@caitoz: When most people think Zionist they think Jewish, when really they should be thinking Bible-thumping American yokel. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

For every 1 Jewish Zionist, there are 30 Christian Zionists, and Netanyahu exploits this

Israel’s war rhetoric is laced with biblical references, a ploy aimed at wooing Christian Evangelicals in the US. Here’s how British theologian Stephen Sizer unpacks this phenomenon.

[...]

Christian Zionism is actually the dominant form of Zionism. It has been since before the Zionist movement emerged in the 1870s, 1880s – there were Christians calling for the restoration of the Jews to Palestine from the 1820s, 1830s and the Balfour Declaration with the demise of the Ottoman Empire that Britain's entry, if you like, into the Middle East having defeated the French was to colonise Palestine.

[...]

So Netanyahu’s use of these biblical references resonates with the Christian Zionist base in the United States and Europe?

SS: Yeah, he's quoting scripture. It doesn't mean anything to his Jewish constituents, but it does to those who believe the Bible is coming true. Christian Zionism – it predicated on the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.

[...]

Christian Zionist organisations and churches are sending thousands of people to Palestine, especially to the occupied territories. A lot of money also goes into funding these settlements as well. What role has this movement played in terms of consolidating Israel’s settler-colonial state?

SS: I think it’s had a significant influence. If you believe that the Jews are God’s chosen people, then as Christians, you will defend them, you will criticise our enemies, you will demonise their enemies, and you will lobby for them. You will elect politicians that agree with your theology. If you believe that God has given them the land between the Nile and the Euphrates, then in practical ways you will help support the settlements.

[...]

So you are inferring that it has had an effect on America’s foreign policy, especially on the question of Palestine?

SS: Very definitely, because US politicians depend on US electorates to stay in power and the way in which the Zionist lobby has worked and it works in the UK and other European countries. For example, I can only really speak from the UK, but 80 percent of our politicians of the Conservative Party and the Labor Party are Conservative Friends of Israel, Labor Friends of Israel. And so in a two-horse race, how do you guarantee winning? you back both horses. You bet on both horses and you’ll always win. So the Zionist lobby backs US politicians who are Democrats and Republicans. And if a Republican politician or a Democrat politician begins to waver and has a conscience and for example says there must be a ceasefire in Gaza, the money will go to his opponent.

[...]

Does using such biblical references give some sort of cover to Netanyahu’s policies on Palestine and especially the ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza?

SS: Yes, it’s as I said, it’s a dualistic theology. Good guys, bad guys. God is on our side. God is not on their side. Therefore, it allows you to tolerate human rights abuses against your enemies, which you forgive on your own. It’s a dualism, a Manichean dualism.

[...]

You know, it’s superstitious. It’s a promise God made to Abraham and no one else. But it’s at the core of this theology. So Christian Zionists believe God will bless them and their nation as long as they support Israel. So it’s tragic.

We must treat everyone the same way, irrespective of their colour, ethnicity, or religion, and if our human rights, if our view of people is predicated on us and them, then then it’s self-defeating. And it’s going to lead, as we’re seeing in Gaza today, to pogroms, ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

No need to wait, it's Biden. We already know that if anything is done, it will be to benefit the donors and screw over the people.

Maybe a token scapegoat to facilitate moving even more money upwards in the background.

Google's best Gemini demo was faked | TechCrunch by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

And better pattern recognition is precisely what's needed for the purposes of authoritarianism.

They didn't work to improve this for our benefit or convenience.

Caitlin Johnstone: Only Truth And Clear Seeing Can Lead Us To Peace And Harmony by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

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The Independent has an article out titled “Inside a southern Gaza hospital: Screaming orphaned children, amputee toddlers and the stench of rotting flesh,” which begins as follows:

“A badly burned toddler screaming for the mother he doesn’t know is dead — and screaming because doctors do not have enough painkillers to relieve his suffering. An eight-year-old boy whose brain is exposed as bombing damaged parts of his skull. A teenage girl, her eye surgically removed, because every bone in her face is smashed. A three-year-old double amputee, whose severed limbs are laid out in a pink box beside him.

“And in the background is the stench of rotting flesh as maggots ‘creep out of untreated wounds’.”

[...]

@ggreenwald: There are, by all appearances, millions of people who now believe that there's an epidemic of students marching around chanting "gas the Jews" and "kill all Jews." I've asked around 100 people in the last week for examples. Nobody can give one, let alone show an epidemic. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

caitoz:

The epidemic of university students chanting in support of genocide against Jews is a complete work of fiction; it is not happening. But Americans are being told to focus on this 100% fictional problem while their government blocks UN ceasefire resolutions to end a real genocide.

