Oh Boy It Never Ends: May 2024

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Mad Max, cutting the streaming cord and more

Luke and Ame both e-mailed wondering how the YOUTUBE TV less days were going? I'm behind on WILL TRENT which probably wrapped up. I realized that last night. I'll go watch it on DISNEY+ in the next few days. I think I'd noted when I had it (for live TV) that I mainly just streamed FAMILY GUY or AMERICAN DAD. If I was up late on Saturdays, I'd watch THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE live on TV LAND. And I tried to watch my favorite network shows (which got fewer and fewer) live. The NBC sitcoms NIGHT COURT, INSTANT FAMILY (now cancelled), LOPEZ VS LOPEZ. Was there another one I'm forgetting?

I can be whiney about it some days but I'm fine without it. I'll go to live TV -- over the airwaves and on the ROKU channels -- and watch my local stations or THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. This week, one of the ROKU channels is airing THE BIONIC WOMAN so I'll watch three or four episodes. Watch? I really just have TV on for background noise a lot of the time. Not meant as an insult to the shows. I do a lot of stuff online for various family members -- at least two hours a night -- and I'll have something on that I'll glance at.

For my FAMILY GUY and AMERICAN DAD binges I grab via HULU. Wasn't aware until Mike's "Fetty-crap" that THE SIMPSONS only has one season on HULU but all are on DISNEY+. I'll probably cycle through ELSBETH and SO HELP ME TODD on PARAMOUNT+ at least once before this fall. So, it's going fine.

Kind of. Forgot about last night. I kept clicking on the HULU button. Again, I'm usually doing stuff online for my family members -- reading over a niece or nephew's writing, doing things for older family members who aren't comfortable online, etc. So I kept thinking, "Am I not clicking the button?" I'd click it, drop the remote and go back to the laptop screen, look a bit later when I remembered and it would still be the main menu of the TV. So I made a point to click and keep watching the screen. It would start to pull up HULU and then go back to the home screen. Finally, I uninstalled the ap and then reinstalled it. Still same thing. Texted "Help!" in a huge group text. C.I. was the first to text back and she said go to system and do a system reboot and see if that took care of it. It did.

I'd also add that NETFLIX is getting on my nerves these days. We watched J-Lo's ATLAS twice over the weekend (check it out, it's pretty good). But the first time, on Friday night, we got about 8 or so minutes of it before it shut off and we got a message that there was a problem and to choose another film to view. That's why I haven't written about THE TOURIST. Every episode that happens. It's so frustrating. No problem with any other series, just it.

Speaking of series, the Mad Max movie series just released a new film over the weekend and it's bombed. But it's a series with some strong films and I'd argue the third one (with Tina Turner and Mel Gibson) and the fourth one (with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron) are the two strongest. Robert Vaux (CBS) uses the release of the new film to argue for a rethinking of MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDER DOME (the Tina and Mel movie):

The film's biggest accomplishment, however, is its chief antagonist, Auntie Entity, played by Tina Turner. Quite simply, it's the role she was born to play: a survivor who climbed from the ashes to build Bartertown brick by brick. Unlike previous villains in the saga, she's not an outlandish warmonger, nor does she consider herself an amoral person. She views Bartertown as a first necessary step towards reclaiming civilization. While she embraces its corruption -- and the personal benefits she enjoys -- she firmly believes it will all lead to better things. That comes part and parcel with Miller's expanded scope, and Turner's performance becomes a selling point all on its own.

MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME is the only one of the five films with a hit soundtrack. Not only did the album -- two songs and a series of instrumentals -- chart but the two singles were hits. Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero" made it to number two on BILLBOARD's top forty pop and number three on both the ac and R&B chart (number 29 on BILLBOARD's rock chart) but Tina's "One Of The Living" made it to number 15 on the top forty.

Be sure to check out Mike's "Alito's a crook -- and let's talk Bond films" for his thoughts on the James Bond series of films. Also be sure to read my cousin Marcia's "The Fantastic Four."

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

Thursday, May 30, 2024. Another US official resigns over the slaughter in Gaza, the pier to nowhere is down again, at yesterday's United Nations Security Council meeting the UN spoke strongly and the US government offered . . . nothing, and much more.

Tara Suter (THE HILL) reports, "Pop star Dua Lipa called for an immediate cease-fire in the war in Gaza again Tuesday, according to multiple reports." Suter quotes the singer stating, "Burning children alive can never be justified. The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza." The world agrees but sadly too many leaders don't. Last night, Geoff Bennett (THE NEWSHOUR, PBS) explained, "Israel's national security adviser says he expects another seven months of fighting in Gaza. The remarks come amid growing international pressure on Israel over its offensive against Hamas. It also raises questions about who will control Gaza after the war." Yesterday, Amy Goodman (DEMOCRACY NOW!) noted, "At the United Nations, Algeria has proposed a new resolution to demand Israel halt its offensive in Rafah. Meanwhile, Mexico has become the latest country to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel."

Simone McCarthy (CNN) notes this morning:

Chinese leader Xi Jinping decried “tremendous sufferings” in the Middle East and called for an international peace conference as leaders from Arab nations visit Beijing this week amid mounting global concern over Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Since last October, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has escalated drastically, throwing the people into tremendous sufferings. War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever,” Xi said Thursday at the opening of a meeting between top diplomats from China and Arab states, also attended by several leaders from the region.

He also reiterated China’s call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as well as Beijing’s support for a “more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference.”

ALJAZEERA adds, "His remarks come as Israel deepens its offensive on Gaza, seizing the strategic Philadelphi Corridor on the border between the enclave and Egypt, while engaging in a renewed push into the northern Gaza Strip, Israel’s national security adviser indicated on Wednesday that the war is likely to continue for another seven months." Meanwhile, THE NATIONAL notes, "Brazil withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday after months of tension between the two countries over the war in Gaza, the latest move from a South American nation in response to Israel's military campaign."

The United Nations Security Council held a hearing this week at the request of Algeria following the Sunday massacre of a refugee camp in Rafa -- a massacre carried out by the Israeli government.

At Wednesday's hearing, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stated:

Over seven months have now passed since 7 October. The horrific terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups and the ensuing Israeli military campaign and relentless hostilities in Gaza have caused widespread suffering on every scale imaginable.

There are reports more than 36,000 Palestinians and over 1,500 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, 125 hostages are still held in Gaza and tens of thousands of people injured, the vast majority Palestinian.

Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in the Gaza Strip many of them multiple times, and some one hundred thousand Israelis have been displaced from communities in Israel’s north and south.

Agreement on a deal to achieve a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages is blocked and as Israel rolls out a significant ground operation in and around Rafah, the devastation is only intensifying.

The appalling incident on Sunday when a reported 45 Palestinians were killing and 200 injured as the tents they were sheltering in burned around them does not stand alone amid shocking numbers of civilian casualties. I remind all parties of their obligations to protect civilians.

At the same time, the occupied West Bank remains a pressure-cooker of negative trends. The risk of a regional conflagration is constant and is mounting every day this war continues.

This trajectory must change if we are to avoid further catastrophe.

I urge all parties to return to the negotiating table immediately and in good faith. I reiterate my and the Secretary-General’s repeated calls for the immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza and for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Mr. President,

Palestinians in Gaza face another round of mass displacement, with one million fleeing from Rafah, many being displaced multiples times. Overcrowded conditions and acute shortages of food, water and medicine have led to misery and the spread of disease. The humanitarian response is woefully inadequate to address these needs.

On 24 May, the International Court of Justice delivered its Order on the Request of South Africa for the modification of the Order of 28 March in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip, reaffirming its previous provisional measures and indicating new measures.

Humanitarians are heroically continuing to deliver life-saving assistance in an incredibly difficult environment. Unsafe conditions resulting from a dangerously deficient humanitarian notification mechanism are compounded by overcrowding, desperation and a breakdown of law and order, imperiling humanitarian operations and costing the lives of humanitarian workers – including some 200 UN staff. Just hours ago, this breakdown of law and order has resulted in a well-organized looting of the UNRWA Rafah log base, making it more or less inoperative. This a key center for our operations. While we are investigating the circumstances, I condemn any violations of UN premises.

As I briefed this Council a little over a week ago, the opening of two crossings in Gaza’s north, alongside the entry of humanitarian goods arriving from Ashdod and from Jordan, as well as through the U.S. built floating pier via Cyprus – which is now under repair - are positive developments, but not sufficient. I reiterate the Secretary-General’s calls for an immediate re-opening of the Rafah crossing and for unimpeded humanitarian access throughout the Gaza Strip.

Mr. President,

Let me also focus on the occupied West Bank, where violence and other negative trends continue at an alarming rate. Large-scale Israeli operations persist, which are often met by lethal exchanges with armed Palestinians, as well as a spike in settler violence and attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. Friction points around settlements are getting worse as the settlement enterprise expands in a very well-planned manner.

I am particularly concerned by Israel’s lifting of the military order banning Israelis from entering three evacuated settlements in the northern West Bank, a policy in effect since the 2005 disengagement law was put in place, and I do take note of the subsequent military order declaring the area a closed military zone, effectively preventing the entry of Israelis and Palestinians.

Around the region, the threat of a serious escalation has intensified. Exchanges of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Hizbullah and other non-state armed groups in Lebanon continued. In addition to the deeply concerning escalation between Israel and Iran witnessed last month, aerial attacks toward Israel from militants in the region and Houthi attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea persisted. This is a combustible mix.

Mister President,

It is clear that all sides must urgently change course.

It is right that we are all focused on preventing a further deterioration or looking for solutions to the most pressing needs, yet without linking these urgent efforts to a longer-term political strategy, any solution will be short-lived or even counterproductive.

