Saturday, December 9, 2023

Jonathan Majors is guilty

I thought Jonathan Majors gave some great performances and I was really excited to see where his career was going to go.  Here's my 2023 coverage of him.

 

February 17, my review of "ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA:"

 

And the new Ant-Man delivers with Kang played by Jonathan Majors as Kang. Kang is pure evil and he is also completely understandable.  That's an interesting mix.  It's a part that could be nothing but boo and hiss -- in fact.  And it's a major role.  I think -- based on the second after the movies scene -- the first is mid credits, the second is right after the credits end -- that he'll be popping up on the LOKI TV series because Loki and whatever Owen Wilson's character's name is show up to spy on Kang.  

So Scott (Paul Rudd) is living his life and happy though his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) feels like he should be using his powers to better the world instead of writing a book and promoting it.  She's got the backing of Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank (Michael Douglas).  Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) backs Cassie but she's not giving support -- turns out that support is a plan Cassie came up with and that Hope and Hank have been helping her with: A way to explore the quantum space Janet was trapped in for decades (noted in the first ANT-MAN and she's freed in ANT-MAN II).  You may remember Janet didn't want to talk about.


There's a reason we learn as Hank, Hope and Cassie's work on this pulls them and Scott and Janet into quantum.


There they deal with many types of characters and with a varied plot line.

They cross cut and do so very well.  It saves us from what could have been dull talking head scenes to catch us up on what Janet was dealing with all those years.  I'll say one word: Revolution.


The storyline's great, the visuals are great, the performance and the action scenes are out of this world.  


A whole new world is created for this film.  It's really amazing. And even the opening song, "Welcome Back" -- John Sebastian's theme to WELCOME BACK KOTTER is used amazingly well.  You realize it was foreshadowing when it pops back up at the end.


I'm trying so hard no to do spoilers.  There are so many twists and turns throughout.  


It's just a really great film and big props to Paul Rudd for making it an ensemble film.  Ant-Man is important, of course.  But everybody gets their moments to shine.  

 

I gotta say this: Michelle Pfeiffer rocks, rolls and rules.  She is amazing in this film.  And we really get to know Janet.  


This is easily my favorite film of the year so far and there's no way it's not going to be on my yearly top ten.

 

March 27


Second place was CREED III which might also see a drop off due to allegations regarding Jonathan Majors.  I have no idea if they're true or not.  But it would be surprising if they didn't impact box office.  

 

April 19:

 

Jonathan Majors will be going to court soon.  When that happens, I'll probably weigh in.  At present, all I know is what the press is fed.  Is he guilty of abusing a woman?  I hope not.  But I'm not writing a defense for him anymore than I'm writing an attack on him.  I'm waiting to see what comes out in court.  


I hope it's not true.  He showed a lot of promise in both movies this years (the latest Ant-Man film and the latest CREED) but that means nothing if he's assaulting women.  Again, I hope that's not the case and I've waited to see how this would play out.  I guess we'll know shortly.

 

I've tried to be fair.  Meagan Good has been an embarrassment as his arm piece -- a woman stabbing other women in the back and everyone I work with believes she's been paid to show up as Majors' arm piece so he would look innocent. 


Here's TMZ on the trial:


He should admit what he did and seek therapy.  If he did that and there were no reports of him abusing another woman for five years, I'd be willing to  think he'd grown and changed and rethink where I stand with regards to him.  But as of now, he beats women and he hides behind Meagan Good to pretend otherwise so I'm done with him.


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

 

 

Friday, December 8, 2023. Even though there's enough misery in the world to call out, some people have to invent things to whine about.  The slaughter in Gaza continues.


THE INTERCEPT is the worst offender of clickbait.  We have to juggle what we cover here currently because of the assault on Gaza.  But when I see a headline like "Julian Assange Could Face Extradition to the U.S. by Early 2024"?  Then Julian moves to head of the line.  And then, when I click on it and find that it's not an article about that at all?  I get ticked.  The event is tomorrow, click here for his info.  If he has it on Twitter, I didn't see it. But I did realize again how stupid and slave-like the media is. Musk wants to call it X.  Who the hell cares what he wants?  More to the point the name is still "Twitter.com."  



https://twitter.com/ryangrim?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

See that?  "https://twitter.com/"  


In early 2024, a new, grim chapter may be written in the annals of journalistic history. Julian Assange, the publisher of Wikileaks, could board a plane for extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 175 years in prison on espionage charges for the crime of publishing newsworthy information.

The persecution of Assange is clear evidence that the Biden administration is overseeing the silent death of the First Amendment—with global consequences.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s exposé during the Watergate scandal is seen as a triumph of truth over power. Their investigative reporting led to the downfall of President Nixon, cementing their status as champions of press freedom. However, what if this tale had taken a dark turn, with the journalists prosecuted for espionage and silenced under the guise of national security? While this is mere fiction, Assange’s plight is all too real.

Assange, the standard-bearer of our era’s investigative journalism, awaits extradition in a British cell in Belmarsh Prison, a fate that could stifle the beacon of transparency he represents. At a time when the world grapples with the erosion of press freedom, with journalists imprisoned and killed, Assange’s case raises profound questions about the consequences of challenging power and unveiling uncomfortable realities.

The legacy of WikiLeaks goes beyond exposing government misconduct; it pierces the veil of secrecy shrouding global affairs. The release of Collateral Murder, the haunting camera footage from a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad showing the murder of several civilians, including two Reuters journalists, shocked the world. As we’ve seen in the past two months, the killing of civilians and journalists in war continues. In the last two months, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed dozens of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. On Thursday, human rights groups determined that Israel had deliberately fired on a Reuters journalist in southern Lebanon—a blatant war crime.

The aim of targeting journalists is to keep information where governments want it—under lock and key. That is why Wikileaks is such a threat—because, since its founding, it has fearlessly worked to wrest that information out of the hands of the powerful and put it in the hands of the people.

 
All government's lie, as I.F. Stone long ago noted. 

Caveat!  Except of course the government of Israel!  It never lies!  It's unique!  It's special!  

I'm sorry I'm not in the mood for crap.  I'm going try to be nicer than I was to the actress who called me last night and begged me to help with the effort on those mythical rape victims.  But I can't make any promises.

That was last night.  This morning"


One e-mail changed a little bit in the 43 times it was sent.  You got the wrong one.  You can't shame me.  Not on the topic of the assault.  I get it, you want us to all grab the Israeli government's hymnal and sing the chorus to "Rapes Took Place October 7th And My Heart Knows It Happened."  You got the wrong one.

(A) I was assaulted years ago as a child.  So I really don't need to hear from you sentences like, "Imagine if you were assaulted . . ."  _____, I was.  I don't have to imagine.  And what kind of sicko (a) wants me to relive that trauma?   (B) "You have said over and over, 'Believe all women.'''  One more time: You got the wrong one.  I never said that and I never would say that.  Check the archives and you'll see that I have long rejected that nonsense.  I do not believe in that blanket nonsense.  Some men lie, some women lie.  More to the point, I am a thinking person and I would be an idiot to turn off my brain and march along blindly.  There are women who came forward with charges against Donald Trump.  I don't like Donald and never have.  I believed some of the women, I didn't believe them all.  If you were serving on a jury, you'd listen to the information and process it using your best skills.  That's not "believe all women."  I've never argued that and I never would.  Some women I believe, some I don't.  Some I can't determine.  (C) "It is your duty to call out these rapists."  What rapists?  As with the women who allegedly were raped, we don't know anything about who raped anyone. 

I hear your claims.  I've heard them repeatedly in the media.  Where's your proof?



Some of you liars  on this are bringing back in the beheaded babies lie.  That is a lie.  There is no proof to that.  But it could have happened.  A sword swipe, a head comes off.  Yeah, that can happen.  But you're telling me that in the hours an assault took place on October 7th, as Israelis scrambled to get to safety and hopefully Israeli forces scrambled to fight the attack, Hamas took time to rape.  And to gang rape.  Wow.  


Doesn't play.  Doesn't mean it didn't happen.  But it doesn't play.  If  you pitched me that, I'd say that was a huge plot point error and that the audience will never believe it.  This was an attack lasting hours not days.  That the audience -- aware of all the money that's gone into the Israeli military alone would never believe that attackers would gang rape on site of the attack because they would be in fear of being caught.  They might drag someone away to rape them after the attack but to stop everything and conduct a gang-rape?  Again, it doesn't play.  Doesn't mean it didn't happen.  But it doesn't play.



There have been too many lies already.  WIKIPEDIA:


U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described some of the evidence: "a young boy and girl, 6 and 8 years old, and their parents around the breakfast table. The father's eye gouged out in front of his kids. The mother's breast cut off, the girl's foot amputated, the boy's fingers cut off before they were executed"; and "a baby, an infant, riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded. Young people burned alive. I could go on, but it's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way."[212][213]

Ha'aretz investigation into the claims of mutilation and torture found several examples where inaccurate information was disseminated by Israeli search and rescue units, the army, and by politicians. An Israeli army officer claimed that babies had been hung on clotheslines, though later investigations showed that one infant was killed, alongside her father, and that the reports of groups of children being slaughtered and multilated were false. Most of the children were killed alongside family members. Ha'aretz reported that "Hamas terrorists did desecrate corpses during the massacre, especially the bodies of soldiers. There were also beheadings and cases of dismemberment" but that "there is no evidence that children from several families were murdered together, rendering inaccurate Netanyahu’s remark to U.S. President Joe Biden that Hamas terrorists 'took dozens of children, tied them up, burned them and executed them.'"[214] ZAKA volunteers shared stories of atrocities, with one repeatedly describing twenty children having been bound and burned at a kibbutz; the same volunteer said a pregnant woman had her unborn baby cut from her womb and that he had found the woman next to two murdered children aged six and seven. However, the list of dead does not correspond with the claims, and there were no children of that age killed in the kibbutz; the kibbutz has denied that the story is related to the kibbutz.[214] Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, sent a letter to US first lady Jill Biden claiming that a heavily pregnant woman was taken hostage to Gaza; the woman was identified as a Thai worker who had been taken hostage and later released. She was not pregnant and had not given birth.[214]



On rape?  Where are the survivors?  

There is no evidence.  But this is yet another attempt to distract from reality.

It's being used to try to justify the killing of children, the murder of innocent civilians.  They think they can make you dumb by appealing to your emotions.

That does work with some people.  It's never worked with me.  Some people think I'm very cold (and I may be) but for me it's the b.s. meter that I have where the more drama you produce, the more my gut tells me you're not telling the truth.


If it's learned that women were raped, we'll address it.  

Like we did with Abeer.  I don't remember Gal Gadot speaking out for Abeer.  I don't remember Mayim Bialik either.


We're going to do a long excerpt of the March 31, 2021 snapshot:


War Criminal Steven D. Green is dead.  AP's Brett Barrouquere, who has long covered Green, reports  the 28-year-old Green was found dead in his Arizona prison cell on Saturday and that, currently, the operating belief is that it was a case of suicide.



Steven D. Green



May 7, 2009 Steven D. Green (pictured above) was convicted for his crimes in the  March 12, 2006 gang-rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, the murder of her parents and the murder of her five-year-old sister while Green was serving in Iraq. Green was found to have killed all four, to have participated in the gang-rape of Abeer and to have been the ringleader of the conspiracy to commit the crimes and the conspiracy to cover them up. May 21, 2009, the federal jury deadlocked on the death penalty.

Alsumaria explained, "An ex-US soldier was found guilty for raping an Iraqi girl and killing her family in 2006 while he might face death sentence.  . . . Eye witnesses have reported that Green shot dead the girl’s family in a bedroom while two other soldiers were raping her. Then, Green raped her in his turn and put a pillow on her face before shooting her. The soldiers set the body afire to cover their crime traces."

Evan Bright reported on the verdict:


As the jury entered the court room, Green(red sweater vest) let out a large sigh, not of relief, but seemingly of anxiety, knowing the weight of the words to come. As Judge Thomas Russell stated "The court will now publish the verdict," Green interlaced his fingers and clasped them over his chin. Russell read the verdict flatly and absolutely. Green went from looking down at each "guilty" to eyeing the jury. His shoulders dropped as he was convicted of count #11, aggravated sexual abuse, realizing what this means. A paralegal at the defense table consoled Green by patting him on his back, even herself breaking down crying at the end of the verdicts.
After Russell finished reading the verdicts, he begged questions of the respective attorneys. Wendelsdorf, intending to ensure the absolution of the verdict, requested the jury be polled. Honorable Judge Russell asked each juror if they agreed with these verdicts, receiving a simple-but-sufficient yes from all jurors. Green watched the jury flatly.


From the September 4th, 2009 snapshot:


Turning to the United States and what may be the only accountability for the crimes in Iraq.  May 7th Steven D. Green (pictured above) was convicted for his crimes in March 12, 2006 gang-rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, the murder of her parents and the murder of her five-year-old sister while Green was serving in Iraq. Green was found to have killed all four, to have participated in the gang-rape of Abeer and to have been the ringleader of the conspiracy to commit the crimes and the conspiracy to cover them up. May 21st, the federal jury deadlocked on the death penalty and instead kicking in sentence to life in prison. Today, Green stood before US District Judge Thomas B. Russell for sentencing. Kim Landers (Australia's ABC) quotes Judge Russell telling Green his actions were "horrifying and inexcusable."  Not noted in any of the links in this snapshot (it comes from a friend present in the court), Steven Dale Green has dropped his efforts to appear waif-ish in a coltish Julia Roberts circa the 1990s manner.  Green showed up a good twenty pounds heavier than he appeared when on trial, back when the defense emphasized his 'lanky' image by dressing him in oversized clothes.  Having been found guilty last spring, there was apparently no concern that he appear frail anymore. 
Italy's AGI reports, "Green was recognised as the leader of a group of five soldiers who committed the massacre on September 12 2006 at the Mahmudiyah check point in the south of Baghdad. The story inspired the 2007 masterpiece by Brian De Palma 'Redacted'."  BBC adds, "Judge Thomas Russell confirmed Green would serve five consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole."  Deborah Yetter (Courier-Journal) explains, "Friday's federal court hearing was devoted mostly to discussion of technical issues related to Green's sentencing report, although it did not change Green's sentence. He was convicted in May of raping and murdering Abeer al-Janabi, 14, and murdering her parents, Kassem and Fakhriya, and her sister, Hadeel, 6, at their home outside Baghdad."
Green was tried in civilian court because he had already been discharged before the War Crimes were discovered.  Following the gang-rape and murders, US soldiers attempted to set fire to Abeer's body to destroy the evidence and attempted to blame the crimes on "insurgents."  In real time, when the bodies were discovered, the New York Times was among the outlets that ran with "insurgents."  Green didn't decide he wanted to be in the military on his own.  It was only after his most recent arrest -- after a long string of juvenile arrests -- while sitting in jail and fearing what sentence he would face, that Green decided the US Army was just the place he wanted to be.  Had he been imprisoned instead or had the US military followed rules and guidelines, Green wouldn't have gotten in on a waiver.  Somehow his history was supposed to translate into "He's the victim!!!!"  As if he (and the others) didn't know rape was a crime, as if he (and the others) didn't know that murder was considered wrong.  Green attempted to climb up on the cross again today.  AP's Brett Barrouguere quotes the 'victim' Green insisting at today's hearing, "You can act like I'm a sociopath.  You can act like I'm a sex offender or whatever.  If I had not joined the Army, if I had not gone to Iraq, I would not have got caught up in anything."  Climb down the cross, drama queen.  Your entire life was about leading up to a moment like that.  You are a sociopath.  You stalked a 14-year-old Iraqi girl while you were stationed at a checkpoint in her neighborhood.  You made her uncomfortable and nervous, you stroked her face.  She ran to her parents who made arrangements for her to go live with others just to get her away from you, the man the army put there to protect her and the rest of the neighborhood.  You are one sick f**k and you deserve what you got.  Green play drama queen and insist "you can act like I'm a sex offender" -- he took part in and organized a gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl.  That's a sex offender.  In fact, "sex offender" is a mild term for what Green is.
Steven D. Green made the decision to sign up for the US military.  He was facing criminal punishment for his latest crimes, but he made the decision.  Once in the military, despite his long history of arrests, he didn't see it as a chance to get a fresh start.  He saw it as a passport for even more crimes.  What he did was disgusting and vile and it is War Crimes and by doing that he disgraced himself and the US military.  His refusal to take accountability today just demonstrates the realities all along which was Green did what he wanted and Green has no remorse.  He sullied the name of the US military, he sullied the name of the US.  As a member of the army, it was his job to follow the rules and the laws and he didn't do so.  And, as a result, a retaliation kidnapping of US soldiers took place in the spring of 2006 and those soldiers were strung up and gutted.  That should weigh heavily on Steven D. Green but there's no appearance that he's ever thought of anyone but himself.  He wants to act as if the problem was the US military which requires that you then argue that anyone serving in Iraq could have and would have done what he did.  That is not reality.  He does not represent the average soldier and he needs to step down from the cross already.
 AFP notes, "During closing arguments at his sentencing, Green was described alternately as 'criminal and perverse' and deserving of the death penalty, and as a 'broken warrior" whose life should be spared'."  Brett Barrouquere (AP) has been covering the story for years now.  He notes that Patrick Bouldin (defense) attempted to paint Green as the victim as well by annoucing that Green wanted to take responsibility "twice" before but that Assistant US Attorney Marisa Ford explained that was right before jury selection began and in the midst of jury selection.  In other words, when confronted with the reality that he would be going to trial, Steven D. Green had a panic moment and attempted to make a deal with the prosecution.  (The offer was twice rejected because the 'life in prison' offer included the defense wanting Green to have possible parole.)  Steve Robrahn, Andrew Stern and Paul Simao (Reuters) quote US Brig Gen Rodney Johnson ("Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command") stating, "We sincerely hope that today's sentencing helps to bring the loved ones of this Iraqi family some semblance of closure and comfort after this horrific and senseless act."


Green went into the military to avoid criminal charges on another issue.  He was one of many that the military lowered the standards for.

May 28, 2009, the family of Abeer gave their statements to the court before leaving to return to Iraq. WHAS11 (text and video) reported on the court proceedings:


Gary Roedemeier: Crimes were horrific. A band of soldiers convicted of planning an attack against an Iraqi girl and her family.

Melissa Swan: The only soldier tried in civilian court is Steven Green. The Fort Campbell soldier was in federal court in Louisville this morning, facing the victims' family and WHAS's Renee Murphy was in that courtroom this morning. She joins us live with the information and also more on that heart wrenching scene of when these family members faced the man who killed their family.


Renee Murphy: I mean, they came face to face with the killer. Once again, the only thing different about this time was that they were able to speak with him and they had an exchange of dialogue and the family is here from Iraq and they got to ask Steven Green all the questions they wanted answered. They looked each other in the eye. Green appeared calm and casual in court. The victims' family, though, outraged, emotional and distraught. Now cameras were not allowed in the courtroom so we can't show video of today's hearing but here's an account of what happened. (Video begins] This is a cousin of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl raped and killed by Steven Green. He and other family members in this SUV were able to confront Green in federal court this morning. Their words were stinging and came from sheer grief. Former Fort Campbell soldier Steven Green was convicted of killing an Iraqi mother, father and their young daughter. He then raped their 14-year-old daughter, shot her in the head and set her body on fire. Today the victim's family was able to give an impact statement at the federal court house the young sons of the victims asked Green why he killed their father. an aunt told the court that "wounds are still eating at our heart" and probably the most compelling statements were from the girls' grandmother who sobbed from the stand and demanded an explanation from Green. Green apologized to the family saying that he did evil things but he is not an evil person. He says that he was drunk the night of the crimes in 2006 and he was following the orders of his commanding officers. In his statement, Green said if it would bring these people back to life I would do everything I could to make them execute me. His statement goes on to say, "Before I went to Iraq, I never thought I would intentionally kill a civilian. When I was in Iraq, something happened to me that I can only explain by saying I lost my mind. I stopped seeing Iraqis as good and bad, as men, women and children. I started seeing them all as one, and evil, and less than human." Green didn't act alone. His codefendants were court-martialed and received lesser sentences. Green will be formally sentenced to life in prison in September. [End of videotape.] The answers that Green gave were not good enough for some of the family members. at one point today, the grandmother of the young girls who were killed left the podium and started walking towards Green as he sat at the defendant's table shouting "Why!" She was forcibly then escorted to the back of the court room by US Marshalls. She then fell to the ground and buried her face in her hands and began to cry again. The family pleaded with the court for the death sentence for Green. but you can see Green's entire statement to the court on our website whas11.com and coming up tonight at six o'clock, we're going to hear from Green's attorneys.


Steven D. Green was convicted of War Crimes.


US soldiers gang-raped and killed an Iraqi girl and they killed three members of her family.  Andy Mosher (Washington Post) would quote the go-to-military law expert for the press, Eugene Fidell stating, "This is not a defense known to the law.  But this kind of evidence could come in during the court-martial, and it might be pertinent to the sentence.  They could be setting the stage to avoid a death penalty."  And at the Article 23 hearing, Captain Alex Pickands, for the prosecution, responded to the defense's argument: "Murder, not war. Rape, not war. That's what we're here talking about today. Not all that business about cold food, checkpoints, personnel assignments. Cold food didn't kill that family. Personnel assignments didn't rape and murder that 14-year-old little girl."  Yet somehow this was not front page news.  AP did cover the topic regularly.  Despite KPFA's Sandra Lupien covering the news before anyone else, KPFA wouldn't lead on this, DEMOCRACY NOW! couldn't be bothered with this.  Over and over, Abeer was betrayed by national media and by what passes for 'left' in the beggar media ("Send money! Always send money!").  


The murder of her family was a War Crime.  The murder and gang-rape of Abeer was a War Crime.  Men were sent to prison for their crimes but where was the press?



In January of 2007, Jane Fonda gave a speech announcing the start of WOMEN'S MEDIA CENTER and the speech included:






I want to share a story.  I wonder how many know the name, Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi.  How many know who she was?

Abeer was a 14-old-girl, living with her family about 50 miles south of Baghdad, trying to grow up as best she could in a country ravaged by violence and war.

Until March 12, 2006, when her life was cruelly cut short. On that night, five American soldiers, dressed all in black, allegedly burst into the home where Abeer lived with her family.

After spending the evening drinking whiskey mixed with energy drinks and playing cards, the soldiers must have decided to execute the crime they allegedly had been planning for weeks.  According to the charges, the men took turns raping 14-year-old Abeer before shooting her. In the next room, her mother, her father, and her five-year-old sister were executed. When the men were done, they drenched the bodies in kerosene and set them on fire.

Then, the prosecutors say, they went back to base and grilled up some chicken wings for dinner. It was months before this crime came to light.

The cold-blooded murder of Abeer and her family is a tragedy. But it’s almost as great a tragedy when her story, and all the other stories that are difficult to hear and difficult to accept, are buried in the back of the news pages—quickly shuffled off the nightly news by politicians and their handlers desperate to change the subject. Or never told at all.

Like so many Americans, I have felt frustrated and betrayed by the state of the mainstream media in this country— media whose priorities seem out of step with their responsibilities.

Media Must Be the Defenders of Democracy.

We need a media that strengthens democracy, not a media that strengthens the government. We need a media that enriches public discourse, not one that enriches corporations. There’s a big difference.

When we talk about reforming the media, what we’re really talking about is creating a media that is powerful, not a media that serves the interests of the powerful; a media that is so powerful that it can speak for the powerless, bear witness for those who are invisible in our world, and memorialize those who would be forgotten.

A truly powerful media is one that can stop a war, not start one.




And a truly powerful media is still needed and still required.  Women's history celebrates the progress women have made, yes, but it also includes the barriers that still have to be overcome.  Abeer's life didn't matter to corporate media.  They begged off coverage of the Article 32 hearing (or else lied about it -- Robert Worth, THE NEW YORK TIMES) due to not having reporters in Iraq.  Well Steven D. Green had a civilian prosecution and he was tried in the state of Kentucky.  This did not mean that the outlets suddenly rushed to cover what had happened.

Abeer's life mattered and it's a sad and sorry excuse for a press when they don't believe the same.


============================

Long excerpt, but Abeer's life was taken in violence, War Crimes.  And I'm really not in the mood for lying whores. 

We knew Abeer was raped -- gang raped in fact.

She was gang raped while she heard her parents and younger sister killed in the next room.

We covered the War Crimes constantly here.  Find me the others that did.   (AP and Evan Bright are two of the few.) 

She was 15 and she was gang-raped and murdered by US troops.  

We covered it when the truth emerged.  We covered it when the Article 32 hearings took place.  We covered it when Steven D. Green went on trial in a civilian court (unlike the others involved, Green had already been discharged from the US military before the crimes were known).  In fact, we covered it on the day that Green was arrested.  Go find one other blog, website, what have you that did.  You won't.  Sandra Lupien included it in a news break at the top of the hour on KPFA and we immediately noted it.  

Katha Pollitt at THE NATION -- 'feminist' -- ignored it and ignored it until we made an issue and shamed her into covering it -- well, mentioning it.  You've seen her, right?  It takes a lot to shame her.

I can't stand up for women who don't exist and, at present, there are no rape victims (dead) or survivors.  That's the reality.

There are dead civilians -- dead children among them.  And as a feminist, I find it offensive that one group of lying women want to whine that we are not standing up for mythical women who were mythically raped but they don't want to stand up for the Palestinian children being killed.  Stop pretending you're feminists, you're clearly not.  Your apologists for the abuses of a government -- the abuses and War Crimes.  That's all you are. 
One more thing, while you're on your high horse and pretending you're doing something for women who have been assaulted.  In "Media: Save us from the shallow, uninformed liars," Ava and I address this issue of Buffy Sainte-Marie.  I know Buffy and I don't like her.  So I find it very sad that Ava and I are the only ones truly defending her.  She's accused of lying about her birth.  The CBC wasted money on an 'investigation' to prove (I'm not sure it did) that Buffy does not have a Native American birth parent.  Read the piece if this topic interests you, but the point I want to make is that the man who assaulted Buffy as a child -- and his daughter -- are the 'proof' that Buffy supposedly lied.  That man was her brother -- either birth brother of adopted brother.

If Buffy's lied -- and I don't know that she has -- we're talking about something that should have led to empathy, not attacks.  A young girl is assaulted by her brother -- that's not just rape, it's incest -- and has to carry that shame starting in the 50s.  She tells herself anything to push away the fears, guilt and everything else.  She lies that he wasn't her brother because it's bad enough that it was rape but to also be incest?  And to be so unimportant to her family that they didn't protect her (she was a child)?

I don't know that Buffy lied and the CBC didn't prove anything (other than they could be assholes).  But if Buffy lied, shame on the people who are attacking her and trashing her.  A child of incest will do anything to rewrite that story -- they will even convince themselves that a lie is true -- anything to avoid having to admit that incest took place because that's a great deal to live with.  

So I'm really not in the mood to hear about how I need to defend women who've been assaulted when two nations filled with people -- US and Canada -- have remained silent as an incest survivor was mocked and attacked.  
 


The laughable National Council of Jewish Women Tweeted, "It has been two months since the heinous acts of terror committed by Hamas. Rape as a weapon of war is never acceptable & silence is complicity. To the world leaders & women's orgs who haven’t spoken out - we invite you to do so."
 

Really?  Because you never spoke out for Abeer.  I searched your site.  You didn't say one word.  But apparently American Jewish women in your 'council' don't consider themselves Americans instead aligning with Israel.  See, Abeer Qassim al-Janabi was gang-raped and killed by US soldiers.  That made it our responsibility -- US women -- to speak out.

But you didn't.  Apparently only Jewish women (who may or may not exist) matter to the National Council of Jewish Women because Arab females like Abeer certainly don't.  See what I did on you, turned your sanctimonious nonsense right back on you.  Again, I'm not the one. 

And your silence tells on you  -- tells on you and reveals you are a herd of heartless hypocrtites.



