'Honestly, I prefer the IDF': Palestinians in Gaza speak out on Hamas abuse

Oh, the ignorance that abounds in Western society and its education. TD

Case in point:  Denial of Hamas' October 7 massacre spreads in US   Probably among many who cannot find Israel on a map .   " 'False flag attack': Washington Post reports that US groups saying Israel staged attack to justify 'genocide' in Gaza grow on social media despite ample proof of Hamas' atrocities.

"According to The Washington Post, the number of massacre deniers in the United States is currently small, but growing. Some claim the IDF carried out the massacre to "justify genocide in Gaza," while others believe some hostages were kidnapped by Israel. Some are even confident that the United States is behind the attack." . . .

"These false narratives have circulated on social media, and users on platforms like TikTok and Reddit are already blaming Israel for a "false flag" attack – a staged attack designed to justify a harsh retaliatory action.

"This phenomenon is troubling Jewish leaders and researchers who see a connection between it and Holocaust denial. They also identify similarities between the denial of the massacre and conspiracy theories with antisemitic foundations, including supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory." . . .

Here in New York:

'We received first calls from survivors who were sexually assaulted on October 7' "While the world continues to deny the gender-based crimes committed on the October 7 massacre, care workers confirm, for the first time, that several survivors, young women who attended the Nova Music Festival, contacted them and reported that they were sexually assaulted by Hamas terrorists."

"It needs to be said, but gently: alongside the women who will never be able to speak again, some women survived Hamas's gender-based violence on October 7. "I can say that the care centers of the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry have received several initial calls from survivors who have been sexually assaulted," reveals Mali Orgad, director of the Center for the Treatment and Protection of Trauma and Crisis at the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry.

'People are comfortable saying Israel doesn't have a right to exist because they're not afraid of getting the s*** beaten out of them'

"After his heart was broken in Be’eri and Hostage Square, actor Michael Rapaport settles scores with antisemites and bleeding-heart American left; he shares what he learned during his visit to Israel, explaining how despite his image, he's not really hot-headed."

 'Honestly, I prefer the IDF': Palestinians in Gaza speak out on Hamas abuse (ynetnews.com)  "Interrogated Palestinians reveal the level of abuse and neglect they've endured by Hamas, even going so far as saying they'd be much better off with the IDF in charge because being among Israeli soldiers 'felt safe'

Palestinian security official shot for calling Hamas 'Iranian proxy'  West Bank officer slams terror group for 'ruining the nation'; operatives of Hamas ally Islamic 

Jihad track him down, shoot him in the leg and post video of him writhing in pain online; 

Fatah calls for their head

IDF commandeers underground Hamas HQ, retrieving bodies of five slain soldiers and hostages    "The IDF successfully completed an operation to dismantle and destroy the northern underground headquarters of Hamas in Jabaliya, located in the northern Gaza Strip. During the operation, documentation from a network of giant tunnels was revealed, and the bodies of Eden Zacharia, Elia Toledano, Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, Sgt. Ron Sherman, and Corporal Nick Baizer were retrieved." . . .

Expecting a Response to an Email Is Racist, Trump Prosecutor Suggests in Leaked Emails

 Expecting a Response to an Email Is Racist, Trump Prosecutor Suggests in Leaked Emails   Washington Free Beacon

"When everything is racist....nothing is racist. This is just absurd." Nancy Hrabak Ciraldo

"The district attorney prosecuting former president Donald Trump in Georgia suggested in an email exchange earlier this month that racism was at play when one of Trump's attorneys pressed her team for a response to his emails.

"Trump defense lawyer Steven Sadow requested responses from District Attorney Fani Willis's team to a series of emails he sent, according to the New York Times, which obtained portions of the conversation. After Executive District Attorney Daysha Young replied by suggesting the prosecuting attorneys were being treated with disrespect because they're black, Willis sent an email to Sadow affirming Young's charge.

" 'In the legal community (and the world at large) some people will never be able to respect African Americans and/or women as their equal and counterpart. That is a burden you do not experience. Further, some are so used to doing it they are not even aware they are doing it while others are intentional in their continued disrespect," Willis, who is black, said in an email to Sadow and Trump's other defense attorneys, most of whom are white men.

"The conversation began Jan. 5 when Sadow told the prosecution, "For the life of me, I cannot understand why you refuse to respond to the series of emails below." Young, who is black, responded to him five days later, saying that she and Willis "are both aware, especially as an African American woman some find it difficult to treat us respectfully.' " . . .

Taking our Pride to the skies with Delight Flights; first-ever LGBTQ+ inspired plane -

Taking our Pride to the skies with Delight Flights & first-ever LGBTQ+ inspired plane - YouTube   "From our inclusive flag raising at HQ, to our parade in the sky on the first & only U.S. Pride aircraft, it’s easy to see that we’re just plane proud. This month, to commemorate Pride, Alaska surprised not one—but four lucky flights on a newly decorated Pride-inspired plane supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The plane, the first of its kind in the U.S., will fly throughout our network for the next year. Learn more: https://blog.alaskaair.com/values/pri...

"So this is what Alaska airline spends their money on rather than ensuring they have safe aircraft and instead we have windows blowing out. Good to know they have their priorities straight. Sickening."

Alaska Airlines Had Its Recent Woes Parodied In An 'SNL' Fake Ad (uproxx.com)

"Sometimes SNL just knocks it out of the park, hitting on a subject that resonates so strongly that we can’t help but talk about it days — sometimes years — later. The most recent viral sketch happened last Saturday when SNL aired a fake commercial for Alaska Airlines addressing the airline’s recent troubles. And by recent troubles we’re talking about that time when the door plug flew off the plane mid-flight — sucking out shirts, phones, and a tray table while passengers sat in the plane unsure of whether or not they’d live to tell about it." . . .

Boeing CEO Assures Nervous Fliers That All 737 Aircraft Are Built To The Highest Diversity Standards | Babylon Bee 

  "Amid growing concerns over safety after several devastating mechanical failures on Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun assured hesitant travelers that all their aircraft are built according to the highest standards of diversity

" 'I know everyone is nervous about the doors of their planes blowing off the aircraft mid-flight or the entire fuselage buckling due to faulty parts, but let me assure you: Boeing is diverse," said Calhoun in a CNBC interview. "In fact, our design and manufacturing crews are the most diverse in our company's history. Nothing to worry about.' " . . .

Chicago Organized Theft Ring Allegedly Led by Newly Arrived Illegal Aliens

 Breitbart (breitbart.com)  

"The Chicago suburb of Oak Brook has been beset with an increase in retail theft and burglaries over the last year, and police say the leading culprits have been recently arrived illegal border crossers who have filtered out to the suburb from Chicago.

"The Oak Brook Police Department reports that 47 recently arrived illegal aliens have been arrested in connection with retail thefts and home and car burglaries just since October and more than 175 since last year, according to Newsbreak.

"Officials of the suburb — which is only about 25 minutes west of downtown Chicago and only minutes south of O’Hare International Airport where hundreds of illegals have been sheltering for months — noted that the thieves often use bags lined with sheets of tinfoil in an attempt to thwart store anti-theft protection devices at entrances, the New York Post reported.

"The issue has been ongoing in the suburb, especially inside the Oak Brook shopping mall.

"As far back as 2021 the Oak Brook Police Department reported a gang of about 14 individuals entering stores and stealing all they could carry." . . .

Hamas official says ‘no chance’ hostages will return to Israel after Netanyahu rejects deal | Israel-Gaza war |

They watch the pro-Hamas demonstrators in our streets and know Israel has no chance. Can we assume this is the purpose behind the street riots? Do the students and activists not care what was done to the innocent Israelis on Oct 6? TD

 The Guardian

Netanyahu had earlier dismissed the militant group’s conditions to end the war, which he said included leaving Hamas in power and Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territory.

. . ."Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to pursue the offensive in Gaza until “total victory”, but commentators in Israel have questioned the conduct of the war, arguing that the offensive’s goals are unrealistic, accusing the Israeli prime minister of indecision.

"In his statement on Sunday, Netanyahu also repeated his strong line on the issue of Palestinian statehood. “I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River,” he said.

"On Saturday, Netanyahu rejected Joe Biden’s call for a Palestinian state after the war. His office said that in talks on Friday with the US president, Netanyahu “reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty”.

"On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that Israel’s war against Hamas had killed 25,000 Palestinians, with UN chief António Guterres describing the scale of civilian killings as “heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable”.

"Most of the casualties were women and children, the ministry said, and thousands more bodies were likely to remain uncounted under rubble across Gaza." . . .

Israel Gaza: Hamas raped and mutilated women on 7 October, BBC hears  . . ."Police have privately shown journalists a single horrific testimony that they filmed of a woman who was at the Nova festival site during the attack.

"My people!"

"She describes seeing Hamas fighters gang rape a woman and mutilate her, before the last of her attackers shot her in the head as he continued to rape her.

"In the video, the woman known as Witness S mimes the attackers picking up and passing the victim from one to another.

" 'She was alive," the witness says. "She was bleeding from her back."

"She goes on to detail how the men cut off parts of the victim's body during the assault.

" 'They sliced her breast and threw it on the street," she says. "They were playing with it." . . .

"The victim was passed to another man in uniform, she continues.

"He penetrated her, and shot her in the head before he finished. He didn't even pick up

 his pants; he shoots and ejaculates."

"One man we spoke to from the festival site said he heard the "noises and screams of people being murdered, raped, decapitated' "...

Josh Hawley takes it to Mayorkas. Over Hamas supporters in his department.

Dementia And Double Standards

  Issues & Insights (issuesinsights.com)

"Yeah, sure, we know, the corporate media are partisan hacks. But every once in a while their malfeasance is so flagrant it’s worth pointing out."

"At an event in North Carolina last Thursday, President Joe Biden called out for a congresswoman with whom he claimed he’d just been photographed. She was, at the time, in Washington, D.C.

At an event in New Hampshire the next day, presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared to mix up Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley when talking about Jan. 6.

Guess which mental lapse was ignored while the other was covered by the New York Times, USA Today, CNN, ABC News, The Hill, PBS, and countless other news outlets.

About a minute into his speech about the taxpayer money he’s dumping into high-speed internet, Biden veered off his teleprompter and apparently forgot where he was, or what day it was.

“Where’s Deborah?” he asks, referring to Rep. Deborah Ross, who was in Washington. “Did she — I just had my picture taken with her. That’s probably why she left. (Laughter.) No, all kidding aside — but, anyway — you — oh, she couldn’t be here, actually. That’s not true. I got it mixed up.”

Later in that same speech, Biden, while carefully reading his teleprompter, said that “We’re the only major company in the world that has come out of every crisis stronger than we went in.” (He meant to say country, but never caught that error.)

One of the signs of dementia is “disorientation in terms of place and time, such as confusion regarding the season, date, day of the week, or time of day.”

You’d think that, given all the other signs of mental decline Biden has exhibited, this bizarre mental lapse would raise some alarms. Only Fox News and the New York Post bothered to it.

Now, switch over to Trump’s – entirely unscripted – remarks in New Hampshire the next day." . . .

TV Ignores Issues & Rivals, Fixates on Bashing Trump

 EXCLUSIVE: (newsbusters.org)

. . ."They Came Not to Praise, but to Bury Him: As was the case in 2016 and during his entire Presidency, virtually all of the media’s 2023 coverage of Trump consisted of negativity and criticism. Yet while his chief rivals faced much less scrutiny, there was no media goodwill for either Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis last year, either.

"To measure good press and bad press, our analysts focused solely on statements from reporters, anchors and non-affiliated sources (see methodology explanation at the end of this article for more detail). In 2023, evening news viewers heard 1,478 negative statements about Trump, vs. just 143 positive statements. That computes to 91% negative spin, on par with the hostile coverage Trump has historically received from these broadcasts.

"The networks were nearly as negative towards Ron DeSantis: 103 negative statements, vs. just 37 positive ones, for a spin of 73% negative. Most of anti-DeSantis coverage came early in the year, as detailed in an August NewsBusters report.

"While year-end polls showed Nikki Haley surging in New Hampshire, there was little evidence of a boom in her evening news coverage. Haley received the least evaluative coverage of any of the major candidates: just ten positive and ten negative statements throughout 2023. While a 50% positive/50% negative spin score might seem superior to the much more negative coverage of Trump and DeSantis, it’s hardly the kind of Obama-esque positive publicity that candidates desire at the end of a campaign." . . .

House approves resolution denouncing Biden’s ‘open-border policies’

 

Rafael Bernal  . . .The chaotic three-ring circus of border policy, accentuated by the GOP push to impeach Mayorkas, drew criticism from 26 former Homeland Security officials, who characterized the impeachment push as a “grave mistake.”

In a letter to House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and top committee Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the bipartisan group of officials called for a pivot away from the impeachment fight and toward substantial talks.

“We advocate for legislative solutions, including adequate funding, to replace the outdated policies that currently characterize our immigration system. It is crucial that Congress prioritizes solutions that strengthen our borders, treat migrants with dignity, and reduce backlogs that delay decisions on asylum claims, legal immigration petitions, and other cases and applications,” they wrote.

Yet the resolution approved by the House on Wednesday focused more broadly on laying blame on Biden’s policies for current conditions, while extolling Trump-era border policies such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as “remain in Mexico.”

According to the resolution, “the Biden administration refuses to use tools already at its disposal to end the border crisis,” a claim that’s at the center of partisan disagreement on how to address the border.

Democrats have been severely critical of Republicans for not quickly approving the White House’s supplemental budget request, which included aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but also funding for 1,300 new Border Patrol agents and a host of other border enforcement upgrades." . .  

How Joe Biden and Donald Trump's border policies compare (bbc.com)  ... ."What Trump did: In January 2019, the Trump administration implemented a policy - officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP - that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US immigration hearings.

About 70,000 people were returned to Mexico under the policy. They were often left there for months at a time and sometimes preyed upon by criminal gangs.

Human Rights First, a charity organisation, estimated that more than 1,500 migrants were kidnapped, raped or abused after being returned to Mexico." . . .

Forget Michelle Obama or Gavin Newsom -- Dems' Choice to Replace Biden is Nikki Haley

 Brian C. Joondeph - American Thinker  

"LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and “one of the Democratic Party’s biggest financiers,” also an Epstein Island visitor, gave $250,000 to a Nikki Haley Super PAC. Why would a liberal Democrat mega-donor support a Republican candidate? Hoffman must approve of Haley’s platform and plans for America." BCJ

 "President Joe Biden is clearly declining cognitively and physically, based on his garbled speech, frequent falls, disorientation on stage, and inappropriate behavior, especially toward young girls.

Voters agree.

In the Democrat stronghold of New York City, 62 percent of New Yorkers believe Biden is unfit to serve another term.

So, who takes his place?

Not Vice President Kamala Harris, whose approval rating, “Is a 2024 problem,” according to Newsweek. She is “notably less popular than Mike Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, and Al Gore were after the same number of days as vice president.”

Who else is on the Democrat bench to replace Biden? Filmmaker Joel Gilbert makes a compelling case for Michelle Obama swooping into the race at the last minute, avoiding a messy primary season. Her popularity and thin political resume, not to mention her skin color and gender, make her untouchable, buffered by cries of racism or sexism whenever she is questioned or challenged.

Podcaster Dan Bongino says otherwise and makes a good case based on his experience with Mrs. Obama from his time as a Secret Service agent on the presidential detail in the Obama White House. He believes she is far too private, and comfortable in her wealth and idolatry, to go head-to-head with Donald Trump, or whoever the GOP nominee is." . . .

Biden struggling in Michigan, Democrats warn, as level of concern grows: 'The problem is the man' (msn.com)

Democrats Secure Trump’s Nomination

Musings from Dianny

"Now we’re stuck with Trump because the Democrat Party, with the help of the American corporate media, manipulated Republican voters into doing the very thing that will lead the Republican Party to defeat." Dianny

"Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced yesterday that he was suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination.

I admit, I’m a bit disappointed.

Of all the candidates who jumped into the 2024 race, Ron DeSantis was far and away the best of the lot and the only one who could point to a proven track record of turning campaign promises into accomplishments.

It’s too bad Republican primary voters aren’t interested in electing the best guy for the job. They’re much more focused on expressing their anger at a weaponized justice system by nominating the victim of it.

That’ll teach’em!

Donald Trump is getting the nomination for 91 reasons, and each of them is a criminal charge against him.

Early in 2023, DeSantis was the odds-on favorite to deprive Trump of his third bite of the presidential apple.

Naturally, Democrats were in a panic.

They knew an 81-year-old Joe Biden could not compete against a young, competent, successful, popular governor who is a military veteran with a lovely young family.

Just the optics of Biden standing beside DeSantis on a debate stage would have been enough to destroy the senile old coot’s chances.

But then, like manna from heaven, in late March 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg rained down 34 criminal charges on Donald Trump in connection to the hush money payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

With that indictment, the political winds shifted." . . .

From the comments to this post:   

EODMom   The first thing he should do is announce that he has accepted the resignations of every single federal DA, effective close of business the day of inauguration. Every one. Every district. With thanks for their service. Shut the DOJ place down until a new AG and working professionals confirmed. Then accept the resignation of Wray et al. Shut it down.