No attempt to address the humanitarian and security challenges will be sustainable unless it is part of a broader approach that addresses Gaza’s political future. That future is as an integral part of a single, unified Palestinian state, which is a crucial foundation for realizing a two-state solution.

This has been and will continue to be a key focus of my own efforts.

Throughout the past months, the Secretary-General and I have engaged extensively with the parties, the region and international actors to encourage a common approach to addressing the complex humanitarian, security and political crises affecting not only Gaza, but the whole of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel and the region.

We must reach an agreement to release the hostages and put in place an immediate ceasefire.

There is absolutely no time to lose.

The UN remains in regular contact with the mediators and parties, and we are committed to support the implementation of an agreement. A sustained ceasefire will be critical to a full-scale humanitarian and early recovery response to meet the immense needs in Gaza.

At the same time, we should be putting in place the framework for Gaza’s recovery and doing so in a way that tangible for moves forward, rather than away from a long-term political resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I have previously outlined some of the key principles that should guide us in that work - allow me to reiterate and expand on several of them here:

There should be no long-term Israeli military presence in Gaza, while at the same time Israel's legitimate security concerns, particularly in the wake of the acts of terror committed on 7 October, must be addressed.

Gaza is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian State – with no reductions in its territory.

Gaza and the West Bank must be unified politically, economically, administratively. They must be governed by a Palestinian Government that is recognized and supported by the Palestinian people and the international community. If transitional arrangements are required, they must be designed to achieve a unified Palestinian Government within a precise and limited timeframe.

There can be no long-term solution in Gaza that is not fundamentally political.

Mr. President,

My message in Brussels at the International Partners Meeting on Palestine was as follows, and it is the same message I am giving you here today:

– we must strengthen and preserve the institutions of the Palestinian Authority (PA) before it is too late, while rejecting any steps that seek to systematically undermine its viability, such as Israel’s withholding of the PA’s clearance revenues.

The fiscal situation for the PA is very serious, Mr. President.

I warned over a year ago that thirty years of state-building in Palestine were at grave risk. That is even more true today and the consequences are even more serious.

Affirming a path to the two-State solution means preserving and safeguarding the very institutions that are meant to govern such a state. Moreover, these institutions will be vital to the essential objective of ensuring Palestinian-led governance in Gaza.

The new technocratic Palestinian Government under Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, with eight ministers from Gaza - represents an important opportunity for us all to support tangible steps in the right direction, and in line with the principles for Gaza’s future as I just outlined.

The international community should provide support to, and work with, the new Government to address the PA’s dire fiscal crisis, strengthen its governance capacity and prepare it to reassume its responsibilities in Gaza and, ultimately, govern the whole of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Political, institutional and economic reforms will be needed – but they must be achievable, credible and financed. We should ensure that the Palestinian Authority is an integral part of planning for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction.

I urge all actors to recognize the critical role of the PA and how that should play out in Gaza and work toward enabling its return because there is actually no other credible alternative.

We already know the scale of damage is immense - the World Bank and the United Nations, with support from the EU, conducted an Interim Damage Assessment of the impact of the first four months of conflict in Gaza - quantifying the cost of the physical damages to critical infrastructure like hospitals, housing and roads to be at around US$ 18.5 billion. The final cost will likely be multiples of this figure.

The massive scale of this effort will clearly require mobilization of the widest possible coalition of donors, private sector sources of financing, and significant improvements in how the necessary reconstruction materials should be able to enter Gaza.

We know already that donors and investors will not be forthcoming without concrete steps by the parties to find a political solution and ensure that Gaza is not rebuilt only to be destroyed yet again.

Let me be clear: The political framework and structures we establish now will play a significant role in the success or failure of what follows. This requires us to plan and act deliberately and thoughtfully, knowing that today’s decisions will not only shape the future of governance in Gaza, but also determine the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more broadly.

Mister President,

I am aware of the many challenges in trying to achieve these objectives while war rages in Gaza and while our attention is rightly focused on urgent needs on the ground.

But it is a time for making difficult political choices. If we neglect to lay the foundations of a lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and end the occupation, the price of failure will reverberate for generations.

These foundations will not only be laid in Gaza, but also in the occupied West Bank; and they must be set in place not just by donors and the international community, but by committed leaders on all sides of this conflict. The drivers of the conflict must be addressed, including violence, settlement advancements and militant activity. Israeli measures that undermine the PA must halt now. Without progress on each of these, we will begin the process of undermining what we have not yet even started.

After the horrors of the past seven months, and past days, Palestinians and Israelis desperately need a political horizon. Without it, there is no sustainable path out of the suffering and misery we are witnessing now.

We shouldn't forget that the US was present as well. The United Nations noted the US representative also spoke, "We are heartbroken and horrified by the deaths of dozens of Palestinian civilians and the more than 200 individuals who are seriously injured, including children, following Israeli airstrike on 26 May."

What a proud, proud day for those of us in the United States.

Michel Moushabeck (TRUTHOUT) observes:

Two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its military offensive on Rafah, dozens of displaced Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes. On Sunday night, the Israeli military bombed civilians whom it had previously ordered to move to the designated “safe zone” of Tal Al-Sultan in the northwestern part of Rafah.

Israel has bombed Rafah dozens of times since the ICJ ruling. But on Sunday, the bombardment of Palestinians in a tent encampment behind the UNHCR school in Rafah resulted in a large inferno and massive casualties, including children who were burned alive in a sea of flames. According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli airstrikes struck the camp at night. The fire from the bombs falling on the plastic tents spread rapidly, killing at least 45 Palestinians, injuring 249, and razing the tent camp to the ground. This was reportedly followed by an Israeli drone strike on the Kuwaiti Hospital entrance as medics were bringing in the dead and the wounded, killing two staff members.

Hospital director Suhaib al-Hams announced on Monday that the Kuwaiti Hospital would have to suspend services due to “the repeated and deliberate attacks on the hospital’s surroundings.”

The graphic images and cell phone video recordings that have been circulating on social media — a headless child, charred bodies of children, women and children frantically running in all directions trying to escape the fires — are painful to watch. They bring Israeli atrocities in Gaza to a new level of unspeakable cruelty and horror.

I don’t know how anyone can recover from this gruesome monstrosity. Do we mourn the dead infants or weep for those who have just been orphaned? Do we scream for those children who have been maimed, or for the parents who had to wrap their loved ones in white shrouds?

Israeli officials first said the strike was “based on precise intelligence” and claimed that the bombardment targeted a Hamas compound, killing two senior Hamas officials. After global condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead started calling the strike “a tragic accident.”

The U.S.-made bombs that were dropped on the camp in Tal Al-Sultan came after Israeli airstrikes hit shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza City, killing 160 displaced Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. In Jabalya, at least four people were reportedly killed when a missile hit a residential building during an intense night of shelling. Witnesses reported raging fires throughout the city. Elsewhere in the north, Israeli occupation forces continue to demolish residential neighborhoods, burying countless numbers of people under the rubble. Israeli soldiers were also seen firing on a group of Palestinians filling water containers in the Al-Faluja area.

The killing is carried out with the approval the United States government. There has been no effort by the White House to end the supply of weapons to the Israeli government despite the many War Crimes that are taking place. As for Rafah, Edward Carver (COMMON DREAMS) notes:

Israel used U.S.-made bombs in its attack on a camp of displaced Palestinians outside Rafah that killed dozens on Sunday night, according to analyses from bothThe New York Timesand CNN.

Humanitarian groups had condemned the Israeli strike, which killed at least 45, mostly women and children, and injured more than 240. The attack left medical personnel dealing with charred corpses and missing limbs. An expert at the Council on American-Islamic Relations called it a "U.S.-backed massacre."

Using videos from the site of the attack, weapons experts identified remnants of GBU-39s, which are relatively small bombs designed and manufactured by Boeing in the U.S. One expert, interviewed by the Times and CNN, said that the tail actuation unit of the GBU-39 was visible, helping with identification of the weapon.

The news outlets indicated that at least some of the parts for the GBU-39s were also manufactured in the U.S., which experts were able to determine thanks to visible serial numbers and unique identifier codes. The Times cited Woodward, an aerospace manufacturer based in Colorado, as a manufacturer of one of the parts, while CNN cited an unnamed California parts manufacturer.

Thanks to Joe Biden, we are the killers, the killers are us. He's made that the case and continues to do so.

Where's the leadership, Joe? Where did it go? People have spent months wanting to applaud Joe for doing the right thing. Thus far, his inability to stand up has prevented applause over and over.

That's why so many people have publicly left his administration and continue to do so. People such as

Hala Rharrit, Tariq Habash, Anelle Sheline, Josh Paul, Harrison Mann, Lily Greenberg Call and Stacy Gilbert (we noted Stacy Gilbert yesterday). Julian Borger (GUARDIAN) reports on Gilbert and on another who has publicly resigned, Alexander Smith:

Two more US officials have resigned over the Gaza war, saying that the Biden administration is not telling the truth about Israeli obstruction of humanitarian assistance to more than two million Palestinians trapped and starving in the tiny coastal strip.

Alexander Smith, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians, which was cancelled at the last minute by USAID leadership last week.

Smith, a senior adviser on gender, maternal health, child health, and nutrition chose to resign on Monday after four years at USAID. In his resignation letter to the head of the agency, Samantha Power, he complained about the inconsistencies in USAID’s approach to different countries and humanitarian crises, and the general treatment of Palestinians.

The resignations mount, like the killings in Gaza. THE NATIONAL reports this morning, "The Palestine Red Crescent has said that two of its paramedics were killed in an Israeli air strike on an ambulance in the Tal Al Sultan area in Rafah. The two medics were identified as Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna."

Starvation in Gaza was already an issue, It's only getting worse. CNN notes, "Aid entering Gaza has dropped by 67% since May 7, the day after Israel began its assault on Rafah, according to a UN report."

