israel determined to start war

[GoCubsGo]

I'm hoping my take on this is skewed, but this is Iran doing the shooting, not one of their proxies. Seems like a major escalation.

Why?

What's their endgame?

[O Really]

Seems like a major escalation to me. Wait for it - Trump to say "if I was in office they wouldn't have done that" and "I can settle that in a way fair to everyone over lunch"

[GoCubsGo]

Seems like a major escalation to me. Wait for it - Trump to say "if I was in office they wouldn't have done that" and "I can settle that in a way fair to everyone over lunch"

LOL
No bet.

THIS WAR WAS TOTALLY PREVENTABLE. IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. IF I WERE PRESIDENT, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrum ... 4528186144

[Vrede too]

The only way it might not "officially" be terrorism is that you may not include (wrongly IMNVHO) a lawful government's hostile actions to be terrorism. But since Israel has not admitted (claimed/bragged about) the scheme was theirs - maybe except with a wink-wink denial - then clear it's terrorism. My view is that it's obviously terrorism employed by the state of Israel and should be roundly condemned.

The Zionist apologists for terrorism have been busy slinging mud:

Rashida Tlaib was unfairly smeared by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash
Unfortunately, what’s happening to Tlaib is far from unique. Advocating for basic Palestinian human rights has always been billed as ‘controversial’
Arwa Mahdawi, 26 Sep 2024

... Of course, what’s happening to Tlaib isn’t unique. Advocating for basic Palestinian human rights has always been billed as somehow “controversial” in the US. Since 7 October, however, speaking up about what many human right experts have termed a “genocide” in Gaza puts you at the risk of losing your job and becoming the subject of smear campaigns. Calling out or protesting against a genocide now seems to be considered a worse crime than committing one.

For almost a year now, being a Palestinian in the US has meant waking up every morning to images of children in Gaza who have been dismembered by US-made bombs. It means watching helplessly as Gaza is made completely uninhabitable. It means reading letters from doctors who have been in Gaza talking about treating “pre-teen children who were shot in the head” by Israeli soldiers. It means hearing violent and dehumanizing comments from elected officials like the US House representative Tim Walberg of Michigan, who said Gaza should “be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima”.

Palestinians are being starved, displaced and bombed off the face of the earth. And as US politicians and pundits mock our pain and cheerlead our slaughter, they have the temerity to tell Palestinians and our supporters that we’re the hateful ones. As 2,000-pound bombs keep dropping on tent encampments full of starving children, Israel’s apologists have the audacity to tell us that we’re the violent ones.

"Calling out or protesting against a genocide now seems to be considered a worse crime than committing one."

[.Oomba.]

Every wonder how many hours a year you work as a taxpayer funding the Zionists?

It's a valid point and I don't want any of my money going towards lethal aid there. However, if we can count the price of gasoline along with tax dollars, a lot more of my money is going to Arabs.


Top Democrat claims hostile nation is paying protestors to disrupt Kamala's convention
Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz shared his suspicions after pro-Palestine protesters breached the security perimeter surrounding the DNC.

Iran.

They always say that about protest, though it's a safe bet that Soros is not the source of the money this time. Fine, Jared, let's see the evidence.

Hello?

Thieves abound.

[.Oomba.]

Every wonder how many hours a year you work as a taxpayer funding the Zionists?

Three and a half.

Really? I guess, if you say so.

So which 3.5 hours then?

I'll start with the worst 3.5 hours
of sh*ts I took on company time.

And I do own the company,
depreciating asset that it is.

I can't say it strongly enough.
Fvck Zionism. Free Palestine.

[GoCubsGo]

Every wonder how many hours a year you work as a taxpayer funding the Zionists?

Three and a half.

Really? I guess, if you say so.

So which 3.5 hours then?

I'll start with the worst 3.5 hours
of sh*ts I took on company time.

And I do own the company,
depreciating asset that it is.

I can't say it strongly enough.
Fvck Zionism. Free Palestine.

Israel has the right to defend itself but not wage genocide.

Palestinians have the right to live in peace and safety but not to terrorize.

At the moment, those two things cannot be reconciled until sanity prevails.

[O Really]

At the moment, those two things cannot be reconciled until sanity prevails.

Sanity hasn't prevailed around there for over a century, in the short look, and maybe thousands of years overall, with the Israelites not playing well with the Philistines (later Palestinians) And it's certainly not going to prevail as long as NettyYahoo is in power.

[GoCubsGo]

At the moment, those two things cannot be reconciled until sanity prevails.

Sanity hasn't prevailed around there for over a century, in the short look, and maybe thousands of years overall, with the Israelites not playing well with the Philistines (later Palestinians) And it's certainly not going to prevail as long as NettyYahoo is in power.

And the zealots have guns.

It's a futile situation, smarter people than us have been looking for solutions for a long time.

[O Really]

At the moment, those two things cannot be reconciled until sanity prevails.

Sanity hasn't prevailed around there for over a century, in the short look, and maybe thousands of years overall, with the Israelites not playing well with the Philistines (later Palestinians) And it's certainly not going to prevail as long as NettyYahoo is in power.

And the zealots have guns.

It's a futile situation, smarter people than us have been looking for solutions for a long time.

I'm not so sure all of them have been so smart. In fact, if you believe the idea that insanity can be defined by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, then they're all crazy. It should have been clear long ago that traditional negotiation processes won't work, at least in part because they require each part to give a little and none of these people are going to give diddlyshit even if it were in their best interest to do so.

[GoCubsGo]

I'm not so sure all of them have been so smart. In fact, if you believe the idea that insanity can be defined by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, then they're all crazy. It should have been clear long ago that traditional negotiation processes won't work, at least in part because they require each part to give a little and none of these people are going to give diddlyshit even if it were in their best interest to do so.

I'm not sure anyone actually expects a different result, more of an obligation to try because they don't know what else to do and the alternative is to do nothing.

[O Really]

Well, nobody has asked me, but if they did, I'd have a few suggestions. (1) agree that Israel has the right to "defend themselves" but that history did not begin on October 6; (2) acknowledge that yes, Israel has some enemies, but they've also been the bully in the neighborhood and have done little if anything to reduce tensions; (3) remind Israel that without the very expensive support of the US and other allies, that they would have long ago been shoved into the sea; (4) tell them that as a condition of further support, they're going to have to agree to a "two state solution" (5) tell Nattyyahoo he's going to have to go.

Why my emphasis on twisting Israel's tail? Look at which side has the tanks and which side is throwing rocks at them.

[O Really]

Maybe some others are thinking along my lines: Nevermind the cowbell, more stick.

"Macron warns Netanyahu he ‘must not forget’ Israel was created by UN decision"

https://www.politico.eu/article/france- ... yndication

"US warns Israel to boost humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk losing weapons funding"

https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza- ... tent=other

[Vrede too]

Maybe some others are thinking along my lines: Nevermind the cowbell, more stick.

"Macron warns Netanyahu he ‘must not forget’ Israel was created by UN decision"

https://www.politico.eu/article/france- ... yndication

"US warns Israel to boost humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk losing weapons funding"

https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza- ... b6def12103

Some of us, including congressional progressives, have been calling for an arms embargo since the Gaza invasion began if not years before.

[O Really]

Maybe some others are thinking along my lines: Nevermind the cowbell, more stick.

"Macron warns Netanyahu he ‘must not forget’ Israel was created by UN decision"

https://www.politico.eu/article/france- ... yndication

"US warns Israel to boost humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk losing weapons funding"

https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza- ... b6def12103

Some of us, including congressional progressives, have been calling for an arms embargo since the Gaza invasion began if not years before.

I'm not sure that would have worked well politically. For better or worse, Israel is more ally than not, and a humiliating public smack down might have done more harm than good, especially after Hamas took some action and then everybody is blaming Biden (or whoever) for leaving Israel "defenseless", "abandoned," "betrayed," yada. I'd rather wave sticks around diplomatically, if possible, and I think it would be possible to beat them into some form of submission as long as they don't see loss of face and insult to their super-macho culture.

[Vrede too]

Some of us, including congressional progressives, have been calling for an arms embargo since the Gaza invasion began if not years before.

I'm not sure that would have worked well politically. For better or worse, Israel is more ally than not, and a humiliating public smack down might have done more harm than good, especially after Hamas took some action and then everybody is blaming Biden (or whoever) for leaving Israel "defenseless", "abandoned," "betrayed," yada. I'd rather wave sticks around diplomatically, if possible, and I think it would be possible to beat them into some form of submission as long as they don't see loss of face and insult to their super-macho culture.

Biden is waving that exact same stick around this week - presumably threatening to cut off "offensive" weapons since we just sent Patriot missiles and 100 troops to staff them. "politically" - we've seen what AIPAC did to progressives in the primaries. They had mixed success. Kamala just has to duck the question for 3 weeks, then lame duck Joe can do whatever he wants.

[GoCubsGo]

Could modern warfare be any scarier?

[Vrede too]

Could modern warfare be any scarier?

https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/18 ... 8278763848

If I understood the articles correctly, that drone did not kill him. He was already dying from wounds he'd sustained. Just wait until we see the same for policing, surveillance by employers, bill collectors, overdue library books, etc.

Anti-War Israelis Fear Speaking Up For Gaza. Over 100 Medical Workers Are Doing It Anyway.
In a letter first obtained by HuffPost, the medical workers seek to make known that there are Israelis who oppose the military killing Palestinians in their name.

... In a letter addressed to the White House and first obtained Tuesday by HuffPost, 117 medical workers in Israel expressed support for their colleagues in the United States who earlier this month demanded the Biden administration stop funding and arming the ongoing military offensive in Gaza. The American workers had all provided medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza at some point over the past year.

“Unfortunately, as Israeli civilians, we cannot offer any medical assistance or support to the thousands of Gaza patients in need, not even to many chronically ill patients who had been treated in Israeli hospitals before October 7th,” read the Tuesday letter signed by physicians, nurses, therapists and surgeons....

Heroes.

[Vrede too]

Deadly Israeli strike on journalists in Lebanon prompt global condemnation





Three journalists were killed in Lebanon by an Israeli strike on Friday morning, their colleagues said, drawing condemnation from rights advocates about the number of reporters who have lost their lives in the region over the past year.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it "strongly condemned" the attack, urging the international community to "stop Israel's long-standing pattern of impunity in journalist killings."

... The last year has been the deadliest period for journalists in more than 30 years, CPJ has said, with at least 126 reporters and media workers among nearly 45,000 people killed in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Lebanon....

Friday was the deadliest day for journalists in Lebanon over the last year. At least five other reporters have been killed in Israeli strikes while on assignment in Lebanon, including Reuters visuals journalist Issam Abdallah.

The strike around 3 am local time hit a collection of guesthouses housing only reporters in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, killing two journalists from the Al-Mayadeen television network and one journalist from Al-Manar....

There was no evacuation order by Israel's military....

Sharing a post about the strike on X, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan wrote: "Deliberate killing of a journalist is a war crime."

Mazen Shaqoura, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Middle East, told Al-Jadeed the strike represented "a targeting of what we hear and what we see."

Bastards. Censors. Murderers.

[Vrede too]

US struggles to get answers on 'horrifying' Israeli strike in northern Gaza

... "We are pressing them [Israel] for an answer," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday. "They are not doing enough to get us the answers that we have requested."

On Tuesday, Miller described the strike as "a horrifying incident with a horrifying result."

According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, an organization providing emergency services in Gaza, at least 110 people were killed in Tuesday's strike on the city of Beit Lahia. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said roughly two dozen children were among the dead....

Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, quickly condemned the attack on Tuesday, asserting in a statement that it was "another appalling incident" in a "deadly series of recent mass casualty incidents."...


People search the rubble for missing persons at the site of an Israeli strike a day earlier that hit the Al-Loh family home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 30, 2024

The fallout from the Beit Lahia strike is also playing out as the Biden administration tries to tamp down dissent within the Democratic Party over its support of Israel's war in Gaza. While foreign affairs rarely register as a top issue for voters, Democrats have long feared that a small number of voters repelled by the administration's handling of Gaza could tip the scale in critical swing states such as Michigan, which is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the U.S.

I can't blame people who feel moved to sit out the POTUS election. There is as yet no evidence that Joe, Kamala and the Dems will move beyond rhetoric to action.

... Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attempted to make the case for Harris in a video posted online on Tuesday, calling himself a critic of her position "on the terrible war in Gaza" but arguing that "even on this issue, Donald Trump and his right-wing friends are worse."

"I promise you, after Kamala wins, we will together do everything that we can to change U.S. policy toward [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," he said.

However, Harris has done little to distance herself from President Joe Biden on this issue and others. During an interview with ABC's "The View" earlier this month, Harris was asked what she would have done differently from Biden and responded by saying "there is not a thing that comes to mind."...

As I say.