Charlie XCX - 360

Can They Get a Jumpsuit to Match His Skintone?

 

Dog Famous for the Doge meme Dies at Age 18

The world famous Shiba (named Kabuso) who became an internet sensation for the Doge meme has died aged 18.  Kabuso's owner, Atsuko Sato, posted an update to say she "fell into a deep sleep" on May 24.

In a post translated from Japanese on Google Translate, Sato said: "He passed away quietly. To everyone who loved him, thank you very much. I was the happiest owner in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to say thank you so much."

In a post on social media, Sato said: "She passed away gently as if she was sleeping while I stroked her."  For two years, Kabosu had been battling cholangiohepatitis and chronic lymphoma leukaemia.  A farewell party was held for Kabosu over the weekend at Flower Kaori in Kotsu no Mori, Narita City.

Sato is reported to have adopted Kabuso in 2008 from a dog shelter after she was abandoned by a puppy mill along with 19 other Shibas.  She shot to internet fame when pictures of her went viral online and the Doge meme was made, particularly the one of her with paws crossed and side-eyeing the camera.

It even inspired the online currency Dogecoin in 2013 with a picture of Kabosu being used as the logo - it even inspired other dog-themed cryptocurrencies to be made. In 2021, the Doge meme was sold as a non-fungible token, or NFT, for $4m, making it the most expensive meme NFT to ever be sold.

 

Netanyahu Continues his Campaign of Violence Against Palestinians

An Israeli airstrike triggered a massive blaze killing 45 people in a tent camp in the Gaza city of Rafah.  In grimly familiar scenes, Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare their dead for burial after the strike late on Sunday night set tents and rickety metal shelters ablaze.

Survivors said families were preparing to sleep when the strike hit.  "We were praying...and we were getting our children's beds ready to sleep. There was nothing unusual, then we heard a very loud noise, and fire erupted around us," said Umm Mohamed Al-Attar, a Palestinian mother in a red headscarf.  "All the children started screaming... The sound was terrifying; we felt like the metal was about to collapse on us, and shrapnel fell into the rooms."

The attack took place in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, where thousands were sheltering after Israeli forces began a ground offensive in the east of Rafah over two weeks ago.  Video footage obtained by Reuters showed a fire raging in the darkness and people screaming in panic. A group of young men tried to haul away sheets of corrugated iron and a hose from a single fire truck began to douse the flames.  More than half of the dead were women, children, and elderly people, health officials in Hamas-run Gaza said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise from people with severe burns.

Israel has kept up attacks despite a ruling by the top U.N. court on Friday ordering it to stop. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" over Israel's latest attacks. "These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians." 

By daylight, the camp was a smoking wreckage of tents, twisted metal and charred belongings.  Women wept and men held prayers beside bodies in shrouds.  Sitting beside bodies of his relatives, Abed Mohammed Al-Attar said Israel lied when it told residents they would be safe in Rafah's western areas. His brother, sister-in-law and several other relatives were killed in the blaze.  "The army is a liar. There is no security in Gaza. There is no security, not for a child, an elderly man, or a woman. Here he (my brother) is with his wife, they were martyred," he said.

"What have they done to deserve this? Their children have been orphaned."

 

Trump Continues His Lack of Respect for Fallen Soldiers

Donald Trump commemorated Memorial Day, a holiday meant to honor fallen military members, with a rant aimed at “human scum,” including judges presiding over several of the former president’s trials.

In a Truth Social post, Trump specifically called out Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over Trump’s fraud trial, and Judge Juan Merchan, who is currently presiding over the Trump hush money trial. He also alluded to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the civil rape trial and defamation trial brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll. 

This type of ranting is fairly standard for Trump, and it’s not the first time he’s used a holiday as a way into an attack on his opponents.

On Jan. 1, 2019, Trump wished a happy new year to “THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA!” In a message posted to Truth Social on Dec. 25, Trump told several of his opponents to “ROT IN HELL” while wishing a “Merry Christmas to all.”

It’s not even the first time he’s marked a holiday meant to remember the dead with a tirade against his foes. In 2013, he sent “best wishes to all, even the haters and losers” on Sept. 11 in a tweet that has since been deleted.

 

 

Memorial Day Massacre That We Didn't Learn About in School

On May 30, 1937, the temperature in Chicago reached a balmy 88 degrees: a “perfect day for a picnic,” as some would later describe it. But 1,500 steel workers hadn’t gathered with their wives and children inside a dilapidated dance hall called Sam’s Place to enjoy a relaxing Memorial Day celebration. Sam’s was the headquarters of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, an arm of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the workers were organizing a peaceful strike.

They were striking because Republic Steel, the plant where they worked, had declared it would not recognize their new union. Unlike his counterparts at U.S. Steel, Republic’s president, Tom Girdler, felt no obligation to mollify the outrageous and insulting demands of his workers. A 40-hour work week? An eight-hour day? Time-and-a-half wages for overtime? That was preposterous. It was communism, and there was no way he’d stand for it. The country was still in the midst of an economic catastrophe, after all. Those people were lucky to have jobs in the first place. 

Instead, Girdler called on his friends in the Chicago police force, arming them with submachine guns, wooden ax handles, and tear gas, and let them set up a command post inside the gates of his massive steel plant on Chicago’s southeast side. If the workers tried to picket his plant, they’d be stopped before they even started. What happened next is now regarded as one of the ugliest episodes of anti-worker violence in American history. One lone cameraman, an employee of Paramount News, filmed what actually occurred that day, and the footage he took is the only reason that any national memory of the actual event still survives.

Enjoy the Holiday Weekend