Joe Biden had a plan! Remember? His pier to nowhere. Saturday, it crumbled. Yesterday, it crumbled again. Kaitlin Easton (Australia's ABC NEWS) notes today:

Less than two weeks after its installation off the Gaza coast, a US-built pier helping to deliver aid to Palestinians on the brink of famine broke apart.

Officials say rough seas and stormy weather caused the damage and it will now take more than a week to repair.

The pier will be reassembled at a port in southern Israel and should be back in place and working again next week, the Pentagon said.

Months after it was promised, the pier finally goes up and it is one failure after another. THE NEW ARAB explains:

Aid organisations have criticised a US-built temporary pier in Gaza used to transport aid into the besieged enclave, after satellite images revealed it breaking apart.

The imagery showed the sea damaging the pier on Tuesday, with sections needing rebuilding and repairing.

The pier, which is made up of a narrow causeway and an area used to place supplies transported by ship, cost $320 million and went into use on 17 May.

US Department of Defense spokesperson Sabrina Singh spokesperson told reporters it will now have to be moved to Ashdod in Israel, where repairs will take at least a week to be completed.

According to CNN, the pier, known as the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), can only operate in good conditions.

Michael Selby-Green, a media spokesperson from Islamic Relief told The New Arab that his group and other aid organisations have repeatedly warned that the pier could not be a substitute for getting aid through land crossings that already exist.

"The damage sustained by the floating pier two weeks after it began operating exposes the structure for the distraction that it is," he said.

He clarified that even at full capacity, the pier only delivers a small fraction of aid that could be brought in by trucks.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 237 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "At least 36,224 Palestinians have been killed and 81,777 injured in Israel's offensive on Gaza since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Thursday. In the past 24 hours, 53 people were killed and 357 others injured, the ministry said." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."

As for 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."

The following sites updated:

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

X-MEN and Rebecca Romijin

Check out CINEMABLEND for Jerry O'Connell dressed up as his wife's X-MEN character. Rebecca Romijin was incredible as Mystique. We were watching X-MEN THE LAST STAND over the weekend. It's the one where Mystique pretends to have been captured to get information for Magneto. They end up putting her in a prison on wheels. Eric (Magneto) and others arrive to free her but one of the guards tries to shoot Eric with the drug that removes mutant powers. To save him, Mystique jumps in front and takes the shot. She's powerless and can no longer shape shift. Eric says something like it's a shame because she was so beautiful. She begs him to take her with him but he says she's a human now and leaves her.

Rebecca Romijin nailed that role. I never bought Jennifer Lawrence in the role. She was a simp. Her Mystique was pathetic and weak. Rebecca may not have an Oscar but she played the hell out of that role.

She was so good in the role, in fact, that maybe that's not her husband dressed up as Mystique. Maybe that's her and she shape-shifted into him!!! (I am joking about that. But not about how great she was in the role.)

I don't hate Jennifer Lawrence, by the way, I just think she was wrong for the role. Maybe because she has an Oscar, she felt she had to add all of this stuff to the character? All that got added was baggage.

My disappointment with the X-MEN movies made after the original cast is gone? How little Storm often matters. Storm was huge when I was a kid. My cousin Marcia would play Storm and I'd usually play Cyclops -- because sunglasses were an easy 'costume' to come across. My grandfather had a hammock in the back yard. And it got frayed so it had to be taken down. Marcia called it immediately and she's tie one end loop to one wrist and another to the other and pretend she was Storm. :D I wonder if she remembers that? We had three cousins we'd play with and they'd be Mr. X, Beast and Wolverine.

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

Wednesday, May 29, 2024. US President Joe Biden apparently can't find his conscious or his spine amidst his forever shifting red line.

Why is Joe Biden struggling in the polls currently? Because he's so damn pathetic. The world is still recoiling from the Israeli government attacking a refugee camp in Rafah on Sunday -- a camp where Gazans were told to go for safety. Yet Chantal Da Silva (NBC NEWS) reportsChantal Da Silva (NBC NEWS) reports Joe Biden's okay with the attack:

As Israeli forces pushed deeper into Rafah just days after an airstrike sparked a major fire that killed dozens of Palestinians, the White House said that its ally had not crossed the Biden administration's "red line."

Israeli tanks were seen entering central Rafah for the first time Tuesday, as global condemnation mounted over the deaths in a crowded tent camp for displaced civilians and as U.S. aid deliveries to Gaza by sea were suspended after damage to its temporary pier.

But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a briefing that the United States was not turning a "blind eye" to Israel’s operations in the southern Gaza city, from which around 1 million Palestinians have fled in recent weeks.

He said the Biden administration did not believe Israel's actions in Rafah so far represented a "major ground operation" that would violate President Joe Biden's warnings and trigger a change in U.S. policy including the threatened halt to weapons shipments.

This is an outrage and it's an embarrassment. Joe refuses to stand up and show the leadership that people are begging him to show. Michel Moushabeck (TRUTHOUT) observes:

Israel’s Rafah massacre has been widely condemned as a grave violation of international law, but there has been no clear criticism or outrage from the White House. As the Biden administration emphasizes the deaths of Hamas leaders and utters the same words we’ve become accustomed to hearing over the past eight months — that the U.S. urges Israel to protect civilians and minimize civilian casualties — its statements have become a farce. The inaction on the part of the Biden administration and the continued flow of weapons to the Israeli state as it carries out such massacres in front of the eyes of the entire world — and in defiance of the ICJ ruling — show the extent of the U.S.’s complicity and participation in the Gaza genocide.

Need more embarrassments? Let's drop back to Saturday:

As the people of Gaza have faced the threat of food shortages and now food shortages in the last month -- now actual food shortage -- the answer was supposed to be Joe Biden's pier to nowhere. Yet despite him announcing it in his State of the Union presidential address, they took their sweet ass time building it and getting it up and running, didn't they?

So it's finally up and? Emma Bowman (NPR) reports:

Four U.S. Army vessels supporting the humanitarian floating pier mission in Gaza became unmoored by rough seas, military officials said.

Two vessels are now anchored on a Gaza beach near the pier, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday. The other two are beached further north, on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon.

Yes, the rescue effort is . . . in need of rescue, Cue up Stevie Wonder's "Love's In Need Of Love Today." ALJAZEERA adds:

The construction of the $320m floating pier was completed in mid-May to provide aid to the Gaza Strip.

The pier has been criticised as a complicated and costly alternative that tries to deflect attention from demanding a much simpler solution – for Israel to fully open all land crossings to Gaza and to secure aid trucks going in.

But in March, US President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union that the pier would “receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter”, a move largely seen as an attempt to appease his Democratic Party’s base as he runs for re-election in November.

"Experts say the pier is difficult to operate in rough seas," reports THE NATIONAL. Zein Khali (ANADULA AGENCY) notes, "The US army in mid-May announced it finished constructing a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza Strip meant to provide much needed aid to the blockaded enclave." AL MAYADEEN adds, "The US floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea has faced significant challenges since its creation on May 15, questioning its efficiency in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave."

That was Saturday. The pier to nowhere is already back in the news. This morning, Bernd Debusmann Jr, (BBC News) reports, "A temporary pier built by the US military to deliver aid to Gaza has been damaged by heavy seas and will take at least a week to be repaired, according to US officials." Oren Lieberman and Natasha Bertrand (CNN) add:

The pier was “damaged and sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday. The pier will be removed from its location on the Gaza coast over the next 48 hours and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where US Central Command will carry out repairs, Singh said. The repairs will take more than a week, further delaying the effort to get the maritime corridor fully operating.

Earlier, four US officials told CNN the pier broke apart in heavy seas.

Part of the pier, which consists of a narrow causeway to drive aid into Gaza and a wider parking area to drop off supplies transported by ship, disconnected on Sunday, the officials said. The parking area will have to be reconnected to the causeway before the pier can be used again.

Where's the leadership, Joe?

Apparently, those who could lead have all instead left due to Joe's inability to stand up to genocide. Hala Rharrit, Tariq Habash, Anelle Sheline, Josh Paul, Harrison Mann and Lily Greenberg Call are some of the figures who have left the administration over Gaza. Add Stacy Gilbert to the growing list. MEHR reports:

Senior US State official Stacy Gilbert resigned Tuesday. She told colleagues that the State Department was wrong to conclude Israel had not obstructed aid to Gaza.

A career State Department official involved in the Biden administration’s contentious debates over Israel’s conduct in Gaza resigned this week, citing disagreements with a recently published US government report that claimed that Israel was not impeding humanitarian assistance to Gaza, two officials told The Washington Post.

AL MAYADEEN adds:

Former State Department official Josh Paul, who was the first official to resign over Biden's Gaza policy, posted on LinkedIn about Gilbert, "On the day when the White House announced that the latest atrocity in Rafah did not cross its red line, this resignation demonstrates that the Biden Administration will do anything to avoid the truth."

"This is not just a story of bureaucratic complicity or ineptitude — there are people signing off on arms transfers, people drafting arms transfer approval memos, people turning a blind eye," he continued. People "who could be speaking up, people who have an awesome responsibility to do good, and a lifelong commitment to human rights — whose choice is to let the bureaucracy function as though it were business as usual."

Let's drop back to yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW! for more on the Sunday assault that somehow doesn't cross Joe Biden's red line.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Gaza, where health officials say at least 46 people were killed and more than 110 injured across Gaza in the last 24 hours, as Israel continues to bomb Rafah after its forces on Sunday night bombed yet another tent camp in the southern city that was housing displaced Palestinians in an area that had been declared a safe zone. Officials say many of the bodies were charred after the Israeli attack caused a fire that tore through the camp. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday called the Rafah strikes a “tragic mistake” and vowed to investigate amidst global outrage.

