Friday, March 08, 2024

THE HUMANIST, State of the Union, FEUD: CAPOTE VS THE SWANS

First up, here's THE HUMANIST on the hate merchants.



The hateful liars need to be tossed out of polite society and they should be sued every time they call some gay person, transgender person or drag queen a "groomer."  It's a lie.  It's a libel and they need to be sued.


Please read Kat's "I've had it with BLACK POWER MEDIA and its attack on African-American" and her "Who's the bigger idiot -- Bruce Springsteen or SONY?." and also please read Stan's "Judith Light deserved an Oscar."  I haven't seen DOWN LOW but I'll watch it this weekend (Stan explains it's on NETFLIX). And my friend Beau asked me to note Ava and C.I.'s "TV: ELSBETH."  I haven't seen the show yet but Beau really liked the first episode. 


If you caught the State of the Union Address, you know Joe proposed a port plan.  I'm not impressed with that at all.  Ahead of the speech Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) explained:


   President Joe Biden is expected to announce during his State of the Union address Thursday night that the U.S. military will construct a temporary port on Gaza's coastline to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, a plan that critics said is a far cry from what's needed to end Israel's forced starvation of the enclave's population.

It's expected to take up to two months for large aid packages to begin flowing through the seaport, which a White House official said would be able to "receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters."

"Wouldn't it be easier to demand Israel let in aid right now while Palestinian children are literally being starved to death?" asked Josh Ruebner, an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University and former policy director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. "Waiting 45-60 days to build a temporary pier doesn't help Palestinians starving to death today."

"Besides, how are you going to offload the aid from the pier to the land given that Israel shoots at Palestinian boats all the time?" Ruebner continued. "And even if you get the aid to land, how does it get distributed to those most in need? Maybe you should have thought about that before you cut off aid to UNRWA, the only agency able to distribute aid throughout the Gaza Strip." 


Exactly.  Between Joe's speech and the roundtable for the gina & krista round-robin,  it's been a long night and we're probably all late posting.  But I did want to weigh in on the latest episode of FEUD: CAPOTE VS THE SWANS.

I'm trying.  I'm really trying.  I was so happy last night watching the ending of FEUD: CAPOTE VS THE SWANS.  Babe died.  Truman Capote died.  I was thrilled for it to be over.  But?  It's not.  They're dragging it on for one more episode next week.

This show should have ended on episode three or four.  It did not need eight episodes.  It didn't have enough material for eight episodes.

Catlin e-mailed to say she thought Treat Williams did a great job in the mini-series.  He passed away after filming FEUD.  I haven't mentioned him because I think the character is poorly written -- true of way too many characters here.  That said, Treat delivered as he generally did throughout his life.  He's always been like Barry Bostwick but with substance.

Demi Moore brought real life into her scenes so this dragging on of episodes without her adds to the boredom.  Diane Lane continues to deliver in her role and Molly Ringwald should be Emmy nominated.  She really found that character (Johnny Carson's ex-wife).  If they had tightened this up to three or four episodes, it would have been great.  Instead, they've padded it out and now -- even though Capote and Babe -- the two main characters died last night -- we've got another episode to come?


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, March 7, 2024.  In the US and around the world the outcry for a cease-fire grows louder, starvation grows worse in Gaza as the Israeli government continues to disrupt the flow of aid, and much more.




A protest vote against Joe Biden gained more traction around the country on Super Tuesday as voters in several states sought to send a message to the Democratic president to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Grassroots groups organized quickly after a similar effort in Michigan last week far exceeded its goal of 10,000 votes for “uncommitted” brought in more than 100,000 votes, or 13% of the vote.

A smattering of Super Tuesday states – Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee – had an option on the Democratic ballot where voters could decide not to commit to a specific candidate. These options included “uncommitted”, “noncommitted delegate” and “no preference”.


And, still in the US, Kyle Stokes (AXIOS) notes:

The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved a non-binding resolution Wednesday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.

Why it matters: St. Paul's vote is the latest sign of discontent on the left with the Biden Administration's policy toward the Israel-Hamas war.

The big picture: A growing list of U.S. cities — including Minneapolis — have passed similar resolutions.


Katie Galioto (STAR TRIBUNE) adds, "Dozens of cities in the United States already have passed resolutions calling for a cease-fire, including Minneapolis, Hastings and Columbia Heights. Council President Mitra Jalali characterized the council's vote as a "major departure" from St. Paul's usual approach to international issues."

Dozens of cities -- in fact many more than that -- have also seen protests throughout the US.  Gary Robbins and Caleb Lunetta (SAN DIEGO UNION_TRIBUNE) report:


 In one of the largest demonstrations in campus history, about 2,500 pro-Palestinian protesters marched across UC San Diego Wednesday, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and pressing the student government not to do business with companies they regard as hostile to Palestinians.

The Associated Students board was considering a resolution Wednesday night that would comply with the protesters’ demand.

The disgust mounting is not just in the US.  CNA notes, "China described the war in Gaza as a 'disgrace to civilisation' and called on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire as the conflict stretched into its sixth month despite efforts by mediators to reach a truce."  Raya Jalabi (FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON) reports on Arab reaction:


A recent Arab Opinion Index poll, which involved 8,000 people from 16 countries across the region, showed anger over the Gaza war and America’s response at record highs, with 76 per cent of respondents saying their position towards the US had become “more negative”. The pollsters said the survey showed “the Arab public has lost confidence in the US”. 
Young Arabs have boycotted US brands, including Starbucks and McDonald's, over their alleged support of Israel, scrapped plans to study in the US and turned down jobs at US companies. Anti-US protests have been held, particularly in Yemen and Iraq, where the US has launched strikes against Iran-aligned armed groups.


Daniel Hurst (GUARDIAN) covers another voice dismayed:

Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has criticised the west for its attitude to the situation in Gaza during a speech at the Australian National University in Canberra. He said countries should not apply international law selectively.

“Unfortunately, the gut-wrenching tragedy that continues to unfold in the Gaza Strip has laid bare the self-serving nature of the much-vaunted rules-based order,” Anwar said.

“The differing responses by the west to human suffering defy reasoning.”

Anwar questioned why the west had been “so vociferous, vehement and unequivocal in the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while remaining utterly silent on the relentless blood-letting inflicted on innocent men, women and children of Gaza”.

“Sure, there are exceptions, but they are few and far between,” he said as he delivered the 2024 Gareth Evans Oration, named after a long-serving former foreign minister.



US Senator Bernie Sanders says it is time to tell War Criminal Netanyahu "no."



  Flanked by photos of hungry children and destroyed buildings, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a speech Wednesday that the Biden administration must stop merely asking the Israeli government to halt its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and begin using real leverage to bring about an end to the war and ensure the free flow of aid to the territory's starving population.

"The U.S. government should make it clear that failure to open up access immediately and feed starving people will result in the Netanyahu government not getting another penny of U.S. taxpayer military aid," said Sanders (I-Vt.), who noted that "right now we have the incredible situation where a U.S. ally is using U.S. weapons and equipment to block the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid."

"And if that's not crazy," the senator added, "I don't know what is." 



In this environment, US President Joe Biden prepares to deliver the Statue of the Union Address.  And he doesn't even see what may be coming politically.   The GOP is most likely setting a trap wherein Joe becomes ineffective and unable to lead.  That's how they're going to try to portray him -- and he's helping them out.  His inability to call out the Israeli government has left him wide open to the campaign that they are probably about to run on him.  It's worked on others.  If it works, it will only work because Joe has spent all these months truly doing nothing.  He has created the perception for his political rivals to build upon.  I hope I'm wrong.  And I'm being tentative here because I'm hoping that.  But in the last four hours, FOX "NEWS" has a new headline.  I saw it on Google as I was warming up (I usually exercise while I'm dictating the snapshot).  "That's interesting," I thought, "they haven't headlined that topic since the October 7th attack and suddenly that's their focus."  No, they haven't made that their focus.  But it does fit in with a new attack and, again, one used successfully against a sitting president before.  That Joe and his handlers could allow this possible attack to come about is appalling.  Again, I hope I'm wrong but I think I know the GOP 'response' to tonight's State of the Union Address. If I'm right, the only thing that would save him is to call for an immediate cease-fire.  If they're trying to paint him as ineffective and a dilly-dally, the only path through that is for him to demand a cease-fire in tonight's speech.  And maybe curb John Kirby because if you think about his statements on Tuesday, it's as though he's working to aid the GOP.  
 


Five months after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel, almost half of Gaza’s buildings lie in ruins and at least 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, which, along with aid agencies, is warning that some of the most vulnerable children in the territory have begun to starve to death.

The Israeli military controls swaths of the Gaza Strip, and it has threatened to attack Rafah, a southern city where 1.5 million Palestinians have fled, unless a cease-fire deal is reached by next week. Israel has not achieved its military goals: destroying Hamas in response to its Oct. 7 attacks, which killed 1,200 people, and rescuing the 100-plus remaining hostages taken that day. It is unclear whether either is even possible.

Abroad, the worsening humanitarian tragedy has heaped international pressure on Israel. Even friends such as the U.S., which gives Israel $3 billion in weapons and other military aid every year, have joined the chorus, rhetorically at least, pressuring Israel urgently to allow more aid into the enclave, where Palestinians are huddled in encampments and sleeping on the streets.



 As Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip drain essential supplies, displaced Palestinians told CNN they are struggling to feed their children. Starving mothers are unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed their babies, doctors say. Parents arrive at overwhelmed health facilities begging for infant formula. In northern Gaza, people rush to grab aid from infrequent humanitarian drops. Health workers say they cannot offer life-saving treatment to malnourished Gazans because Israel’s bombardment and siege has crushed the medical system.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said Tuesday that since the beginning of the war, 364 health workers had been killed; 269 medical staff arrested; 155 health facilities “destroyed,” and 155 ambulances “targeted.” CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.     




AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

A U.N. convoy of food trucks trying to bring 200 tons of food into northern Gaza was turned back by the Israeli military today. A convoy of 14 trucks waited for three hours at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint in central Gaza before it was turned away by the Israeli military and later stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who, quote, “looted the food,” according to the World Food Programme. This comes as Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians seeking to get aid in northern Gaza, killing at least 119 people in the most deadly attack February 29th.

Hunger has reached catastrophic levels in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry said today the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 18, adding, quote, “The famine is deepening and will claim thousands of lives if the aggression is not halted and humanitarian and medical aid is not immediately brought in,” unquote. Children, pregnant women, those with chronic illnesses are most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the Israeli bombardment continues, with shelling and airstrikes today in cities across the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah and elsewhere. At least 30,700 Palestinians have been killed, over 72,000 wounded in Gaza over the past five months. Nearly the entire population has been displaced from their homes.

For more, we go to Cairo, Egypt, where we’re joined by Susan Abulhawa, a Palestinian novelist, poet and activist, author of several books, best known for her debut novel, Mornings in Jenin, an international best-seller translated into 32 languages, considered a classic in Palestinian literature. She’s the founder and co-director of Playgrounds for Palestine, a children’s organization, and the executive director of Palestine Writes Literature Festival. She just returned from Gaza after spending two weeks there, is now in Cairo.

Susan, welcome to Democracy Now! If you can talk about what you saw? You have written, “Some are eating stray cats and dogs, which are themselves starving and sometimes feeding on human remains that litter streets where Israeli snipers picked off people who dared to venture within the sight of their scopes. The old and weak have already died of hunger and thirst.” Describe your trip.

SUSAN ABULHAWA: So, that part of the essay is in the northern region, where nobody really is allowed to go. Trying to venture into the north is a suicide mission. There are tanks and snipers positioned, and anyone trying to get there is basically killed. As you just mentioned, aid trucks are not getting in, either. They are intentionally stopped. And it’s an intentional starvation, basically. I was primarily in the south, in Rafah. I was able to go to Khan Younis and to Nuseirat and a few other places in the middle region, but that became increasingly more dangerous.

I want to say that the reality on the ground is infinitely worse than the worst videos and photos that we’re seeing in the West. There is a — you know, beyond people being buried alive en masse in their homes, their bodies being shredded to pieces, these kinds of videos and images that people are seeing — beyond that, there is this daily massive degradation of life. It is a total denigration of a whole society, that was once high-functioning and proud and has basically been reduced to the most primal of ambitions, you know, being able to get enough water for the day or flour to bake bread. And this is even in Rafah.

And the people in Rafah will tell you that they feel privileged because they’re not starving to death, while their families in the north, the ones that they can reach, because Israel has basically cut off 99% of communication — what remains are basically communications by people who have, you know, set up some ingenious ways to keep internet in the north. But most people in the north have no idea what’s happening. As a matter of fact, at one point — I’m sure you all know Bisan Owda, who is on Facebook. She explained to me she often goes up to the border between Khan Younis and the middle area in the north where you can’t go beyond, and she explained to me that an aid truck, that sort of pushed its way through but was eventually fired on, had — people came up and ran up, thinking that the war was over and people were returning to the north. So, most people in the north are in total darkness and hunger and really have no way of communicating, no way of figuring out where to get food.

And, you know, what we’re hearing on the ground is surreal. It’s dystopic. What I witnessed personally in Rafah and in some of the middle areas is incomprehensible. And I will call it a holocaust — and I don’t use that word lightly. But it is absolutely that.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Susan Abulhawa, I want —

SUSAN ABULHAWA: The stories I heard from people are — sorry, go ahead.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, no, Susan, I wanted to ask you — you write in your article, “At some point, the indignity of filth is inescapable. At some point, you just wait for death, even as you also wait for a ceasefire. But people don’t know what they will do after a ceasefire.” Could you talk about that, even if there is a ceasefire —

SUSAN ABULHAWA: Yeah.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: — the level of destruction that the people face now in terms of being able to rebuild their country?

SUSAN ABULHAWA: I mean, that’s how much people have been reduced. I mean, the ceiling of their hope at this point is for the bombs to stop. And, you know, everybody wants to go back. They talk about pitching a tent on their homes and figuring things out. But a lot of people are trying to leave. There is a brain drain, basically. Those who can afford it, those who can raise the money, those who are able to get jobs elsewhere, who have professional skills, are trying to leave. They have children. All the schools have been destroyed. College students have nowhere to go.

You know, what’s happening to people isn’t just this death and dismemberment and hunger. It’s a total denigration of their personhood, of their whole society. There are no universities left. Israel intentionally bombed schools and blew them up, presumably to ensure that rebuilding could not take place, that reestablishing a society cannot take place without the infrastructure of education, of healthcare, and, basically, foundational structures for buildings.

AMY GOODMAN: Susan, I wanted to follow up on what you said about a holocaust. And you also used the term “genocide.” And you say, “Genocide isn’t just mass murder. It is intentional erasure.” Can you take that from there?

SUSAN ABULHAWA: Exactly. I mean, one of the — like I said, one of the things that Israel has been keen to do in Gaza is to erase remnants of people’s lives. So you have, on an individual level, homes, complete with memories and photos and all the things of living. And I’m sure you know Palestinians typically live in multigenerational homes. We’re not a mobile society. And so, these homes have several generations of the same family completely wiped out. On a societal level, you have — Israel has targeted places of worship — mosques, ancient churches, ancient mosques. They have targeted the museums, cultural centers, any place that — libraries. Any place that has records of people’s lives, has remnants and traces of their roots in the land, have been intentionally wiped away.

You know, it’s really frustrating for us to read Western media talk about, you know, Israel is targeting Hamas and whatnot. They’re not. This has always — and when you’re on the ground, you understand this has always been about displacing Palestinians, taking their place and wiping them off the map. That has been Israel’s stated goal, I mean, even in this instance and before, in 1948. It has always been their aim, to destroy us, remove us, kill us and take our place. And that’s what’s happening now in Gaza. It’s what happened in 1948, in 1967. And every new Nakba, every new escalation, is greater than the one before. And here we now arrive at a moment of genocide and holocaust, because the world has allowed Israel to act with such barbarity with impunity.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I wanted to ask you also — you mentioned the world reaction. More people have died in Gaza in less than five months than have — civilians — than have died in Ukraine in over two years, in the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has 40 times the population of Gaza. I’m wondering your sense of the failure of the — especially of the Western nations, of Europe and the United States, to act?

SUSAN ABULHAWA: The Western world has lost any semblance of moral authority, if they ever had any. Or, you know, I think that maybe there was an illusion of moral authority previously, but I think — you know, what we have always known is that we are dealing with genocidal colonizers. But I think that is more apparent to the rest of the world at this hour. And I think what’s also happening is that Americans are coming to understand, increasingly, though not nearly enough, that they’re being lied to.

AMY GOODMAN: And we’re going to take up that issue in Part 2 of our discussion, which we’ll post at democracynow.org. Susan Abulhawa, Palestinian novelist, thanks so much.


This morning, CNN notes:

  • Suffering in Gaza: At least 20 people have died in Gaza due to malnutrition and dehydration since the war began, including a 15-year-old boy who was declared dead at the Al-Shifa medical complex on Wednesday, the enclave's health ministry said. Gazans told CNN their children are starving to death and mothers cannot breastfeed their babies. In the southern city of Rafah, a displaced health worker has warned thousands of babies could die of starvation if Israel continues its severe restrictions on food, fuel, water and medication from entering Gaza.
  • Israel blocking aid: The United Nations said almost 40% of aid missions it coordinated in Gaza were denied or impeded by Israel last month. In February, 86 of the 222 missions in areas that needed coordination were denied or impeded by Israel, said the agency's humanitarian affairs arm. In response to the deepening humanitarian crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Cyprus this week to discuss creating a maritime aid corridor to Gaza. 



Israel has generated “famine-like conditions” in the Gaza Strip “while obstructing and undermining the humanitarian response”, according to a new report by humanitarian group Refugees International.

The group’s research in Egypt, Jordan and Israel revealed that Tel Aviv “consistently and groundlessly impeded aid operations within Gaza, blocked legitimate relief operations and resisted implementing measures that would genuinely enhance the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza”.


Gaza remains under assault. Day 153 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  ALJAZEERA notes, "At least 30,800 people have been killed and 72,298 wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said."  Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:







And the area itself?  Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells."  Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."   




For six days, more than 50 countries, the League of Arab States, the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation presented testimony to the International Court of Justice (ICJ, or World Court) about the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. The overwhelming majority of them, largely from the Global South, told the court that the occupation was illegal.

The historic hearing, which took place February 19-26, was held in response to the United Nations General Assembly’s December 30, 2022, request for an advisory opinion on the following questions:

(a) What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures?

(b) How do the policies and practices of Israel … affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status?

The General Assembly asked the ICJ to discuss these issues with reference to international law, including the UN Charter; international humanitarian law; international human rights law; resolutions of the Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council; and the 2004 advisory opinion of the ICJ finding that Israel’s wall on Palestinian land violated international law.

Israel regularly thumbs its nose at the World Court. It ignored the court’s ruling that the wall was illegal and refuses to implement the ICJ’s provisional order to refrain from committing genocidal acts and ensure humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Before the hearing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the court: “Israel does not recognize the legitimacy of the proceedings of the international court in The Hague regarding ‘the legality of the occupation’ — which are an effort designed to infringe on Israel’s right to defend itself against existential threats,” he said. “The proceedings in The Hague are part of the Palestinian attempt to dictate the results of the diplomatic settlement without negotiations.”

Although Israel didn’t appear at the hearing, it submitted a five-page statement which called the General Assembly’s questions “a clear distortion of the history and present reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Israel didn’t even attempt to defend the legality of the occupation, focusing instead on why the ICJ should not render an advisory opinion.


 

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