We a lot of products here at Mashable. Some are good, others are really great and earn our badge, and a few end up being complete trash. It’s our duty to help you find only the stuff we recommend so you don’t buy something only to get home and cry your eyes out because it sucks.

We know it’s easy to get caught up in all the holiday cheer and shopping and feel like you need to buy something because everyone else is, but think about the downsides to a bad purchase: Tons of time wasted returning stuff either by shipping them back or waiting on line to get a refund — not to mention your reputation will suffer for giving such an ill-considered gift.

SEE ALSO: Best gifts for your boyfriend: Gift ideas for the dude in your life

With this spirit, we present all of the tech you should not buy. Not for yourself and not for someone else (unless they’ve been very naughty this year and coal’s just not gonna cut it).

1. Celebrity-endorsed headphones

Image: Diamond naga/mashable

Whether you want wireless or wired headphones, never, ever buy the ones that are backed by celebrities. I hate to be the one to tell you, but these brand partnerships are no more than just that. [Insert headphone brand] pays way too much money to [insert celebrity name] to either endorse their headphones or slap their name on them in a “collab” intended to make them stand out.

Problem is, these headphones always suck. Sorry Dwayne, but I smell what The Rock’s cooking with those Under Armour/JBL headphones and it stinks. Others like the or are just as trashy. Beats is maybe one of the only big-name headphone brands backed by celebrities that isn’t garbage (it also helps they look good unlike the others).

2. Overpriced cables

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazon‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”$120 for an HDMI cable that’s worth like $20 at most? GTFO” title=”$120 for an HDMI cable that’s worth like $20 at most? GTFO” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/3cTd2NQYxM76u7s2kC70Hn4aM10=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885741%2Fdd67767d-c1b3-4e28-a990-8b01f50e6861.jpg&#8221; alt=”$120 for an HDMI cable that’s worth like $20 at most? GTFO” data-fragment=”m!26db” data-image=”https://ift.tt/2PDTulo; data-micro=”1″>

So-called “premium” cables are arguably the worst tech (besides the junk from the local dollar store) where it’s a total lose-lose for both the gifter and gift receiver. You know the ones: the gold-plated HDMI cables or carbon-fiber weaved USB cables that cost like 10x more than an AmazonBasics version.

Guys, have some common sense. They’re frickin’ cables. You shouldn’t care what they look like (99% of the time they’re behind your TV or other gear, never to be seen again), and in the digital realm, a bit is a bit — meaning most cables only need to be good enough so the receiving end can discern a 1 from a 0. Don’t be a bonehead and overspend on a cable because some company is smart enough to market their overpriced wires as doing more than they really do.

That said, you shouldn’t risk complete garbage from an unknown off-brand, but you’ll do just fine with wires from a well-known value brand like or . do just fine, too, and they’re way cheaper.

3. No-brand electric skateboards and scooters

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazon‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”These are just regular skateboard decks with a motor underneath. Good luck not flying off one.” title=”These are just regular skateboard decks with a motor underneath. Good luck not flying off one.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/ByJHtc4xproFCL4IJK39TZ8xonQ=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885743%2F9097eb15-e80f-4f77-8a48-85e891f3418b.jpg&#8221; alt=”These are just regular skateboard decks with a motor underneath. Good luck not flying off one.” data-fragment=”m!1dac” data-image=”https://ift.tt/2QXSTra; data-micro=”1″>

Alternative transportation is so hot right now, but don’t forget that all these electrified personal transporters like electric skateboards and scooters, and , and whatnots have sizable lithium-ion batteries.

A shoddily-made battery could cause your ride to the way hoverboards did a few years back. Chances are if you’re not buying an electric skateboard or scooter from a reputable brand like or or the battery might not be properly insulated. Knockoff brands are much cheaper online at places like Amazon or like AliExpress, but is your house burning down worth the risk? Nah.

4. Digital photo frames

We take so many photos a year and so it’s only natural to want to display them for your friends and family. You know, make them jealous of that time you went to some exotic island in who-knows-where while they slaved away in their cubicle and ate Seamless. A seems like the perfect solution to shuffle through all your Kodak moments.

But stop! Do not hit that buy button on any of these dumb frames. Not only do they come with next to no storage, but I can guarantee they come with horrible software interfaces that’ll make you wanna toss it in the trash can anyway. 

Save yourself the headache and stay away from these digital frames. Get an or . Both smart smart speaker/displays can control your smart home devices, play music, and show photos from either Amazon or Google Photos. The better pick is Google’s — it pulls photos from your account (unlimited storage for photos at 12-megapixels) and also smartly pairs two related vertical photos together so there’s no letterboxing.