The attack came just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately stop its assault on Rafah. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to flee Rafah amidst ongoing Israeli attacks.

DISPLACED PALESTINIAN 1: [translated] We don’t know where we’re going. We woke up at 6:00 in the morning — at 5:30 in the morning from the shelling and rockets. We are going. God knows, in our situation, we don’t have tents, and we don’t have anything. We have children with us. We have more people to transport. My aunt and my mother-in-law, they are under the shelling, and I will go and get them. There is no transportation. There is nothing. In terms of means of life, this is what we woke up to at 5:30 in the morning.

DISPLACED PALESTINIAN 2: [translated] I don’t know. I’m just walking in the street. I don’t know where to come or go. They say that we should go somewhere safe. There is nowhere safe. There is no area that is safe. Where should we go? Let the Arab world look at us now. Let the Arabs look at us and see what is happening to us. God is my suffice and the best disposer of my affairs. This is not a life. This is not a life. This is not a life. We are sick. I don’t know what to say. We are walking, but we cannot walk or come or go.

AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Rafah, in Gaza. We’re joined by independent journalist Shrouq Aila. She lived in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza before October 7th, had been studying English at Islamic University in Gaza.

We welcome you, Shrouq, to Democracy Now! If you can talk about what you understand happened on Sunday night —

SHROUQ AILA: Hey, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: — with the attack on the camp that was designated by Israel as a safe zone, the Israeli bombing that took out the lives of 45 people as it hit some kind of oil tank and the fire ripped through the camp?

SHROUQ AILA: OK. So, on Friday, when the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its offense in Rafah city — Rafah city is a city that is full of over 1 million displaced people who came through the Gaza Strip. This is according to the Israeli army, who issued that the Rafah area is a safe area and considered as a designed humanitarian area. So, over 1 million sought refuge at this city. And after the order of the ICJ, Israel is unlikely comply with the order and responded with more attacks in the area and expanding its military operation in Rafah city.

And two days ago, it happened when they launched at least two rockets on a displacement camp that is quite close to the UNRWA logistic log, which is a base, refers to UNRWA, and people gathered around this space, considering it, you know, as a green area, a safe area. And after the bombing, the area is basically full of tents for displaced people, and the fire set on because of — you know, the tents are basically made of nylon fabrics and wood, and this severely affected in having more fire, and which caused the death toll raised until 45, and almost plus 200 got injured.

And yesterday, the past night, since the midnight ’til the 6 a.m., the Israeli army shelled and attacked the Rafah city once again heavily. And the sounds of the explosion in Rafah were totally heard and clearly in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. And they expanded the operations more in the area, which caused in three hospitals to be out of the service: the Indonesian Hospital and the Emirati Hospital and also Kuwaiti Hospital. So, because of the attack in the past night, three hospitals went out of service.

And also, lots of people are being now in streets, unable to recognize where to go, especially because of the fuel crisis. This fuel crisis, like, happened because of the closure of the borders, because of the Rafah invasion. So, we really have a crisis in transportations. The fees of the transportations is quite high. The people are unable to afford it. So some of the people decided to stay and not to leave, because they are unable to afford the transportations to move for other areas, and while others decided to just walk in the streets to reach somewhere else, but not Rafah, and while others, they managed to leave the area.

And basically, the situation is totally catastrophic. Because of the last night, almost five, so far, got killed, and lots of injuries, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. And people are in a total despair. Like, despite these dire conditions, they are unable to know where shall they go. Especially like Rafah, the so-called safe area, is not safe area anymore. And tents are a threat and not safe areas for displaced people. So, people now are trying just to move to the middle area of the Gaza Strip or to Khan Younis city. Khan Younis city, in the past three, four months, it suffered from very heavy bombardment in the area, that led in almost total destruction in the entire city. So, now people are establishing their tents on the rubbles of the houses. So, it’s not the issue of the buildings now or the issue of having a place to stay, but it is about just moving your tent from so-called safe area to so-called safe area. And people are in a total mess and despair because of this.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Shrouq, I wanted to ask you — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has called the strike a tragic error and that Israel is investigating, but he keeps defending what he calls the precise use of weapons by Israel and continues to insist that the assault on Rafah will continue. What’s your response?

SHROUQ AILA: I’m not sure if I got your question correctly because of the connections. But in terms of the Israelis doing investigations on the attacks, like, sometimes, you know, it just happened, and investigations will not pay off whatever rights to get back, especially after having lots of casualties and also lefting people in the streets and in a total catastrophic and dire conditions to seek for other shelters and other places to stay in.

AMY GOODMAN: Shrouq Aila, I’m wondering also — we’re about to go to the International —

SHROUQ AILA: But mostly, like, [inaudible] something, mostly in the recent attack on the displacement tents, camp tents —

AMY GOODMAN: — Court of Justice in The Hague, and we wanted to get your response. We’re about to go to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, but we wanted to get your response, people’s response on the ground in Gaza, to the International Court of Justice ruling that Israel had to stop the — stop the assault on Gaza and Rafah immediately.

