Tunnel Wall

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Hummingbirder

"I read it. It's not that woke, just a different scoring system. And a way to play on teams, which is fun when you're playing a board game. I like it."

Scrabble makes historic change to game with ‘less competitive,’ ‘inclusive’ version to appeal to Gen Z https://t.co/pg9PxRZxxN pic.twitter.com/jr2AeBdwwU
— New York Post (@nypost) April 9, 2024

Scrabble Makes Historic Change To Make Game More ‘Inclusive’ For Gen Z - The Hook news . . . "Scrabble Together is tailored for individuals who may find the classic game daunting or believe that word games aren’t their forte. Ray Adler, vice president of global games for Mattel, emphasized the company’s commitment to ensuring inclusivity in gameplay, stating, “Scrabble Together mode is an ideal option” for those who may feel intimidated by the traditional version.

"While the introduction of Scrabble Together has garnered praise for its innovative approach, some critics have disparagingly labeled it “Scrabble for Snowflakes” and “Woke Scrabble.”

"So, what’s different? In addition to the dual-sided board, helper cards provide assistance, prompts, and clues tailored to the player’s preferred challenge level. Scoring becomes obsolete in the new version, replaced by the completion of goal cards, each presenting challenges such as playing specific words or achieving certain board placements. The first player to complete 20 challenges wins, while exhausting all helper cards without fulfilling a challenge leads to defeat."

"The implementation of these new rules and scoring methods aims to facilitate shorter games and align with the preference for collaborative, goal-oriented gameplay observed among younger players."

Hamas tells negotiators it doesn’t have 40 Israeli hostages needed for first round of ceasefire

First testimonies shed light on the conditions endured by Hamas’ Israeli hostages | CNN "For more than six weeks, the conditions in which the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas were being held in Gaza were virtually unknown to the outside world.

"But testimony from some of the hostages released by the militant group in recent days is now beginning to emerge, giving a glimpse into their lives in captivity following Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on October 7.

"Those who have spoken of their experiences described living off limited supplies, as bombs rained overhead. Some knew throughout their time as hostages that family members or friends had died on the day of Hamas’ assault, while others were left without clues as to their safety." . . .

Alex Marquardt and Jeremy Diamond, CNN "Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known.

"The framework that has been laid out by negotiators says that during a first six-week pause in the fighting, Hamas should release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.

Hamas has told international mediators – which include Qatar and Egypt - it does not have 40 living hostages who match those criteria for release, both sources said.

CNN’s record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.

The inability - or unwillingness - of Hamas to tell Israel which hostages would be released, alive, is a major obstacle, the second source added.

"With Hamas appearing to be unable to reach 40 in the proposed categories, Israel has pushed for Hamas to fill out the initial release with younger male hostages, including soldiers, the Israeli official said.

Quit Negotiating With These Genocidal Clowns and Wipe Them Out

Matt Vespa (townhall.com)

"Jerusalem needs to stop taking crazy pills, ignore the Biden White House, and continue with its plans to level Rafah and wipe out the dying elements of Hamas that are clinging to life within the city. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing with these fruitless negotiations to satisfy those within the Biden administration, who are pushing for a ceasefire, and civilian pressure at home, who are also wondering if this government is doing enough to secure the release of the hostages." . . . A Pay wall hides the rest.

Lloyd Austin Confirms What We Already Know Regarding Israel's War in Gaza "Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday to confirm what we’ve already known about the Gaza War. There is no genocide happening in the region. Pro-Hamas supporters have whined for weeks about a war crime that doesn’t exist.

"Meanwhile, they’ve coddled and drooled over a terror group that committed crimes against humanity when they invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. Yet, Austin also didn’t call the October 7 attacks a genocide, though there are better arguments to label them as such. He did stress that aid to the Palestinian civilian population, which is also Hamas, is essential in stabilizing the region (via Politico): . . .

Amnesty International Eulogizes 'Palestinian Writer' Who Ordered Murder of Tortured Israeli Soldier How much hate are you capable of to make you gouge someone's eyes out?

. . . What the CNN report only glossed over, though, is how Tamam was brutally tortured before being shot point black in the chest.

"Here's how the Jewish Chronicle described the tragic situation:

Daqqah was handed a life sentence in 1986 after being convicted of commanding members of the terror cell the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), to abduct and kill 19-year-old Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984.
The kidnap, a ransom bid that failed, turned into murder on Daqqah’s orders.
Tamam, who was on leave from the military when he was murdered, vanished after accompanying his girlfriend to her home in the city of Tiberias and returning by bus to Tel Aviv.
His body was found four days later near the entrance to the town of Mevo Dotan in the West.
Tamam’s killers gouged out his eyes, mutilated his body and castrated him before taking him to an olive grove and shooting him dead, according to reports at the time.

Video: Sec. Blinken is 'ASTOUNDED' by lack of anger towards Hamas (Daily Mail)

Sorry, Jew-haters, contrary to all the gloating mainstream media reports, Joe Biden did NOT force Israel to surrender

BareNakedIslam "Despite news about Israel pulling troops out of Southern Gaza, Netanyahu’s commitment to eliminating Hamas once and for all is still on the schedule and could commence within the next week or two.

"VOA News Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday an undisclosed date for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has been set, even as the White House said its negotiators in Cairo had handed Hamas militants a proposal for a cease-fire and hostage-release deal. “This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen. There is a date,” the Prime Minister said. The Biden Regime immediately rebuked Netanyahu. A Pentagon spokeswoman said, “We’ve been very clear that we don’t support operations into Rafah.”

Netanyahu: ‘No force in the world will stop us’ from ‘eliminating’ Hamas (jihadwatch.org)

“We will complete the elimination of Hamas’s battalions, including in Rafah. No force in the world will stop us. There are many forces trying to do this but it will not help because this enemy, after what it has done, will not do this again. Neither will it exist. We are committed to doing this, and each one of you now, at this base, will contribute in one way or another to completing the goal. This must be. After doing such a thing to our country – it will not be done any more.
We have three objectives: One – to return our hostages, all of the field observers, and not just them, but everyone together. We will return them all. The second objective: Eliminating Hamas. The third objective: To ensure that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel.
There is a fourth objective: Hamas is part of Iran’s axis of evil, which aims to destroy us. And when we defeat Hamas, it is not only defeating Hamas – it is defeating the axis. Everyone in the Middle East and beyond is sitting in the stands and watching who will win on this field, Israel or Iran and its proxies. You already know who will win. Good luck!” . . .
Al Goodwyn

Pete Buttigieg mercilessly trolled for saying he can 'safely walk my dog to the Capitol' WITH his bodyguards. . .

Pete Buttigieg mercilessly trolled for saying he can 'safely walk my dog to the Capitol' WITH his bodyguards in bid to dismiss surging crime in D.C. | Daily Mail Online

Buttigieg faced the wrath of X users angry over him downplaying D.C. crime by saying he 'can safely walk my dog to the Capitol' a mile from his home
An hour after his comments, a man was robbed and stabbed about a mile from the U.S. Capitol while walking his dog
READ: Outrage ensued after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said crime is down 30%

Buttigieg mocks crime concerns from his personal security bubble - Washington Examiner . . ."None of that is going to affect Buttigieg, though, because your taxpayer dollars go to pay for his security. He can then walk his dog up and down the street without worrying about the violent crime that is getting normal people beaten or killed. Even members of Congress can’t avoid the violence that Washington, D.C., has courted, but Buttigieg can. So he gets to sit on an MSNBC set alongside a former Biden team member turned “journalist” in Jen Psaki and dismiss crime as just some narrative from “ideological news outlets” amid Washington, D.C.’s worst violence since the 1990s." . . .

D.C. Is Safe: Buttigieg Can Walk His Dog – PJ Media

. . . "My point is that if crime has not touched you or your family, it will soon. This is the world we live in thanks to progressives, who will never have to look over their shoulders." . . .
Speaking of Trump comparisons, Pete, there is this: Price of a Gallon of Gas Today is DOUBLE What It was 4 Years Ago Under Trump – IOTW Report AJ Posted Wednesday10 APRIL 2024, 9:50 AT 9:50 AM
At Safeway today a bag of regular size Doritos are $6.29!
Last bag of those I bought they were $2.50.
I can do without Doritos, have for a long time. But fuel is another situation.

This RedState page is full of Bidenisms

Joe Biden's Narcissism Devolves Into Sociopathy at Baltimore Bridge Collapse Site

Couple that self-centered inauthenticity with his senility, and you get what you got in Baltimore. It's a national embarrassment.

Biden opens his remarks in Baltimore:

"By the way, folks, I say to my dad, 'Dad, they're mispronouncing Baltmur.' The Biden family goes all the way back to being watermen in this bay for a long, long time, back in the mid-1800s..." pic.twitter.com/GIfwzpp8yh
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 5, 2024

. . ."As the president's public appearances go, his latest was typical. Biden slurred his words and got confused multiple times, both things that seem to occur every time he gives a speech. If he ever figures out how to exit a stage, it'll be the first time in a long time.

"There was one moment that caught my eye, though, because it exposed something deeper than the president's general senility and lack of timing. . . .

It's completely tone-deaf to show up at the site of a tragedy and start telling dumb, self-centered jokes. Biden does it because it's all he can do. This is who he is. He's a narcissist and a sociopath, unable to produce real empathy. It's why he always comes across as completely unhinged when he attempts to feign righteous anger about a situation that doesn't center on him. Biden doesn't really care. He just knows he's supposed to act like he cares.

Cringe: Biden Tells Another Tall Tale at Greek Event and Comes Up With 'New' Name for Himself

Looks Like One of Biden's Tall Tales About His Background Just Got Called Out...by Joe Biden

Biden Starts Yapping at the Teleprompter Guy During Confused and Embarrassing Speech

. . ."On Thursday, Biden held a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day. We touched on some of it earlier with his battle over the teleprompter. You know that any time he has such an event, he's going to break out what a relationship he has with the audience, like clockwork. It doesn't matter. I think if it were a Samoan group, he'd probably make something up about his island heritage. So let's hear Joe Biden -- the guy who spent all his time after school going to Catholic mass at the black church and also supposedly spent time at the Jewish synagogue -- tell us about his "close relationship" with the Greek community and their church. However did he find the time while juggling all those church/synagogue schedules?" . . .

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Peter Doocy asks Kirby all the right questions after Biden's Israel ultimatum: 'They cannot be true!'

Blaze Media (theblaze.com)

"How is it unwavering? It sounds like you guys are trying to have it both ways here," Doocy pointed out before summarizing what Kirby had said: "'We support Israel, but we are going to make all these changes because we don't support Israel.'"

"Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy is holding the Biden administration's feet to the fire.

"On Thursday, President Joe Biden threatened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with policy changes if Israel does not implement "specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers," according to a readout of Biden's call with Netanyahu. Biden, moreover, emphasized the need for an "immediate ceasefire" and told Netanyahu "to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home."

"The readout is surely meant to signal to Biden's left flank that he is dealing with Netanyahu more shrewdly. Progressives, after all, are angry with Biden's position on Israel, and Democratic strategists fear it could cost him re-election.

"On the other hand, the Biden administration is still sending munitions to Israel to support their war with Hamas — though the administration is not bringing public attention to those decisions.

"So what gives? Is Biden playing both sides? That is the answer Doocy sought to extract from Kirby.

" 'On Oct. 7, President Biden said, 'My administration's support for Israel is rock solid and unwavering.' That is not true anymore, correct?" Doocy confronted.

" 'No, it is true," Kirby claimed.

" 'How is his support unwavering, but you're also reconsidering policy choices?" the Fox News reporter followed up, referring to readout.

" 'Both can be true," Kirby alleged.

" 'They cannot be true! They're completely different things," Doocy fact checked. "He is wavering. How is he not wavering?' " . . .

Biden's foreign policy errors:

MAGA Joe.

2021; 5 Early Unforced Joe Biden Foreign Policy Errors | The Heritage Foundation . . ."After all, Biden doesn’t have much to brag about on the foreign relations front. Indeed, in his first week in the Oval Office, the president seemed determined to elevate partisan politics over good policy. Here are five frustrating moves he has made that delight the radical left but bode ill for American prosperity and security." . . .

Biden's Afghanistan Decision Is the Latest Entry in a Ledger of Mistakes - The Atlantic . . ."But he could just as easily have said the same about his decision this year to end the American presence in Afghanistan, a catastrophic mistake that has led to a Taliban takeover, undermined our national interest, and morally stained Biden’s presidency." . . .

Why foreign policy is no longer in President Biden’s ‘win’ column - CSMonitor.com . . ."What Americans do see, Mr. Korb says, is the effects of a crisis on their southern border, where thousands of migrants – from Latin America, but as far away as Africa and China – continue to enter the country illegally.

“ 'Seeing all these migrants from all over being bused into their cities, people can relate to that,” he says." . . .

Biden’s Foreign Policy Is a Mess | Foreign Affairs Pay wall issues here.

More here on this topic.

Americans differ on Ukraine and Gaza

Victor Davis Hanson (jewishworldreview.com)

. . ."Yet more pro-Ukrainian Democrats are turning away from Israel as it dismantles Gaza in the messy, bloody slog against Hamas. The left claims either Israel cannot or should not defeat Hamas, or at least at the present cost. So the left pushes Israel to a cease-fire with Hamas." . . .

. . ."What are we to conclude about these contradictory wars and American attitudes toward them?

"The more democratic and defensive the power, the more Americans support it—but only up to a point.

"Even more, they demand quick victory—and lose interest when the wars stagnate, costs increase and protests grow.

"When Ukraine and Israel began costly counteroffensives, the former losing thousands and the latter killing thousands, the American public began to be less invested in either war.

"Final lessons?

"Israel should do all it can to destroy Hamas as quickly as possible and end the war.

"Ukraine does not have the wherewithal to defeat Russia. It should cease costly offensives against Russia's fortified lines and seek to negotiate.

"Or, put another way, fickle Americans sympathize with those who are attacked. But their continuing support seems contingent on whether the victim can remain sympathetic—and win decisively to end the war rapidly."

The Biden administration’s war against the government of Israel

Caroline B. Glick - JNS.org

"The purpose of the U.S. campaign for humanitarian aid, he explained, was twofold: undermining the control of the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza and blackmailing government ministers." CBG

Tents set up by Israeli protesters outside of the Knesset in Jerusalem, demanding
action by the government to bring home the hostages still being held
captive by Hamas in Gaza

"The war rages in the Gaza Strip, northern Israel, Lebanon, Eilat and on the streets of Israel’s cities as Iran’s Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni proxies maintain and escalate their operations against the Jewish state. Unmoved by this state of affairs, Israel’s far left is reinstating the anti-government riots that occurred regularly through the first three-quarters of 2023.

"The newest round of leftist political violence began officially on Saturday night in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the first of what has been billed as four days of protests. As was the case in the anti-government protests before Hamas’s invasion of and one-day holocaust in southern Israel on Oct. 7, in the current round, demonstrations are followed by riots in which a few dozen participate.

"As before, riots feature bonfires along major traffic arteries, assaults on police and ultra-Orthodox Jews, threats to murder Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and storming police barricades protecting the premier’s home.

"They also involve massive exaggerations of the number of protesters. On Sunday night in Jerusalem, for instance, organizers proclaimed the participation of 100,000 protesters. But aerial photographs of the event indicate that at most, a tenth of that number showed up.

"Before Oct. 7, rioters demanded the overthrow of the government due to its “anti-democratic” policies or its “corruption.” The new rallying cry is to free the hostages.

"On Saturday night, relatives of 10 of the 134 hostages declared, “To return our loved ones, we have decided to work in the service of Hamas. We are demanding that the Israeli government accept the organization’s demands immediately. If not—we will burn the country down.” . . .

In the service of these people who have done this? Tunnel Wall: Oct. 7 Massacre: Six Months Later; Viewer advisory, but should be shown wherever leftists gather

"Growing up, we all talked about the Nazis as if it were inconceivable that anyone could ever have condoned or ignored the Holocaust. Yet Westerners are doing just that now -- ignoring the very real attempted genocide against Israelis while preposterously accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, based on Hamas talking points and Hamas-issued casualty numbers."

Can these Israelis not share the anger of those who hate what has been done by these murdering animals? Can these people not be more intelligent than Greta Thunberg and her adopted anti-Jewish cohorts? TD

Bill Clinton announces new memoir and the ridicule rains down in buckets

BPR (bizpacreview.com) "Former President Bill Clinton announced that he’s penned an upcoming memoir on his life since leaving the White House, including coming clean on “mistakes” he’s made.

"The nation’s 42nd president’s new book “Citizen: My Life After the White House” is set to be released in November after the election and should be a real page-turner although some social media users aren’t sold that it will be a truly in-depth account from the man who once wagged his finger in Americans’ faces and insisted “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

“ 'My last 23 years have been fascinating, filled with family life and foundation work, with heroes and heartbreak. In CITIZEN I tell stories of my life and work after the White House and the people who inspire me to keep going every day. Writing it has been a labor of love and I can’t wait to share it with everyone in November,” wrote Slick Willie on X, formerly known as Twitter.

My last 23 years have been fascinating, filled with family life and foundation work, with heroes and heartbreak. In CITIZEN I tell stories of my life and work after the White House and the people who inspire me to keep going every day. Writing it has been a labor of love and I… pic.twitter.com/cTUdT1DKiT
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) April 4, 2024

Etta Hulme 2004

I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.

I regularly listened to NPR on my way to work during the 70-80s, but soon noticed every day featured reports on the "Palestinians" struggle against Israel, poverty, and prejudice and I gave up on hoping for journalism about the hatred toward Israelis. It became like listening to MSNBC for "journalism" of any sort. TD

"The [Adam] Schiff talking points became the drumbeat of NPR news reports. But when the Mueller report found no credible evidence of collusion, NPR’s coverage was notably sparse. Russiagate quietly faded from our programming.

Uri Berliner; The Free Press (thefp.com) "You know the stereotype of the NPR listener: an EV-driving, Wordle-playing, tote bag–carrying coastal elite. It doesn’t precisely describe me, but it’s not far off. I’m Sarah Lawrence–educated, was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother, I drive a Subaru, and Spotify says my listening habits are most similar to people in Berkeley.

"I fit the NPR mold. I’ll cop to that.

"So when I got a job here 25 years ago, I never looked back. As a senior editor on the business desk where news is always breaking, we’ve covered upheavals in the workplace, supermarket prices, social media, and AI.

"It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding.

In recent years, however, that has changed. Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population.

"If you are conservative, you will read this and say, duh, it’s always been this way.

"But it hasn’t.

"For decades, since its founding in 1970, a wide swath of America tuned in to NPR for reliable journalism and gorgeous audio pieces with birds singing in the Amazon. Millions came to us for conversations that exposed us to voices around the country and the world radically different from our own—engaging precisely because they were unguarded and unpredictable. "No image generated more pride within NPR than the farmer listening to Morning Edition from his or her tractor at sunrise.

"Back in 2011, although NPR’s audience tilted a bit to the left, it still bore a resemblance to America at large. Twenty-six percent of listeners described themselves as conservative, 23 percent as middle of the road, and 37 percent as liberal." . . .

How We Got to 'Death to America' in Dearborn (Hint: There's an Obama Connection)

Stephen Green – PJ Media

You can also draw a straight line from Obama and Wright to the Muslims of Dearborn, Mich., chanting, "Death to America." They've been emboldened by the anti-American hate and division that have been sold to this country for more than two decades as love and unity.

Bing

" 'G*d d*mn America!" was the first and only serious crisis of Barack Obama's ascension to the Democrats' presidential nomination in 2008. Obama's longtime pastor, Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, said those words repeatedly in an infamous videotaped sermon. In an earlier age, a presidential contender sitting still and keeping his mouth shut during years of sermons like Wright's would have torpedoed Obama's presidential ambitions.

"Anyone from the early GenX cohort and older thought there was a non-zero chance Obama might be toast. Anyone younger — largely denied the Civics classes prior generations were raised on and spoonfed "America is bad, mmkay?" lessons — knew better.

"Obama performed his usual handwavium in a speech titled "A More Perfect Union" about how Wright's words were "not only wrong but divisive... at a time when we need unity." I guess we didn't need unity when Obama was sitting there as Wright was speaking his divisive words. Still, we did need unity as soon as Obama found it politically necessary to denounce his longtime pastor.

"I would say, "That was a real profile in courage there, Barry," but that would just be me being snide. If I were to be more serious, I'd remind you that Obama was steeped in Marx and Engels' grievance theory.

"I've written about this on more than one occasion, so let me give you the condensed version.

"To understand 21st-century Democrats, we have to cut to the philosophical roots of modern leftism, and we’ll find that in the 19th-century works of Engels and Marx." . . .