Israel is carrying out a campaign to make Gaza uninhabitable. This campaign includes destroying all of Gaza’s hospitals. The message Israel is sending is clear - Nowhere is safe. If you stay you die.
In all past Genocides the world was dependent on many cases what the biased media and the ethnic cleanser would say. This is the first of this magnitude of documented genocide via social media that I am aware of. If people still cannot see the truth then humanity is doomed
Gus, genocide means removal of a race of people. Like Hitler. Hitler didn't let Jews skip down the street in Germany of 1940. But 1.8 million Palestinians live in Israel. And of course there are another 13 million or so scattered around. They have always been scattered, never having a country with borders an official military or been self governing. Hamas is the enemy not Palestinians. Hamas had 40,000 or so fighters. Israel as you know has no intention of killing average Palestinian citizens in Gaza. Somehow you believe that is their goal, to kill civilians. That is just weird.
"Hitler didn't let Jews skip down the street in Germany of 1940. But 1.8 million Palestinians live in Israel." I guess you never learned about the blockade of Gaza where the Israelis created the largest concentration camp ever made. For me, just this fact makes the Nazis angels compared to the Israelis. Sorry to know that you also fell victim to the Israeli propaganda.
Don't bother arguing with anybody. You convince nobody. Rather try to read and learn true history though exposure to the naked truth is hazardous for some brainwashed.
"Goals" are illusory, often articulated to obscure true intent. This murdering of now more than 10 Palestinians for every Israeli killed by Hamas - at least half of the Palestinian victims women and children, and the total collective punishment and destruction of all infrastructure and habitation is one of the most vicious, callous things I've ever seen in my entire life. Every independent body (meaning ones that aren't intimidated by AIPAC or the JDL or Israel) - has defined what Israel is doing - carpet bombing a helpless, mostly civilian population for damn near a month and a half as GENOCIDE!!! Take the Zionist blinders off!!! Try to recapture your humanity. Do you think the execrable "settlers" illegally occupying the West Bank would allow a 10 yr old Palestinian to dance down their street without trying to kill him or her??? Wake up!
So if every Israeli in Israel is killed, it would not be genocide as there are millions of Israelis around the world. You get the idea. If we are going to argue about the technicality of the term, I think you are missing the point that what Israel is doing is very evil and a dark chapter in human history.
Craig, I understand the main objective for Israel is the land . The are very civilized and they provide you these options in sequence: 1) leave and we will be best friends, and they truly mean it, they will be your best friend 2) if you do not leave, then will kill some of you and spread out more horrors about what we may do to you and make your life miserable until you leave. 3) The real problem arises when you refuse to leave and refuse to give us your land then will kill you and bulldoze your home as it never existed and build settlements and if you somehow resist then we will call you an animal, savage, barbarian, terrorist or ISIS and you you will look surprised as how we dare to fight back and you will come at us with all your might and power to crush us. I think this pretty much some it up pretty good. Don’t you think?
You are delusional. You can quibble about the definition of genocide, but the whole world sees that Israel is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza.
Thank you, Chris Hedges, for this impassioned piece. The witnesses provide the facts. As with Shireen Abu Akleh and all to many others, the lies continue to be told.
I think there will be lasting rifts in the U.S. over our government's unconditional support for Israel's ongoing genocide. Despite massive protests against this horrific policy, once again, our elites' make it crystal clear, "stfu, you and your opinion matters naught." I implore my fellow citizens to demonstrate otherwise.
My uncle, later a career military non-com, was an army medic in WWII. Because of that, one of the first Americans into Dachau, the model concentration camp in Bavaria. When right wing Holocaust deniers in the U.S. started to makes the news, I begged him to write down what he witnessed to be submitted to archives. But even 60 years later, the experience was so horrific and his memories so raw he could not bring himself to do it. Exactly why victims of one genocide should know best how "never again" must apply to everyone.
And it should be clear to everyone on all sides as well as to those supporting them by means of comments here that either/or thinking is just one more form of hatred used to justify violence. The same narrow reality tunnels are churning out the same unreflective word litter as has happened for the previous posts by Chris Hedges on the current horror.
The same logic that tragically divides the world, but serves political powers. Either you're with us or you're against us, people are either good or evil, actions are either right or wrong, statements true or false. No subtly, no nuance, no shades in between, no range of values. No thoughts of compromise, diplomacy, tolerance. No room for living with people whose ideas about truth or faith or government are different than yours.
One set of repetitive comments in effect argues that all Israelis good and therefore their opponents must be not only wrong, but inherently inferior. Another set has even gone so far as to condemn all Jews period. (See Hedges' "The Horror, The Horror' for a particularly vicious and reprehensible "joke" in the comments.) Neither consider how many American (and European) Jews have condemned Israeli government behavior nor noticed the large Jewish Israeli demonstrations against their government. Because noticing differences and shades of opinions makes either/or logic impossible.
When you wrote that "The lies used by Israel to absolve itself of responsibility... will corrode its moral, religious, civic, intellectual and political life", I would submit that the same is happening to us here in the U. S. Our support for this genocide will destroy us, in fact, is already doing so. We support fascist regimes from Israel to Saudi Arabia around the world, and when Trump gets elected next year, and we descend irretrievably into fascism, the world will shake its head and note that we had it coming.
I'm sorry, but this is some real Goebbels level stuff. Hamas militants hide in the hospitals, religions buildings and schools.
Let's ask this question. What did all the Palestinians including the Hamas terrorists... and their Western leftist sympathizers... think would happen when they ignored the ceasefire agreement and surprise attacked to murder, rape and kidnap thousands of innocent Israeli Jews? Is the response by Israel really a surprise, or is this part of the game of the antisemites to leverage the chaos to make another go at Jew extermination?
"...murder, rape and kidnap thousands of innocent Israeli Jews." "Thousands." There were little more than ONE thousand Israelis killed and around 250 kidnapped. How did so much mayhem occur given that Gaza is a well guarded open air prison? Because when they got outside the walls, the guard posts were empty. Why would Israel leave itself unguarded? Had they come to a sudden belief that Hamas was no longer a threat? Or did they have another motive? By withdrawing the security forces around Gaza, they made it possible for a massacre to occur which they likely knew was the case due to their intelligence gathering. That gave Israel the pretext to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza under the guise of self-defense. This is their mission and mantra: "From the river to the sea, Israel will be Arab free." And this is their playbook for dismissing their atrocities:
A quick guide to Israel’s PR methods:
1. We haven’t heard reports of deaths, will check into it;
2. The people were killed, but by a faulty Palestinian rocket/bomb;
3. OK we killed them, but they were terrorists;
4. OK they were civilians, but they were being used as human shields;
5. OK there were no fighters in the area, so it was our mistake. But we kill civilians by accident, they do it on purpose;
6. OK we kill far more civilians than they do, but look at how terrible other countries are!
7. Why are you still talking about Israel? Are you some kind of anti-Semite?
"By withdrawing the security forces around Gaza, they made it possible for a massacre to occur which they likely knew was the case due to their intelligence gathering."
Now that is some major antisemitic stuff there. Great victim shaming too. You must also think that female rape victims dress revealingly and secretly want the attention of a rape.
It is amazing the fertile mind of a hater to make up wild conspiracies to back his hate. But this is why I am a free speech absolutist. Let's bring all that hate to the surface for all to see.
"Antisemitic stuff"? Firstly--I'm a Jew. Second, Israel has maintained Gaza as an open air prison in order to keep the rage simmering and to maintain the illusion of the Palestinians as an existential threat. Netanyahu allowed funds to flow into Gaza in order to maintain the schism between the PA and Hamas. Those funds were used to purchase the weapons used to carry out the Oct. 7th attack. Decades of sabotaging the two-state solution/peace process while dehumanizing the population of Gaza turned out to have negative consequences. The Israeli government has no one to blame for this mess except itself.
Next you are going to say that Israel shot all those rockets at themselves from Palestine over the years. And they pay Iran to give money to Hamas and to Saudi to fund the PIJ for all the advantageous press they could get from the resulting terrorist attacks against them.
Have you ever done ANY research into what Israel does that hasn't come from its propaganda spigots in the MM? Clearly, you haven't. Israel is the author of its own misery. It has slaughtered thousands of Palestinian children in the past month, but you evidently don't care because a "dead Palestinian is a good Palestinian" in your estimation. You're the true anti-Semite since you have forgotten (or never knew) that Palestinians are Semites, too. And the self-hating Jew trope? Go fuck yourself, you ignorant sack of shit.
Wow. You get likes for that. That covers the kind of people of your tribe. Just like 1930s German elite. How did that work out?
Maybe if your daughters were the ones raped and killed by those Palestinian terrorists you might "think" differently. But then you probably live alone in someone's basement.
You don't sound like a Jew. You are an atheist, are you not? This is a religious problem, so your views are based on false assumptions. The denial of the evil power that has been killing and chasing down Jews since Abraham. Hamas fights Jihad, for Islam, not for some romantic vision of "Freedom," which they could have had countless times, but they hate Jews. That's what Islamic terrorist do.
Not a good source. You are another pawn of Satan. Do you not see there has been a supernatural hatred of Jews throughout history? If this was a small country somewhere else that had been attacked like Israel and were wiping out the terrorist group that attacked them, they would be heroes. Anti semitism is a spiritual disease. And if you don't believe in any of that "junk," you are a perfect target for the spiritual warfare against Israel and Jews.
Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Calling someone an anti-Semite because you disagree with them, and essentially want to end the conversation, cheapens the idea of anti-Semitism. There are facts to be discussed here. This is conflict that goes back more than a hundred years. There are complexities and subtleties as well as simplicities. I have read through these comments and I don’t find anything to be anti-Semitic. I do wonder however why you are on this sub-stack, commenting on this article, given the nature of the information?
The Neturei Karta are a group of Chasidic Jews who advocate for the dissolution of the state of Israel as it is against the will of God since the state can only be reconstituted after the arrival of the Messiah. Jews don't believe in Satan as some anti-God agent working evil in the world. Satan means "adversary" in Hebrew and the satan appears wherever God tells it to in order to carry out some divine mission or other. Now, I don't believe in any of that, but if you're going to pull out some half-assed theological nonsense to make your argument, then I am going to show that your beliefs are irrelevant to Judaism.
As for the Israeli response to the Palestinians' violence, there is no justification for the control and subjugation of millions of people on land that was stolen from them. Not that there was a justification for the Palestinians' massacre as children and the elderly are never valid targets but dehumanizing the people of Gaza for decades and then being shocked when they act inhumanely is gaslighting writ large. The only spiritual warfare being waged is by Israel against itself. Turning its citizens into soldiers/prison guards has made them a nation of jailors. The scope of this tragedy is wide and the consequences will be terrible as Israel continues its horrid experiment in weapons testing and population control. If there is an evil here, it is at the heart of the state of Israel that has turned its back on its beliefs and become a laboratory for fascist totalitarian control of a captive people.
Does Israel not have a right to defend itself? I don't hate. I don't like what is going on in Gaza, but there was a ceasefire in place when the Palestinians broke it and murdered, raped and kidnapped over a thousand innocent people of Israel. What blinds you to that atrocity and causes you one sided outrage? Could it be a base of Jew-hating?
Frank - I previously told you that Israel, as an occupying force, has no legal "right to defend itself". Even if they did, they are subject to other war crime standards, including proportionality (e.g. killing hundreds of citizens to kill 1 Hamas insurgent fails this test and so does 12,000 civilians murdered) and the practice of rigorously discriminating between civilians and military combatants (e.g. missiles and carpet bombing on civilian neighborhoods and tank and artillery shelling of hospitals and schools and mosques and churches fails this test, even IF Hamas were present, which they are not).
You are a hopeless liar and deplorable apologist for genocide and ethnic cleansing. Shame on you.
When you condone the murder of civilians, many of them children, the bombing of UN schools, hospitals and refugee camps you are engaging in hate...........a right to defend oneself does not extend to murdering defenseless civilians, and you should know that Frank......if you were being intellectually honest.
What blinds you my friend is that the only atrocity you see is the one committed against your side.........after that, anything goes. And take that old canard of Jew hating and stuff it where the sun don't shine....it's a lame duck argument and should fit nicely into where you are currently sitting. Your accusations are offensive.
You're the hater here......trying to use the deaths of innocent Israeli's to justify the over 12,000 dead in Gaza by now. SHAME.
Liar. I don't condone it like you condone wiping Israel off the map.
If Hamas had not done that terrorist murder things, none of this would be happening. So, your support of terrorism is responsible.
Israel will wipe Hamas off the map now. That is good for the world. Next up, Hezbollah. Trump took out ISIS, and we just need to keep wiping out all of these terrorist organizations.
Interesting in polling Arabs in the areas, they are not supportive of any of these terrorist organizations, but Western libs are. Very interesting.
Do you not see there has been a supernatural hatred of Jews throughout history? If this was a small country somewhere else that had been attacked like Israel and were wiping out the terrorist group that attacked them, they would be heroes. Anti semitism is a spiritual disease. And if you don't believe in any of that "junk," you are a perfect target for the spiritual warfare against Israel and Jews. Killing children. I believe the only reason the children are still there is that they are Hamas families. It's only 12 miles to get to safety.
You are talking none sense......to someone you don't know. I have very little racism in me......and I am able to distinquish between combatants and children. Someone who seems to have difficulty doing that has no business lecturing others on 'spiritual disease'.
As to your 'belief' about the children. I am also familiar with how 'belief' is manufactured to let the murderers off the hook, but turning over two million families into Hamas members is the biggest 'belief' whopper I've heard in a long time. SHAME ON YOU...for that blatant lie.
As to your BS about12 miles to safety........there is no safety for families in Gaza. You either aren't paying attention or you hope I'm not. Palestinians are trapped in there.......being told to scurry from one unsafe place to another by their Zionist attackers.
From the start to the finish of this post.........you've been letting your 'beliefs' stand in for incontrovertible evidence.
Yeah, no racism. Just complete re-stating things that people never said. I said they are attacking terrorist. And they are. It is only 12 miles. Why are they there? Because they are pro Hamas or family of Hamas. No one has been bombed in South Gaza. Your world is upside down. There is horrible conditions in the south. Too bad, in the whole Muslim world, they can't replace a piece of land 14 miles long and 10 miles wide for refuge to their brothers.
Totally agree with last part, Hugh, but like many you are taking it too far to imagine an Israeli leader or group of leaders would purposely invite a civilian massacre. That's ridiculous. That's like asserting that 9/11 was an "inside job." People with a conspiratorial bent and bias almost always take a situation where some individual or group they already hate eagerly exploits a shocking event after the fact, and then the conspiracy mongers recharacterize it to make it 10 times more diabolical, by inferring a dastardly conspiracy to CAUSE the event. Just as Bush et al took full advantage of the 9/11 attack after the fact and did an enormous amount of damage to an entire region, killing and displacing millions - but obviously didn't plan it and execute it themselves, or know it was coming. Netanyahu - filled with unquenchable rage, desperate to avoid criticism for his and the IDF's abysmal, catastrophic failure, and driven by a theocratic, racist, authoritarian Zionist obsession - is milking this attack by Hamas for all it's worth. But imagining he allowed it to happen/suspected it would happen is a bridge way, way too far. This is one of the most common failures of human cognition -CONFUSING CORRELATION WITH CAUSATION.
Agreed, KnoBrainer, scaring people is the most used tactic by the fascists. The fable of the Scarecrow by Kalil Gibran tell us something about:
"Once I said to a scarecrow, “You must be tired of standing in this lonely field.” And he said, “The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, and I never tire of it.” Said I, after a minute of thought, “It is true; for I too have known that joy.” Said he, “Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it.” Then I left him, not knowing whether he had complimented or belittled me. A year passed, during which the scarecrow turned philosopher. And when I passed by him again, I saw two crows building a nest under his hat."
Pretty good answer for one who bills herself as "I’m about climate and social justice, music, film and anti-US Empire activism!!!!"
Anti-American, "climate justice" whatever the hell that is, and a true leftist. You sounded so good in the comment! I know this is an old one, but it applies. Why don't you just move the f--- out of the country? Choose one that has better "climate justice," or whatever other nonsensical BS you believe in. You believe it all but not in God? Right?
I understand that 500 of the Israeli’s killed were soldiers. I can’t give you a source but I’ve read it in more than one place and I tend to read reliable sources. That brings the Israeli count down to 700 killed by Hamas.
You are deeply brainwashed. Your stories are from other zombies who follow leftists propaganda. Why would your groups propaganda promote murderers and rapists? You may want to check that out. You think Hamas are the good guys? The "open air prison" line is the dumbest thing ever. Dumber than the claim of "genocide." The "prison" had 50,000 Palestinians going to work in Israel every day with their Flintstones lunch buckets. People have not been forced to stay in Gaza. There were ways for them to move. They could have become citizens of Israel with all the benefits, which is what a lot of them did. Normal people. Israel is not afraid of the people. They are afraid of Hamas, a terrorist group who wants all Jews killed and wants death to America also. They want the death of everyone who is not a Muslim. Are you 14 or so?
You're still at it hey Frank? Trying to make this current situation the fault of the people being exterminated? Justifying a genocide by claiming the people resisting being held prisoners in their own land.......being fed by humanitarian charity for the past 16 years.......are to blame for their own extermination??
Calling the lock up Gazans have lived with for all these years a Ceasefire......while ignoring the need for a real one now......would be funny, if it wasn't such a lethal lie.
Nobody was "locked up" in Palestine except terrorists and criminals. What a stupid claim.
Look at all that Arab land surrounding that tiny speck that is Israel. Jews had occupied much more of that land before Arab Muslims occupied it by bloody conflict. And look at all that oil wealth that the industrialized West helped those Arabs get out of the ground. And are they investing in Palestine? No. Why not? Because they know that the Palestinians suck... they are violent and backward. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria... none of those countries want those people. No, they would rather use them as pawns with help from the mass psychosis of Western educated females and weak males as another victim narrative to help farm for their activist industry.
Take a look at the norther border of the West Bank. Look at the satellite images. One one side of the border with the same land quality is Israel where that land is covered in productive farm land. Next to that on the Palestinian side it is fallow and unused. That is because the Palestinian culture is backwards and broken and the Arab money that would otherwise help lift them up is spent on terrorism instead.
It isn't Israel's fault that the Palestinians are broken and backwards. It is more likely the fault of people with your views milking the victim narrative to supplement missing life meaning.
Stop being a terrorist sympathizer. It will ruin your reputation as being virtuous.
Frank - you know that Hitler used EXACTLY these disgusting racist lies to justify extermination of Jews, right?
"Because they know that the Palestinians suck... they are violent and backward. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria... none of those countries want those people."
So let me think about how odd your Hitler comment is. "Hitler used the exact same tactics," he must have said stuff like, "England and Poland are violent and backwards and no other European countries want them." Yeah, that makes sense.
Either you have a reading comprehension issue or are a hack. You completely distort my comment.
My comment was specific to "racist lies" to justify extermination, not invasions. Do you even know that Hitler said exactly the same things about Jews that Frank just wrote about Palestinians? Do you know that?
Bull Crap Bill. I don't want them exterminated. Why would you even say that? I want them helped to raise themselves up to better lives. They actually have better lives today than their tribes had before, but I understand the uncontrolled emotion of envy and resentment relative to that neighbor next door. And of course Israel is a super successful diverse democracy... so they really burn with their low capability existence relative to that.
Sorry buddy, but not all cultures and people are equal in their ability to govern themselves and make a better life for their children. If Israel just disappeared tomorrow, after looting what they can, the Palestinian people would just degrade to their same victim status of equal misery. The reasons is that elite wealthy Western liberals like yourself, and Arab nations and their terrorists proxies, like to exploit that misery instead of doing anything material to help improve their lives.
Gaza is experiencing genocide rightnow........at the hands of Israel.......and you're explaining on the Chris Hedges comment thread that the Palestinians are unwanted...backward....its all their own fault.
They were productive farmers Frank....before Israel drove many from their homes in1948. Israel has bulldozed many of their olive orchards and confisgated much of their original land. Once you are refugees in a small piece of your original territory........it's easy for partisans like yourself to accuse you of being shiftless.
It's a lie. But you say racist things about the people of Gaza and then disown what you've just said in the next post???
I'm starting to wonder if your are 'all there' my friend. Perhaps partisanship is warping some of your faculties??
You're the racist Frank.........sitting in judgement of a people you've never met....calliing them names in order to justify their slaughter.
You suck man...........and you're violent and backward.
Plus..........you're rant about educated western females and weak males suggests you are also a bit of a fascist..........insulting educated females can get you killed these days my boy...........and as for your contempt for 'weak' men.........you're talking the basic military fascistic death cult crappola.
That you have the nerve to call racism against any other commentators on here is the joke. You can't resist insulting and putting down anyone who disagrees with your take on why the Palestinians deserve to be eradicated.
Stop talking like a racist Frank........it could get you banned from intelligent comment streams.
I am none of those things. Just fighting against the antisemites, Jew-haters, and terrorist sympathizers like you appear to be. You are good with invective and vile name-calling... I will give you that. That is the common talent of your cohort. However, we learned during the 30s and 40s how to recognize the real threats that would lead to another slaughter of Jews, and it isn't gonna happen again.
Note the election in Argentina. I have no doubt that the left love of Hamas terrorists had an impact on that election. So get ready for Trump and Republicans to get back to power in 2024 and start cleaning house.
I get it, you hate working class people, men, whites and Jews. You are in good company with your political cohort. Your campus experience got you that way comrade, and your media feeds keep your head in the fog and locked into a hate brigade.
Here is a question for you to help come clean. Please describe what the solution is for Israel in your opinion? I doubt you will answer that honestly if at all, because it proves my points.
You don't get much of anything Frank. You're busy justifying war crimes, the bombing of civilian infrastructure, schools, hospitals, power stations......because of an act of terror committed by Hamas.
It doesn't wash. But you're not even an honest partisan, because you make insulting remarks and misrepresent what others are saying............and when they call you on it, you turn their legitimate accusations back on them.
Let me repeat: I do not condone what Hamas did, but what Hamas did does not justify the state of Israel turning Gaza to rubble. Acts of terrorism do not justify War Crimes. Palestinians have the same rights to a peaceful life as do Israelis, Americans or Canadians........you characterized them as backward, not I. Nor did I give any indication of hating Jewish people.......you accused me of that.
And here's a warning Frank..........to help you start watching your mouth.
EDUCATED FEMALES COULD YET SAVE THE WORLD FROM VIOLENT MEN....and peaceful men will be with us. Peaceful men aren't weak men and they often are good lovers. As to your present accusation, that I hate working class people....grow a pair!!!
I'm a farmer's daughter Frank.....and a lifelong supporter of Canada's social democratic workers party. You likely haven't a clue what supporting the working class means....I work at it, daily.
Part of it means being against War, since its always poor working class boys who get to die in it. Unless if course, its a genocidal conflict.......and then everybody gets to die...including babies in need of incubators that a lack of fuel has disabled.
Have fun with the Trump years...and the housecleaning....though all that has to do with the present issue is that it outs you. Try to remember: not everyone is American, or impressed with the current state of your union.
The solution for Israel??? I fear for their future. The world is watching now, as they commit genocide...I fear they will lose a lot of the world's good opinion. But perhaps everything happening now will convince good people in Israel that violent colonialism isn't going to work..........and acknowledging Palestinian rights might be a better way forward.
Unfortunately, as long as they have American military support, they will be tempted to continue telling themselves that might makes right It seldom does. They are losing the world's good opinion, and that may well lead to a fortress mentality, with a right wing theocracy in power. Neten yahoo isn't popular, but now he might be able to destroy the independent judiciary and have his way with the law.
I fear for their future, as I fear for the future of our planet, as various forms of violence distracts us from the real emergency: A rapidly warming planet.
"..mass psychosis of western educated females".??..."those people"..."are violent and backward"....seriously? "Those people"?! Yo bro. Major hate mongering AND arrogance: News flash: Jewish people are NOT superior to Palestinian people. Palestinian babies are every bit as precious as are Jewish babies. Skip the accusations of " antisemitism"....that's now an empty, meaningless pejorative. Anti genocide = antisemitism?! Seriously?!
It is absolutely sad that you do not get the full picture here. There was never a CEASEFIRE. The Occupier is trying to play the victim and people just falling for it. There is so much deception oceans can't cover it. Please go seek knowledge. Read Ilan Pappe, Read Norman Finkelstein
For this who seek Knowledge and the Truth I refer you to the Prophetic book of "This Time We Went Too Far" by Norman Finkelstein @NORMANFINKELSTEIN Published in 2010 (Paperback published 2011) Page 193-194. "Israeli leaders might even perceive an attack on the civilian population as an opportunity to whip up a domestic hysteria and garner international sympathy for a murderous denouement. Having alienated so much of international opinion after its consecutive ravagings of Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008-9, and after the Mavi Marmara bloodbath, Israel in fact positively needs massive civilian causalities - which it would undoubtedly exploit to the hilt in the media - in order to justify yet another annihilative assault and, if the attack goes awry, to coax American intervention". Although Professor Finkelstein was considering Hezbollah as the subject of discussion at that time, not Hamas, I do not see this detail changing anything in the near perfect analysis. This is only one of many FACTS. These words are itched forever in the history of mankind and its brutal never evolving nature of thirst for destruction and killing.
This is a waste of time. We are not going to change our views. We cannot argue against Muslims nor can they convince us. Maybe we should bring Obama back for his bowing tour.
There has yet to be any non-Israeli proof that there were Hammas headqurters under the hospitals. So Israel really needed to kill over 5,000 children to protect itself from terrorism? Are you insane?? Take off your Zionist blinders!
Thank God for your astute, experienced, honest, fearless, frank journalism, Chris. You're a model for all other journalists. If only all citizens would read your articles and ACT on them. If only governments were astute, honest and benign, as you are, and that there was no need for your writing! Thank you so much for your writing and ever best wishes with it!
"Israel is not carrying out a war, its carrying out a genocide". Unlike war, there are no international laws for the conduct of genocide. Course if there were (imagine that: laws for conducting genocide!) any country that would wage genocide would not be apt to comply with such laws as we are now observing.
Les, there are indeed international laws AGAINST genocide. Also please read: Have you read Michael Hudson's article "Were the Biblical Prophets Anti-Semitic?" here: https://michael-hudson.com/category/articles/
Given your last name, I'm sure you're very aware of the history. Chris Hedges mentioned the Armenian genocide specifically in this piece. As for definitions, check out Craig Murray's article currently on Consortium News, where he lists the provisions of the Genocide Convention of international law. There are 139 signatories, any of whom could call for determination, but none have (so far.) He makes some guesses why not, and makes clear it's not because it's ineffective--it was used successfully against the Serbian extremists.
Incidentally, Sen. Bernie Sanders (who is Jewish) just issued a statement calling what has happened "morally unacceptable and a violation of international law." He says that while the Israeli govt. "has the right to go after Hamas, it does not have the right to wage total warfare on the Palestinian people."
Does Sanders continue to oppose a total ceasefire? Until recently he used to be one of my heroes, but it seems that his double citizenship with Israel is claiming his loyalty toward them.
I completely agree. Senator Warren also refuses to use the word ceasefire. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff are two more liberals that won't use that word. They must all be on the AIPAC dole. It's shameful and pathetic.
Amazing that (I assume an Armenian) would see this as Genocide. Your people had that happen. Israel is not attacking Palestinians. I don't think anyone "innocent" is staying in Gaza. It's a 4 hour hike to get out of their. The media eats up anything Hamas says. Israel is fighting terrorism. For you to back Muslims is really baffling since it is due to Armenian Christianity that they died at the hands of Muslims.
As Goebbels observed, the bigger the lie, the better. If the lie is gigantic, normal non-sociopath people will accept it as true, because who would say such a thing if it wasn't?
Chris is right. Israel will become an ethnostate, like the "cleansed" parts of the former Yugoslavia...which are now wastelands, economic and culturally, inhabited by people who ultimately defeated themselves, all to become destitute pariahs. Makes sense that Biden, segregationist in chief, would be all for it.
Great reporting Chris. I came across Gregory H Stanton's "Ten Stages of Genocide" which Israel ticks off each step! #1 CLASSIFICATION "Us vs Them" with division and segregation. #2 SYMBOLISM " Names like Terrorists, Muslims or Hamas #3 DISCRIMINATION "uses law, custom and political power to deny the rights of other groups" i.e. Nuremberg Laws of 1935 Germany #4 DEHUMANIZATION "one group treats another group as second class compared with animals parasites or Less Than Human and easier to kill, in print and in hate media. At this stage hate propaganda is used to make the victim seem like villains #5 ORGANIZATION "Genocide is always organized by the state" Death squads are trained and armed #6 POLARIZATION Extremists drive the groups apart. Hate groups broadcast propaganda that reinforces hate and prejudice. Moderates are usually killed first. #7 PREPERATION National or perpetrator group leaders plan the "FINAL SOLUTION". They often use euphemisms to cloak their intentions such as "ethnic cleansing" "purification" or "counter terrorism". Indoctrinating the populace with FEAR." If we don't kill them they will kill us" . #8 PERSECUTION "Victims are identified and separated, death lists are drawn up. Their property is confiscated and segregated into ghettoes, concentration camps or confined to famine-struck regions. GENOCIDAL MASSACRE BEGINS #9 EXTERMINATION "Begins and quickly becomes the mass killing called GENOCIDE It is called "extermination" to the killers because they don't believe their victims to be fully human. Sometimes the Genocide results in revenge killings by groups against each other, creating the downward whirlpool like mutual genocide where the victims actually organize and commit a second genocide on the perpetrators. #10 DENIAL "Is the tenth stage that always follows genocide. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. They deny that they committed any crimes and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes and continue to govern until driven from power by force. We are witnessing step #9 and #10 before our eyes in 2023!
Wasting print and thought arguing with Frank Lee and Craig Verdi is a complete waste of time! Haaretz has a thumbs down option to insane comments like theirs. It would be so much easier Chris to hit the "thumbs down" and walk on bye! They have no redeeming qualities or any ability to make critical analysis, just screeds of weaponized anti Semitism! In Pre Holocaust Germany, those who criticized were accused of "anti Germanism". The US Power Elite and Captains of Industry used "anti Americanism" to attack Unions, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, War resistors and Peace Activists. Frank and Craig are the proverbial "Useful Idiots" needed by ALL fascist states!
In a democracy - or even an aspirational one like the US - the most patriotic thing any of us can do is dig deep, unflinchingly and tell the truth about our own country, our own family, our family's religion and our own society, and be brave and bold enough to identify the sins, the failures and weaknesses and demand change. Those of us who live here/within the family/society have the greatest leverage and the greatest obligation to call it out when it is wrong. To do otherwise and cloak oneself in cheap nationalism/nativism and turn a blind eye to our own country's or society's sins is really the ultimate sin, and exactly why Einstein said nationalism was one of the greatest threats to humanity.
Hedges is a hate monger and the very definition of a USEFUL IDIOT. He seeks to divide us from our brothers and the TRUTH the Whole Truth and NOTHING but the Truth.
Hedges went to Harvard Divinity School the subject of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
I KNOW HEDGES WROTE THE FORWARD TO 20TH ANNIVERSAR EDITION OF VOLTAIRE'S BASTARDS WITHOUT EVER READING THE BOOK. iT IS ABOUT BANALITY AND DEDICATED TO HANNAH ARENDT.
IN 1994 SIR JOHN WROTE THE DOUBVTER'S COMPANION: a DICTIONARY OF AGGRESSIVE COMMON SENSE.
page 301
UNIVERSITY
A place in which a civilization's knowledge is divided up into exclusive territories.
Sir John is the world's authority on press freedom in 2023. He was the first North American head of PEN International since Arthur Miller. and calls for the end of Western unCivilization and a return to sanity and the end of Empire.
Apart from your outrageous accusations against Chris Hedges, much of your post makes very little sense. Could have been written by a USELESS IDIOT...but then, I'm just showing off my sense of humor to say so.
Thank you . I am glad you responded. Recommends are meaningless . Your response tells me you understood. The truth is painful and I don't know if America can handle the truth but we are all dying from the toxic lies and hatemongering. Go out and find a copy of Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of reason in the West) Twentieth anniversary edition with Chris Hedge's foreword.
Read the book and tell me Chris Hedges actually read it. The book is dedicated to Hannah Arendt and stars Robert McNamara as the BANALITY of Evil.
You might like to get a copy of Sir John's
The Doubters Companion : A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense. Viking 1994
John Ralston Saul loves America something Chris Hedges will never understand.
I've read some of John Ralston Saul.........in particular,his Massey Lectures The Unconscious Civilization....but I'm not sure why you're trashing Hedges over a forward he wrote decades ago. I haven't read Voltaire's Bastards unfortunately.
I don't think you're right about Hedges love of America however. He works pretty hard to against the things that makes America less then she could be.
I am a Jew like Jesus not a Roman demigod. My father in law was a Unitarian and shared the socialist dorm with Arthur Miller. My father in law's godfather was Eugene Victor Debs. Tell me about Harvard Divinity School. Tell me about witch hunting in America in the 1930s tell me about Woodrow Wilson inspiring Josef Goebbels. I understand The Crucible I am a witch. They say I am autistic but I live in Quebec where autism is real. It can be seen measured and diagnosed one in sixty six is disordered and I don't look Jewish and I am very warm and cuddly. I am a genius in abstract mathematics and linguistics and failed kindergarten. I started learning how write in my fifties. My wife an expert in writing and the philosophy of education asked me why I did not go back to college. I said it is far to difficult for someone who cannot write with pencil and cannot tie his shoes. I have been surrounded by love for 75 years and I know God's design is about balance not victory. WE can only all win if we all win that is Jesus in a nutshell and we live under Roman rule. In Quebec we are a CHRISTTIAN SOCIETY. Healthcare, education and welfare are rights not privileges of the privileged.
Race, gender and religion are however human fantasy and earlier this year Quebec's Prime Minister Francois the Economist Legault was forced to concede ALL RELIGION IS EVIL.
John Ralston Saul was twice elected head of PEN International. The last North American to head PEN International was Arthur Miller and John Ralston is the leading World Socratic Philosopher on Press Freedom in 2023.
Talk about luck I had a whole faculty of education pulling for me to learn how to read and write and I found an autistic keyboard made in England for four year olds. I tried Dragon but I can't double task and compose and dictate simultaneously.
The Lord bless you and keep you
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." Mark Twain The Mysterious Stranger
Meanwhile I choose to remain 6foot two of Tickle me Elmo.
The Crucible was written about the House UnAmerican Affairs Committee as a response to the communist witch hunts, and had fuck all to do with Harvard Divinity, which was founded more than 100 years after the Salem trials. If you are referring to Mather, he did indeed graduate from Harvard University. Notably, he tried to stop the trials. It’s easy to sound smart when you can just spew nonsense.
My father in Law was a democratic socialist and ran as a Democrat once upon a time and Miller was a democratic socialist and both were male chauvinist pigs the only thing was my father in law in his 80s still liked his gingers and Miller preferred blondes. What do you think of Death of a Salesman?
The Crucible was our senior class play when I was twelve.
I was not a good student and not invited to the stage or production. I was a DUMMY and a USELESS IDIOT.
Shall we talk Orwell? The first, my classmates knew I was neither deaf nor mute when we studied Orwell and I couldn't help but scream that's not Orwell. That's not science fiction that's Biblical Allegory. Cole's notes are a fiction read his effing autobiographies and essays. Why I Write is my greatest treasure. It took me 70 years to learn how to write and it is my greatest passion.
Arthur Miller by Arthur Miller. I got it for my wife six months ago she said Arthur was a 100% piece of shit but he wrote the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
This is the truth the whole truth aND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
By the way my Father in Law earned his Mastter's degree in Conservation Science and was given 24 hours to get his infant daughter and wife out of Tennessee and back across the Mason Dixon line and Tennessee was Democrat and Vermont was the REDDEST most backward state in the Union and all the inns posted their GENTILES ONLY signs.
tHE LAsT i ATTENDED RELIGIOUS SERVICES WAS tHE dAY OF aTONEMENT IN sT jOHNSBURY vERMONT AND i WAS RECEIVED WITH OPEN ARMS. iT WAS NEW BEGINNING TO a new LIFE. aS I crossed the border. I can no longer drive at night and Sherbrooke is as far as St Johnsbury. The Rabbi from Chabad in Sherbrooke brings me Challah and honey and blows the shofar. He is not evil but the War Prayer once upon a time on Nebraska Educational television sure looks like St Johnsbury with Chris Hedges owning the pulpit.
On our weekends (we lived in a ghetto where they are building the Obama center and Obama lost the congressional primary because he is far too conservative (white anglo saxon protestant.) ***** see ANGLO SAXON THE DOUBTERS COMPANION John Ralston Saul 1994 Viking A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense (AT THE END.)
We would drive to Michigan to visit my father in law and go with him to his Unitarian Universalist Church where everyone was welcomed. The synagogue in St Johnsbury was much the same. I sang the Heneni wherever I went.
That is why in Quebec ALL religion is EVIL because religion stops us from being Christian.
Religion is antihuman and Jesus was a HUMANIST and in Quebec race, gender and religion lie only between our ears.
I remember his holiness from St Johnsbury blasting Steven Pinker for the crime of being an optimist and I remember the story of Pandora's Jar and all we have left is Hope and the holier than thou says hope is a crime against the gods.
I didn't mean to capitalize but it gives you an idea of how long between typing and editing there is before looking at the screen.
Any further response is invited but you need to ask yourself some questions.
ANGLO-SAXONS A racial group composed mainly of Celts, Chinese, Germans, Italians, Ukrainians French and other peoples, who have been conquered by or immigrated to the English-speaking world. To blame for everything. See : Xenophobia (PASSIVE).
XENOPHOBIA (PASSIVE) The English are fair, French bread is the best, Americans are individualists, Italian women are beautiful, Germans are real men because they are not circumcised, CANADIANS ARE NICE, the Russians are courageous, the Welsh are poetic, Greece is the cradle of democracy, Argentinians are the essence of male, Swedes are fair, the English are courageous he Swiss are hard working, Frenchmen are the best lovers, American culture is an expression of freedom Australians are tough, the Chinese are smart, the Poles should have been superior to everybody, the Italians have style, language is the great love of the Irish, , the English don't queue-jump, CANADIANS ARE COURAGEOUS, Germans are efficient, Scots are smart, the Spanish are tough, the Brazilians are not racists, Norwegians are good looking, Czechs are efficient, the English are at their best in a crisis, the Germans are courageous, the French are are individualists, CANADIANS ARE HARDY, the Swiss are efficient , the British are the masters of understatement, ISRAELIS ARE TTHE BEST SOLDIERS, Italians are romantic, Americans are courageous, the Scots are diligent and other reassuring , repetitive and boring fetishes.
I capitalized what I know is true the rest is bullshit except the local French bakery is to die for but the flours are all local and organic and taste like the bread I used to bake.
Thank you for responding to an ignorant and foolish old man seeking responses to his metaphysical inquiries.
I love America John Ralston Saul loves America and Christopher Lynn Hedges is a self loathing American what can I say . I Pity the Fool.
While the history of regulations, laws, edicts, social norms, and ethics had sanctioned the humane standards of not imposing “cruel or unusual punishments on American citizens” neither for normal nor unusual crimes against society — I would posit and strongly suggest that in the case of faux-Emperor Trump — the moderate punishment of visiting a mild, and non-physical ‘teaching moment’ of subjecting Trump to the same punishment as was oft employed early in America’s founding, which was to utilize a public ‘Dunking Stool’, where-by the general and normal American citizens could ‘look upon’ Trump — by old fashioned or modern TV today throughout our country — which punishment would likely, thoroughly embarrass, shame, and expose this certified megalomaniac [re. DSA-5] in a way of turning said obnoxious idiot into the laughing stock of the American people’s derision forever.
Chris, comment to "these 'TIMES' they are a-changing" --- not in a progressive way:
Yes, "The Quiet American" Empire's GINI Coefficient of Wealth Inequality just exceeded Russia's -- so lets all cheer -- "We're #1", "We're #1", "We're #1".
My double-sided, ad-hoc, focus-group tested, and near 100% favorable, demonstration/protest signs simply say:
With the deepest respect I thank you for penning these words.
In all past Genocides the world was dependent on many cases what the biased media and the ethnic cleanser would say. This is the first of this magnitude of documented genocide via social media that I am aware of. If people still cannot see the truth then humanity is doomed
Gus, genocide means removal of a race of people. Like Hitler. Hitler didn't let Jews skip down the street in Germany of 1940. But 1.8 million Palestinians live in Israel. And of course there are another 13 million or so scattered around. They have always been scattered, never having a country with borders an official military or been self governing. Hamas is the enemy not Palestinians. Hamas had 40,000 or so fighters. Israel as you know has no intention of killing average Palestinian citizens in Gaza. Somehow you believe that is their goal, to kill civilians. That is just weird.
"Hitler didn't let Jews skip down the street in Germany of 1940. But 1.8 million Palestinians live in Israel." I guess you never learned about the blockade of Gaza where the Israelis created the largest concentration camp ever made. For me, just this fact makes the Nazis angels compared to the Israelis. Sorry to know that you also fell victim to the Israeli propaganda.
can/t argue with commies who have no clue
Don't bother arguing with anybody. You convince nobody. Rather try to read and learn true history though exposure to the naked truth is hazardous for some brainwashed.
"Goals" are illusory, often articulated to obscure true intent. This murdering of now more than 10 Palestinians for every Israeli killed by Hamas - at least half of the Palestinian victims women and children, and the total collective punishment and destruction of all infrastructure and habitation is one of the most vicious, callous things I've ever seen in my entire life. Every independent body (meaning ones that aren't intimidated by AIPAC or the JDL or Israel) - has defined what Israel is doing - carpet bombing a helpless, mostly civilian population for damn near a month and a half as GENOCIDE!!! Take the Zionist blinders off!!! Try to recapture your humanity. Do you think the execrable "settlers" illegally occupying the West Bank would allow a 10 yr old Palestinian to dance down their street without trying to kill him or her??? Wake up!
Israel has every intention of killing as many civilians as they can, as members of Netanyahu's cabinet have repeatedly proclaimed.
So if every Israeli in Israel is killed, it would not be genocide as there are millions of Israelis around the world. You get the idea. If we are going to argue about the technicality of the term, I think you are missing the point that what Israel is doing is very evil and a dark chapter in human history.
Craig, I understand the main objective for Israel is the land . The are very civilized and they provide you these options in sequence: 1) leave and we will be best friends, and they truly mean it, they will be your best friend 2) if you do not leave, then will kill some of you and spread out more horrors about what we may do to you and make your life miserable until you leave. 3) The real problem arises when you refuse to leave and refuse to give us your land then will kill you and bulldoze your home as it never existed and build settlements and if you somehow resist then we will call you an animal, savage, barbarian, terrorist or ISIS and you you will look surprised as how we dare to fight back and you will come at us with all your might and power to crush us. I think this pretty much some it up pretty good. Don’t you think?
Are you blind or deaf, or just dumb? What do you call killing now over 13,000 Palestinians if not GENOCIDE???
You are delusional. You can quibble about the definition of genocide, but the whole world sees that Israel is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza.
Check Professor Mearsheimer ( Starts around 40:00 Time Stamp)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsXV8tgG2GM&t=3969s
That little Hitler Youth chorus merely said the quiet part out loud.
Thank you, Chris Hedges, for this impassioned piece. The witnesses provide the facts. As with Shireen Abu Akleh and all to many others, the lies continue to be told.
I think there will be lasting rifts in the U.S. over our government's unconditional support for Israel's ongoing genocide. Despite massive protests against this horrific policy, once again, our elites' make it crystal clear, "stfu, you and your opinion matters naught." I implore my fellow citizens to demonstrate otherwise.
Deniers, Victims, and Either/Or Thinking
My uncle, later a career military non-com, was an army medic in WWII. Because of that, one of the first Americans into Dachau, the model concentration camp in Bavaria. When right wing Holocaust deniers in the U.S. started to makes the news, I begged him to write down what he witnessed to be submitted to archives. But even 60 years later, the experience was so horrific and his memories so raw he could not bring himself to do it. Exactly why victims of one genocide should know best how "never again" must apply to everyone.
And it should be clear to everyone on all sides as well as to those supporting them by means of comments here that either/or thinking is just one more form of hatred used to justify violence. The same narrow reality tunnels are churning out the same unreflective word litter as has happened for the previous posts by Chris Hedges on the current horror.
The same logic that tragically divides the world, but serves political powers. Either you're with us or you're against us, people are either good or evil, actions are either right or wrong, statements true or false. No subtly, no nuance, no shades in between, no range of values. No thoughts of compromise, diplomacy, tolerance. No room for living with people whose ideas about truth or faith or government are different than yours.
One set of repetitive comments in effect argues that all Israelis good and therefore their opponents must be not only wrong, but inherently inferior. Another set has even gone so far as to condemn all Jews period. (See Hedges' "The Horror, The Horror' for a particularly vicious and reprehensible "joke" in the comments.) Neither consider how many American (and European) Jews have condemned Israeli government behavior nor noticed the large Jewish Israeli demonstrations against their government. Because noticing differences and shades of opinions makes either/or logic impossible.
Thank you, Mr Hedges.
When you wrote that "The lies used by Israel to absolve itself of responsibility... will corrode its moral, religious, civic, intellectual and political life", I would submit that the same is happening to us here in the U. S. Our support for this genocide will destroy us, in fact, is already doing so. We support fascist regimes from Israel to Saudi Arabia around the world, and when Trump gets elected next year, and we descend irretrievably into fascism, the world will shake its head and note that we had it coming.
Except to the degree that we resist.
You quoted the essential sentence of the piece. Well- stated. That we support Saudi Arabia -- and LIV pro golf flourishes -- are a moral abomination.
I'm sorry, but this is some real Goebbels level stuff. Hamas militants hide in the hospitals, religions buildings and schools.
Let's ask this question. What did all the Palestinians including the Hamas terrorists... and their Western leftist sympathizers... think would happen when they ignored the ceasefire agreement and surprise attacked to murder, rape and kidnap thousands of innocent Israeli Jews? Is the response by Israel really a surprise, or is this part of the game of the antisemites to leverage the chaos to make another go at Jew extermination?
"...murder, rape and kidnap thousands of innocent Israeli Jews." "Thousands." There were little more than ONE thousand Israelis killed and around 250 kidnapped. How did so much mayhem occur given that Gaza is a well guarded open air prison? Because when they got outside the walls, the guard posts were empty. Why would Israel leave itself unguarded? Had they come to a sudden belief that Hamas was no longer a threat? Or did they have another motive? By withdrawing the security forces around Gaza, they made it possible for a massacre to occur which they likely knew was the case due to their intelligence gathering. That gave Israel the pretext to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza under the guise of self-defense. This is their mission and mantra: "From the river to the sea, Israel will be Arab free." And this is their playbook for dismissing their atrocities:
A quick guide to Israel’s PR methods:
1. We haven’t heard reports of deaths, will check into it;
2. The people were killed, but by a faulty Palestinian rocket/bomb;
3. OK we killed them, but they were terrorists;
4. OK they were civilians, but they were being used as human shields;
5. OK there were no fighters in the area, so it was our mistake. But we kill civilians by accident, they do it on purpose;
6. OK we kill far more civilians than they do, but look at how terrible other countries are!
7. Why are you still talking about Israel? Are you some kind of anti-Semite?
"Why would Israel leave itself unguarded?"
"By withdrawing the security forces around Gaza, they made it possible for a massacre to occur which they likely knew was the case due to their intelligence gathering."
Now that is some major antisemitic stuff there. Great victim shaming too. You must also think that female rape victims dress revealingly and secretly want the attention of a rape.
It is amazing the fertile mind of a hater to make up wild conspiracies to back his hate. But this is why I am a free speech absolutist. Let's bring all that hate to the surface for all to see.
"Antisemitic stuff"? Firstly--I'm a Jew. Second, Israel has maintained Gaza as an open air prison in order to keep the rage simmering and to maintain the illusion of the Palestinians as an existential threat. Netanyahu allowed funds to flow into Gaza in order to maintain the schism between the PA and Hamas. Those funds were used to purchase the weapons used to carry out the Oct. 7th attack. Decades of sabotaging the two-state solution/peace process while dehumanizing the population of Gaza turned out to have negative consequences. The Israeli government has no one to blame for this mess except itself.
https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-how-netanyahu-helped-grow-hamas-which-became-the-frankensteins-monster-for-him-651336
"I'm a Jew" So? You looking for a get out of antisemitism jail free card?
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/self-hating-jews/
Next you are going to say that Israel shot all those rockets at themselves from Palestine over the years. And they pay Iran to give money to Hamas and to Saudi to fund the PIJ for all the advantageous press they could get from the resulting terrorist attacks against them.
Have you ever done ANY research into what Israel does that hasn't come from its propaganda spigots in the MM? Clearly, you haven't. Israel is the author of its own misery. It has slaughtered thousands of Palestinian children in the past month, but you evidently don't care because a "dead Palestinian is a good Palestinian" in your estimation. You're the true anti-Semite since you have forgotten (or never knew) that Palestinians are Semites, too. And the self-hating Jew trope? Go fuck yourself, you ignorant sack of shit.
Wow. You get likes for that. That covers the kind of people of your tribe. Just like 1930s German elite. How did that work out?
Maybe if your daughters were the ones raped and killed by those Palestinian terrorists you might "think" differently. But then you probably live alone in someone's basement.
You don't sound like a Jew. You are an atheist, are you not? This is a religious problem, so your views are based on false assumptions. The denial of the evil power that has been killing and chasing down Jews since Abraham. Hamas fights Jihad, for Islam, not for some romantic vision of "Freedom," which they could have had countless times, but they hate Jews. That's what Islamic terrorist do.
October 7 dis not happen in a vacuum.
Not a good source. You are another pawn of Satan. Do you not see there has been a supernatural hatred of Jews throughout history? If this was a small country somewhere else that had been attacked like Israel and were wiping out the terrorist group that attacked them, they would be heroes. Anti semitism is a spiritual disease. And if you don't believe in any of that "junk," you are a perfect target for the spiritual warfare against Israel and Jews.
Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Calling someone an anti-Semite because you disagree with them, and essentially want to end the conversation, cheapens the idea of anti-Semitism. There are facts to be discussed here. This is conflict that goes back more than a hundred years. There are complexities and subtleties as well as simplicities. I have read through these comments and I don’t find anything to be anti-Semitic. I do wonder however why you are on this sub-stack, commenting on this article, given the nature of the information?
The Neturei Karta are a group of Chasidic Jews who advocate for the dissolution of the state of Israel as it is against the will of God since the state can only be reconstituted after the arrival of the Messiah. Jews don't believe in Satan as some anti-God agent working evil in the world. Satan means "adversary" in Hebrew and the satan appears wherever God tells it to in order to carry out some divine mission or other. Now, I don't believe in any of that, but if you're going to pull out some half-assed theological nonsense to make your argument, then I am going to show that your beliefs are irrelevant to Judaism.
As for the Israeli response to the Palestinians' violence, there is no justification for the control and subjugation of millions of people on land that was stolen from them. Not that there was a justification for the Palestinians' massacre as children and the elderly are never valid targets but dehumanizing the people of Gaza for decades and then being shocked when they act inhumanely is gaslighting writ large. The only spiritual warfare being waged is by Israel against itself. Turning its citizens into soldiers/prison guards has made them a nation of jailors. The scope of this tragedy is wide and the consequences will be terrible as Israel continues its horrid experiment in weapons testing and population control. If there is an evil here, it is at the heart of the state of Israel that has turned its back on its beliefs and become a laboratory for fascist totalitarian control of a captive people.
The Messiah has come back. They just don't recognize it.
Speaking of hate Frank......what exactly is it blinds you to what is happening in Gaza right now??
Does Israel not have a right to defend itself? I don't hate. I don't like what is going on in Gaza, but there was a ceasefire in place when the Palestinians broke it and murdered, raped and kidnapped over a thousand innocent people of Israel. What blinds you to that atrocity and causes you one sided outrage? Could it be a base of Jew-hating?
Frank - I previously told you that Israel, as an occupying force, has no legal "right to defend itself". Even if they did, they are subject to other war crime standards, including proportionality (e.g. killing hundreds of citizens to kill 1 Hamas insurgent fails this test and so does 12,000 civilians murdered) and the practice of rigorously discriminating between civilians and military combatants (e.g. missiles and carpet bombing on civilian neighborhoods and tank and artillery shelling of hospitals and schools and mosques and churches fails this test, even IF Hamas were present, which they are not).
You are a hopeless liar and deplorable apologist for genocide and ethnic cleansing. Shame on you.
And of course, Palestinians don't have a right to defend themselves.?
Terrorist.
What ceasefire are you talking about Frank. IF you want to make a point please do?
When you condone the murder of civilians, many of them children, the bombing of UN schools, hospitals and refugee camps you are engaging in hate...........a right to defend oneself does not extend to murdering defenseless civilians, and you should know that Frank......if you were being intellectually honest.
What blinds you my friend is that the only atrocity you see is the one committed against your side.........after that, anything goes. And take that old canard of Jew hating and stuff it where the sun don't shine....it's a lame duck argument and should fit nicely into where you are currently sitting. Your accusations are offensive.
You're the hater here......trying to use the deaths of innocent Israeli's to justify the over 12,000 dead in Gaza by now. SHAME.
Liar. I don't condone it like you condone wiping Israel off the map.
If Hamas had not done that terrorist murder things, none of this would be happening. So, your support of terrorism is responsible.
Israel will wipe Hamas off the map now. That is good for the world. Next up, Hezbollah. Trump took out ISIS, and we just need to keep wiping out all of these terrorist organizations.
Interesting in polling Arabs in the areas, they are not supportive of any of these terrorist organizations, but Western libs are. Very interesting.
Five thousand dead Palestinian children - yeah, that ought to make Israel REAL SAFE!
Frank do you absolutely believe that every person in Israel is complicit in this genocide by the Israeli forces?
Do you know what genocide means? There are 1.7 million Palestinians living in Israel. 13 million outside of Israel/Gaza.
Of course I do what is your point?
Do you not see there has been a supernatural hatred of Jews throughout history? If this was a small country somewhere else that had been attacked like Israel and were wiping out the terrorist group that attacked them, they would be heroes. Anti semitism is a spiritual disease. And if you don't believe in any of that "junk," you are a perfect target for the spiritual warfare against Israel and Jews. Killing children. I believe the only reason the children are still there is that they are Hamas families. It's only 12 miles to get to safety.
You are talking none sense......to someone you don't know. I have very little racism in me......and I am able to distinquish between combatants and children. Someone who seems to have difficulty doing that has no business lecturing others on 'spiritual disease'.
As to your 'belief' about the children. I am also familiar with how 'belief' is manufactured to let the murderers off the hook, but turning over two million families into Hamas members is the biggest 'belief' whopper I've heard in a long time. SHAME ON YOU...for that blatant lie.
As to your BS about12 miles to safety........there is no safety for families in Gaza. You either aren't paying attention or you hope I'm not. Palestinians are trapped in there.......being told to scurry from one unsafe place to another by their Zionist attackers.
From the start to the finish of this post.........you've been letting your 'beliefs' stand in for incontrovertible evidence.
Yeah, no racism. Just complete re-stating things that people never said. I said they are attacking terrorist. And they are. It is only 12 miles. Why are they there? Because they are pro Hamas or family of Hamas. No one has been bombed in South Gaza. Your world is upside down. There is horrible conditions in the south. Too bad, in the whole Muslim world, they can't replace a piece of land 14 miles long and 10 miles wide for refuge to their brothers.
Damn it!! Anti Zionism isn't anti-semitism. There will come a day, Frank, when you will hate yourself for what you have become.
8. We Israelis are the most compassionate people of the world
yes, and please read Michael Hudson's article "Were the Biblical Prophets Anti-Semitic?" please do here: https://michael-hudson.com/category/articles/
I read it. What is your point?
Totally agree with last part, Hugh, but like many you are taking it too far to imagine an Israeli leader or group of leaders would purposely invite a civilian massacre. That's ridiculous. That's like asserting that 9/11 was an "inside job." People with a conspiratorial bent and bias almost always take a situation where some individual or group they already hate eagerly exploits a shocking event after the fact, and then the conspiracy mongers recharacterize it to make it 10 times more diabolical, by inferring a dastardly conspiracy to CAUSE the event. Just as Bush et al took full advantage of the 9/11 attack after the fact and did an enormous amount of damage to an entire region, killing and displacing millions - but obviously didn't plan it and execute it themselves, or know it was coming. Netanyahu - filled with unquenchable rage, desperate to avoid criticism for his and the IDF's abysmal, catastrophic failure, and driven by a theocratic, racist, authoritarian Zionist obsession - is milking this attack by Hamas for all it's worth. But imagining he allowed it to happen/suspected it would happen is a bridge way, way too far. This is one of the most common failures of human cognition -CONFUSING CORRELATION WITH CAUSATION.
Agreed, KnoBrainer, scaring people is the most used tactic by the fascists. The fable of the Scarecrow by Kalil Gibran tell us something about:
"Once I said to a scarecrow, “You must be tired of standing in this lonely field.” And he said, “The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, and I never tire of it.” Said I, after a minute of thought, “It is true; for I too have known that joy.” Said he, “Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it.” Then I left him, not knowing whether he had complimented or belittled me. A year passed, during which the scarecrow turned philosopher. And when I passed by him again, I saw two crows building a nest under his hat."
Pretty good answer for one who bills herself as "I’m about climate and social justice, music, film and anti-US Empire activism!!!!"
Anti-American, "climate justice" whatever the hell that is, and a true leftist. You sounded so good in the comment! I know this is an old one, but it applies. Why don't you just move the f--- out of the country? Choose one that has better "climate justice," or whatever other nonsensical BS you believe in. You believe it all but not in God? Right?
I understand that 500 of the Israeli’s killed were soldiers. I can’t give you a source but I’ve read it in more than one place and I tend to read reliable sources. That brings the Israeli count down to 700 killed by Hamas.
The same idea had crossed my mind as well.
You are deeply brainwashed. Your stories are from other zombies who follow leftists propaganda. Why would your groups propaganda promote murderers and rapists? You may want to check that out. You think Hamas are the good guys? The "open air prison" line is the dumbest thing ever. Dumber than the claim of "genocide." The "prison" had 50,000 Palestinians going to work in Israel every day with their Flintstones lunch buckets. People have not been forced to stay in Gaza. There were ways for them to move. They could have become citizens of Israel with all the benefits, which is what a lot of them did. Normal people. Israel is not afraid of the people. They are afraid of Hamas, a terrorist group who wants all Jews killed and wants death to America also. They want the death of everyone who is not a Muslim. Are you 14 or so?
You're still at it hey Frank? Trying to make this current situation the fault of the people being exterminated? Justifying a genocide by claiming the people resisting being held prisoners in their own land.......being fed by humanitarian charity for the past 16 years.......are to blame for their own extermination??
Calling the lock up Gazans have lived with for all these years a Ceasefire......while ignoring the need for a real one now......would be funny, if it wasn't such a lethal lie.
Nobody was "locked up" in Palestine except terrorists and criminals. What a stupid claim.
Look at all that Arab land surrounding that tiny speck that is Israel. Jews had occupied much more of that land before Arab Muslims occupied it by bloody conflict. And look at all that oil wealth that the industrialized West helped those Arabs get out of the ground. And are they investing in Palestine? No. Why not? Because they know that the Palestinians suck... they are violent and backward. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria... none of those countries want those people. No, they would rather use them as pawns with help from the mass psychosis of Western educated females and weak males as another victim narrative to help farm for their activist industry.
Take a look at the norther border of the West Bank. Look at the satellite images. One one side of the border with the same land quality is Israel where that land is covered in productive farm land. Next to that on the Palestinian side it is fallow and unused. That is because the Palestinian culture is backwards and broken and the Arab money that would otherwise help lift them up is spent on terrorism instead.
It isn't Israel's fault that the Palestinians are broken and backwards. It is more likely the fault of people with your views milking the victim narrative to supplement missing life meaning.
Stop being a terrorist sympathizer. It will ruin your reputation as being virtuous.
Frank - you know that Hitler used EXACTLY these disgusting racist lies to justify extermination of Jews, right?
"Because they know that the Palestinians suck... they are violent and backward. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria... none of those countries want those people."
So let me think about how odd your Hitler comment is. "Hitler used the exact same tactics," he must have said stuff like, "England and Poland are violent and backwards and no other European countries want them." Yeah, that makes sense.
Either you have a reading comprehension issue or are a hack. You completely distort my comment.
My comment was specific to "racist lies" to justify extermination, not invasions. Do you even know that Hitler said exactly the same things about Jews that Frank just wrote about Palestinians? Do you know that?
Bull Crap Bill. I don't want them exterminated. Why would you even say that? I want them helped to raise themselves up to better lives. They actually have better lives today than their tribes had before, but I understand the uncontrolled emotion of envy and resentment relative to that neighbor next door. And of course Israel is a super successful diverse democracy... so they really burn with their low capability existence relative to that.
Sorry buddy, but not all cultures and people are equal in their ability to govern themselves and make a better life for their children. If Israel just disappeared tomorrow, after looting what they can, the Palestinian people would just degrade to their same victim status of equal misery. The reasons is that elite wealthy Western liberals like yourself, and Arab nations and their terrorists proxies, like to exploit that misery instead of doing anything material to help improve their lives.
I like this guy, how about you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiTEPDB2VgY
He said that Frank because he read your post.
Gaza is experiencing genocide rightnow........at the hands of Israel.......and you're explaining on the Chris Hedges comment thread that the Palestinians are unwanted...backward....its all their own fault.
They were productive farmers Frank....before Israel drove many from their homes in1948. Israel has bulldozed many of their olive orchards and confisgated much of their original land. Once you are refugees in a small piece of your original territory........it's easy for partisans like yourself to accuse you of being shiftless.
It's a lie. But you say racist things about the people of Gaza and then disown what you've just said in the next post???
I'm starting to wonder if your are 'all there' my friend. Perhaps partisanship is warping some of your faculties??
You're the racist Frank.........sitting in judgement of a people you've never met....calliing them names in order to justify their slaughter.
You suck man...........and you're violent and backward.
Plus..........you're rant about educated western females and weak males suggests you are also a bit of a fascist..........insulting educated females can get you killed these days my boy...........and as for your contempt for 'weak' men.........you're talking the basic military fascistic death cult crappola.
That you have the nerve to call racism against any other commentators on here is the joke. You can't resist insulting and putting down anyone who disagrees with your take on why the Palestinians deserve to be eradicated.
Stop talking like a racist Frank........it could get you banned from intelligent comment streams.
I am none of those things. Just fighting against the antisemites, Jew-haters, and terrorist sympathizers like you appear to be. You are good with invective and vile name-calling... I will give you that. That is the common talent of your cohort. However, we learned during the 30s and 40s how to recognize the real threats that would lead to another slaughter of Jews, and it isn't gonna happen again.
Note the election in Argentina. I have no doubt that the left love of Hamas terrorists had an impact on that election. So get ready for Trump and Republicans to get back to power in 2024 and start cleaning house.
I get it, you hate working class people, men, whites and Jews. You are in good company with your political cohort. Your campus experience got you that way comrade, and your media feeds keep your head in the fog and locked into a hate brigade.
Here is a question for you to help come clean. Please describe what the solution is for Israel in your opinion? I doubt you will answer that honestly if at all, because it proves my points.
You don't get much of anything Frank. You're busy justifying war crimes, the bombing of civilian infrastructure, schools, hospitals, power stations......because of an act of terror committed by Hamas.
It doesn't wash. But you're not even an honest partisan, because you make insulting remarks and misrepresent what others are saying............and when they call you on it, you turn their legitimate accusations back on them.
Let me repeat: I do not condone what Hamas did, but what Hamas did does not justify the state of Israel turning Gaza to rubble. Acts of terrorism do not justify War Crimes. Palestinians have the same rights to a peaceful life as do Israelis, Americans or Canadians........you characterized them as backward, not I. Nor did I give any indication of hating Jewish people.......you accused me of that.
And here's a warning Frank..........to help you start watching your mouth.
EDUCATED FEMALES COULD YET SAVE THE WORLD FROM VIOLENT MEN....and peaceful men will be with us. Peaceful men aren't weak men and they often are good lovers. As to your present accusation, that I hate working class people....grow a pair!!!
I'm a farmer's daughter Frank.....and a lifelong supporter of Canada's social democratic workers party. You likely haven't a clue what supporting the working class means....I work at it, daily.
Part of it means being against War, since its always poor working class boys who get to die in it. Unless if course, its a genocidal conflict.......and then everybody gets to die...including babies in need of incubators that a lack of fuel has disabled.
Have fun with the Trump years...and the housecleaning....though all that has to do with the present issue is that it outs you. Try to remember: not everyone is American, or impressed with the current state of your union.
The solution for Israel??? I fear for their future. The world is watching now, as they commit genocide...I fear they will lose a lot of the world's good opinion. But perhaps everything happening now will convince good people in Israel that violent colonialism isn't going to work..........and acknowledging Palestinian rights might be a better way forward.
Unfortunately, as long as they have American military support, they will be tempted to continue telling themselves that might makes right It seldom does. They are losing the world's good opinion, and that may well lead to a fortress mentality, with a right wing theocracy in power. Neten yahoo isn't popular, but now he might be able to destroy the independent judiciary and have his way with the law.
I fear for their future, as I fear for the future of our planet, as various forms of violence distracts us from the real emergency: A rapidly warming planet.
"..mass psychosis of western educated females".??..."those people"..."are violent and backward"....seriously? "Those people"?! Yo bro. Major hate mongering AND arrogance: News flash: Jewish people are NOT superior to Palestinian people. Palestinian babies are every bit as precious as are Jewish babies. Skip the accusations of " antisemitism"....that's now an empty, meaningless pejorative. Anti genocide = antisemitism?! Seriously?!
It is absolutely sad that you do not get the full picture here. There was never a CEASEFIRE. The Occupier is trying to play the victim and people just falling for it. There is so much deception oceans can't cover it. Please go seek knowledge. Read Ilan Pappe, Read Norman Finkelstein
For this who seek Knowledge and the Truth I refer you to the Prophetic book of "This Time We Went Too Far" by Norman Finkelstein @NORMANFINKELSTEIN Published in 2010 (Paperback published 2011) Page 193-194. "Israeli leaders might even perceive an attack on the civilian population as an opportunity to whip up a domestic hysteria and garner international sympathy for a murderous denouement. Having alienated so much of international opinion after its consecutive ravagings of Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008-9, and after the Mavi Marmara bloodbath, Israel in fact positively needs massive civilian causalities - which it would undoubtedly exploit to the hilt in the media - in order to justify yet another annihilative assault and, if the attack goes awry, to coax American intervention". Although Professor Finkelstein was considering Hezbollah as the subject of discussion at that time, not Hamas, I do not see this detail changing anything in the near perfect analysis. This is only one of many FACTS. These words are itched forever in the history of mankind and its brutal never evolving nature of thirst for destruction and killing.
This is a waste of time. We are not going to change our views. We cannot argue against Muslims nor can they convince us. Maybe we should bring Obama back for his bowing tour.
There has yet to be any non-Israeli proof that there were Hammas headqurters under the hospitals. So Israel really needed to kill over 5,000 children to protect itself from terrorism? Are you insane?? Take off your Zionist blinders!
Thank God for your astute, experienced, honest, fearless, frank journalism, Chris. You're a model for all other journalists. If only all citizens would read your articles and ACT on them. If only governments were astute, honest and benign, as you are, and that there was no need for your writing! Thank you so much for your writing and ever best wishes with it!
Racism is alive at Columbia University.
I love Chris Hedges.
He is conscientious and clean minded.
"Israel is not carrying out a war, its carrying out a genocide". Unlike war, there are no international laws for the conduct of genocide. Course if there were (imagine that: laws for conducting genocide!) any country that would wage genocide would not be apt to comply with such laws as we are now observing.
Les, there are indeed international laws AGAINST genocide. Also please read: Have you read Michael Hudson's article "Were the Biblical Prophets Anti-Semitic?" here: https://michael-hudson.com/category/articles/
Well, it’s an interesting semantic point, if that matters to you. But practically, there’s but a single “law” regarding genocide: You don’t get to.
Given your last name, I'm sure you're very aware of the history. Chris Hedges mentioned the Armenian genocide specifically in this piece. As for definitions, check out Craig Murray's article currently on Consortium News, where he lists the provisions of the Genocide Convention of international law. There are 139 signatories, any of whom could call for determination, but none have (so far.) He makes some guesses why not, and makes clear it's not because it's ineffective--it was used successfully against the Serbian extremists.
Incidentally, Sen. Bernie Sanders (who is Jewish) just issued a statement calling what has happened "morally unacceptable and a violation of international law." He says that while the Israeli govt. "has the right to go after Hamas, it does not have the right to wage total warfare on the Palestinian people."
Does Sanders continue to oppose a total ceasefire? Until recently he used to be one of my heroes, but it seems that his double citizenship with Israel is claiming his loyalty toward them.
I completely agree. Senator Warren also refuses to use the word ceasefire. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff are two more liberals that won't use that word. They must all be on the AIPAC dole. It's shameful and pathetic.
Amazing that (I assume an Armenian) would see this as Genocide. Your people had that happen. Israel is not attacking Palestinians. I don't think anyone "innocent" is staying in Gaza. It's a 4 hour hike to get out of their. The media eats up anything Hamas says. Israel is fighting terrorism. For you to back Muslims is really baffling since it is due to Armenian Christianity that they died at the hands of Muslims.
As Goebbels observed, the bigger the lie, the better. If the lie is gigantic, normal non-sociopath people will accept it as true, because who would say such a thing if it wasn't?
Chris is right. Israel will become an ethnostate, like the "cleansed" parts of the former Yugoslavia...which are now wastelands, economic and culturally, inhabited by people who ultimately defeated themselves, all to become destitute pariahs. Makes sense that Biden, segregationist in chief, would be all for it.
Great reporting Chris. I came across Gregory H Stanton's "Ten Stages of Genocide" which Israel ticks off each step! #1 CLASSIFICATION "Us vs Them" with division and segregation. #2 SYMBOLISM " Names like Terrorists, Muslims or Hamas #3 DISCRIMINATION "uses law, custom and political power to deny the rights of other groups" i.e. Nuremberg Laws of 1935 Germany #4 DEHUMANIZATION "one group treats another group as second class compared with animals parasites or Less Than Human and easier to kill, in print and in hate media. At this stage hate propaganda is used to make the victim seem like villains #5 ORGANIZATION "Genocide is always organized by the state" Death squads are trained and armed #6 POLARIZATION Extremists drive the groups apart. Hate groups broadcast propaganda that reinforces hate and prejudice. Moderates are usually killed first. #7 PREPERATION National or perpetrator group leaders plan the "FINAL SOLUTION". They often use euphemisms to cloak their intentions such as "ethnic cleansing" "purification" or "counter terrorism". Indoctrinating the populace with FEAR." If we don't kill them they will kill us" . #8 PERSECUTION "Victims are identified and separated, death lists are drawn up. Their property is confiscated and segregated into ghettoes, concentration camps or confined to famine-struck regions. GENOCIDAL MASSACRE BEGINS #9 EXTERMINATION "Begins and quickly becomes the mass killing called GENOCIDE It is called "extermination" to the killers because they don't believe their victims to be fully human. Sometimes the Genocide results in revenge killings by groups against each other, creating the downward whirlpool like mutual genocide where the victims actually organize and commit a second genocide on the perpetrators. #10 DENIAL "Is the tenth stage that always follows genocide. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. They deny that they committed any crimes and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes and continue to govern until driven from power by force. We are witnessing step #9 and #10 before our eyes in 2023!
Wasting print and thought arguing with Frank Lee and Craig Verdi is a complete waste of time! Haaretz has a thumbs down option to insane comments like theirs. It would be so much easier Chris to hit the "thumbs down" and walk on bye! They have no redeeming qualities or any ability to make critical analysis, just screeds of weaponized anti Semitism! In Pre Holocaust Germany, those who criticized were accused of "anti Germanism". The US Power Elite and Captains of Industry used "anti Americanism" to attack Unions, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, War resistors and Peace Activists. Frank and Craig are the proverbial "Useful Idiots" needed by ALL fascist states!
Hedges cuts through the BS to write about the truth
In a democracy - or even an aspirational one like the US - the most patriotic thing any of us can do is dig deep, unflinchingly and tell the truth about our own country, our own family, our family's religion and our own society, and be brave and bold enough to identify the sins, the failures and weaknesses and demand change. Those of us who live here/within the family/society have the greatest leverage and the greatest obligation to call it out when it is wrong. To do otherwise and cloak oneself in cheap nationalism/nativism and turn a blind eye to our own country's or society's sins is really the ultimate sin, and exactly why Einstein said nationalism was one of the greatest threats to humanity.
Hedges is a hate monger and the very definition of a USEFUL IDIOT. He seeks to divide us from our brothers and the TRUTH the Whole Truth and NOTHING but the Truth.
Hedges went to Harvard Divinity School the subject of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
I KNOW HEDGES WROTE THE FORWARD TO 20TH ANNIVERSAR EDITION OF VOLTAIRE'S BASTARDS WITHOUT EVER READING THE BOOK. iT IS ABOUT BANALITY AND DEDICATED TO HANNAH ARENDT.
IN 1994 SIR JOHN WROTE THE DOUBVTER'S COMPANION: a DICTIONARY OF AGGRESSIVE COMMON SENSE.
page 301
UNIVERSITY
A place in which a civilization's knowledge is divided up into exclusive territories.
Sir John is the world's authority on press freedom in 2023. He was the first North American head of PEN International since Arthur Miller. and calls for the end of Western unCivilization and a return to sanity and the end of Empire.
Apart from your outrageous accusations against Chris Hedges, much of your post makes very little sense. Could have been written by a USELESS IDIOT...but then, I'm just showing off my sense of humor to say so.
Thank you . I am glad you responded. Recommends are meaningless . Your response tells me you understood. The truth is painful and I don't know if America can handle the truth but we are all dying from the toxic lies and hatemongering. Go out and find a copy of Voltaire's Bastards (The Dictatorship of reason in the West) Twentieth anniversary edition with Chris Hedge's foreword.
Read the book and tell me Chris Hedges actually read it. The book is dedicated to Hannah Arendt and stars Robert McNamara as the BANALITY of Evil.
You might like to get a copy of Sir John's
The Doubters Companion : A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense. Viking 1994
John Ralston Saul loves America something Chris Hedges will never understand.
I've read some of John Ralston Saul.........in particular,his Massey Lectures The Unconscious Civilization....but I'm not sure why you're trashing Hedges over a forward he wrote decades ago. I haven't read Voltaire's Bastards unfortunately.
I don't think you're right about Hedges love of America however. He works pretty hard to against the things that makes America less then she could be.
I am a Jew like Jesus not a Roman demigod. My father in law was a Unitarian and shared the socialist dorm with Arthur Miller. My father in law's godfather was Eugene Victor Debs. Tell me about Harvard Divinity School. Tell me about witch hunting in America in the 1930s tell me about Woodrow Wilson inspiring Josef Goebbels. I understand The Crucible I am a witch. They say I am autistic but I live in Quebec where autism is real. It can be seen measured and diagnosed one in sixty six is disordered and I don't look Jewish and I am very warm and cuddly. I am a genius in abstract mathematics and linguistics and failed kindergarten. I started learning how write in my fifties. My wife an expert in writing and the philosophy of education asked me why I did not go back to college. I said it is far to difficult for someone who cannot write with pencil and cannot tie his shoes. I have been surrounded by love for 75 years and I know God's design is about balance not victory. WE can only all win if we all win that is Jesus in a nutshell and we live under Roman rule. In Quebec we are a CHRISTTIAN SOCIETY. Healthcare, education and welfare are rights not privileges of the privileged.
Race, gender and religion are however human fantasy and earlier this year Quebec's Prime Minister Francois the Economist Legault was forced to concede ALL RELIGION IS EVIL.
John Ralston Saul was twice elected head of PEN International. The last North American to head PEN International was Arthur Miller and John Ralston is the leading World Socratic Philosopher on Press Freedom in 2023.
Talk about luck I had a whole faculty of education pulling for me to learn how to read and write and I found an autistic keyboard made in England for four year olds. I tried Dragon but I can't double task and compose and dictate simultaneously.
The Lord bless you and keep you
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." Mark Twain The Mysterious Stranger
Meanwhile I choose to remain 6foot two of Tickle me Elmo.
The Crucible was written about the House UnAmerican Affairs Committee as a response to the communist witch hunts, and had fuck all to do with Harvard Divinity, which was founded more than 100 years after the Salem trials. If you are referring to Mather, he did indeed graduate from Harvard University. Notably, he tried to stop the trials. It’s easy to sound smart when you can just spew nonsense.
Thank you for responding,
First of all I watched CBC and this was my favourite TV show 65 years ago and here is Norman Mailer in the flesh. What is HIP?
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1872030671
My father in Law was a democratic socialist and ran as a Democrat once upon a time and Miller was a democratic socialist and both were male chauvinist pigs the only thing was my father in law in his 80s still liked his gingers and Miller preferred blondes. What do you think of Death of a Salesman?
The Crucible was our senior class play when I was twelve.
I was not a good student and not invited to the stage or production. I was a DUMMY and a USELESS IDIOT.
https://www.pen-international.org/promoting-linguistic-rights/quebec-declaration-on-translation
https://www.johnralstonsaul.com/pen/history-of-pen/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller
Shall we talk Orwell? The first, my classmates knew I was neither deaf nor mute when we studied Orwell and I couldn't help but scream that's not Orwell. That's not science fiction that's Biblical Allegory. Cole's notes are a fiction read his effing autobiographies and essays. Why I Write is my greatest treasure. It took me 70 years to learn how to write and it is my greatest passion.
https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/why-i-write/
Arthur Miller by Arthur Miller. I got it for my wife six months ago she said Arthur was a 100% piece of shit but he wrote the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
This is the truth the whole truth aND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
By the way my Father in Law earned his Mastter's degree in Conservation Science and was given 24 hours to get his infant daughter and wife out of Tennessee and back across the Mason Dixon line and Tennessee was Democrat and Vermont was the REDDEST most backward state in the Union and all the inns posted their GENTILES ONLY signs.
tHE LAsT i ATTENDED RELIGIOUS SERVICES WAS tHE dAY OF aTONEMENT IN sT jOHNSBURY vERMONT AND i WAS RECEIVED WITH OPEN ARMS. iT WAS NEW BEGINNING TO a new LIFE. aS I crossed the border. I can no longer drive at night and Sherbrooke is as far as St Johnsbury. The Rabbi from Chabad in Sherbrooke brings me Challah and honey and blows the shofar. He is not evil but the War Prayer once upon a time on Nebraska Educational television sure looks like St Johnsbury with Chris Hedges owning the pulpit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYIRbmxHpc&t=4s
On our weekends (we lived in a ghetto where they are building the Obama center and Obama lost the congressional primary because he is far too conservative (white anglo saxon protestant.) ***** see ANGLO SAXON THE DOUBTERS COMPANION John Ralston Saul 1994 Viking A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense (AT THE END.)
We would drive to Michigan to visit my father in law and go with him to his Unitarian Universalist Church where everyone was welcomed. The synagogue in St Johnsbury was much the same. I sang the Heneni wherever I went.
That is why in Quebec ALL religion is EVIL because religion stops us from being Christian.
Religion is antihuman and Jesus was a HUMANIST and in Quebec race, gender and religion lie only between our ears.
I remember his holiness from St Johnsbury blasting Steven Pinker for the crime of being an optimist and I remember the story of Pandora's Jar and all we have left is Hope and the holier than thou says hope is a crime against the gods.
I didn't mean to capitalize but it gives you an idea of how long between typing and editing there is before looking at the screen.
Any further response is invited but you need to ask yourself some questions.
Heneni I am here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP4LiS_JZNc
ANGLO-SAXONS A racial group composed mainly of Celts, Chinese, Germans, Italians, Ukrainians French and other peoples, who have been conquered by or immigrated to the English-speaking world. To blame for everything. See : Xenophobia (PASSIVE).
XENOPHOBIA (PASSIVE) The English are fair, French bread is the best, Americans are individualists, Italian women are beautiful, Germans are real men because they are not circumcised, CANADIANS ARE NICE, the Russians are courageous, the Welsh are poetic, Greece is the cradle of democracy, Argentinians are the essence of male, Swedes are fair, the English are courageous he Swiss are hard working, Frenchmen are the best lovers, American culture is an expression of freedom Australians are tough, the Chinese are smart, the Poles should have been superior to everybody, the Italians have style, language is the great love of the Irish, , the English don't queue-jump, CANADIANS ARE COURAGEOUS, Germans are efficient, Scots are smart, the Spanish are tough, the Brazilians are not racists, Norwegians are good looking, Czechs are efficient, the English are at their best in a crisis, the Germans are courageous, the French are are individualists, CANADIANS ARE HARDY, the Swiss are efficient , the British are the masters of understatement, ISRAELIS ARE TTHE BEST SOLDIERS, Italians are romantic, Americans are courageous, the Scots are diligent and other reassuring , repetitive and boring fetishes.
I capitalized what I know is true the rest is bullshit except the local French bakery is to die for but the flours are all local and organic and taste like the bread I used to bake.
Thank you for responding to an ignorant and foolish old man seeking responses to his metaphysical inquiries.
I love America John Ralston Saul loves America and Christopher Lynn Hedges is a self loathing American what can I say . I Pity the Fool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qstzRJuONVk
Moe, I'm surprised by this comment. So, why have you been so long at this sub stack. Do you listen to "Useful idiots"?
Chris, as I commented to your alma mater.
Alan MacDonald
Wells, Maine 33m ago
While the history of regulations, laws, edicts, social norms, and ethics had sanctioned the humane standards of not imposing “cruel or unusual punishments on American citizens” neither for normal nor unusual crimes against society — I would posit and strongly suggest that in the case of faux-Emperor Trump — the moderate punishment of visiting a mild, and non-physical ‘teaching moment’ of subjecting Trump to the same punishment as was oft employed early in America’s founding, which was to utilize a public ‘Dunking Stool’, where-by the general and normal American citizens could ‘look upon’ Trump — by old fashioned or modern TV today throughout our country — which punishment would likely, thoroughly embarrass, shame, and expose this certified megalomaniac [re. DSA-5] in a way of turning said obnoxious idiot into the laughing stock of the American people’s derision forever.
Chris, comment to "these 'TIMES' they are a-changing" --- not in a progressive way:
Yes, "The Quiet American" Empire's GINI Coefficient of Wealth Inequality just exceeded Russia's -- so lets all cheer -- "We're #1", "We're #1", "We're #1".
My double-sided, ad-hoc, focus-group tested, and near 100% favorable, demonstration/protest signs simply say:
INEQUALITY
CAUSED BY
BILLIONAIRE
BASTARDS
vs.
DEMOCRATIC
SOCIALISM
LOVE FOR
PEACE