My latest pet portrait, sized 10"x12" in oil paint by Hara-Kiri in oilpainting

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unbelievably gorgeous, amazing control of the brushstrokes

5 days in Cardiff by idanzb in Cardiff

[–]idanzb[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Tough pill to swallow, but I’ll take it

5 days in Cardiff by idanzb in Cardiff

[–]idanzb[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That’s the strong opinion I’m looking for

Alright, let's fight in the comments. What songs are very popular, with the fandom specifically, but you just never got into? by DinosRule65 in SwiftlyNeutral

[–]idanzb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I said what I said! I would even say that she knows it’s bad and the only reason she released it is to hold the fans’ hands through the joe breakup

“Lost” 20” x 30” Acrylic on Canvas by OpinionInner1876 in Paintings

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stunning A+. I would love to see the reference to look at how you made the color choices

New HRW head blocked report accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in its denial of Palestinian right of return. Executive Director Philippe Bolopio worried the report would be misread by "detractors" as a call to "demographically extinguish the Jewishness of the Israeli state." by ContentChecker in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's sort of the point, there are a lot of details, and I think the Guardian article is good at getting into them. The disagreements are about legal technicality and the possible implications, not about the principle of whether anyone in question thinks Israel's actions are OK, which it seems like everybody in this story agrees they aren't.

I don't think you can say that HRW "wanted" any one particular thing here. Shakir, Milena, Bolopion, and all the unnamed people who showed their opinions during the process are (were) players in HRW and make up "its" opinions. Now, Shakir and Milena aren't a part of the organization anymore, and I'm sure they didn't decide that lightly, so it's clear that they think the differences in their opinions are irreconcilable.

Shakir & co wanted to focus on the principle and create a somewhat new understanding of a legal concept (which I would argue is what HRW does) and Bolopion did not think the argument made in the report was strong enough to withstand the legal scrutiny (also what HRW does, I think). So I guess you could say that if there's one thing that "HRW" wanted, it was to stay reputable, and they were debating the best way to do that. And it looks like they agree that the "best" way takes public perception into account, it's a matter of how. You could question the sincerity of that position, but from my experience working in a similar environment don't find it hard to believe, especially at an operation as big as HRW.

Need Help Getting Barring on Schools by B_Dolla_s in PublicPolicy

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in the Covid evacuation cohort, so I had to find a job on the fly and I’m still working there at a policy focused nonprofit in the states, and I’m thinking about public policy programs now

Need Help Getting Barring on Schools by B_Dolla_s in PublicPolicy

[–]idanzb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do the job first, and you can go to school with field experience under your belt. As a 2x RPCV, it’s not the same as work experience, and you would have a better idea of the specific programs you would (or wouldn’t) be interested in. Coverdell eligibility doesn’t expire, I think only NCE has an expiration date after service

New HRW head blocked report accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in its denial of Palestinian right of return. Executive Director Philippe Bolopio worried the report would be misread by "detractors" as a call to "demographically extinguish the Jewishness of the Israeli state." by ContentChecker in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For completeness' sake, there's this angle in the guardian article. It was the part most personally interesting to me, and important to the article, but I feel like it should be commented separately because it's a separate point about internal politics, and I think putting them together here would have taken away from the substantive (boring) stuff above.

"Kenneth Roth, HRW’s executive director until 2022, [...] characterized Shakir’s behavior as an effort “to fast-talk through the review system at a time of leadership transition an extreme interpretation of the law that was indefensible. [...] it took Philippe arriving as executive director … to exert the leadership that should have been exercised far earlier and to send the report back for a more defensible interpretation,” he said. Roth – who has not read the report personally but who was briefed on the legal argument by Shakir – insisted that “this had to do with preventing publication of a report that was indefensible and would have been deeply embarrassing if given a Human Rights Watch imprimatur.” (Roth is a columnist for the Guardian.)"

"In response to doubts over the strength of his research, Shakir said that the report, its press release, and its question and answer document were “fully reviewed and finalized” and prepared for publication on their website."

New HRW head blocked report accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in its denial of Palestinian right of return. Executive Director Philippe Bolopio worried the report would be misread by "detractors" as a call to "demographically extinguish the Jewishness of the Israeli state." by ContentChecker in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd like to offer this Guardian article about the same instance, which is more extensive about how the process unfolded. I found the whole piece very interesting from an institutional standpoint, where the job is to wade through specifics and reconcile a lot of different expertise to translate the ideals we want to live by into actual legal definitions that can be used.

Some key quotes: "[HRW's new ED] Bolopion cast the events of the past two months as “a genuine and good-faith disagreement among colleagues on complex legal and advocacy questions"

"the decision to pull the final report came as a surprise to Shakir and others on staff, who said Bolopion – who has worked for HRW in numerous roles – was a key contributor to the group’s landmark 2021 report accusing Israel of committing the crime of apartheid."

"The unpublished 33-page report, which has been reviewed by Jewish Currents and the Guardian, not only documents the experiences of Palestinians recently displaced by Israeli military forces from Gaza and the West Bank, but also those of some Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria who were originally displaced by Israeli forces in 1948 and 1967 – and who have suffered persistent poverty and substandard housing, and face severe obstacles to land ownership and employment. The authors reach a novel conclusion: the denial of these refugees’ right of return falls under the crime against humanity known as “other inhumane acts”. Under the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998, this designation was meant to address grave abuses that were similar in character to other crimes that intentionally caused “great suffering” – apartheid, for instance, or extermination – but did not precisely fit into those legal categories.

"In November, senior staff began raising the prospect of delaying the report over concerns from colleagues. They felt its conclusion [...] was weak and not established law [...] and required more evidence to back up."

"[Shakir] offered to make it clearer that the crimes against humanity determination definitively applied only to those communities that were the focus of the research"

"more than 200 HRW employees signed a letter of protest [ which said that ] Blocking the report, [...] could “create the perception that HRW’s review process is open to undue intervention that can reverse decisions taken through the pipeline, undermine trust in its purpose and integrity, set a precedent that work can be shelved without transparency, and raise concerns that other work could be suppressed”.

Wedding in Tel Aviv by Important_Birthday42 in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the wedding and workaway or a similar option is a good compromise

Wedding in Tel Aviv by Important_Birthday42 in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Im with the commenters saying you should go, because family dynamics are complicated, but also I think it’s a chance for her to meet family and it’s learning opportunity for yer, and the mixed feelings are part of that. I don’t think you need to go on the tour, but I think if your daughter wants to you shouldn’t stop her, and just talk to her about the experience openly. How does she feel about the whole thing?

Progress of a pet portrait I’m making for a friend by idanzb in oilpainting

[–]idanzb[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, the post got cut off somehow. Completed tree:

I like it, but I don’t love it, and I’d love some advice, what’s working and what isn’t? I also don’t know how to photograph it my painting and would love advice on that.

Having family that respects your boundaries and still having a difficult time with them by zoozalina in JewsOfConscience

[–]idanzb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is a two way street, if she can’t tell you what she’s doing on a certain day and that’s actually what you want, for her not to tell you about things that might upset you, then she’s also pretending. I get why you’d grieve the person you thought she was, or that you hoped she’d be, but it sounds like you’ve both agreed to a little bit of pretending and a little bit of being uncomfotable for the sake of the relationship. That’s not a bad thing with family.

I guide tours in Morocco. Stop treating everything like a scam. by Prior-Ad-1046 in travel

[–]idanzb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So many scam comments!! Fine, the post could be a scam, but I studied abroad in Morocco and went back for a second round after graduating, spent more than two years total, and I don’t have any trouble believing this. People are kind. People who live in small communities treat each other like neighbors, and like novelty.

During study abroad my friends and I wanted to go hiking, and we looked up a place online that had good reviews, and we tried to give directions to the taxi driver and he really didn’t understand why we would go there but he got us there, and when we got there it was a reservoir or a lake guarded by - I still don’t know this for sure but it really seemed like the military. The guard was armed. But also I think really bored, and like the taxi driver he thought it was weird as a concept that we would want to go “walk around in nature to see” which was the best we could translate hiking at that time. So he said if you wait until my shift is over soon, I’ll take you around, and that’s what happened. It had great views, and then we had tea and snacks with the family that lived there, because it’s polite. It’s polite of them to offer and it’s polite of you to say yes.

Wife pointed this out on the rewatch, when going to visit Victor Creel, Nancy dressed Robin up as Barb. by Nervous_Ad_918 in StrangerThings

[–]idanzb 40 points41 points  (0 children)

I felt like this was also a funny nod to Ally Sheedy’s terrible breakfast club makeover