The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming "systematic obstruction of aid" by Israel, hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy the territory's largest city. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/world/gaza-famine-un-declaration/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #israel #israelhamaswar #hunger #un #hamas
Michael Bacon
boosted
Today in Labor History August 18, 1812: Lady Ludd led the Luddite Corn Market riot of women and boys in Leeds, England. Luddites also rioted in Sheffield against flour and meat sellers. England was suffering huge food shortages and inflation at the time, in part because of the War of 1812, which had started in June, and the ongoing Napoleonic wars. Additionally, new technological innovations were allowing mill owners to replace many of their employees with machines. In response, Luddites would destroy looms and other equipment. To try and get control over these worker protests, the British authorities made illegal oath-taking punishable by death in July 1812. They also empowered magistrates to forcibly enter private homes to search for weapons. And they stationed thousands of troops in areas where rioting and looting had occurred over the summer.
There are numerous parallels between that period and today. Like then, we have new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, that could reduce the amount of dangerous and tedious toil for the working-class, giving them higher wages and reduced hours. Instead, the technology is being used by the bosses to cut jobs and further enrich themselves. Like then, we are funding numerous wars and genocides, paid for through austerity that has been imposed on the working-class. And like then, governments are planning and implementing new repressive laws and police powers to undermine working-class protest.
Charlotte Bronte’s second novel, “Shirley” (1849), takes place in Yorkshire, 1811-1812, during the Luddite uprisings. It was originally published under the pseudonym, Currer Bell. The novel opens with a ruthless mill owner waiting for the delivery of new, cost-saving equipment that will allow him to fire many of his workers, but Luddites destroy the equipment before it reaches him. As a result of the novel’s popularity, Shirley became a popular female name. Prior to this, it was mostly a male name.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #luddite #england #inflation #genocide #ukraine #palestine #gaza #hunger #freespeech #fiction #novel #author #writer #books @bookstadon
Today in Labor History August 18, 1812: Lady Ludd led the Luddite Corn Market riot of women and boys in Leeds, England. Luddites also rioted in Sheffield against flour and meat sellers. England was suffering huge food shortages and inflation at the time, in part because of the War of 1812, which had started in June, and the ongoing Napoleonic wars. Additionally, new technological innovations were allowing mill owners to replace many of their employees with machines. In response, Luddites would destroy looms and other equipment. To try and get control over these worker protests, the British authorities made illegal oath-taking punishable by death in July 1812. They also empowered magistrates to forcibly enter private homes to search for weapons. And they stationed thousands of troops in areas where rioting and looting had occurred over the summer.
There are numerous parallels between that period and today. Like then, we have new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, that could reduce the amount of dangerous and tedious toil for the working-class, giving them higher wages and reduced hours. Instead, the technology is being used by the bosses to cut jobs and further enrich themselves. Like then, we are funding numerous wars and genocides, paid for through austerity that has been imposed on the working-class. And like then, governments are planning and implementing new repressive laws and police powers to undermine working-class protest.
Charlotte Bronte’s second novel, “Shirley” (1849), takes place in Yorkshire, 1811-1812, during the Luddite uprisings. It was originally published under the pseudonym, Currer Bell. The novel opens with a ruthless mill owner waiting for the delivery of new, cost-saving equipment that will allow him to fire many of his workers, but Luddites destroy the equipment before it reaches him. As a result of the novel’s popularity, Shirley became a popular female name. Prior to this, it was mostly a male name.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #luddite #england #inflation #genocide #ukraine #palestine #gaza #hunger #freespeech #fiction #novel #author #writer #books @bookstadon
Beardy Star Stuff
and 1 other
boosted
People in western Myanmar have been driven to scavenging for bamboo shoots, as humanitarian workers warn a wartime blockade and aid cutbacks led by Washington have caused hunger cases to surge. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/15/asia-pacific/myanmar-hunger-us-aid-cuts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #us #myanmar #aid #food #hunger
Jess Mahler
boosted
If you want to help with hunger but don't want to support any local christian organizations who are also likely working toward stripping you of your rights to religious freedom, there are alternatives.
You can give to your local Federation, which usually has a fund to help with food and emergencies.
Find your nearest Federation Office: https://www.jewishfederations.org/federation-finder
Or you can give to Mazon.
Link: https://mazon.org/
If you want to help with hunger but don't want to support any local christian organizations who are also likely working toward stripping you of your rights to religious freedom, there are alternatives.
You can give to your local Federation, which usually has a fund to help with food and emergencies.
Find your nearest Federation Office: https://www.jewishfederations.org/federation-finder
Or you can give to Mazon.
Link: https://mazon.org/
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump can cut billions of dollars in foreign assistance funds approved by Congress for this year, a U.S. appeals court ruled. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/14/world/crime-legal/court-trump-block-billions-foreign-aid/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #crimelegal #usaid #hunger #famine #unrwa #us #donaldtrump #republicans
A social media clip of a Palestinian mother reuniting with her children in Canada has been used by some pro-Israeli critics to deny claims of starvation in Gaza. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/world/politics/palestinian-mother-gaza-starvation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians #hunger #famine #misinformation
One of Myanmar's most conflict-ravaged regions has witnessed a "dramatic rise in hunger" after U.S. aid cuts pushed by President Donald Trump during a punishing civil war, the World Food Program said Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/asia-pacific/myanmar-hunger-aid-cutbacks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #myanmar #hunger #southeastasia
Rumors that Israel might decide on a full occupation of Gaza has sowed fear and despair among Palestinians struggling to survive in the enclave. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/08/world/gaza-israel-occupation-fears/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #israelhamaswar #israelhamas #palestinians #hunger #famine
Funding cuts are driving an entire generation of children in Sudan to the brink of irreversible harm as support is scaled back and malnutrition cases persist across the country, the U.N. children's agency said。 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/06/world/politics/funding-cuts-sudan-children-unicef/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #unhcr #unicef #sudan #un #hunger #famine #sudan #children
Canada said Monday it delivered humanitarian assistance through airdrops to Gaza, with Ottawa again accusing Israel of violating international law. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/05/world/politics/canada-airdrops-aid-gaza-israel-law/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #canada #middleeast #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians #hamas #hunger #famine
Hundreds of thousands of people under siege in the Sudanese army's last holdout in the western Darfur region are running out of food and coming under constant artillery and drone barrages. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/05/world/hunger-sudan-al-fashir/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #cholera #darfur #sudan #africa #hunger
At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Gaza, including 10 seeking aid while another five died of starvation in what humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/05/world/gazans-aid-hunger-burial-shrouds/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #middleeast #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians #hamas #benjaminnetanyahu #hunger #starvation #famine
The trickle of food aid Israel is allowing to enter the Gaza Strip is seized by Palestinians risking their lives under fire, looted by gangs or diverted in chaotic circumstances rather than reaching those most in need. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/04/world/gangs-gaza-aid-most-needy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #middleeast #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians #hamas #benjaminnetanyahu #us #un #hunger #famine
Many women in Gaza are feeding malnourished babies food their bodies may not be ready for in an attempt to stave off starvation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/01/world/gaza-babies-risky-methods-feed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #israelhamaswar #gaza #palestinians #food #hunger #children #aid
At Nasser hospital’s child malnutrition ward, a handful of Gazan mothers watch over their babies who lie still and largely silent, mostly too exhausted by severe hunger to cry. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/31/world/society/gaza-malnutrition-children/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #hunger #israelhamaswar #palestinians #children #health #aid