@ggreenwald: There are, by all appearances, millions of people who now believe that there's an epidemic of students marching around chanting "gas the Jews" and "kill all Jews." I've asked around 100 people in the last week for examples. Nobody can give one, let alone show an epidemic. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's scary how easily the public can be convinced that there's a new crisis that requires massive speech restrictions.

What's really being done is that Israel supporters have taken long-time pro-Palestinian slogans, declared them "genocidal," and demanded censorship of them.

Help with reddit please by FreedomUltd in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

By... blocking them from pestering you?

They can't harass you via PM, but it obviously doesn't and shouldn't block them from participating in a public forum.

You'd need to have Reddit's level of stupid authoritarianism to make it work that way.

@SystemUpdate_: TikTok—suddenly and with no real explanation—permanently banned our show's account this week. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

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Full tweet:

TikTok—suddenly and with no real explanation—permanently banned our show's account this week.

Our show and its content on that platform, almost exclusively, challenges the US govt/security state. If TikTok were acting at the discretion of the CCP, why is this the account they would target and ban?

@GGreenwald: "I hope this forever debunks this notion that the people controlling the censorship decisions of TikTok are the Chinese Communist Party. They have turned over these decisions to the US security state."

The Ukraine/Zelensky Narrative Collapses. TikTok Permanently Bans our Show. INTERVIEW: Lee Fang Exposes Israeli Propaganda Op & Rapper “Lowkey” on Israel-Gaza | SYSTEM UPDATE #195

@CornelWest: The US veto at the UN to block a vote to end Israel’s barbaric genocidal campaign in Gaza is an act of spiritual obscenity and moral bankruptcy. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

So... An average US act then.

Full tweet:

The US veto at the UN to block a vote to end Israel’s barbaric genocidal campaign in Gaza is an act of spiritual obscenity and moral bankruptcy. We must fight to cast a light on the precious Palestinian children, and innocent women and men being slaughtered by Israeli forces enabled by the US government! We must have an immediate ceasefire, end of the siege and end of the vicious Israeli occupation!

NY Post: Newly revealed 1994 photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with Jeffrey Epstein raises new questions about relationship between politician and the pedophile by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

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“Those trips took place approximately 30 years ago, long before Mr. Epstein’s criminal behavior was public knowledge, a spokesperson for Kennedy told The Post.

That's... kind of the point?

Is this spokesperson also telling him to destroy his campaign on the altar of Israel?

NY Post: Newly revealed 1994 photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with Jeffrey Epstein raises new questions about relationship between politician and the pedophile by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

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Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. was on such good terms with Jeffrey Epstein that he had free use of the billionaire pedophile’s Manhattan office in 1993 — and partied with him at The Pierre, The Post has learned.

The disclosure raises questions about just how transparent the 69-year-old independent candidate has been about his relationship with the infamous pervert — which only came to light this Tuesday in an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters.

Kennedy acknowledged two trips on Epstein’s private plane, claiming he went on it in 1993 to Florida and at another time, to go “fossil hunting” in South Dakota, both times flying with children and adding: “I was never on his jet alone.”

And he claimed it was his second wife Mary Richardson Kennedy who had “some kind of relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell,” Epstein’s jailed madam who procured his victims and in the early 1990s was his girlfriend. Richardson took her own life in 2012.

[...]

He claimed Tuesday that his trip to Florida in 1993 on the so-called “Lolita Express” was with “my wife and two children to visit my mom over Easter.”

[...]

Kennedy was close enough to Epstein that the billionaire had a long entry for “Kennedy, Bobby & Mary” in his “little black book,” which featured contacts for socialites and politicians as well as the young girls whom he sexually assaulted.

[...]

“Those trips took place approximately 30 years ago, long before Mr. Epstein’s criminal behavior was public knowledge, a spokesperson for Kennedy told The Post.

The spokesperson said Kennedy “adds his voice to those demanding clarity about all of Mr. Epstein’s nefarious activities, including the identities of powerful partners or shady entities who may have enabled or participated in his crimes.”

[...]

Help with reddit please by FreedomUltd in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Blocking is to stop assholes from pestering you. It's not a 'safe space' flag. That's what Reddit tried to make it into, and Reddit is shit.

If you don't want to see what some people are posting, I guess the easiest option would be to install the SaidIt version of RES, which gives you an Ignore function.

Any help on unblocking people?

Yeah, go to your blocked list and unblock those you want to unblock.

Also, are there rules against banning people on reddit?

Banning is an admin and moderator thing, and right here you're on a sub that's against banning whenever possible because all voices should be heard as long as they're not straight up unacceptable (and it takes a lot to cross that line here, though it does happen). You should be asking this particular question in other subs. We're a very special case around here and other parts of SaidIt seem to be a lot more ban-friendly.

