The Common Ills: Iraq snapshot

Monday, July 15, 2024

Iraq snapshot

Monday, July 15, 2024. More War Crimes targeting Palestinians, Joe Biden can't escape the narrative, and much more.

Let's get started. On Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at a Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Corey Comperatore was shot by Crooks and has died (Comperatore was said to have used his own body to shield his family) two others who are unnamed at present are injured. Donald was hit in the ear and sustained a flesh wound. Crooks was shot dead by the Secret Service.

Bimbo Twins Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene used their powers of stupidity to immediately begin accusing the left. They feel that words matter -- Excuse me, they suddenly feel that words matter. When they were attacking gays, drag queens, transgender people, librarians and teachers, the two bimbos didn't feel words matter. None of those groups has Secret Service protection but that didn't stop the bimbos from vile and disgusting statements.

They should have kept their uninformed mouths shut this time as well. Crooks, the shooter, was a 20-year-old man who registered to vote, two years ago, as a Republican.

You can read more, if you're interested, at CNN or at BBC (which largely uses the work of their "partner" -- their term -- CBS NEWS).

Unlike Boe-Boe and eMpTy Greene, I have a long history of not using shootings to grand stand or push through calls for this or for that or blame for this or for that. Check the archives. So this snapshot's probably the only time the shooting's going to be mentioned here in the next months. We will note that the Trump campaign is now calling Donald "The Don" in a new e-mailing for a black t-shirt -- first 1,000 responders get it free! -- with a photo of a seated Donald and the words "THE DONE 2024" -- an e-mail that ends with, "Show the world where your allegiances are before this offer is sleeping with the fishes, capisce?" The sizes range all the way up to 3X -- so even Donald can fit into one if he wears it tight.

We've got an election coming up so let's focus on things that matter and not the arcane details of a dead man who shouldn't be glorified.

Let's move to an e-mail. FL e-mailed the public account to state that he read Ava and my "Media: Reality versus the lies the media loves to spread" yesterday and "You're ripping off MSNBC's Zeeshan Aleem's column from Friday. He talks about narrative and suddenly you start using narrative on Friday." This is the passage FL is referring to:

Biden is in a bind because there’s little he can do to turn the narrative around. Pollsters continue to find that his key vulnerability is the long-held perception that he’s too old for the job — and some surveys even find that voters find it more concerning than Trump’s criminal charges. Biden can do a lot to try to connect more with voters, but he can’t become younger, and, thus, he can’t do anything about his most glaring vulnerability.

Democrats are correct to worry that Biden’s weak standing in polls bodes poorly for not only his re-election prospects, but also for their prospects in elections across his entire party. That could be what pushes some lawmakers who are on the fence about to press him to step aside.

He wrote a good column. He didn't invent the term narrative. There are a lot of fake asses -- I'm not referring to Zeeshan -- who come along every few political cycles to tell us how to win -- they've invented some garbage idea or notion. And a lot of saps fall for it and start reusing the new 'jargon' that they just know explains everything.

Point? I didn't invent narrative, I don't claim to have. But when the dumb asses online -- including Bob Somerby -- were using the latest nonsense -- "framing" -- I did make clear to Bob and others, that the media doesn't do framing, it does narrative. I believe I repeatedly sited Don Hewitt's TELL ME A STORY: FIFTY YEARS AND 60 MINUTES IN TELEVISION (probably just as TELL ME A STORY) and noted that even the most basic liberal arts education would include a class or two in English that would explain narrative.

The week after the debate, the media created the narrative that they are using today. As it was created, I objected and pushed back. Unlike THE INEDEPENT and others who waited until it was too late. While Ava and I did use the term yesterday, it was not our first time using the term. It wasn't even the first time using it with regards to Joe Biden's most recent problem. Two Sundays ago, Ava and my "Media: It's Time For Joe To Go" went up -- that's about why Joe needs to step aside because the narrative has been imposed and he can't fight it.

For those who still aren't getting it, leave politics for a moment. Where are Ashton and Mila?

Huh.

Where are those wacky kids who don't bathe their children?

Oh, that's right, lower profile, still doing damage control on their support for a convicted rapist and their requesting his being sentenced to a lesser term. And that was almost a year ago.

There are people whose entire lives are spent attempting to rescue people from narratives. Ask anyone of them if Joe can shake the narrative that he's too old and doesn't know what's going on -- and shake it within four months? They'll tell you no. The narrative has set in. To combat it, they'd require an intense schedule of designated activities and planned public events and that would probably only result in 60% of his former followers returning. And that 'success' would take much longer than four months.

The only way to change the narrative about the Democratic Party presidential nominee at this point, as Ava and I wrote yesterday, is to change the presidential nominee.

