gwb: 'Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author whose articles and video documentaries have appeared in the New York Times, Daily Beast, Guardian, Huffington Post, Salon, Al Jazeera English and many other publications. He is Senior Editor of AlterNet's Grayzone Project and the author of Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, which won the 2014 Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Notable Book Award, the New York Times bestseller Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party, and The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. His documentaries and on-the-ground reports have been seen by millions.' He posted the 'social media garbage' you criticizes. Does this mean that all posts on twitter are nonsense and deceptive? Of course not. Twitter has accounts for the NYT, CDC, Federal Reserve, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The platform is not a legitimate source of criticism. And if that is a questionable source, then why is some anonymous Zionist hardcore liberal on ET a real one? In short: rhetorical fallacy.
As I stated earlier, the primary problem is distribution. Hamas stating they will execute anyone coordinating aid with Israelis, UNRWA effectively not in business due to new Israeli regulations, and Red Crescent & other aid organizations facing the same problems with looting and re-selling of supplies by Hamas. A difficult tangle to sort out -- yet something needs to be done. All of this coupled with the offense in northern Gaza to eliminate Hamas forcing civilians to move south plus not allowing supplies to be delivered in the north. Until a ceasefire is arrived at -- there is unlikely to be much improvement. No matter how much the U.S. or other countries press for improvements in aid to civilians in Gaza. A dismal situation overall. Aid to Gaza falls to lowest level in 11 months despite US ultimatum to Israel US government wrote to Israel a month ago threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...s-food-lowest-level-year-despite-us-ultimatum
Max Blumenthal is an anti-semite who also peddles pro-Russian propaganda and hate running the Grayzone. Additional he is a shill for the murderous Assad regime in Syria. Not to mention all the anti-American crap peddled by Blumenthal and his compatriots picked up by the pro-Putin MAGA crowd Let's take a look at some of Blumenthal's nonsense and lies. Operating in the 'Grayzone': The pro-Hamas outlet being funded by Iran and Russia There are calls in the U.S. to investigate the news website, whose founder and editor Max Blumenthal promoted the conspiracy that Israel killed its own citizens on October 7 https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...-hamas-outlet-being-funded-by-iran-and-russia Let's take a look at Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate at the Russian disinformation outlet Grayzone. Their support of the Assad regime on the behalf of Russia is cynical. https://newlinesmag.com/argument/pu...ng-space-for-russia-linked-media-on-the-left/ Max Blumenthal, anti-Israel activist, tours Syrian regime’s Damascus Blumenthal has mocked Syrians in the past for preparing plastic bags to protect against Syrian regime chemical weapons attacks. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/anti...activist-tours-syrian-regimes-damascus-601045 Legitimate news outlets don't get paid by governments and their proxies to spread propaganda. All Max Blumenthal does is take money from unsavory regimes to spread lies. Report: Fringe anti-Israel News Site Editor Paid by Iran, Leaked Documents Show A report in the Washington Post revealed that the managing editor for Grayzone, a controversial online media site, received payments from a state-owned Iranian news network. Grayzone has been accused of disinformation and strongly pro-Iran, pro-Russia and anti-Israel views https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle...nts-show/0000018f-e389-dce5-abdf-e3adaf980000 Some details on the GrayZone and GOP Putin-lover Sen. Mike Lee. A Washington Post expose reveals the man behind the "news site" GrayZone is a US expat living in Russia who is a a longtime collaborator with Sputnik News and also takes money from Iran. Oh, and that Sen. Mike Lee regularly retweets their stuff. U.S. Senator Exposed for Spreading Russian, Iranian Propaganda Against America https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...ranian-propaganda-against-america/ar-BB1nHBmV Max Blumenthal’s Progression from Israel-Hater to Putin Shill https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/is...progression-from-israel-hater-to-putin-shill/
Legitimacy of the State of Israel The neutrality of this article is disputed. (July 2024) Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of countries and individuals have challenged its political legitimacy, its occupation of Arab territories, or both. Over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict, the country's authority has been questioned on a number of fronts. Critics of Israel may be motivated by their opposition to the country's right to exist or, since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, their disapproval of the established power structure within the Israeli-occupied territories. Increasingly, Israel has been accused of apartheid. Israel regards such criticism as an attempt to de-legitimize it.[1] On 11 May 1949, Israel was admitted to the United Nations (UN) as a full member state.[2][3] It also has bilateral ties with each of the UNSC Permanent Five. As of 2022, 28 of the 193 UN member states do not recognize Israeli sovereignty; the Muslim world accounts for 25 of the 28 non-recognizing countries, with Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela representing the remainder. Most of the governments opposed to Israel have cited the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict as the basis for their stance. In the early 1990s, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian political leader Yasser Arafat exchanged the Letters of Mutual Recognition. Pursuant to this correspondence, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) formally recognized Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state while Israel formally recognized the PLO as a legitimate entity representing the Palestinian people. This development set the stage for negotiations towards achieving a two-state solution (i.e., Israel alongside the State of Palestine) through what would become known as the Oslo Accords, as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. As of 2020, 30 United Nations member states do not recognise the State of Israel: 13 of the 21 UN members in the Arab League: Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen; a further nine members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan; and Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela.[4] On the other hand, nine members of the Arab League recognise Israel: Bahrain,[5] Egypt,[6] Jordan,[7] Mauritania,[8] Morocco,[9] Oman,[10] Sudan,[11] United Arab Emirates[12] and Palestine;[13] and most of the non-Arab members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also recognise Israel. Wiki Continues....
Legitimacy rhetoric as distraction M.J. Rosenberg, writing in 2011 in the Los Angeles Times, argued that the term "delegitimization" is a "distraction", whose purpose is to divert attention away from world opposition to the "illegitimate" Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip, from the "illegal" Israeli settlements, and from "the ever-louder calls for Israel to grant Palestinians equal rights". He concludes that "It's not the Palestinians who are delegitimizing Israel, but the Israeli government, which maintains the occupation. And the leading delegitimizer is Netanyahu, whose contemptuous rejection of peace is turning Israel into an international pariah."[32] Professor Emanuel Adler of the University of Toronto considers Israel as willing to accept a situation where its legitimacy may be challenged, because it sees itself as occupying a unique place in the world order.[45] Stacie E. Goddard of Wellesley College argues that the legitimacy of Israeli historical narratives is used as a tool to secure territory.[46]
Diplomatic incident during French FM’s Jerusalem visit sparks new France-Israel tensions “This violation of the integrity of a site under French responsibility risks undermining the ties I had come to nurture with Israel”, a visibly angry Barrot told reporters outside the building. Friday 08/11/2024 https://thearabweekly.com/diplomati...salem-visit-sparks-new-france-israel-tensions French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (R) walks away after cancelling his scheduled visit to the Eleona Domain (Church of the Pater Noster) in Jerusalem, on November 7, 2024. AFP PARIS /JERUSALEM France accused Israel on Thursday of harming bilateral ties after Israeli security forces entered a Christian holy site under French administration in Jerusalem and briefly detained two French officials with diplomatic status. The incident, which was reminiscent of other episodes during previous visits by French presidents Macron and Chirac, occurred as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives. Paris is responsible for the site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem and deemed part of France. French diplomatic sources said Israeli security had been told not to enter before Barrot’s visit. However, they did so and as a consequence Barrot refused to enter the compound, called Eleona in French, while they were present. Two French security officials were then briefly arrested, the sources said, adding that the Israelis were aware the two were from the consulate and had diplomatic status. Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement that an argument arose between the Israeli security forces and two French security guards. They were released immediately after they identified themselves as diplomats, it said. The dispute casts a shadow over diplomatic relations that are already strained over Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. “This violation of the integrity of a site under French responsibility risks undermining the ties I had come to nurture with Israel at a time when we all need to move forward the region on the path to peace”, a visibly angry Barrot told reporters outside the building. Israel’s foreign ministry said that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been “clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French embassy in Israel.” A French diplomatic source said the Israeli authorities were disseminating “false allegations” and that a line had not yet been drawn under the incident. The Israeli ambassador to Paris will be summoned in the coming days, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Barrot said during a visit to the West Bank on Thursday France is mulling new sanctions on those enabling the expansion of Israeli settlements . “France has been a driving force to establish the first sanction regime at the European level targeting individuals or entities, either actors or accomplices of settlement activities”, the French foreign minister said after talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah. “This regime has been activated two times already and we’re working on a third batch of sanctions targeting these activities that again are illegal with respect to international law.” Barrot renewed France’s commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned settlement activities “threaten the political perspective that can ensure durable peace for Israel and Palestine”. Before meeting Abbas, Barrot visited the adjacent town of Al-Bireh, where Israeli settlers set fire to 20 cars on Monday, damaging a nearby building. After speaking to residents and local officials at the scene, Barrot noted that the attack took place in a part of the West Bank where the Palestinians were supposed to enjoy both civil and security control under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s. “These attacks from extremist and violent settlers are not only completely inexcusable, not only contrary to international law, but they weaken the perspective of a two-state solution,” Barrot said. Ramallah and Al-Bireh governor Laila Ghannam said she was outraged that settler attacks were “taking place in full view and hearing of the entire silent international community”. “Perhaps today, with the visit of the French foreign minister, there will be a spotlight here,” she said. Speaking in Jerusalem earlier Thursday, Barrot said he saw prospects for ending Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Donald Trump’s re-election, citing the Republican’s “wish to see the end of the Middle East’s endless wars” as well as recent “tactical successes” for Israel. Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply to Israel of offensive weapons used in Gaza. The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons’ firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel’s conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel’s security and and pointed out that its military helped defend Israel amid Iranian missile attacks earlier this year. Barrot’s trip had aimed to press Israel to engage diplomatically to end the conflicts in the region now that the US presidential election is over. It was not the first time that tensions have arisen surrounding France’s historic holdings in the city. In 2020, Macron lost his temper when visiting the Church of St Anne, another site under French administration, demanding Israeli security personnel leave the Jerusalem basilica. A similar incident took place in 1996 involving France’s then-president Jacques Chirac, who saw his treatment by Israeli security as a “provocation”. In this grab taken from an AFPTV video footage, Israeli police detain a French gendarme at the Eleona Domain (Church of the Pater Noster) in Jerusalem, on November 7, 2024. AFP
Live briefing Saudi crown prince calls Israel’s conduct ‘genocide’ Published 2 hours ago https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/12/israel-iran-war-news-hamas-gaza-palestine/ Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Israel was committing “genocide” against Palestinians, in remarks at a summit of top officials from Arab and Islamic countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, state media reported. He called for the international community to halt Israel’s “attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples” and to ensure Israel “respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” another sign that the long-frosty relationship between the two regional powers has somewhat thawed. Israel has denied the accusation it is carrying out genocide in Gaza and says it does not target civilians in Gaza or Lebanon. Mohammed could play a major role in any eventual peace deal between Israel and its adversaries in Gaza and Lebanon. Normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel has been a prize sought by both the Biden and Trump administrations, before and after the war in Gaza began. But Mohammed said in recent months he would not accept a normalization deal with Israel unless it agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Yawn.... we heard so much whining from the extreme left about the Biden administration's effort's to establish a three-stage ceasefire agreement in Gaza. With left whining "genocide" and all sorts of other nonsense for months --- and then claiming they would not vote for Harris. Let's see how Trump entering office is working out for the pro-Hamas crowd. You know, beyond the bulk of them being deported out of the United States. Oh, step 1 of the Trump administration will be for Israel to take over the West Bank and Gaza. Eyeing Trump support, Israeli minister pushes for West Bank settlement annexation https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/11/midd...annexation-occupied-west-bank-intl/index.html
Regarding Trump, my position is such; a) Believing what the media say negatively about him. b) Not believing the media what they say about him. I'm gonna keep an open mind atm but I really believe the current system of democratic government needs an overhaul. The constant wars and how religion has so much influence, the ability to fuel wars in foreign countries, a system of politics governed by big money, high incarceration rates in jails, corruption in politics and where lying seems the norm, housing and cost of living going through the roof...... So far imo, Trump looks shady for the job, but I ask myself how come he's so Teflon? My hope is, although Trump may appear unsuited for the presidency, he'll shake things up so hard these next 4 years that it brings a revolution (not violent) in how we do things. I'm just wondering if democracy needs a big overhaul and Trump will seed it.