Wednesday, April 03, 2024

APPLE+ is corruption

 Monday, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Krazy Katha" went up.

KRAZY KATHA


Now for BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN.



Kim Brown is always worth streaming.  You can't say that about everything though.


APPLE+ has always been a useless streaming service to me.  Early on, they attracted me with shows starring Chris Evans and Julianne Moore but the the shows got axed.  They really don't have a single must watch show and haven't.  It's a lousy streamer.  Which is why Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE)'s report make sense to me:


"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart revealed on Monday that Apple blocked him from interviewing Lina Kahn, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, for his podcast "The Problem With Jon Stewart" - an accompaniment to his 2021-2023 AppleTV show of the same name. 

"I wanted to have you on a podcast and Apple asked us not to do it," Stewart told Kahn during an interview on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."  "They literally said ‘please don't talk to her.'"

"They wouldn't let us do even that dumb thing we just did in the first act on AI," Stewart added, referencing an earlier segment in Monday's broadcast. "Like, what is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?"

Last month, the Justice Department sued Apple, alleging that the Silicon Valley giant has violated antitrust laws through its alleged monopolization of the smartphone market. In its complaint, the DOJ noted that the tech company is "rapidly expanding its role as a TV and movie producer and has exercised that role to control content." 





Unruffled, Khan said, "I think it just shows one of the dangers of what happens when you concentrate so much power and so much decision making in a small number of companies. I mean, going back all the way to the founding, there was a recognition that in the same way you need the constitution to create checks and balances in our political sphere, you also need the anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws to safeguard against concentration of economic power bc you don't want an autocrat of trade in the same way that you don't want a monarch."

Stewart then turned the conversation to AI, asking Khan what she would do "to control this new AI technology that is looming."

"Look, the first thing we need to do is be clear-eyed that there's no AI exemption from the laws on the books," Khan says. "We see sometimes businesses try to dazzle enforcers by saying 'Oh, these technologies are so new, they're so different, let's just take a hands-off approach.' And that's basically what ended up happening with web 2.0 and now we're reeling from the consequences....in the early 2000s, the initial set of companies that ended up innovating but ultimately ended up becoming monopolistic, ultimately adopting business models that are premised on endlessly surveilling people."

"Are you optimistic that we will be able to catch up in time before something truly catastrophic happens with AI?" Stewart asked.

"Well look, there's no inevitable outcome here," Khan replied. "We are the decision makers. And so we need to use the policy tools and levers that we have to make sure that these technologies are proceeding on a trajectory that benefit Americans and we are not subjected to all the risks and harms."


APPLE+ is corruption and it is rotten to the core.  Speaking of rotten, let's return to the awful JK Rowling.  Greg Owen (LGBTQ NATION) reports the latest.  I'm not in the mood for her or her hate or for going into it again.  I'll gladly highlight his article and encourage you to read it.  But there is something seriously wrong with JK Rowling.


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


Tuesday, April 2, 2024.  The Israeli government horrifically attacks --and kills -- aid workers as the assault on Gaza continues. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is known for three things: Corruption, War Crimes and lies.   The lies grow less and less believable while the other two grow more and more dismaying.


Today Netanyahu and his government are lying about a strike that killed people -- something they do on a daily basis -- and they're lying because this time the dead are foreigners and governments are demanding answers. 


World leaders have expressed horror and anger following an Israeli air strike that killed seven aid workers in the central Gaza Strip, and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire.

United States-based aid group World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed on Tuesday that its staff members were killed in a “targeted attack” by the Israeli military. The dead were from Palestine, Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and US-Canada.


An apparent Israeli airstrike has killed seven people working for a humanitarian aid organisation in central Gaza, the charity World Central Kitchen said on Tuesday, with three British citizens among the dead.

The group were killed on Gaza’s coastal road in Deir Balah, central Gaza, on Monday night, health officials and a journalist at Al-Aqsa hospital, where the bodies were taken, told The Independent.

They sent videos showing the mangled bodies of five individuals, some of them wearing protective gear with the logo of World Central Kitchen charity, which was founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. 


World Central Kitchen notes of its own history:

Food is essential to life every single day, all over the world—and it is more important than ever in a crisis. Not only is a thoughtful, freshly prepared meal one less thing someone has to worry about in the wake of a disaster, it is a reminder that you are not alone, someone is thinking about you, and someone cares. Food has the power to be the nourishment and hope we need to pick ourselves back up in the darkest times. 

In 2010, Chef José Andrés, ready to use his culinary knowledge and talent to help, headed to Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Cooking alongside displaced families in a camp, he was guided on the proper way to cook black beans the way Haitians like to eat them: mashed and sieved into a creamy sauce. It wasn’t just about feeding people in need—it was about listening, learning, and cooking side by side with the people impacted by the crisis. This is the real meaning of comfort food, and it’s the core value that José, along with his wife Patricia, used at the center of founding World Central Kitchen. 

As the Israeli government has caused starvation in Gaza by blocking aid and by spreading lies about UNWRA, World Central Kitchen went into Gaza to provide needed food.  And the response from the Israeli government?  Bombing and killing aid workers for WCK. 


Holly Johnston and Thomas Helm (THE NATIONAL) report, "The group was hit while leaving a warehouse in Deir Al Balah despite co-ordinating its movements with the Israeli military, the organisation said."  And they quote WCK's Erin Gore stating, "This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable."  CBS NEWS notes, "Graphic photographs showed the mangled, bloodied corpses of the aid workers, some still wearing World Central Kitchen t-shirts, with their passports, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. The food charity said early Tuesday that the seven killed included citizens of Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom, and that one was a U.S.-Canada dual citizen and one was Palestinian."


These are the actions of a rogue nations making clear it will not follow international law.  Amy Goodman (DEMOCRACY NOW!) noted yesterday, "The Washington Post is reporting the Biden administration has recently authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel. The arms package includes more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, which can be used to level entire city blocks. The U.S. is also sending 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs and 25 F-35 fighter jets."  That transfer needs to be immediately stopped.  Last week, US Senator Bernie Sanders issued the following statement:


32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and almost 75,000 injured, two-thirds of whom are women and children. Some 60% of the housing units have been damaged or destroyed, and almost all medical facilities have been made inoperable. Today, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children are facing starvation because Netanyahu won’t let in sufficient humanitarian aid, while thousands of trucks are waiting to get into Gaza. To pretend that Israel is not violating international law or interfering with U.S. humanitarian aid is absurd on its face. The State Department’s position makes a mockery of U.S. law and assurances provided to Congress.


Those words are even truer today with the Israeli government killing the WCK aid workers.  


THE IRISH TIMES reminds, "Last month more than 100 people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire at an aid distribution point in Gaza City. The Israeli military said most died in a crush, but Palestinian officials and witnesses denied this, saying the majority of those taken to hospital had bullet wounds.  The United Nations has said at least 576,000 people in the coastal territory – a quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine, and pressure has been growing on Israel to increase the flow of aid."

The WCK workers were in two armored vehicles emblazoned with the WCK logo and they were coordinating movements with the Israeli government.  That's the Israeli government that now plays dumb and says that they can't imagine how it happened and that they're going to do an investigation. No one believes their investigation anymore than anyone believes their claims of innocence.  ALJAZEERA notes:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed one of the killed aid workers was Australian national Zomi Frankcom.

Speaking at a news conference in Brisbane, Albanese said Frankcom’s death was “completely unacceptable” and “beyond any reasonable circumstances”.

“This news today is tragic. DFAT have also requested a call-in from the Israeli ambassador as well,” Albanese said, referring to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “We want full accountability for this. This is a tragedy that should never have occurred.

“The truth is that this is beyond any reasonable circumstances that someone going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life and there were four aid workers as well as a Palestinian driver in this vehicle,” Albanese added.

Albanese also reiterated calls for a “sustainable ceasefire”. “Australians want to see an end to this conflict,” he said.

 
Also demanding answers?  British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.  SKY NEWS explains:

"British Nationals are reported to have been killed, we are urgently working to verify this information and will provide full support to their families.

"These were people who were working to deliver life-saving aid to those who desperately need it.

"It is essential that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work.

"We have called on Israel to immediately investigate and provide a full, transparent explanation of what happened."


And REUTERS notes,  "Poland's foreign minister [Radoslaw Sikorski] asked the Israeli ambassador in Warsaw for 'urgent explanations' after a Polish volunteer was killed while providing aid in Gaza."  AFP adds that "Sikorski said Poland would open its own inquiry into the aid worker’s death" and quotes him declaring, "Poland does not agree to the lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and of the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers."
 



  • United Nations (UN): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said he is “outraged by the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza," describing them as "heroes, killed while trying to feed starving people," Griffiths posted on X. "All this talk about ceasefires, and still this war steals the best of us. The actions of those behind it are indefensible. This must stop."
  • World Food Programme (WFP): “This attack on our humanitarian community is unacceptable. The safety of aid workers is paramount, as is the safety of those who come to receive aid. #NotATarget,” said Executive Director of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) Cindy McCain on X.
  • World Health Organization (WHO): “How many more lives will be lost until there's a ceasefire? We are outraged by the killing of humanitarian workers in #Gaza. Safety is a basic requirement for the delivery of life-saving aid," Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X, reiterating his call for the "sustained protection of humanitarian workers across Gaza."
  • European Union: “This shows that the #UNSC resolution asking for an immediate ceasefire, a full humanitarian access and a reinforced protection of civilians must be immediately implemented,” said European Union (EU) top diplomat Josep Borrell on X.
  • Poland: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the [Polish] volunteer who was providing aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers,” said Poland’s foreign ministry on X.


This is the UK's LBC.


 
Presenter Nick Ferrari was set to interview the Israeli military's Peter Lerner for the segment but, once the segment began, Lerner bailed before appearing on camera. 

And the War Criminal?  ALJAZEERA quotes Netanyahu dismissively stating, "These things happen."

Yes, murder does happen -- regularly and daily under the leadership of War Criminal Netanyahu.


 



AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman.

On Sunday, tens of thousands rallied across Israel calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the largest protest since the October 7th attacks. In Jerusalem, police fired skunk spray at demonstrators blocking a major highway. The protesters called for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. As calls mount for his resignation, Benjamin Netanyahu is now recovering after undergoing hernia surgery Sunday night.

For more, we go to Tel Aviv to speak with Oren Ziv, reporter and photographer for +972 Magazine, who’s been covering the protests, joining us from Tel Aviv.

Oren, welcome back to Democracy Now! It seems that the demands have changed over the last half-year, from the resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu now to his overthrow, to his ouster. Can you talk about — describe these protests across Israel and what people are calling for.

OREN ZIV: Thank you for having me.

We’ve seen those protests before October 7, hundreds of thousands of Israelis against Netanyahu and his government and the legal changes they were leading. After October 7, of course, the Israeli public, the vast majority of it, was in shock and trauma. And many of the center-left protesters were focusing in civilian help inside Israel and also in the struggle to release the hostages. But with the weeks and the months passing, more people felt that even during time of war — and I’m talking from the Israeli mainstream perspective — Netanyahu is just dealing with his own survival, with internal politics, and also he doesn’t want eventually to release the hostages, with delaying the deal. And the common idea among the protesters that I spoke to, dozens of them, is that Netanyahu is delaying the war and dragging the war to save himself politically, that he doesn’t really want to pay the political price to release the hostages, meaning to release Palestinian political prisoners, and therefore, more people are going out.

Secondly, and very interesting, while the mainstream — like, the vast majority of the families of hostages, that have relatives who are held in Gaza, in the beginning they were trying to be nice and polite and have kind of apolitical protests and not to annoy the government so much, because they needed the government to agree on a deal. With time, and as we’ve seen that Netanyahu himself and, for sure, the more extreme ministers declared that releasing the hostages is not more important than defeating or destroying Hamas, more and more families realize that they have to go out to the streets and to protest not just for a general deal or negotiation, but specifically against Netanyahu. They see Netanyahu, and, of course, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, as the obstacles to release their relatives from Gaza. And this is why on Saturday we saw that the forum that unites many of the hostages’ families declared that they will not make any vigil or quiet gatherings, and they will join the more active families that were blocking roads, lighting fires and doing more direct actions.

And one of the reasons that this is happening is because Netanyahu and the people around him — in general, the right — was inciting against these families, saying that they should be silent, saying they’re serving Hamas by protesting, connecting between them and the anti-government protesters, although not all of them were center-left. But with this incitement against them, Netanyahu actually pushed them to unite with the anti-government protests.

AMY GOODMAN: If you can talk about what the protesters are saying about the future of the occupation? And also, we rarely hear that there’s been this vigil outside of the military intelligence headquarters in Tel Aviv, led by the hostage families, demanding that their loved ones be released and that the Israeli government work towards that and prioritize that.

OREN ZIV: So, yes, from the beginning of the war, from days after the war began, you had a small group of radical left-wing activists protest against the war, for ceasefire, saying this, the massacre against Palestinians, cannot continue, and also mentioning, of course, that in order to release the hostages, the war has to end and there has to be a ceasefire and a deal. This is a few hundreds of people that have been attacked and arrested by the police, while the mainstream public, their opinion is more complicated. Many of them support the war generally, but think that now the only way to release the hostages is a deal. But with time, more and more of them understand that also Netanyahu doesn’t have a plan for the day after, regardless the horrific things, the killings in Gaza and the massacre. Netanyahu doesn’t want to plan anything ahead. He doesn’t want Hamas to be there. He doesn’t want the PA to be there. He doesn’t want any kind of a Palestinian authority in Gaza.

And with that understanding, many people understand that Netanyahu just wants to stay in this status of war maybe forever. Then he doesn’t have to bring the hostages. To release the hostages, he has to pay a political price, to release Palestinian prisoners. This can endanger his coalition with Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and the other extreme-right-wing figures who oppose any release of Palestinian political prisoners. So, with time, you do hear — so, people are calling for ceasefire and for a deal, but from an internal Israeli perspective of releasing the hostages and thinking about the day after, unless from the perspective we’re seeing abroad, of just calling to end the massacre in Gaza.

AMY GOODMAN: And finally, we just have about 30 seconds. We last talked to you where that thousands of Israelis gathering, with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir calling for Jewish settlements in Gaza, etc. Do you see a growing group of people opposing that in Israel?

OREN ZIV: Yes, definitely. The group that was calling to settle in Gaza, among with the activists who are blocking the aid, are confronted by the Israeli mainstream public, that thinks that this is, A, irrelevant and cannot be done, and also thinks that, again, from an Israeli —

AMY GOODMAN: Oren Ziv, we’re going to have to leave it there, but I thank you so much for being with us, reporter and photographer for +972 Magazine. That does it for our show. I’m Amy Goodman.


Gaza remains under assault. Day 179 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."  Yesterday, THE GUARDIAN noted, "At least 32,845 Palestinians have been killed and 75,392 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Monday."   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."


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Krazy Katha" and  "Declare Your Ignorance" went up today.  The following sites updated:

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