Over the weekend, Bob Costas spoke to CNN about Joe Biden's need to step aside.

Brett Wilkins (COMMON DREAMS) reports:

The head of a leading U.S. climate action group on Friday joined nearly 20 congressional lawmakers and the growing list of Democratic Party insiders, pundits, and others who are imploring President Joe Biden to step aside and let another Democrat run against former President Donald Trump in November's election.

"For the future of our democracy and our planet, we must defeat Trump this November. If Trump wins, he will demolish President Biden's historic climate achievements, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and American Climate Corps," Sunrise Movement executive director Aru Shiney-Ajay said in a statement. "Another Trump presidency would cause catastrophic and irreversible damage to our climate."

According to Shiney-Ajay:

The Democratic Party must seriously assess whether Joe Biden can successfully convince voters and energize volunteers. After speaking with young people around the country over the last few weeks, I'm concerned that Joe Biden isn't positioned to mobilize young people and win in November.

To be very clear, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is, our plan is the same: to persuade young voters to turn out for the Democratic nominee in order to defeat Trump. With another ticket that energizes young volunteers, we could contact up to twice as many voters this fall.

"To young people: Losing this election could alter the rest of our lives. In order to fight for our generation and our future, we must vote for the Democratic nominee," Shiney-Ajay stressed. "Joe Biden's next climate legacy-defining act must be to pass the torch to a new nominee."

Trump, who has habitually called human-caused climate change a "hoax," filled his administration with officials who were criticized for being inimical to their respective agencies' stated missions. Some of his key appointees—including Rex Tillerson, his first secretary of state, and Ryan Zinke, who headed the Interior Department—were former fossil fuel executives or had track records of supporting the oil, gas, and coal industries.

The debate over Biden's future as the Democratic nominee comes as nearly 20 members of Congress have called on the president to stand down in favor of another candidate, and as poll after poll show him losing to Trump amid a glaring lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy.

"In 2020, Biden was able to energize young people to not only vote, but urge their friends, parents, and neighbors to do the same," said Shiney-Ajay. "We saw that energy at Sunrise, when our volunteers contacted 3.5 million young voters urging them to vote for Biden. Since the debate, already low enthusiasm for Biden has continued to drop."

"The stakes are too high," she added. "We can't afford to ignore the warning signs in front of us."

Over the weekend, more War Crimes as the Israeli government continued its assault on Gaza. THE NATIONAL notes, "The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 90 people were killed by Israeli air strikes on Al Mawasi displacement camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, updating a series of earlier tolls.The attack injured 300 others, including some in serious condition, the ministry said." Rushdi Abualouf, Tom McArthur and Lucy Clarke-Billings (BBC NEWS) report, "BBC Verify has analysed footage of the aftermath of the strike, confirming that it took place within an area shown on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) website as a humanitarian zone." Get it? War Crime. Hadeel al-Shalchi spoke with Scott Simon (NPR) about the attack, "Now Al Mawasi, like you said, is a designated humanitarian by the Israeli military. Thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering there in encampments." ALJAZEERA reports:

The United Nations and countries across the Middle East have denounced Israel after its military attacked a designed humanitarian safe zone in Gaza, killing at least 90 Palestinians and wounding 300 others.

[. . .]

Jordan

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on “displaced persons’ tents in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, in an area that Israel had previously classified as safe, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of Palestinians”.

Spokesperson Sufyan Al-Qudah said Jordan called for the international community to act to bring an end to Palestinian suffering amid Israel’s repeated violations of international law.

Egypt

In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s “ongoing violations against the rights of Palestinian citizens” add serious “complications” to achieving a ceasefire deal.

Egypt has been among the countries working to mediate such an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli raids on the al-Mawasi area,” the Foreign Ministry said.

[. . .]

United Nations

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the Israeli air raids which killed at least 90 Palestinians.

“The [Israeli military] stated that they were targeting two senior members of Hamas,” Guterres said in a statement. “The Secretary General underlines that international humanitarian law including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack must be upheld at all times.”

Julia Conley (COMMON DREAMS) adds:

The United Nations' top expert on human rights in Palestine condemned the Israeli military as it resorted to a familiar excuse for the killing of nearly 100 Palestinians on Saturday in an area that had been designated as a "humanitarian zone"—just the latest massacre of dozens of people whom the Israel Defense Forces dismissed as collateral damage in attacks they claimed were targeting Hamas.

"The justification is always the same: 'targeting Palestinian militants,'" said Francesca Albanese, U.N special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "When is the world going to stop this death machine?"

Albanese was referring this time to the bombardment of al-Mawasi, a coastal area west of Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have been sheltering after fleeing cities including Rafah.

And ALJAZEERA notes that Oxfam has called out the attack:

Countries that continue to supply Israel with weapons are demonstrating “abhorrent complicity” with Israel’s “heinous approach to warfare”, the humanitarian organisation Oxfam has said in response to Israel’s latest attacks on the al-Mawasi camp.

“Once again, we are witnessing the absolute disregard Israel has for Palestinian lives and for international law,” said Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Sally Abi Khalil in a statement.

“Nowhere in Gaza is safe – we need a ceasefire now, for arms transfer to Israel to end immediately, and for Israel to be held to account for all violations of international law,” she added.

AFP notes Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, has called out the slaughter stating, "The most recent bombing in the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people, is unacceptable." He is also calling on other leaders to speak out "in the face of this endless massacre." ANADOLU AGENCY adds, "Other Latin American leaders such as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Bolivian President Luis Arce have backed Lula's stance and have joined in the condemnation of the atrocities committed by Israel." ALJAZEERA quotes Doctors Without Borders' Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib stating, "I have never seen a mass casualty event like [Saturday]. Every corner in the hospital was busy. Every space was occupied by the injured or bodies of the dead."

Jessica Elgot (GUARDIAN) notes, "David Lammy is to call for an immediate ceasefire during talks with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as foreign secretary. Lammy said he would push for the release of all hostages as well as an increase in aid into Gaza, announcing a new £5.5m humanitarian and medical assistance package." THE NATIONAL quotes Lammy stating, "The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions," INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS notes, "On Sunday, Lammy met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday." Rainia Abu Shamala (ANADOLU AGENCY) notes another leader calling for a cease-fire, "Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan renewed his country's call on Sunday for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and access to humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. Speaking during a joint press conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, bin Farhan emphasized the importance of achieving an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians suffering from dire humanitarian conditions."

CAIR issued the following:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned both an Israeli massacre of at least 20 Palestinian worshippers praying in the ruins of a Gaza mosque previously destroyed by Israel and a similar massacre of 15 people at a UN-run school sheltering displaced Palestinians.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“What words are left to describe a world in which massacres occur daily while our own government ships the bombs to a genocidal government so that those massacres can continue. The Biden administration’s silence about the daily slaughter and support for the far-right Israeli government’s genocide is a stain on our national history that will remain for generations.

“All people of conscience must condemn the Israeli genocide, forced starvation and ethnic cleansing and demand that the Biden administration stop aiding and abetting the daily slaughter.”

Yesterday, CAIR called on President Biden to “stop enabling” the mass slaughter of Palestinian civilians after Israel killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in strikes on the al-Mawasi “safe zone” in Gaza.

[NOTE: Al-Mawasi, where Palestinians forced from their homes across Gaza sought shelter, was designated as a “safe humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military.]

CAIR also condemned a newly-reported decision by the Biden administration not to sanction an Israeli army unit despite evidence of gross human rights abuses it committed against Palestinian civilians, including the murder of an elderly Palestinian-American. CNN quoted a former member of the unit who said: “A lot of us probably did not see Arabs, Palestinians in particular, as someone with rights – okay, like they’re really the occupier of some of the land and they need to be moved.”

CAIR recently condemned a reported decision by the Biden administration to send Israel the 500-pound bombs for its genocide in Gaza that had previously been held back.

Israel has slaughtered almost 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. Other estimates put the total death toll at 186,000. The vast majority of Gazans have been driven from their homes.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List

https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

Follow CAIR on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/cair_national

Donate to CAIR

https://action.cair.com/a/donate

Sunday, the Israeli government attacked another UN school. Australia's ABC NEWS notes, "There are reports this morning of another deadly Israeli strike in Gaza, this time on a UN school in a refugee camp." AFP explains, "The civil defence agency in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that 15 people were killed by a strike on a school in Nuseirat, where the Israeli army said its air force had hit 'terrorists'." THE NEW ARAB provides context, "Israeli warplanes on Sunday staged a fifth attack in eight days on a Gaza school sheltering war displaced, and residents said more casualties were inflicted." XINHUA quotes the United Nations' Adnan Abu Hasna stating, "The UN agency sends the coordinates of its facilities daily to the Israeli army, yet the army insists on targeting it and the United Nations headquarters."

Edith M Lederer (AP) has noted United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stating that the Israeli government has required the Palestinians "to move like human pinballs across a landscape of destruction and death." Exactly. Is Joe Biden capable of any kind of leadership at all? How many more days is this genocide going to be allowed? How many more months?

Gaza remains under assault. Day 283 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." ALJAZEERA notes, "At least 38,664 Palestinians have been killed and 89,097 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, the ministry says." 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: