#political cowardice

[sowhatnotcreative]

Easy to fucking compromise when your rights aren't what's being compromised away, isn't it?

[ldorgan]

Senator Jon Ossof on The Border Bill

[immaculatasknight]

Canadian lawlessness

[bruciemilf]

For trump supporters:

I hope you have loved ones that are poc. That are queer. That are trans. That are disabled. That are immigrants. That identify as women.

I hope you love them and they love you. And I hope you lose them.

I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. I want them to be okay and happy and thriving away from you. But I deeply hope you lose them. I truly don’t think you’ll learn otherwise.

[politicaltheatre]

If Democracy Dies in Darkness, Jeff Bezos is turning off the light.

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

The confirmed death of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, is a momentous event in Israel’s ongoing war for survival. Yet, while many may rush to celebrate the removal of this figurehead, it is crucial to recognise the deeper reality: Israel is fighting a battle it should not be fighting alone. Hamas’s continued strength does not rest on the shoulders of one man. The true enablers of this terrorist organisation reside not in Gaza, but in Qatar and Iran. These two states have been the lifeblood of Hamas for years—Qatar, with its billions in funding, and Iran, with its arms and military training. Their support has allowed Hamas to not only maintain its stranglehold over Gaza but to grow more emboldened in its attacks on Israel. While Israel defends itself, it does so in isolation, with much of the West content to watch from the sidelines. Terrorism, when it strikes in London or Paris, is rightly condemned, but when it targets Israel, the response from many Western leaders is hesitation, cloaked in the language of ‘balance’ and ‘neutrality.’ This is not balance; it is appeasement—a familiar and dangerous posture that has, throughout history, led to nothing but emboldened aggression. Let us be clear: Hamas is not a political movement seeking compromise. It is a terror organisation, committed to the destruction of Israel, and backed by regimes that have no interest in peace. The West’s failure to confront Qatar and Iran for their role in supporting this group is nothing short of a moral abdication. By allowing these regimes to fund and arm Hamas without consequence, we are not just enabling the continuation of violence, we are betraying the very values of civilisation we claim to uphold. WBII stands unequivocally with Israel. But this is not just Israel’s fight—it is a fight for all those who believe in liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. It is long past time for Western leaders to abandon their cowardice and confront the true enablers of terror. Sinwar may be dead, but the forces that sustain Hamas remain alive and well—and it is our collective duty to confront them. 

We Believe In Israel's official statement following the justified killing of Hamas terrorist chief, Yahya Sinwar in Rafah, Gaza.

[afriblaq]

1

[their-name-is-fake]

When this is all over, and we bury our dead, and we get the chance to finally mourn our loses. I want you to know I will never forgive you. Not for keeping silent, not for standing with tyranny and not for rewriting history. When this is all over and your kids ask you how this could have happened, I hope you have the guts to tell them the truth.

When this is all over, Palestine will remain standing. We will still be here. But where will your humanity have gone?

Don’t mourn us, we have not died. Mourn the west, it’s humanity has fled.

[porcelaintoybox23]

Here’s my regularly scheduled liberals are evil post and Waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too many of you “leftists” on here are no better

I’m literally watching Nazi Germany happening in real time.

I’ve always preferred evil that was honest about its evil. Liberals and mainly white leftists hide behind a veneer of morals to gaslight you so they don’t have to reckon with the horror of their actions.

*I’m not discussing this with anyone. If you disagree, move on or be blocked 🌸

Buy e sims!

[eaglesnick]

“It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape  the consequences of one’s acts”  – Mahatma Gandhi

I said yesterday that those named by the Grenfell Inquiry as being in part responsible for the tragic and avoidable loss of life adopted one of two lines of defence, either passing the buck or remaining silent.

The Grenfell Inquiry told David Cameron that his enthusiasm for the Thatcherite ideology of deregulation had contributed to the 72 deaths. They asserted that his obsession with “cutting red tape" in the name of boosting the economy meant that:

“Even matters affecting the safety of life were ignored, delayed or disregarded.”

Such a damning indictment of Cameron’s leadership is hard to defend which is perhaps why he has remained silent. Silent up until this weekend that is.

On Friday evening  he came  out fighting and is adopting the second strategy of blaming others by denying he had anything to do with the scrapping fire safety regulations.

“The report is clear that fire safety and building safety regulations were explicitly excluded from the Coalition Government’s greatly-needed ‘red tape reviews’, given the importance we placed on safety and build quality.” (David Cameron: 04/09/24)

This claim that the Grenfell Inquiry, rather than condemning his actions as Prime Minister actually supported him has been greeted with disbelief.

“Grenfell survivors furious over David Cameron’s claim that the inquiry backed him over red-tape drive."  (The Guardian:08/09/24)

Using more colourful language one person accused Cameron of “total bullshit” for saying the inquiry agreed that fire regulations were excluded from his deregulation push. The failures that led to Grenfell were the direct result of changes to building regulations and his government critically weakened building regulations.

“It was Cameron’s government’s focus on deregulation that played a key part in people’s homes not being safe…His government wanted to ‘kill off the health and safety culture for good’ amid a ‘bonfire of red tape’, and this culture pervaded throughout government, including housing and building regulations, during his tenure as prime minister, whatever he may now wish to believe.” (Giles Grover quoted in Guardian:08/09/24)

So, David Cameron like Eric Pickles, despite the inquiry findings, are in denial, and if it wasn’t them then by definition it has to be someone else who is responsible for the Grenfell tragedy.

Welcome to the merry-go-round of cowardice and immorality.

[attila-werther]

instagram stop putting shitty ai fashion nonsense in my explore feed I do not have the emotional bandwidth for this, bring back the suit fetish posts immediately

[garak]

if i say "i'm not voting for biden if he continues to bankroll genocide" and biden loses the election to someone "worse" (by dem standards) because he didn't get enough votes it will not be my fault. he's the one who kept giving money to israel. that was an action that he took of his own free will full well knowing it would jeopardize the votes of large swathes of the population. that loss is not on me or you or anyone else who exercises their right to vote for a candidate that they believe will be better for the country than him. that loss is on biden and his own policies and decisions that he made while in office. do not let the spineless sniveling centrist sycophants of the democratic party ever convince you otherwise

[giantkillerjack]

They shouldn't let me write Merlin because I would have Merlin realize he's a class traitor and kill Uther before the opening credits were done rolling. and then Arthur would get his shit together too and also kiss Merlin. and then I guess the show would just have a tolerable ongoing plot for the first time ever, with dynamic engaging goals and growth for characters that were finally likeable, and......

Actually, I take it back: the only reason I would not be an ideal choice for the head writer of Merlin is that the show ended like a decade ago, and it would frankly be poor business sense to hire a new writer at this stage.

[immaculatasknight]

The sword of truth

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bagley * * * *

“You are not allowed to give up.”

February 17, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

Vladimir Putin killed his chief political opponent on Friday. Alexei Navalny, a Russian hero and patriot, is the latest in a long line of victims of Putin’s murderous regime. Navalny was in prison north of the Artic circle when he allegedly “died suddenly” on a “walk.” Most of Putin’s victims “fall out” of second-floor windows or die from exotic poisons or nerve agents. President Biden said,

Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny's death. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world.

Of Navalny, Biden said,

He was brave. He was principled. He was dedicated to building a Russia where the rule of law existed and where it applied to everybody.

Putin kills with impunity. Coincidentally, Donald Trump is currently urging the Supreme Court to grant him (and all other US presidents) the power to kill their political opponents with impunity. Even more coincidentally, Trump has not condemned Putin’s assassination of Navalny—leaving Trump alone among US and Western democratic leaders, all of whom condemned Putin for the death of Navalny.

The assassination of Navalny comes as the GOP is under the thrall of Putin. Trump and congressional Republicans are doing Putin’s work by refusing to provide supplemental funding for Ukraine. MAGA poster boy Tucker Carlson provided a platform last week for Putin to spread his lies about Russia’s history and territorial claims—including his claim that Ukraine is “not really a separate country.” Even Putin was derisive of Tucker Carlson’s pathetic interview. See Business Insider, Putin Says He Thought Tucker Carlson Would Ask Tougher Questions.

President Biden also condemned Congress for its inaction on Ukraine in his remarks on the assassination of Navalny. After his formal remarks, a reporter asked President Biden if there was anything the US could do to accelerate the delivery of aid to Ukraine. Biden responded,

No, but it’s about time [Congress] step[s] up, don’t you think? Instead of going on a two-week vacation.” Two weeks, they’re walking away. Two weeks. What are they thinking? My God, this is bizarre, and it’s just reinforcing all of the concern and almost – I won’t say panic – but real concern about the United States being a reliable ally. This is outrageous.

The heroism of Navalny highlights the cowardice of House Republicans. Mike Johnson is damaging US foreign policy so he does not provoke the ire of Marjorie Taylor Greene. See op-ed by Eric Garcia in The Independent, Navalny’s death has shown Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson up as a coward.

Garcia explains that Mike Johnson did not spend the last two work days on the Senate bill granting aid to Ukraine but instead wasted time on the Mayorkas impeachment:

Johnson did [so] in the service of appeasing Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump ally from Georgia, who is also an ardent opponent of funding for Ukraine. The fact [Johnson] refused to cross the person largely responsible for him being Speaker shows how unserious he is. Marjorie Taylor Greene has pledged that if aid to Ukraine goes to the floor of the House, she will file a motion to vacate the chair of Johnson. This comes despite the fact that many in Johnson’s conference want to support Ukraine and most Democrats would vote to help pass a bill doing so.

In other words, Mike Johnson is willing to allow Ukraine to fall to Putin because he wants to remain in his job as Speaker of the House—under the thumb of Marjorie Taylor Greene. What a pathetic, cowardly existence.

Against Mike Johnson’s cowardice (emblematic of all congressional Republicans) is the heroism of Alexei Navalny. In anticipation of his own assassination, Navalny left these words to those who remained behind:

If they decided to kill me, then it means we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed . . . . We don’t realize how strong we actually are. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing, so don’t be inactive. You’re not allowed to give up.

We do not need to make Alexei Navalny’s ultimate sacrifice to follow in his footsteps. We just need not to give up—even when the odds against us seem overwhelming. We can do that. We have been doing that.

Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

[bobbyfiend]

Same bullshit, different newspaper

The Guardian has just booted a cartoonist for creating this cartoon, depicting Netanyahu cutting a Palestine-shaped section out of his own abdomen.

I think it's pretty clear the cartoonist meant "Expelling Palestinians hurts Israel because Palestinians are part of the community" or something similar.

Some asshat (they always show up) made a tortured parallel with Shylock in Merchant of Venice, demanding his pound of flesh from a creditor. Said asshat claimed this ridiculous comparison made the cartoon "antisemitic."

Antisemitic, my ass. This is nothing more than a slight remix of "if you criticize Israel's policies, you hate Jews." The comparison implied by the cartoon is clear, but someone yelled "antisemitism" and the Guardian rolled over.

The Guardian has shown pathetic journalistic cowardice.

Interestingly, The Onion nailed this whole dynamic a few days ago: