is totally committed to what she does. And I’m so happy that she felt safe enough to go to the places that she went. And I felt safe enough to go to the places that I went,” he continued.

The two-time Oscar-nominated actor also praised his colleague, who has also been nominated for Hollywood's top prize.

“I’ve been a fan of Florence ever since I saw her in ‘Lady Macbeth.’ It was like seeing a kind of life force, a primal energy on screen. It’s rare when you see that. That level of charisma, that level of depth that comes with just being there. And then you add on top of that all this talent,” he said.

“We Time In Time” follows Almut, an up-and-coming chef, and Tobias, a recent divorcee, across several decades as the two fall in love after a surprise encounter. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish every moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken.

The director is John Crowley, responsible for the Oscar-nominated film “Brooklyn”. The title had its first screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday (6).