Jump to content

Israel-Hamas war thread


Brisketexan

Recommended Posts

13 minutes ago, statsman said:

Interestingly, Russia wants a multi-polar world while China is calling for a new (China centric) world order(I.e. mono polar around Beijing). 

Russia and China are aligned in hating a US/Western led world. After that, they don't really trust each other.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

A few days I posted Tass's official party-line take on the issue, and it was what you'd expect, and mentioned that Putin came out and said that it would be unacceptable if Israel killed any Palestinian civilians.  Russia is firmly on the side of Hamas.

 

that's well known, the public appearance and statements about a multi-polar world while the world now has two wars directly or indirectly encouraged/planned/funded by Russia and Iran is deeply concerning.  add to that Chinese aggression in the South China sea (see Pentagon video releases the last 24 hours) and we have the makings of some really, really bad shit happening.

Edited by troph
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Completely by design.  Twitter is working the way he wanted it to.

The more sensational the tweet, the more reactions to it, the more the author makes in ad-sharing revenue. 

Meanwhile, Elon and his ilk decry the MAINSTREAM MEDIA because of its perceived lack of accuracy/idealogical slant.

Unplug me. 

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, troph said:

Don’t know that Biden isn’t asking for restraint. Ground invasion may happen but it hasn’t yet. Reports are Biden will still be talking to Middle East leaders today. My post was simply that Biden says he reviewed intelligence including US intelligence and is satisfied it was Hamas, not an Israeli strike. 
 

a ceasefire is probably in everyone’s best interest especially given Hamas leadership casualties. I suspect weapon caches and factories are also severely diminished now too. Is that enough? If a ceasefire prevents a world war then yes.

There is still the matter of Israeli hostages.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, troph said:

a ceasefire is probably in everyone’s best interest especially given Hamas leadership casualties. 

There are lots of parties for whom an escalation of this war is in their best interest, including the far-right elements of the Israeli government that now wield significant power that believe all of that land belongs to Israel. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

 

The Associated Press

4:36 PM

Drone attack on U.S. troops intercepted in Iraq, heightening fears of a regional conflagration Two suicide drones launched at a base hosting U.S. troops in Iraq were intercepted Wednesday, a defense official said. Hours later, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq announced it had launched another drone attack on a second base. No injuries were reported in either incident. The salvos came at a time of increasing tension and fears of a broader regional war in the wake of the latest Hamas-Israel war.

 

More fun

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, SurlyGator said:

Not just Israeli.  Few Americans and other countries citizens being held as well.

On top of the "I don't know how many American hostages there are" but there are also the roughly 500-600 American citizens stuck in Gaza, most of whom I'm guessing are also trying to get out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, bolverk said:

On top of the "I don't know how many American hostages there are" but there are also the roughly 500-600 American citizens stuck in Gaza, most of whom I'm guessing are also trying to get out.

True.  Call me a cranky old man, but I don’t have a ton of sympathy for any American hanging out a stone’s throw from Gaza.  I have even less for those actually in Gaza.  I’m sure quite a few of them were there for humanitarian reasons, but still not the wisest location choice to be benevolent (no matter how badly they need it).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

Exactly. Go do charity in a nice, safe neighborhood where people aren’t so fucking needy all the time.

A charity rave?  

https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/the-geriatric-ravers-still-smashing-drugs-gravers/61f18a19dde21734e41c6581

https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/vice-londons-rowdy-old-folks-rave/5c177c12be40777a0c2db7c1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

Oh F Off GIF - Oh F Off GIFs

 

Yesterday, you didn't provide shit other than a Johnny-come-lately complaint last night about my posting information provided by an Israeli newspaper that you've now labeled as being "described by the western media as borderline-antisemitic."

By whom? Who has labeled them as such? A claim like that needs a follow-up and sourcing.

Are you seriously worried about the line being crossed between "news and propaganda" when half the news feed reads "according to the IDF" and "according to the Palestinian health ministry"? 

We're fucking smart enough to read between the lines, and we understand who is saying what.

I wasn't putting shit out there from some dumbass Twitter edgelord with fewer than 300 followers (I don't even know how that one was found) and a total of 25 posts where a couple of them complain that the media says "according to" in a headline or even an Indian Twitter bot with a video of a two-year-old incident. Jesus.

Get some fucking perspective and take your complaints against "the media" elsewhere.

From the editor in chief of the Atlantic 

https://www.jta.org/2016/08/02/united-states/journalist-jeffrey-goldberg-under-fire-after-tweeting-he-will-stop-reading-haaretz

Go wherever you want for your information. I like to know what the slant is if I can. I do not trust any media or government or corporate entity to tell it straight. You seemed to take my comments about Haaretz personally. They were not aimed at you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There’s still a lot of great information on Twitter and individual accounts doing the work.  The problem is that shitty accounts are being amplified and promoted around them, not that Elmo made them shitty.

It’s not a bloc, just like there’s no such thing as “MSM.” A lot of the voices who want to claim anything on the platform is junk have a clear agenda to undermine any credible sources about Russian/Hamas/PRC/other malign actors. 

  • Hook 'Em 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahhh, Surly gonna Surly.  Backpacking in Gaza is a mistake and will inevitably lead to problems.   But "deserve your fate" matters little to our government. It has been a long standing policy, one i agree with, to make serious effort to rescue hostages.  Certainky we don't try quite as hard for a Gazan backpacker as we do for nuns in an AIDS hospice somewhere, but still.  We're gonna try to rescue every one of those idiots.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, SurlyGator said:

True.  Call me a cranky old man, but I don’t have a ton of sympathy for any American hanging out a stone’s throw from Gaza.  I have even less for those actually in Gaza.  I’m sure quite a few of them were there for humanitarian reasons, but still not the wisest location choice to be benevolent (no matter how badly they need it).

giphy.gif

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

From the editor in chief of the Atlantic 

https://www.jta.org/2016/08/02/united-states/journalist-jeffrey-goldberg-under-fire-after-tweeting-he-will-stop-reading-haaretz

Go wherever you want for your information. I like to know what the slant is if I can. I do not trust any media or government or corporate entity to tell it straight. You seemed to take my comments about Haaretz personally. They were not aimed at you. 

A) You quoted me.

B) You said the source of information I was using was anti-semitic.

C) I'm going to take that personally.

D) Show your work or shut the fuck up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, SurlyGator said:

True.  Call me a cranky old man, but I don’t have a ton of sympathy for any American hanging out a stone’s throw from Gaza.  I have even less for those actually in Gaza.  I’m sure quite a few of them were there for humanitarian reasons, but still not the wisest location choice to be benevolent (no matter how badly they need it).

what an absolute garbage post.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

We are actually really bad about making efforts to rescue hostages worldwide. There are a lot of them in lots of places and most aren’t a pressing political issue. 

Rescue and negotiate are two different things. You are right, if political then we go full press. But there are quite a few instances of Americans who believe in their cause (whatever it may be) who get into harms way.

And yes, there are a lot of dumbasses. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Schulz2.0 said:

Russia and China are aligned in hating a US/Western led world. After that, they don't really trust each other.

a fisherman always spots another fisherman from afar. 

or in this case, a corrupt, autocratic, rights violating and fucked up government always spots another corrupt, autocratic, rights violating and fucked up government from afar.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, SurlyGator said:

True.  Call me a cranky old man, but I don’t have a ton of sympathy for any American hanging out a stone’s throw from Gaza.  I have even less for those actually in Gaza.  I’m sure quite a few of them were there for humanitarian reasons, but still not the wisest location choice to be benevolent (no matter how badly they need it).

Quote

 

Trapped in Gaza, Palestinian Americans Say They Feel Abandoned

As bombs fall and phone batteries run low, Palestinian American families caught in the Israel-Hamas war wonder whether the U.S. government will help them escape.

Duaa Abufares, 24, a psychology student from Clifton, N.J., has been anxiously awaiting word from her father, Fares, each day this week. He had gone back to Gaza to visit relatives in early September.

Now, Mr. Abufares, who is a U.S. citizen, is sheltering with relatives amid the sounds of nonstop bombing, and calling his five children back in New Jersey during brief periods when he can access electricity. During a video call with them on Thursday, Mr. Abufares, 50, described seeing the bodies of dozens of women and children killed in an airstrike blocks from his family home.

“In a second, maybe it’s going to be me and my family,” he said, his voice breaking.

The sudden Hamas attack on Saturday and the subsequent counteroffensive left American citizens stranded in both Israel and Gaza. To assist American citizens who want to leave Israel amid the spiraling security crisis, the Biden administration announced it would begin arranging charter flights to ferry Americans to destinations in Europe starting on Friday.

But for American citizens stuck in Gaza, there is no such arrangement, at least not yet. Many said American officials had asked them to fill out forms and wait. But without knowing when they will be able to come home, they said they were scared and wondering if bombings or crossfire would get to them first.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said civilians in the northern part of Gaza should evacuate to the south, “for their own safety and protection.”

“I feel like I’ve been abandoned by my country,” said Lena Beseiso, 57, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is caught in Gaza with her husband, two of her daughters and a 10-year-old grandson. “We’re American citizens and we’re not being treated as American citizens.”

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said that Israel’s blockade was for now preventing the American government from transporting its citizens out of Gaza. He said that the White House was in talks with Israel and Egypt about the safe passage of civilians out of Gaza, including Americans, but that no breakthrough had been reached.

“Right now, they — they can’t leave. So, we would have no physical means of permitting that transit out,” Mr. Kirby said during a press briefing on Thursday. “And so, that’s why we’re so actively having conversations with the Israelis and the Egyptians about a safe passage corridor so that people who want to leave can leave.”

U.S. officials estimated that 500 to 600 American citizens were in Gaza.

For now, there is nothing to do but wait and hope and pray. Ms. Beseiso and her family, who are in Gaza visiting relatives, tried to flee on Tuesday, she said, but the Israeli military bombed the Rafah crossing to Egypt while they were there, shuttering it. The family was told to return to Gaza for safety, and Ms. Beseiso sheltered in a building with her 87-year-old mother-in-law.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, there were nonstop airstrikes and bombs around the building, causing the windows in their apartment to shatter and their front door to break open because of the pressure of the bombs, she said. She said she had reached out multiple times to U.S. authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Israel but that she had not received a clear answer about what was being done to help them.

“Sometimes I have the hope and faith that I will make it out alive,” she said on Thursday. “But then once the darkness hits, and the airstrikes get heavier,” she said, she starts to wonder, “is it our turn tonight?”

On Friday, she said her family had moved south after the directive from the Israel Defense Forces.

“We’ve been welcomed in a home by these humble people whom I’ve never met before,” Ms. Beseiso said. “Leaving behind the house where my children grew up, laughed, played, while we were relocating from the north to the south was one of the hardest things I’ve seen other than this ugly war.”

Now that she was near the border with Egypt, she said, she hoped the State Department would contact her soon to say the family could cross over and go home.

More than 170,000 people in the United States identified as having Palestinian heritage in the 2020 census, a number that is considered to be a significant undercount by many within the Palestinian community given longstanding challenges in tallying the number of Americans of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

Palestinian Americans in the United States were already worried and have been frustrated by statements in recent days from government officials, universities and employers that expressed solidarity and sympathy for Israeli loss of life but did not mention Palestinian civilian casualties.

Families desperate for their government to step in and help stuck loved ones say the lack of attention has been devastating. More than 1,500 people, including 500 children, have died in Gaza, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.

Iman Museitef, 31, said her parents, American citizens who live in Newark, N.J., were trapped in Gaza City, where they went in late September to visit her 85-year-old grandmother.

“They ask me every time I hear their voice, ‘Did you call the embassy? What did they say?’” she said. “It is always something dreadful to have to explain to them that the place they have lived for half of their lives is not really helping them.”

Her parents tried to cross to Egypt on Tuesday, she said, but were unable to leave when the border crossing was shut down. They are now moving from apartment to apartment as evacuation orders are given.

“We are trying our best to contact the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and Cairo, and all they are all telling us is that we don’t have information on when the border is going to open,” Ms. Museitef, a registered nurse in Milwaukee, said. Maybe, she said of the U.S. State Department, “that’s not what they care about right now.”

She said she and her siblings had filled out forms and were waiting. “My parents are over 60 and they’re really scared. I just want their safety and I want them to come back to us,” she said.

Abdulla Okal and his wife, Haneen Okal, Palestinian American citizens who live in New Jersey, went to Gaza with their children over the summer, because Ms. Okal wanted to be near her family while giving birth to their third child, he said on Thursday. Mr. Okal flew back to New Jersey to help speed the process of getting an American passport for the baby so they could travel home. But then war broke out.

Ms. Okal and her three children were at the border Tuesday when it was bombed. The neighborhood where they were staying was also bombed. Now they have moved into her sister’s apartment, Mr. Okal said.

At the moment, Mr. Okal said his wife and children had lost power and that she was trying to conserve her phone battery. “All I ask her is just text me, tell me you’re still alive,” he said. His 3-year-old daughter is very scared, and has been running a fever, he said. When his 8-week-old son sleeps during the bombings, the child shakes.

Mr. Okal said that he heard from some American authorities on Thursday that they were trying to devise a plan to get U.S. citizens home safely. His wife evacuated south after the directive from Israel, and made it to a friend’s home near the Rafah crossing.

“She’s right at the border. They just need to open the door so they can cross over,” he said. “What worries me is that my wife will die there before they evacuate.”

He said he was planning to fly to Egypt, in hopes that he can pick up his family at the border when and if they can cross.

“Just treat us like we’re American,” he said. “We’re American citizens, we pay taxes, we are good citizens, it’s our country too,” he said. “I just want the government to treat us equally and care more, a little bit more.”

Duaa Abufares wanted to try to help her father leave, but even if there were a way, Mr. Abufares has told his children he does not want to abandon his mother and other relatives as the violence seems poised to escalate.

Rania Mustafa, executive director of the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, N.J., said she had been frantic all week, fielding requests from people with relatives in Gaza and staying in touch with her own contacts. The scariest moments came when people went dark, and it was unclear whether they were without electricity or if something terrible had happened.

She is worried about what Israel may do next.

“God only knows what’s going to happen,” she said.

 

 

Some Americans have the right to visit family. Others don't.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Viper said:

Also it should be noted that the mainstream media spread the hospital bombing lie and caused a lot of rage around the world and it's been Twitter accounts that corrected the story in real time. 

Guy: look at wapo/nyt/nbc publishing these false claims

Same guy: only those journalists should have verified checkmarks

No irony. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, bolverk said:

 

Some Americans have the right to visit family. Others don't.

There was a Palestinian biochem post doc who I used to know pretty well. His mother had cancer so he had to go back to the Palestinian territories to see her. He pretty much knew what he was getting into but had no choice. He went back and his Visa was not renewed. I assume that he is still there, but I don't know what options he had.

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Rage+1 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

There are lots of parties for whom an escalation of this war is in their best interest, including the far-right elements of the Israeli government that now wield significant power that believe all of that land belongs to Israel. 

I was speaking more about the broader world. and while the far right might believe war is in their best interest, FAFO applies and so I can pretty much confirm they are wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, statsman said:

I am losing sympathy for Americans that get arrested in Iran, Russia and NK, since it is clear that those nations have policies of using captive Americans to raise money and free spies. 

Is there some additional context for this? Not trying to be rude, intrusive, or whatever, but what do arrests of Americans in Iran, Russia, and North Korea have to do with the war between Hamas and Israel? Has something happened that hasn't yet arrived on my newsfeed?

Genuinely curious. Not a gotcha.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Is there some additional context for this? Not trying to be rude, intrusive, or whatever, but what do arrests of Americans in Iran, Russia, and North Korea have to do with the war between Hamas and Israel? Has something happened that hasn't yet arrived on my newsfeed?

Genuinely curious. Not a gotcha.

none of this discussion has a place in this thread fwiw

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Is there some additional context for this? Not trying to be rude, intrusive, or whatever, but what do arrests of Americans in Iran, Russia, and North Korea have to do with the war between Hamas and Israel? Has something happened that hasn't yet arrived on my newsfeed?

Genuinely curious. Not a gotcha.

I assume he is reading stories on this page (as I am) of Americans that travelled to Gaza and are now trapped there. The government and leadership there and at those countries he listed don't have our best interests in their hearts. An American travelling there to see their friends might get properly fucked if they are unlucky. We should all pay attention to the state department travel advisories. They are color coded for dummies too. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

I assume he is reading stories on this page (as I am) of Americans that travelled to Gaza and are now trapped there. The government and leadership there and at those countries he listed don't have our best interests in their hearts. An American travelling there to see their friends might get properly fucked if they are unlucky. We should all pay attention to the state department travel advisories. They are color coded for dummies too. 

Well maybe they are stupid or color blind. 

Think Schitts Creek GIF by CBC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, statsman said:

I am losing sympathy for Americans that get arrested in Iran, Russia and NK, since it is clear that those nations have policies of using captive Americans to raise money and free spies. 

I place them all in the same FAFO category as dipshits who don't get vaccinations or ride motorcycles without helmets. 

  • Hook 'Em 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

I place them all in the same FAFO category as dipshits who don't get vaccinations or ride motorcycles without helmets. 

Yep, certain places. Agree. Dad has told stories of having to go rescue missionary groups in Vietnam because the lord would protect them, until the NVA said nah....

same with peace activists killed in Central America for driving through checkpoints, or arrested for hiding weapons for the FMLN or Sendero.

We tend to respond to these dumbs hits. WNBA star out front should have told you.  

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, NoName said:

the guy who posted the thread deleted it then went after Nathan Ruser (guy who did the long thread on the hospital i linked this AM)

this guy is an idiot.

image.thumb.png.33a3316c38eaf200bde4f2352aeac71a.png

the misinformation, which is purposefully or accidentally spread, is everywhere. gotta keep vigilant.

he double checked it. what else do you want? don't worry!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Yep, certain places. Agree. Dad has told stories of having to go rescue missionary groups in Vietnam because the lord would protect them, until the NVA said nah....

same with peace activists killed in Central America for driving through checkpoints, or arrested for hiding weapons for the FMLN or Sendero.

We tend to respond to these dumbs hits. WNBA star out front should have told you.  

You know, state department warnings be damned, I'm not going to stop visiting New Orleans.  My family's roots run deep there, and I can't quit the deliciousness or the libertine vibe.  So sue me.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

You know, state department warnings be damned, I'm not going to stop visiting New Orleans.  My family's roots run deep there, and I can't quit the deliciousness or the libertine vibe.  So sue me.

yeah, but see, the Surly would organize our own rescue group to go and get you. We need our Ledge boss. 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...