In 1789, at the behest of Congress, America’s first President, George Washington, issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in which he recommended: “to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Over two hundred years later, gratitude remains a cornerstone in pursuing meaningful and happy lives. It is widely believed that the practice of recognizing and appreciating positive aspects of one’s life can have a transformative effect on the individual. Some even consider the positive emotional response to experiences and people a virtue. The state or continuous practice of gratitude, it is said, will pave the way for more blessings, experiences, and opportunities to be grateful for.
By his proclamation, President Washington, established what began as a harvest festival as a non-religious holiday. Interestingly, the state-instituted holiday is not about an apparent display of festivity or commercial extravagance. Over time, people have added their own traditions and rituals making it the second most popular holiday in the U.S.
Thanksgiving celebrations remain rooted in the very ethos for which it was established. It is a time to reflect on and appreciate what is often considered the basic unit of a healthy society – family. Around a festive meal that signifies abundance, families have created traditions and rituals to show appreciation for the people and good fortunes.
Through the centuries, the land settled by the Pilgrims has evolved into a superpower that remains a beacon of hope for those fleeing oppression and others seeking a better life. The fabric of a close-knit community based on mutual responsibility and cooperation remains vital in American society.
As our Founding Fathers proclaimed, Thanksgiving is a prompt to acknowledge the goodness that often graces our lives amidst the hustle. A simple gesture of saying “thank you” or expressing gratitude for a person, opportunity, experience, emotion, or thing cannot and must not be discounted.
The practice reveals that underneath all that separates and divides us, we are the same. Everyone seeks happiness and health, acceptance and affection, wealth and well-being, and fun and fulfillment.
Thanksgiving prompts us to appreciate the simple joys, have faith in the resilience of the human spirit and celebrate the love that sees us through the challenging times. As we celebrate the blessings in our lives and those that make this earthly journey joyful, let us remember to carry the spirit of gratitude beyond the Thanksgiving feast and infuse the coming days with a dose of appreciation and empathy.
May the enduring spirit of gratitude unite us all. Happy Thanksgiving!
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics And Geoeconomics
1. Israel Says It Hits 300 Targets In Gaza As Pause In Fighting Delayed – BBC
Israel says its offensive in Gaza continues after a four-day pause in fighting was delayed. The pause was expected to start on Thursday, but an Israeli government source says it has been delayed until at least Friday.
The delay is down to last-minute details of which hostages will be released and how a Palestinian official tells the AFP news agency.
2. Israeli Fighter Jet Intercepts Cruise Missile Fired At Southern Israel: Army – AFP
After reports of “an infiltration by a hostile aircraft” near the southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, an Israeli fighter jet “successfully intercepted a cruise missile that was launched toward Israel,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
The Houthis, declaring themselves part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran’s allies and proxies, have launched a series of drones and missiles towards Israel.
3. Iran FM: War Will Spread If Israel-Hamas Truce Not Extended – Al Arabiya
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned that the threat of the Gaza war spreading would grow unless a truce between Israel and Hamas lasted.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran saw two options: “First, a humanitarian ceasefire that turns into a permanent ceasefire.” “The second way is to threaten the Palestinian people, then the Palestinian people will decide for themselves,” he said, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu cannot fulfill his dream of destroying Hamas.”
4. U.S. Warship Intercepted Several Attack Drones Launched From Yemen: Pentagon – AFP
A U.S. warship patrolling the Red Sea intercepted multiple attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on Thursday, the U.S. Central Command said.
The Houthis have declared themselves part of an “axis of resistance” of Iran’s allies and proxies retaliating against Israel’s war with Hamas. The conflict has raised the specter of a broader Middle East conflagration, with the frontier between Lebanon and Israel also seeing near-daily exchanges of fire.
5. Russia Silent On Tehran Arms Claim As Ukraine Downs Iran-Built Drone – Al Jazeera
Ukraine said it shot down a “rare” Iran-built drone amid a barrage of attacks overnight. Ukraine has been bracing for an increase in Russian attacks on critical infrastructure – particularly energy facilities – as subzero temperatures set in.
The Kremlin declined to comment on a suggestion by White House spokesperson John Kirby that Iran may be considering providing Russia with ballistic missiles for use in its war.
6. Germany Pledges $1.4-B Military Aid For Ukraine – A.P.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius vowed to keep supporting Ukraine’s efforts to win its war against Russia by pledging further military aid worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
The new support shall include more Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems, anti-tank mines and 155-millimeter artillery shells, German news agency DPA reported.
7. Finland To Close All But One Border Crossing To Russia Amid Surge In Migrants – WION
“The government has today decided to close more border posts. Only Raja-Jooseppi station will remain open,” Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference.
Since the beginning of August, nearly 700 asylum seekers have entered Finland without a visa over its border with Russia. Helsinki has claimed that the asylum seekers are being pushed into the Nordic nation deliberately by Russia.
“The situation also involves international crime,” the Finnish government said.
8. Chinese Hospitals Swamped With Severe Child Pneumonia Cases – RFA
Hospitals in northern China are currently overwhelmed by thousands of children suffering from a bacterial form of pneumonia that is causing a resurgence of severe illness following a lull during three years of zero-COVID restrictions, doctors and health experts said.
The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than 3,500 “respiratory infection” cases had been admitted to the Beijing Children’s Hospital at the beginning of the month. At the same time, media reports blamed the outbreak on Mycoplasma pneumonia, an atypical bacterium that causes lung infection.
9. China: WHO Seeks Data On ‘Pneumonia Clusters’ In Children – BBC
In a statement, the UN health agency says it wants more information on reports in the media and from ProMed – a global outbreak surveillance system – of “clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China.”
Since October, northern China has reported an “increase in influenza-like illness” compared to the same period over the past three years, it adds.
10. France Warns China Against Military Cooperation With Russia, North Korea – RFI
During a phone conversation, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “deep concern” to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
He also called on Beijing to make a “significant contribution” to humanitarian aid provided by the United Nations to Palestinian civilians.
According to Paris – during Macron’s state visit to China in April – Xi said he was ready to work with France “to create conditions for talks” between Moscow and Kyiv.
11. U.S. Asset Manager Sees Opportunity In China: ‘It’s A Great Time’ – Nikkei Asia
Foreign financial companies with operations in China stand to benefit from the current pessimism about the country’s prospects, making this a “great time” for them to vault ahead of their competitors, says a regional executive of a leading U.S. asset manager.
Thomas Cheong, Asia president of Principal Financial Group, which has $651 billion in assets under management worldwide and several joint ventures with China Construction Bank, said that China’s entry barriers are growing for companies who have yet to invest in the world’s second-largest economy.
12. American Taxpayers Are Now Slaves To Interest Payments – FOXBusiness
Interest on the federal debt is now so immense that it’s consuming 40% of all personal income taxes. The largest source of revenue for the federal government is increasingly devoted to just servicing the debt, not even paying it down.
The recent monthly Treasury statement from the Fiscal Service showed that the Treasury Department paid $88.9 billion in interest for the federal debt in October. That’s almost double what it paid in October of the previous year. Worse, the Treasury is projecting interest payments for the fiscal year to exceed $1 trillion.
13. Far-Right’s Wilders Seeks To Form Dutch Govt After Shock Election Win – Reuters
Dutch anti-EU far-right populist Geert Wilders will start looking for coalition partners after a massive election win that is set to have wide repercussions in the Netherlands and Europe.
A fan of fellow eurosceptic, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the vocally anti-EU Wilders, has vowed to halt all immigration, slash Dutch payments to the union, and block the entrance of any new members, including Ukraine.
14. North Korea Vows To Restore All Military Measures Halted Under Inter-Korean Military Accord – Yonhap
North Korea said it will immediately restore all military measures halted under a 2018 inter-Korean military accord after South Korea suspended part of the tension reduction deal following the North’s launch of a military spy satellite.
South Korea’s partial suspension of the 2018 inter-Korean military accord allowed Seoul to immediately restore reconnaissance and surveillance operations near the border with North Korea.
15. IAEA Chief Notes ‘Strong’ Water Release From N. Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Reactor – Yonhap
The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief has reported that the “strong” water outflow from the Yongbyon reactor’s cooling system hinted at the possible test-running of the facility suspected to be designed to produce more fissile material for nuclear bombs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi highlighted the continuous activities at the Yongbyon complex, reiterating that the “obvious” continuation of the North’s nuclear program is a “clear” violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
16. New Type Of Bacterial Infection Could Be Behind Recent Dog Illnesses – UPI Health
Genetic sequencing of samples from 70 infected dogs from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts has revealed a previously unknown bacterium, researchers from the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory said in a report.
The New Hampshire researchers said the illness resembles kennel cough but doesn’t respond to standard medical treatments. It starts with a cough, runny eyes, and sneezing that can last for weeks but can progress to pneumonia and, in rare cases, death.
17. Icann: Polarized World Threatens Open Internet – AFP
After 25 years of keeping the internet strong and stable, the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) — responsible for its technical infrastructure — is warning that increasingly polarized geopolitics could start cracking the foundations of the online world.
“The risk of fragmentation at the technical level is enormous. In a recent interview, the foundation crumbles and game over,” interim Icann Chief Executive Officer Sally Costerton told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
18. ‘Humanity-Threatening’ AI Discovery May Have Led To Sam Altman’s Sacking – Reuters
Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s four days in exile, several staff researchers sent the board of directors a letter warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The sources said the previously unreported letter and AI algorithm were a catalyst that caused the board to oust Altman. The sources cited the letter as one factor among the board’s longer list of grievances that led to Altman’s firing.
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Republished with permission from TIPP Insights