mystagogue of the diaspora/recovering academic/aspiring luddite

Mostly busy with the European Rail Passengers Union (European Rail Passengers Union (npub1xkk…9lp2))

Not in tech.

Website: https://j-dv.com
Blog: https://j-dv.com/blog
Location: Barcelona
Languages: English, Nederlands, Castellano, Català, עברית

Last Notes

Spinoza (the cat) has learned that, when the humans forget to engage the child lock, sitting on the induction stove makes it go BEEEEEEEEEEP which is a great way of getting the humans to come to the kitchen and probable dish out more food.
This is then followed by constant meowing until I agree to sit on the couch so he can curl up and fall asleep next to me. Because, apparently, falling asleep on your own is just not an option.
(I love him madly.)

2026-01-10 20:23:50 GMT

https://www.reddit.com/r/minnesota/s/5xRHGOikch
A woman ordered doordash. ICE came after the dasher to kidnap her, so she ran into the house to escape. The homeowner who ordered the door dash starts recording and calls the police to ask what to do. She doesn't want to give the woman up to ICE but she is also frightened witless to have men with guns, men from a gang who shot a woman the other day, outside of her house. Watching her find herself in real time, find the strength and courage to tell them to fuck off, is inspiring. Not because she is calm and brave, but because she is freaking the fuck out and unsure and close to giving in. This isn't glamerous or easy. But she sticks with her gut. And eventually her neighbors (not the cops she called; they never show) her neighbors rally and back her up and run ICE off.

2025-12-04 20:36:17 GMT

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⚠️ Important: It's not that they voted and decided to let Israel participate. They didn't bring it to a vote. They only voted on some tweaks to the rules (because of how Israel gamed the voting system last time and used the contest to culture-wash their genocide) saying: “This vote means that all EBU Members who wish to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are eligible to take part,” which is of course bullshit because Belarus and Russia are still banned (if you want to split hairs they have been suspended from the EBU, and are thus ineligible to participate in Eurovision, but their participation in Eurovision drove the public pressure to suspend them in the first place).
And then their statement goes on to say “A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation” without naming Israel. Since then at least 4 countries have withdrawn. If you have a large majority and vocal minority—who feel strong enough that they are willing to quit over the issue—the open and democratic thing to do is to hold the vote so we can at least see where everyone stands. Not voting is just a gossamer fig leaf for cowards to hide behind.
[1] https://www.ebu.ch/news/2025/12/ebu-members-show-clear-support-for-eurovision-reforms
#eurovision

2025-12-04 17:40:19 GMT

Deeply disappointing but unsurprising that the EBU has failed to ban Israel from Eurovision. And props to AVROTROS (Dutch broadcaster) for immediately pulling out. Germany and Austria being completely unwilling and utterly incapable of actual self reflection on their own history beyond a knee-jerk "we can't say anything about anything related to Jews" is a pathetic failure of their collective memory policy over the past 80 years. It's so much easier to make noise about being nice to "Jews" than to actually confront what Nazism was/is about.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2593199-israel-niet-uitgesloten-van-songfestival-avrotros-trekt-zich-terug
#eurovision

2025-11-18 18:30:28 GMT

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I can tell you it's 2–1 at the half for Catalonia, who started the stronger team but Palestine have really grown as the match went on. I hope they can continue that in the second half. And the atmosphere is wonderful. The crowd is really behind both teams and fully in the spirit of the thing.

2025-11-18 17:33:00 GMT

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https://www.3cat.cat/3cat/directes/tv3/ !

2025-11-18 16:33:05 GMT

I have arrived at the Estadi Olimpic for the game between Catalonia and Palestine! Despite being an hour early there is already a crowd forming. Palestinian and Catalan flags a plenty 🇵🇸 :flag_catalonia: and a friendly upbeat atmosphere all around.
#Palestine #catalunya #football
https://todon.eu/system/media_attachments/files/115/571/660/151/340/719/original/f50196f8fd0b0ddf.jpg

2025-11-17 10:01:59 GMT

I'm super hyped for this football match tomorrow between the Catalan :flag_catalonia: and Palestinian 🇵🇸 national teams. This is the intersection of sports and politics that I love. As an added bonus two players from CE Europa (my neighborhood team) were selected to play for the Catalan side!
From the organizers:
“On November 18, at 6:30 p.m., the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium will host a historic match: the Catalonia National Team will face the Palestine National Team. But this will not be just a football match — it will be an unprecedented act of struggle, solidarity, and community building.
In July 1936, Barcelona and this same stadium were set to host the People’s Olympiad, an internationalist and antifascist initiative that sought to stand up to the Berlin Olympic Games organized by the Nazi regime. That spirit of resistance and fraternity will return to Montjuïc on November 18.
All proceeds from the match and the ACT X PALESTINE campaign will go directly to supporting the needs of the Palestinian people through three lines of action: humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza, justice and an end to impunity, and culture as a form of resistance.
Let’s fill the Stadium with solidarity, dignity, and commitment to Palestine.”
https://actxpalestine.com/en/fillstadium/
#Palestine #football #catalunya
https://todon.eu/system/media_attachments/files/115/564/459/947/100/611/original/50111c5ce60c9647.png

2025-10-16 07:39:39 GMT

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But now all of that is on pause. This “truce” has allowed them to do a soft reset on their slide towards non grata-hood, e.g. Eurovision announced that for now they are putting off voting to ban Israel. It might feel like this is anti-climactic ending, like the rug has been pulled from under all the momentum built up in the streets. But really this is what winning looks like. Importantly, it’s not a complete or final victory—very very *very* far from it. But I think this is a Graeber “Shock of Victory” moment [https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-shock-of-victory/]. So the question is, what now.
The simple answer is that it’s more important than ever to not let up, to demand even more, to keep showing up. Because Bibi et al. have made it abundantly clear that they will pursue genocide if given half a chance. We can’t let them have that chance.
[4/4]

2025-10-16 07:39:16 GMT

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The protests and flotilla were not a direct threat to Israel. But they also weren't directed at Israel. They were directed at (mostly European) civil society. And they were working! The political mood was shifting. The tipping point where international organizations like the EBU (Eurovision) ans UEFA (football) banned Israel—like they have Russia—was around the corner. And with that real political and economic consequences start to become imaginable.
[3/4]

2025-10-16 07:38:59 GMT

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Israel has long publicly maintained a "we don't care what the world thinks of us" attitude, freely wielding antisemitism to delegitimize criticism. But, for all the bluster, slipping from disliked by the woke (a la Saudi Arabia) to true international pariah (a la Russia, or South Africa in the past) is a real fear. You don't develop a bunker/victim mentality without being obsessed with what others think of you.
[2/4]

2025-10-16 07:38:31 GMT

The protests worked. I don't know what will happen with Gaza. I wouldn't be surprised if Bibi et al. grab the first flimsy excuse to continue where they left off. But, in the mean time, there are people who have been able to go home, some (how much remains a bit unclear) aid has made it in, and folks are able to catch their breath, if only for a moment. It's not nothing. It's also not Trump’s genius or Bibi’s kindness or anything like that.
[1/4]
#gaza

2025-07-20 17:53:36 GMT

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but Vance, *shudder*. Also, my partner often points out that letting your local strong man die, as opposed to ousting them (i.e. like Franco), allows their cronies and the fascism to continue unabated.

2025-01-21 22:29:44 GMT

A number of football subreddits, including those of Liverpool, Arsenal, Man U, and Ajax have threads actively discussing whether to ban all links to X.com, which for football news is still very relevant. The response from sub members, i.e. football fans who want to hear the latest news and rumors about their clubs, has been overwhelmingly in favor of a ban with very explicit "fuck Nazis" replies. So far most mod teams are hemming and hawing. The Arsenal mods initially said they weren't going to do it but the sub members kept pushing and they are rethinking it. Again, we're talking football fans here. The few stray "let's keep politics out of this" replies are being massively down voted.

2024-11-17 17:46:12 GMT

Recent events in Amsterdam have reminded folks that sports and politics are inseparable. But, it’s not the only such recent sports story, and not even the only one involving Israel and football. A 🧵…
Tonight Israel is playing against Belgium (as part of the Nations League, not to be confused with the League of Nations) … in Hungary. Why is the game taking place in Hungary? Well, UEFA (the folks in charge of football in Europe (why Israel is part of Europe for the sake of football is a whole other thread)) decided back on October 19, 2023 that “After a thorough evaluation of the current safety and security situation in the whole territory of Israel […] that no UEFA competition matches shall be played in Israel until further notice.” Which makes some sense, except when you remember that Russia and Russian teams were outright banned from all competitions in 2022. But fine, no one expects UEFA to know anything about ethics.
[1/7]
#football #soccer #israel #hungary #orban #ISRBEL

2024-09-25 08:34:04 GMT

I had such a @npub1z7x…q5jf moment the other day while talking to my mother.
She was complaining how so many local shops have closed and gone out of business around her, and she now ends up buying everything on Amazon and has even started using Temu. I replied that she must mean nothing she can drive to, because the only thing there has ever been within a 15 minute walk of them is a gas station and a 7/11.
“Oh no. The 7/11 closed. A car drove into it.”
#FuckCars