afellowkid

joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
[–] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Man I hate this dude

The history of the Middle East since 1948 shows Israel constantly striving for peace, only to be rebuffed time and again by the Arabs.

-- Antony J. Blinken, "Lebanon and the Facts", 1982

Israel is not, has never been, nor will ever be the irreproachable, perfectly moral state some of its supporters would like to see. Israelis are, after all, only human. Still, one pedestal the Jewish state can stand on--and stand on alone in the Middle East--is that of a democracy. Yes, there are tragic excesses in the occupied territories. True, the invasion of Lebanon claimed many innocent lives. The fact remains, though, that Israelis question themselves and their government openly and honestly. Eventually, as in other democracies, those responsible for wrongdoing are held accountable.

-- Antony J. Blinken, "Israel's Saving Grace", 1982

The summer of 1982 may be remembered in history as the time Israel passed from adolescence to adulthood. The illusions of a child are left behind. But the Jewish state remains special, an oasis in a desert. Its citizens have built a working democracy from scratch in a region that has no others. Israelis must treasure that democracy, protect it with all their will. For if they don't, the growing pains that are Lebanon, Shatila and Sabra, the repression of Arabs and the feud between Ashkenazim and Sephardim could turn into a plague.

-- Antony J. Blinken, "The Danger Within", 1983

[–] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Ultimately it means meet/talk with other people and engage in planning and work to accomplish something together, whether that thing is big or small.

Easiest thing to do is look around for people who are already organized, e.g., a party or other org focused on a particular issue. IMO if someone has no experience with organizing whatsoever, then they can benefit from joining almost anything, even something run by liberals, anarchists, etc., just simply to see what kind of dynamics are at play when people are trying to work together to accomplish something. A lot of orgs and such are not easy to find online. It's better to just go to protests and demonstrations or to community projects and start meeting people and learning about what they are doing by word of mouth. People who are involved in organizing are typically going to be open to teaching/involving new people. A demonstration is the kind of place where people are purposely trying to educate and involve the public. Just don't come across as a cop and be wary that some people trying to involve you in things might be cops themselves lol. Approach groups with a critical eye, join a small-scale/low-risk org whose goals you support to learn about the practical dynamics of how organizing works and to build up a network of acquaintances and friends, and keep learning from there. Trying to organize something from scratch with no experience is possible but if you don't have a clear idea of what you're doing nor have a group of other people who are keen and intrinsically motivated to work on the goal, it's going to be pretty difficult.

[–] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 10 months ago

I'd be really interested in reading that

 

Video's content begins @56:44

For a quick look of the general vibe see @1:04:32

"We now stand at a moment where many are again making the bet that we’re too divided, we’re too distracted at home to stay the course..." says Blinken in his speech about supporting Israel and Ukraine, as he is repeatedly disrupted by activists demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to funding genocide and are gradually pulled out of the room one-by-one by the Capitol Police.

Remarks on the State Department website: https://www.state.gov/opening-remarks-by-secretary-antony-j-blinken-before-the-senate-appropriations-committee-on-a-review-of-the-national-security-supplemental-request/

The several statements and chants by activists demanding an end to the bombing of Gaza and genocide of Palestinians are listed only as "(Interruption.)" in the transcript.

I just happened to be reading that transcript and was curious what the repeated "interruptions" were, assuming it would be something like this, so I checked the video out. In the vid you can see the tense atmosphere as Blinken attempts to deliver his soulless advertisement-like speech in a firm optimistic or "inspiring" tone, making statements about how the US's adversaries have assessed the US is internally divided but the US is actually a resilient and strong leader, while the chairwoman has to keep hitting the gavel and pausing the hearing as activists shouting "genocide" at Blinken are dragged out one by one by the cops, while Blinken sits in a tense, irritated, and pathetic posture and then keeps trying to continue with his sales pitch tone between interruptions and being called a genocide supporter, with others sitting in the hearing behind him looking variously annoyed, drained, and bleak

 

The Ukraine crisis has laid bare the deep divisions between great powers and cast doubt on the "rule-based order" built by the West. What should a multipolar world look like? What can be done to make sure that the world is not divided between "first-class" and "second-class" countries and peoples?

For this edition of Leaders Talk, CMG's Wang Guan traveled to Moscow and sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his visit to China to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. President Putin spoke about Russia-China relations and how they have nurtured and developed in the last two decades, not only on the energy front but also in other areas of mutual interest. He told Wang how the Russian vision of an Eurasian Economic Union aligns with China's Belt and Road Initiative and why President Xi's concept of "building a global community of shared future" is realistic and coherent. President Putin also expressed at length his position on the conflict in Ukraine and drew another parallel with Iran, saying that "the West keeps adding fuel to the fire."

 

From 2010 to 2020, the world experienced mass protests. Yet, those protests have not brought about more democracy and freedom. Why did these protests lead to the opposite of what they supposedly demanded? In this episode, journalist Vincent Bevins joins the podcast to discuss his latest book, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution (2023).

I haven't read the book, but in this interview they cover the role of mass media in how it portrays and effects street protests, covering examples in Brazil, also touching on the Arab Spring, Euromaidan, and Hong Kong, discussing what the mass media selectively covers and leaves out, how attracting media attention has altered what kind of protests occur, and how decentralized movements without clear demands, a structure of decision making, or plans for how to exercise power are subjected to being co-opted.

[–] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Similarly, the SS man Josef Blösche rode through the Warsaw ghetto at times on a rickshaw powered by a Jewish prisoner, on which occasions he would use the vehicle as a platform to test his marksmanship and shoot Jews either on the street or those standing at their windows.

What the goddamn fuck

 

Video from 2020

[–] afellowkid@lemmygrad.ml 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Apparently the attacker was also their landlord:

According to the Will County sheriff’s office, the woman had called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife, adding she then ran into a bathroom and continued to fight him off.

The Muslim civil liberties organization called the crime “our worst nightmare” and part of a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The group cited text messages exchanged among family members that showed the attacker had made disparaging remarks about Muslims.

 

As the United Nation’s agency responsible for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemns Israel's repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2000 inpatients in northern Gaza. The forced evacuation of patients and health workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe.

The lives of many critically ill and fragile patients hang in the balance: those in intensive care or who rely on life support; patients undergoing hemodialysis; newborns in incubators; women with complications of pregnancy, and others all face imminent deterioration of their condition or death if they are forced to move and are cut off from life-saving medical attention while being evacuated.

Health facilities in northern Gaza continue to receive an influx of injured patients and are struggling to operate beyond maximum capacity. Some patients are being treated in corridors and outdoors in surrounding streets due to a lack of hospital beds.

Forcing more than 2000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number of patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence.

Hospital directors and health workers are now facing an agonizing choice: abandon critically ill patients amid a bombing campaign, put their own lives at risk while remaining on site to treat patients, or endanger their patients’ lives while attempting to transport them to facilities that have no capacity to receive them. Overwhelmingly, caregivers have chosen to stay behind, and honor their oaths as health professionals to “do no harm,” rather than risk moving their critically ill patients during evacuations. Health workers should never have to make such impossible choices.

Additionally, tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Gaza are seeking refuge in open spaces in or around hospitals, treating them as havens from violence as well as to protect the facilities from potential attacks. Their lives, too, are at risk when health facilities are bombed.

There are verified reports of deaths of health care workers and destruction of health facilities, which denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health care and is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law.

WHO calls for Israel to immediately reverse evacuation orders to hospitals in northern Gaza, and calls for the protection of health facilities, health workers, patients, and civilians. WHO also reiterates its calls for the immediate and safe delivery of medical supplies, fuel, clean water, food, and other humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, where life-saving assistance – including WHO health supplies that arrived earlier today – is currently awaiting entry.

 

Excerpts:

Since 7 October 2023, more than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 600 children, more than 7,600 injured, and over 423,000 people have been displaced as a result of the Israeli strikes. This fate befell a population which has already experienced five major wars since 2008 in the context of an unlawful blockade imposed by Israel since 2007, which Albanese said has been widely condemned by the international community as collective punishment.

On 12 October, Israeli forces issued an order for 1.1 million Palestinians in north Gaza to move to the south within 24 hours, amidst ongoing airstrikes. The next day, Israeli forces reportedly began to enter Gaza in order to “clear” the area. Palestinians have no safe zone anywhere in Gaza, with Israel having imposed a “complete siege” on the tiny enclave, with water, food, fuel and electricity unlawfully cut off. Rafah, the only border crossing that remained partially open to the Gaza strip, was closed after damage caused by Israeli airstrikes.