Israeli tanks have advanced into the center of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as Israel’s assault on the besieged Palestinian territory enters its third month. On Wednesday, an Israeli strike on the Jabaliya refugee camp killed 22 family members of Moamen Al-Sharafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, including his parents and siblings. Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza that Israel has claimed are safe continue to come under fire. This is Amir Magnam, a 5-year-old boy injured Wednesday when an Israeli strike hit a school in eastern Khan Younis where his family was sheltering.

Amir Magnam: “I went into the classroom and went to play with my friend. Then suddenly I heard a sound going boom, and we ran. A rock fell on me, on my legs, and then I ran away.”

Reporter: “Who got injured?”

Amir Magnam: “Father. A big rock fell on father, hit him here on the leg. A big rock fell on me here on my leg.”



Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed more than 16,200 people — more than 7,100 of them children. In a new report, the World Food Programme finds at least 97% of households in northern Gaza have “inadequate” supplies of food to meet their needs. A third of residents of southern Gaza reported high levels of “severe” or “very severe” hunger.

In Lebanon, a Reuters investigation has revealed an Israeli tank crew killed one of its journalists and wounded six other reporters on October 13 by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were live-streaming cross-border shelling. The attack killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six others, including Agence France-Presse reporter Christina Assi. Reuters has condemned the killing and is demanding that Israel explain its actions.

Earlier this week, USA TODAY noted, "CNN said at least nine family members of its producer Ibrahim Dahman were killed by an Israeli airstrike on his aunt’s northern Gaza house Sunday. Dahman, 36, had evacuated his young family to Egypt but his childhood home in Gaza City was destroyed by another strike the same day."  Actual people, not mythical ones.

Don't see the herd of heartless hypocrites rushing to speak out against this violence.  They won't.  They're garbage and filth.  They don't carry about anyone that doesn't look like them or believe what they believe.  They're narrow minded and they're the reason the assault on Gaza continues.  Instead of addressing their own hypocrisies, they'd rather try to trick you and lie to you.

CNN's Kareem El-Damanhoury and Eyad Kourdi  report:


A US-based press freedom group on Thursday urged Israel to release a journalist reportedly detained by troops in Gaza.

Diaa Al-Kahlout, a correspondent for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was arrested at gunpoint by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, the London-based newspaper reported Thursday.

"We are deeply concerned by reports of the arrest of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout in northern Gaza along with his family members," the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement.

Videos circulating on social media on Thursday, geolocated by CNN to Beit Lahia, showed Israeli soldiers detaining dozens of men, stripped to their underwear, kneeling on the streets and wearing blindfolds. It is unclear if Al-Kahlout is among those seen in the videos. 



On the way people are 'detained,' let's note this from yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!



NERMEEN SHAIKH: U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter for the first time in decades to press the Security Council to support a ceasefire in Gaza as Israel intensifies its assault, which began two months ago today, on October 7th, after Hamas attacked Israel.

In a letter, Guterres wrote, quote, “Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon due to the desperate conditions,” he wrote.

He went on to write, quote, “We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost.”

We begin today’s show with the celebrated Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who was recently jailed and beaten by Israeli forces. He was detained at a checkpoint in Gaza as he was headed toward Rafah with his family. He was rounded up with scores of other Palestinians. After he was released from an Israeli jail two days later, Abu Toha posted a message on social media, writing, quote, “I’m safe but still have pain in nose and teeth after being beaten by Israeli army. I gave them all my family’s passports, including my American son’s but they didn’t return anything. Also my clothes & my chlidren’s were taken and not returned to me. No wallet, money, credit cards,” he wrote.

AMY GOODMAN: Mosab Abu Toha’s detention sparked global outcry from the literary community and beyond. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Progressive and other publications. He founded the Edward Said Library in Gaza. His first book of poetry, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear, won the American Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The poetry collection was published by City Lights Books.

On Sunday, Mosab Abu Toha managed to leave Gaza with his wife and three children through the Rafah border. He joins us now from Cairo, Egypt, for his first interview since he was jailed.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Mosab. Thank you so much for being with us. I’m sorry for all you have gone through. Can you describe what happened, where you were detained, where you were jailed, what happened to you when you were in Israeli prison?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Thank you so much for having me.

I made it from the north of Gaza to the south of Gaza, but I was jailed by the Israeli army. I was trying to cross and reach the Rafah border crossing. Our names were listed by the American — by the Department of State, because my youngest son, 3 years and a half, was born in America. He’s an American citizen. So I was trying to cross from the north of Gaza, where I spent the past two months, I would say, to the south of Gaza, where Rafah is, and where we were advised to go. But at the checkpoint, I was picked by the Israeli army, along with about 200 other people. I was picked by the Israeli soldier. He called me by describing me. He said, “The man with the black backpack and the red-haired boy, put the boy down and let him go, and come to me.” So, I mean, I took our passports, my son’s and also my wife’s and two other children, thinking that I would show the passports and also my American son to them, so that they would just let us go. But I was surprised, because he ordered me, very aggressively, to put the son down and come to join the queue of other people who were kidnapped with me.

I mean, there was a young — a younger man. He was so scared, and he said, “I wanted my mother. I want to be with my mom. Oh, my mom, come help me,” etc. I tried to calm him down, telling him, “Oh, don’t worry. Maybe they are going to ask us some question, and then we would go.” But that was not the case.

I was then summoned by another Israeli soldier who was sitting next to another soldier who was pointing his gun at us. They asked us to recite our names and our ID numbers, and then I was led to another Israeli Jeep, in front of whom — I mean, there were three Israelis soldiers — I was forced to take off all my clothes. I just took off my pants and my shirt, etc., and I kept my boxer shorts on. But I was surprised when they asked me to just also take off my boxer shorts. So I was naked. And I felt humiliated. I felt terrified and terrorized by this army, because they were ordering us to do everything at gunpoint. And then I was beaten in my face. I was beaten in my stomach. And I still have pain in my face.

And later, I realized they were taking us to Bir As-Saba, or Be’er Sheva, about two hours away from Gaza, without knowing what they were going to do to us. I had little clothes to warm my body during the cold weather. And so, I mean, they took me for interrogation, and I did tell them all my story. And I wasn’t aware that the whole world, especially in America, were just writing about me and asking for my release. I think this was one reason — I mean, I didn’t do anything in my life; I didn’t harm any person, although I lived under occupation all my life. And I was wounded when I was 16. I got a piece of shrapnel just a few centimeters away from my windpipe, so I was harmed. My house was bombed. But I myself didn’t harm anyone. But I was harmed again. And I am still harmed by the fact that my family and my neighbors are still in Gaza. And the last time I was in touch with my mother and my sisters and also my brothers and their children was five days ago, the same day I left Gaza. So I have no single piece of news whether they are alive or dead.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Mosab, I’d like to ask you — I mean, of course, you mentioned very soon after you arrived in Egypt that you remain very, very concerned because your parents and your siblings are in Gaza. You have not been able to reach them for five days. Are you able to reach others in Gaza? I’d just like to read very briefly what a leading military analyst from the U.S. has said, drawing an analogy between the Second World War’s bombardment of German cities like Dresden and Cologne and the contemporary present bombardment of Gaza by Israel. This is Robert Pape, writing, “Dresden, Hamburg, Cologne — some of the world’s heaviest-ever bombings are remembered by their place names. Gaza will also go down as a place name denoting one of history’s heaviest conventional bombing campaigns.” So, Mosab, if you could talk about that and what you know now about what’s going on in Gaza since you left?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Well, I mean, the situation, I think, is different than the other place names that you mentioned. For your information and your respected audience, I still have friends whose houses were bombed a few weeks ago and whose bodies are still not retrieved. And I wrote in one of my posts that not only are Gazans, are we and Gazans concerned about being killed under the rubble of our house, but also of being — maybe of being alive under the rubble and no one coming to rescue us. So, there are no fire trucks. There are no civil defense staff. There is no fuel. There are no equipment — there is no equipment to retrieve the bodies of those who might be still alive under the bombing of their house — after the bombing of their houses. So I don’t think Gaza could be compared to any other place on Earth.

And now with social media and all the world watching us, I mean, it’s different from maybe Second World War. I mean, people would hear the news of the bombing of a house or something maybe later. But people are just watching us live, and no one can step in to stop their carnage, the genocide that is committed against my family, my neighbors, my friends, my students, my fellow writers and artists.

So, during the truce a few weeks ago — I think two weeks ago there was the truce. I was in Deir al-Balah in the second — in the other half of the Gaza Strip, while my brother Hamza, who is a father of three children and whose wife is pregnant and is about to give birth — so, that’s another issue that no one talks about, I mean, the reality and the circumstances with which women in Gaza are living. I mean, they are talking about sexual violence against Israeli women, but no one talks about the violence against our lives. No one talks about pregnant women. No one talks about women themselves buried under the rubble with their families. So, this is not called violence? So, you just care about sexual violence? That’s all you care about? [inaudible] how this world is really thinking.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Mosab, so, could you talk about that? Could you say —

MOSAB ABU TOHA: And this needs to stop. And you need to —

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Mosab, I was saying —

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Yes.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: — if you could elaborate on that?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Hello?

NERMEEN SHAIKH: What the situation of Palestinian women, in particular, as you pointed out, Palestinian women who are pregnant, given what the situation in hospitals is? You’ve said a little bit about this in the past. If you could elaborate?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Well, I mean, you know, women, just like other women in the world — I mean, women in Gaza have their own needs. I men, there are no clean bathrooms. There are no clean toilets. And they need their own things. You know, when a woman gets the period, I mean, there are no — you know, there are no stuff for them to take care of their bodies. And there are also the other pregnant women. So, many hospitals in Gaza are out of service right now, not only for the wounded but also for pregnant women. No one talks about this. You need to talk about this. Where can my sister-in-law, my brother’s wife, where can she give birth? And is there enough clothes for the newborn baby? So, you don’t care about this violence committed against parents? How they are going to manage their lives? No one talks about this.

This is violence in itself, not only killing us, but about — so it’s also about the lack of water, the lack of food. You know, so, before the start of this carnage, we used to buy 25 kilo of wheat flour for 40 shekels, which is about $12. Yesterday, my wife’s uncle messaged me, and he said, “I paid 500 shekels,” which is about $130. So he paid $130 to get 25 kilograms of flour wheat — wheat flour — and if you could find it, of course, because there is lack in respect to wheat flour and other basic things. But so, if he had the money to buy it, there are other people who have not been able to get any money because they are jobless. Most people in Gaza depend on daily jobs — farmers, sellers, etc. So, there are — the majority of people in Gaza don’t have money, so they are sometimes begging other people to give them money. So, no one talks about this. They are just talking about sexual violence, about October 7th. But this has been going on, even before October 7th, by the way.

AMY GOODMAN: Mosab Abu Toha, we are reporting on everything, the horrific stories we’re hearing from October 7th, but also what happened before October 7th to Palestinians and after. And I wanted to get your response to the World Health Organization calling the assault on Gaza humanity’s “darkest hour.” The U.N.'s top humanitarian relief coordinator said Israel's attack on southern Gaza has been as devastating as in the north, with the apocalyptic conditions preventing the delivery of aid, some 85% of the population now displaced. And particularly, if you could talk about your conversations with doctors and nurses in Gaza? You tweeted, “Just imagine yourself as a father watching your child not only having his/her leg amputated, but also dying of pain. Do you still feel you are a father? That there are still humans in the world?” Talk about the hospitals.

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Mm-hmm. So, the first hospital I was able to enter was Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital, which is in Deir al-Balah. And I went there — I mean, I don’t like to go to hospitals, because, first of all, there is no space for me to enter. I mean, beds are full of patients and wounded people. And at the same time, the corridors, the inner hallways are just full of people lying there. I mean, wounded people are getting treated, getting surgeries while on the floor. So, but I had to go to the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah to get some treatment for my face and my bleeding nose. So, there are not enough doctors to treat the patients and the wounded people. And there are just bodies everywhere. People even — I mean, they would just go and bury people without their relatives around, because their relatives have died with them, which is really, really heartbreaking. And people are turned into numbers and names. They would just put a body in a piece of cloth and just write their names, and that’s it. They would just take them to the cemetery.

So I was able to talk to some doctors and nurses at the hospital. And I was shocked. I mean, I knew that there were not enough medications, but I was told by one nurse about the case of a child who had her leg amputated. And because there was no anesthesia, no painkillers, the child died while she was having her leg amputated. And I’m wondering, I mean: How would I feel as a father if my child had to have her leg or arm amputated, while she is watching her arm or leg amputated, and then she would continue to bleed, and then she would die because of the pain? And I’m asking all the people in the world just to put themselves in my place as a father. And I’m asking them: Are you really ready in the future when a Gazan child meets you maybe in the street or when you come visit Gaza or visit the cemeteries in Gaza? What would you say to this child? What have you done to protect his family? So, you are living in the Western world —

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Mosab, finally —

MOSAB ABU TOHA: — and you are, in some way or another, supporting Israel — yes.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: No, please go ahead. Finish.

MOSAB ABU TOHA: I mean, you are — in some way or another, you are supporting Israel, not — I mean, you know, you are paying taxes, which is going to — I mean, most of the taxes are going to Israel. And I’m really shocked by the American administration, and I hope that my voice would reach the American administration people. So, when October 7th happened, you went to Israel. You showed your support. You offered weapons, and you offered money. So you were able to do everything. But now you are asking Israel to protect — to minimize the casualties among the civilians. Can you do anything to protect the civilians? So, you are calling Israel to minimize the casualties, OK? So, what can you do as an American administration to force Israel to abide by the world law? Is it really hard for you to stop the carnage, to protect the civilian people, to protect hospitals, to protect shelters, UNRWA schools?

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, finally, Mosab, what is your message to the U.S., to President Biden, and to European leaders?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: Well, I think if you can’t stop the war, if you can’t stop the carnage, the genocide, just stop financing it. Stop providing more weapons to Israel. Because these weapons are just killing children who are just like your other children. I mean, your children and you, as an American or a European parent, you could be born here in my place in Gaza. Your child could be living in an UNRWA school, in a shelter. They could be bombed in a classroom. Instead of studying and, you know, continuing education, your child could be just sheltering in a classroom with no teacher, with no books. They are just being educated how to survive, if they could.

AMY GOODMAN: Mosab, we just have 30 seconds, but were you ever told why you were jailed? You were jailed — I think that day about 200 Palestinians in Gaza were jailed. There was a great outcry for you. Do you know if the others were released?

MOSAB ABU TOHA: No. I mean, there are a few other people I knew by name because they are from the same town as me, from Beit Lahia. And now it’s — so, I was kidnapped on November 19th, and now today it’s December 7th. Until now, there are other people who are still detained by the Israeli army, and their families are just contacting me: “Did you — do you know anything about our…” I told them, “I just left. I was just released. I don’t have any news about your family.” So they are still kidnapped.

And the Israelis, by the way, accused me of being a Hamas member. You know, I mean, what a ridiculous accusation. I have been living in America for the past four years. And I’ve been hurt, you know, without — I asked them. I asked the Israeli captain if they have any photograph, if they have any satellite photo of me holding a weapon or being in any place that could cause any harm to you. And he slapped me in the face. He said, “You give me the proof!”

AMY GOODMAN: Mosab Abu Toha, we want to thank you so much for being with us, Palestinian poet and author, jailed by Israeli authorities as he and his family fled Gaza. His son is an American citizen. He is a columnist, a teacher, and founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza, also author of the American Book Award-winning book of poetry, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza.

This is Democracy Now! We’re broadcasting from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates at COP28. Our next guest calls this a “Cabal of Oil Producers,” not a climate summit. We’ll speak with the renowned climate scientist Kevin Anderson and find out why he’s not here. Stay with us.



Also on the way 'detainees' are being treated, let's note this:

Muhammed Shehada, communications chief at Euro-Med Monitor, says it is “remarkable” that Israeli soldiers took “degrading and humiliating pictures” of Palestinian detainees.

“We’ve been seeing for at least four to five weeks since the ground invasion started, Israeli soldiers recording similar videos and leaking them to Telegram channel or to Israeli accounts on X. There were no Palestinian photographers in that area, so the only source of these images can be Israeli soldiers or the media personnel embedded with them,” Shehada told Al Jazeera.

He explained that sharing the footage and labelling it immediately as surrendering Hamas fighters served two goals.

“Number one is to create a false victory image for Israel to say that we are winning this fight. Number two is to terrorise, humiliate and frighten the rest of the population that is in Khan Younis or in Gaza’s northern half to coax them to flee en masse towards Rafah,” Shehada added.





While some US officials talk about the need to protect innocent Palestinian lives, President Biden has said almost nothing.

Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Steven Cook says it was a mistake for Biden to have offered a “bear hug” – complete, unconditional support for Israel. Now, Biden is stuck in a position of supplying weapons to Israel while asking it to allow basic food and water into Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s The Bottom Line speaks to Cook about where the conflict is heading. Watch the discussion below:

 

















The following sites updated:





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