5. Any drone that’s not DJI

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazon‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”By the time you get this guy up in the air, it’s time for it to come back down with a puny 7-9 minute flight time.” title=”By the time you get this guy up in the air, it’s time for it to come back down with a puny 7-9 minute flight time.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/DMfYDr0eciHR7CVoyeC5b3CVXIQ=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885767%2F5b4a2d9b-7713-4761-a5d8-b8a34b1ef0a8.jpg&#8221; alt=”By the time you get this guy up in the air, it’s time for it to come back down with a puny 7-9 minute flight time.” data-fragment=”m!2b44″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2PDTuSq; data-micro=”1″>

There are so many reasons to own a and an equal number of reasons not to. Reasons to own a drone: To capture cool aerial footage, and they’re fun to fly! Reasons to not: You can’t really fly them in cities because of air restrictions; many of them are basically toys; most have terrible range, poor battery life, and flaky connections; and most of them have no intelligence whatsoever to avoid obstacles.

Anything that’s a few hundred bucks or less (especially in the <$200 range) is really just a plaything. Even some of the more expensive drones like Parrot's Anafi are "” as Mashable Tech Writer Jake Krol said in his review.

It’s unfortunate has a strong monopoly on the drone market (consumer and professional), but they’re the best, most responsive and most intelligent drones money can buy. If you want a drone, a DJI model, like the foldable , are the only ones to even consider.

6. Point-and-shoot cameras

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazon‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”Just because it has more megapixels doesn’t mean the pics won’t look like mud.” title=”Just because it has more megapixels doesn’t mean the pics won’t look like mud.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/w9LnkKifoQJsrf1Kbaw5je55Dl8=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885762%2Fb44874c1-4198-47bb-af3e-53e18edc39a8.jpg&#8221; alt=”Just because it has more megapixels doesn’t mean the pics won’t look like mud.” data-fragment=”m!0d31″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2QWV0vl; data-micro=”1″>

I feel like a really old guy whenever I tell people to not buy a point-and-shoot. There are about one or two point-and-shoots — just the or , really — that are very good, but even then, in many ways, you’re better off with the camera in your smartphone. You’ll definitely wanna stay away from any bargain-bin rubbish you’ll find going $99.99 or less (yes, even the ones from name brands).

I recommend all of the new , and because of their Smart HDR technology which is able to capture some stunning photos in all lighting conditions. Google’s are great as well, and so are Samsung’s , and . Even the camera is pretty decent with a night mode that works way better than a point-and-shoot camera.

7. VR headsets for your phone

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazon‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”Ugh. Just no.” title=”Ugh. Just no.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/mO9qzOl9oc0SBP7l9hx8t9CqLBo=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885754%2Ff8d2428b-0d64-4089-a3cb-a0873b227e0d.jpg&#8221; alt=”Ugh. Just no.” data-fragment=”m!f8d6″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2PDTvps; data-micro=”1″>

Remember when mobile VR headsets were all the rage a couple years ago? Yeah, they’re not anymore. If you must immerse yourself in VR, go high-end with headsets like the , , or or even the grab-and-go standalone .

But whatever you do, avoid mobile VR headset where you slot in your phone like the plague. is the rule, but pretty much all the others out there come from no-name Asian brands. These chunky pieces of plastic for your face are questionable in design and usually offer little ventilation for the heat emitting from your phone. The last thing you wanna do is have a phone explode on your face. Get a — it’s crappy just like most mobile VR — if you’re too cheap to invest in one of the better VR headsets listed above.

8. Computers with garbage ‘entry-level’ specs

<img class="" data-credit-name='amazOn‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”It’s got ports, but have fun opening multiple tabs in Chrome.” title=”It’s got ports, but have fun opening multiple tabs in Chrome.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/zkDXkXlBmU7k9fT8SPRxAwMuD6E=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885750%2F743ccb61-db5c-47ac-9464-80d42432583e.jpg&#8221; alt=”It’s got ports, but have fun opening multiple tabs in Chrome.” data-fragment=”m!e854″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2R1AsSE; data-micro=”1″>

Take it from someone who tests a lot of every year: You don’t want a computer (laptop or PC) with specs like 4GB of RAM or with wimpy processors like an Intel Atom, Celeron, or Core m3.

Don’t be deceived by their advertised storage with like “500GB” that try to trick you into overlooking the more important computer parts (processor and RAM). Oftentimes, these computers are the entry-level models advertised as their “starting at $…”. It may seem like you’re saving a hundred or two hundred bucks, but you’ll regret it when you find out Chrome can’t handle more than a few tabs before the entire computer slows to a crawl.

The best model with the most value is usually the one that’s just a step or two above the entry-level one. It usually has a more powerful processor and at least 8GB of RAM. This is the one you want. Pretend the entry-level one doesn’t exist.

9. Smart home devices from no-name brands

People think the most important thing about a device is that it works. Wrong. The most important thing is security. 

Yes, if an electrical or internet outage happens it could take your whole smart home system out with it. But because most smart home devices have access to your data, it’s just as important to know who has access to it and how they’re protecting it.

Like all tech, you should only install smart home devices from trustworthy companies with a good track record. While it might make you feel all warm inside to support a startup, their security probably isn’t as airtight as, say, Nest’s, or Amazon’s, or August’s, or Wink’s. Go with a trusted company that takes privacy and security seriously.

Occupied East Jerusalem – Soon after she was married, Nisreen bought her sister-in-law a handbag as a wedding gift.

When she went to give it to her, she accidentally dropped it in the process. “My sister-in-law told me my value ‘had gone down’ now and refused the gift,” Nisreen A, 54, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, told Al Jazeera.

After this incident, Nisreen’s husband came back to their East Jerusalem home and hit her so hard he knocked her unconscious.

“He called my brother and said ‘come take your sister’,” Nisreen explained. “When my brother arrived he just shouted at me because of what I had done,” she said.

Nisreen’s story of abuse, which started only six months into her marriage, is one of many, Palestinian health workers told Al Jazeera, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem, where she resides.

A recent report by Palestinian NGO Juzoor states that 55 percent of women living in East Jerusalem have experienced domestic violence.

The report, titled Empowering Women in Marginalised East Jerusalem Communities, outlined that 50 percent of these women had their first exposure to domestic violence by age 15 or younger.

Talking to Israeli authorities

As East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel since 1967, the duty of providing public services, including counselling centres and shelters, falls on the occupying state. However, for East Jerusalem Palestinians, turning to Israeli police or social workers is an absolute last resort.

Juzoor’s spokesperson Majd Hardan said talking to Israeli service providers is being considered by the Palestinian community as betrayal, or as abandoning family structures.

“Family, in-laws, neighbours and friends believe the woman is asking the enemy for help,” Hardan told Al Jazeera. “She should take the pain and be silent,” she said, explaining the mentality in East Jerusalem.

Living in Jerusalem’s Old City, Nisreen never thought of going to the Israeli police.

“An Israeli social affairs officer came to the hospital when I was there. I said I had fallen on the ground,” she explained, adding she couldn’t say what her husband had done.

“I won’t talk to them because of the stigma and for fear of losing custody of my sons.”

Occupation increases violence

Hardan from Juzoor also stressed that the continual presence of Israeli soldiers and settlers in East Jerusalem has an effect on gender-based violence in the city.

“A lot of families don’t accept women to leave the house, they’re afraid if they take the bus or transportation someone will hit on them or violate their freedom,” Hardan said.

“This is a form of domestic violence; you can’t keep them prisoner in the house… just because you don’t want them to go out and see soldiers and settlers.”

Nisreen has stayed married for 32 years and, even after having three sons, the abuse never ceased. She said that as they grew up, they started to abuse her as well, adopting their father’s traits. 

“They forbid me to leave the house. I have to lie to get out; I say that I’m going to the doctor or have a meeting somewhere,” Nisreen explained.

“I’m constantly scared because they threaten me by [for example] throwing a chair right next to me, which makes my heart race.”

Family denial

The issue of domestic violence transcends the boundaries of East Jerusalem and, just as Nisreen found no support from her brother when she was abused, women in other areas of the occupied West Bank face similar concerns.

The village of Fasa’il, 14km north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley, has the highest recorded rate of sexual harassment in the West Bank, according to the Palestine Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).

Farida, a 40-year-old mother of six, was married at the young age of 17. She requested her name to be changed for safety concerns.

“I didn’t know anything about married life,” Farida told Al Jazeera while sitting out of sight of her children. “My family said my new father-in-law would be like a father to me, and my mother-in-law like a new mother.”

Farida still lives in Fasa’il, though in the home behind her husband and his second wife. She recalled the time three days after her marriage when her father-in-law sexually abused her.

“He would touch me in inappropriate places, so I told my aunt and my husband’s brother about the situation. They said maybe it was by accident, that he didn’t mean to touch me.”

After delivering her first child two years later, she received guests in the family home for a celebration. After everyone had left, her father-in-law repeated the abuse. 

“He grabbed me from my hand and led me to the kitchen. He wanted to rape me, he was touching me in inappropriate places. I was lucky I could run,” Farida said, breathing heavily to hold back tears as she spoke.

“I cannot forget what happened that day, and I can’t remember why I didn’t scream.”

When Farida told the rest of the family about the incident, she was called a liar, a title she has borne to this day. “You can’t argue with this kind of community, they won’t confess they did anything wrong.”

Instead, her husband’s family threatened to take her son from her and stopped providing her with money she needed to live comfortably.

Entrenched patriarchal norms

YWCA Jericho coordinator Aman Hammad points to entrenched patriarchal family structures in the Palestinian territories as a major factor in the levels of domestic abuse.

Particularly in Fasa’il, girls are not allowed to leave the village for work or educational opportunities from a young age, subsequently leaving them powerless and financially dependent.

“If they move around a lot, it means she’s a bad girl and she won’t have an opportunity to be married afterwards,” Hammad told Al Jazeera.

“The community starts to think they’ve experienced things or are prone to many factors that could harm her or affect her reputation.”

Jericho Governorate Gender Unit Manager Samah Salman mentioned that girls are raised to serve men.

“It reinforces the stereotype of men being better, in all aspects of life. They take control of decision-making, inheritances go to men, land can only be registered in men’s names and even at home, men should eat first,” Salman told Al Jazeera.

BBC Sport profiles Senegal and Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, a nominee for the BBC African Footballer of the Year award 2018.

Vote for your African Footballer of the Year 2018 here where you can find Terms and Privacy Notice. The vote closes on 2 December at 20:00 GMT.

The final result will be revealed in a programme broadcast on BBC World News on 14 December at 17:30 GMT.

Watch more: Best goals from AFOTY nominees

TV has some weird rules about swearing, even for The Late Show host Stephen Colbert.

After skewering Donald Trump’s Fox News interview, in which the president blasted the man who oversaw the hunt for Osama Bin Laden as a “Hillary Clinton fan,” Colbert turned his attention to a curious spelling error from the president.

In a separate moment, Trump tweeted his displeasure toward Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, to which he referred to as “Adam Schitt” in the tweet. This outburst allowed Colbert a rare opportunity to swear on live television, kinda, but only when the president’s tweet appears on screen (skip to 7:40).

Very clever, and very amusing.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – “Life is happy, so what?” sings Vietnamese artist Suboi in her new hit single N-sao.

The song has resonated with disaffected young Vietnamese and can be heard on smartphones and laptop speakers from Ho Chi Minh City to the capital, Hanoi.

“Why is it nowadays a shame to be single? Why do we always have to pay when we get pulled over?” raps Suboi, 28, taking aim at traditional Vietnamese culture and petty corruption by traffic police.

The Ho Chi Minh City artist’s video has racked up more than 1.7 million views in the last three months. Not bad for a song in Vietnamese with lyrics that could be considered subversive in an increasingly restrictive online environment.

Born Hang Lam Trang Anh, Suboi’s name reflects her upbringing. “Su” is her nickname and “Boi” comes from being labeled a tomboy as a child.

Like all rappers, Suboi represents her city, still known colloquially as Saigon.

“N-sao is so fast. Exactly like the city. I went somewhere and two months later I went back and there were new buildings,” she said. “I didn’t write this song only for Saigonese. But also for the people who’ve been to Saigon, and can see how it’s changed.”

The music video has English subtitles, but even Vietnamese have a hard time understanding as Suboi spits her verses with ferocity – a change from the usual rhythmical rhyme style she became known for.

“My life has changed dramatically. I’ve tried to put all my emotions into writing new songs for this new album,” she said. “And so N-sao is the first song in a new chapter of my life.”

Obama encouragement

Suboi shot to international fame in 2016 when she rapped for then-US president Barack Obama during a town hall meeting on a visit to Ho Chi Minh City.

Obama even provided the beat to encourage her to perform – and followed it up with an answer on the importance of freedom of expression.

Suboi admits to crying when she heard Obama’s remarks.

“That’s the first time I understood what a town hall was. For us Vietnamese people we don’t get to talk to the authorities or whoever is in power,” she said.

“There are a lot of things we don’t know. But we know for sure that Vietnam now recognises its own voice.”

Suboi returned from a two-year hiatus to release N-sao. She spent the time focusing on her creative direction, and to briefly attend the Obama Foundation Summit in 2017.

“I feel like I’m the bridge between Vietnam and the world,” she added. “Through me, people can learn that Vietnam is not just whatever stereotype they’ve heard about it.”

Art and repression

Vietnam has witnessed rapid growth since the communist government opened its markets in 1986 to stave off economic collapse. Since then the one-party state has been flooded with more Western ideas, culture and, of course, music.

But no political change has taken place inside Vietnam since reunification in 1975. This lack of progress has been expressed through all forms of art.

“I think Suboi is making a lot of noise internationally for Vietnamese rap,” said Vietmax, one of the country’s first hip hop performers.

“We don’t have many female rap emcees. All the rappers talk about themselves, how they’re struggling, and how they live. She’s doing a good job. She has some songs that talk about Vietnam.”

With more than a decade in the music industry now, Suboi has a hard time calling herself a mainstream artist. Star Academy in Ho Chi Minh City hosted an event this month discussing underground rap culture in Vietnam.

When Suboi entered the room the crowd erupted into applause and cheered when she was introduced as a guest speaker. She was the only female artist on the panel.

Many in attendance were young women – Suboi’s most ardent fans.

“In the crowd I saw a lot of girls. That’s a big change. You know it feels good to see change in Vietnam,” she said. “We’re taught to be quiet and pretty and behaved and all that shit. For me it’s about expression. Express yourself as a girl and as an artist.”

‘Push the limits’

Censoring music and artistic expression in Vietnam isn’t as easy as it used to be. Getting airplay may be difficult as most television and radio are still controlled by the state, but music distribution is now done independently online.

Vietnam’s government passed a new cybersecurity law that goes into effect January 1, 2019. It will require all technology companies to hand over user data or remove content when required by the authorities.

Facebook and Google have been given one year to comply with this law.

Suboi’s influence among young Vietnamese has made many inside and outside of the country take notice.

“I think her music first came about at the time Vietnam was changing fast. Hip hop music was starting to gain traction in society and she was the one of the very first women to get attention,” said Vi Tran, co-director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam.

“She’s used her music to really push the limits in Vietnam.”

Suboi is set to release a new single and music video in December. She expects her anticipated new album to be ready by mid-2019.

The rap star doesn’t see her songs or music videos being targeted by Vietnam’s new online policing policies set to begin next year.

“I’m not trying to be a politician,” Suboi said. “I’m not interested in all that. For me it’s about what I’ve learned so far, and what I want to learn because I feel that I don’t know enough. I’m still learning every day.”

Image: Microsoft

Black Friday delivers plenty of choices when it comes to deals, and that’s especially true in gaming. From discounts on games and accessories to consoles and laptops, you should have no problem finding a great deal for the gamer in your life. One of our favorite gaming deals for Black Friday 2018 went on sale over the weekend, and we’re pretty stoked about it.

SEE ALSO: Black Friday gaming deals: Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, Alienware laptops

The Xbox One S 1TB Minecraft Creators Bundle is on sale for $199 at Walmart, which is $100 off the original price of $299.

Whether you’re new to Minecraft or have been playing it for years, you’ll get everything you need to start messing around in this blocky world. It includes the full game, 1,000 Minecoins for more items like skins and world textures, the Starter Pack with four themed cosmetic packs, and the Creators Pack to experience some of the content created by the Minecraft community.

The Xbox One S isn’t half-bad, either. With all the games available to enjoy, especially some of the big releases from this fall like Red Dead Redemption 2 (also on sale), there’s plenty available to enjoy. As an added bonus, the system has a built-in UHD Blu-ray player and supports 4K streaming from services like Netflix. 

Just make sure to pick it up quick: Black Friday bundles are usually in limited supply and high demand.

Black Friday 2018 deals by store

Black Friday 2018 deals by category

It was supposed to be a routine intelligence undercover operation whereby the Israeli agents would infiltrate into “enemy territory”, carry out the mission, and leave without being detected. It had been done before, many times. In fact, over the past two years, Israel had been successful in carrying out two high-profile covert operations, assassinating Hamas drone expert Mohammed al-Zawari in Tunisia in December 2016 and engineer and scholar Fadi al-Batsh in Malaysia in April 2018.

But the Israeli intelligence operation on November 11 in Gaza did not go according to plan. Hamas intercepted it in its early stages, attacking the Israeli commandoes and pursuing them as they tried to flee the strip under the cover of heavy air attacks by Israeli jets. Seven Palestinians were killed in the botched operation, including a prominent al-Qassam Brigades commander, Nour Baraka, and one Israeli officer – an unnamed lieutenant colonel.

Hamas responded by firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, some intercepted by the Iron Dome, others landing in civilian areas, killing one Israeli civilian and injuring dozens of others. Its military wing went as far as targeting an Israeli military bus with a Kornet rocket, a Russian anti-tank guided missile; it was the first time it had used such weapons since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Israeli government also launched days-long air raids on Gaza, bombing civilian buildings and killing five Palestinians, but it could not repair the political damage that had been done.

Hamas was victorious. A video of the Kornet attack was widely circulated in Arab and Israeli media; Palestinians in Gaza started saying “the Kornet defeated the cabinet”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little space for manoeuvre: he was forced to settle for a ceasefire with Gaza armed groups, which prompted Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman to resign and plunged his government into a major political crisis.

This time, provoking a new conflict in Gaza in order to take attention away from the domestic political mess he has made is not an option for Netanyahu. He is cornered by a resurgent Hamas and his own geopolitical game in the Middle East, so he needs to keep Gaza quiet.

A stronger Hamas

The Israeli government has insisted that the November 11 operation was not supposed to be an assassination mission, but has not provided further details. Analysts have argued that it was an intelligence gathering operation which was not meant to “trigger a new war”.

Regardless of what Netanyahu wanted to achieve, the only outcome of the botched operation was a win for Hamas. It not only proved the capabilities of its own intelligence – which managed to uncover the Israeli plot early on – but also demonstrated the weaknesses of the Israeli intelligence apparatus, which, while able to carry out complex operations abroad, is ironically failing in neighbouring Gaza.

This was not the first time that an intelligence operation had gone terribly wrong under Netanyahu’s watch. In 1997, he signed off on an assassination attempt against Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who at that time was residing in Jordan. After the two Israeli agents, who were supposed to inject him with poison, were caught and beaten up by Meshaal’s bodyguard, a major diplomatic crisis erupted between Israel and Jordan, forcing the Israeli intelligence to hand in the antidote.

Although Netanyahu was cleared of any wrongdoing in a subsequent domestic investigation, the botched operation contributed to his massive defeat in the general elections two years later.

The assassination attempt in 1997 was a win for Hamas, and so was the November 11 failed operation. It has allowed the resistance movement to consolidate its political gains domestically and internationally and demonstrate its military strength.

It has also made evident the fact that Israel’s decade-old blockade of Gaza has done little to weaken Hamas or the resolve of the Palestinian people to resist. Keeping two million people in “the biggest open-air prison” in the world for more than 10 years is not an effective “pacifying” tool.

With a stronger Hamas and a population determined to resist, another war in Gaza would be an even greater disaster for the Israeli government and Netanyahu is well-aware of that. Therefore, after a few days of air attacks on the strip, he had to seek a ceasefire.

The Iran problem

There was also another reason why the Israeli prime minister risked the collapse of his government to maintain calm with Gaza: Iran.

Netanyahu’s top regional priority is countering Iran and its allies with whatever means possible. Keeping Gaza “conflict-free” allows him to curb Iranian influence in the strip and focus his attention on his larger project of confronting Iran in the rest of the Middle East.

The Israeli prime minister is seeking to solidify an anti-Iran front in the Middle East by establishing an alliance with the Arab Gulf states – mainly Saudi Arabia – and the United States and pursuing what has come to be known as “the ultimate deal”.

This “deal” envisions forcing some form of territorial solution for the Palestinian issue onto the Palestinian leadership and full normalisation of relations with Arab states, with the aim of isolating Iran even further in the region. Over the past few months, Netanyahu has upped the ante on normalisation efforts, paying a visit last month to Oman, which traditionally had enjoyed good relations with Iran.

The latest Gaza ceasefire should be seen within this context. Over the past year, Egypt – under US patronage – has made extensive efforts to broker a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel as part of the “ultimate deal“. Calming down the situation after the recent escalation was meant to salvage the progress Cairo had made in that direction.

Netanyahu is also eager to keep Gaza quiet because he is feeling increasingly anxious about countering Iranian presence in Israel’s immediate neighbourhood – Syria and Lebanon.

The downing of a Russian military plane over Syria in September complicated relations with Russia, which until then had allowed the Israeli Air Force to target Iranian facilities at will.

As a result, Russian-Israeli military coordination in Syria is no longer and while Israel still does occasional air attacks, Russia is no longer making it easy for its fighter jets.

The Israeli government is also increasingly wary of Iran’s presence in Lebanon, which could strengthen the military capabilities of Hezbollah.

Although Israel scored another gain against Iran when the US re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil earlier this month, it has also suffered a major setback in the aftermath of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The uncertainty surrounding the fate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – seen as seriously committed to normalisation with Israel – has worried Netanyahu. This has further motivated him to seek some form of a settlement with Hamas.

In this sense, Israel will continue to search for a long-term truce with Hamas as long as the project of confronting Iran remains on the table. For this reason, another full-fledged conflict in Gaza in the near future is unlikely.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Image: Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Cards Against Humanity skewers countless famous people, card after card, but this time, one has given them permission.

The polarising card game has teamed up with Jack White for a pretty neat piece of merchandise for his Nov. 19 show at Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL.

According to White’s Instagram post, the double-sided gig poster was designed by Cards with the artist’s go-to designer Matthew Jacobson, and printed by Chicago’s Baker Prints. 

It looks like one of Cards Against Humanity’s signature hypotheticals, and comes attached with six Jack White-themed cards, along with a regular sized card of the poster. 

“When Jack White performed at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on Nov. 19, 2018, he surprised fans with _________,” reads the poster. If you’ve ever played Cards, you know this will end in absolute filth, but here’s hoping it gets played with one innocent card:

“Bees?”

You could possibly play one of the poster’s answer cards, which can be added to a game of Cards Against Humanity (we guess you have destroy the poster to do this). They read:

• Jack White

• Jack White’s collection of taxidermied animal heads.

• Jack White’s testosterone-fueled dementia.

• Jack White’s mom coming on stage and dancing.

• A quiet, poignant acoustic guitar ballad.

• A bizarre partnership with Cards Against Humanity.

Pretty clever.

[h/t Tone Deaf]

Image: apple/mashable photo composite

After all these years, the Apple iPad is the best tablet experience and the gold standard for just about anyone. Believe it or not, even some Android smartphone users seem to gravitate to the ease-of-use of the iPad. Luckily, Walmart has the Apple device now on sale for just $349.99, a $79 savings ahead of Black Friday.

If you’re a first time Walmart shopper, you can save an extra $10 using the promo code Ellen10 (read more about the code here) and drop the final sale price down to just $339.99.

SEE ALSO: All the best Black Friday 2018 sales, right in one place

Released in 2017, this model is the fifth generation Apple iPad with the tablet’s 9.7 Retina touchscreen display and 128GB of storage. Powered by Apple’s A9 chip, this iPad features an 8-megapixel rear shooter, 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, Touch ID, Apple’s suite of productivity and entertainment apps, and Wi-Fi compatibility with up to 10 hours of battery life from just a single charge. The tablet is lightweight at just under a pound, while its aluminum design makes the iPad durable and powerful, yet thin and portable. 

The Apple iPad runs the latest iOS 12, so even if the hardware is a generation old, its software is current and speedy. Walmart customer chere1 writes:

“I love this iPad. This is my first one and I am very pleased with it. The gold rose color is beautiful, The screen size is 9.7 but it looks bigger. The screen is so clear that you can almost use it as a mirror. This is a great iPad even for a beginner to learn how to use one. I would recommend you to buy one.”

 

Black Friday 2018 deals by store

Black Friday 2018 deals by category

• Gaming deals: Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, Nintendo, Alienware laptops, and more 

• Laptop deals: Lenovo Yoga, Alienware, Dell, HP, Asus, and more

• TV deals: OLEDs from Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, and more

Smartwatches may still be getting a lot of hype, but there’s still plenty to be said for a dedicated fitness tracker. 

While smartwatches may have health and fitness features of their own, a big part of their appeal is that they can also act as an extension of your smartphone. Fitness trackers on the other hand, like Fitbit’s new Charge 3, put fitness first even though many models include some basic smartwatch features.

If that sounds appealing, then there’s a lot to like about the Charge 3, which improves on the company’s Charge 2 tracker in nearly every way.

The Charge 3 comes in two variations, the $149.95 Charge 3 and the $169.95 Charge 3 Special Edition. I reviewed the latter, but the only difference between the two are the bands that come in the box and the ability to make mobile payments.

But if you’re trying to decide between the two, the bands alone might be enough to help you make up your mind. In addition to the standard black rubber sport band, the Special Edition comes with either a lavender woven band or a white sport band that resembles the Nike Sport bands for the Apple Watch. Those bands are only available for the Special Edition model, but Fitbit sells other, similar, bands à la carte as well. In any case, you’ll save money by buying the extra bands bundled together with the Special Edition.

That alone makes it worth the extra twenty bucks for the Special Edition, in my opinion. If you’re going to wear this every day, you’re going to want to mix up your bands a bit, and the upgraded bands go a long way toward making the Charge 3 look and feel a little more elegant than the standard rubber band. (Fitbit also offers leather bands, which look and feel fantastic, but at $49.95 each, they’re definitely on the pricey side.)

Better in the details

New band styles aside, Fitbit has improved the design of its newest tracker in subtle, but significant ways. The Charge 3 is even smaller and slimmer than 2016’s Charge 2. The bands are much easier to swap out than the previous design, which, again, is an added bonus if you end up getting the Special Edition model 

It’s also much more comfortable: the bands aren’t as chunky, and the aluminum tracker has rounded edges on the back and sides so it hugs your wrist a bit better. Along with the new bands, this helps make the Charge 3 look and feel a bit less like a boxy fitness tracker.

The side button is no longer an actual button that protrudes from the side of the tracker. Instead, it’s a small haptic “button” (similar to the home “button” on the iPhone 7) that sits flush against the side and vibrates a bit each time you touch it. The sensors on the back also sit flatter against the actual tracker compared with the Charge 2. 

On the front, the display is improved: It’s now a full touchscreen, and it’s more scratch resistant (the Charge 2 had screen you could tap on to navigate, but it couldn’t recognize swipes and other gestures). The display is also noticeably brighter, which makes it easier to view in sunlight. 

Most importantly, though: the Charge 3 has far better battery life. It’s rated up to a week, according to Fitbit, but I found I was sometimes able to squeeze even a bit more out of it. Either way, though, it’s hard to overstate just how much of a difference this makes. One of the reasons I prefer fitness trackers over full-on smartwatches is precisely because having to remember to charge on a daily basis is a huge pain — particularly if you like to use your device to track your sleep at night. 

Fitness and health still come first

The Charge 3 may look a bit less like a traditional fitness tracker, but Fitbit hasn’t skimped on the exercise-tracking or health features. You track more than a dozen different exercise types, many of which will kick in automatically when you start your workout.

You can also choose presets for your favorite exercises to make them more easily accessible from your wrist. These presets aren’t new, but they’ve been upgraded; on the Charge 3, you can set specific goals for these exercises, like running a certain distance or lifting weights for a specific amount of time. When you reach the goal, the Fitbit vibrates and displays a little animation to “celebrate” you reaching your goal.

The Charge 3 is also waterproof, so you can use it to record your swims or take it along for a run or bike ride in the rain. 

On the health side, the Charge 3 comes with newly improved sleep tracking features. The tracker approximates your bedtime, wake-up time, and the various stages of your sleep cycle based on your heart rate and movement throughout the night. All this is broken down into a graph in the Fitbit app where you can see your sleep cycle over the course of each night.

<img class="" data-credit-name="
” data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”The Fitbit app shows you how much time you spend in each stage of sleep, as well as what’s considered “normal.”” title=”The Fitbit app shows you how much time you spend in each stage of sleep, as well as what’s considered “normal.”” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/c4mhreTna1Vq7GTevGFRyJk1Owg=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F884646%2F82f88404-20e6-4e8c-9a4f-8a140618296b.jpeg&#8221; alt=”The Fitbit app shows you how much time you spend in each stage of sleep, as well as what’s considered “normal.”” data-fragment=”m!ce93″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2TphQgM; data-micro=”1″>

One of my issues with these kinds of tracking features is that, while they’re neat to look at, it’s difficult to know what you should actually do with this information. Which is why I appreciate the “insights” Fitbit provides about your sleep. It’s still a little rudimentary — some of the messages, like one below, are a little obvious. But even so, it’s nice to have something to help you make sense of all the data it’s collecting. 

<img class="" data-credit-name="
” data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”The Fitbit app’s sleep insights.” title=”The Fitbit app’s sleep insights.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/lBXUTyOq95CTOGD388mCh1gDwYc=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F884648%2F333435b8-89c8-402e-a5f3-1e0c05678af4.jpeg&#8221; alt=”The Fitbit app’s sleep insights.” data-fragment=”m!1ec5″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2A4Lmjc; data-micro=”1″>

You may already know that you don’t sleep enough during the week, for example, but reminders like this can be nonetheless helpful if you want to make some actual changes. In the future, Fitbit says its sleep-tracking abilities will be able to go much further, with something it’s calling Sleep Score.

The feature isn’t yet available, so I haven’t been able to try it out, but the goal is to provide a more substantive look at how well your sleeping. The feature will provide a score based on a number of factors that will let you know how well you’re sleeping. And, according to the company, it could help detect warning signs of more serious conditions that can interfere with sleep, like sleep apnea or allergies.

Some smartwatch features

Like other recent Fitbits, the Charge 3 also tries to incorporate some smartwatch-like features. You’ll get calls, text messages, and some other notifications pushed to your wrist. It’s a convenient way to check your messages at a glance, or quickly accept or reject a call, but most of the notifications aren’t terribly useful because you can’t actually do anything once you receive them, especially if you have an iPhone.

If you have an Android phone, the picture is a little better: You can use quick replies to send brief, preset responses. 

<img class="" data-credit-name="
” data-credit-provider=”custom type” data-caption=”A few of the available watch faces for the Charge 3.” title=”A few of the available watch faces for the Charge 3.” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/pxDmzCTQKgxb-YhIp5dd3whLTHo=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F884686%2F478837ba-4432-4a0d-a12e-d17be66e4ccc.jpeg&#8221; alt=”A few of the available watch faces for the Charge 3.” data-fragment=”m!783b” data-image=”https://ift.tt/2To079H; data-micro=”1″>

You can also change up the watch face in the Fitbit app, which is a nice option but still a bit clunky. You have to tap into several menus in order to find the options, and actually changing them out takes much longer than it should. The options are also much more limited than with the Fitbit Versa, which is a full-featured smartwatch with a color display. 

These issues, though, are relatively minor if you think of the Charge 3 as a health- and fitness-focused device. If what you want is a smartwatch, there are plenty of better options out there that are much more capable.

At the end of the day, Fitbit’s biggest strength is fitness tracking. And if a dedicated fitness tracker is what you’re after, the Fitbit Charge 3 has just about every feature you could want and then some.

Correction: This post has been updated to clarify that Special Edition bands are not available separately and that the Sleep Score Beta feature has not yet launched.