“There is a grave danger that what we are witnessing may be a repeat of the 1948 Nakba, and the 1967 Naksa, yet on a larger scale. The international community must do everything to stop this from happening again,” the UN expert said. She noted that Israeli public officials have openly advocated for another Nakba, the term for the events of 1947-1949 when over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and lands during the hostilities that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. The Naksa, which led to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, displaced 350,000 Palestinians.

 

Excerpts:

For the last week, Israel has been exterminating an average of 100 Palestinian children per day. On Saturday, a doctor at al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s main hospital in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that every hour dozens of dead and hundreds of injured were being brought in.

On Friday, Israel bombed convoys of vehicles traveling on one of the two roads that the military identified as “safe routes,” killing at least 40.

Meanwhile, a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is underway as essential supplies have not been allowed into the territory – already under a comprehensive Israeli blockade since 2007 – for more than a week.

The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza are already refugees from lands inside what is now called Israel – or 1948 Palestine by most Palestinians and many others.

The World Health Organization on Saturday reiterated its warning that “evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals in northern Gaza are a death sentence for the sick and injured.”

Israel cut off internet connectivity in Gaza, and the destruction of two of Gaza’s three cellular towers and inability to charge mobile phone batteries has made it difficult for Palestinian families to contact one another – its own form of psychological torture.

Article embeds many twitter messages sent from people in Gaza about their situation and memorial messages about family members and others, public statements by orgs, as well as photos and links to further information and other news reports.

 

Evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals in northern Gaza are a death sentence for the sick and injured

As the @UN's agency responsible for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemns Israel's repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2000 inpatients in northern Gaza. The forced evacuation of patients and health workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe.

The lives of many critically ill and fragile patients hang in the balance: those in intensive care or who rely on life support; patients undergoing hemodialysis; newborns in incubators; women with complications of pregnancy, and others all face imminent deterioration of their condition or death if they are forced to move and are cut off from life-saving medical attention while being evacuated.

Health facilities in northern Gaza continue to receive an influx of injured patients and are struggling to operate beyond maximum capacity. Some patients are being treated in corridors and outdoors in surrounding streets due to a lack of hospital beds.

Forcing more than 2000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence.

Hospital directors and health workers are now facing an agonizing choice: abandon critically ill patients amid a bombing campaign, put their own lives at risk while remaining on site to treat patients, or endanger their patients’ lives while attempting to transport them to facilities that have no capacity to receive them.

Overwhelmingly, caregivers have chosen to stay behind and honor their oaths as health professionals to “do no harm,” rather than risk moving their critically ill patients during evacuations. Health workers should never have to make such impossible choices.

Additionally, tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Gaza are seeking refuge in open spaces in or around hospitals, treating them as havens from violence as well as to protect the facilities from potential attacks. Their lives, too, are at risk when health facilities are bombed.

There are verified reports of deaths of health care workers and destruction of health facilities, which denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health care and is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law.

WHO calls for Israel to immediately reverse evacuation orders to hospitals in northern Gaza, and calls for the protection of health facilities, health workers, patients, and civilians.

WHO also reiterates its calls for the immediate and safe delivery of medical supplies, fuel, clean water, food, and other humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, where life-saving assistance, including WHO health supplies that arrived earlier today, is currently awaiting entry.

Statement on who.int

 

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/2372708

AMMAN/EAST JERUSALEM,

“As Gaza remains under heavy bombardment with Israel tightening its grip over the overpopulated Strip, it is left to the UN and humanitarians to protect civilians.

“The call from Israeli Forces to move more than 1 million civilians living in northern Gaza within 24 hours is horrendous. This will only lead to unprecedented levels of misery and further push people in Gaza into the abyss.

“Since 7 October, over 423,000 people have already been displaced. Of them, more than 270,000 have taken refuge in UNRWA shelters, where basic food, medicine and support is provided to retain dignity and a glimmer of hope.

“The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hell hole and is on the brink of collapse.

“There is no exception, all parties must uphold the laws of war; humanitarian assistance must be provided at all times to civilians.

“In Gaza, more than 2 million people are caught up in this conflict. UNRWA is struggling to fulfil its mandate.

“I urge all parties and those with influence over them to put an end to this tragedy and provide immediate and unconditional humanitarian access and protection to the civilians, among them far too many women and children.

“The time for humanity to prevail is now.”

ENDs -

view more: next ›