Due Dissidence: Glenn Greenwald CALLS OUT Right Wing Free Speech HYPOCRISY on Israel by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

"So I always knew my newfound supporters and fans and alike had a gigantic blind spot on free speech on a couple of different issues including Israel. The problem is... no not the problem but the reality is: the Israel/Palestine issue had been on the backburner for many years and we really haven't been talking much about it. And it was only with October 7th that it really came to the fore and you're seeing the censorship fanaticism on the part of the very people who spent years, have built careers, pretending that they were so offended by it."

Glenn being on point, as he usually is.

You have principles or you don't. Left/right, liberal/conservative, that comes later. If you don't have principles, labels don't mean shit.

So I guess... thanks to Israel and its associated/conditioned zionists to remind us what dropping your pretend principles looks like, on both sides.

Conservatives roleplaying as free speech warriors was obviously wrong from the start, it's kinda nice to see it blow up so clearly, in-sync with their blue equivalents. Highlights where the root problem actually comes from.

Due Dissidence: Glenn Greenwald CALLS OUT Right Wing Free Speech HYPOCRISY on Israel by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

"The cause of 'free speech' on the right, for many people, comes to a grinding halt the minute they arrive to the Israel/Palestine issue"

Yup.

Even though it's not new, it's still amazing how quickly the newly self-declared defenders of free speech joined their blue brothers on the censorship bandwagon.

Then again, kudos to them to highlight the level to which blue and red are the same thing, and the Twitter bio emojis are not even that different that often.

We already knew that the politicians are all playing for the same team.

It's never been clearer that both shitlibs and shitcons are perfectly comfortable with joining forces when it comes to defending authoritarianism and genocide, if the proper triggers are used.

And boy does 'zionism' punch through the whole red/blue imaginary barrier. Suddenly nothing is partisan anymore. You're either pro-genocide-while-denying-it's-happening, or you're an antisemitic terrorist, even if jew.

@caitoz: So obnoxious how Israel simps keep doing this. First of all, Refaat was absolutely right to mock that ridiculous debunked atrocity propaganda. Secondly, even if he wasn't right to make that joke, SOMEONE TELLING A CRUDE JOKE DOESN'T MAKE IT OKAY TO MURDER THEM YOU EVIL FREAKS. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Let me highlight the part that seems to be lost on genocidal assfucks:

SOMEONE TELLING A CRUDE JOKE DOESN'T MAKE IT OKAY TO MURDER THEM YOU EVIL FREAKS.

@LAPDHQ: The LAPD is aware of possible first amendment activity in the Los Angeles area over the next few days. In coordination with the US Secret Service, additional uniformed personnel and other resources will be deployed to ensure the highest level of public safety. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

So, over the past two months, we've seen an endless stream of evidence showing that zionists cannot stop telling on themselves.

Apparently, the LAPD is the same.

@briebriejoy: What? Ilhan raising money to fight against AIPAC trying to unseat her is “democrats fighting against Jewish people”? by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

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The Congressional Progressive Caucus is fundraising, saying "Republican-funded AIPAC is trying to unseat progressives!"

That's the black calling the kettle pot.

@SetPixels: These two things happened in the same hour. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

@aaronjmate:

Just as it vetoes a UN measure to stop the Gaza genocide, the US declares its support for the Genocide Convention and "the goals of atrocity prevention."

@SetPixels: These two things happened in the same hour. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

@USUN:

and its dedication to genocide prevention and civilian protection. We remain committed to the goals of atrocity prevention – and we honor the work of Raphael Lemkin and generations of peacebuilders. #GenocideConvention75

@UN_News_Centre:

United States vetoes Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and immediate and unconditional release of all hostages

VOTE

In Favour: 13

Against: 1 (US)

Abstain: 1 (UK)

Google's best Gemini demo was faked | TechCrunch by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What's being currently sold as AI is basically a better search engine. You feed it questions, it digs into the massive amount of available data that's been acquired (from us) through the years, using all the 'natural language querying', indexing and parsing tech that has been improved upon for decades now, with the result being presented in a more 'personal' way. Instead of seeing a list of results, you get something that feels like it's tailored just for you. As usual, they're playing on emotions.

It can be quite useful as a focused search engine. In the context of software development, it's basically a faster way to get code samples and documentation extracts for whichever issue you're currently having without having to go look through various blogs and forums yourself.

If it was sold as the search tool that it is, it would make things a lot clearer for many people, but of course that's not the goal. Gotta make people believe that this is the Next Best Thing Ever™️ and that by jumping on that bandwagon and eating up everything they're being fed, they'll be the most hip people around.

Which keeps them far away from ever wondering what else this tech is being used for, and has been for many years before they worked out how to market it to the general public. Because obviously they didn't come up with it just this year, all at the same time, already in a working and marketable state. Those algorithms have been trained and improved over a long time, and that happened by using them.

They weren't being used for mainstream purposes (funny chats and silly pics) until this year, so what could this possibly have been used for during all those previous years? Maybe somebody should ask Snowden. Oh wait, he already answered that question and ended up stranded in Russia.

Google's best Gemini demo was faked | TechCrunch by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

There's "intelligence" in the 'intelligence agencies' sense, gathering, parsing and analyzing as much data as can be grabbed, and there's "intelligence" in the sense that most people think of, reasoning, (critical) thinking, creativity, ...

This 'AI push' was always about the first case. They've been gathering data for decades now, and have enough computing power to use algorithms that can dig into all that data and make it look like there's some kind of intelligence.

The public face of this is designed to appear as if this was something borderline magical, but at its root it's just a branch of the surveillance state that we've all been subjected to for longer than the newer generations have been alive. As always, we're the product and we're being served back to ourselves under the guise of some glorious new tech, whose main use behind the scenes (and not even that hidden) is to monitor and control everything that lowly peasants are doing anywhere.

There's overhyping for sure, because they're marketing this to make even more money off of it, but there's also a lot of misdirection. "Look at all the fun uses of this tech, don't look at where the data it's using comes from and how that part of the whole process is working."

@mattlieb: The amount of people I know personally who are willing to let thousands of children die because they think Israel is an exclusive country club just for them is staggering. [...] by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Full thread, bold mine:

The amount of people I know personally who are willing to let thousands of children die because they think Israel is an exclusive country club just for them is staggering.

These people have been rationalizing it every day for the last 2 months & every day I keep thinking they are gonna reach a breaking point & every day they find a new Hamas horror to obsess over. They swill their daily hasbara sedative so they can numb themselves to the horror.

I can understand tuning out. I can understand staying silent. I’m not someone who’s gonna yell at you for not posting, I get it! The world is full of sad shit I don’t wanna look deeper into. It’s the defending it that’s killing me.

And for what? So you can one day claim your membership to a blood soaked desert resort? You’d sell your soul for a Sandals?

I’d be less disgusted if the majority of people I know who say “Whats wrong with the Jews having a home?” weren’t literal homeowners. Maybe if rented I’d get it. Rent is very expensive.

Since I was a kid the entire idea of Zionism has been as a contingency plan in case they one day come after us. But then I grew up not being oppressed & seeing other ppl who were in fact oppressed in my city. I thought being against oppression was this WHOLE IDEA was about!

These ppl I’m talking about, I know they can recognize the oppression of others. They used to talk about it all the time. But now theyre not only blind to it, theyre RESENTFUL of all the time they spent talking about it. They want everyone to cosign their contingency plan or gtfo

It’s just all so delusional and theoretical and so massively sociopathic when you realize they can look at all of these dead families day after day and still say “this is necessary and good.”

The cognitive dissonance combined with the over-the-top hostile reactions whenever reality is pointed out to those people is the exact same behavior and reaction as what happened, and still happens, with injection zealots. Mask zealots. Russiagate zealots. Ukraine zealots. You name it.

People all across the board have been conditioned to let their brains and humanity at the door whenever any given trigger is used on them.

It's always the same pattern, other people are always the ones paying the price and are demonized instead of being allies against the owner class who put those triggers in place and uses them to keep the infighting going so they can keep doing whatever the fuck they want.

Lee Fang & Jack Poulson: Inside the Pro-Israel Information War by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Excerpts from more or less random parts of the (very long) article:

Israeli gov-led Zoom calls, WhatsApp chat logs, and other docs provide a window into the massive effort to shape online discourse and silence pro-Palestinian voices.

As the Israel-Hamas war began to heat up in late October, Courtney Carey, a Dublin-based employee of the Israeli website building company Wix, posted the Irish words “SAOIRSE DON PHALAISTIN” -- “Freedom for Palestine” -- on her LinkedIn page.

Within 24 hours of Carey’s LinkedIn post appearing, Alon Ozer, a Miami-based investor, took a screenshot of the post and shared it with a WhatsApp group of more than 300 like-minded investors, tech executives, activists, and at least one senior Israeli government official. Ozer took care to note that Carey worked for Wix.

Oded Hermoni, a tech journalist-turned-venture capitalist, piped up to assure everyone that Batsheva Moshe, Wix’s general manager for Israel and a member of the group chat, had been “on it since Sat[urday] night.”

Moshe then chimed in to assure her peers that the issue with Carey had been “taken care of since it was published.”

“I believe there will be an announcement soon re our reaction,” she added.

Wix terminated Carey the following day.

[...]

The WhatsApp group where Carey’s case came up serves as a kind of switchboard where the various independent players in Silicon Valley’s pro-Israel community swap ideas, identify enemies, and collaborate on ways to defend Israel in the media, academia, and the business world.

We have obtained access to thousands of the group’s WhatsApp messages dating back to mid-October, and an intricate spreadsheet where group participants request and claim tasks ranging from social media responses to IDF support shipments. Separately, we have viewed a number of video meetings charting best practices for “hasbara” – an Israeli term of art for “public diplomacy” whose detractors see it as a euphemism for propaganda -- that offer a window into Israel’s public-relations war that is not limited to the tech sector.

[...]

The IDF spokesman encouraged those on the call to assist with “maintaining pressure on legislators” in Congress and to work to influence those “in universities or media, or think tanks, or in elite circles.”

Members of the hasbara-oriented tech world WhatsApp group have eagerly taken up the call to shape public opinion as part of a bid to win what’s been described as the “second battlefield” and “the information war.”

[...]

In some cases, officials from the IDF and other parts of the Israeli government have joined the effort. David, the Israeli foreign ministry official and an investor in J-Ventures, has shared official talking points in the WhatsApp group.

[...]

"You guys are our frontline soldiers,” said Tamar Schwarzbard, head of Digital Diplomacy at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, on an October Zoom call posted online by Hasbara Fellowships, a nonprofit group that works closely with the Israeli government to train pro-Israel activists in the U.S. and Canada. She noted that the government needed help reframing the Gaza war and the public messaging over the conflict with Hamas.

“Let’s say you see some kind of newspaper article on your campus news site showing support or solidarity with the Palestinians and not speaking out against what's going on in the Gaza envelope and in Israel,” she said. “So you want to make sure, try to tag, let's say, the president of the university on the post you're putting out condemning that article.”

“Hamas does really good PR,” continued Schwarzbard. “We need to change the narrative.” She implored the group to use focused language. “We need people to see this isn't just a run-of-the-mill resistance, freedom fighter group. This is something equivalent of ISIS.”

[...]

The Israel-based venture capitalist outlined three categories of people for whom outreach, rather than attacks, is the best strategy. The first group is what he dubbed “the impressionables,” who are "typically young people, they reflexively support the weak, oppose the oppressor," but "are not really knowledgeable." For this category of people, the goal is not to "convince them of anything," but to "show them that it's much more complicated than it seems." Seeding doubt, he said, would make certain audiences think twice before attending a protest. "So it's really about creating some kind of confusion,” Fisher continued, “but really, just to make it clear to them that it's really a lot more complicated."

A second category, Fisher explained, is the "uncomfortable sympathizer," a group that "wants to support Israel -- they're typically more liberal," but opposes the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These types can be won over, Fisher said, by pointing out "that we are a multi-ethnic, diverse, democratic liberal society with rotten apples."

The final group consists of those who are "reflexively pro-Israel, kind of ‘Israel, right or wrong.’" Members of this group "are not actually very knowledgeable," so they needed to be equipped with the right facts to make them "more effective in advocating for Israel,” Fisher said.

[...]

The WhatsApp chats provide a rare look at the organizing efforts behind the broad push to fire critics of Israel and suppress public events featuring critics of the Israeli government. The scope is surprisingly broad, ranging from investigating the funding sources of student organizations such as Model Arab League, to monitoring an organizing toolkit of a Palestine Solidarity Working Group – “They are verrrry well organized”, one member exclaimed – to working directly with high-level tech executives to fire pro-Palestinian employees.

[...]

The WhatsApp group mustered similar efforts against pro-Palestinian activists and writers. Lior Netzer, a business consultant based in Massachusetts, and a member of the J-Ventures WhatsApp group, requested help pressuring the University of Vermont to cancel a lecture with Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer for The Nation magazine. Netzer shared a sample script that alleged that El-Kurd had engaged in anti-Semitic speech in the past.

The effort also appeared to be successful. Shortly after the letter-writing campaign, UVM canceled the talk, citing safety concerns.

The pro-Israel organizing efforts to silence pro-Palestinian speech raises concerns with some observers of the conflict.

“You can disagree with critics of Israel, you can oppose what they're saying,” noted the Quincy Institute’s Clifton. “But this is an effort to constrain the debate in an underhanded manner.”

[...]

Speaking to the Hasbara Fellowships audience, Hoffman also characterized himself as a foot soldier in a wider war on behalf of Israel, rather than a media watchdog primarily concerned with combating bias, as its website suggests. “There are three battles going on right now for Israel’s existence,” he said. Those battles, he explained, take place on the military battlefield, on college campuses,” and the one in which HonestReporting engages, “the media battlefield.”

Victory on the “media battlefield,” Hoffman concluded, “eases pressure on IDF to go quicker, to wrap up” and “goes a long way to deciding how much time Israel has to complete an operation.”

Caitlin Johnstone: If The Pro-Israel Position Was Based On Truth And Morality, It Wouldn't Depend On Lies And Slander by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

If your position is based on truth and morality, you don’t need to make up lies to defend it, and you don’t need to hurl false accusations at those who disagree with it.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t need to circulate bogus atrocity propaganda about decapitated babies, babies cooked in ovens, and murdered pregnant women.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t have to circulate lies claiming actual dead Palestinian babies in Gaza are plastic dolls.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t have to falsely present phony audio clips as intercepted Hamas communications and claim they exonerate you of war crime allegations.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t have to circulate lies and propaganda about the hospitals you plan to attack being secret Hamas headquarters.

If your position was based on truth and morality, your official government social media accounts wouldn’t have to keep deleting posts after getting caught circulating lie after lie.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t have to circulate amazingly cringey propaganda videos like Israeli children singing about how great it will be to destroy Gaza and Israeli women doing yoga over the pictures of Israeli hostages.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t find yourself engaged in bizarre mental contortions trying to pretend history began on October 7 while sweeping all the mountains of murder and abuse which led up to it under the carpet.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t have to keep pointing at something that happened months ago to defend what you’ve been doing in the present moment in all the days since.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t need to resort to hurling false accusations of anti-semitism at those who criticize your side instead of producing robust counter-arguments.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t need to resort to accusing those who disagree with you of supporting terrorism and serving Hamas instead of defending your position like a normal adult.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t need to lie and claim that longstanding pro-Palestine slogans are actually calls for the genocide of Jews to try and get them silenced.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you wouldn’t feel the need to censor and silence everyone who disagrees with you online, on college campuses, and on all platforms of major influence.

If your position was based on truth and morality, you would get curious and do some self-examination when young people overwhelmingly reject that position instead of insisting that the young people are the problem and trying to kill TikTok and outlaw demonstrations.

If your position was based on truth and morality you would be defending it with facts, logic and rational argumentation instead of vitriol, online troll mobs and incendiary false accusations.

If your position is based in truth and morality, you can defend it in a truthful and moral way, instead of the exact opposite.

@roadgrimes: Conservativez: “Silly libs, I’m not a racist, I just care about all people: ALL LIVES MATTER!!” *5 minutes later* “Anyone who isn’t ok with Israel murdering everyone in Gaza is a racist!!” by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Zionism: the 100% guaranteed way to make both shitlibs and shitcons into the virtue signaling unprincipled hypocrites they always were.

@aaronjmate: @SenSanders, who still can't bring himself to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, is begging Senate colleagues to approve another $60 billion for the proxy war in Ukraine by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Full tweet:

@SenSanders, who still can't bring himself to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, is begging Senate colleagues to approve another $60 billion for the proxy war in Ukraine: "If Ukraine falls, it will be a signal to Putin that he can continue to expand his authoritarian aggression against democratic nations."

Shut the fuck up Bernie.

Why are we totally ignoring glaringly obvious, highly disturbing, and ongoing rates of excess mortality in so many highly vaccinated countries? by stickdog in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I'm guessing that every single one of those who have the most influence over this are counting the days they need to keep bullshitting until they can get their golden retirement, paid for by Pfizer & co for services rendered.

Those who don't have enough influence to cover their asses will end up as the scapegoats whenever corporate media is told to blame them for everything.

And the TV watchers will think that justice will have been served, while paying to get their neural-chipping appointment.

Much like they'll be happy to forget all about Ukraine once Nazilensky is declared the official scapegoat for the whole thing.

Much like they'll be (even more) happy with the Palestinian genocide, that will still be going on, once Naziyahoo is declared the official scapegoat for that whole thing.

People never learn. They can't, because they've been taught to avoid learning and just to hear, believe and repeat.

Why are we totally ignoring glaringly obvious, highly disturbing, and ongoing rates of excess mortality in so many highly vaccinated countries? by stickdog in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Because the majority of people in those countries have let themselves be bullshitted into getting injected with experimental shit for no reason, and really, really don't want reality to catch up with them.

Denial is a strong drug.

Not to mention all the people responsible for this shitfest in the first place who really don't want to risk any kind of accountability, ever.

@briebriejoy: No. Calling for the end to Israeli apartheid is not antisemitic, just as calling for an end to South African apartheid wasn’t *bigotry.* Apartheid states do not have any “right” to exist. States don’t have intrinsic rights. People do. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Full tweet because the last sentence went beyond the 300 character limit:

No. Calling for the end to Israeli apartheid is not antisemitic, just as calling for an end to South African apartheid wasn’t bigotry. Apartheid states do not have any “right” to exist. States don’t have intrinsic rights. People do. And for 75 years, Palestinians have been denied those rights by Israel.

@WarMonitors: ⚡️Israeli occupation airstrikes in Khan Yunis, the place they made Palestinian civilians evacuate to. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I find it harder and harder to disagree with those who say that zionism isn't just a genocidal ideology but also a straight up mental illness.

Granted it's an illness that is forced onto people through conditioning, but adults are responsible for their behavior and its consequences, no matter if it originates from conditioning or not.

And we thought the C19 cultists were bad...

@WarMonitors: ⚡️Israeli occupation airstrikes in Khan Yunis, the place they made Palestinian civilians evacuate to. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

@anthonyzenkus:

The occupying Israeli army continues to push the 1.87 million Palestinians it displaced intro smaller and smaller areas; aid trucks cannot get through and bombardment is constant. All of this in Southern Gaza, where Israel told Palestinians they had to move. This is genocide.

The Dystopian AI Future Some Fear Is the Present-Day Reality Others Live - FAIR by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Do the gains go to a few rich people and screw over the rest or are the gains going to be collectively shared?

When the advancing tech is controlled by a few rich people who are also in control of their own already corrupt and authoritarian government, that's an easy question to answer.

@WarMonitors: ⚡️Israeli occupation airstrikes in Khan Yunis, the place they made Palestinian civilians evacuate to. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

But remember, it's not a genocide because Palestinians are breeding.

@DrJillStein: Congress says you're a bad Jew if you're not a Zionist. How antisemitic is that? by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

@kthalps:

Congress declared Albert Einstein an anti-semite today.

Libertarian Institute: Top Defense Official: US Can Handle Middle East, Russia and China All at Once by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady said the Pentagon was prepared to fight a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, aid the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, and arm Taiwan for a potential war with China. The Admiral argued all the military efforts could be completed simultaneously and the Navy was not stretched thin.

[...]

More US shoppers tack on buy now, pay later debt for Cyber Monday by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Fewer Europeans as well.

Gee I wonder why...

@amnesty: A new investigation by Amnesty International has found US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) were used by the Israeli military in two deadly, unlawful air strikes on homes full of civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The two strikes killed a total of 43 civilians. In both cases, survivors said there had been no warning of an imminent strike. These strikes were either direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks. They must be investigated as war crimes.

The US must immediately stop transferring arms to Israel that more likely than not will be used to commit or heighten risks of violations of international law.

Hezbollah targets IOF vehicles as latter launches phosphorous bombs ¦ The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon targeted two Israeli Occupation Forces vehicles belonging to the engineering combat force while setting fires in the woods opposite the Ramya site. by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's a start. They were saying they wouldn't let Israel ethnic cleanse Palestinians if they resumed their genocide, which Israel did because that's what Israel does, so maybe it could be time to intervene in a more direct way.

Which obviously means an escalation towards something that only Zionists and end-times-loving Christians may want, but given that Israel clearly doesn't intend to stop, that the US clearly intends to keep helping and that nobody in the EU/UN intends to do anything other than let US/Israel commit war crimes, as usual, that doesn't leave a lot of countries to do something about it.

Either Russia/China get involved (doubtful, they've got their own US-caused conflicts to deal with) or it's up to the neighboring countries.

@PalBint: “It took 45 days” by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

@thisrosycandy:

And of course, they banned her.

@DrTedros: Today, @WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Full tweet:

@DrTedros: Today, @WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use.

We appeal to #Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities.

No worries Tedros, Bill will buy you a new one to store the next batch of injections you'll sell them to experiment with on the population.

King Charles Delivers Highly-Politicised Speech to Support Collectivist Net Zero Project by penelopepnortney in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I suspect his Mama was hanging on in the hopes of outlasting him..

Not that she was any better. Just so old as to not matter anymore.

Not that the 'british' monarchy should matter in the first place...

@scotthortonshow: The hilarious cowardice of @RobertKennedyJr who has absolutely nothing to say about Israel killing 15,000 civilians, most of them women and children. The only question is whether Epstein/Mossad got pictures of him with a 16-yr-old or whether he was simply born without a spine. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I'll bring the troops home from Iraq and Syria!

No you won't. They're there because Israel says so.

