The dehumanization of Palestinians isn’t a new phenomenon, but each day brings a new level that would’ve previously been considered absurd. The apartheid state of Israel has always seen Palestinians as sub-human, as evidenced by the language of the regime leaders, referring to Palestinians as “human animals” or worse. But the similar rhetoric and continued complicity of western leaders and media outlets is appalling.
There’s simply no way to excuse or accept the deaths of 5,000+ Palestinian children for any earthly reason without seeing those children as subhuman first and foremost. Zionism has always been and will always be predicated on the dehumanization of Palestinians. Sadly, this toxic sentiment has reached and remained in the highest offices of power globally, so Biden can somehow sleep comfortably after openly announcing there’s no prospect for a ceasefire, knowing exactly what that means.
The brutal and cowardly Israeli military can violently invade hospitals or use Palestinian schools as training grounds knowing that they’ll face no repercussions for their war crimes. On the contrary, any dissent or criticism of any kind among western elected officials leads to their worst nightmare…the prospect of losing reelection. AIPAC aka the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, arguably the most powerful, and best-funded political action committee in Washington, is planning to go all out to knock the “Squad” out of office. Progressive leaders like AOC, Ilhan Omar, and obviously Rashida Tlaib, are the dangerous combination of highly visible, popular, and critical of the Israeli ethnic cleansing campaign. For that reason, AIPAC is planning to spend ~$100 million in democratic primaries to remove the only voices in American politics willing to speak out against the apartheid regime.
Of course now the apartheid state is also claiming that some unnamed Hamas leaders have moved south to Khan Younis, the largest city/refugee camp in southern Gaza. So once again, Palestinian civilians are being told to do the impossible or die. The leaflets being dropped by Israel in southern Gaza, telling these Palestinians to evacuate are in reality a notice of more ethnic cleansing and genocide to come. With no functioning healthcare system and nearly all shelter obliterated, how many of the ~1.7 million displaced or wounded Palestinians will live to see the new year? If this “war” continues it will soon become one of the worst atrocities in human history, and we’ll have watched it all unfold.
Palestinian writer and politician Atef Abu Saif has been in Gaza with his family since the Israeli bombing began on October 7. He has kept a diary of his experience, and this week, The Nation has published a month's worth of excerpts from that diary. You can read along as Abu Saif quickly becomes aware of what’s happening, and then descends into the worst reality imaginable. Here’s a quick excerpt:
Thursday, October 26: We count the hours with the number of missile strikes. We mark our days by the number of entire families wiped out. We say, “This happened when Israelis hit the Baptist Hospital,” or, “That happened the day Hatim, Huda, and their family were killed.”
In related news, this week the US defense department failed its sixth consecutive annual financial audit. These audits are required by law, and they’re intended to assess the record-keeping processes for the pentagon's weapons systems, military personnel and property around the world. The annual audit is made up of 29 sub-audits of the department's various services. It takes ~1,600 auditors working ~700 site visits and assessing ~$3.8 trillion in assets and ~$4 trillion in liabilities to conduct the audits. Seven of the total 29 sub-audits passed this year…I’m not a big math guy, but that’s a little less than 25%. For those asking what kinds of weaponry and how much ammunition America is supplying to Israel, the world may never truly know.
Side Items
Trouble for Diddy: Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy aka Puffy aka P Diddy aka Diddy aka Brother Love aka Love), the exploitative music mogul and producer, has been sued in federal court this week by Cassie, the musical artist best known for her 2006 hit single “Me & You”. Cassie accused Mr. Combs of rape and of repeated physical abuse over about a decade. The list of alleged crimes is long and heavy, and includes a bizarre incident involving blowing up a car belonging to rapper Kid Cudi. There’s alot going on there, so I’m sure we’ll continue to check in on the progress of that case, but Mr. Combs has long been in the spotlight for his strange and abusive behavior, here’s hoping he gets exactly what he deserves
Misallocation of Government Resources: That’s one way to describe the spending habits of congressman George Santos. According to a report from the house ethics committee, Santos spent campaign funds on Botox treatments, designer goods, OnlyFans subscriptions, and trips to Atlantic City. Everyone’s favorite scam artist also announced this week that he won’t be seeking reelection next year, so get your jokes in while you can folks