Monday: Hili's dialogue

Welcome to the start of the work week: today is Monday, March 25, 2024. This day is celebrated as International Waffle Day. But everyone is missing maple syrup. Additionally, today is National Newburg Chicken Day, Pecan Day, International Tolkien Reading Day (March 25 marks the day of Sauron's downfall), the birthday of Empress Menen (a holiday for radical cultivators), European Union Talent Day, International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Maryland Day, V-Fruadagen or "Waffle Day" in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, as well as "New Year" (Annunciation) in England, Wales, Ireland, and the future United States and Canada from 1155 to 1751, when the Calendar Act of 1750 (New Style) came into effect, moving it to January 1 (and also adopting the Gregorian calendar). In 1751, the year began on March 25; the year 1752 began on January 1. Readers can note significant events, births, or deaths that occurred on this day by consulting Wikipedia for the date March 25.

Yes, Nuz: "Everyone has forgotten about the war that Israel is waging in the north: with Hezbollah, which is violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701, not holding back from approaching the border with Israel, aggressively attacking (with rockets) Israel, and evading control by the cowardly UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon. To a large extent, Hezbollah controls Lebanon. Now Israel is defending itself against a continuous stream of rockets from the north: the terrorist group Hezbollah launched at least 50 rockets at northern Israel in the early hours of Sunday. The Israeli Defense Forces stated that they intercepted several rockets, while others landed in open areas. This, one of the most powerful, attacks occurred after a series of strikes by Israel on the terrorist group's positions, backed by Iran, including one far in the northeast of the country shortly after midnight on Sunday. For several weeks, Israel has been conducting airstrikes deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory, as well as on Hezbollah positions, as the number of its attacks increases, raising the threat of open military conflict and the expansion of the ongoing conflict on the planet into Palestine south of Israel. On Sunday morning, the Israeli army initiated confirmed reports of an airstrike on Hezbollah's headquarters in the northern Lebanese city of Baalbek, stating that their fighters attacked a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing facility. They also confirmed Hezbollah's claim of launching around 50 rockets into northern Israel, saying they recorded about 50 launches crossing into Israeli territory. Hezbollah claimed to have launched 60 rockets, indicating that several rockets fell short in Lebanon. The IDF stated that several Hezbollah rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, while the rest landed in open areas. There are no reports of casualties or damage. Hezbollah has a huge stockpile of rockets to target civilians: about 150,000! Most of them were supplied by Iran and North Korea."

"After all, Kamala Harris, who was supposed to lead U.S. immigration policy at the southern border (which she never did), found another job: to be Biden's spokesperson in an attempt to stop Israel in its war with Hamas. She seems to have been tasked with threatening Israel." As The Guardian writes: "Leading U.S. Democrats on Sunday intensified pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon a planned assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are seeking refuge. Two days after a similar appeal from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which was rejected by the Israeli leader, Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the Biden administration 'does not rule anything out' in terms of consequences if Netanyahu proceeds with the assault. Harris said Washington was 'very clear about our view on whether this should happen.' 'Any large-scale military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,' Harris said on ABC's This Week. 'I have studied the maps - there is nowhere for these people to go. And there are about one and a half million people living in Rafah, who have been sent there.' Harris refused to say whether she believes, as the leader of the majority party, that Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace. But she stated: 'We have been very clear that too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. We said that Israel, the Israeli people, and Palestinians have an equal right to security and dignity.' Kamala looked at the maps! But how did that happen? And about 'nowhere to go' - come on, she knew where and when one could leave the area to avoid contact with the IDF, right?

“The Times” publishes an interview with Judith Butler, a renowned thinker whom I consider to be the most overrated academic figure in the world.

Her reflections on gender and sex, as understandable as they may be, are unprovable if they can be understood at all. For a good analysis, one can refer to Alex Bain's new book, "Gender Issues." In a rather uninformative article, Butler gives an interview to Jessica Bennett, listed as a "co-author," where she writes about gender, politics, and personalities.

Here are some questions and answers:

What is the problem with the distortion of language on the left political wing?

• My version of feminist, queer, and trans-tolerant politics is not aimed at policing. I don't think we should become the police. I'm afraid of the police. But I think many people feel that the world has gotten out of control, and the only place where they can exert a bit of control is through language. And then moral rhetoric emerges: Call me this. Use that term. We agree to use this language. What I like most is what young people are doing - and it's not just about the young, but in my opinion, everyone is young now - it's experimentation. I like experiments. Let's come up with a new language. Let's play. Let's see what language makes our lives better. But I think we need to show a bit more compassion for the process of adaptation.

Ultimately, change the terms to align with our ideology. It's just a game! Forget about Orwell; changing language is just fun! But what does "gender" mean?

The sweating professor defines this for us:

• Do you still believe that gender is a "performance"?

Byrne notes that Butler's concept of gender as "performativity" views the definitions of man or woman as representations created by "stylized repetition of acts," which are closely tied to culture. However, this has nothing to do with defining a man or a woman as adult females and males, existing because they have different gametes. You are a man or a woman regardless of what actions you repeat while growing up. Alex Byrne analyzes this concept over five pages in his book and concludes that Butler constantly changes her definitions of gender, making her views practically impossible to understand and therefore unsuitable for empirical research. In fact, the essence of Byrne's book is that the very concept of "gender" is convoluted and ultimately useless; it can be replaced with language that expresses more meaningful concepts. But it seems that Butler has changed her definition of gender once again.

How do you define gender today?

• Oh, God. I mean, I've reconsidered my theory of gender - but that's not the point of this book. I'm saying that "gender identity" is not everything we mean by gender: it's one of the concepts within a cluster of ideas. Gender is also a framework - a very important framework - in law, in politics, for thinking about how inequality is established in the world. And if you can understand that, then you're better than me. But I think Butler would say: "Read my book." (And don't pay taxes.)

Today is the last deadline for Donald Trump to start paying the $454 million he owes to the state of New York as part of a civil fraud lawsuit. However, the likelihood that he will pay or secure the obligations is minimal, and he may lose his property. Donald Trump is approaching a critical deadline in his most expensive legal battle. If the former president does not provide a financial guarantee by Monday, the New York Attorney General will be able to initiate the process of collecting more than $454 million that Trump owes the state in connection with a civil lawsuit over the falsification of his finances. Trump's lawyers are trying to prevent this. They have gone to court to request a stay of the collection process while the appeal is being considered. The presumed Republican candidate attempted to secure a commitment for the full amount, which would halt the collection process during his appeal and ensure the state gets its money in case he loses. Three answers to the questions: "Can New York really seize Trump's property?" (yes); "Can this happen soon?" (unlikely); "Can Trump pay if he wants to?" (he has enough money, but most of it is tied up in real estate, although he has claimed, but not confirmed, that he has about $400 million); "Are there other ways Trump can raise money?" (AP says: "Trump could gain financial profit from a looming deal to list his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, on the stock exchange under the symbol DJT"); and finally, "Can Trump declare bankruptcy?" (yes, but it won't change much, as he will still be personally liable for the money).

Putin continues to blame Ukraine for the deaths of 133 Russians caused by ISIS in a concert hall. However, as the Washington Post claims, the attack revealed vulnerabilities in Putin's regime: When Vladimir Putin finally spoke about the most horrific terrorist attack that shook Russia in the last 20 years, he fell silent on the obvious failure of his security state to prevent an attack that left at least 137 dead, despite a clear warning from the United States on March 7 about the possibility of an assault on the concert hall. He also made no mention of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack at the Crocus City concert hall on Friday and which Putin has repeatedly denied as an enemy throughout Russia's long intervention in military actions in Syria. In 2017, Putin declared victory over the Islamic State. Instead, Putin used his five-minute televised address on Saturday to emphasize that the four direct perpetrators "were moving towards Ukraine" when they were detained, and that "a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border." He did not directly blame Ukraine, which denies any involvement, but the mention of "Nazis"—a familiar term for the Ukrainian government—made it clear that he holds Kyiv responsible. However, the horrific footage of the attackers with automatic weapons, chillingly killing innocent spectators and setting fire to one of the most popular entertainment venues in the Russian capital, shattered Putin's efforts to present Russia as strong, united, and resilient. The attack occurred just five days after his triumphant announcement of a new six-year term obtained in elections that were tightly controlled by the Kremlin and widely recognized outside the country as not meeting democratic standards. Putin used these elections to claim overwhelming public support for his policies. . . . Despite Putin's rhetoric aimed at dragging Ukraine into the events, analysts, former U.S. intelligence officials, and members of the Russian elite said the attack underscores the vulnerability of Putin's regime in wartime, fully exposed during the fighting with the private forces of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who sought to overthrow senior military officials in June. "The regime shows its weakness in such critical situations, just as it did during Prigozhin's mutiny," said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia. Although Prigozhin backed down from the uprising, the damage was evident. Just like in the case of the events occurring this weekend, Putin did not appear for an hour before finally addressing the emergency. "In difficult moments, Putin always disappears," Kolesnikov said. Just three days before the Crocus City attack, Putin dismissed the U.S. warning about the obvious danger of a new terrorist act with the comment, "What hot tea."