Idiots.

 I saw two people posting on social media today about some imagined outrage of the IDF or another.  In one case the author didn't even bother to mention 10/7 and provide the obligatory "Well, Hamas is bad, but..." disclaimer.  While the other did add the disclaimer, they balanced it out by repeating the "genocide" myth which just makes him look stupid.  

The reality is that the IDF could eradicate every living thing in Gaza in a matter of a few days with virtually zero risk or casualties to the IDF.  While historically air power and artillery doesn't win wars, in this case the IDF could flatten Gaza using both of those tools.  The reality is that the IDF has chosen to take the riskier path and send in ground troops (and incur the inevitable casualties) precisely because they don't want to wipe Gaza off the face of the earth.   I readily acknowledge is that one reason for this choice is PR.  The reality is that Israel is held to a higher standard of conduct, and absolutely has to make every effort to minimize civilian casualties.  If idiots are calling this "genocide", imagine what they'd be saying if the IDF really did go scorched earth on Gaza.  

Of course, both of these geniuses neglected to mention the years of Hamas launching unguided rockets into civilian areas, sending suicide bombers into Israel, and just generally blowing things up and killing/wounding innocent civilians.  They neglect to mention Israel supplying it's enemies with water and electricity or that Hamas has received billions of dollars in aid, yet chooses to spend that money on weapons and infrastructure designed to kill Jews instead of for the welfare of it's subjects.   They fail to mention that Hamas is taking the aid that is getting through for itself and it's fighters instead of taking care of the "innocent civilians".   

It's amazing how the APL is so willing to ignore evil, in it's relentless drive to paint Israel as the problem. 

Sanctuary

 https://original.newsbreak.com/@choeshow-1601553/3279134274094

 https://original.newsbreak.com/@choeshow-1601553/3279181233243

 

It seems like this is a natural consequence of governing cities by appeasing the far left.   Who thought that bringing in thousands of "illegals" to "sanctuary cities" would be free from problems.  Who thoughts that this wasn't going to hurt the long time residents/taxpayers.  Y'all invited all these folks in, it's on you to deal with the results of your actions.  

Ultimately what's most interesting about this is that these northern, liberal, mayors didn't have a problem with illegal immigration when TX and AZ and the southern border states were the only ones that had to deal with the consequences.   But now, they've invited all these people into their shit hole cities, and they want everyone else to bail them out from the consequences of their decisipns. 

Let Muslims Speak for Themselves

 https://twitter.com/AzzatAlsaalem/status/1721174636354761126

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1739222078853632423

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1739251785737384053

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1738699353596854677

 https://twitter.com/ImtiazMadmood/status/1738511996528607435/photo/1

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1740044819014054094

 

 

 

 

How is the practice of Bacha Bazi tolerated and engaged in by Muslims?

 

 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e86/e269a66232c22b114afecc526ea0d5ccce3c.pdf

Kindness, Gentleness, Respect, What a Concept.

 https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/vivek-ramaswamy-praises-protester-interrupted-campaign-event-comments-rcna93574

 

Watch the entire video, before anything else.   

As I was watching this, and other similar interactions, I realized something about American politics.   There is no way in hell that Trump or Biden would have reacted like this to someone who vehemently disagreed with them.   Trump would likely mock the person after they were removed, and Biden wouldn't be able to formulate a coherent response.    This isn't a Vivek for POTUS post, although he has all of the attractive characteristics of Trump, with none of the negative aspects of Trump.  It's argued that he has no experience and that his lack of experience is a negative, of course the same people who make that argument claimed that Trump's lack of experience was one of the main reasons to elect him.    They also argue (now) that Trump's experience is a positive and the reason why we should vote for him.  (Contradictory, I know, but...)  

The point of this post is that it is possible and worthwhile for political candidates to interact with those who disagree with them while campaigning.  Not only that, but to do so with kindness, gentleness, and respect.  

Maybe this'll start of trend of politicians not screening out anyone at an event who might disagree with them, and instead take the time to formulate answers to the questions people ask. 

No Jews, No News.

 https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/iraq-turkey-airstrikes/

 

 https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-villagers-missing-two-days-after-suspected-nomadic-herders-kill-140-2023-12-26/

 

 https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-villagers-missing-two-days-after-suspected-nomadic-herders-kill-140-2023-12-26/

 

 https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/26/violence-west-darfur

 

 https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/28/gang-rape-germany-2020-suspended-sentence

 

Where are the protests, the angry self righteous social media posts, the blog posts and even the merest hint of concern from the APL.

 

RIP

 I just learned today that John Shuck, the namesake of this blog actually died in October of 2022.    John was a strange guy.   I became acquainted with him during the period when the PCUSA was circling the drain around the issue of ordaining gays.   After John lost his son to suicide, he went further out to the fringes.  He first announced himself to be an atheist, while being an ordained PCUSA pastor, then he flirted with Islam, and finally went down a rabbit hole of various conspiracies.   Primarily that 9-11 was carried out by the CIA, and that COVID was a precursor to a catastrophe.  Needless to say he was militantly anti-vax.    Unfortunately he contracted COVID and died from it.   Unlike some, I'll simply note the irony, and move on.

My sympathy goes out to his wife and daughter, I hope that they are surviving this as well as possible.  My sympathy also goes out to John.  I can't imagine the mental anguish he went through after losing his son, and it's painful to see what it did to him.  

Go!

 

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born

 

While shepherds kept their watching
O'er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a Holy light

 

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born

 

The shepherds feared and trembled
When, lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth

 

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born

 

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And brought us all salvation
That blessed Christmas morn

 

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
That Jesus Christ is born

Even the Rocks Will Cry Out

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

 

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders, wonders of His love

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

Angels

 

Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains. Refrain: Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo! Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heav’nly song? Come to Bethlehem and see Him Whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King. See Him in a manger laid, Whom the choirs of angels praise; Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, While our hearts in love we raise.

Candlelight

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas are of singing this carol in a dark church while candles are lit to fill the sanctuary.   

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace


Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born


Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth

 

 

 1. How glad I am on Christmas Eve,
The night of Jesus' birth;.
Then like the sun the Star shone forth,
And angels sang on earth.

2. The little child in Bethlehem,
He was a king indeed;
He came from His high state in heav'n,
Down to a world in need.

3. He dwells again in heaven's realm,
The Son of God today/
But He knows all the little ones,
And hears them when they pray.

4. How glad I am each Christmas Eve!
His praises then I sing;
He opens then for ev'ry child
The palace of the King.

Double Standard

 "Also, the reality that WK chooses to remain anonymous does not give any serious credence to his ultra-conservative human opinions"

Dan

 

 "A little education and well-informed information about context goes a long way towards improved understanding."

 Dan extolling some "human opinions" from an ultra-liberal anonymous commenter on his blog.  

 

I didn't want to break up the post of Christmas movies, but this was pretty good stuff.

 

 

Come

 

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

 

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

400 years of silence.  400 years of waiting.  Between Malachi and Matthew Israel doesn't hear directly from YHWH.   Finally, their prayers are answered and YHWH breaks into our world in a completely unexpected way.    I know I often experience what feels like silence from YHWH, sometimes it feels like 400 years.  Yet I have confidence that He will break the silence at the perfect time, with the perfect response, out of His perfect love. 

Caroling

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And the bells are ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir they're singing (peace on Earth)
In my heart I hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on Earth, " I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir singing (peace on Earth)
Does anybody hear them? (Peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on Earth)
(Peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men

Then ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And the bells, they're ringing (peace on Earth)
Like a choir they're singing (peace on Earth)
And with our hearts, we'll hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men

Do you hear the bells, they're ringing? (Peace on Earth)
The light, the angels singing (peace on Earth)
Open up your heart and hear them (peace on Earth)
Peace on Earth, good will to men

Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth, good will to men

 

 

 

This probably isn't the most popular Christmas carol, but I have always been struck by it's focus on the redemptive work of Christ.    That it looks to a future when Christ has redeemed Creation and where His peace will prevail.

Stand wrote about peace on earth a while back (https://birdsoftheair.blogspot.com/2023/12/peace-on-earth.html) and made the point that,  "Believers can find peace in the middle of unrest in their relationship with God. With the Spirit within us and with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we can know a peace that is not normal, not human. It is beyond normal comprehension. And it's available ... to all those who are in Christ. So, I guess we know now what the angels meant, eh?".    I think that while Stan is correct, that peace on earth also looks forward to that time after Jesus returns, finishes His redemptive work, and His peace will reign over all the earth.   In the mean time, it's good to know that YHWH has provided us with peace amidst the strife and that right will prevail and we will know peace of a different kind. 

 

You Blinded Me With Science

https://winteryknight.com/2023/12/19/i-went-on-a-date-with-a-christian-woman-who-couldnt-defend-the-pro-life-view-3/

 

I'll post this link, because it's got multiple links to expert sources that lay out the scientific basis for the pro-life position.    

 I know that the current favorite response is to assert the "personhood" argument, which entails absolutely zero objective evidence, zero scientific evidence, and zero specifics about how "personhood" works and when "personhood" is magically conferred.

I know, I know, it's always a "religious" argument. 

A quick one

 This'll be quick.    As most of us have probably seen the IDF discovered what con only be described as a terrorist subway in Gaza.  This tunnel was one of, if not the, most extensive and expensive tunnel found to date, and took terrorists very near to a border crossing into Israel.

The question that should be going through everyone's mind is why isn't Hamas spending the money it invests in terrorism infrastructure on the "innocent" people of Gaza?   You know, the ones they rule.  

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/02/egypt-builds-new-barrier-to-boost-border-security-gaza-strip.html

In other news, American liberals don't seem to be very upset by the fact that Egypt has a border wall to separate Egypt from Gaza.  As has been noted, Egypt is the only Muslim/Arab nation that actually borders Gaza, yet Egypt seems determined to keep it's coreligionists in an open air prison.   Again one wonders why this fact gets so little attention.   Strangely enough, it seems that Israel (the evil oppressors) have seven border crossings with Gaza, while Egypt only has two.   But tell me again how Egypt doesn't bear any responsibility for conditions in Gaza and Israel bears 100% of the responsibility?   Or at least why Egypt never gets mentioned when it comes to keeping the residents of Gaza "imprisoned"?

This is Bad, Right?

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/nashville-tennessee-mother-muslim-family-accused-of-assaulting-son-for-converting-to-christianity-middle-tn

 

Interesting, in progressive christianity it is considered a badge of honor to deconstruct one's faith, even if that means abandoning one's faith all together.  

In Islam, they take a different position on those who have the temerity to leave the religion of peace.  

Harvard

 After Harvard president Claudine Gay demonstrated her inability to engage in a blanket condemnation of language that encourages the killing of Jews/elimination of Israel, we've learned some other interesting information about president Gay.  We've learned that she regularly plagiarized in her scholarly papers.  We also learned that her publishing output was significantly lower than would be expected of a faculty member at an institution like Harvard.   In essence, it would appear that she's not really qualified for the position she holds.   One wonders why she was given this position and why no one thought to check her work for plagiarism.  I guess we'll never know.  

For it's part, Harvard has been clear that Gay may be a plagiarist, but she's their plagiarist and they're sticking with her.  

For what it's worth, Biden engaged in plagiarism and it doesn't seem to bother many on the left either. 

More Fun With Hamas

https://www.newsweek.com/turkish-mp-heart-attack-condemns-israel-hasan-bitmez-1851707

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-hamas-official-calls-on-members-of-palestinian-diaspora-to-kill-jews/

"The day that enemies usurp part of Muslim land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Muslim. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised."

 Article 15 of the Hamas charter.    It's hard to take Hamas seriously, when their own founding documents are based in this sort of thing.

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/10/corpses-on-streets-sudans-rsf-kills-1300-in-darfur-monitors-say

Strangely enough, actual ethnic cleansing doesn't get nearly as much press as fake ethnic cleansing.  

https://www.memri.org/tv/snr-saudi-islamic-scholar-sheikh-saleh-fawzan-right-captive-women-concubines-married-infidel-archive

Apparently this sort of thing was evil beyond measure when ancient Israel did something similar, but since it's modern Muslims, it's not worthy of much outrage.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologist-claims-to-find-oldest-hebrew-text-in-israel-including-the-name-of-god/

When exactly was the first archeological evidence of a sovereign nation called Palestine?  

" In terms of a permanent ceasefire, I don't know how you could have a permanent ceasefire with Hamas who has said before October 7, and after October 7, that they want to destroy Israel. They want a permanent war. I don't know how you have a permanent ceasefire with an attitude like that."

 

Bernie Sanders

 

 

This

https://twitter.com/bungarsargon/status/1731845301869146247

American Leftist Students Calling for Armed Uprising.

Intifada:  uprising, rebellion

specifically : an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip 

 

 https://www.nationalreview.com/news/university-of-pennsylvania-students-vandalize-school-property-call-for-intifada/

 

 https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1731341047832199191

 

 https://cairoscene.com/BusinessAndPolitics/Muslim-Scholar-Says-It-s-OK-to-Rape-Non-Muslim-Women-to-Humiliate-Them

 

 

 https://twitter.com/GadSaad/status/1731876822340571298

 

This post is slightly different than the usual aggregation of Hamas videos, this is a little more specific.   

 

We're told that Muslims that hate Jews are a "minority" of Muslims, that "Muslim scholars" don't teach violence, and the Muslims just want to live in peace with the Jews.     Yet, as the videos demonstrate, these viewpoints do exist.

 

As I pointed out earlier in this context, even 1% of Muslims is tens of millions of people, so even a minority of Muslims is a significant number.  

 

My questions are.   

 

If these viewpoints are really the minority of Muslim thought and belief, where are the  large numbers of Muslims speaking out against these viewpoints?    Why are statements like this met with virtual silence from this alleged majority of Muslims who don't agree?  Hell, where are the American leftists who tell us that Islam is a "religion of peace" protesting these sorts of things.   

Well, one place they are is the University of Pennsylvania, and there they are calling for an "armed uprising of Palestinians".    That doesn't sound helpful, does it?     Or could it be that these idiots have no idea what Intifada means and are just shouting in ignorance?    Or that they've redefined it to mean hearts, flowers, and rainbow unicorns?

Every time an alleged "right wing" person does anything bad, we hear the APL asking why won't anyone denounce this outrage.   Yet, a cursory search usually reveals plenty of "right wing" folks denouncing that specific outrage.   Where then are these hundreds of millions of Muslims speaking loudly and proudly against this "minority" who are giving their "religion of peace" a bad name?     

Is it possible that they're afraid of the "minority" placing a fatwa on them, and putting them in the crosshairs?    If the Muslim majority is afraid of this alleged "minority", then isn't it reasonable that everyone else would be a little concerned?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpBXzsWN0ko

 

At some point

 As I went through the weekend, I kept saving the various stories about the Hamas war and planned on doing another post with them.   The increasing number of stories about protesters calling for a new Intifada, coming up with excuses for why the barbarism of Hamas wasn't really that bad, engaging in anti Jewish "protests",  detailing the propaganda campaign of Hamas, and the increasing detail of just how barbaric the 10/7 attack really was, made me realize that for many people they have already made up their minds and more evidence isn't going to persuade them.  

The false equivalence narrative has taken a firm hold on far too many in the US and the west. 

Who could have seen this coming?

https://www.businessinsider.com/derek-chauvins-accused-stabber-black-friday-blm-2023-12

 

Well, this is quite the story.  Chauvin's attacker was a white guy who wanted to support BLM by attacking Chauvin on Black Friday.    Oh yeah, he was also a long time FBI informant.  

Nothing to see here, move along. 

More fun with Hamas

https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1730573448131322023

This post makes an excellent point.  Why is there all this hysteria over the war in Gaza that Hamas started, yet destruction like we see in Homs (Arab city, destroyed by Arabs) doesn't garner nearly the same outrage?

Speaking of Gaza, why is anyone surprised when Hamas, the government of Gaza, starts a war and subsequently reaps the negative consequences that come with starting a war?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1730576512535925127

Apparently there are so few actual children in Gaza that are actually injured that Hamas needed to use a doll for this woman to fake cry over. 

 

Well........

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/28/politics/deutsche-bank-trump-fraud-trial-testimony/index.html

 

I wrote about this a month or two ago, and look, pretty much what I said.

The bank Trump is accused of defrauding not only made a profit on the "fraudulent" loans, not only was happy with the result of the transaction, but also did their own evaluation of Trumps estimates and revised them to a point where the bank was happy and chose to write the loans.

 

At this point, if Trump is convicted of fraud there's no question in my mind that it is a political hit job and should be overturned as soon as it can get before an appeals court.

 

I'm not quite a sure about this as I am about the Fraud thing, but after seeing the J6 footage that had been, hidden,  and seen the body cam footage, I'm not sure that the narrative of J6 is quite as cut and dried as the powers that be insist that it is. 

 

 

More fun with Hamas, recent reports edition...

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-775725

Because why would we expect the UN and Hamas to tell the Truth on something like this.  

 

 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-771102

Ahhhhhh, the religion of peace.  It's perfectly normal to eat people's skulls, drink people's blood, and assert that Hitler didn't go far enough.  

 

 https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ampr/date/2023-11-28/segment/01

 

In a CNN interview Hendricks doesn't seem to quite be able to single out Hamas as perpetrating violence against women.   Just more of the false equivalency swill Dan spews.  

GOLODRYGA: Is there a reason, though, Sarah, that you can't specifically call out Hamas and the mounting evidence now over seven weeks that Israeli

investigators have collected that we've shown our viewers about the atrocities they committed specifically on October 7th? Because I think

that's the crux of the issue here. It's not just condemning sexual violence against women and in any war in general, it's specifically what occurred on

October 7th, perpetrated by Hamas?

HENDRIKS: Indeed. U.N. Women always supports impartial, independent investigations into any serious allegations of gender-based or sexual

violence. And within the U.N. family, these investigations are led by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

And just to provide a little bit of context in terms of U.N. Women's role, U.N. Women specifically provides and has extensive knowledge on gender-

based violence, and provides and supports investigations as we do with all U.N. investigations.

And so consequently, in this context, and within the U.N. system, it is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which for us has the

mandate to investigate all alleged violations. It is absolutely important for the rights, for the needs, for the protection, for the dignity for the

survivors of violence to be supported throughout a process. And that's why we work through these globally mandated mechanisms.

That notwithstanding, we understand certainly we encourage and support national level efforts. The ones that you've heard about today, the Civil

Commission in Israel, which has brought together women's organizations to document gender-based atrocities impartially. Our work will be on the back

side of the Independent International Commission. And so, I hope that clarity is helpful (ph).

 

 

 https://www.nationalreview.com/news/not-a-single-cent-germany-joins-european-union-in-pulling-funding-for-u-n-palestinian-aid-group/

 

It looks like Germany and other European countries are reconsidering their aid to UN Palestinian aid group due to their distribution of antisemitic material, and had members who engaged in terrorism.    Seems like giving aid the this group deserves a careful review.  

 

 https://twitter.com/Deanik_k/status/1729485982544630211

Because this is appropriate behavior.  

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-775777

Because the UN should be paying teachers who hold hostages in their attic, and because some doctors can just ignore that whole Hippocratic oath thingy. 

Are the "Greens" the modern day Simon Legree?

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/drc-mining-industry-child-labor-and-formalization-small-scale-mining

 

 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251800/congo-cobalt-mines-china-child-labor

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/

 

One of the key components of the "green" energy future which is allegedly "carbon free" is rechargeable batteries.   Without rechargeable batteries, solar and wind power become relatively useless on a large scale.  Without rechargeable batteries, electric vehicles become useless for more than one trip.   Unfortunately, those batteries need Cobalt, and much of the Cobalt mining in the world is controlled by Chinese companies (the CCP), and these countries use slave labor.   

There is ample evidence that within China, slave labor is used regularly.   Above we see evidence that China uses slave labor in it's African mining operations, including child labor.  

Apparently, as long as this slave labor is kept out of sight in Africa, then it's just the price some people are willing to pay for "green" energy, new iPhones, laptops, Apple Watches, and all sorts of things that make life better.  

It looks like we have a grand total of one Cobalt mine in the US (where our laws would prevent slave labor and other nasty things), and it looks like it'll be the only one here for the foreseeable future.  Obviously Cobalt from this mine in Idaho will be more expensive than that from the Congo.   The production costs will be higher because the US pays it's workers more than slaves make, actually has requirements to protect the environment, and the ore needs to be transported to Brazil to be refined.    The question becomes how much more will the "greens" be willing to pay for batteries for their electric future?  

Finally, the fact that the future of "clean energy" rests almost entirely on petroleum is ignored.   

 But as long as y'all can feel superior driving your electric cars and promoting inefficient wind and solar, more power to you.

 

 

FYI,   the last time I replaced my cell phone I did some extensive research on the existence of phones that are are not the product of slave labor.   At that time, 2019 ish, there were virtually no options that were slave labor free.   Since I'm not one of the iPhone groupies that runs out and stands in line for the new one every time they come out, it'll likely be a couple of years before I replace mine.  When I do, I'll do the research again before I buy.  

Cochise

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/us/politics/arizona-election-indictment-cochise-county.html 

This story is interesting.  Cochise Co AZ indicted two Supervisors for delaying certification of the 2022 election.   This particular race had the closest margin of victory in the race for Atty General in the state.  There were also indications of possible fraud.   Ultimately it'll be interesting to see how this case comes out, because the validity of the indications of fraud will be integral to the defense and will have to be explored in court.   While the standard of proof should be whether or not they had a reasonable suspicion of fraud, it'll likely dig into any actual fraud that may or may not have occurred.   

What's disturbing about this case, is that delaying election certification is apparently something that actually has a process when it is necessary.     If delaying election certification is something that is legal and is done correctly, it seems abhorrent to see people indicted for doing something legal according to the procedure established.   Right now, it looks like one more example of a DFL body of government, persecuting their political opponents. 

Offensive

Last Sunday a child went to see the Chiefs play a game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.   This young fan decided to go all in and do the face paint and headdress.   Shockingly enough, the child makes it on TV and a do gooder "journalist" takes this outrage and runs with it.  The picture showed a child with their face painted black (not brown as if trying to match the skin tone of an African American or a Native American, but black).   We're talking a black that matches the skin tone of absolutely no one on planet earth.   But despite that the outrage is on.   Then we get some more information, we see a picture that shows the whole story (not the one intentionally used to sell a narrative), and learn that the other half was red (team colors ish).    Well the social justice types were in a tizzy and jumped all over the Chiefs for allowing this outrage.   But wait, the Chiefs have already banned the headdress at the stadium they actually play in and control, the question should be why the Raiders allowed this outrage.    But wait, it gets better.   The headdress was actually authentic because the child in question was a Native American who's father was a tribal leader.   

Remember, when you are a journalist, NEVER EVER let all of the facts get away of a story that advances a left wing narrative.   NEVER bother to do research before you splash your "scoop" all over social media.  

I hope that this family sues the crap out of this idiot and his employer.

BVMLTT!!!!!!

https://www.newsweek.com/black-lives-matter-leader-endorses-trump-everybody-else-sucks-1842100

 

I've wondered for a few years why any demographic group would repeatedly support a political philosophy that promises so much and delivers so little.   While I don't particularly agree with a political philosophy predicated on "You vote for us and we'll give you lots of stuff.", that has been the bargain that many demographic groups have made with the DFL.   I'm guessing that the contrast between the last two administrations has really hit home, and it's causing folx to question the Faustian bargain they'd made.  Obviously, we'll see what happens during the actual election. I'm not going to get my hopes up but eventually I'd think that folx would either change their votes, or stop voting at all.  

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/there-is-no-trans-genocide/

Here's a Name...

https://www.timesofisrael.com/families-of-hostages-still-in-gaza-during-lull-in-fighting-face-enduring-nightmare/ 

Kfir, Kfir, here's a name y'all could and should be chanting loud and clear.   An innocent 10 month old girl held hostage while her family suffers.    

The fact that Hamas is still holding her hostage is unconscionable.  The fact the we hear virtually no calls from the pro "palestine" side of things in the US or the west is simply vile. 

Random Hamas Tidbits

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-interrogation-video-hamas-terrorists-confirm-groups-hideout-under-gaza-hospital/

Obviously the IDF should never have searched the Al Shifa hospital, because heaven forbid that we inconvenience sick children to rescue children held hostage.   

https://nypost.com/2023/10/13/hamas-seen-holding-kidnapped-israeli-children-babies-in-footage/

Of course all to many on the political left will buy this bullshit.  

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/hamas-attempt-to-separate-mothers-from-children-delays-hostages-release-461135

Because Israel is the bad guy here.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/hamas-attempt-to-separate-mothers-from-children-delays-hostages-release-461135

So, let me get this straight.  Hamas brutally and barbarically engages in an unprovoked attack on innocent Israeli citizens.  During this attack, they kidnap innocent women and children.  They then exchange these innocent women and children for a violent terrorist who detonated a car bomb in a neighborhood full of innocent women and children.    Hamas just won.  

https://www.jns.org/released-palestinian-prisoner-investigated-for-inciting-more-terror/

Biden pressured Israel into releasing this woman in exchange for innocent women and children?   What in the hell was he thinking?   Oh, never mind....

 

Speaking of Biden....

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTngjnPqi-I

How many US prisoners were released as part of this "cease fire" agreement?   Why is Biden content to allow US hostages to remain in captivity?  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62785404

Apparently this is what passes for due process with Hamas.   

https://twitter.com/buttonslives/status/1728206681547629040

I can't even find the words.  

Meanwhile back in the US.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/metro/jewish-teacher-hides-in-queens-high-school-as-students-riot/

https://abc7.com/brentwood-pro-palestinian-protest-jewish-family/14100225/

https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/12/15/93-of-east-jerusalem-arabs-prefer-israeli-rule-poll-shows/

But wait, Israel oppresses Arabs...

https://nypost.com/2023/10/17/king-abdullah-ii-opposes-allowing-palestinians-into-jordan-egypt/

Why won't Jordan and Egypt allow those in Gaza to exercise their innate human rights?   Why doesn't this bother leftists when non US countries do this?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-rape-sexual-violence/

Despite video evidence to the contrary, a Hamas spokesman says that women and children weren't targeted.   Also says that it's all Israel's fault.    Seriously, this is what y'all are supporting. 

Voter Fraud

https://sos.ga.gov/news/state-election-board-refers-voter-fraud-cases-prosecution-0

 

 https://apnews.com/article/mishandled-ballots-bridgeport-connecticut-election-security-70f95f347dfa1e581a6955027d64ae2

https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search?state=CT

As my earlier post made clear, election security is not a partisan issue with me.   The fact that these two recent cases are DFL supporters is not the point.  

What is the point is that we see these cases of election fraud, and how many of them involve things that could be eliminated by minimizing/controlling absentee voting and identifying voters, that it seems stupid to conclude that these are two areas that should be improved.  

I know that some folx will say that it's only a few instances and that it's not worth doing much about.   The reality is that if it's this easy to do on a "small" scale, then why wouldn't these folx do it on a larger scale.  Further, it doesn't take many votes in a few precincts to make significant swings in the statewide results.   

But, it's not a big deal, right?

https://apnews.com/article/voting-machines-georgia-lawsuit-cybersecurity-d8a4653211bf19c21d3b9dc2d59a7a6

https://www.mediaite.com/news/is-there-a-conspiracy-theory-you-dont-believe-bill-maher-shocked-with-oliver-stone-question-about-2020-election/

It's amazing how quickly the APL will dump someone who they've previously idolized when that person doesn't blindly accept the narrative.

Cruel and Unusual?

 As we all know Derek Chauvin was stabbed last week in prison.  Reports to the contrary, it seems as though he will survive.    Given the refusal of the Dept of Corrections (apparently) to segregate him from the general population, doesn't it logically follow that his attack is a result of the Dept of Correction?   Obviously, it could be argued that his own actions are what is ultimately responsible which isn't incorrect.  But the reality is that the Dept of Corrections should have a responsibility to keep prisoners safe in prison. shouldn't they?   Especially when there is one like Chauvin who would logically be a target for retaliation in prison.  

Thanksgiving

 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!   

I may or may not have the opportunity to maintain moderated comments between now and Monday. 

A Good Narrative.

"I have been to the Al Shifa hospital several times as a reporter during the #Israel #Gaza war in 2014 and also afterwards. It is a vast complex. I have personally seen #Hamas fighters there. Everyone in #Gaza including #UN staff knows about dual use of these facilities."

 Jan Franke

 

So, it appears that it's been well known since 2014 that Hamas has had a significant presence under that AL Shifta hospital in Gaza.  It also appears that all to many people have chosen to ignore, or minimize this knowledge and to blame the IDF not Hamas for casualties to any "patients" in the hospital.   

 Despite the narrative, the IDF allowed or facilitated to movement of premature babies to Egypt for continued treatment.   But hey, why let a good narrative be spoiled by the facts.     

Hamas Wins.

 According to recent reports there is a cease fire plan close to being approved.   In this plan Hamas gives back some of the hostages it took on 10/7, and nothing else.  While Israel gives Hamas a cease fire, and returns around 100 Hamas terrorists captured while engaging in attacks against Israel.    Since that US is involved in this, I can't help but suspect that Biden has pushed this unbalanced agreement through because he desperately needs a "win" to satiate his political base.  It'll likely be portrayed in the MSM as a huge victory for Biden and that he's "made peace" between Israel and Hamas.    Further, I suspect that when Israel resumes it's justified response for 10/7 and it's righteous attempt to recover the rest of the hostages held by Hamas, they will be portrayed as breaking or violating the cease fire.  I can only imagine what pressure and threats Biden used against Israel to get them to agree to this absurd, imbalanced, deal.

For all y'all who've been demanding a cease fire without the return of all the hostages, or who support this cease fire, you're officially supporting Hamas winning.   You now support Hamas continuing to hold hostages and to use them to achieve the goals it had when it launched the 10/7 attacks.   Congratulations you're on the side of terrorists holding hostages in order to keep it's guilty from being punished and freeing terrorists to fight again. 

Ethnic Cleansing

 Jewish Population 1948 v. 2023

Egypt-----  between 63-80,000 v 500 or less

Syria------ 40,000 v. 1,000 or less

Iran------ 100,000 v. 8500 or less

Iraq------ 50,000 v. 5

Saudi Arabia, no exact numbers but Saudi had a thriving Jewish community when Muhammad lived, which has dwindled to virtually zero today.  

Arabs in Israel   156,000 v. 2,100,000

I could go on, with other Muslim countries, but I think the point is made.  Suffice it to say that under Sharia law it is illegal for Jews and Christians to worship or practice their faith in public. 

But hey, Iran holds the chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, while Iran and other Muslim nations are some of the worst countries when it comes to basic human rights. 

Election Security Revisited

https://apnews.com/article/mishandled-ballots-bridgeport-connecticut-election-security-70f95f347dfa1e581a6955027d64ae2

 

I wrote about this earlier, and wanted to do a quick update.    When I first wrote about this there were some skeptical comments and we now see that the original story was accurate.  Now, is this evidence that the 2020 election was flawed, no.   But it seems reasonable to conclude that if a local democrat party hack would go to such lengths to rig a relatively meaningless local election, that they just might do the same in other elections.  

I want to reiterate that my stance on elections is non partisan.  I highly value the right to vote that our founders gave us, and believe that the right of eligible citizens to cast their vote must be protected.  I am not complaining about wins or losses, I am championing the protection of everyone's votes.  

To that end, I would propose the following.  Borrowed from Vivek Ramaswamy and edited. 

• Election Day as a National Holiday: The majority of Americans are not entitled to time off on federal holidays and, currently, only 29 states and Washington, D.C. require employers to give employees time off to vote in general elections. Only 23 of those states require that time off to be paid. 
• Single-Day Voting: I recognize that there should be some means for people to vote who are truly not able to go to the polls on election day, and have no problem accommodating those people.  However, the right to vote is precious and having to put forth some effort to vote is not necessarily a bad thing.  I would also be fine with voting on two consecutive days as well.
  
• Voting on Paper Ballots Only: The majority of states have already transitioned to paper ballots. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 93% of the ballots cast in 2020 had a paper record.
• Government-issued voter ID matched to the voter file: In 2020, nearly 29 million voting-age U.S. citizens did not have a valid driver’s license, the most common form of photo ID used to fulfill voting requirements. 

I would also suggest some limits on reporting of the vote.  I believe that the media does have the power to influence voting by how they report the early returns in the Atlantic and Central time zones.  I'm not sure how this would look, but it's something to consider.  Maybe requiring states not to report any figures publicly until 90% of the votes are in.    I would also suggest that any precinct that reports more votes than registered voters, should automatically be  audited by an outside auditor.  

Double Standard Brazilly edition.

https://themessenger.com/politics/bill-maher-donna-brazile-vivek-ramaswamy-racism

 

Frequently, in the debates about immigration, we hear people say that the immigrants who have come to the US without following the legal process should go home or go back where they came from.  We are frequently told that when conservatives do this, or even ask where someone is from or what their background is, that this is explicitly racist behavior and cannot be allowed.   We are also told repeatedly that black people cannot be racist.   

This is quite a conundrum as Donna Brazille clearly is telling Vivek R to go back "home", despite the fact that he is a native born US citizen.  The fact that she further chooses to repeatedly mispronounce his name and plays her "mistakes" for laughs is just icing on the cake.  She is clearly engaging in behavior that is objectively racist (as we've been told), yet seems to be getting a pass on it.

Innocent?

https://x.com/marionawfal/status/1726317211541704799?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 

 https://www.memri.org/tv/palestinians-gaza-west-bank-celebrate-october-seven-massacre-hand-out-sweets-fire-guns

It's videos like these which make me seriously doubt the narrative of "innocent" civilians in Gaza.   It's easy to diminish the tens/hundreds of millions of Muslims/Arabs who actively engage in terrorist activities, but it's hard to argue that those "innocent" civilians who loudly celebrate terrorist attacks aren't part of the problem.  

https://x.com/johnrwoodjr/status/1725905733777232235?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Or if we didn't see so many videos like this where "peaceful" Muslims argue for more attacks like 10/7.  

https://x.com/foxnews/status/1725629327763456357?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

What?!???!?!?!?!?!?!?    A riot that was scarier than J6, no it's simply not possible. 

Well?

https://winteryknight.com/2023/11/20/fbi-halted-investigation-of-pedophile-to-target-republican-voters/ 

As we watch hours of footage previously kept hidden by the J6 committee, and see that the vast majority of the J6 protesters were peaceful and that the Capitol Police were not acting as if the protesters were a threat, one has to wonder about the whole thing.

Then we see the story linked above, and have to ask if the FBI is unable to continue it's investigation of a pedophile, while being used for political purposes.

I stay consistent in saying that anyone engaged in rioting should be punished.  But it's looking more and more like many of the J6 protesters got screwed by the justice system.

We're Right!!

"For centuries, traditionalist/conservative folks in the Christian tradition have tried to define the "Gospel of Jesus" as fairly exclusively being a theology that defines "good news" as "the good news that most of humanity is going to be condemned to an eternity of torment by a 'loving god' who rejects most of humanity as unworthy of God's grace..." etc and MANY folks in other Christ-ian traditions have rejected that vision of "evangelism" and "good news" as being representative of Jesus' teachings. But rather than just releasing "good news," "gospel" and "evangelism" as words that conservatives own and can define, WE use those words in ways that we believe to be more faithful to Jesus' actual teachings."

 

Instead of dealing with the the actual text of the Geneva Conventions and how they demonstrate that the IDF is not engaging in war crimes, or with the actual text of the Hamas charter, Dan has chose to attack me.  He's chosen to do so by asserting that I am trying to tell Muslims what they should believe.  That I am imposing my interpretation of scripture on others and insisting that I can dictate the correct meaning that should be believed.  

The obvious place to start is by noting that Dan has absolutely zero evidence to prove his claims.  No quotes of me saying what he claims I've said, no links to these quotes, nothing.  Just Dan insisting that I am engaging in these practices that he's falsely accused me of.  

But, then I see the gen above.   Dan is literally placing his own personal hunches about how scripture should be interpreted and what everyone should believe over "centuries" of "Christian tradition".  He's pronounced that "WE" are "more faithful to Jesus actual teachings" than everyone else.   Ignore the royal we, we al know he means himself and maybe a few people he personally knows, not some huge movement.   Let's focus on his claims that "WE" know "Jesus' actual teachings", to the exclusion of everyone else.   Let's focus on his argument that the existence of some groups who believe something different automatically invalidate the beliefs held for "centuries" by orthodox Christianity.  

 What I'm reading here sound like a modern offshoot of the Gnostic heresy.   Sounds like someone demanding that either everyone must believe "Jesus' actual teachings" as divined by Dan, or that it's a theological free for all with everyone's beliefs all being equally correct.

Unionize

Historically in the US the labor and public employee unions have supported and been supported by the DFL.  The DFL is the party of the American political left.   Also on the far left of the American political spectrum is Starbucks, the Seattle based coffee chain.    Today the employees of Starbucks are planning to stage a one day walkout because Starbucks corporate has refused to allow them to vote to unionize.   Also historically, the APL/DFL has claimed to be the party that represented the "working"  people of the US.  They have championed things like minimum wage increases, and membership in unions for decades.  Yet, somehow, Starbucks which (as a company) leans to the left and supports many leftist and woke positions has come to the conclusion that allowing it's employees to unionize would be bad for the corporation.   It sure seems hypocritical that a left leaning corporation has chosen not to provide their employees with a pay/benefits package that would prevent them from wanting to unionize, while also preventing them from even voting to unionize.   It seems like a betrayal of some cherished dogma of the APL, as well as being hypocritical.   I seriously doubt that the rest of the APL will go after Starbucks for their position, ignoring the hypocrisy.   I also seriously doubt if Starbucks will cave to their employees without being forced to.   What I take from this is that all to many folx on the left will support all sorts of things, up until the point when they have to put their money where their moths are.  At that point, they'll opt for what's better for themselves (the rich, white, old, white, corporate leaders) and tell their employees to screw off.  

 

Hypocrites.  

The A in Zillow Stands for Accuracy

 As I've been idly following the Trump trial, I've realized a few things that convince me that this trial is more of a political stunt than anything else.

As I understand the issues, the state's biggest claim is that Trump inflated the values of real estate he used for collateral for loans.   I'll point out a few problems with this.

1.  Real estate value isn't static.  It changes regularly.

2.  Everyone who's ever taken out a mortgage hopes that the appraiser "over values" the property.   There are things that can be done to influence the appraiser (in a legal and ethical way) to value the property higher rather than lower.  In this case, it sounds like the Trump folks listed values that were higher than the state believes are accurate.  

3.  The only accurate way to establish a value on a piece of real estate is to sell it.  A piece of real estate is only worth what someone will pay for it.   Zillow lost huge amounts of money because they failed miserably at accurately valuing real estate.   Any other valuation of real estate, a CMA or an appraisal, is an estimate.  

4.  If the lender was concerned about the valuation that the Trump folks put on the buildings, they had every right to hire an appraiser to give their opinion on a more correct valuation.

5.  Finally, and most importantly, Trump paid of the loans.   When a lender loans money, their primary goal is that the loan plus the interest are paid in full at or before the end of the loan term.   Nothing else matters.   In this case, regardless of the value of the property in question, the loans were paid.  The only potential problem could have been if the loans went into default and the collateral buildings would have needed to be sold to pay off the loans.    But even if the buildings sold for less than the estimated value when the loans were written that's still not fraud, it's the reality of the real estate market.

6.  For the last 50 years, real estate, has appreciated at roughly 4%/year.  Even after the crash of 2006-8, real estate was back on (actually briefly above) that 4%/year trend.   Therefore even if the real estate was "over valued" at the time of the origination of the loan, it's likely that normal appreciation would have taken care of ant discrepancy during the term of the loan.  

7.  At this level of real estate investing and lending, personal relationships are key.  It's likely that the lenders had a track record of business with Trump and weighed that more heavily than anything else.  

8.  Oh, yeah.  The loans were paid off. 

The I'm going out of town and wanted to post all of this stuff post.

https://news.yahoo.com/hamas-member-says-repeat-attacks-065643206.html

 Tell us what you really think.

 

 https://abc7.com/westlake-village-elderly-jewish-man-dies-pro-palestine-rally-demonstrators/14019727/

Just a coincidence, nothing to see here, move along now.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/world/middleeast/yemen-famine-children.html

"More than 85,000 Yemini children died under the nose of Muslims. That's 21 times more than what's happened in Gaza. 30,000 children were killed in the Syrian conflict, that's nearly 8 times more than what's happened in Gaza. Nobody came out for these children in London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Toronto. None of these Muslim influencers started any trend like #StopGenocideInYemen or #StopGenocideInSyria. They don't care about Muslim lives, it's all about their religion and politics."

 

Apparently, much like black lives, only some dead children matter to the left.   

 

 https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1721193930551623760

Again, ignore the antisemitism on American streets from the American left.   It's not really a thing.  

 

 

https://twitter.com/arifaajakia/status/1721394754338873361

This is what concern for innocent children looks like, apparently.

 

 

https://twitter.com/thecjpearson/status/1721323163811004761

This is really what black democrats think of black voters.   Or at least one black democrat.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bill-maher-slams-critics-west-183938331.htm

More wisdom from Maher.  One wonders why Dan can't be this reasonable?

News

 The Quds News Network posted a picture of a wrecked ambulance and claimed that it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.   

Unfortunately, the picture shows a virtually intact ambulance that ran over a horse and is apparently an old picture to boot.

Of course Quds News Network is not really a news network as most would consider one.  Instead it's purpose is "According to QNN journalist Ahmed Yousef, "the ultimate mission of Quds News is not about business or journalism but to promote the Palestinian fight against Israel.".    So why anyone would re post or use QNN as a source for anything factual is beyond me. 

The Truth Hurts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yysKhJ1U-vM

Let's not kid ourselves, Bill Maher is without question a liberal.  He's outspoken about his politics and his liberal worldview.   That's what makes this video even more compelling.  It's not some right wing wacko ranting, it's a popular left wing TV host making intelligent and cogent points.    

I'll be honest, I probably disagree with Bill Maher on 90% of things, but I have a massive amount of respect for him as being one of the few on the left who's willing to look at what is happening on his side of the aisle and to call it out publicly.  

?!??!??!?!?!?!?Nooooooooooooooooooooo?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407518779139

" The current study sought to describe the demographic characteristics of individuals who are willing to consider a transgender individual as a potential dating partner. Participants (N = 958) from a larger study on relationship decision-making processes were asked to select all potential genders that they would consider dating if ever seeking a future romantic partner. The options provided included cisgender men, cisgender women, trans men, trans women, and genderqueer individuals. Across a sample of heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans individuals, 87.5% indicated that they would not consider dating a trans person, with cisgender heterosexual men and women being most likely to exclude trans persons from their potential dating pool."

 

????????!!!!??????What?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!???????? 

How can this possibly be????????????????

Heterosexual men and women don't want to date "trans" people, the very notion that a heterosexual man would want to date another man (with male body parts), who identifies as a woman is insane.   

What ever happened to people being able to date other people who they find attractive without being shamed and ridiculed to the "trans" lobby?

Cease Fire

 One of my pastor friends posted on social media today all upset about what is happening in Gaza, and calling for an immediate cease fire.   What a strange position.  Hamas still holds numerous hostages, many of them women and children.    Hamas has months worth of necessities, but refuses to provide them to the people of Gaza.   Hamas hides it's high value targets in places where civilians will be killed, knowing that the deaths of these civilians will spark outrage.   Israel warns these human shields that they should leave, and Hamas makes sure they don't leave.  It's like PR is more important than the people they allegedly govern.   In short, it's absurd to even consider a cease fire until Hamas, at a minimum, surrenders all of the hostages they currently hold.   To do so would be a win for Hamas, and their tactic of using the people they allegedly govern as cannon fodder.  

What are the leaders of Hamas saying, from their homes outside of Gaza?

"We need the blood of women, children, and the elderly of Gaza... so as to awaken our revolutionary spirit."

Ismail Haniyleh

"We will repeat the October 7 attack time and again until Israel is annihilated: we are victims- everything we do is justified."

Ghazi Hamad

Why would any civilized person reward Hamas for sacrificing the women, children and elderly of Gaza, engaging in barbarous behavior, and taking innocent women and children hostage?   

When a street thug tries to mug someone and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the street thug is responsible for whatever happens to them.

When an armed robber tries to rob a store and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the armed robber is responsible for whatever happens to them.

When someone breaks into a home to rob or murder the occupants and gets their ass kicked, or worse,  the criminal is responsible for whatever happens to them.  

When Hamas engages in a surprise attack, barbarously kills innocent civilians, kidnaps women and children, then hides behind "civilians", somehow any negative consequences are all the fault of the victim of the unprovoked attack. 

Contradictory Messaging

 If "Words are violence", and "Silence is violence.", then are we to just mumble incoherently like Biden does is his speeches?

What I suspect this really means is that the APL has assumed the responsibility for deciding what words or silence is appropriate, and what words or silence gets you cancelled or doxxed. 

Hep!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/30/europe/russia-dagestan-airport-anti-israel-intl-hnk/index.html 

No, it's not antisemitism at all.    

"From the river to the sea.", doesn't really mean eradicate all the Jews between the Jordan and the Med.

No, there's no reason to be concerned about pogroms.

Hep! Hep! Hep! Hep!

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/cooper-union-pro-palestinian-rally-jewish-students-library/

No, don't worry, it's all fine. 

Preliminary

 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/flu-covid-shot-reasonable-amid-safety-review-potential/story?id=104308950

 

 

"Older adults who received last year’s COVID booster and a high-dose version of the flu vaccine in the same visit may have a potential increased risk of stroke, according to a new FDA-funded study.

Experts urged that the results were preliminary and may be explained by other factors such as the fact that older adults are already at a higher risk for stroke due to their age."

 

One wonders why they didn't study the effects of these boosters before they pressured millions of people into getting them?  

 One further wonders why they'd continue to recommend that older people, who are already at increased risk of stroke, pile risk upon risk and get more of these un researched boosters. 

But Israel...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/27/world/middleeast/palestine-gazans-hamas-food.html 

As Gazans Scrounge for Food and Water, Hamas Sits on a Rich Trove of Supplies

Hamas has spent years stockpiling desperately needed fuel, food and medicine, as well as ammo and weapons, in the miles of tunnels it has carved out under Gaza.

 

"Hamas has hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel for vehicles and rockets; caches of ammunition, explosives and materials to make more; and stockpiles of food, water and medicine, the officials said. A senior Lebanese official said Hamas, which is estimated to number between 35,000 and 40,000, had enough stocked away to keep fighting for three to four months without resupply.

One of the four Israeli hostages released by Hamas even described the group providing captives with medicine, shampoo and feminine hygiene products. All are now said to be extraordinarily scarce in Gaza more than two weeks after Israel, aided by Egypt, imposed what it called a “complete” blockade following the attack by the terrorist group on Oct. 7."

 

But the conditions in Gaza are all the fault of Israel.  

 

 

Hindsight

 https://twitter.com/i/status/1718153125125574695

 

 "I was on the board of my kids' school during COVID. I wanted a harsher lockdown policy. In retrospect: I was wrong. The damage to kids of keeping them out of school longer was greater than the risk. But here's the bottom line: We were doing our best. But let's give a little grace and forgiveness for the shit show that was COVID."

Scott Galloway

How long will it take before the "trans" medical-industrial complex says something similar?     When will we hear Drs and politicians saying "How could we have possibly known? We did our best, how about a little forgiveness and grace?"

 

 

Theraputic

 https://www.memri.org/tv/ziyad-miqdad-islamic-university-gaza-husband-beat-wife-father-son-mother-daughter-therapeutic-not-vindictive

 What an interesting take.  

Because NPR is Awesome

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/17/1206359187/how-does-hamas-explain-an-attack-on-civilians-a-hamas-spokesman-has-answers 

Apparently NPR interviewed a Hamas spokesperson and asked about their targeting of civilians.   Yet, I can find no links to the actual interview anywhere.  

All we have is the statement that  "Israel has no right to exist in this region.".

One wonders what is being hidden if this in the only "quote" from the interview available.

 

In all seriousness, if there's a copy of the entire interview out there that I can't find, please copy paste it in the comments.  

Responsibility

 As part of the wanton, barbaric, rampage that Hamas engaged in they took hostages back to Gaza.  Israel has mobilized the IDF to move into Gaza, eradicate Hamas, and free the hostages.  As a part of this mission, it's unavoidable that things will be broken and people will be injured or killed.   Many people are criticizing Israel for this, while completely ignoring that Hamas could end this quickly by releasing the hostages.  It's strange how so many people are completely unwilling to understand that Hamas has brought all of this on themselves and on the people in Gaza.  

It's amazing how many people will argue over whether or not children were decapitated, had their throats cut, or were merely brutally murdered but accept without question that the hospital damage was from the IDF, not from a Hamas rocket that misfired.   

Data

"In the 1st study of trans teens, Lisa Littman at Brown U found that 63% had been diagnosed with at least 1 mental health disorder prior to the onset of their gender dysphoria (anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, self-harm, eating disorders, bipolar, autism) These are troubled kids."

 Nancy Pearcey 

 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202330

 

There's nothing to see here, it's just a coincidence.