Without too much ado here are a couple of thoughtful pieces on the recent fracas in the Middle East: one from Sam Kriss and one from Freddie deBoer. de Boer doesn't mention it, perhaps because he thinks it's common knowledge, but Amy Schumer is the cousin of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, which adds an extra level of absurdity to her Instagram whine.
On a personal note I also have to say that I have more patients with Israelis―a large number, to be sure, but not all―who crave vengeance than with westerners who think that life's winners should have license to kill the losers. If you like that kind of jungle law try it in your own country first. And make no mistake, it's the latter who enforce the loyalty oath. Statements that would pretty much make you a person of interest if you made them about any other group become mandatory in some circles when they're applied to Palestinians.
EDIT: This column from Jonathan Cook is also good, and raises interesting/disturbing questions about what kind of options other governments in the world want open as regards their own people.
2 comments:
I had no idea Amy Schumer was related to Chuck Schumer - in fact, I still have no clue about who she may be or why I should be interested. Jer told me she was on SNL at one time. That she stated her hope for world peace was destroyed by the fact that some kids demonstrated in sympathy with the Palestinians is simply ludicrous. I can't think of one politician or news service or group that hasn't supported Israel in this latest conflict.
It makes sense you have more patience with the actual people who live in Israel rather than those who support the mayhem from a safe distance. It was a terrible thing that happened on Oct. 7th, an ugly event that should only reinforce the conclusion that civilians should never be targeted by an active military. Someone i read earlier today said the Palestinians all have guns so they aren't really civilians. Talk about a specious observation.
The article by Jonathan Cook you posted as an edit pretty much says all that needs to be said about the history and methods used today to destroy the Palestinian people. The big controversy out of the UN Security Council on Wednesday is that the US vetoed a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza. We watched a clip of Joe Biden saying that first you feel sadness and then you feel anger and lastly you feel rage, rage, rage. What? Well, what else might I expect?
Jer found a satellite map that goes a long way to clarifying how things stand (or don't - check out how many grey areas there are where buildings used to stand) in Gaza
Anyway here's our favorite Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre doing a decent job of imitating Bugs Bunny.
and for an extra bit of wholesome entertainment - a new Strandbeest on a Dutch beach.
Amy Schumer wasn't actually on SNL, although I think she's hosted. Sarah Silverman was on it a long time ago, and the two have similar niches as comedians, although I think Silverman is funnier. But yeah, it's idiotic. On the one hand you have a few offensive signs that are outliers at the demonstrations they appear at. On the other hand you have actual policy, and a heavily pro-Israel media.
"They all have guns so that makes them fair game" isn't really a judgment that Americans should be making. But that's the dynamic all over. Very secure and comfortable people are passing judgment on others whose lives are in immediate peril. Somehow the former are coming to the conclusion that the latter have had it too good for too long. It's what happens when the big idea words like "good" and "evil" and "civilization" get divorced from anything in the real world.
There are few things more terrifying than the idea that your controlling government might decide that you need to be destroyed, because they have the means to do it. As for Biden, I've long felt that at the height of his powers he could have been an adequate President for normal times. Unfortunately he's far from the height of his powers and these aren't normal times. And in most ways he's managed to make them worse.
That's a sobering map. If anything there would be more grey areas if the picture were taken today.
The interview with Poilievre was quite funny. The reporter was not prepared for the job at all. Funny, because of the name, I've always expected Poilievre to have a Quebecois accent. Ah, silly me.
That kinetic sculpture is quite something. Must be kind of freaky to be standing near when it goes by.
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