Sympthsical
Sympthsical's JournalPeople mad at Jon Stewart missed a hell of an interview
You can always tell when reactions are based on clips or social media commentary or just assumptions, because last night's Daily Show was clearly strongly anti-Trump and anti-Republican in flavor. Some people are sensitive to criticism - any and all. Nothing to be done for that.
But for those who aren't, the last two thirds of Jon Stewart's interview with the Economist's Zanny Minton Beddoes was fantastic. Below is the link to the full episode on Comedy Central. To save time (and delicate sensibilities) let me just say they start the global conversation at:
33:00 It's about a ten minute discussion after that point.
They discuss the global Right's attempts to create a New World Order, Trump's role in that, threats to NATO, and how Republicans are enabling or promoting it. One of the best conversations I've seen on television lately. Best of all, they just talk about it. They don't dumb it down, figure their audience isn't intelligent enough to grasp it, or tell you want to think. They just discuss it.
People grousing about Stewart are missing out.
Don't let the ever-squeaks drown the conversation. This was a good one.
https://www.cc.com/episodes/7lf6wz/the-daily-show-february-12-2024-zanny-minton-beddoes-season-29-ep-1
Travis Kelce and teenaged girls' reactions
Thought this was kind of interesting. Called my mom this morning per usual, and my sister-in-law was over there. I asked her how my niece enjoyed the Super Bowl. She's a 14 year old huge Swiftie. Huge. As in, do not bring the subject up unless you want to be pinned down by Taylor facts coming at you like gunfire.
And apparently, SIL said they had to have a conversation with her about Kelce. My brother (Bears fan, so immaterial) apparently called Kelce an asshole during that sideline tirade at Andy Reid. My niece did not stan for Taylor's boyfriend being besmirched by her own father and started getting argumentative about it.
My brother does not put up with bullshit, and SIL was not happy - at all. They had to tell their daughter that if anyone she dates ever acts like that, she should run. Don't be around a boy who treats people that way. They had to explain to a 14 year old that behavior was not ok. Niece apparently felt this was a great injustice to Taylor somehow. Anyway, it was a whole thing over there.
Curious, I went over to some Swiftie spaces to see what the reactions were. Yep. They're all my niece. Just papering over it and attacking anyone who's saying anything.
I thought it was interesting. And I was wondering, if Kelce wasn't attached to a celebrity currently on our side in a partisan pissing match, would we be having conversations about toxic masculinity and quickfire internet think pieces about the effects of sports on how boys treat people this morning? Kinda think we would. Especially since Kelce doesn't have a great history of behavior, and his PR has been working overtime on that teddy bear image.
Our perceptions of these things can be highly situational sometimes.
I've heard enough. SC is going to overturn Colorado
And it won't be close.
Justice Jackson is wrecking Colorado's attorney right now.
Houthi-run court in Yemen sentences 13 to death for homosexuality
Just dropping this for any anti-West resistance fighter enthusiasts out there.
https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1367225/13-sentenced-to-death-for-homosexuality-in-yemen-source.html
The sentences were handed down in Ibb, a province controlled by the Houthis whose attacks on Red Sea shipping since November have prompted retaliatory strikes by the United States and Britain.
Three others were jailed on similar charges, according to the judicial source, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
Another 35 people have been detained by Houthis in Ibb province on homosexuality charges, the source said.
Carl Weathers dies at 76
Oof, my childhood. People will commonly cite Apollo Creed in Rocky. But for an 80s/90s Xennial, he was Action Jackson, Dillon in Predator, and Chubbs in Happy Gilmore.
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/carl-weathers-dead-rocky-predator-star-wars-1235895634/
Important legal analysis of ICJ decision
ICJ: "Don't commit genocide!"
Israel: "Ok!"
And everyone went back to precisely what they were doing before the case.
Hamas starts citing Western protesters
Nice job. All around.
This is from an interview with Khaled Mashal, a major Hamas figure.
"In order to establish a common ground, and a joint Palestinian plan with the other Palestinian with the other Palestinian forces, and in line with the other Arab position. Hamas agreed to a completely independent [Palestinian] state, with the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, with the right of Return included without recognizing the legitimacy of the Zionist entity. This position was meant to facilitate Palestinian and Arab agreement at this stage, but without relinquishing any of our rights or any part of our land, and without recognizing Israel. Our vision remains unchanged. I believe that October 7 has enhanced this conviction, has narrowed the disagreements, and has turned the idea of liberating Palestine from the River to the Sea into a realistic idea that has already begun. It is not something [merely] to be expected or hoped for. It is part of the plan, part of the agenda, and we are standing on its threshold, Allah willing."
https://www.memri.org/tv/khaled-mashal-hamas-leader-abroad-reject-two-state-solution-october-seven-prove-liberation-river-sea-realistic
(If anyone has a better source than MEMRI for the interview, I'm all ears)
The Israeli Quotes That the Press Got Wrong
I highly, highly recommend reading this entire article. (Just put it in "reader view" in your browser). Why? Because every single quote highlighted by the author - who is no friend of Netanyahu or Likud - will be very, very familiar. You will have seen all of them spread breathlessly, incorrectly, and triumphantly by anti-Israel activists.
You will have seen them here, multiple times, brought up repeatedly - and continuing to this day - without correction.
Something to keep in mind, that primary sources are best. The media, social media, and a very strong anti-Israel operation make very sure the narrative is distorted to their liking, and they will not be doing the correcting for you. By the time you figure out what you're being told is wrong, they are long gone onto the next outrage that maybe isn't as outrageous as is being presented dishonestly to you.
Since I can do only four paragraphs. But seriously. Read the whole damn thing and admire just how much fuckery is spread around willfully.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/01/israel-south-africa-genocide-case-fake-quotes/677198/
(Non-paywall link, thanks Scipan) https://web.archive.org/web/20240122012035/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/01/israel-south-africa-genocide-case-fake-quotes/677198/
Politicians and lawyers are not always known for their probity, but journalists have fact-checkers. How did an error this substantial get missed so many times in so many places? One New York Times article that cited Gallants mangled misquote sourced the words to an op-ed in another outlet, which sourced them to an X post that featured an embedded TikTok video. But the cascade of media failures appears to have begun with a 42-second video excerpt of Gallants talk that was uploaded by Bloomberg with incomplete English subtitles. The clip, since viewed more than half a million times, simply skips over There will be no Hamas in its translation. (Bloomberg did not return a request for comment at press time.)
Unfortunately, this concatenation of errors is part of a pattern. As someone who has covered Israeli extremism for years and written about the hard rights push to ethnically cleanse Gaza and resettle it, I have been carefully tracking the rise of such dangerous ideas for more than a decade. In this perilous wartime environment, it is essential to know who is saying what, and whether they have the authority to act on it. But while far too many right-wing members of Israels Parliament have expressed borderline or straightforwardly genocidal sentiments during the Gaza conflict, such statements attributed to the three people making Israels actual military decisions, the voting members of its war cabinetGallant, Netanyahu, and the former opposition lawmaker Benny Gantzrepeatedly turn out to be mistaken or misrepresented.
Take the claim, also cited by NPRs Fadel among others, that Gallant referred to Gazans as human animals. The defense minister has used this harsh language several times, and its reasonable to wonder whom hes referring to. But as can be seen from the same Bloomberg video, Gallant uses this phrase to talk about Hamas, telling soldiers who fought off Hamas on the devastated Gaza border: You have seen what we are fighting against. We are fighting against human animals. This is the ISIS of Gaza. (Hamass atrocities on October 7 have been likened to acts of the Islamic State by both Israeli and American officials, including President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.) One can certainly take issue with Gallants languagefor one thing, a nonhuman animal never executed a grandmother in her home and then uploaded the snuff film to her Facebook pagebut not with the fact that the defense ministers words referred specifically to Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian protesters miss the civil disobedience portion of the program
Protesters were arrested and charged for blocking the Bay Bridge in San Francisco - not least for false imprisonment, which is what happens when you trap unwilling commuters on a bridge.
Now they're protesting . . . that they got charged for their protest.
In case anyone wondered what reality all of this is taking place in.
Jewish parents transfer children out of Oakland Unified over antisemitism concerns
Check out the highlighted part.
I sometimes suspect highly ideological adults should not be teaching children. Change my mind.
...
CBS News Bay Area has confirmed the exodus of Jewish families comes following a string of actions by the Oakland teachers' union and the district itself that many say resulted in antisemitism and created a hostile environment for their students.
In the weeks following the October 7th attacks by Hamas on Israel, and Israel's subsequent ground invasion of Gaza, a group of unidentified OUSD teachers held a "teach-in" highlighting pro-Palestinian lessons.
. . .
"I just felt that there wasn't a path forward for Jewish families because I had reached out to OUSD and asked them to have a conversation about how they were going to keep Jewish families feeling safe and included," Rebecca explained. "When there were lesson plans that were being taught that said, 'Draw the Zionist bully,' or 'I for Intifada, J is for Jesus.' And to me, it felt like -- honestly -- we were being targeted and singled out and alienated."
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/jewish-parents-transfer-children-out-of-oakland-unified-over-antisemitism-concerns/
Also, try to imagine the reaction to J is for Jesus if it were a Christian teacher in a public school.
But if you're targeting the Jews, all is fair game.
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