SHROUQ AILA: All right. So, when it comes to such attacks, basically, we can see that the casualties and the losses that we are having are basically kids and women, like mostly civilians. And, you know, the area — like, let me say, when it comes to attacking tents, you know, it’s such a soft area that can get easily destroyed by wind or by heavy rain. But launching rockets in this area for a military reason, it basically causes a catastrophe in the area.

And you can add for this that people now are sinking and harrowing in the fear that there is no safe place, you know, that they are just lost, that they are unable to recognize where they shall go and if this decision of moving is such a good decision, or they are going to killed with the sequences, with the consequences of not moving around for other places. So, let me say, there is no safe area, and there is no protection, and there is no so-called green areas or safety area that people can go and seek refugee at.

AMY GOODMAN: Shrouq Aila, I want to thank you so much for being with us, independent journalist and producer in Rafah, Gaza, formerly lived in the Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza, studied English at Islamic University there.

When we come back, the continued Rafah attack and the bombing that led to at least 45 people being killed in Rafah, in a safe zone, came just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately stop its assault on Rafah. We’ll go to The Hague for an update. Stay with us.

Jessica Corbett (C OMMON DREAMS) reports:

As humanitarians and world leaders condemn an Israel Defense Forces bombing and resulting fire in a Rafah "safe zone" that killed 45 people and wounded hundreds more, the Israeli military on Tuesday killed at least 21 more at another refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

"Four tank shells hit a cluster of tents in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel had advised civilians in Rafah to move to for safety," Reutersreported, citing health officials in the Hamas-governed Palestinian enclave. "At least 12 of the dead were women."

Gaza-based journalist Hind Khoudary said on social media Tuesday: "I have a live hit on Al Jazeera in a bit and all I'm thinking about is how I will report on this massacre again. My heart is pounding so fast. My [fingers] are shaking. I want to cry."

According to Agence France-Presse, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters on Tuesday that "I don't know about this incident. We are putting this incident under investigation, and we will update you in advance."

Hagari also addressed a probe into the Rafah attack—which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "tragic mistake"—during a Tuesday press briefing, saying that "on Sunday night, we eliminated senior Hamas terrorists in a targeted strike on a compound used by Hamas" and "due to unforeseen circumstances, a fire ignited tragically taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby."

"Contrary to reports, we conducted the strike outside the area that we designated as a humanitarian area and called civilians to evacuate to. Our strike was over a kilometer-and-a-half away from the Al-Mawasi humanitarian area. What we call the safer zone," Hagari said. "Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size... We are looking into all possibilities including the option that weapons stored in a compound next to our target, which we did not know of, may have ignited as a result of the strike."

The IDF's claims about the Sunday massacre have not quelled outrage around the world—including from U.S. lawmakers urging President Joe Biden to suspend weapons and diplomatic support for Israel's war, which has killed over 36,000 Palestinians, injured another 81,000, and left thousands more missing and believed dead beneath the rubble, according to Gaza health officials.

Palestinians who have so far survived the Israeli assault on Gaza for more than seven months are struggling to find food, water, shelter, and medical care. The IDF has destroyed civilian infrastructure—including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques—across the enclave and severely restricted the delivery of humanitarian aid.

"Day after day, massacre after massacre, and the Biden administration continues to ship the bombs to the far-right, openly genocidal Israeli government that it uses to slaughter Palestinian children, women, medical personnel, journalists, international aid workers, and the sick and elderly, and continues to shield Israel from international accountability," Council on American-Islamic Relations national executive director Nihad Awad said Tuesday.

"This genocidal brutality, which is being exposed daily by piles of charred and dismembered Palestinian civilians, must stop," Awad added. "Sadly, because of President Biden's insistence on sending more bombs to enable Netanyahu's war crimes in Rafah, this is now as much an American genocide as it is an Israeli genocide."

The world watches stunned as the horrors continue. Ismaeel Naar (THE NATIONAL) reports:

Speaking at the Arab Media Forum, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, said the Palestinian issue has been preoccupying all leaders and people of the Arab world since October and that “violence against civilians has taken brutal and inhuman dimensions”.

“I’ve been to Gaza and witnessed the scale of overcrowding. Israel has been using this method of displacing families repeatedly, only to attack them in designated safe zones,” he said.

“We have a firm belief in the justice of the Palestinian cause, which we absorbed from our upbringing and from our Arab conscience,” Dr Gargash told the audience at the Arab Media Forum, stressing that the “heinous attack in Gaza and Rafah cannot be overlooked by the world”.

“But the problem is the current Israeli government and the far right extremists have worked on existing imbalances,” Dr Gargash said on the ongoing efforts towards a two-state solution following the Oslo Accords.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 236 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "At least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed and 81,420 injured in Israel's offensive on Gaza since October 7, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Wednesday. In the past 24 hours, 75 people were killed and 284 injured, the ministry said." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted: