Tag: Hamas

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Netanyahu versus Hamas — Terrorists and Tyrants versus the world

Netanyahu versus Hamas

Terrorists and Tyrants versus the world

Bryan Zepp Jamieson

November 4th, 2023

www.zeppscommentaries.online

I was one of the first voices expressing concern for the welfare of the civilians in Gaza in the face of a reaction by Benjamin Netanyahu that I knew, based on the man’s record, would be vicious and murderous and disproportionate, yes, even disproportionate to the hideous crimes Hamas committed.

We’ve been to this rodeo before, of course. After the attacks on the Twin Towers which killed some three thousand innocent people, America overreacted with two wars against countries that played no role in the 9/11 attacks, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people and setting America back, politically and diplomatically, by decades.

Mind you, America wasn’t ruled by a vicious authoritarian tyrant. It was run by a soulless and opportunistic capitalist, Dick Cheney, and his feckless puppet president, George W. Bush.

They had some of the same motives for their response that Netanyahu has now. They wanted to show they were responding in order to deflect from misjudgments and incompetence that a) gave rise to a determined foe intent on asymmetric warfare and b) provided an opportunity for said foes to attack. They, like Netanyahu, wanted to ride a huge wave of rage and revulsion against the attacks. They might have shared that wave of outrage, but mostly they needed to spackle over their unpopular and corrupt regimes.

But where the two governments parted was that where Cheney and Bush were sniffing after money and economic power, Netanyahu is motivated by hatred and a willingness to use fear to punish his enemies and frighten the rest into submission. He is cut from the same mold as every tyrant in history, like Orbán or Jong-Il or Stalin or—yes—Hitler. I got my measure of the man 30 years ago, when he went out of his way to desecrate a Mosque as a part of this campaign. He views Palestinians – and it’s safe to say all Moslems – exactly the way Hitler viewed Jews; both as objects of personal hate, and as scapegoats to try to ride public hatred to power, a tidal wave of vomit and vile.

So the immediacy of his response is no surprise. Given his way, he would cheerfully slaughter every Palestinian on the face of the Earth. And he’s doing it in the name of a nation founded on the premise that monsters like him must never again be allowed to wreak havoc on entire populations out of hatred.

Which brings us to a second great branching. Most Israelis, in overwhelming numbers, have NOT forgotten the lessons of history. They see what Netanyahu is doing and are appalled. When 9/11 happened, Bush’s popularity ratings went from 35% approval to the mid 90s literally overnight. Netanyahu’s approval ratings were around 35% and have actually DROPPED since the attack on Gaza began.

Hamas are terrorists and must be stopped. Netanyahu is a tyrant, and he, too, must be stopped. In a just world, he and his main supporters would be locked up for life in a cell with the leaders of Hamas. Let them sort it out for themselves.

The people of Gaza are not responsible for the actions of Hamas, just as the people of Israel are not responsible for Netanyahu. Yes, both were elected, both by a relatively small percentage of the population. Are you responsible for Trump? Two-thirds of Americans despise the man, don’t want him anywhere near power ever again. If he were to reobtain power, his death toll would easily exceed Netanyahu’s, since he is a vengeful, petty, vicious little man who has far more enemies and needs far more scapegoats than does Netanyahu. Nonetheless, there’s a very real risk he could end up in the Oval Office again. Are you responsible? Would it be right to bomb you or launch terrorist attacks against you because you have a despicable leader?

The conflict has given rise to all sorts of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Both, I note, are phrases so common I didn’t need to teach them to my spell checker, and isn’t that a depressing indication of human fallibility? We all heard about the insane bastard that killed the six year old boy here in the States for “being Palestinian,” but the grim reality is that all people who look Semitic or even dress differently are at risk from people filled with ersatz moral rage over the conflict. Swastikas are getting painted on Synagogues and other places associated with Jews. Anyone with brown skin and a beard is at risk, or any woman with a head coverings. (It was only three generations ago that most London women wore scarves over their heads when they went out. Would they dare do so in today’s “free” America?) Sikhs are being targeted, even though they are neither Jewish or Islamic. But they look different. That’s enough for the “Haters against Hate” crowd.

I don’t know many Jews who support what Netanyahu is doing (and their numbers are dwindling) and I don’t know any Moslems who support Hamas. The vast majority are simply appalled at the killing and want it to stop—just like most of the rest of us.

Only a fool or a hater supports Netanyahu or Hamas. If you want to spray paint swastikas on images of Netanyahu, or send Hamas messages that they are najis and a disgrace in the eyes of Allah, go right ahead. It isn’t very nice, but at least you aren’t attacking innocents.

But what’s happening in Gaza isn’t a Jewish thing. It isn’t an Islamic thing. It isn’t an Israeli thing, not really. And it isn’t a Palestinian thing.

The people of Gaza, and the people of Israel, and their respective faiths are just innocents caught in the grindstone between terrorists and tyrants.

Too many innocents—on both sides and on all sides—have died already.

