Israel
The Destruction Of Gaza SHOULD Be Radicalizing People
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
https://medium.com/media/0a8bfe21c338a93a4bbb83ed826d7638/href
What’s happening in Gaza should radicalize you. It absolutely should.
Right now, even as its own criminality hits fever pitch, the western political-media class is fretting with increasing shrillness about young people getting “radicalized” and turned against their government by the spread of information and ideas at campus demonstrations and on TikTok.
But young people should be radicalizing right now. Everyone should.
When you see Israel rejecting a Hamas ceasefire and beginning its long-threatened assault on Rafah (the last so-called “safe zone” in Gaza), that should radicalize you.
https://medium.com/media/e2ac53fa45d15c62748df79cceb6fdb7/href
When you see US senators assist this horrifying onslaught by publicly threatening the International Criminal Court if they dare to indict Israeli officials for war crimes, that should radicalize you.
When you see Israel shutting down Al Jazeera to quash news reporting about its criminality immediately before launching this mass atrocity, that should radicalize you.
When you see The New York Times receiving a Pulitzer Prize for its scandalously discredited, notoriously biased and widely-mocked Gaza coverage, that should radicalize you.
When you see the US president publicly supporting and encouraging violent police crackdowns against protesters opposing his genocidal actions in Gaza, that should radicalize you.
If the so-called “moderate” position of your nation’s political status quo is to accept, normalize, support and defend the sort of evil that is being inflicted upon the people of Gaza, then you should want to get as far away from that “moderate” position as possible, and you should seek the complete annihilation of that political status quo.
https://medium.com/media/366d54663c9a4430b420efbf1e8e70e1/href
This obvious point is being aggressively attacked with rapidly intensifying frenzy by the empire and its lackeys.
After police violently shut down anti-genocide campus demonstrations in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said “There is a movement to radicalize young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done… I’m not going to allow that to happen as the mayor of the City of New York,” as though preventing the spread of radical political opinions is something a mayor is elected to do in the United States.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry ominously told the press that there is “some organization” who is “radicalizing our students,” and that the New York police force intends to “find out who that is.” Again, the implication being that it is the job of the police to control the spread of unauthorized political opinions.
In an article with the incredibly propagandistic headline “Anti-Israel protests infiltrated by ‘outside agitators’ who radicalize students, sow violence,” The Washington Times presented these unevidenced assertions from New York City officials as though they are established fact instead of highly convenient fiction.
In a talk at the McCain Institute on Friday, Senator Mitt Romney told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Congress supports banning TikTok because it shares information that turns people’s opinions against Israel, saying such information has a “very, very challenging effect on the narrative.”
Arnaud Bertrand on Twitter: "Incredible mask-off moment: Romney and Blinken say that the ban of TikTok was directly because "the emotion, the impact of images has a very challenging effect on the narrative", the narrative being "Israel's PR".pic.twitter.com/WkIGTAXG2X / Twitter"
Incredible mask-off moment: Romney and Blinken say that the ban of TikTok was directly because "the emotion, the impact of images has a very challenging effect on the narrative", the narrative being "Israel's PR".pic.twitter.com/WkIGTAXG2X
A new report from The Intercept reveals that congressmen Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer called on the FBI to investigate campus protesters at a “centrist” political group called No Labels, suggesting there these demonstrations have a nefarious support system which the federal police should look into.
The Wall Street Journal has been losing its mind over the campus protests, posting articles with headlines like “Activist Groups Trained Students for Months Before Campus Protests” and “Rules for Campus Radicals, 2024 — A website reveals the planning and strategy behind the current college mayhem” which suggest that there is something sinister and unacceptable about these demonstrations receiving support from “longtime activists and left-wing groups.”
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough went full Alex Jones on his show last week, telling his audience that these university protests have been happening because Qatar has “poured hundreds of millions of dollars into American universities to have a radicalizing effect on Middle Eastern studies.”
Empire managers and propagandists have been pushing the narrative that foreign governments are behind this new protest movement to radicalize young people against Washington and Israel, though as we discussed recently they humorously can’t yet manage to agree on which foreign government that is.
The imperial spinmeisters have been churning out these talking points about radicalization and nefarious support because that’s the narrative bludgeon they plan on using to stomp out the burgeoning antiwar movement the empire has created with its genocidal atrocities in Gaza. If they can establish a narrative that it is the government’s job to shut down political dissent and stop the spread of unauthorized political opinions, then they can justify doing pretty much anything to stop this movement in its tracks.
All to shut down something that absolutely should be happening. Young people should be cultivating radical political positions in response to an active genocide that’s supported by their government. An antiwar movement should be forming against the imperial murder machine as its murderousness gets more and more insane. People should be aggressively rejecting the political status quo that has allowed this nightmare to be unleashed upon humanity.
Everyone should be turning against the US-centralized empire right now. Don’t let the imperial manipulators dupe our society into believing this turn is anything but a correct and appropriate response to what the empire is doing.
____________________
My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. Go here to buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.
Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2
Featured image via Ted Eytan (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
Administration Sets Police on Peaceful Student Protestors
Milagros Peña, president of Purchase College, State University of New York, authorized campus and local police to forcibly break up what appears to be a peaceful gathering of student protestors, in a continuing trend across the country.
The faculty have called the event “a catastrophic failure by the administration to uphold the fundamental pillars of justice, academic freedom, and the democratic principles our institution is supposed to embody and impart.”
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You can watch footage of the police attack on the protestors here:
According to Emiliano Diaz, chair of the Department of Philosophy at Purchase, philosophy students at Purchase have been among the leaders of the protestors.
He writes:
Philosophy students at SUNY Purchase have been deeply involved in the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Sabrina Thompson, a junior in philosophy and president of the Philosophy Society, has been a key organizer.
On the night of Thursday, May 2, a group of students, led by Thompson and others, attempted to establish an encampment on campus near the dormitories. They were eventually persuaded not to set up tents, but they were steadfast in their commitment to remain. At 10pm, when the university quiet hours began, they sat silent in observance of the student code of conduct. This is when police moved in to disperse them with substantial and violent force…
In an email about what would transpire, President Milagros Peña cites the “quiet hours” policy as justification for the use of force. She also notes that fire alarms were set off and that this was disruptive for students who are entering the final weeks of class. Students have noted that the quiet hour rule is not uniformly enforced. Students regularly congregate in the quad after 10pm without issue. During “Culture Shock,” a music festival held on campus near the end of the year, this rule is also flouted. Fire alarms were set off, but this happened only after the police moved in, and some students are claiming that it was a diversionary tactic meant to distract police and give room to students who wished to flee the violence that unfolded. President Peña also suggests that “outside agitators” were somehow threatening the safety of the campus. There was no evidence of immediate or even inchoate threat as the police moved in. Also, at least some of those who were “outsiders” (a difficult word to parse in the context of a public college) were human rights lawyers invited by a faculty member to observe the protest.
In all, 70 people were arrested. In order to jail all of them, Police spread them across Westchester County. If not for their friends, many of them, college students with few resources and parents who do not live locally, would have been stranded. According to reports, many were not told the charge during the arrest and were also denied information about arresting officers.
Faculty who were present only to observe, support the students’ right to free speech, and help de-escalate the situation were among those arrested. One of these faculty, who has participated in other protests, noted the lack of training on the part of the officers involved in the arrests. He cited the fact that students were told to disperse but then given no clear means of egress. Some were even pursued as they tried to leave. He also noted that he has never witnessed such violence in response to protests.
The next morning, arrested students would find the belongings they were forced to leave behind, pillows, book bags, blankets, and other things, in and strewn around a dumpster.
Students were back out protesting last night, May 3, and have remained peacefully encamped throughout the night and into this morning.
Below is President Peña’s email, followed by a response from the faculty.
Dear Campus Community,
As an academic institution and a diverse campus of individuals with a vast range of backgrounds, experiences, and opinions, we are committed to upholding the right to free expression and also the right to safety on campus for all who dwell, work, and learn at Purchase. That tension has been at the forefront of many conversations over the past several months.
I wanted to update you on last night’s events in a way that also responds to the many messages, conversations, and emails I have received, which run the gamut from fear related to the protests to passionate support of the protestors’ cause. I have read them all and thank you for reaching out.
I also want to dispel any myths about what happened, to the best of my ability at this time, considering it is an ongoing investigation.
Last night, as has been the case all semester, students were allowed to protest peacefully, which they did for several hours.
However, this right to protest is only honored as long as protestors follow SUNY’s rules for maintenance of order and the student code of conduct, something we have been communicating repeatedly, for the safety and well-being of the entire campus.
This right does not apply to outsiders. Dozens of non-affiliated people were turned away from campus. We are investigating their role in escalating the protest activity on campus, but their presence put the police on high alert. It is believed many of them snuck back onto campus once turned away.
At 10pm, once campus quiet hours started, protestors were given multiple opportunities to disperse peacefully, as ordered, more than 10 times by the campus police and other local police forces there to assist.
Those who didn’t disperse after multiple warnings of consequences were arrested for trespass violations, most without incident.
The 10pm deadline was not arbitrary. Quiet hours are especially important during the lead up to the end of the semester when students need time to sleep, study, and complete final projects andgo to dorm rooms without fear or concern for personal safety. We received numerous complaints that this did not happen last night due to the fire alarms being repeatedly pulled by students in protest.
Protestors were brought to local precincts for processing as the University Police Department couldn’t hold that many individuals. Students will also go through the student code of conduct process, which may include consequences up to expulsion. As the investigation continues, a few individuals may face additional criminal charges.
To the best of our knowledge, there were approximately 70 individuals arrested including students and faculty members.
Despite last night’s activity, we plan on preserving the rest of the semester’s activities as scheduled, including commencement.All scheduled activities will continue without disruption, as long as it is safe to hold them. Please carry your Purchase ID with you when coming to campus and leaving campus at this time.
Our long-standing policies limit the time, place, and manner for protest, for good reason, and in support of our entire community.
Anyone who adheres to these policies is welcome to take part in free speech activities. We know from witnessing protests at other campuses that when these policies are ignored and especially when outsiders are involved, intimidation, bias, and violence may occur, along with disruption of events and activities central to the campus experience. Anyone who has been struggling or impacted by recent events is encouraged to reach out to Counseling and Behavioral Health Services for additional support.
We can disagree and debate the emotionally charged issues related to the protest and the complex issues we are grappling with globally, but the well-being and safety of the entire Purchase community will and must always be my top priority.
Thank you.
Milagros (Milly) Peña, PhD (She, Her, Hers)
President, Purchase College, S.U.N.Y.
Here is the faculty response:
Dear President Milagros Peña,
We, the faculty of Purchase College, are outraged and condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent and disproportionate actions taken by campus authorities against our students and faculty colleagues on the evening of May 2nd, 2024.
Our students were participating in a peaceful protest on campus – an act protected by their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. Our faculty members were present solely to ensure the safety of students and observe their non-disruptive demonstration. Despite this, a staggering number of over 70 students and faculty, were arrested after police violently intervened and disrupted the lawful gathering.
This represents a catastrophic failure by the administration to uphold the fundamental pillars of justice, academic freedom, and the democratic principles our institution is supposed to embody and impart. Rather than fostering an inclusive environment supporting a range of ideas, the leadership has chosen a path of alienation, vilification, and unjust criminalization of responsible free expression.
The hostile actions of the university police and other law enforcement agencies on May 2nd have sent a chilling message that peaceful assembly may lead to undue punishment and violence, in blatant violation of core rights. Not only were the rights of those arrested trampled, but the incident has undermined the entire community’s faith that the administration will protect our freedoms.
We demand immediate and decisive action. All charges against arrested community members must be vacated, and any related disciplinary actions dropped. Furthermore, the administration must clarify its processes for community engagement to prevent further acrimony and restore trust. We demand an immediate outside and independent investigation into all aspects of this incident, particularly the excessive use of police force, to ensure full accountability.
Swift and thorough corrective measures, including resignations of those culpable for the infringement of student and faculty civil liberties and rights, are imperative to begin healing these wounds and reaffirming our institution’s commitment to its integral rights and liberties. The time to act is now.
Sincerely,
The Faculty at Large of Purchase College, SUNY
The post Administration Sets Police on Peaceful Student Protestors first appeared on Daily Nous.
I Oppose Israel’s Atrocities In Gaza Because I’m Not A Psychopath
Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
https://medium.com/media/71cbacc23a60b2c96e4c6a46b00197b6/href
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I don’t oppose the butchery in Gaza because I love Hamas or hate Jews or love Islam or hate America.
I don’t oppose the butchery in Gaza because I’m a lefty or a commie or an anarchist or an anti-imperialist.
I oppose the butchery in Gaza because I’m not a fucking psychopath.
Opposing Israel’s butchery in Gaza is so obvious, so common sense, such a bare-minimum, fundamental-level, Being Human 101 position that if it isn’t immediately self-evident to you after learning the basic facts, your problem is much, much deeper than whatever ideology or bias or prejudice you might happen to have. There’s something wrong with you as a person.
If you support Israel’s butchery in Gaza, you’ve got much bigger problems than merely not having the correct ist or ism belief system. You’re just all fucked up inside. Your conditioning has made you into a generally shitty human being. You have deep and immensely consequential flaws in your character, and you won’t mature as a person until you heal and transcend them.
Opposing Israel’s atrocities in Gaza doesn’t make you a good person, it just makes you a normal person — and supporting Israel’s atrocities in Gaza makes you a bad person. Nobody gets any points for opposing an active genocide; that’s just the basic, bare-minimum requirement for a normal human being with a functioning empathy center in their brain. If you can’t meet that basic, bare-minimum standard, you deserve to be viewed with suspicion and disdain, and anyone in your personal life who cares about truth, morality and humanity should seriously reassess their relationship with you.
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https://medium.com/media/27a727d0325a47268efea546fe90dcc6/href
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One reason the empire is losing young people is because the imperial status quo has given them no investment in it. They’ll never own property. They can’t support a family or retire. They’ve been given no reason not to want to rock the political boat. So they’re rocking it.
The only vested interest young people have left is an interest in breathable air and a livable planet, and the possibility of a future that isn’t intolerably dystopian. All of which are diametrically opposed to the interests and trajectory of the status quo politics of the western empire.
So they’re going for it. They’re beginning to see that there’s no reason for them not to plunge headlong into a push for real change, in direct opposition to the mainstream politics of our time. Like Bob Dylan said, when you got nothing you got nothing to lose.
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One of the many things that’s beautiful about this particular protest movement is that these young people aren’t protesting a war that they could get drafted in or could harm their personal interests in any way. They’re opposing something cruel and evil solely out of compassion.
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One Palestinian life is worth more than every college campus window in the world.
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If you’re wondering why you’re suddenly seeing the word “radicalizing” a lot in mainstream politics and media, it’s because that’s the big scary boogieman the empire plans on using to justify stomping out the burgeoning antiwar movement it created with its atrocities in Gaza.
https://medium.com/media/366d54663c9a4430b420efbf1e8e70e1/href
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Israeli police raided Al Jazeera’s office after the Israeli cabinet voted to shut down the broadcasts of the Qatari media outlet on Sunday. The west is protecting freedom and democracy by stomping out its own freedom and democracy to assist the genocidal atrocities of a nation that is also stomping out freedom and democracy.
❖
Trump supporters are such foam-brained bootlickers that they’re now united in shitting on protests against a genocidal mass atrocity that’s being pushed by neocons, the Biden administration, and every other warmongering establishment swamp monster they claim to oppose.
Trump supporters: fighting the Deep State by siding with every intelligence agency, weapons contractor, mainstream media outlet and professional war whore in America.
❖
Republicans pretend to fiercely oppose Biden, but when it comes to issues that really matter like the president encouraging violent police crackdowns against people protesting his actions they’re in furious agreement, even saying he didn’t go far enough. They’re on the same side.
_____________
My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. Go here to buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.
Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED)
Israel bans Al Jazeera as attack on journalism goes domestic
Seizure of broadcasting equipment and blocking of Israeli citizens’ access to website as Israel adds assault on dissenting voices in Gaza to its slaughter of journalists in Gaza
Israel has banned Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera from its territory – and blocked Israeli citizens from accessing the station’s channel and website – as it continues its assault on dissenting voices examining its mass murder of Palestinian civilians. The move comes as global support for Palestinians, and condemnation of Israel’s slaughter and maiming of more than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza, continues to grow and Israel’s usual deceits and tactics to discredit opposition collapses. The ban will last for forty-five days initially, but is likely to keep being renewed.
The station showed a pre-recorded announcement from the head of its Israeli bureau confirming the government censorship – and its final live broadcast from Israeli territory was an interview with a journalist from Israeli paper Haaretz, speaking from his car, who condemned the ban and said it was quite possible he would be arrested when he got home because of the interview.
Israel has murdered well over a hundred journalists in Gaza since 7 October and prevents international journalists from entering the territory, apart from a handful who have been shepherded in and out for propaganda purposes. Now its war on journalism, free speech and truth has gone domestic.
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Video: students walk out of graduation in protest against Gaza genocide
University of Michigan graduates walk out holding Palestine flags
Student graduates at the University of Michigan have walked out of their graduation ceremony, holding Palestinian flags an challenging Israel ‘How many kids have you killed today?’, in protest at Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The protest is part of a growing trend of students protesting at their graduation that has been added to the student encampment movement, holding placards and calling out the horrors being perpetrated on Palestinian civilians despite increasingly brutal state repression of students, including many Jewish students who are playing a prominent role in the demonstrations, for exercising their freedom of speech.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Israel’s Defenders Talk So Much About Feelings Because They Can’t Talk About Facts
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
https://medium.com/media/09142876b534ccc19b7b41ae47d657c5/href
The Guardian has an article out titled “Israelis voice sadness and defiance over Gaza protests on US campuses”, subtitled “People in Jerusalem express little sympathy with anti-war demonstrators, with some accusing them of hatred for Israel”.
It’s exactly what it sounds like: an entire news report about the feelings that some Israelis are feeling in their feely bits about protests in another country on the other side of the world. The Guardian’s Jason Burke asked some random people about their feelings outside a theater in Jerusalem, and then presented this weird nothing thing as relevant news reporting.
“We didn’t know so many people hated Israel,” some random security guard is quoted as saying.
“Such feelings appear widespread among the Jewish majority in Israel, seven months after war was triggered by surprise attacks launched by Hamas into the south of the country in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 taken hostage,” writes Burke.
“Jewish Israelis interviewed by the Guardian this week blame outrage overseas on misinformation, ignorance, historical hostility from international institutions such as the UN, global ‘double standards’ and entrenched antisemitism,” Burke informs us.
Guardian news on Twitter: "Israelis voice sadness and defiance over Gaza protests on US campuses https://t.co/Qv88bnSRO5 / Twitter"
Israelis voice sadness and defiance over Gaza protests on US campuses https://t.co/Qv88bnSRO5
If you’re just tuning in, it might seem odd to you that a major news outlet would publish a story about the emotions that some Israelis are feeling about foreign protests against an active genocide being committed by their country. After all, this is not a news story. A story about how some people’s feelings are feeling is not news, and is not journalism.
But that’s exactly what the last seven months have looked like in the imperial media: a nonstop fixation on feelings instead of facts. Israelis have upset feelings about anti-genocide protests. Western Jews have upset feelings at campus demonstrators. Biden has upset feelings at Netanyahu. Last October the imperial media suddenly got a lot less interested in reporting on the facts on the ground with Israel and Gaza, and a whole lot more interested in reporting on how some groups of people feel about it instead.
Western reporters, pundits, politicians and officials cannot stop talking about this. The feelings of Israelis and western Jews are not only given more importance than the feelings of Palestinians or any other group, they are given more importance than Palestinian lives. Some Zionist kid pretending to feel “threatened” on an Ivy League campus will get more coverage than the daily massacres that have been occurring in the densely-packed city of Rafah.
Watch Matt Orfalea’s latest video about the deluge of coddling, cooing media coverage that was given to a Zionist activist who falsely pretended to have been “stabbed in the eye” by a pro-Palestine activist for a good example of this behavior:
https://medium.com/media/2f1a760ec13728f250226d3463b8c5ec/href
Israel is the only issue where the western political-media class treats people’s feelings as a matter of supreme importance.
If you’re a stressed-out single parent struggling to pay bills and keep a roof over your kids’ head, they don’t care about your feelings.
If you’re an American who’s been cast into destitution and homelessness by medical bills, they don’t care about your feelings.
If you’re a Palestinian whose apartment complex was bombed with your entire family inside, they definitely don’t care about your feelings.
But if you’re a western Zionist who doesn’t like the cognitive dissonance that comes with encountering anti-genocide protesters, or even if you’re an Israeli who’s upset about anti-genocide protests in whole other country on the other side of the planet, they’re very, very interested in your feelings.
This is of course because the west’s unconditional support for Israel cannot be defended through facts, so the narrative control needs to focus instead on one nonstop appeal to emotion fallacy. Their position is so gross and indefensible that all they have left is babbling about some select people having upset feelings and holding those feelings as more important than stopping an active genocide.
The propagandists and empire managers don’t have facts on their side and don’t have morality on their side, so they attempt to manipulate by pulling on the heart strings using sympathy and compassion. They appeal to some of the healthiest impulses within us in order to dupe us into supporting some of the most evil actions the world has ever seen.
Which is an absolutely disgusting thing to do, naturally. But, again, it’s all these freaks have left.
___________
My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Go here to find video versions of my articles. Go here to buy paperback editions of my writings from month to month. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.
Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2
Exclusive: Yemen Braces For Impending Massive US-Led Air and Ground Campaign
Senior military officials in Sana’a have informed MintPress News of ongoing military preparations by the US, UK, and Saudi-led Coalition over the past two weeks. According to these sources, there are plans to initiate a significant aerial assault on the Yemeni mainland, focusing particularly on coastal regions in the west, as well as areas in the south near the Saudi border. This assault is expected to be accompanied by ground offensives carried out by factions aligned with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
MintPress News sources indicate a probable escalation, coinciding with significant military reinforcements. Notably, squadrons of US F-16 aircraft have been arriving at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, located less than 200 kilometers from the Yemeni border. Additionally, extensive air transport activities involving weapons and equipment have been observed over the past two weeks, with US cargo planes shuttling to and from military bases in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti.
On April 29, the Aviano Air Base in Italy declared the deployment of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets from its 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to the Middle East. As stated on the Aviano Air Base website, these F-16s are set to undertake a range of missions, including safeguarding civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, alongside other crucial force protection and deterrence duties
Sources near the Saudi-led coalition-backed government in Aden revealed to MintPress News that the United States and Britain have ramped up their dialogue with the Ministry of Defense in the Aden administration. This surge comes in response to recent Yemeni activities in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.
Military and political insiders in Sanaa informed MintPress News about the military exercise held on April 24. The event, dubbed “Desert Flag 9,” saw the participation of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Arab nations at the Al Dhafra base in the Emirates. This maneuver is believed to be part of preparations for the announcement of a new military coalition, ostensibly aimed at safeguarding international freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. At the outset of the exercise, General Charles Keough, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, lauded the collaboration among allies in countering perceived Iranian threats.
Numerous officials in Sanaa and among Ansar Allah have issued public warnings about alleged plans orchestrated by the United States and Britain, with support from certain Arab nations. The Supreme Political Council, the highest governing body in the northern region, has cautioned against any hostile escalation by the United States in Yemen. It asserts that ongoing suspicious preparations aimed at dissuading Yemen from supporting Gaza will prove futile. Emphasizing that any consequences of such escalation will extend beyond Yemen’s borders, the Council has urged Saudi Arabia to prioritize its national interests over those of the United States.
It seems evident that Saudi and Emirati endeavors extend beyond merely challenging the naval blockade imposed by Ansar Allah on Israel, currently engaged in what many legal experts have termed a genocide in Gaza. Rather, indications suggest that these oil-rich nations may be poised to actively participate in an anticipated U.S. and U.K. military intervention. Their aim? To dismantle the blockade on Israel imposed by Yemeni forces and quell Ansar Allah’s assaults on Israeli vessels—actions purportedly intended to halt the ongoing genocide and alleviate the siege on civilians within the embattled enclave.
In addressing the Yemen-Saudi border situation, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council, raised poignant questions: “Why does Saudi Arabia deliberately target civilians on the Yemeni border with French Caesar’s cannons? Wouldn’t it be wiser for the Saudi army to position these cannons near the borders of the northern kingdom to aid the people of Gaza?” He cautioned against reckless actions, stating, “Do not play with fire. We possess a strategic arsenal far beyond what you anticipate.”
Hussein Al-Ezzi, serving as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Sana’a government, issued a stark warning:
We are well aware of Washington’s hostile intentions. Henceforth, we hold Washington accountable for any dire consequences resulting from its reckless actions against Yemen. It may soon find itself devoid of safe havens in the region, as its interests become a common target for all those who value freedom.”
Seeking to entangle itself anew in the Yemen conflict and forge closer ties with Israel, the United States has pledged support to Saudi Arabia. This includes assistance for a Saudi nuclear program and designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally. Talks are ongoing to solidify a joint defense pact and enhance security cooperation, as reported by Saudi media.
Impending Assaults on Critical Assets
The peril isn’t just about the conflict’s escalation, but also the neighboring nations getting entangled in operations beyond their control. This risks sparking another tragic conflict, impacting not only war-torn Yemen but also neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia.
MintPress sources have confirmed that, in the case of a U.S.-led ground invasion of Yemen, planned assaults by Ansar Allah will target not only U.S. interests and bases within the involved nations but also critical facilities and assets belonging to those participating countries, such as oil installations.
Ansar Allah has issued a grave threat of launching a large-scale and aggressive assault aimed at crucial installations, including oil facilities, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This ominous warning mirrors previous attacks, such as the devastating strikes on the Abqaiq oil facilities in September 2019, which resulted in a significant disruption to half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.
Ali al-Quhom, a Member of the Political Council of Ansar Allah, wrote on X, “The stage has changed, and with it, the rules of engagement have changed. Saudi Arabia and the UAE must realize this, and seven years are enough to learn the lesson. Yemen has become stronger with the increase in military capabilities at all levels. Escalation will be met with escalation, and this is a fixed and inseparable rule that will never change, ever. As you lost before, you will lose now, but this time your loss will be greater than before.” He added:
There should be no submission or surrender on the part of neighboring countries to American, British and Israeli pressure and will, indicating that any American move from the territories of neighboring countries will lead to strong Yemeni responses, these countries will be the target of Yemeni operations, We have a target bank that includes strategic and vital targets in depth and in areas of economic importance.”
Imminent Retaliation
Mounting tensions in Yemen and the broader region coincide with the withdrawal of an American aircraft carrier from the Red Sea. Yemeni analysts suggest that this move signifies not only the persistence of Yemeni operations targeting maritime navigation linked to the Israeli regime but also hints at a shift towards ground-based operations for a more extensive assault on Yemeni territory. Yemeni sources indicate that the departure of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely from the Red Sea is part of the preparations for the coming assault.
General Shamsan, the head of the Military Spokesmen Committee in the Yemeni Army, informed MintPress that concurrent with the withdrawal of the American aircraft carrier, a squadron of aircraft has arrived at Saudi bases. This development aligns with diplomatic and political maneuvers. The Americans seem compelled to pivot towards attacks from land bases to mitigate potential heavy losses from retaliatory strikes against U.S. aircraft carriers and destroyers at sea.
While certain Yemenis perceive the withdrawal of the American aircraft carrier from the Red Sea as a triumph, numerous political, military officials, and analysts interviewed by MintPress regard Washington’s move with deep suspicion, framing it within the context of ongoing operational preparations, as emphasized by Brigadier General Shamsan.
Last Friday, the U.S. Navy declared that USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely departed from the Red Sea after an almost four-month presence. Despite their deployment, the U.S. battle group was unable to impede Yemeni operations targeting maritime navigation associated with the Israeli regime, as these operations persisted.
Additionally, there’s a possibility, as indicated by a Yemeni source linked to the coordination between Yemeni and Iraqi resistance forces, that certain groups within the Resistance Axis, notably the Iraqi resistance, may engage in retaliatory strikes against key American and Saudi targets in the region. This prospect hints at potential conflict not only in the Red Sea but also in the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Gulf, posing a genuine threat to American interests. However, such escalation could potentially be averted or delayed, especially considering the Russian front and the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
Mounting Tension and Military Preparations
On the ground, clear signs of an impending conflict are emerging, particularly in the conflict zones of Taiz and Lahj, alongside other fronts. This coincides with significant military reinforcements being deployed by factions aligned with the Saudi-Emirati coalition from Aden to the strategic Tur al-Baha and Haifan fronts. These areas serve as vital contact points between Sanaa-aligned forces and coalition-backed militias. Tragically, in the Maqbanah area southwest of Taiz, an attack allegedly conducted by a drone affiliated with these factions resulted in the loss of two children and three women.
According to Yemeni military media, an American MQ9 drone was brought down above Saada Governorate while conducting a military operation. Footage released last Friday depicted Yemeni Armed Forces successfully shooting down the US MQ-9 aircraft using a missile.
مشاهد لعملية إسقاط الدفاعات الجوية للطائرة الأمريكية MQ9 أثناء قيامها بمهام عدائية في أجواء محافظة صعدةhttps://t.co/Hw6ko4NQVu#معركة_الفتح_الموعود_والجهاد_المقدس pic.twitter.com/6FcYTHoygh
— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) April 27, 2024
In the days, military tensions between Yemeni forces and the American and British navies have surged to unprecedented levels. Reports indicate violent explosions along the coasts of Al-Khawkhah and Al-Mokha, spanning from Khor Amira, facing Bab Al-Mandab, to the southern shores of the country
Yemenis harbor a pervasive belief in the imminent likelihood of a ground invasion, a notion taken with utmost seriousness across the nation. Numerous officials, in interviews with MintPress, have openly discussed the potentiality of such an occurrence, grounded not in analysis but in raw data. Consequently, all regions, cities, and institutions have experienced a surge in recruitment efforts, operating under the banner of “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Yemen’s Resolve Amid Escalating Tensions
While Yemenis are earnestly grappling with the looming prospect of escalation, their resolve extends beyond merely halting attacks aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and lifting the blockade. They’ve heralded an unprecedented development targeting Israeli vessels across the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab. On Tuesday, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) launched strikes against two United States warships in the Red Sea and targeted the Cyclades bulk carrier, achieving precise hits. Subsequently, military media footage surfaced, showcasing the moment of the Cyclades ship’s bombing in the Indian Ocean, underscoring the Yemeni army’s capacity to execute operations hundreds of kilometers from the Yemeni coastline.
مشاهد لحظة استهداف سفينة (CYCLADES) بطائرة مسيرة والتي كانت متجهة إلى موانئ فلسطينَ المحتلة في البحر الأحمر pic.twitter.com/BNC4jPj1SM
— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) April 30, 2024
In a televised address to the nation last Thursday discussing the latest regional developments, Ansar Allah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated that the Yemeni army is enhancing its presence in the Indian Ocean, aiming to block Israeli-affiliated vessels from navigating the Cape of Good Hope route or towards the Red Sea. He further remarked, “The Yemeni front will remain open, and the Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) operations in support of Palestine will continue.”
Since Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s speech, four Israeli, American, and British vessels have been hit. The Yemeni Navy struck the British ship ANDROMEDA STAR and the Israeli MSC Darwin ship on Saturday, along with an American warship and another commercial vessel named MAERSK YORKTOWN, and the Israeli MSC VERACRUZ on April 24. Preceding these events, the Yemeni army conducted four operations targeting two Israeli ships and two American ships on April 10.
Following Abdulmalik al-Houthi’s speech, four vessels affiliated with Israel, the United States and Britain were targeted by Ansar Allah. The Yemeni navy attacked the British vessel Andromeda Star and the Israeli MSC Darwinship on Saturday, as well as an American warship and a commercial vessel named Maersk Yorktown, and the Israeli MSC Veracruz on April 24. Prior to these incidents, the Yemeni army executed four operations against two Israeli ships and two American ships on April 10.
It’s worth noting that Ansar Allah has turned down several American offers aimed at halting their maritime attacks in support of Gaza. These offers included recognition of their group, revocation of their terrorist designation, payment of government employee salaries, and the signing of a comprehensive agreement with Saudi Arabia to end the war and initiate Yemen’s reconstruction.
Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said in a press briefing that there are ongoing communications with Ansar Allah, urging the movement to engage in the Yemeni political process. However, she clarified that she wouldn’t characterize the discussions with strong language at this point. Leaf emphasized that “Washington is employing all available means, both diplomatically and militarily, to deter the Houthis from their actions,” which she described as “reckless” in the Red Sea.
Feature photo | Yemenis attend a massive rally against US-led airstrikes on Yemen and the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in Sanaa, Yemen, March 1, 2024. Osamah Abdulrahman | AP
Ahmed AbdulKareem is a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a. He covers the war in Yemen for MintPress News as well as local Yemeni media.
The post Exclusive: Yemen Braces For Impending Massive US-Led Air and Ground Campaign appeared first on MintPress News.
Labour’s vote-share projection falls on today’s local results – and is lower than Corbyns/Miliband’s
Electoral expert says Labour overall has gone backward, despite Starmeroid spin
Keir Starmer and his spokespeople are spinning like crazy that today’s local election results are a sign of how well the public is receiving Starmer’s policy blancmange of nothingness (well, maybe they’re not using quite that terminology), while they point to a few areas where Labour had good results – such as in the Blackpool South by-election.
But Labour also did disastrously in other areas, such as on Teesside, where it failed to oust Tory Ben Houchen despite Houchen facing allegations of deeply dodgy land deals, in North Tyneside, where it lost control of the council, and in the West Midlands, where it expects to lose to the Tories.
And according to expert electoral analysts, Labour has gone backwards compared to last year, like the Tories:
Compared to polling claiming Labour’s Westminster vote share is as high as 47%, a 34% performance is disastrous – and is considerably lower that the shares achieved by Starmer’s predecessors Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband. Corbyn managed higher in 2018 and Miliband in 2012-13:
Independents, meanwhile, performed strongly, beating the LibDems in vote share and seat gains. The Greens also performed well.
With outrage continuing to grow over Starmer’s lockstep with the Tories in backing Israel’s genocidal regime, a nine percent lead does not look guaranteed to hand Starmer a parliamentary majority – and today’s results confirm it.
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The Bizarre Gymnastics Of The Gaza Aid Pier
Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
https://medium.com/media/367b5bba5e8ec55b675c4f5904bec7ca/href
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So glad Trump lost in 2020 otherwise we’d be seeing fascistic crackdowns on political dissent, police brutalizing protesters, tyrannical suppression of free speech, and the facilitation of racist and Islamophobic agendas. That psycho would probably be committing genocide by now.
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So let me get this straight. The US wound up building its “floating pier” a few miles off the coast of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, but nobody will be able to ship the aid directly to the pier to get it to Gaza. Instead, the aid will be delivered to Cyprus via air or sea, and then from Cyprus the aid will be shipped 200 miles to the pier. From there the pallets of aid will be loaded onto smaller US army boats, which will then carry the aid from the pier to a long causeway on Gaza’s actual coast. Those pallets will then be carried from the boats to the shore via the causeway — possibly by British troops or possibly by Israeli troops depending on what source you’re reading — and taken into Gaza by IDF troops after careful examination and approval of their contents. All to deliver some 90 to 150 truckloads worth of aid per day, which is far short of the 500 truckloads the UN says Gaza needs.
And this is all being done because Israel isn’t simply letting people drive an adequate amount of aid through the custom-built gates directly into Gaza. Since Washington doesn’t want to exert any pressure on Israel to allow such a self-evident move, this immensely complicated and expensive dance is being performed to deliver a pathetically inadequate amount of aid instead. Aid that is only necessary because Israel has been destroying Gaza in its genocidal bombing campaign which it has been carrying out with total impunity.
Cool. Very normal and cool.
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Caitlin Johnstone on Twitter: "US: We trust Israel to investigate itself on all allegations of war crimes.US: Israel please investigate yourself for these alleged war crimes.Israel: No.US: Well that settles it then, we see no evidence that Israel has committed any war crimes. https://t.co/6Kllp6p3Jp / Twitter"
US: We trust Israel to investigate itself on all allegations of war crimes.US: Israel please investigate yourself for these alleged war crimes.Israel: No.US: Well that settles it then, we see no evidence that Israel has committed any war crimes. https://t.co/6Kllp6p3Jp
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In a speech on Thursday Biden defended the violent nationwide police crackdowns on university protests against his genocide in Gaza, saying “dissent must never lead to disorder”.
Ah yes Joe, that’s very progressive of you. Dissent obviously should always be completely innocuous and obedient and not disruptive in any way. As Martin Luther King Jr said, “Our foremost value is to obey the law at all times and inconvenience nobody, because dissent must never lead to disorder. That’s why our civil rights movement famously never has any run-ins with law enforcement.” He said this in one of his most influential works, Letter from Birmingham Candy Shop.
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The Wall Street Journal has an article out titled “In Gaza, Authorities Lose Count of the Dead,” which confirms what’s been obvious for months: the Gaza health ministry doesn’t have the infrastructure to keep track of how many people Israel is killing. This means the official death toll from the Israeli onslaught is almost certainly a massive undercount.
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“You guys I’m super sincerely concerned about hate speech on university campuses,” said the person who’s made an entire career out of pushing for the mass murder of brown-skinned foreigners at every opportunity.
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Caitlin Johnstone on Twitter: "https://t.co/pz95epfOI5 pic.twitter.com/KOGWAAhw88 / Twitter"
https://t.co/pz95epfOI5 pic.twitter.com/KOGWAAhw88
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The US war machine views Palestinians as an inconvenient obstacle to its military agendas in the middle east, in the same way it views the local flora and fauna as an inconvenient obstacle when it’s constructing a new military base, or how it sees whales as an inconvenient obstacle because of public concern about navy sonar testing damaging their hearing and killing them. Palestinians are just viewed as an annoying indigenous animal that gets in the way of the imperial war machinery, and they’d be more than happy for that nuisance to be eliminated completely.
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I’ve had multiple Biden supporters seriously tell me that January 6 was worse than backing a genocide in Gaza in order to argue that Trump was worse than Biden. The mainstream liberal worldview will twist you up so bad inside that you can’t even see Palestinians as human beings.
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Everything Americans were warned would happen under Trump has happened under Biden. The only retort Democrats have to this is “oh yeah well this all woulda been way worse under Trump,” a claim which is (A) based on literally nothing and (B) completely unfalsifiable.
As I’ve said before, the lesson here is not that Trump is better than Biden or that you should support Republicans. The lesson is that no matter who you vote for you get surging authoritarianism at home and war, military expansionism and brinkmanship abroad, and that this system has got to go.
To look at what’s happening and make it about who you should vote for is to completely miss the lesson of what’s happening: that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, because the system is rigged to only let you vote for murderous tyrannical imperialists who serve the interests of plutocrats and empire managers instead of normal human beings. That bickering about where your votes should go is exactly what those plutocrats and empire managers want you to do, because it keeps you trapped within the framework of status quo politics and prevents you from looking at measures that could actually bring about real change like direct action, general strikes, the fomenting of revolutionary ideas, and the emergence of a powerful revolutionary faction.
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Parting Waters
The narrative of Jews as the eternally oppressed too often takes center stage.