Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Jon Stewart to return to the desk.

 That's singer-songwriter Melanie on THE JOHNNY CASH SHOW performing "Baby Guitar."  And here she is on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW performing her classic "Peace Will Come (According To Plan").


Melanie has passed away.  Trina's "Melanie: Queen of the Music festivals" is a strong tribute to a unique and tremendous talent so please check that out.

 

The Academy Award nominations were announced Tuesday and here's community coverage on that:

 

 

Big entertainment news today?  They've finally found the new host for THE DAILY SHOW on COMEDY CENTRAL.  It's . . . Jon Stewart.

 

I don't know.

 

I just don't know.

 

Jon Stewart's funny.  I love his book -- the humor one, not the clip job.  The one where he has these comedy chapters.  NAKED PICTURES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE.  I had to look it up.

 

I just feel like we got jerked around.  All those 'auditions.'  Leslie Jones (great) and so many others and now here we are back with . . . Jon Stewart.

 

He retired from the show for a reason.  

Can you go back home?  I think Jerri asks that on STRANGERS WITH CANDY -- not sure if that's in the film or the TV show.  I need to watch the film again but I just don't do my DVDs anymore.  I'm so lazy, if it won't stream, I don't usually watch it.  And the film is not available anywhere for streaming.  Hold on.

 

Wrong.  It's at the place -- not naming it here -- that you know if you're a community member.  We've covered this in newsletters.  

 

I'm watching it right now.

 

And Amy Sedaris, by the way, should have been considered on the list of possible replacement hosts on THE DAILY SHOW.

 

So Jon's going to go back to the desk and I don't see how this works.  He's older now.  It's a younger audience or supposed to be.  

 

If he matches his past, will that be enough?

 

I don't think APPLE+ should have tried to strong arm him.  And I'm fine with him returning to COMEDY CENTRAL.  I just would have thought the answer was to go with a new show.  

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 

Wednesday, January 24, 2024.  Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson flame out in New Hampshire, a man who murdered an Iraqi didn't face real consequences and apparently became an insurrectionist as a result, the assault on Gaza continues, the Pope issues a message of how war is not answer, Anne Hathaway joins the work stoppage and much more.


Let's start with New Hampshire.  On the GOP side, Donald Trump won.  He got 54.6% of the vote to Nikki Haley's  43.4% -- that's with 95% of the vote counted while on the Democratic side Joe Biden won with 56.4% of the vote.  I'm not interested in including Marianne Williamson's segment on DEMOCRACY NOW! yesterday in this snapshot for two reasons.  She has not been consistent on Palestine and she was allowed to make comments about how she has always . . . No.  I'm not posting it here because that's not true.  There's also the issue of New Hampshire going out of order.  I remember 2008.  I remember how it was Diane Rehm and only Diane calling out the nonsense that said primaries in two states did not matter because they went out of order.  Barack lost those states and his media campaign and his media outlets -- that did include DEMOCRACY NOW! -- acted as though Florida and Michigan had created mortal sins.  Diane was right, of course those primaries would be counted at the national convention.  But by the media refusing to do so in real time they gifted it to Barack.  Which was the point.  So a 'history' given on DEMOCRACY NOW! yesterday about states going out of order that doesn't even mention 2008?  I'm not interested.

I'm glad that Marianne has a better stance now on the slaughter taking place in Gaza and we've noted three or four videos of her in the last three days.  But I'm not including in the snapshot something that I know is not true.

Results?  I didn't think Nikki would get that large of a percentage against Donald.  It would be interesting to see what happened if she remained in the race until Super Tuesday.  On the Democratic side?  Those voting for Joe had to write him in.  On the ballot were Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson who both spent a great deal of time in New Hampshire.  Dean got an anemic 20.1%.  Time to go, Dean.  Marianne got 4.1% which would indicate she should drop out and attempt to run on The Green Party ticket (they'll vote on their nominee at their convention this summer) because 4.1%  -- if she could pull that off nationally -- would be greater than any Green Party presidential nominee has ever gotten.  (Ralph Nader's 2000 run remains the largest percentage of voters with 2.74%).  Dean Phillips made no impression at all.  What's sadder is that Marianne didn't.  Phillips is conservative Democrat.  Marianne was an honest lefty.  New Hampshire rejected both.

Staying with the US, Graig Graziosi (INDEPENDENT) reported yesterday:

A Louisiana man who was arrested for allegedly attacking police officers during the January 6 Capitol riot was previously convicted of manslaughter for killing a bound Iraqi civilian during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Edward Richmond Jr, 40, has been charged with felony civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers, according to the Department of Justice.

He was also charged with several misdemeanours, including disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence inside a restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct.

Richmond was arrested in Baton Rouge on Monday, reported WAFB.

A decade ago, Richmond faced charges that could have put him away for life, according to Politico’s Kyle Cheney.

In 2004, the then 20-year-old was convicted for shooting a handcuffed Iraqi civilian in the back of the head. His initial charges of unpremeditated murder would have landed him in prison for life, but the panel reduced his charge to voluntary manslaughter, according to the Associated Press.

Richmond was ultimately demoted to private, dishonourably discharged from the US Army, forced to forfeit all of his pay and allowances, and sentenced to three years in prison. 

 
That's why we call it military 'justice' and not military justice.  He should have been imprisoned for life.  He lied and the military let him get away with lying.  They wanted to let him get away.  The only reason there was some punishment for the gang-rape of Abeer and her murder and the murder of three members of her family was probably because those War Crimes resulted in a revenge attack being carried out on other US soldiers.  (Those US soldiers attacked were not part of the War Crimes, to be clear.)   If that had not happened, I truly question whether the military would have punished those soldiers at all.  And let's remember that it was a civilian court that delivered the harshest punishment (to Steven D. Green) and that the military court went much easier on the other gang-rapists.

Muhamad Husain Kadir.

That's the name of the man Richmond shot dead, in the back of the head, while he was handcuffed.  Muhamad Husain Kadir life mattered.  The US military's refusal to seek the appropriate punishment resulted in Richmond returning to the US and trying to take down the government.  He should have been in prison.

On Iraq, AFP reports:

Iraqi no-frills carrier Fly Baghdad has condemned Washington's imposition of sanctions, saying the US Treasury provided no proof of its allegation the airline had assisted Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

In a statement on Monday, the US slapped sanctions on Fly Baghdad and its CEO, Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, accusing them of "providing assistance to the Quds Force", the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, "by delivering material and personnel throughout the region" including weapons.

Responding in a statement late Monday, the airline said the US decision was "based on misleading and unreal information that cannot stand up to the law".

Fly Baghdad demanded that the US Treasury provide evidence that could "convict the company or its management".



The US government attacked the Iraqi military.  I'm not interested in quoting from garbage.  Reports of the US attacking "Iraq militias linked to Iran"?  Garbage.  For seven years now, those militias have been legally part of the Iraqi military.  That was signed into law over seven years ago.  I get it, I do.  If I were X at a certain network I wouldn't want to link them to the Iraqi military out of fear that some people would link me to my former reporting partner who of course got busted for kiddie porn and is no longer walking the streets.  I get why you wouldn't like links.  I do.  But the reality is this was an attack on the Iraqi military.  Iraq has been very clear that it is a violation of their national sovereignty.  When US outlets refuse to report correctly, Americans have no idea what's really going on or why the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government are outraged and feel disrespected.


Gaza remains under assault. In fact, it's day 110 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.  Friday, United Nations Women noted, "Since 7 October 2023, more than 24,620 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, 70 per cent of whom were women or children. 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."  NBC NEWS notes, "More than 25,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 63,300 have been injured , and thousands more are missing and presumed dead."  AP has noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  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."  Max Butterworth (NBC NEWS) adds, "Satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies on Sunday reveal three of the main hospitals in Gaza from above, surrounded by the rubble of destroyed buildings after weeks of intense bombing in the region by Israeli forces."   

THE GUARDIAN notes comments by the Pope:

Pope Francis has issued a new plea against all wars as he evoked the horror of the mass killing of Jews and other victims of the Nazis ahead of Saturday’s Holocaust Memorial Day, reports Reuters.

“The memory and condemnation of that horrible extermination of millions of people … may help everybody to not forget that the logic of hatred and violence can never be justified,” he said during his Wednesday weekly audience at the Vatican.

“Let us not get tired of praying for peace, for conflicts to end, for weapons to stop, for relief for exhausted populations,” Francis added. He mentioned the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the bombing of civilians in “martyred Ukraine”.

He repeated his assertion that “war is always a defeat” in which “the only winners, so to speak, are weapons manufacturers”.


As the slaughter continues, THE WASHINGTON POST notes, "Doctors Without Borders says thousands of people are unable to evacuate from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis despite an Israeli order to leave, as heavy bombing and fighting approach the facility’s surroundings. It is one of two remaining hospitals in southern Gaza able to treat critically wounded patients, the medical group said. Fighting has intensified in the city in recent days, and Israel says its troops have encircled it."  THE GUARDIAN notes:

People fleeing the vicinity of Nasser hospital in Khan Younis have been shot at by Israeli tanks as well as attack drones, says Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud reporting from Rafah, southern Gaza.

“Entire families are being surrounded by Israeli military tanks and armoured vehicles. They are ordered to evacuate from their homes and to get outside. Women are separated from the men with their hands on top of their heads,” writes Mahmoud. He adds that civil defence crews “are trying to collect the bodies and identify the dead”.

Al Jazeera is one of the few news organisations with a functioning bureau in Gaza

Mahmoud also reports that there has been a “surge” in aerial attacks and artillery shelling in the western part of Khan Younis, while the compound of al-Aqsa University, where thousands of people have been sheltering, is “effectively under military siege”.

“No one can get out of that area,” writes Mahmoud. “Anyone who tries to leave risks losing their life as there is constant shelling and attacks by land and by air.”



You might think those doing the bidding of the Israeli government would feel some shame.  That doesn't appear to be an emotion rampant in the Israeli military.  I'd wonder if they were divorced from the world were it not for the fact that they have their mobile devices and keep posting on social media.  


  Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October, Israeli soldiers have been posting what can only be described as snuff videos on social media platforms. In the videos, soldiers can be seen – often gleefully – committing war crimes against Palestinians.

In one video, an Israeli soldier dressed in a dinosaur costume loads artillery shells into a tank and dances as the shells are fired in the direction of Gaza. In another video, a soldier is filmed dedicating an explosion to his two-year-old daughter for her birthday. Seconds later, a Palestinian residential building behind him is blown up. Other videos show Israeli soldiers setting alight Palestinian food supplies during a starvation campaign and mocking stripped, rounded-up and blindfolded Palestinian civilians.

There has been shock and outrage over the videos on social media platforms by Palestinians and their allies with many noting that the videos should be used as evidence in the case against the Israeli regime for genocide before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Indeed, this latest aggression on Gaza has been one of the most visually documented atrocities in history. And genocidal intent has never been so blatantly expressed by both soldiers and political leaders.

Even those who support the Israeli regime seem to be shocked at the brazenness with which Israeli soldiers are sharing these videos.  British broadcaster Piers Morgan, for example, asked on X, formerly Twitter: “Why do Israeli soldiers keep filming themselves doing this kind of crass, insensitive thing? Why don’t their commanders stop them? Makes them look callous when so many children in Gaza are being killed.” For Morgan, it seems, the problem is not what the soldiers are doing but rather that they are filming themselves doing it.

People less informed on the context might find it strange that these soldiers are implicating themselves in such horrific crimes without a second thought. But those with deeper knowledge of the Zionist settler colonial project in Palestine know that decades of impunity not only for the Israeli regime but also for Israeli individuals guilty of war crimes has led us to this point.



The New York Times reported Tuesday that Israel intends to fully demolish all buildings in a 1,000-meter “buffer zone” along Gaza’s border with Israel, citing Israeli officials.

The move, which is a war crime under international law, would significantly reduce the size of the Gaza Strip.

The plan came to light after 24 Israeli soldiers were killed Monday as they were laying explosives in a building in the area to be demolished. As the soldiers were laying the explosives, they were attacked by Hamas fighters, leading the explosives to go off during the firefight.

The Times reported that “Israel wants to demolish many of the Palestinian buildings close to the border in order to create what they describe as a ‘security zone,’ according to the three officials.”

The Times also reported that “Two of the officials said that Israel’s goal was to create a buffer of up to roughly six-tenths of a mile along the entire length of Israel’s roughly 36-mile border with Gaza. At its narrowest point, the territory is less than four miles wide.”

In a news conference, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israel was seeking to “create the security conditions for the return of the residents of the south to their homes.”

The vast majority of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 25,000 Gazans and left over 7,000 missing.


Let's note this segment on the arts and the power of the arts from yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!



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

We turn now to the acclaimed Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. In November, he had an exhibit in London canceled after he wrote a social media post where he criticized the United States for its longtime financial support of Israel. Ai Weiwei has previously expressed support for Palestinians. He made a 2016 documentary, that includes Gaza in the global refugee crisis, called Human Flow.

Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most acclaimed artists. In 2011, he was arrested at the Beijing airport, held for 81 days without charge. He’s been living in exile since 2015. He’s joining us here in New York City ahead of his event tonight at Town Hall that’s part of PEN America’s PEN Out Loud series, when he’ll discuss his new graphic memoir, Zodiac.

Ai Weiwei, welcome back to Democracy Now! Let’s start with that canceled London exhibit. What happened?

AI WEIWEI: Well, after I post, you know, a single line on Twitter, I never noticed people really become so sensitive or so crazy about my posts. Basically, post described the situation about the Israelis’ relations with U.S., and which is very, very — you know, it’s very subjective. It’s not from my point of view, but it’s really general facts.

So, then, you know, the galleries— actually, not one gallery, but galleries in Paris and in London — they got very worried. And I still don’t know exactly the reason why they have to worry about an artist’s single line, you know, but, rather, they said they want to avoid this kind of argument, and they’re trying to protect my interest, so they postponed my shows — not one, but altogether four shows.

So, I guess that proved what I’m saying on Twitter is correct, because there is all over the world, you know, this strong censorship about different voices towards these kind of conflicts, and the conflict continues getting so massive and also seems it’s not going to stop. So, by doing that, yes, many of my shows have been canceled, so…

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Were you surprised by the reaction, given that you’ve been — not only are you one of the most celebrated artists from China in the West, but also you’ve been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians for years?

AI WEIWEI: I am surprised. I think we are — should live in a more free society and which carry a lot of different opinions and voice. But to have this kind of devastating case in dealing with the art community, not only art community, but also films or literature, I think it shows a really very bad and a backwards in terms of freedom of expression, human rights and, you know, all those issues.

AMY GOODMAN: You know, there are not many Chinese artists as celebrated and embraced by the West as you are, Ai Weiwei. Were you surprised by the swift retaliation against your position, which is really critiquing the West, in London, Britain and the U.S., when it comes to supporting the Israeli government, when it comes to the assault on Gaza?

AI WEIWEI: I think maybe I was celebrated for the wrong reason. But still, as the artist, I have to fight for the human dignity and also basic human rights, freedom of speech. And that’s why I’m here, so…

AMY GOODMAN: Can I ask about your graphic novel, Ai Weiwei? Talk about Zodiac and the message you’re conveying in this graphic memoir.

AI WEIWEI: Well, thanks for asking that. I came to New York to be part of this graphic novel — how do you say? — the promotion. And the novel take us about two, three years, with two other persons involved. And so, we made the drawing and the storyline, and, you know, it’s very — I think it’s pretty unique and also charming in telling my personal stories in relating to Chinese classic stories, but also in relating to current events both in China and in the West. So, it’s very detailed and, you know, very visual narratives about the stories.

AMY GOODMAN: Ai Weiwei, your message to the world right now? You are a dissident when it comes to China. You cannot live inside China. You’re in exile. And now, when you come and are embraced by the West, you find yourself canceled again and again. Your thoughts?

AI WEIWEI: Well, I think we are living in a very crucial time globally. We have to rethink about our values or what we are really defending for. It’s not only a challenge for individual artists, but also for the states. And we are gradually losing the ground of democracy or personal freedom, or even we are still facing crisis — economic crisis, immigration crisis. Also, we are possibly at the edge of the World War III. You know, this is not an exaggeration. It can happen. And I’m afraid this is the facts. But that would calling for every individual to defend the humanity and human rights.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you so much for being with us, Ai Weiwei, world-renowned Chinese artist and activist, has a new graphic memoir called Zodiac. He’ll be speaking tonight at Town Hall in New York.


Still on the arts, we're also going to note this from Marc Malkin (VARIETY):


Anne Hathaway walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot Tuesday morning in support of the Condé Nast Union walk out.

Nearly 400 union members who work at Condé Nast are currently holding a 24-hour work stoppage to protest negotiation practices they claim are unlawful.

Hathaway was unaware of the work stoppage when she arrived at the New York City photo shoot. She was still in hair and makeup when her team was notified by a staffer from SAG-AFTRA to advise Hathaway to support the work stoppage.

“They hadn’t even started taking photos yet,” a source tells Variety. “Once Anne was made aware of what was going on, she just got up from hair and makeup and left.”  





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