Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. 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/.
Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.
Reporting on recent and currrently ongoing war in West Asia (I object to the colonial term “Middle East”), in imperialistic Israel, Gaza, and adjoining nations, includes the following:
Note: as with other mass murderers/serial killers/and the like, 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.
This is explained further in my post at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2023/10/from-news-on-war-in-west-asia-content_25.html.
Note also that the genocidal intent of the VE group I refuse to name is, and has been for some time, clear, according to this
from experts in that topic. Information suggests that several thousand
of the Palestinian deaths to date are likely to be from that group -
maybe up to 20% (as a maximum) of the total: the rest - more than 80% -
are innocent civilians, including babies, toddlers, and children. The images of starving children ([Content Warning! Disturbing images] e.g., here, here, here, here) are already haunting the world.
In my opinion, a safe place for Jewish people has to exist because of the world’s collective failures in the 1930s and 40s (the problem was not only Germany, but every nation that rejected Jewish asylum seekers/refugees [including my nation - although Yorta Yorta man William Cooper was a notable “upstander”] or allowed antisemitism - and that continues now) ... but
the Arab nations’ proposal for a single nation with Arab and Jewish
provinces should have been given more consideration, IMO, and now that MUST be as part of a two state solution, lest Israel’s foundation and existence be inherently based on an injustice - which, as part of correcting an injustice, intrinsically morally weakens that foundation and existence.
Note also: this, on when criticism of Israel becomes antisemitism; and Israel’s conduct since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the collapse of the Oslo Accords has - in addition to devastating and often displacing and killing its victims - been damaging of its standing (and devastating to those people on the receiving end), and its conduct now risks an even more self-damaging Pyrrhic “victory”. One day Israel will collectively recover enough from the events of 7th October to look around and grieve, shocked, at what they have done ...
- “UN demands end to Israeli forces’ support of settler attacks on West Bank Palestinians” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/16/un-demands-end-to-israeli-forces-support-of-settler-attacks-on-west-bank-palestinians “UN human rights office expresses concern over escalating violence after deaths near Nablus over weekend” “US and EU sanctions against Israeli extremists mark pivotal step against far right” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/us-and-eu-sanctions-israeli-extremists-far-right-politics
- “Co-Resistance at a Crossroads” https://jewishcurrents.org/co-resistance-at-a-crossroads-masafer-yatta-west-bank-resistance “As anti-Palestinian violence in the West Bank reaches new heights, a beleaguered movement gathers to reflect.” A long but worthwhile read
on peace/ceasefires:
No news items ...
on human rights and human suffering (on both sides) aspects:
- “Cracks in Biden’s Zionist Wall: Warren, Powers admit “Genocide, Famine” in Gaza as Israeli Atrocities Continue” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/genocide-atrocities-continue.html “Israeli Massacres Continue in Gaza, as Returnees to North are Targeted and Refugee Camp is Bombed” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/massacres-continue-returnees.html “Palestinians come under Israeli fire as they attempt return to north Gaza” https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/4/15/palestinians-come-under-israeli-fire-as-they-attempt-return-to-north-gaza
- “Gazan men who say they were detained by Israeli army detail shocking allegations of physical and sexual abuse” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-19/allegations-of-gaza-abuse/103692464 “SecState Blinken is Squelching Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Units for Killings or Rapes” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/secstate-squelching-recommendations.html “The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before _____’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel”
- “Gaza: rights experts condemn AI role in destruction by Israeli military” https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148561 “As
UN chief António Guterres on Monday reiterated his appeal for “maximum
restraint” in the Middle East following Iran’s drone and missile attack
on Israel, independent human rights experts said that the alleged use of
artificial intelligence on targets in Gaza by the Israeli military had
taken an “unprecedented toll” on civilians, housing and services.” “A Brief History of Kill Lists, From Langley to Lavender” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/history-langley-lavender.html This includes more Israel’s use of AI, but also includes matters from Germany in the 30s and 40s, the USA, and other nations
- “USNS 2nd Lt John P Bobo Has Engine Fire and Aborts Gaza Mission | Status of Other Ships” https://youtu.be/Oz7nhnLzkEs?si=y1DFOankG56CzVKN Several of the key ships to create the pier for aid delivery to Gaza have been travelling at, effectively, little better than walking pace (~8 to 10 knots but up to 8 days stoppages). The video correctly lays the technical blame for this on lack of maintenance by US military, but the military are obliged to keep the government informed about their readiness, so one could quite reasonably assume Biden knew this would be a slow exercise - so slow people would die of starvation while it was being delivered. Was his promise just a sham? (Would it make a difference for those organising this/making decisions to be on the same limited food and water intake as those in Gaza?)
- “‘Insidious campaign’ by Israel is denying life-saving aid to Gaza says UNRWA chief” https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/11486760
on military aspects:
- “Lessons From Gaza’s Most Vulnerable: Understanding Civilian Protection in Wartime” https://warontherocks.com/2024/04/lessons-from-gazas-most-vulnerable-understanding-civilian-protection-in-wartime/
- “Israel reportedly deploys extra weapons for assumed Rafah offensive” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/17/israel-reportedly-deploys-extra-weapons-for-assumed-rafah-offensive “IDF confirms buying thousands of tents for evacuation, raising fears over long-threatened attack”
regionally:
- “Yemen’s plight echoes broader Middle East crisis, says UN Envoy” https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148576
- “Mapping Israel-Lebanon cross-border attacks” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/4/15/mapping-israel-lebanon-cross-border-attacks
internationally:
- “Palestinians were refused Australian visitor visas due to concerns they would not ‘stay temporarily’” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/16/palestinians-were-refused-australian-visitor-visas-due-to-concerns-they-would-not-stay-temporarily “Senators
label refusing 150 people, with Palestinian citizenship, visas into
Australia during first months of conflict as ‘cold-blooded’ and ‘cruel’” Whoever
made this decision should be sacked - that Ukrainians were treated more
favourably means this decision is tainted by the perception - whether
actual or possible - of racism “State Labor MPs call on Albanese government to expand visa access for Palestinian refugees” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/17/state-labor-mps-call-on-albanese-government-to-expand-visa-access-for-palestinian-refugees “Letter
from 17 mostly NSW parliamentarians says there must ‘never again’ be a
repeat of people’s visas being cancelled while they are in transit”
My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.
Assumptions / basis
In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following:
- his 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.
Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024 NO AI
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