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THE ABSURD TIMES WE AINT WOKEISH
Illustration: The Governor of Florida faces the WOKE forces of evil. Will he be ready for Donald? WE AINT WOKE by Honest Charlie Well, I want to take care of a few things first. First of all, I'm going to use the first-person singular. So there. And this is personal, not some general issue. You are welcome aboard. Next, let's consider the French, or French itself. I have heard that language is phonetic, so let's look at a few things. First, in linguistics, there is a term called schwa, or a sort of capital B (not available on a standard keyboard). How would you write it in French? "Eouis", of course. The first thing that would have come to me when I saw "eouis" written down, was "schwa," of course. OK, let's take another: CHAMPS! Now I would be tempted to pronounce that as if it were a team that was triumphant over any other team in their league, or whatever. WRONG! It is pronounced "Shawnz," of course! People complain that the French will not recognize anyone's ability to pronounce their language, as if there were only one way to pronounce it, but there are slight variations every 30 miles or so. Never mind that someone here from Mississippi, meeting someone from New Jersey, along with someone from Nebraska will all recognize each other as native speakers. Same thing in France. One big difference, however, is what I ran into in most other countries. No matter what the language, some of the people disliked Americans very much, and not without good reason. They pretend to be unable to speak or understand English. However, if I started out in German, which I can pronounce fairly acceptably, although perhaps with a 19th Century bias, they immediately seem very fluent in English. EXCEPT IN FRANCE!! They seemed to have a very long memory there because the question as to whether they spoke German was answered with a vigorous NO! However, on social media German is of little help as Germans of that generation speak, read, and write English with far greater ease than I could do any of that in German. There is no reason to try.1 Despite this handicap, perhaps because of it?, the French set an example for all people of the so-called "free world" when the autocratic Macron simply raised the retirement age two years by fiat. He stole, in other words, the retirement funds contributed by the workers of France, two years' worth. They occupied the streets for at least a month. The controlling parties, next election, will simply find somebody intolerably bad to run against whomever they want to rule and that will be that. But at least they tried. The demonstrations worked much as they did worldwide before the Iraq war. Bush, to some extent tinged by Oedipal concerns, but mainly for oil and at the behest of Israel, went to war anyway. He clownishly landed on a ship with MISSION ACCOMPLISHED written on it and strutted as the greatest patriot since George Washington (who started out as a British Officer). Millions, worldwide, demonstrated against that war, but the will of the people was not as important as profits.2 Of course, all such efforts eventually fail and the people are left in as meager conditions as possible. We know that the Treaty of Versailles was designed to harm and punish the German people and NOT to prevent more conflict. Maynard Keynes and many others at the time brought this out but were never heeded. The result was a populist movement in Germany with a precursor of the MAGA party that was called the NAZI party. There is no secret about this as some of the energetic members of this Republican Party carry such flags, billionaires with signed copies of Mein Kampf, and one-eyed morons with huge tattoos of WE THE PEOPLE on his arm flaunt their support for autocracy. But enough nostalgia. This leader is now sentenced to 18 years in prison, but that's ok, Adolf was in prison when he wrote his battle and when he was a youth (yes, he was one once) kept a poster of Henry Ford on his wall. Both were anti-union. Ford had a plant that manufactured tanks for Adolf and we bombed it. Henry took us to court and won. The Supreme Court is being purchased once again today. This one-eyed leader has an eye patch, but few know how it came about. He just looks tough wearing it. Well, according to his wife, an accomplished stripper, (who at least therefore provides a genuine service), he was cleaning a 22 caliber gun and he shot himself in the eye. Well, you can't have everything. So why are not these obvious details more well-known? They are not more well-known because the media is owned by people who don't want them to be well-known. The media has the right to publish whatever it wants, so long as it does not affect profits. The interview below will tell you all about it. I had intended to trace the history of the entire Soviet Union abandonment, the promises about NATO not moving an inch East, and the overthrow of the earlier Ukrainian government, but that will have to wait. I am, however, deciding that only on Mondays is a rather artificial way to publish a newsletter. So … whenever! Here'e Amy: We look at the largely forgotten 1937 Memorial Day Massacre, when police in Chicago shot at and gassed a peaceful gathering of striking steelworkers and their supporters, killing 10 people, most of them shot in the back. It was a time like today, when unions were growing stronger. The workers were on strike against Republic Steel, and the police attacked them with weapons supplied by the company. The tragic story is told in a new PBS documentary. "The mass media, right up to The New York Times, was supporting the police story that they had no choice but to open fire on this mob," says Greg Mitchell, who directed the new PBS documentary, Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried, and edited a companion book that is the first oral history on the tragedy. The film can be viewed at PBS.org and was produced by Lyn Goldfarb. Transcript This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: As Memorial Day weekend begins here in the United States, we end today's show looking back at the largely forgotten 1937 Memorial Day Massacre, when police in Chicago shot at and gassed a peaceful gathering of striking steelworkers and their supporters, killing 10 people, most of them shot in the back. It was a time like today, when unions were growing stronger. The workers were on strike against Republic Steel. The police attacked them with weapons supplied by the company. The tragic story is told in a new PBS documentary, Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried. It based on book with oral histories of eyewitnesses of the attack. The film begins with the great radio broadcaster Studs Terkel. STUDS TERKEL: This is 1937, and the labor battles are going on. The CIO is being organized. And the steelworkers and the packing, they're all being organized. And the Big Steel, the big steel companies, finally agreed. They recognized the union. But there's one company in Chicago, Republic Steel, Tom Girdler: "I will not recognize the union." And so there was a strike. Memorial Day 1937. And there was a picnic. Strikers and their wives and kids are on the grounds of Republic Steel in South Chicago. Someone threw a stone, and cops were there at the behest of Girdler. And they shot down 10 people, killed them, in the back. JOSH CHARLES: In the days that followed, newspapers from coast to coast portrayed the incident as a riot provoked by a dangerous mob, which left police no choice but to open fire, with 10 dead within days. However, the key piece of evidence, the only film of the tragedy, remained buried. Paramount News created, then suppressed, a newsreel airing the footage. When the hidden footage was finally screened, the shocking images drew national attention, with vital lessons for today. AMY GOODMAN: That's the opening to the new documentary, Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried. This is another clip, when an eyewitness describes how the police attack unfolded. We hear from reporter Harold Rossman and Mollie West, who was a teenager when she attended the Memorial Day gathering in support of the striking workers. MOLLIE WEST: We just walked. And people were talking and holding hands, and the children were being carried by their fathers on their shoulders. And everybody was laughing, and it was a joyous thing. And as we came closer to the mill, the walking slowed a bit. It seemed like the entire police force of the city of Chicago was out there. But that didn't deter. We were still going to go over to the mill and just conduct a peaceful mass picket line. HAROLD ROSSMAN: I could see a few objects through the air. I could see some things being thrown. Not much. It wasn't a lot of stuff, maybe a couple of rocks. There was a dry, crackling kind of a noise. It took me a moment to figure out what it was, and I realized it was gunfire. And by that time, the people were falling. And they were turning and trying to run, and the gunfire continued. It was clear that a whole number of these people had been shot in the back. They were trying to flee, and they were still being fired at. MOLLIE WEST: And then a whole number of people were piled up on top of me, and I could barely breathe. Also, there was tear gas. People finally began to get off, get on their feet. And when I finally stood up, and I — total bewilderment. I looked around, and I saw a battlefield. AMY GOODMAN: The new PBS documentary, Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried, which just aired on PBS, is now online. It's the latest project from longtime author and journalist Greg Mitchell, who's written 12 books and made many films about U.S. politics and history. Greg, welcome back to Democracy Now! This is a devastating documentary about a story very few people today know, what happened 86 years ago in Chicago. Take it from where we have just heard these eyewitness descriptions. How did this happen? GREG MITCHELL: OK. Well, I'm happy to be here. Yes, the police, in fact, shot 40 people, the vast majority in the back or in the side. Ten would die, within days. And then, they — as the film shows, they waded through the crowd, beating people over the head, sometimes with ax handles provided by Republic Steel. And so, there were another 50 people who were injured enough to be hospitalized. And then, again, as the film shows, the injured, instead of getting any medical treatment, were actually arrested and shoved into paddy wagons and taken to jail or taken to distant hospitals. And this is all on the Paramount News footage, which was suppressed. So, we know the step-by-step things that happened. And you can watch — AMY GOODMAN: Greg, your film is so good — GREG MITCHELL: — almost all the Paramount footage. AMY GOODMAN: Greg, your film is so good, I want to go back to another clip from Memorial Day Massacre. JOSH CHARLES: A disturbing new account of the death of one man emerged. A photo of Earl Handley being carried by police, seemingly for medical attention, had appeared in newspapers earlier. Now the full story came out. Handley, a 37-year-old carpenter, had been shot in the thigh, so a worker tied a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding. The Paramount footage showed him being hauled to a worker's car for a quick trip to the hospital. After the camera stopped rolling, however, police yanked him out of the car and carried him to their paddy wagon, as his tourniquet slipped off, and he bled to death. A doctor who treated some of the wounded presented autopsy reports proving that nearly all of the dead had been shot in the back or in the side. AMY GOODMAN: And this is another clip from Memorial Day Massacre about how progressive Senator Robert La Follette subpoenaed the suppressed footage of the attack. This was the first time film was shown as evidence in a Senate hearing. JOSH CHARLES: Senator La Follette announced that the footage would be screened at both regular speed and slow motion. Pointedly, he asked the top Chicago police officials to take a seat to view the film. This was reportedly the first time film footage had ever been introduced as evidence in Congress. The reaction in the hearing room: gasps, some tears, but stony silence from the top police officials. The slow motion revealed a murderous new detail. Much of the press coverage the next day now flipped to blaming the police, although many news outlets now claimed that the camera could indeed lie. NEWSREEL: What happened at South Chicago, Memorial Day, 1937. JOSH CHARLES: Also the following day, Paramount, after burying the first two newsreels, at last released a film based on its footage. NEWSREEL: The following pictures, made before and during the trouble, are shown exactly as they came from the camera, without editing — as presented before the United States Senate committee in Washington. JOSH CHARLES: The newsreel claimed that the footage was not edited, but this was false. Actually, it omitted this crucial footage: the deadly first 15 seconds. So Paramount was still withholding evidence from the public. AMY GOODMAN: Another excerpt of Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried, the director, Greg Mitchell, with us. I mean, this story of what the public understood happened, with 10 people killed, talk about the role of the media, and the police working with it, whether the camera was shut off, as we saw in that first clip, or Paramount suppressing this, Greg. GREG MITCHELL: Yes. The importance of it was, to me, the mass media, right up to The New York Times, was supporting the police story, that they had no choice but to open fire on this mob. And Paramount had the footage, had the evidence. They created a newsreel, and then they decided not to release it. They created a second newsreel and didn't release that. And it took the being subpoenaed by the La Follette hearing, and the screening on Capitol Hill then forced Paramount to release a third newsreel. And even then, city officials in Chicago, in St. Louis, in Massachusetts banned its showing. So, even in its final form, it was not released in full. AMY GOODMAN: And, Greg, in this last minute, why is Paramount so significant? People might not understand that today. And what is the most important lesson to take of what took place? GREG MITCHELL: Well, you know, as you know, the movies were incredibly popular then. This was before television, so most people got their — certainly their visual news from these newsreels, which were shown in every movie theater at every movie showing. I think the lesson, among other things, is the importance of visual evidence when there's police shootings and police brutality, as we see today. That's why there's such a focus on releasing bodycams and dashboard cams. Of course, another lesson is, with the great labor activity today, that they stand on the shoulders of the people from the past who sacrificed so much. And that's why I'm happy people can watch this film right now on PBS.org, everywhere in the country. And, of course, the book has the oral histories of all eyewitnesses and many of the activists who were wounded. AMY GOODMAN: Greg Mitchell, director of Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried. And that does it for today's show. Thanks to Tia Potenza Smallwood and Susan Hughes here in Cambridge. Also thanks to Denis Moynihan and Hany Massoud. I'm Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us. The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.
© 2023 Honest Charlie
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Monday, May 29, 2023
WE AINT WOKISH
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
PICK ON PUTIN
Illustration: This is just a gallery of the dedicated demented ones that serve the Orangeman. Of course, they were still abandoned, but they remain loyal. Such a request, obviously, implies a confession of guilt, legal guilt.
Speaking of that, we may wish to revisit MAGA and what it stands for or means. The original initials were used to signify MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but I never did get any response from any of them as to when it previously was great. Even a week or decade would do, but nothing.
It has now come to mean something quite different as in "this is MAGA country now." Some have attempted to combat it by saying that the letters mean MAKING ATTORNEYS GET ATTORNEYS", which is somewhat accurate, but besides the point. At one time it attracted a variety of devotees, people angry at seeing tax go up while immigrants thrived, but now it is entirely the demented and their leaders. Many are ex-military which explains their training, but no educated which explains their ignorance. A few elites are able to make them militate against their own interests for the benefit of those elites. It has also taken on the mysticism of a cult.
**
Another such cult is overseas in Iran. People have recently been executed for "WAR AGAINST GOD," or, so I understand, Moharebrth, in the language to Iran which I will simply call Persian henceforth. The Ayatollahs have a foolproof defense for all the killings, rapes, and tortures they inflict because they are defending God. You prove otherwise.
Our separation of Church and state was written into the constitution to protect against such behavior, and this is one reason why the concept of "Christian Nationalism" is so repugnant, but growing in favor, apparently, at our present Supreme Court.
Pick on Putin
By
Honest Charlie
Ok. Here is an account of the mess in Ukraine that makes sense, so I repost it here.
Now, I see some parallels here between the U.S. and Russia. Let me explain.
In the late 60s and early 70s, many U.S. citizens were forced or chose to go to Canada. It is a slightly more sane country and moreover was not involved at that time in Viet-Nam. At the time, Canadia officials were asked if this influx bothered them, and the answer was something like "Not at all. On the whole, they are the most educated, moral, capable immigrants we have ever seen and we welcome them. They are also good for our economy. Our only reservation is what they might be willng to do if Canada were in a war."
Today, Russian citizens are leaving for Georgia. The officials have been asked if they a disturbed by this influx and the response was something like this: "Not at all. On the whole, they are the most educated, moral, capable immigrants we have ever seen and we welcome them. They are also good for our economy. Our only reservation is what they might be willng to do if Georga were in a war."
Georga, or Russia, does not seem to have a Jimmie Carter, however, to repair things after this folly is terminated.
As Mark Twain once said, "History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes."
Here is an essay supplied by Democracy Now on Putin and this essay pretty much summarizes what is really going on.
First published at Russian Dissent. Translated by Dan Erdman.
After a series of heavy defeats in September and early October, Russian troops managed to stabilize the front in early October. This was partly due to the assistance of Iranian drones in the field of combat, which were not very effective on their own, but delivered strength in numbers - about two and a half thousand of them. The Iranians themselves of course denied the deliveries, but even on the official Russian television observers kept blurting out the truth, referring to the devices' Iranian origin. At the same time, inevitable questions arose - Why, without the help of Iran, which has been under sanctions for many years, could Russian troops not get this type of modern weapon?
Another factor in the stabilization of the front was the replenishment of combat units with a large number of the mobilized. Although even according to official data most of those called up remained in the rear - having neither weapons, nor uniforms, nor training - those recruits who were sent to Ukraine turned out to be enough to increase the density of battle formations for a short time, and to plug the gaps that arose in them.
By the end of October, however, the situation began to worsen again. It was quickly discovered how to shoot drones down; this was done not with the help of modern anti-aircraft missiles, which cost more than the drones themselves, but through the use of traditional anti-aircraft guns and machine guns, the same that had been used during the Second World War. Shooting at drones with hunting rifles from balconies and windows of apartment buildings has become such a frequent occurrence in Ukraine that the authorities were forced to intervene, fearing casualties. And the arrival at the front of a large number of untrained and poorly disciplined Russian conscripts, who were often commanded by completely incompetent and unmotivated officers - themselves often freshly mobilized - led to a rapid increase in casualties, frequent squabbles with mercenaries, and a number of scandalous cases of unauthorized abandonment of combat positions. In addition, the increase in the number of troops has exacerbated problems with their supply chain (and material support has never been a strong point of the Russian army).
Nevertheless, there was another important factor holding back the Ukrainian offensive - the spring thaw. It was possible to move forward for long distances only along the roads, leaving the invaders vulnerable to artillery fire. Lacking a large arsenal of heavy equipment and wary of unnecessary losses, the Ukrainian commanders preferred to engage in positional battles, shooting at Russian units with long-range artillery, in which they had an advantage. On the right bank of the Dnieper, where the entire territory occupied by Russian troops was shot through, holding Kherson turned into a hopeless task for the defenders. The evacuation of civilian personnel began (including the pro-Russian regional administration), monuments began to be taken out of the city, including even the coffin with the body of Prince Potemkin, the founder of the city. The deputy head of the pro-Russian administration, Kirill Stremousov, said that troops began to leave for the left bank, though this was never confirmed. On the evening of November 3 (the "national unity" holiday invented during Putin's rule), the Russian flag was lowered on the building of the regional administration, although the Ukrainian units were still several tens of kilometers from the city. The Russian command is still not ready to surrender Kherson, but it is already well aware that it will not be possible to keep it.
And yet, the main problem for the Kremlin authorities is not bad news from the front, but the growing crisis in the rear. Sociological surveys show that the majority of the population is already in favor of a speedy end to the war. Numerous cases of riots and protests among conscripts demonstrate that the mobilization idea, if not completely failed, has been accompanied by unacceptably high costs. The ruling circles may, of course, disregard public opinion, but the dissatisfaction of the people who are to be given weapons must somehow be addressed. It was decided to announce the cessation of mobilization due to the fact that "all tasks were completed." However, in this case, true to their usual methods, the Kremlin leaders left the situation extremely ambiguous. Putin made a statement about the termination of mobilization, but there has been no decree or any other document abolishing the call-up of reservists. Therefore, roundups of young men continue, although not with the same intensity.
Protests continue, some of which are successful. Separate groups of conscripts ensured that they were not sent to the front, and some were even sent home. In Kazan, the rebellious mobilized men threatened the units of the Russian Guard, which had supposedly been sent in to pacify them. But it is typical that such protests did not take the form of a broad all-Russian movement. Each situation remained local, unrelated to similar protests that were taking place at times just a few kilometers away. The weakness and ineffectiveness of the protests once again revealed the characteristic problem of Russian society, in which disunity reigned. Due to the extremely weak social ties and the low level of solidarity, the ability of modern Russians to engage in spontaneous solidarity actions is minimal, and the authorities have very effectively destroyed all mechanisms of civil coordination. Russian society is like a kind of inert substance, the molecules of which practically do not interact. It remains to be seen if the country will be in this state forever, as the war and mobilization have already changed a lot.
But what bodes ill for the authorities is not the dissatisfaction of the lower classes, but the confusion, disunity and mutual claims of the upper classes. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads the Wagner Private Military Company, and the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, have not only created their own private armies, but are also openly at odds with the Russian military. These two have not only driven the commander of the Central Group of Forces, General Alexander Lapin, to submit his resignation, but reports of armed skirmishes between the army and the Wagnerites come literally every week. The struggle for Putin's legacy is already in full swing, and the ruler himself, who has lost his former grip, can only hope to contain these conflicts, not to prevent or resolve them.
A political crisis inevitably and naturally follows military failure. It remains only to wait for accumulating, insoluble problems to explode the situation.
Monday, October 17, 2022
MIDTERMS IS A COMING
THE ABSURD TIMES
Illustration: Supposedly a batter in baseball, but look at it. He is hitting a very outside pitch toward the the third BASE gRANDSTAND SEATS If not the dugout. In order to even hit that, he had to take his stance at least two feet outside of the right handed batters box. It helps to look at the location of home plate and the angle of the illustrator.
OH Hell
by Honest Charlie
Well, we are here again. Once again, another election, filled with ignorance and money, lies and mistortions.
SOME OF THE FOOLISHNESS
I've never gotten an answer to my question: Maga? Make America Great Again? What year or decade did you have in mind? They never answer, just slink off and unfollow me. Another one was this guy who said "I don't think Mrs Biden should call herself doctor -- she's not medical." I told him to take out his own Ph.D. diploma and he will see that x has been awarded the Doctorate of y and is entitled to all of the rights and privileges thereto appertaining. (I never saw him again, either, Maybe I have to work on my people skills? Or, seeing what has happened with #45's career, could it stand for MAKING ATTORNEYS GET ATTORNEYS"?
HERSHEL
Hershell Walker is perhaps the defining MAGA Republican candidate. His hypocrasies and idiocies are well-known to those who follow this insanity and of no interest to those who do. They include quotes such as "If you think I'm crazy, you think Jesus is too," "I finished at the top of my class," although he never graduated, and so on. His ignorance and stupidity is blatently obvious and needn't be further described here. Even the abortions he subsidezed while being against all abortions is not worth noting as he is a Republican.
Further back, however, there are some interesting facts. He was once an outstanding professional football player and could have been in a class rivaling another Mississippi favorite Bret Farve, but retired. He decided that as he was so magnificant an althlete, he would become a great basebal player. Now, I am older that Walker and so when I had a chance to play [I was offered the opportunty after I pitched a no-hitter against Eau Clair, the Cub's AAA minor league team) but declined it. A major reason was that Baseball was the only professional sport to indulge in indentured servitude though a device called the "reserve clause" which meant if you did not like the conditions a team offered you quiting or accepting were your only options. You could NOT NEGOTIATE OR PLAY WITH ANOTHER TEAM! This stayed in effect until Curt Flood, a brilliant player who came up with the Cubs and therefore was dealt to St. Louis quit and filed suit. While his case moved up to the Supreme Court, he sat in Africa doing oil paintings of some quality. When the case was finally heard by the Supreme Court and the clause rendered unconstitutional, I was too old to even consider starting a baseball career and I smirked as George Steinbrenner signed CatfishHunter to a million dallare contract, way above normal salary grades, but worth it.
Well, I was a pitcher that most teams considered a hitter and that I had better learn a different position. I saw Walker briefly in one of his games. He caught a fly ball way out in left center field and ran along or against, I mean horozontally, feet to the wall, for some time, only stopping because he had lost the force or realized he was going too far towards left. That was not the significant incident. Most significant was seeing him at bat. Now I was one of those pitchers who decided what and where to throw depending upon the batter's position and stance. It was almost completely non-verbal. One could tell the weak spot just by looking. Hershell at bat was ridiculous. His strike zone seemed ridiculously elongated. I mean, it seemed to be seven feet high and nobody could reach every pitch in that zone. It was a minor league game and I understood his average was .222, far higher than I would have expected, but it may have been a class A team: I had no idea, but did wish with a month to prepare I could easily strike him out, no doubt about it. Well, his is in Gerogia, so he could win.
OZ
Is Dorothy anywhere near? The Republican is a TV Doctor with #45's imprimature and lives, usually in New Jersey. His other 9 mansions are scattered about. He wants to be Senator from Pennsylvania. His opponent has the handicap of being both honest and right, but Oz has the support of the stupid. The Governatorial candidate on the Republican side thinks conception when the date sits down to dinner. This is simply too insane to let stand.
FINALLY
There is no point in subjecting ourselves to even considering all of the human scum comprising MAGA voters and actors. All one needs to know is that if there is an "R" net to their name, it means this one is actually willing to admit their shortcomings and has no trouble in locating them.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Lawn Mowing
THE ABSURD TIMES
I llustration: This is from the great Latuff and is posted here about the Israeli attacks of
the weekend and the interview concerns those. Before simply passing it by, please note that this illustration was done in 2019 during the previous administration. Mark
Twain is quoted as saying "History doesn't repeat itself – it rhymes."
What Happened?
By
Leith the Lucid
This is an interview about the obnoxious behavior of Israel. It is really not a religious issue so much as it is greed and disgust. It does fit in with the great replacement theory somewhat. See, the idea here is to replace the pure white citizens (people who in Stalin's terms become "useful idiots") with low socialist sorts (you know, social security, medicare, safety net programs in general) who are black or brown and even yellow skinned and vote Democratic or are non-MAGA in general. The last version of this term I have heard is MOTHERS AGAINST GREGG ABBOT. At any rate, it is time to get this out and over with. I'm tired.
The death toll from three days of an Israeli military bombardment on Gaza has reached at least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children. At least 350 Palestinians were wounded. Bombing has since stopped after Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group agreed on Sunday to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt, and border crossings reopened on Monday to allow bare necessities in. We go to Gaza to speak with the journalist and activist Issam Adwan, who says Israel's military operation is meant to bolster the current Israeli government ahead of November elections. "They are using the Palestinian blood to promote a campaign for certain individuals," says Adwan.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: In Gaza, at least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children, have been killed in three days of an Israeli military bombardment before a ceasefire began Sunday. At least 350 Palestinians were wounded. Palestinians accused the Israeli government of launching the attack in an effort to build political support ahead of November's elections. Palestinian children who survived the Israeli assault described horrifying scenes. This is a 9-year-old girl named Leen Matar who was pulled from the rubble.
LEEN MATAR: [translated] I was at my grandfather's house when suddenly the rubble started to fall on us. And we started screaming, and the neighbors came to rescue us. … We don't want to keep going through this. Every year there are strikes, killings of children and injuries. I am happy that I am alive, because I always had a dream to fulfill, which is to become a doctor and help people in such times, to help them because I have been through many problems like this.
AMY GOODMAN: Israel defended the bombardment of Gaza, saying it was a preemptive operation targeting militants with the group Islamic Jihad. Two senior Islamic Jihad commanders were killed in the attack. During the bombardment, Israel also cut off fuel to Gaza, leading to blackouts across the region.
For more, we go to Gaza now to speak with Issam Adwan, Palestinian journalist, activist, researcher and new father.
Issam, welcome back to Democracy Now! This ceasefire has been declared between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel. Can you talk about what has happened over the weekend?
ISSAM ADWAN: Thank you for hosting me.
The scene is, as usually, terrifying for me as a new father of a 2-month infant, as [inaudible] on the other part that we are expecting everything from the Israeli side even during the times of the ceasefire, because several instances before indicated the violation of the times of the ceasefire. The situation is horrifying. We have witnessed 44 Palestinians dying, including 15 children and six women, which represents half of the casualties from the Palestinian side. There are no words to describe the war crimes that have been committed, even with the claims of the Israeli authority that they are targeting PIJ's senior members, military senior members. This included, of course, targeting of residential buildings, killing children and women, of course.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what started this?
ISSAM ADWAN: So, what started it, just to correct you a little bit in your introduction, that you mentioned that Israel cut fuel supplies to Gaza during the bombardment launched on Gaza, of the operation, of course, but it happened four days before the escalation started, when the Israeli administration decided to close both borders, at Kerem Shalom crossing and Erez crossing, which they are the main crossings of the goods that enters into Gaza, as well as the medical equipment and fuel, as well. So, when they decided to do that, it came along with the provocative action to detain Bassam al-Saadi, a senior member of the PIJ in the West Bank, of course, with no response by the political parties here in Gaza. They have added more violence with the targeting of Tayseer al-Jabari, a senior member of the PIJ in Gaza. Just to give you a sense of understanding about Tayseer al-Jabari, he had been more of a political person rather than being a military.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the two Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders who were killed and Israel's assertion that this was a preemptive attack on a possible attack against Israel?
ISSAM ADWAN: I don't know how to describe this properly, but what preemptive attacks, when included that the international laws, especially the international humanitarian laws, which prohibit targeting buildings and areas which contains hundreds of civilians? We are talking about Gaza, that is about 365 square kilometers, where 2 millions of people are put with an intentional policy to suffocate every norms of their existence. So, how you can possibly target senior members of the PIJ? And as I stated before, they were more of political persons rather than being military, so, significantly, saying that they were not of a great threat to the Israeli administration.
But following what has been happening inside — I mean, the dispute happening inside the Israeli administration ahead of the pre-elections coming in the future, that they are using the Palestinian blood to promote a campaign for certain individuals, especially with the decreasing of the public support provided to Lapid and Gantz, in particular, during the run of the current government.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the Israeli elections coming up in November and how you feel they weigh in here.
ISSAM ADWAN: It's actually the same. No matter who runs the Israeli government, it's always the same, with the same policy to suffocate the Gaza Strip. We're talking about 15 years of blockade. This blockade killed every existence of people living in Gaza. And there were several individuals running the Israeli government of different opinions and different views and different policies to deal with Gaza, but all the policies were met on a one goal that the Palestinians in Gaza do not deserve to live a normal life. This extent leads us to think that this change inside the Israeli government is just a minor change, just an appearance change of who's leading the government, but the policy remains the same thing, either being the right wing or left wing of Israelis.
AMY GOODMAN: Now talk about the situation in Gaza. What does it mean to have the blackout? And the number of casualties, what's the latest figure? We heard 44, more than a third of them children, over 300 people injured. What's happening in the hospitals? And how do you get these figures?
ISSAM ADWAN: Yes. With the — as I mentioned, as I highlighted before, that the Israeli administration decided — implemented the closure of the Gaza Strip four days ahead of the operation start in Gaza, including a shortage — including blocking the entrance of fuel, which is a — which is Gaza mainly depends to run eight hours a day in the normal cases. With the shortage of the fuel, of course, it influenced — it hugely influenced the capacity of the hospitals to treat those injuries and also to put those dead people in the proper places. This is an indicator of the harsh policies that the Israeli administration has been dealing with Gaza.
And I don't know how to describe this in a human-side level, because even to me personally, I have experienced even — because the media mainly focusing on Gaza whenever there are hundreds of people dying, hundreds of houses bombed, but there are other times during these 15 years of blockade people are dying because of the poverty. People are dying because of the lack of hope, of the lack of job opportunities. And that is what the media is neglecting to cover on the situation of Gaza.
AMY GOODMAN: Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad agreed to a Cairo-mediated truce after three days of intense rocket attacks by Israeli forces.
TAREK SELMI: [translated] Now, for sure, we have reached a deal, and there is an Egyptian commitment to release the prisoners Khalil Awawdeh and Bassam al-Saadi as soon as possible from the Israeli jails. We announced a ceasefire by 11:30, and we welcome the Egyptian efforts that were made to end this battle.
AMY GOODMAN: That's an Islamic Jihad spokesperson. Issam Adwan, can you talk about Egypt's involvement here and where you think this is going at this point?
ISSAM ADWAN: Yeah. As I said before, the ceasefire is never a safe solution for the people of Gaza, because it moves no tangible improvements on the situation in Gaza of day by day and from a war to war, especially the wars of 2008, '12, '14 and 2021 and this current one. The infrastructure of Gaza is hugely damaged. The medical expertise and equipment are barely found.
So, the solution and the ceasefire that happened between the IJ and the Israeli side, there were three conditions, three conditions revealed from the Egyptian mediation, who has been positively in the process, that first to release Sheikh Bassam al-Saadi, who was detained by the Israeli government in the previous days ahead of the escalation, and releasing the Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, who has been in a hunger strike for more than a hundred days, with an intentional medical negligence to transfer him to medical care systems. Those demands, they are indications of how much the situation is worsening day by day. And that's why the situation is not improving.
And people do not feel safety, because Israel can determine a new round of escalation throughout assassinating a valuable target, as they claim, despite the fact that even the Israeli media outlets, they do not recognize this as a big of achievement, the killing — and I mean by that the killing of Mansour and Tayseer al-Jabari. As I said before, they were more of a political target rather than being a military. So there is no significant achievement recognized, but the Israeli government keeps bragging about it.
AMY GOODMAN: Israel is saying that a number of the Palestinians killed were killed by the backfiring of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's own missiles. Your response, Issam Adwan?
ISSAM ADWAN: I believe the Israeli side used a video, an anonymous video, that shows nothing, in the middle of the darkness, that during the bombardment of Jabalia refugee camp. So there were no, I would say, clear indications that this is by the PIJ's misfired rocket. We have seen huge bombardment launched on Gaza during the times between 9 p.m. to 12 p.m. During these times, more than 12 targets were hit on Jabalia camp. So there were no clear identification of whether this.
But let's take into consideration the exclusive power. The Israeli side has always undermined the potential, the rocket's potential, of the Palestinian resistance, and now they are recognizing that this missile — this rocket could kill seven individuals, seven Palestinians. I don't think this makes any sense, because Israel exaggerates whenever the exaggeration in its benefits, and they undermine the potential of the Palestinians whenever they see it fit.
AMY GOODMAN: You tweeted, "The ceasefire is never a time to celebrate for Gazans, but rather a moment to mourn the deaths of innocent civilians killed by the Israeli warplane — To barely survive wondering 'am I going to be next?'" Can we end where we started? You're a new father. You have a 2-month-old little girl named Sara. Can you talk about what you see the future as in Gaza?
ISSAM ADWAN: It's really terrifying during thinking about it all the years, even before Sara came to my life, that I have a huge sense of guilt that I brought her into life. It's really pessimist to talk about it, but inside of me it eats me alive that I brought a child into a situation that never rested. I was born in 1993, lived my entire life under the occupation, and for the past 15 years I have been denied the majority of my rights, including the right to have a proper education outside or mitigation in cases of illness. So, imagining the situation applies to my daughter Sara is terrifying me the most, because being a journalist and being exposed to — being exposed, hugely exposed, to cases of slaughtering children and women, it keeps echoing in my mind, it keeps echoing in my heart, and it eats me from inside, that is it going to be next, and if it's not me, it could be my Sara.
AMY GOODMAN: Issam Adwan, we want to thank you for being with us, Palestinian journalist, activist and researcher, joining us from Gaza.
