From the news: on the war in West Asia [Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war, genocide, language. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Content shown in green (which may be only part of a news story) is about what is generally considered “good news”, but personal history may still make such events triggering. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/.  

From the recent news: 

• in a rare bit of good news, “US ‘holding back Israel from strike against Hezbollah’”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/21/us-holding-back-israel-from-strike-against-hezbollah   (although attacks did subsequently occur) - and   “US pushes UN to back Israel self-defense, demand Iran stop arms to _____”   https://www.reuters.com/world/us-pushes-un-back-israel-self-defense-demand-iran-stop-arms-_____-2023-10-22/   but   “Not the time for a ceasefire in Gaza, says US, with _____ still holding hostages”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/24/us-no-gaza-ceasefire-_____-hostages  
  

• a report that exposes Israel’s duplicity, “‘The strikes are everywhere’: Palestinians flee south in Gaza but cannot escape bombs”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/21/the-strikes-are-everywhere-palestinians-flee-south-in-gaza-but-cannot-escape-bombs  
  

• “_____ was unpopular in Gaza before it attacked Israel – Surveys showed Gazans cared more about fighting Poverty than armed Resistance”   https://www.juancole.com/2023/10/unpopular-attacked-resistance.html   

• “About 100,000 protesters join pro-Palestinian march through London”   https://www.reuters.com/world/about-100000-protesters-join-pro-palestinian-march-through-london-2023-10-21/    

• “'Not in our name': the Jewish New Yorkers speaking out against 'dehumanisation' of Palestinians”   https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20231020-not-in-our-name-the-jewish-new-yorkers-speaking-out-against-dehumanisation-of-palestinians   “New York is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, a two million-strong community that has suffered anguish in the wake of the October 7 _____ attacks on Israel. Many Jewish New Yorkers back the Israeli government's response to the attacks and have rallied in support of Israel. But others are unsettled by the military campaign in the Gaza Strip and the huge price paid by Palestinian civilians.”  
  

• “Toxic Netanyahu could drag Biden down in his fight for political survival”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/oct/21/toxic-netanyahu-could-drag-biden-down-in-his-fight-for-political-survival   

• “‘The most successful land-grab strategy since 1967’ as settlers push Bedouins off West Bank territory”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/21/the-most-successful-land-grab-strategy-since-1967-as-settlers-push-bedouins-off-west-bank-territory   

• “Tel Aviv hospital goes underground to shelter patients from rocket attacks”   https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231020-tel-aviv-hospital-goes-underground-to-shelter-patients-from-rocket-attacks   

• “War has a life of its own and if Israel enters Gaza, more surprises will lie ahead”   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-24/israel-gaza-_____-invasion-three-reasons-success-or-failure/103008684   

• “Guilt, anguish of Palestinians mourning Gaza from afar as Israel bombs it”   https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/23/guilt-anguish-of-palestinians-mourning-gaza-from-afar-as-israel-bombs-it   and   “‘Not in my name’: The European Jews condemning Israel’s war on Gaza”   https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/23/not-in-my-name-the-european-jews-condemning-israels-war-on-gaza   

• “Avaaz campaigner: 'Neither _____ nor Fatah can claim to represent the Palestinian people' – Two weeks into the Israel-_____ war, Fadi Quran, campaigns director for Avaaz, an NGO coordinating activists worldwide, is calling for a ceasefire in the interest of children on both sides”   https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231022-avaaz-campaigner-neither-_____-nor-fatah-can-claim-to-represent-the-palestinian-people   

• a The Guardian exclusive reports   “DFAT urged stronger Israeli settlements stance that Coalition claimed ‘factional bosses’ were behind”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/24/dfat-urged-stronger-israeli-settlements-stance-that-coalition-claimed-factional-bosses-were-behind  
  

• “Israeli army releases footage of _____ October 7 attack”   https://www.france24.com/en/video/20231023-israeli-army-releases-footage-of-_____-october-7-attack   

• “Even if Israel can completely eliminate _____, does it have a long-term plan for Gaza?”   https://theconversation.com/even-if-israel-can-completely-eliminate-_____-does-it-have-a-long-term-plan-for-gaza-216161  

 

Note: as with other mass murderers, violent extremists crave publicity, so I refuse to give that to them - I will avoid using their names (which is a policy adopted by good law enforcement and media for other mass murderers), and I will not give them the satisfaction of being described with the T word. 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk.