Morning, all. Already feels like a long week, so let's hop into the weather. Partly sunny today, with a high of 48, and then partly cloudy tonight. Good day to take a long walk and break up with your situationships before Valentine's Day. 

It's also a good day to go submit a public comment: The City of Seattle wants to expand the surveillance state on a pretty massive level. We wrote a little bit about the expansion of Automatic License Place Readers, but the Seattle Police Department and the City have proposed three other surveillance technologies, including ShotSpotter. Seattle Solidarity Budget put together a great guide to learn about the technologies and how to submit public comment on each. The next public meeting is scheduled for 6 pm on February 27, so mark your calendars. The final day to submit written public comment is February 29.

 
 
 
 
 
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Speaking of public comment: Members of the LGBTQ+ community showed up to the Seattle Police Department's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council meeting to complain about a series of raids on several Capitol Hill gay bars, according to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. SPD told community members not to blame them for the raids, pointing fingers instead at the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB). Cops said the complaint that led to the raid on Cuff came from a disgruntled former employee. Also, apparently Mayor Bruce Harrell has no plans to disband the weird Joint Enforcement Team that conducted the raids. Classic.

Seattle Police Department is bad for women cops: Last week, DivestSPD's Justin Ward wrote about how SPD has trouble retaining woman officers. On Friday, the KUOW published a story about a report last year that described SPD as an "old boys club" where women struggle to get ahead. The story included a detail about a sergeant telling one officer she looked "yummy." Ewwwwwww.  

Pro-Palestine protesters arrested, accuse SPD of abuse: At a press conference Monday, several protesters accused SPD of escalating a demonstration last Friday outside the World Trade Center Seattle, according to MyNorthwest. At the conference, protesters played video of SPD rushing them, and one woman, Linda Bevis, said she hit her head on the ground after SPD officers pushed her. The impact sent her to the hospital. The department said it would investigate reports of SPD officers slashing the tires of protesters. 

Recent actions against protesters hasn't chilled the movement: Guy Oron at Real Change reported last night that hundreds of protesters gathered outside Husky Stadium to protest the bombing of Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, as well as to protest Sound Transit for its relationship with Siemens, a German company that does business with Israel. 

Meanwhile: President Joe Biden met with Jordan's King Abdullah II Monday to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden said he's hoping to negotiate at least a six-week-long pause in fighting, according to the New York Times. The Associated Press reported that Israel and Hamas has made progress on a deal.

The death toll in Gaza has climbed above 28,000. CNN recently published the audio of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab's final call for help as she and other family members tried to flee the fighting. CNN says Israeli forces killed Rajab and the ambulance workers who went to rescue her.

Donald Trump asks for more help from the Supreme Court: The former president wants to the highest court in the land to say he can't be criminally prosecuted for any actions he took on January 6, saying it would really mess up his bid for reelection, according to the Washington Post. The way Trump's been tattling to the Supreme Court is such loser behavior, honestly. I wish he'd do something more fun, like get caught bribing a judge or something.

Speaking of losers: New York votes on George Santos's replacement today. The race is between US Rep. Tom Suozzi and Bassau County legislator Mazi Pilip. Pilip is a Republican who used to fight for the Israeli Defense Forces, so I guess we want Suozzi. But I'm hoping for a Santos write-in campaign to emerge. 

Fat Tuesday! People plan to celebrate tonight in the streets of New Orleans as the city's carnival season comes to an end. Not much more to say about that, just wish I could go to a giant, campy street party tonight.

In a few months I'll get to see Pretty Girls Make Graves in Seattle for their first show in 17 years. Pre-sale tickets start this Wednesday. I know literally nothing about this band, but Megan says she's a fanatic and she's got great taste.

 
 
 
 
 
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Brittany Howard released a new album: This is the second solo album for the former vocalist of Alabama Shakes. I'm still listening to it all, but my friend Kevin, who recommended it, said "it pulls off that musical magic trick of feeling omnivorous and a pinch experimental while also feeling very rooted in the voice of the artist who made it." Grateful for my more musically literate friends.

Editor's note: KUOW put their story up before the Seattle Times about the report on women hating to work at SPD. We made an update to reflect that.