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Meltdown — Making our brains run in slime

Meltdown

Making our brains run in slime

Bryan Zepp Jamieson

October 24th 2023

www.zeppscommentaries.online

Some cheeky sort named “Anotherdumblib” posted this on Truth Social today: “First the Kraken, then the Cheeseball, and now Tell Us Ellis. $5,000 fine, five years probation, gotta write a letter of apology, and some community service. Fani Willis has to be pretty happy right now.” That should push Donnie’s diastolic into the triple digits.

He hasn’t been doing well lately. The other day, he confused Turkey and Hungary. Granted, he’s getting on, and the nurse probably forgot to give him his Ensure before he went on stage and started babbling. He KNOWS Turkey is in Argentina and Hungary is a Canadian province. He was just feeling peckish, is all.

But his mind is still ticking like one of those boxes where you turn the crank and a clown pops out. He was, according to himself, the first to ever notice that the abbreviation for the United States and the pronoun “us” were spelled exactly the same! Ha! Top THAT, Neil Degrasse-Tyson!

That Jenna Ellis became the third of Trump’s lawyers to cop a plea in the Georgia election tampering case and, like Powell and Cheseboro, got slaps on the wrist, bodes very poorly for our Donnie. Those three, among them, pretty much know where ALL the bodies are buried.

I doubt Trump is going to be the Republican candidate next year. In fact, I’m not sure that party will even HAVE a candidate. Or rather, several versions of the party, all calling themselves “The REAL Republican Party” will have candidates. I mean, look at the House. These are the same pack of clowns who have to figure out who their presidential candidate should be—and the main guy is now very clearly going down in flames. One of the candidates—probably a pro-Israel holocaust-denying civil libertarian who wants Jesus to run the country and birth control outlawed—might win pluralities in some place like Oklahoma or Idaho, but essentially, Biden will run unopposed. Not that I think Biden hasn’t earned a second term, but one-party rule is a bad thing, even if it’s the party with the grown-ups.

The Republicans who aren’t convulsing in the House are planning another unwatched shouty match. NBC, who really should know better, will be carrying it. I don’t plan to watch, but the expressions on Rachel Maddow’s face afterward should be entertaining as hell. Imagine the look on King Charles’ face if you walked up to him and offered to slip a live trout down his pants. Yeah. That expression. Rachel is sane and intelligent. Sane and intelligent people shouldn’t have to deal with Republican candidates. In fairness, the king of England shouldn’t have to deal with people like me, who suggest accosting the royal personage with fish.

The debate is going to be streamed exclusively by Rumble, a place that brags that it is home to people too disgusting and bent for any of the other streaming services. Lots of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and conspiracy theories. One of the sponsors of the debate is an outfit called “The Republican Jewish Coalition” which apparently is fine with a venue that is holocaust-denying (except for the ones who are pro-holocaust) and Hitler-praising. Yeah, that seems like an apt site for the GOP to engage in Jewish outreach.

Between Russia’s inept invasion of Ukraine, and the vicious attack by Hamas on Israel followed by the even more vicious Netanyahu retaliation, the world is teetering on the brink of a possible global war. But Vivek Ramaswamy thinks this is a good time for the US to pull out of NATO, and maybe the UN, as well. Because, like the GOP in the late 1930s, this iteration also believes the best way to deal with those foreign dictators they admire so much (they make the trains run on thyme, you know, very aromatic) is to embrace isolationism. Vivek isn’t the only Republican who feels that way, of course. Most of the ones getting their strings pulled by the rapidly-dwindling Trump profess the same nonsense.

Putin is continuing his not-so-subtle sabre-rattling, and is now threatening to pull out of the 1963 test ban treaty. But Donnie and his crowd still worship Putin. He makes the trains run in rhyme, you know, very poetic.

Meanwhile, there’s this: Dr Christopher Wolf, at Oregon State University (OSU) in the US and a lead author of the report, [told the Guardian]: “Without actions that address the root problem of humanity taking more from Earth than it can safely give, we’re on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater.

“By 2100, as many as 3 billion to 6 billion people may find themselves outside Earth’s livable regions, meaning they will be encountering severe heat, limited food availability and elevated mortality rates.”

We won’t need to wait until 2100. Our current “Super El Nino” is building, and this winter should see weather that will displace millions of people and kill thousands. Meanwhile, south of the equator, this summer should be a real horror show. About the only thing in Australia not at risk of burning is Ayer’s Rock (now called Uluru, but since Australians voted last week to not give Aboriginals full citizenship, perhaps they’ll show the same grace and charm of our Republicans and change the name back to the British appellation.)

Grim times, yes. You a gotta laugh, right? It’s that, or walk into a jet intake.

Hm. I wonder if we can convince Donnie to wear a longer tie when he’s around Trump Farce One. Or would that suggestion just get me a visit from the Secret Service?

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The Hamas Attack — How? Why Now? How Now?

The Hamas Attack

How? Why Now? How Now?

Bryan Zepp Jamieson

October 10th, 2023

www.zeppscommentaries.online

The scenes out of Israel and the occupied area of Gaza are horrific beyond belief. Hamas cold-bloodedly slaughtered hundreds of people who were doing nothing more than enjoying an outdoor concert on a lovely day. They’ve abducted hundreds of innocent people, and killed hundreds more. Some people are calling it “Israel’s 9/11” and that’s not off the mark. It was a despicable, cowardly sneak attack and it will result in the deaths of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people before it’s all over.

Israel’s response is every bit as vicious and inhumane. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant moved to cut off all food, medicine, water and fuel to the Gaza Ghetto (let’s call it what it is; it’s just a bigger version of the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II) which, if sustained for more than a few days, will result in mass deaths. In the meantime, Israel is engaging in “targeted strikes.” This term means dropping huge explosives pretty much at random on urban areas, including schools, hospitals and other centers, killing large numbers of people indiscriminately, and calling the slain “fighters” or better still “terrorists.” If a child is so thoroughly blown apart you can’t even tell what gender it was, you can decide for yourself whether to tell a compliant press if the remains were a terrorist or a fighter. Israel excels at prettying up slaughter; they learned it from the Americans.

There is also the frightening possibility of it becoming a wider war. Hezbollah is acting up along Israel’s northern border, and Iran and possibly Russia are almost certainly planning at least some involvement. The US, while still partially paralyzed by the GOP, is sending planes to Israel to help target strike more terrorist fighters because that’s the main talent of the US.

That something like this would happen eventually was a given. Israel has turned Gaza into an open air prison, a ghetto, no different from the scenes in Poland in World War II. You can’t hold populations like that forever. Despite that authoritarians fondly imagine, people aren’t willing to give up, lie down and die so they won’t be inconvenient. Bomb them? Ask any Londoner about how well bombing works. They surrendered straightaway to that Hitler fellow, didn’t they? Only bloodthirsty bastards talk about “targeted strikes” in urban areas and only dumb bastards believe them.

It’s a pity the UN or the Hague don’t have any real teeth. The leaders both of Hamas and Israel should be arrested, tried as war criminals and for crimes against humanity, and locked up for life—preferably sharing cells together.

There are no heroes in this: only victims. If you cheer for either side in this there’s something deeply wrong with you as a human being.

How did it happen the way it did, and why now? Part of it, of course was that it was the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, and the day in question was a holiday, Sukkot, which is kind of a Jewish Thanksgiving. It’s normally a festive, happy day.

I’m sure that the collapse of the House of Representatives though GOP insanity emboldened Hamas. It was a given that the US would come in on Israel’s side, but only the House can add funding and provide emergency requisitions beyond that already budgeted. And the House cannot formally meet because it doesn’t have a Speaker.

The Republicans, of course, reacted despicably. They tried blaming Biden for the sneak attack. The theory was Biden gave Iran $150 billion so they could fund Hamas. This was based on the agreement the US reached a couple of years ago where in exchange for hostages, the US would unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets (not $150 billion, and it was money that already belonged to Iran, not that Republicans bother to make their lies consistent or even sane) – and that money hasn’t been released yet. And some of the nuttier specimens on the far right are yammering about thousands of Hamas terrorists on the Mexican border because…well, Mexicans, Palestinians, who the hell can tell the difference anyway? They’re brown, they’re scary, and they don’t talk English. What else do you need to know?

With Republicans, when they shout accusations, it’s almost always based on something they themselves did, or suspect they might have done. And in the case of the Hamas attack, that might be a doozy.

Thom Hartmann tweeted Saturday: “Hamas apparently knew how to get around Israel’s Iron Dome defenses. They probably learned this from Iran. Iran almost certainly got the information from Russia. And who gave it to Russia? Sure looks like it was Donald Trump, at the request of Putin.”

Hartmann’s piece ( https://hartmannreport.com/p/did-hamas-somehow-get-inside-information-23e ) contains damning evidence to back up his theory.

It comes just days after the story broke that Trump shared some of America’s deepest nuclear sub secrets with some Australian billionaire who enticed Trump to divulge this information so he could go to his government and perhaps persuade them to buy more American submarines. It’s no secret that Trump was far too cozy with Putin, and a blabbermouth.

One thing Hartmann didn’t mention: along about 2018, Israel let it be known they would no longer be sharing sensitive information with the American government unless there was some immediate urgency because they no longer trusted the President to keep such information secure.

It’s entirely possible that Trump’s mouth and ego made the Hamas sneak attack possible. Hartmann reports that his tweet caused thousand of right wingers to lose their minds in fear and rage.

But it rings true. I believe it. Trump is stupid, megalomaniacal, reckless and disdainful of the US. Putin is calculating, manipulative, and knew that praise and business opportunity promises could cajole Trump into reckless actions. Russia supports Iran, something the right likes to ignore. And Iran supports Hamas. Not the Palestinians—Iran doesn’t give a shit about them. But anything that can hurt Israel is OK by them. I think Hartmann nailed it.

If it comes out in the wash like this, then throw Trump in that same cell with the leaders of Hamas and Israel. They all deserve one another, and the rest of us deserve none of them.

While, let’s all just hope the fighting ends soon, and relief can come to the region. The people there don’t deserve this; just their leaders.

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