#which btw is made up of people who WANT to kill Palestinians

[zingay]

Palestinians in Gaza are literally saying that Hamas is the only thing keeping them safe from the ground invasion, yes obviously the opinion of them varies from person to person but its a fact that they're the only thing preventing even more massacres because they're disabling tanks and forcing retreats.

Stop condemning them you will never fucking have the right.

[deadpoetmagda]

> after calling me lower than a dog

I never did. That wasn't an opinion, I was stating a fact: Israelis hate Arabs. With passion.

>telling me to LEAVE a country that I was born ... what happened to defying the occupation and holding onto our land and not abandoning it

I thought it was better than living with cognitive dissonance, clasping at any excuse to declare that Israel is justified in killing people like *you*. I say like you, because I think most people would struggle with identifying with, feeling they belong to, patriotic to... a country that kills people like them. Also, please don't feel like you need to condemn Israel. I understand that might have dire consequences. And I realize people are already suspicious of you, even if you act like a "model citizen".

>the mossad doesn’t have access to my thoughts and in real life conversations with my arab community

Yeah, you said it yourself: conversation irl, with other Arabs. Now try to post something critical of the IDF on social media. This is not a dare btw — I know you stand to lose a lot.

>I wonder how many ... in the middle of all of this

To answer your question, Reuters reports Israelis estimate approx. 17,000 hamas militants have been killed. Which means, by Israel's admission, at least 23,000 innocent civilians have been killed so far. Second, this isn't human error, this is the result of indiscriminate bombings, bombings of schools, hospitals, ambulances, of areas that palestinians were told to evacuate to. Third, I've seen videos of Israelis shooting children, unarmed people, people who tried to help other injured people... It was pre-mediated execution.

>I've seen footage ... jews????

First of all, many of the people killed on October, 7th were killed via IDF carpet bombing, Israelis confirmed that much. Second, an argument can be made that, except for some small groups, for instance Arab Israelis who are exempt, most people killed on that day were IDF servicemen and women, since service in the IDF is mandatory. Does not wearing a military attire turn one into a citizen and therefore off limits? Israel has a long tradition for tracking its enemies and liquidating them, whoever they are, wherever they might be (be they actual Nazis, like Eichmann, poets like Kanafani, nuclear scientists like Fakhrizadeh...). So if you're advocating for the principle that people should only die in battle, then Israel doesn't abide by that.

The woman being dragged with a spot on her pants: it's not necessarily blood. But even if it was, it could have been through transfer, rather than hers.

>why haven’t a huge amount of the Jewish ppl been radicalized 

> I just wonder why a huge chunk of them didn’t turn out same as hamas

This is such an out of touch statement. First of all, every Israeli I've talked to is utterly consumed by propaganda. Their reaction to the carnage we're witnessing is either denial ("paliwood"), rationalizing it, or straight up relishing the fact that Gazans are being massacred, wishing more people would die, slower more, painful deaths. This is fanaticism.

It is also out of touch, because it disregards what Israelis have been doing in Gaza/West Bank for decades now. Israelis apprehend people from Gaza/West Bank for months to years, without charges, and without trials. While detained, they assault, torture, paralyze, and kill people. The punishment for that, if any? A few months in prison. Israelis set up checking points, and when they stop people to search them, they often rough handle them, beat them, detain them... for petty to no reasons. This has been happening daily for decades now, it's not something Palestinians can just heal from and leave behind. Besides, do you think Palestinians want to be imprisoned, shot at, that they don't have dreams, to achieve their potential and personal fulfillment? Palestinians resist because a person can only withstand injustice for so long.

>innocent civilians who were mostly leftist living near the border 

There's no left wing in Israel. The left polls at 3 to 4%.

>what hamas have been doing to their own people in gaza

Has Hamas killed 23,000 people? No. This means that, among the two, Israel is the worse for palestinians.

>an ask filled with sugar coated accusations

I don't sugar coat what I say. I think you thought I called you a dog and then was surprised at the change of tone, when I never changed my tone.

I will stop sending you anons.

If you really didn't mean it that way you would cleared it up in the ask before this one but you didn't so idk if you're being honest, but even if you were don't worry habibi we're not treated like dogs here, I have equal rights as everyone else and living my life just fine (tho israel is fucking expensive to live in), even tho the arab muslim community in here still mostly hate Israel and are pro palestine and all, you gonna hear them slip here and there and actually say الحمد لله احنا عايشين بإسرائيل وعالنعم الي احنا بيها بهالدولة

يا زلمة... يا زلمة والله هلكتني ووجعتلي راسي، مني قادرة اجاوب ع كلشي قلتو واقعد اكتب بحث عشر صفحات مشان اجاوبك وارد عالاخطاء الي كاتبها، ابقى تعا قابلني وجه لوجه لانو اذا دكتب لبكرا ما اخلص (pls don't tho I'm an introvert) 😭

Also Israeli hate arabs with passion... حبيبي كل امة محمد تكره اليهود من ايام نبييهم لليوم، اقدر اجيبلك كل كتب التاريخ الي موثق بيها الظلم الي اليهود تحملو عايدين العرب والمسلمين بالغزوات والفتوحات وحتى ايام الانتداب البريطاني لما العرب نزلم بيهم مذابح، وشو كان العذر تبعهم، لا كان بي اسرائيل ولا عبالك، if you wanna talk about Israeli and arabs and jews and Muslims sorry to break it to you habibi but it didn't start in 1948

"Every Israeli i talked to is utterly consumed by propoganda"..... my brother in christ you're not immune to propoganda either, from the way you're talking i can tell you're drowning in it pleaseeee 😭😭

Also idk I still find it bizarre that you even suggested leaving this country lmaoooo, please id like to be away from wars and shit so why don't you do everything for me and pay the costs lmao I'm dying my man 😭

If you want to stay in your one sided propoganda that triumph to your side and not actually read on the history of the region and the conflict then fine, but I really encourage you to listen to what gazans have said about hamas and what they actually do to them and put them through, I don't support the Israeli government and idf a 100% like a blind man and let them go with no critical thinking and criticism, but it looks like you do that thing exactly to hamas :)

Good thing you won't send anons anymore, sorry but this won't get settled like this, but ayyy have a nice day

[spongebobafettywap]

babygirl u are not familiar with the status of jews who lived in what is now israel between Literal Ancient Israeli Kingdoms and 1948 and it shows. look up what Dhimmi means and reference the list of anti jewish massacres and pogroms throughout the middle east since literally the year Zero AD. maybe pay special attention to the absolutely barbaric way muslims treated anyone who wasnt muslim!! how do u think arabic became the lingua franca of the entire middle east? btw palestine is a made up term that became popular in the 60s to refer to the erstwhile syrians and jordanians who got assmad that jews dared to return to our homeland and establish a state. i know u are Irritated that jews are no longer stateless beggars with zero international bargaining power and zero recourse when our Ever So Gracious Hosts decided to kill and rape and torture us for the crime of being jewish. u will get over it lol, am yisrael chai

Yawn. I've heard all this Zio propaganda before.

Hey if the Middle East is sooooo bad and anti semitic then surely you wouldn't want to live there right? Why not live with your new pals the Europeans I'm sure they've been much kinder to Jewish people historically. After all it's not like they almost wiped Jewish people out or anything right?

Can you tell me how they treated Non Muslims I'm curious how do you feel about how people treat those that aren't part of their in group? Did they send in their storm troopers to destroy their homes? Did they steal from them? Did they reduce the amount of food they could get and starve them to death? If they did and you believe that's bad then thanks for proving our point about it being wrong for anyone to do that to a population.

You're so good at using the "You're just mad that Jews will no longer be stateless beggars let me just ignore the continued Jewish presence in Palestine and feed into the narrative that Jews were no longer welcome there also this totally means we get to make Palestinian stateless beggars!" I'm guessing eventually you'll be okay with Palestinians taking over Israel after they've lived through the narrative of Jewish expulsion and they get their right of return. Like it's just a matter of time for oppressed groups to go ahead and take a piece of land and create apartheid states? Lol

Ah yes the "Palestine didn't even exist as a name until whatever decade I decide" yeah that why we got coins and passports and maps that contain that word from the early 20th century and before?

You can keep talking the "Iz it because we iz Jewish" defence but all you're doing is associating the crimes of Israel with Judaism which really is what Antisemites would do.

[heyimboredtalktome]

Ok so I mean this question genuinely (and feel free to not answer), I don't mean to make you angry but feel free to go on a long angry rant if you want to

What, exactly, is Palestine mad about? (And again, I'm saying this from genuinely wanting to know, I have some idea but it feels incomplete and/or incorrect) Also, what would be the ideal outcome for you?

I've tried checking news and tried asking people to explain but I'm surrounded by people who are very pro-israel. (one of my closest friends is israeli and she's terrified because people she knows are being asked to join the army (but she's not old enough yet), and most of my family hears stories such as "oh yeah, they're slaughtering babies now" which is definitely horrific) so I'm trying to get a better understanding of the Palestinian side, and you seem reasonable and I often agree with your opinions, so I was hoping you could explain it to me. (I'll just infodump what I know in small text so that you can correct any misconceptions you see)

So, after ww2 people decided that jewish people needed a place to stay (fair, they've been hated even before ww2 but ww2 really brought attention to it) and so the british decided on where exactly they would be placed. Obviously this made many people unhappy because they were already living there. So there's been much conflict about it, and now there's a war because they want israel gone from the gaza strip, but somebody told me that israel had forcibly removed their people as a sign of goodwill? as you can see i don't know much off the top of my head. I agree with Ireland's decision to send aid to the Palestinian people because in the end they have it the worst, not Israel (which is not a poor country at all my god), and the only opinion I've formed from this all is: the people caught in the middle are the only true victims, because they didn't want any of this, but both armed sides have committed atrocities. (Also, if you google what hamas wants you get: "[its] purpose for existing is the destruction of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people" which sounds like what I hear from around me). Also while I understand that it sucks that they had to take land from the people around them, it's not as if the israeli people have anywhere to go (at least that's how it seems to me). Any thoughts? Thank you for your time!

me and many others have posted a lot about it so you can go through it and read things for yourself, there is no lack of documentation of the atrocities israel commits on a daily basis, even when they aren't killing thousands of children and civilians in an attempt to ethnically cleanse one of the oldest civilizations in the world, they're pretty blatant about their apartheid and racism, its not tough find good books and articles about it

as for where the israelis are supposed to go, they can use their dual citizenship for that ,I don't really know nor can i bring myself to care. its less about where they're supposed to go and more about ending the occupation. they don't just live in israel, they kill and torture palestinians and steal their land to do so. they don't even respect the original UN borders, they've stolen almost 88% of palestinian land, when they were originally alloted about 55% (which btw is still wrong, considering that the person doing the alloting had no right to give away palestinian land) and they subjugate palestinians to a system of apartheid which is against all international laws and they are given free rein to do so. again ive said a lot already about what the fucking israelis get upto so you can read up on that

i dont know about an ideal outcome, the two state solution is logical but if the israelis didn't respect it the first time around, why would they respect it now? and why would the palestinians trust them after what's happening to them? why would anyone? and who's going to hold israel responsible for the atrocities it has committed for the past 70 years?

you can watch Al-Jazeera if you want reliable news about palestine

[papirouge]

Ah yes, because we all know that Russia bombed the equivalent of 2 H bomb onto Ukraine in the span of a few weeks, precisely like Israel did. No mention of the (illegal) use of white phosphorus, which is known to have terrible effect on the environment. That's totally a normal "war" stuff that happened before and that we should just gloss over like we did before :) .....NOT.

The "exceptional" treatment for Israel is simply on par with the exceptionalism of this war. Pulling out a whataboutism about other countries, or the Russia-Ukraine war is stupid considering that either Ukraine or Russia has yet to showcase the same casualties as Palestine does.

"how many country has YOUR country set off" that precisely because people acknowledge that their country has a hand in this conflict (sugaring Israel with their taxpayer money and weapons) that they're doing the most against it, genius🙄 And you know what happened when Westerners said that this conflict is actually also our business because that's our money that goes wasted onto it? we've been told that we're just clueless goyim and that we are forbidden to have an opinion on it lmao Because Israel spilling goyim blood to have their fanatic millennialist Gret Israel way is totally not goyim business...ofc So what's the truth? should we stay in our lane or not? how? we've been boycotting but even that has been a problem for Zionists too somehow (we'll get back to it later on this post). At this point whatever we do or say will never please you because you're just mad we stopped drinking the Kool-Aid.

btw, it's funny to see yall suddenly whine about the delusional left saying that the hostages are "crisis actor" when the ones who've been consistently saying that the victims in Gaza weren't real and made up an entire HASHTAG #paliwood to mock them(!!) were Zionists.... interestingly no Zionist complained about people making a "trend" off tragedies, like they do against pro Palestinians...what a load of hypocrites lel Actually Zionists were the one insinuating that the hostages were actors for displaying signs of sympathy for their captor and not being enough mad at them lmao ....Something-something...every accusation is a confession LOL I'm not saying that there's no delusional conspirators in the left/anti Zionist side though, only that acting like the left had some sort of monopoly in denying basic reality to fit their narrative is straight up dishonest. Never forget that the ones who came up with the "crisis factor" talking point were CONSERVATIVES, to act like mass shooting were psy-op and that no kid died in Sandy Hook to remove from their side any responsibility regarding their loose gun control policies. The same right whose antisemites constantly fly under your radar, and that you lazily label as "leftist" just because they're against Israel....

Behold, LEFTIST anti Zionist MEME 🤡

Interesting how I never see you guys seethe about the actual antisemitism of this flock of guys🧐 it's like, the left had to bear the whole responsibility of the rise of antisemitism on its shoulders.....why?

"focus on their own shit" You mean, those civilians precisely did by doing what they could do at their own level such as boycotting, something that Zionist lobby also tried to make it illegal(??). Zionists made fun of protesters protesting IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY against their own government, saying how useless they are and hop they're more of an inconvenience than a "real" protest. Like sis, if you want people to "focus on their own shit", keep that same energy for Israel and tell them to stop trying to interfere onto foreign country politics (trying to make the ban of Israeli products illegal) & assaulting them! So yeah, don't be surprised that people start to get scared of Zionism. Which btw already did a handful of victims already...even in the West :

"Zionism will kill us all". If you can use Islamism like a boogeyman to say it will "kill us all" (in the West), don't be surprised we pull out the same energy for Zionism who also kills ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"harass and threaten people in other countries" lmao you mean like those two Israel agent did by assaulting US citizens on their own soil? 🤡

the same US citizens who hound their own officials to stop funding this war, and you know who's still making fun of them?? ....Zionists (look at the comments)

but yeaaaaah anti Zionists are totally not doing shit and are just lazily harassing people online. Tell me you have no idea what you're talking about without telling me you have no idea what you're talking about.

TL;DR : you guys never beat the every accusation is a confession allegations

[legy]

random game roundup 1

The Other Side

included in: Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds but also it’s pwyw with no minimum

this is a game where you are trapped in a room and need to follow instructions on the terminal to drill through the walls and escape. it is very short (i completed it in about 14 minutes). this game excels massively in atmosphere in art direction. i found that interacting with objects was not extremely clear (as in it was hard for me to figure out where exactly it wanted me to be clicking). really enjoyed having to diegetically press the keys on the keyboard to interact with the terminal.

overall would recommend if you want a quick horror experience, especially for the asking price of “free”

My Little Pony: Super Ethical Shipping Climax!

included in: Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid, also it’s free

i am not the target audience for this game.

Naughty Elves - Christmas puzzle game

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid

not porn :/

fairly straightforward puzzle game. santa’s elves stole all the presents so you need to throw snowballs at them through the window until they fall over. i think it’s really funny but not very well communicated that you are stuck outdoors (presumably can only enter houses through the chimney)

i don’t think you should play this

Attention Heroes!

included in: Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid & it’s pwyw with no minimum

required minimum of two players so unfortunately i will have to skip. the description is really funny tho i really want to find out what self-centered gameplay means

Epic Battle Fantasy 4

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality

honest to god fucking flash game. fantastic. this is a jrpg which are typically very hard to get an impression of in such a short time period but fortunately this one lets you loose basically instantly. i can tell theres insane depth to this already. the humor is really dated (its from 2014 so whatever) but the art style is generally very cute. music is hot ass tho. i am actually probably going to come back to this one after i’m done with this post

Discovering Colors - Animals

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality

Bara Blackjack

included in: Queer Games Bundle 2022

this orc did not come dressed for strip poker.

it’s literally exactly what it looks like. which is awesome. main complaint is that his dialogue would show up and vanish so fast i had no idea what he said most of the time. he really wanted me to see his penis though

he’s circumcised btw

Hungry Frog

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, but it’s also free

no shit this is frog fractions but sincere

1977: Radio Aut

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality + it’s free

i didnt realize peppino was a real name i thought pizza tower made it up

this was really cool tho its a short biography on the life of a communist who was killed by the sicillian mafia for standing up against them.

This Call May Be Recorded

included in: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality + it’s free

 what if telemarketing had undertale combat

i kinda didnt like this at all tbh. it didnt feel like it was trying to make a point. like not even the point of expressing frustration at working at a call center. the people you call are all really annoying caricatures and you are just a poor guy following an incoherent script. this really needs more time in the oven

[volixia669]

Standing Strong in Current Political Climate

Alright, I mostly try to keep this to silly fandom and tumblr stuff, but with everything going on politically, it’s time for a serious post. About reality, about politics, and about how we survive. This is going to be about transphobia, queerphobia, and genocide, so I’m giving fair warning.

Buckle up.

Now, this is going to primarily US-Centric, as that’s what I’m familiar with, but make no mistake. There has been an authoritarian rise worldwide.

The UK has been Tory central for the past decade.

Australia has been putting climate refugees into concentration camps.

Israel has been using the pandemic to increase efforts to wipe out Palestinians.

Italy’s Prime Minister is Mussolini’s granddaughter (she’s proud of that btw) and is increasing queerphobia.

Russia is trying to recreate the USSR only with no fake pretenses of Communism (it was authoritarianism) this time around.

And the United States? Well the Republicans have been playing the long game since Reagan, and most of the Democratic party is perfectly fine with fascism since it makes them richer.

All this while the Earth becomes unlivable, people starve, and more. Oh, and covid never went away.

So.

The situation is...bad. Let’s just say it’s bad. There also seems to be a target on queer folks moreso than Jewish folks this time around, most likely since the Holocaust made most people a little twitchy about targeting Jewish folks, though that’s not to say those in charge aren’t perfectly fine with killing Jews.

Anyone who doesn’t conform to a mold is at risk.

But.

The situation is not hopeless.

I know it’s easy to read all that and think we’re all fucked, but I promise you, there is hope.

People have been unionizing, and striking at their workplaces.

Time and again, polls show that more people support queer people than oppose.

Time and again, polls show that the extremist view is a minority.

CPAC? That was practically empty this year.

More and more people are making it clear they want policies that help people and they’re tired of policies that help corporations.

People want to help the planet, they want to help other people. They don’t want to mass murder the “outsider.”

So what can you do?

Well, it varies depending on who you are, and where you are. Are you in Canada? Then vote and push for progressive policies, rather than right wing ones. In particular, you can join the push to allow asylum seekers to claim dangerous levels of queerphobia as their reason. This would help so many. Folks in other countries, I would reccomend the same. (Also maybe do something about that law preventing disabled people from immigrating to your country? Yeah, it’s a thing in a lot of countries. And there’s a lot of disabled queer people.)

You can join protests, and help local politicians canvas.

Unfortunately I can’t provide much info on what to do if you’re in most countries where being queer is either criminalized or being criminalized.

If you’re in the US though...

First off, for my white readers, are you familiar with the term antiracism? No? I recommend reading Ibram Kendi’s How to Be Antiracist. There’s a lot of racism in queer circles and it needs to stop. The way we solve these issues is through intersectionality, which means listening when black queer folks speak up. Listen. Learn. Improve.

This is important, because I need folks to understand that black queer folks are far more likely to be arrested, or worse. The cops will target black drag queens before they target white ones. They’ll target black trans folks before they target white ones.

Because this country is built on racism, and racism plays a key part in how laws are policed.

I’m not saying be careless if you’re a white queer btw, but recognize the levels of oppression here, work on improving yourself, but also? Use other people’s racism to protect black queer folk.

Weird sentence, I know, but let me explain, as this actually came up during the 2020 protests.

Say you’re at a protest, and the cops show up. The cops will try to arrest, injure, and/or provoke the black people there. But. If you’re white, you can stand inbetween the cop and the black person. If you get a bunch of other white people to join you, you can create a wall protecting multiple black people. And while you and the other white people aren’t immune from being arrested, injured, and/or provoked by the cops, you and other white people are more likely to come away unscathed.

There’s a bunch of situations this is applicable btw. Just don’t get all “white savior” about it, understand there’s a whole lot of history behind why black people might be wary of you and that’s okay, and ensure black people have the space to speak.

Alrighty, long spiel targeted to one particular demographic over. As for other things to be done? Be aware of the bills being passed in your state. Protest what you can. Make plans for escape if you need to.

Remember these things when crafting your escape plan: -Where?: This will effect everything else. A handful of states have passed bills making them trans refuge states, however getting to them may not be easy. You’ll also need to consider potential support structures that are there. -When?: This will depend on factors like what bills are being passed, how likely you are to be effected, and more. If you’re able to, consider making this a “normal” move rather than a last minute escape. -Finances: If you need to leave at the drop of a hat, can you? Are there any places you can cut back to save money? Are there any organizations that can help you? What about jobs? -Ease of escape: If you’re not in a position where you can move over the course of a month or two, this is where you need to really consider what you need and what you can leave behind. Also attempt to tie up as many loose ends as possible, and reduce the amount of objects you own as much as you can. Having a “go bag” can be extremely helpful. -Transportation: Can you drive? Do you have a license? Is getting a license feasible for you? What transportation is needed to get to the safe zone? Depending on the bills passed, you may want to have multiple options at hand. Documents: Linking back to finances and the go bag. What are your important documents? Where are they? What might you need in a new place and/or to claim asylum? Do you have a passport? Do you have a REALID? Currently you can fly domestically without one, but that could change swiftly. Keep everything together in a fireproof lockbox, until you need to throw it in the go bag. Lots of things to consider, which is why it’s important to think of this stuff ahead of time.

But it’s not all about escaping. Are you in a position you can help folks? Great! Look into mutual aid groups, find out what’s needed and how you can best help people.

So. This lengthy post is all to say the situation is bad, and we need to plan like it’s bad. But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. There’s places to escape, there can be even more with increased effort. We can work together to ensure that people stay safe, while also protesting.

And while I used the word “strong” in the title, it’s more complicated than that. You don’t have to be a bulwark. You don’t have to be stone. You can cry, and you can show weakness. This is stressful.

WHich is why, I want to be clear, this will not resolve in a short period of time. This may take years. The bills are passing incredibly quickly, but the resulting fallout? That’s the unknown variable.

The human body is not built to be stressed for years.

It’s just not.

That means the best way to remain strong against the tide of hate, is to have moments of joy. Watch silly videos, play silly games with friends, create beautiful art! Cry! Express your stress, and sadness. Then hold that ember of anger close to your chest, letting it motivate you, but not letting it take over until the moment is right.

Be prepared, be aware, but do not let the stress overcome you. On top of the multitude of negative physical effects, it can lead to snapping at those you love, or jumping the gun too soon. It leads to bad decisions at times those can be deadly.

But by having those moments of joy, you will survive. You will survive the hatred. Together, with the rest of us.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

also also, saying Hamas stands for Palestinians in any way, like saying that they are freedom fighters fighting against colonization and stuff like that, is equating the Palestinian people with a literal terrorist group

According to polling, most Gazans were against the Oct 7 attack and Palestinians generally show support for the Palestinian Authority taking over governance in Gaza. Hamas only has about a 50% approval rate and polling generally shows a preference for almost any other group to govern Gaza over Hamas. None of this is surprising considering how Hamas governs and how they haven't had an election since 2006 (an election which Hamas barely won btw).

Saying that Hamas represents the Palestinian people in any way is not only false, but also supports the narrative of right wing Israeli political parties that all generally run on a security first platform that relies on a general fear of Palestinian terrorism. The idea that Hamas (a known terrorist group that wants to kill all the Jews) represents the Palestinian people and cause is in support of their campaigns. Which is very dangerous because Bibi recently electing a known terrorist (Itamar Ben Gvir who is a Kahanist) to be the defense minister and has been trying to do some really corrupt things that would give him way too much power and he really needs to get voted out.

Chances are, if you are not Israeli or keeping up with Israeli politics and researching the history, you probably don't have enough information to actually have a stance on what the solution to the conflict is. That is completely ok, but if that is you, please stop acting like you know the answers, you are spreading misinformation.

Here is a link to Standing Together though, this organization is actually doing important work to move towards a peaceful solution and also to support people in Israel and Palestine right now while combatting misinformation in the media. If you share things from them or based on what they say, you will be doing so much less damage than if you try to make your own statement or share screenshots from Twitter.

Edit: I put Yoav Gallant instead of Itamar Ben Gvir the first time. That's my mistake. Ironic that I made it on this post too

As a leftist Jew who believes strongly in the cause of dignity and freedom for the Palestinian people, and that Israel has abused them, I am begging fellow leftists to understand that real life is not a comic book. A government being “the bad guy” in a situation does not automatically make anyone who opposes it “the good guy”.

Hamas denies the Holocaust. Hamas disseminates the Protocols of the Elders of Zion—the conspiracy theory it paints is what they mean by “Zionist”. Hamas forbids foreign aid educators from teaching human rights to Palestinians, and claims that even teaching that the Holocaust happened is a war crime. Hamas has written the aim of annihilating Israel (the country and its people) into its charter—the mass slaughter and violent expulsion of 7 million Jews from the land is written into its laws.

There is no crime any state could ever do that would justify any of that; there is no act of state repression that could ever make it acceptable to side with the organization spreading Nazi pamphlets and Holocaust denial.

Oppose Bibi Netanyahu. Oppose Israel’s far-right, authoritarian government. Oppose Likud’s policies. Oppose its violence against Palestinian civilians. That isn’t antisemitic. But Hamas is—verifiably, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to its core—antisemitic. Its portrayal of Israeli Jews as blood-thirsty, child-killing master manipulators that control international media and finance is antisemitic. Its insistence that Palestinian freedom necessitates the death & expulsion of Jews from the land is antisemitic. Its redefinition of “Zionism” as a pejorative to mean genocidal Jewish/Israeli Supremacy is antisemitic.

Supporting the Palestinian people in their plight is a noble and loving goal; please never stop that. But do not let Hamas co-opt that into excusing or denying their rampant antisemitism and war crimes.

[newagesispage]

                                                                JULY                                   2021

 THE RIB PAGE

 *****

They are still uncovering statues on Easter Island.

*****

Everyone is talking about ‘Exterminate all the Brutes” from Raoul Peck.

*****

Vampire bats, prevalent in Latin America may be on the way to the U.S.

*****

What they call faith, I call strength.

*****

Criss angel will open CABLP, a restaurant in Overton, Nevada. The letters stand for breakfast, lunch and pizza and will include a free meal outreach program to help under privileged and pediatric cancer families.

*****

A fifth ocean in Antartica??** There have also found 4 new ocean species: Apolemia, Tegula Kusairo, Leptarma Biju and Duobrachium Sparksae.

*****

In China they have found a possible new species in a skull that is 140,000 years old.

*****

Why would Jeffrey Toobin be back at CNN?? Surely there are more young deserving talking heads around.

*****

The Keystone pipeline is dead.

*****

5,000 pounds of explosives were discovered in a home in South LA. LAPD seems to have detonated the fireworks in a truck right there in the neighborhood. They were too dangerous to transport but not enough to blow them up??? How stupid are these people??

*****

Days alert : So glad to see Clyde again even if it is only for a moment!! **BTW, I do not understand the Daytime Emmy noms this year as they relate to Days. I really was pulling for Victoria Koneful (Ciara) and she won but George DelHoya (Orpheus), Tamara Braun (Ava) and Cady McClain (Jennifer)??? I was shocked when Cady McClain won. I mean, she was so whiny. I question my own ability to judge a performance. In most categories, the winner was usually the one I thought was the worst option. I was happy for Max Gail and CBS Sunday Morning.  Some performances were sure overlooked. What about James Read (Clyde), Paul Telfer (Xander), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben), Daniel Kerr (Eli) and Lindsay Arnold (Allie) ?? As annoying as the Kristen character is and as long as it took me to get used to Stacy Haiduk in the role, she kicked ass this year. Did they even submit clips?? And,  they are not often on but Tony and Anna forever!!!!!!** And how wonderful is it to see the Dimera boys all together and recounting the whole fam for the votes? **And one more thing, Days was not even nominated for writing while Bold and the Beautiful spends every other show with the Liam character standing in front of the fireplace making excuses for the same shit! Just push repeat, C,mon!!**Philip had a great line for Brady about following Kristen like a zombie.** Dis Eli really say, “Peacock and chill??’ Are these the things they will have to do to do to stay on the air? It took me right out of the show. It was the same day the ads for Days on Peacock started. OMG

*****

Texas Gov. Abbott vetoed a bill that would make it illegal to chain up dogs without water.**ATexas churches have lost their 501(c) (3) status because it actively ‘educates’ its members on electing specific Republican politicians. –Pete West* This should have been happening long ago. Many churches I know of do this and should not be allowed to have it both ways. #tax the church

*****

Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd, James Caan, French Stewart and Ann-Margaret in Queen Bees and directed by Michael Lembeck?? Yes please!!

*****

NY has suspended Giuliani’s law license.

*****

Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail is coming to TBS, this will be season 3 in the series.

*****

What is this about Bowen Yang?? A podcast about a sperm bank heist?? Yeow!!

*****

David Geffen has given $150,000,000 to Yale drama school: Every student will be tuition- free in perpetuity.

*****

Allison Mack was sentenced to 3 years.

*****

The latest in sexual assault news: James Franco has agreed to 2.2 mil settlement in sexual misconduct case.** Kyle Massey was charged with immoral communication with a minor.**Bill Cosby is out and here are some reactions: A terrible wrong is being righted.: a miscarriage of justice is corrected. I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward.- Phylicia Rashad*I really don’t ever want to hear again as to why many survivors don’t report their rape or assault.- Charlotte Clymer* Women are showing great restraint in not burning everything to the ground right now and I don’t know how they do it.-Jeff Tiedrich

*****

Amazon is making a series of A League of Their Own with Nick Offerman as the coach.

*****

Does anyone else have family members that are rich, transient, know it all snobs??

*****

It looks like New York’s ranked choice voting is leaning toward Eric Adams for Mayor.

*****

Michigan republicans investigating voter fraud found 2 incidents. One is for a lady who voted by mail and then died, the other was confusion over a man who had the same name as his Father. That was it!

*****

Jamie Lee Curtis will get the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Fest in September.

*****

Jerry Seinfeld will star in and direct ‘Unfrosted’ about Pop-Tarts.

*****

Why is Airbnb still listing properties in illegal settlements and outposts in Palestinian occupied territories? –James J. Zogby

*****

Merrick Garland has announced that the Justice department sued Georgia over the voting rights.

*****

The NFL says that it will halt the use of “race norming” which assumed black players started out with lower cognitive functioning in a $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. The practice had made it harder for black players to qualify. –The Associated Press.

*****

Scary Clown 45 ended his ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ blog after 29 days. Word is that he felt he was being mocked in the media.

*****

Religious leadership keeps engaging in partisan politics on behalf of politicians that are particularly unpopular with younger people and they wonder why younger people are disenchanted with the church. – Schooley ** Give young people credit as well for seeing through the hype and lies of these religious hypocrites who use God only as a weapon and a threat. –Larry Charles

*****

Amazon will stop drug testing for employment. Can every other company jump on this bandwagon? Let’s judge employees on the work they give.

*****

The Backstreet Boys and NSync are going to work together??!!

*****

Showtime is bringing back American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal.

*****

If Biden can carry out air strikes without proper authorization, the Senate can raise the minimum wage without the Parliamentarian.  –Alexandra M. Hunt

Reality Winner is out!!

*****

Judy Woodruff has been given the Peabody award for journalistic integrity.

*****

Donald Glover is bringing us Hive. Malia Obama will be a writer.

*****

Nicholas Cage has married Riko Shibata.

*****

Catch and Kill: The podcast tapes, is here on HBO.

*****

Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening will star in Jerry and Marge go large.

*****

Amblin Partners and Netflix are partners.

*****

Fall 2022 will bring the Roybal School of film and television production for underserved communities. They are looking to help 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. Among others, the program was cofounded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling and Eva Longoria.

*****

Will there be a Wedding Crashers2??

*****

The Mysterious Benedict Society stars Tony Hale.** I would love to see he and Danny Pudi in something together.

*****

Actor Stephen Amell from Arrow was removed from a plane after getting into it with his wife.  A source said he was drunk and screaming. An official source said that they removed “an unruly customer.”** Andy Dick was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, allegedly assaulting his partner, Lucas with a metal chair.

*****

So.. Fox news was digitally altering the faces of people they did not care for??? Is there no end to their bullshit????

*****

Mark Ronson is set to marry Grace Gummer.

*****

Crime shows seem to be in the cycle of prisoners and the women who get a thrill from helping them escape.

*****

Wolfgang Van Halen has released a debut album: Mammoth

*****

Everyone seems to love Danny Trejo’s memoir and its honesty.

*****

David Spade will take over as host of Bachelor in Paradise.

*****

I am sickened when I see the first question that pops up on an online search is the net worth of a person. Oh this twisted world.

*****

Life is a short pause between 2 great mysteries. –Jung

*****

Prince Harry and Meghan had a daughter that they named Lilibet ‘Lili” Diana.

*****

Michael Flynn’s brother Charles (who withheld help from the capitol on Jan. 6), leads the U.S. Army Pacific and commands 90,000 troops.

*****

I am so excited to read ‘The Boys’ from Clint and Ron Howard, due out in October.

*****

Dave Chappelle closed out the Tribeca film fest with a surprise concert. This was the first in person film fest since Covid. Look for This time, this place which premiered there.

*****

Ron Wood will release the album Mr. Luck: A tribute to Jimmy Reed on Sept. 3

*****

Howard Stern signed a new $500 mil contract with Sirius XM. He is taking the whole summer off and many fans say they will cancel their subscription because they don’t want to pay for a summer of reruns.

*****

Acorn will bring Jane Seymour back to a series. Seymour will be co -executive produce on Harry Wild. Her character will be a retired University professor who loves her whiskey and solves crimes.

*****

Annie Murphy  stasr in ‘Kevin can f*** himself about a sitcom wife which airs on AMC.

*****

I still do not understand why Rep. Mike Nearman hasn’t been arrested for letting insurrectionists into the Capitol.

*****

There is a wing shortage??

*****

The Pulitzer prizes have been announced. The list includes Ben Faub, Barry Blitt, Katori Hall, Emilio Morenatti, AP photographers Marcio Jose Sanchez, Alex Brandon, David Goldman, Julio Cortez, John Minchillo, Frank Franklin II, Ringo H.W. Chiu, Evan Vucci, Mike Stewart and Noah Berger. There was a special citation for Darnella Frazier who filmed the death of George Floyd.

*****

Conan’s last TBS guests were Martin Short, Jack Black, Bill Hader, Mila Kunis, Dana Carvey, Patton Oswalt and JB Smoove. There were some surprises.  The big musical number never happened when Jack Black hurt himself. It was all funny and sweet but Conan never mentioned the band in the last show WTF????????????????????????????????????????? Music is so important to him and he does not thank the band? ** Colbert and Brian Stack gave Conan a cute send after4, 368 shows on CBS calling him a ‘Slenderman Ron Weasly’.  Kimmel wished Conn well also.** Hope his HBO MAX variety show goes well.** BTW, the Duvall interview with Colbert was great to see but why does nobody ever mention ‘Get Low?’ What a performance!!

*****

Tattoos are on the rise.

*****

Fast food drive thru’s sometime close with fake excuses like the equipment is down or something because they don’t feel like working. Good people can’t find work and so many waste the opportunities they have. AAAAGHH!!

*****

Valerie Bertinelli and Demi Lovato will star in ‘Hungry’ on NBC.

*****

Hulu will bring us David E. Kelley’s Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall, Bobby Cannavale and Melissa McCarthy.

*****

R.I.P. Gavin Macleod, Frank Bonner, Joy Vogelsang, Benigno Aquino, Champ Biden, victims of the Miami building collapse, Robert Sacchi, Stuart Damon, Johnny Solinger  and Clarence Williams III.

[diamondorloj]

do you know any neutral post that sums up the Israeli–Palestinian conflict because I don't know what to think. I don't want to dislike jews or Israel but it all sounds so bad? Send help

Hi! I super appreciate you asking because I know exactly how hard it is to even find one reliable source.

Of course it all sounds super bad, because Hamas is a well-oiled and functioning propaganda machine with a lot of money and children and parents willing to throw themselves in front of the camera to make Israel bad, and for some reason their pictures are always what get picked up by the media. Plus, there are super loud antisemitic voices everywhere chanting against Israel at every mention. And the BDS is lobbying pretty hard too, so it's very hard to not find a super negative picture.

It's a super tricky conflict. I'm not saying everything went well and Israel is a country with a pristine history. But here's some points to consider that are usually the biggest issues in any ''''controversy'''' around Israel- Jewish people have always lived and practiced Judaism for over 5000 years in Israel. They have been victims of pogroms and hatred and chased in the desert, but they have literally always been there and to say that Israel was a state installed by foreigners for foreigners coming to these lands is a blatant lie.

There are countries with way more questionable borders in existence, yet Israel is the only country to continuously has to defend its very existence.

The United Nations have two organisations for refugees. One is the UNHCR which deals with refugee questions for all over the world, except for one group. And the other is the UNRWA which is an organisation only for the Palestine/Gaza refugees. The differences between these organisations are more than in structure and beaurucracy, they have two different tasks: UNHCR aims to give refugees a home, UNRWA doesn't. When in 1951 the director of UNRWA proposed to give 250.000 refugees a home in different arabic countries, these governments were angry and strictly refused, leading to the director John Blanford to lose his job. Since then, no further attempts have been made.

Furthermore, the UNHCR only defines refugees as people who have actually fled from their homes. Meanwhile, the UNRWA broadens that definition to "people who lost their homes in 1948 and their descendants".

- Israel is the only country that won all their wars for their survival and in self-defense yet had to have the coniditions for peace dictated by the defeated enemies. Even more paradox, this was supported by countries which all defined their borders after winning wars over these territories -- like, look at an old map of Europe and you will see what I mean. Btw Europe, Germany and Poland drew their finite borders in 1990 but I guess Israel is the only ''''artificial'''' state

- One of Hamas' conditions was that no jewish people were allowed to live in Gaza, so for the first time in centuries if not more, there are no Jewish people living in Gaza. Weirdly, it doesn't seem enough because these people are still living somewhere else and not all dead, I guess.

- Hamas literally uses children and families as a shield, regularly raises palestine flags with swastikas and calls protests of throwing rocks, burning tires and attacking soldiers 'peaceful'. It's a terrorist organisation and literally has the destruction of Israel as a defining goal, yet we always expect Israel to work with them. Hamas wants to build a state based on ethnic purity and cleansing of the territory, but somehow everyone thinks it's okay.

- By the way, when the two state solution was on the table, it was refused because they didn't want Israel to even have a bit of Jerusalem, the capital city with which the jewish people has been connected for over 3000 years. Even weirder, this connection is widely known (famously written into the most read world book in the world, the Bible) and yet every country refuses to acknowledge it as the official capital city because they're afraid that terrorists will riot

- Israel is the only country which is continuously attacked by three organisations in the UN which only exist to represent the Palestine agenda and to defame Israel (they're three comitees and I can't remember their exact names even in German, but they're about realising Palestinian rights, researching the Israeli actions in regard to palestinian rights and there's something in the UN-department for politic agendas or somth)

- Every year. Every year, Israel is targeted by more UN-resolutions than all of the other 192 member countries together. No-one can tell me that this number is justifiable in the least, but it is a reality and it paints the picture of Israel in the media.

- Israel is also the only country in the UN that continuously has to defend its existence against other UN-members and that suffers threats from other members all the damn time. And not just any threats, Iran for example continuously threatens to wipe out Israel and supports Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both of which are terrorist organisations with the goal of destroying Israel. And destroying Israel means killing all their Jewish citizens.

And we continuously forget that Israel is the only liberal democracy in that area, they're currently conducting investigations into Netanyahu and his regime and it's a country with a rich and vivid discourse nature. They just refuse to let their existence be up to debate, and frankly, neither should any of us.

So, does this mean no-one is allowed to criticise Israel? Absolutely not. It is a functioning democracy and like any country, it is not a moral entity and there is a lot of room for debate. But when looking into the arguments, you should keep in mind that there's a lot of antisemitism hidden as 'Israel critic' when it's just the same old shit. There's a test called "the 3 Ds" (in German) that can function as a broad test to see if you're reading legitimate critics or antisemitic shit:

- Demonisation (are they demonising Israel, for example by comparing Israel to the Nazis or the palestine refugee camp with Auschwitz)

- Double standards (are they criticising Israel for a behaviour or an act that they ignore or belittle when it's different state, for example how is it that Israel suffers resolutions for hurting human rights but China, Iran, Kuba and Syria don't)

- Delegitimisation (when they're arguing against Israel to exist; it's also a double standard bc it's refusing to allow Jewish people to have a state in which they can live a safe life)

I realise this won't directly answer your question and I easily get side tracked, but I feel like knowing about these difficulties and critically reading your sources will help you more than just drawing a timeline of events. Because there's a lot of anti-Israel propaganda even on Wikipedia, on seemingly normal internet platforms and even our big Western media liberally use Hamas material while refusing to show the Nazi swastikas blowing on burning kites they shoot over to Israel ground. And it's hard to be neutral about this topic, because it is a democracy which is never flawless against a terrorist organisation which demonstrates great finesse in painting the picture the way they want it. I don't think we should all be neutral about it. I am firmly pro Israel because I need my Jewish friends who are currently worrying about anti-judaic sentiments on the uprise everywhere in Europe to have a safe haven. I am pro Israel because it is a country with huge efforts and contributions to our world and advancing medicines etc every day. It's a LGBTQ friendly country (contrary to Hamas policy in which gay sex means 10 years of prison). It is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East and deserves our support more than a terrorist organisation using their children as human shields. Yknow. Maybe that's not actually a topic to be neutral about.

[redvalravn]

Lisamouthfilter.exe has failed to install

Mom: isn’t it amazing your cousins both have brown eyes and their baby has blue eyes? Me: that’s called recessive genes Mom: you used to have blue eyes like your cousin Me: and then they turned green, and my hair turned darker and you were upset Mom: what can I say I like what I like. I have preferences that doesn’t make me prejudiced Me: you are prejudiced. You make racist comments. Mom: I am not racist. It’s not like I’m a member of the kkk or anything Me: you don’t have to be a member of the kkk to be racist. Mom: that’s not true, I think it’s someone’s actions that make them racist Me: that’s not what racism is Mom: look I just think that statistically minorities commit more crimes Me: that’s generalizing, that’s racism Alex: well like think of it this way, if me and a person from the Dominican Republic apply for the same stockroom job, the guy doesn’t speak much English, we have the same qualifications though, but I’d still get the job Mom: because he doesn’t speak English Alex: but it’s a stockroom job, English isn’t required. Mom: it’s a matter of being educated. Yeah minorities have a harder time but they can rise above their circumstances. I have a black kid on my bus who is very nice, very smart. Alex: but black people and other minorities have a history of generations of shit like redlining and being passed over for jobs for white people Mom: so they have obstacles but it’s totally possible to rise above that Me: do you drive mostly black kids or mostly white kids Mom: white kids Me: because you live in CT, a rich state and it’s so much harder for a minority to live here as opposed to white people Mom: look okay I just don’t think it’s a mindset that makes you racist. Listen we got a nice brand new bus, very nice bus. There’s another black kid on my bus that cut up the back of a seat, and when we asked him why he did it he was like I dno... Me: why are you holding the actions of one kid to his entire race? Have you seen white kids get in trouble? Mom: of course Me: then see you’re basing your opinions of an entire race around 2 individuals. That’s what racism is Mom: don’t you want to live in an Area with more educated people and people like yourself? Me: no I don’t give a crap if people of other races live around me. Alex: you say this, yet we live in Boston, which is still very white and segregated Me: true Mom: Boston is still segregated? Alex: yes it is. Very much so. Mom: but Boston is a liberal city Me: that doesn’t mean anything, you can be liberal and still be racist. Alex: gran torino was an excuse for Clint Eastwood to be an old racist grandpa. Mom: what? But that was such a good and heart-wrenching movie. Me: I’ve never seen Gran Torino Alex: Clint Eastwood spent most of the movie calling the Asian family next door various racial epithets. the plot of the movie is that this poor Asian kid gets forced by a gang to steal Clint’s car. Clint goes all ptsd on him pulling out his old rifle and chances him. Clint then grudgingly tales the kid under his wing while continuing to insult him at every turn. After the gang rapes the kids sister. Clint decides to get rid of them by ticking them into murdering him because the only reason police would put a gang away is they killed a white person. Mom: but that doesn’t make Clint Eastwood a racist. Hollywood tends to be full of liberal people Alex: Mel Gibson is part of Hollywood and he’s still an asshole Mom: oh well Mel Gibson is the worst don’t get me started on Mel Gibson Me: well yes see mel Gibson is an actor and he’s still an anti-Semite, because he made anti-Semitic remarks Mom: I dno. I don’t have all the answers. Speaking of which what do you guys think about trump naming jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Me: I think it’s a move to please his base that think that it will encourage the rapture and the onset of the apocalypse Mom: The UN is anti Israel and keeps attacking them. Israel is trying to the right thing but no matter what they do they are attacked for it. Alex: the Israelis are more trying to appear to do the right thing while doing nothing. I think the UN picks on them because they are a democracy and there for can be influenced unlike say Saudi Arabia Mom: look jews were killed during the holocaust Me: what does that have to do with anything? Alex: see this is what I hate about people arguing about Israel is that someone brings up the holocaust when it’s completely irrelevant to what’s happening now. Mom: Well the Israelis are not murdering families while they sleep and stabbing people. Alex: that’s a minority of Arabs that do such things and there are conservative israelis that have attacked Palestinian settlements. Also the Israelis have killed far more Arabs than the other way around. It’s like a child fighting an adult. Until Israel shows restraint this will continue. Me: I’ve been to Hebron, in the area where it’s mostly Arab and the area where it’s mostly Israeli. The Arab area is full of soldiers on duty with guns. Mom: aren’t there soldiers everywhere in Israel? Me: yes, because everyone is required to serve in the military, but I’m saying that in areas that have more Jewish people it doesn’t feel like a police state Mom: Well I just see all these videos that Palestinians put out that they teach their kids to hate Israel and their government pays stipends to the families of suicide bombers. Did you go to the golan heights? Me: yes Mom: did you know that the people on the other side used to shoot Israelis from across the border Me: yeah because they felt like their land was being stolen, which it was Mom: My cousin Avi who is in the Israeli defense force says they show restraint when they can and they even warn Arab people by dropping leaflets that they’re going to attack the area Me: yeah for all the good that does Alex: *laughs* but they still destroy the area. The problem I also have with that is that a lot of them dont have the means to get out. They also don’t say when they’re going to attack so people will try to get out at the wrong time and they end up being caught in the attack and they die anyway. Mom: Well it’s just that what your cousin said...btw I read that Palestinians use their children as human shields and then make videos that say they killed our children to foster hate. Me:...are you saying that they deliberately herd their children into the line of fire for the express purpose of being able to say look they killed our children? Mom: look I’m just saying that I believe what [some woman I don’t remember] says that there will be peace in the Middle East when Arabs love their children more than they hate Israel (She kept talking but at this point I got up to go to the bathroom and because I needed a minute) Mom: what did your tour guides have to say about this Me: I felt like we were being fed a lot of propaganda Mom: look any group of people will say what they need to say to survive, it’s only natural that they would put out propaganda. Me: of course they would only say good things because they want us to move there. Alex: yeah that’s the whole point to increase the Jewish population in the area by getting more Jews to move there Me: yeah it’s so they can increase the percentage of Jews and decrease the percentage of Arabs living there Mom: well the Arabs do a good job of killing themselves off don’t they? Alex: ...what the fuck?? Me: see THAT was a racist comment. Also you keep saying Palestinians plural, like it’s the entire group, when really it’s only a few Arabs that do this. Mom: well the Palestinians... Me: see you keep doing it. Mom: I mean the few Palestinians that stab people and suicide bomb Jewish areas Me: then say that. Say “the ones that do these things” because it’s more accurate Mom: okay fine Alex: also, there are a few Jewish extremists that attack Arabs Mom: no. There are Jewish people that stab Arabs? Alex: no, they shoot them. Mom: you’ve read this? Alex: yes, I’ve read this. Again, it is only a small portion of Jewish people that do it, just like it’s a small portion of Arabs that stab people and suicide bomb people Mom: okay fine, I get that they feel like second class citizens but I just see all these articles about the UN being unfair and your cousin Avi posts these articles on Facebook about Arabs stabbing families and how hamas pays stipends to the families of suicide bombers Me: that’s your problem, reading articles on Facebook. You’re supposed to google these things and fact check them *mimes typing* gee maybe the UN has reasons for condemning israel Alex: because Israel has done shitty things Mom: they’re trying to survive while all the countries around them think they don’t have a right to exist Alex: yes, the most extreme hardliners think they don’t have a right to exist. A lot of Arabs living there just don’t want to be treated like second class citizens and resent the fact that they don’t have a voice in the Israeli government that’s very conservative right now. I guarantee you that if Netanyahu were to stop acting like they’re in a constant state of war with these people then he would lose a lot of power. Mom: but a lot of Arabs kill each other like saddam Hussein, colonel gaddafi Alex: Hussein killed a select subgroup of Arabs yes. But you seem to be naming Arabs who the US has backed that killed other Arabs Mom: what? Alex: yeah, we’re the problem Mom: okay fine I’ll try to read more about this it’s just it takes so much time to look up all this stuff This is all paraphrasing and the order of which topics were talked about may be inaccurate because this happened last night and both our memories are fuzzy but the main ideas were definitely said.

[evilelitest2]

100 Days of Trump Day 50: The Wire

Welcome back to 100 Days of Trump where we understand WTF happened in 2016 through 100 recommendations and....we did.  We survived 50 days of Trump, the nation is still alive, and Trump has...accomplished very little actually.  Turns out being in Power and using power are very different things.  And Speaking of systemic institutional problems that leads to through the corruption of the American dream and those in power being too ineffective to actually take advantage of their power, lets talk about the Wire, the best thing on TV you’ve never heard.    And when it comes to this project I’m doing, if I had to boil this project down to only a few works, it would be Assassins, Veronica Mars, The Wire, Marat/Sade, I Claudius, Chinatown, Breaking Bad, Yes Prime Minister and M, that more than anything else sums up WTF happened in 2016.  And the Wire is very close in theme to Veronica Mars to the type of system that already existed in America that make the election of Donald Trump possible, the Game is the Game.

    Actually can we just take a moment and acknowledge something, in a world where everybody is like “OMG, you can’t have minorities on TV or the audience won’t sympathize with them, its somehow impossible” this show is gigantic and 80% of the cast is black.  Because it is set in Baltimore, a predominantly black city.   And this is a show made by a white Jew, so its not like it is fucking impossible for people to do this, this show is living proof that a mostly black cast is not impossible to manage.  But lets be honest here, almost everybody here knows of the wire, but doesn’t know anything about The Wire other than “its the smart depressing show that nobody watches” so shut the fuck up, sit down, and prepare to learn.   The Wire is a show that is very good at teaching you.  And if you want to know why this show is awesome, let the show teach you hear.

     So what is The Wire about other than drugdealers learning chess?  Well basically it is about how the Drug Trade works in Baltimore, one of the poorest cities in America, formerly an industrial trading port but after the Reagan, Bush and Clinton, all of the jobs have been lost (Thanks Free Trade), all of the social programs have been gutted (Thanks Tax Cuts) the education program has been utterly destroyed (Thanks Military Industrial Complex), the city is decaying (Thanks States Rights), and there is pretty much nothing being done about it (Thanks money in Politics).  Stop me if this all sounds familiar?  So with the increased poverty, lack of opportunity, and incredible corruption, what happens in Baltimore?  Oh right, it becomes one of the drug capitals of the US, because the Drug market is one of the only places where you can actually make money in this town.  And since it is the only game in town, everybody gravitates towards the drug market.  Which leads to the police becoming increasingly militant in response, which leads to the Drug Dealers becoming more violent and the cycle continues.  Trump’s campaign in many ways was predicated on the notion that the American dream had failed, and while his reasoning and solution were wrong (Cause Trump is a Liar) that basic statement was correct, the American Dream has failed, in many ways because the individual isn’t valued. 

   The Wire isn’t about individuals being awful (though there is plenty of that) its about the system, the institution itself being broken and how it is extremely difficult to fix it, particularly when you have selfish motivations.  Blaming any problem on one person or single bad policy just doesn’t work, because with the exception of Ted Cruz, no human being is that malicious, its a system.  This is what people mean when they systemic problems.  And America since 1980 (arguably 1978) has been basically neglecting all of our fundamental underlying problems and pretending they don’t exist, just kinda staring off in the distance going “This isn’t an issue”.  The collapse of our Education Sytem, Wealth Inequality, Stagnant Wages, the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Money in Politics, Environmental Damage, Lowering of the Standard of Living, the Rich Being Held to a difference standard than the Poor, the Prison Industrial Complex, Police Brutality, Alliance with Saudi Arabia, Lack of Social Services, unrestrained Wall Street Greed and of course political ineptitude, we have spent the last 40 years pretending these aren’t problems and just ignoring them, kicking the can down the road.  Well 2016 is when we ran into a fucking roadblock of cans we’ve kicked down the road and smashed right into it.  And when you push things so far, it makes Reform that much harder.  

  Remember, alot of the shit in the Show was put in place by the Clinton Era, Reagan and Bush bear most of the blame, but Clinton Passed NAFTA and his Neoliberal policies that helped destroy the working class economy, and not just for whites, and he allowed far more power to the wealthy in goverment.  And while these problems got worse and worse, the entire Democratic Party Leadership were just walking around pretending there wasn’t any problem, and happily talking about how great TPP was going to be and how wonderful Free Trade is, and really we need to move past that hating Wall Street Business.  And for years it looked like the election was going to be Hillary Clinton vs. Jeb Bush after the dismal Obama/Romney face off and the American people went a little crazy.  And since there wasn’t any democrat talking about system problems after Sanders lost, all these working class people made a deal with the Devil to try to fix the country, or at least fuck over the people who made it possible.  It won’t help, it will make actually make things worse, but its what happens when you leave people out there to die. 

      If you want to know the motto of so many Rust Belt Voters who stayed home, its here (Spoilers for Season 2 BTW) 

There is something deeply wrong with this country and on a much bigger level, and to solve them you need broader long term thinking than our leadership seems capable of displaying.  And there is a total lack of long term thinking on the part of pretty much everybody involved.  Take the War on Drugs for example...how does that end?  Like wars are suppose to end right?  Are we going to kill the king of drugs and have all Cocaine in the world magically vanish?  What is the end goal?  There isn’t any, not out of any malice or ideological reason (ok some but not primarily) but because it continues due to inertia, it keeps going mostly because it is harder to stop something than to keep it going.  But what the show does well is tie this to individual humanity, and how you need to understand people in order to understand these problems.  And that when people get part of a system, they become very resistant to fixing it, which we see on display with Police Brutality.  

   The show isn’t perfect (it has issues with female characters) but the Wire alongside Veronica Mars truly  Trump didn’t come out of a vacuum, he emerged as a part of a larger problem, and if we had fixed any of our problems before this shit happened Trump running for president would still be a fucking Simpsons joke.  Instead, President Trump has happened and America’s problems continue to get worse.  Refusal to to acknowledge the problems of America just makes them worse and makes fixing them that much harder.  2016 was the year the mask came off and every terrible truth of American politics came out into the open.  

for those who have seen the Wire, check this out and this cause spoilers.  

[firedupreadytogousa-blog]

Day 9 (1/28): Temporary Ban for Muslim Countries Leaves Out Main Countries of Previous US Terror Attacks (Which Trump Happens To Have Business Ties To)

Featuring: -Yesterday, In Trumpland- The Resistance Report- Weekend Actions-

-YESTERDAY, IN TRUMPLAND-

RED ALERT! The Trump administration has demanded that all ads for Obamacare be canceled! That is $5 million of already paid ads just going down the drain. And you know how many procrastinators sign up late. There is always a surge in signups the last few days, so essentially the GOP are being assholes. You have until JAN 31st to sign up on healthcare.gov. So do so NOW!

 Also, Trump signed 2 executive orders yesterday because of course he did:

 - #1 “Extreme Vetting” (No One Knows What That Means Exactly)

Officially dubbed, “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals,” the order includes a temporary 120-day ban on refugees and visas of immigrants from 7 Muslim countries, excluding the ones that he has business interests in because remember he DID NOT divest anything and is STILL PROFITING FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. Where the hell are all these people with these lawsuits!). Ironically enough, the Cato Institute reported that of the terror attacks that have happened, “Foreign nationals from those seven countries have killed a grand total of 0, yes 0, Americans.” In fact, “Terrorism by Muslims makes up one-third of 1 percent of all murders in the US.” Forget the fact that banning refugees from entering this country goes against all American Values, even if he thought he had cause, Trump didn’t even pick the right ones! Some of the countries on the list are known terrorist “hot spots,” but they haven’t committed acts of terror in the US. Vox helps us Break it down:  

San Bernadino shooting that killed 14 people= US Born Pakistani and US legalized citizen of Pakistani descent 

The Orlando nightclub shooter who murdered 49 people= US Born citizen of Afghan descent

The Boston marathon bombers=  Kyrgyzstan, grew up in Boston

The militant who killed four Marines in TN= Kuwaiti Born US Citizen his parents being Jordanian and Palestinian

The attempted Times Square bomber= Pakistani-American

The infamous “underwear bomber”= Nigerian

The man who attempted to blow up a plane with explosives in his shoes= UK born, his mother was white, and his father was mixed race Jamaican

The man who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009= born in Virginia to Palestinian parents

The 9/11 Hijackers= 15 Saudi Arabians, 2 From the UAE, 1from  Lebanon, and 1 from Egypt

Osama Bin Laden was from Saudi Arabia and his top dogs were all from Egypt

NONE of those countries are on this banned list! NOT A SINGLE ONE! And if anything this shows that people who would carry out an attack in the US are already here and are probably citizens.

Not to say that some countries on the list, like Iran, don’t make sense, but these countries are more likely to train other countries such as Yemen and Lebanon, to take out attacks against other Arabs, which is why those citizens are trying to escape the middle east in the first place. There was an incident this year when a Somali immigrant injured 10 people in Minnesota (But In NYC the American Subway slashers injured 11). 

The order did say that the ban would be lifted only for those escaping religious persecution, meaning Christians Only. I wonder what the Pope has to say about this... But, with what the data show, (which i know a lot of people are allergic to facts these days) this is certainly not a serious counter terrorist move and if anything probably leaves us more vulnerable. But still, the likelihood of a US citizen being killed in an attack by an immigrant is 1 in 3.6 million. If you have a republican senator or representative, make them tell you where they stand and come with the facts! This is one of the most Un-American orders put forth thus far, and it’s only week 1.

Whether you are a republican or a democrat, we should all agree that this is NOT the right move!

 - #2 “Military Preparedness” If he keeps this up we might actually need this one.

This one seemed more symbolic than anything else, but the President wants to add $300 billion dollars on top of the $584 billion dollars already budgeted to go towards building up the army for new planes, ships, tools and resources including upping the number of active duty troops by approximately 161,000. Sounds like a primer for war time type activities. So you’re probably wondering if this is a lot of money or what? Well we can tell you how much of our discretionary spending budget is spent on the military because unlike Spicer, we have charts… with actual facts:

NATIONAL DISASTERS. ACTUALLY SAD :(

Leaks Are popping up everywhere, and now they’ve extended to Iowa in probably the worst way possible. Less than 24hrs after Trump beamed about getting DAPL and Keystone XL pipelines moving again, IOWA suffered the worst pipeline leak it’s had in 16 years. You think folks might have changed their tune on these pipelines by now? Ugh, don’t hold your breath.

But hopefully IOWA can get some support because Trump still has not issued any Federal funds to help the Red States of Mississippi and Georgia recover from the deadly tornadoes that destroyed hundreds of homes. It’s been days, and still no response from FEMA. Must be because these Governors are not on Trump’s hit list for revenge; No time, gotta get that wall going you know? Thank goodness for Anheuser-Busch InBev for donating water to these poor people. Our thoughts are with them.

 MORE ON IMMIGRATION

- Miami-Dade county’s mayor has lost his damn mind announced they would not be joining the sanctuary cities club and ordered his officials to fully cooperate with Trump. The mayor says he “never considered [Miami] a sanctuary city” despite the fact that they have the 2nd highest number of immigrants in the US. Hmmm… I smell $$$$$. And this is why I never go to Miami. I’d rather take my talents to Los Angeles. Now he also has people outside his office protesting. Viva La Resistance and good luck to that guy.

- Trump and Steven ‘alt-right’ Bannon are putting forward an order for the Secretary of Homeland Security to post a weekly report of every crime that is committed by an immigrant in cities that don’t comply with the Furher. This is SO beyond dangerous; this is what the Nazi’s did to the Jews back in… well you don’t need me to explain. Breitbart tried to do this with the BLM movement, so you know this was all Steve Bannon’s idea. SOOO glad that guy is there pulling the puppet-in-chief’s stings. Chills, literal chills. I know, but her emails though!

- So it looks like Propaganda Today FOX News finally has a legitimate story to run ad nauseam *eye roll.* The official economic performance report came out today, and while it showed the US economy grew by 1.6% in 2016, it’s still chugging along at a very slow pace compared to where we’ve been. In fact, it’s the lowest growth rate we’ve reported since 2011. Of course this is all Obama’s fault, right? Not like we’re still coming back from that one time when we had The Great Recession or anything. Some of you may ask, how can this be? Hasn’t unemployment dropped from 10% in 2009 to 4.7%? Well the economic growth rate is largely measured by the rate of productivity coming out of our country vs the imports coming in. So what this report tells us is that we produced cars, gidgets, and widgets at a slower rate than we have in the past 5 years compared the the amount of imports that have come in. This was one key reason a lot of Trump Supporters voted for him in the first place and why he’s doing things like meeting with major business leaders, and trying to figure out how to keep manufacturing jobs in the US. But he’s made a lofty goal of doubling the estimated economic growth rate from 2% to 4%, which is YUGE! However, trying to summon the second coming of the industrial revolution is not going to be enough to do it. He also is looking to rewrite the tax code to give big business a large tax break and roll back regulations (like the pipelines and other environmentally hazardous practices) to get the economy moving faster. So TBD on this one Donny. I guess we’ll see how great of a businessman he actually is.

- Trump also met with the Brexit Prime Minister… But really nothing interesting happened other than him refusing to answer a legitimate question. It was basically Trump saying, “We’re Isolationists and xenophobic, you’re isolationists and xenophobic. We should get along GREATLY.” She did use this time to express to Donald that NATO is uber important. Never thought I’d say it, but Thank God He Picked Mattis.

Today Donny will talk to his BFF Putin, I’m sure to thank him for the assist. Unclear if he’s taking this one from his personal Android phone (btw he would be an Android user). or his actual secure phone. TBD on what happens there.

 - RESISTANCE REPORT-

- All Senate Dems officially confirm they will vote NO to DeVos! Yes! Now we have to flip the republicans!

- Luckily, This site will allow you to send faxes to every Senator’s office from your phone or computer for free! People are just brilliant! Send one Today, and everyday!

- The Resistance is on the Cover of TIME! Time Magazine has put the Pussy Hat, the symbolic symbol of The Resistance, on the cover of its latest issue and reminds the world that the majority of Americans will always fight for America’s virtues and values no matter who is in charge! YES! Rise Up & Resist!

- If you haven’t seen it yet, somebody bought alternativefacts.com… I won’t spoil the surprise, but this person, whoever he/she may be, is a genius!

- And now there’s a Rogue POTUS staff twitter account! @RoguePOTUSStaff. Let Freedom TWEET! Maybe they are the ones that gave us this Audio leak of the GOP admitting they have no replacement that could work for the ACA.

- The Calls are working! On Weds, the Government backed off on the plan to have the EPA scrub all climate pages from it’s website. Keep Pushing! Keep calling, faxing, emailing. This is a democracy, these people work for us!

- #AdiosStarbucks is trending in Mexico, because face it, they are pissed. I don’t blame them. They are attempting to hurt US businesses located in Mexico by instituting a nationwide boycott. However, this might not go very far. One time my mom tried to boycott things made in China... she lasted 1.5 days...

- This is one geneticist that has had enough. He’s so fed up, he is making a run for the Senate for 2018! I haven’t read up on him yet, but go Michael Eisen for feeling inspired to run for office! 

-ACTIONS- JOIN THE RESISTANCE!

ACTIONS FOR THE WEEKEND

 - Sunday Join MoveOn.Org’s conference call for planning this upcoming #ResistTrumpTuesday at 8pm est. Last call had 15,000 people on it and there were 60,000 on their first call. Last week’s conference call inspired me to get involved in the 2018 Midterm election efforts to Flip Red Seats Blue! So TBD on that front.

- A fellow Blogger posted an awesome guide entitled “Shy Person’s Guide to Calling Representatives.” Because introverts are resisters too! I know a lot of people are like what?! Call someone… like on the phone… and speak to an actual human? Can’t we just text? NOPE, our government does not text… I mean they still use fax machines and this site will allow you to send faxes to every Senator’s office from your phone or computer for free. But it is not as effective as a call. But this guide will help take a lot of the anxiety out of it! With so many issues at hand, there are plenty of calls to make!

 - I will be researching effective ways to help folks obtain Government issued state ID cards in All Red States. If the GOP votes to enact unconstitutional voter ID laws, we will be ready to mobilize thousands in the Resistance network to make sure people can enact their constitutional right! If you have ideas, let me know.

Well that’s the first week of this circus… whooo I am freaking exhausted and mentally drained. But it’s important now more than ever to remember to take care of yourself. Turn the news off, watch some garbage/ mindless TV, go to the gym, SHOWER. This post does a great job of reminding you how to balance outrage and not lose your mind.

 UPCOMING DEMONSTRATIONS & TRAININGS- Join Events by clicking on links

1/29 (SUN) 8pm est- Moveon.org Conference Call for Tuesday action at our Senators’ offices

NYC

1/30 (MON) 7pm- Marshall Training for Protesters. 208 W 13th Street

1/30 (MON) 4:15pm- Stop DeVos (and Other unsavory picks)- 780 3rd Ave

1/31 (TUE) 6pm- What The F*^k Chuck Rally- Grand Army Plaza in BK

1/31 (TUE) 6pm-8pm Women’s March: Write In and Postcard mailing, Dream Baby downtown

1/31 (TUE) 7pm-8:30pm Rise & Resist Meeting 208 W 13th Street

2/2 (THU) 12pm-2pm- Rally. Resist Trump’s Environmental Agenda, 780 3rd Ave

2/23 (THU) 7pm- Organizing 101 (Don’t Panic, Organize)

4/15 (SAT) 1-4pm: Tax March NYC, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza)

 Washington DC

1/29 (SUN) 10am: Oppose Betsy DeVos! Columbus Circle, Washington DC

4/15 (SAT): Tax Day Rally to demand Trump turn over his Taxes. Everywhere. Link will show you where your local march is

4/29 (SUN): People’s Climate March

5/6 (SAT) 10am-5pm: The Immigrant’s March on Washington

6/11 (SUN) 10am-6pm: National Pride March