I hate that the US is the world’s policeman but we can’t let religious fanatics harass our citizens and partners. I say “fanatics” because they have to know we’re going to punch them in the mouth when they get too cocky. And yet, they don’t care, do they? And don’t get me started on religious justification for oppression…
Thank you, Greg. Next, could you do a piece on who is funding the pro-terrorist protestors? Apparently, Sri Lankan-American billionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who has extensive ties to the Chinese government, is supporting them, probably along with Iran, Russia, China, and any others who want to cause and promote chaos, violence, division, and antisemitism in the US. One of their latest targets was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
I still have trouble with the idea that all protests supporting Gaza are "pro terrorist." A whole lot are simply pro-civilian. A few spouting Post-Colonial Theory are doing just that--spouting theory and WAY overgeneralizing it. There do seem to be those financed by those who want to further divide America. But to lump ALL protests as part of that strikes me as, well, WAY overgeneralizing.
I think when Amethyst said "pro-terrorist protestors," she was differentiating them from the regular protestors. Most of the protestors are people rightly outraged at Bibi.
Winston Churchill said, “I no longer listen to what people say, I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies.” Rachel Maddow often says something similar: Don't watch what they say. Watch what they do.
What they say:
We're for a ceasefire and peace.
What they do:
Targeted Jewish-owned businesses. Targeted Black and Jewish Democratic politicians, while leaving Republicans alone. Defaced a cemetery. Used a watermelon symbol against Black politicians, claiming it's a Palestinian symbol. Blocked freeways and major roads. Screamed at patients and staff at a hospital for cancer patients.
How do you know which they is which? How do you know that those who say are always the ones who also do. I obviously deplore the ones who do as you describe. The guy who organized the Sloan Kettering is clearly a pro-terrorist flake. But that doesn't mean that everyone who attended subscribed to his views. It was generally a weird protest, based on dislike of a donor.
It's rather like the way Fox labels all the folks who protested about George Floyd "Antifa." Some people were clearly hooligans. Others who showed signs of violence were reacting to the moment, often because of the countermeasures. The vast majority were peaceful and had a point.
Anti-semitism, like all prejudices, is based on generalizing untrue but pervasive stereotypes. It behooves us to guard against that about ANY group. Certainly call out the defacing, the actual attacks, the name calling. But call out the people who are actually doing it, not all who deplore Bibi and his ways. Because THOSE have gone beyond the pale.
I have a MASSIVE amount of trouble believing that people protesting the Israel-Hamas war and pointing out the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are being "pro-terrorist." In fact, it sounds like propaganda specifically designed to paint EVERY Palestinian as a terrorist, to support Israel. If someone's support of something or someone or a whole country's policies depend on denigration of the other side, there may be a problem with the support in the first place.
As I told Susan, I think Amethyst wrote "pro-terrorist protestors" to differentiate them from regular ones, and not to suggest that all protestors are pro-terrorist, as they are clearly not.
In this climate, it is NECESSARY to identify that then. Amethyst wrote "the pro-terrorist protestors," not, "the pro-terrorist protestors, as opposed to those protesting for peace in Israel or Gaza," or "the pro-terrorist protestors, not that all of them are pro-terrorist, of course." Everyone has started painting with HUGE brushes, and it simply has to be said. I even did it the other day about people who like cats! Israel/Hamas seems more important to discuss more specifically than cats.
I'm still trying to figure out what the Sloan Kettering thing was all about. I guess it's like throwing soup at Van Goghs? They are trying to make apathetic Americans not like them? Weird.
yeah. apparently it was about accepting a donation from a guy who had pressed Harvard over the students who protested there. I can think of a lot of donors who really deserve protesting, but against THEM. It seems akin to calling some group "communist" because George Soros had a foundation that made donations to the group.
I still think that the Anti-semitism on the rise right now is home-grown, inherent, and has little to do with Hamas. It is way more a part of the relentless appeal of the GOP to our worst instincts. It wasn't "polite" to be overtly Anti-Semitic until trump gave permission to be anti-Other in general. It is rising at this point because the two parties currently fighting in the Middle east happen to be Jewish and Muslim. If a terrorist group attacked a bunch of white South Africans, the tide would swing to color based racist. I can understand Jewish sensitivity, but if they think Anti-Semitism vanished after Hitler was defeated, they are living in dreamland. Irrational prejudice doesn't die: it just lurks sometimes.
It was organized by a woman named Nerdeen Kiswani because the hospital accepted a $400 million donation from "Zionist" billionaire Ken Griffin. Griffin is Presbyterian. He is an apparently moderate Republican, and he has generously donated to many charities and causes.
Really, the GOP is not that evolved. They ain't got the balls to be terrorists, yet everything they and their master trumpoid want is exactly that Houthi level of every-second control and lack of human disrespect...dictatorship, as it translates in our system.
Thanks, Greg. Great info is a winning cargo in the ship of state...an armed ship of state.
Looking at several of the pictures of child soldiers with weapons, I did think that it was a Republican wet dream. If we were to get complacent and give them more time to "rule," it could very well come to that. The PTSD in some of those children's eyes is haunting.
Very disturbing human behavior. I believe that the leaders are insane. Not the average person who is just trying to get along. War is hell.
The Houti treatment of women is a perversion of the Islamic religion’s attempt to protect widows and orphaned children. It’s a sorry situation.
When a country wakes up and takes advantage of women’s ability to contribute, it doubles its power of thinking, solving problems and prospering. Yemen has a long way to go.
The U. S. took the big step when my mother was 21 years old. She got to vote for t first time in our history. We’re still not perfect, but getting better every year. Billserle.com
Awareness is the key to all that ails a civilized society. Awareness and education. Now I know who the Houthi's are and what their goal is. And I can imagine who is providing support to them. Now that I have this knowledge, I can start focusing my energy on ending their destruction. Thank you for this clear-minded, intelligent explanation.
"Bottom line, the Houthis are a Yemeni Taliban: yet another group of violent religious extremists who believe their interpretation of Islam is the only pure one, who hate Jews, hate Israel, hate America, and who treat women and children like livestock. This is who is terrorizing the Red Sea."
First time I've seen the idea that women and children are being treated like livestock. Isn't this the same idea behind so called pro-life in the U.S.A.?
Thank you for this. And just think if Biden had done nothing after the attack on the ships in the Red Sea. "Too soft on terrorists" would be the Fox News chant. But your "cruising for a bruising" did make me laugh. I haven't heard that in years. I've been in California too long.
Thank you once again Greg for explaining this situation.
Thanks, Helen.
I hate that the US is the world’s policeman but we can’t let religious fanatics harass our citizens and partners. I say “fanatics” because they have to know we’re going to punch them in the mouth when they get too cocky. And yet, they don’t care, do they? And don’t get me started on religious justification for oppression…
Hamas used horrific sexual violence, raping and mutilating Israeli women and girls on October 7. - NYT 🥷🏻 🇮🇱
Yes they did. Gruesome, horrible atrocities.
May the guilty pay!
I'd much rather have us be the policeman than China.
Thank you, Greg. Next, could you do a piece on who is funding the pro-terrorist protestors? Apparently, Sri Lankan-American billionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who has extensive ties to the Chinese government, is supporting them, probably along with Iran, Russia, China, and any others who want to cause and promote chaos, violence, division, and antisemitism in the US. One of their latest targets was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
I still have trouble with the idea that all protests supporting Gaza are "pro terrorist." A whole lot are simply pro-civilian. A few spouting Post-Colonial Theory are doing just that--spouting theory and WAY overgeneralizing it. There do seem to be those financed by those who want to further divide America. But to lump ALL protests as part of that strikes me as, well, WAY overgeneralizing.
I think when Amethyst said "pro-terrorist protestors," she was differentiating them from the regular protestors. Most of the protestors are people rightly outraged at Bibi.
Winston Churchill said, “I no longer listen to what people say, I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies.” Rachel Maddow often says something similar: Don't watch what they say. Watch what they do.
What they say:
We're for a ceasefire and peace.
What they do:
Targeted Jewish-owned businesses. Targeted Black and Jewish Democratic politicians, while leaving Republicans alone. Defaced a cemetery. Used a watermelon symbol against Black politicians, claiming it's a Palestinian symbol. Blocked freeways and major roads. Screamed at patients and staff at a hospital for cancer patients.
These are not grassroots protests.
How do you know which they is which? How do you know that those who say are always the ones who also do. I obviously deplore the ones who do as you describe. The guy who organized the Sloan Kettering is clearly a pro-terrorist flake. But that doesn't mean that everyone who attended subscribed to his views. It was generally a weird protest, based on dislike of a donor.
It's rather like the way Fox labels all the folks who protested about George Floyd "Antifa." Some people were clearly hooligans. Others who showed signs of violence were reacting to the moment, often because of the countermeasures. The vast majority were peaceful and had a point.
Anti-semitism, like all prejudices, is based on generalizing untrue but pervasive stereotypes. It behooves us to guard against that about ANY group. Certainly call out the defacing, the actual attacks, the name calling. But call out the people who are actually doing it, not all who deplore Bibi and his ways. Because THOSE have gone beyond the pale.
I have a MASSIVE amount of trouble believing that people protesting the Israel-Hamas war and pointing out the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are being "pro-terrorist." In fact, it sounds like propaganda specifically designed to paint EVERY Palestinian as a terrorist, to support Israel. If someone's support of something or someone or a whole country's policies depend on denigration of the other side, there may be a problem with the support in the first place.
As I told Susan, I think Amethyst wrote "pro-terrorist protestors" to differentiate them from regular ones, and not to suggest that all protestors are pro-terrorist, as they are clearly not.
In this climate, it is NECESSARY to identify that then. Amethyst wrote "the pro-terrorist protestors," not, "the pro-terrorist protestors, as opposed to those protesting for peace in Israel or Gaza," or "the pro-terrorist protestors, not that all of them are pro-terrorist, of course." Everyone has started painting with HUGE brushes, and it simply has to be said. I even did it the other day about people who like cats! Israel/Hamas seems more important to discuss more specifically than cats.
I'm still trying to figure out what the Sloan Kettering thing was all about. I guess it's like throwing soup at Van Goghs? They are trying to make apathetic Americans not like them? Weird.
yeah. apparently it was about accepting a donation from a guy who had pressed Harvard over the students who protested there. I can think of a lot of donors who really deserve protesting, but against THEM. It seems akin to calling some group "communist" because George Soros had a foundation that made donations to the group.
I still think that the Anti-semitism on the rise right now is home-grown, inherent, and has little to do with Hamas. It is way more a part of the relentless appeal of the GOP to our worst instincts. It wasn't "polite" to be overtly Anti-Semitic until trump gave permission to be anti-Other in general. It is rising at this point because the two parties currently fighting in the Middle east happen to be Jewish and Muslim. If a terrorist group attacked a bunch of white South Africans, the tide would swing to color based racist. I can understand Jewish sensitivity, but if they think Anti-Semitism vanished after Hitler was defeated, they are living in dreamland. Irrational prejudice doesn't die: it just lurks sometimes.
It was organized by a woman named Nerdeen Kiswani because the hospital accepted a $400 million donation from "Zionist" billionaire Ken Griffin. Griffin is Presbyterian. He is an apparently moderate Republican, and he has generously donated to many charities and causes.
So basically the GOP's policies, then?
Really, the GOP is not that evolved. They ain't got the balls to be terrorists, yet everything they and their master trumpoid want is exactly that Houthi level of every-second control and lack of human disrespect...dictatorship, as it translates in our system.
Thanks, Greg. Great info is a winning cargo in the ship of state...an armed ship of state.
Thanks, my friend!
GQP houses many domestic terrorists, indeed.
Looking at several of the pictures of child soldiers with weapons, I did think that it was a Republican wet dream. If we were to get complacent and give them more time to "rule," it could very well come to that. The PTSD in some of those children's eyes is haunting.
It's generational abuse. I don't know how to recover from that.
Well played.
A clinic. Thanks Greg!
Thanks, Geoff.
Very disturbing human behavior. I believe that the leaders are insane. Not the average person who is just trying to get along. War is hell.
The Houti treatment of women is a perversion of the Islamic religion’s attempt to protect widows and orphaned children. It’s a sorry situation.
When a country wakes up and takes advantage of women’s ability to contribute, it doubles its power of thinking, solving problems and prospering. Yemen has a long way to go.
The U. S. took the big step when my mother was 21 years old. She got to vote for t first time in our history. We’re still not perfect, but getting better every year. Billserle.com
With Biden, we will continue to get better. With Trump, we get to be more like the Houthis.
Rid the world of toxic males and pirates 🏴☠️ Peace on Earth!
2 Navy SEALs lost at sea, were helping seize Iranian warheads being sent to the Houthis. 😔
Oh, dear...
Sad indeed. https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-missiles-iran-seizure-us-8112fbadd3b0689c71a92890895a9368
Amen.
I didn't know how much I needed this until I read it. The humor and thoroughness of your writing is compelling.
But what I really needed was your attitude about the houthis. Those skinny short ugly little bastards needed to be spanked and unle joe knew that.
Very good research. Keep writing. We need you.
Thanks, Suzanne!
I must admit I knew very little about the Houthis before. Thanks again, Greg, for another eye-opening newsletter!
Thanks, Rose.
Thanks Greg! Much needed to understand wtf Houthi militants are.
Thanks, Christine.
The Biden Conundrum of 2024!
Indeed.
On purely economic grounds, the Houthi are raising costs to EVERYONE by causing shippers to take the much longer route around the Horn.
Exactly. The world should be united around this, and pretty much is.
Awareness is the key to all that ails a civilized society. Awareness and education. Now I know who the Houthi's are and what their goal is. And I can imagine who is providing support to them. Now that I have this knowledge, I can start focusing my energy on ending their destruction. Thank you for this clear-minded, intelligent explanation.
Thanks, Gail!
"Bottom line, the Houthis are a Yemeni Taliban: yet another group of violent religious extremists who believe their interpretation of Islam is the only pure one, who hate Jews, hate Israel, hate America, and who treat women and children like livestock. This is who is terrorizing the Red Sea."
First time I've seen the idea that women and children are being treated like livestock. Isn't this the same idea behind so called pro-life in the U.S.A.?
It is exactly the same idea. Exactly.
Thank you for this. And just think if Biden had done nothing after the attack on the ships in the Red Sea. "Too soft on terrorists" would be the Fox News chant. But your "cruising for a bruising" did make me laugh. I haven't heard that in years. I've been in California too long.
Thanks, Anita. I contemplated whether to spell it "cruisin' for a bruisin'" but decided against...
I am so grateful for your research about the Houthis, Greg. Many thanks!
Thanks, Lynell.