I know! I'll run for president as the alternative-left candidate!

I bet nothing important regarding Israel-Palestine will come up in the next two years, right?

American Borrowers Are Getting Closer to Maxing Out | Credit-card utilization and delinquency rates are on the rise by RandomCollection in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

And of course they're the ones being criminalized when they're the victims of the actual criminals in control of the economy.

@jvgraz: Countries don't have rights. People do. Pretending countries have rights is how you get Israel. And Nazi Germany. And the United States. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

because animals do not have rights

One flaw with this: humans are animals as well. The issue with the idea of a species (real or imagined) having more inherent rights than others applies here as well.

Human rights is a social concept invented by humans, for humans, theoretically for the purpose of keeping human civilization on the "right" evolutionary track, away from primal reactions and towards a more civilized society, which would include treating fellow animals in a more "humane" way.

Those who are trying to weaponize, coopt or erase this concept for their own benefit are the ones pulling human civilization back down towards the dark ages. This whole "countries have rights" bullshit is a prime example of this.

Given what we're seeing right now, with so many people dropping any consideration for this concept of rights when applies to other humans, and instead reacting in the most vile and primal way... We absolutely are devolving as a species.

@jvgraz: Countries don't have rights. People do. Pretending countries have rights is how you get Israel. And Nazi Germany. And the United States. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Other common point between those three countries?

The controlling faction/cult believing themselves to be inherently superior to other humans.

"American exceptionalism" justifying the US rampage around the world is right up there with Nazis believing themselves to be genetically superior and Zionists to be magically superior.

@0rf: "DC's #1 Spot for Comedy" says comedians must not make the audience feel "uncomfortable", equating it with "harassment". They encourage the audience to snitch on comedians who make politically incorrect jokes so that they can be blacklisted. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Full tweet:

"DC's #1 Spot for Comedy" says comedians must not make the audience feel "uncomfortable", equating it with "harassment". They encourage the audience to snitch on comedians who make politically incorrect jokes so that they can be blacklisted.

"Refrain from race-based, sex-based, sexual orientation-based, gender identity-based, national origin-based, religious-based" jokes, as they could be deemed "harassment".

"We will not tolerate these behaviors and will not book comedians who we determine either engage in them, encourage them or fail to let us know when others do."

"Did something happen at a show that made you feel uncomfortable? Let Elena or Jack know."

Jimmy Dore Show w/ Steve Kirsch: Bombshell! Covid Vaxx Killed Millions Worldwide! by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The good news from this video according to the data Kirsch talks about is that the increased risk of mortality, which keeps increasing for a year after the second shot, goes back down afterwards, though not completely back to baseline.

As for treating injection damages, the FLCCC has a protocol addressing exactly that, though it's way more complex than the protocols to treat C19 itself. Talk about the 'cure' being more harmful than the disease...

@Lowkey0nline: Israel's largest arms company, Elbit Systems, has been dumped by its sole recruiter in Britain. The recruitment firm iO Associates took the decision following two months of pressure from Palestine Action. by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Recruiters Drop Elbit Systems after Palestine Action Campaign

After weeks of action, the sole recruiters for the British operations of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, have confirmed via email to Palestine Action that they ended their association with Elbit on the evening of the 29th November. For two months, activists in the Palestine Action network had disrupted iO Associates at their premises across the country, to impede their ability to recruit roles for Israel’s war machine.

iO Associates recruited the likes of engineers, software developers, and finance staff for positions across the sites of the British branch of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems. Elbit are the largest supplier to the occupation military, providing the vast majorities of its drones, munitions, surveillance gear, and parts for its tanks, jets, and precision missiles. From Britain specifically, they manufacture parts for Israel’s killer drones, along with weapons sights, tank parts, and more, exporting these technologies to Israel in great volume yearly. This is the nature of the business that IO was Associates with, and were IO Associates biggest client.

In response to their facilitation of Elbit’s criminal activities, iO’s offices were stormed and occupied in Manchester on the 1st September, and again on the 7th October. Activists painted iO offices red on October 9th in London, Reading, and Manchester. They were forced to vacate their Manchester offices from the 11th October, after the premises were also stormed by the Youth Front For Palestine, and then finally targeted in Edinburgh twice, on the 11th and 17th October. After being forced to vacate their offices, having their online presence tarnished, and (as confirmed to us by former employees) losing their staff who resigned in opposition to their arms trade partnership, iO Associates have finally cut ties with Israel’s weapons trade.

This is part of an expansive strategy by Palestine Action, by disrupting the suppliers and facilitators of Elbit’s presence in Britain. It has seen Elbit’s accountants (Edwards), haulage providers (Kuehne + Nagel), landlords (JLL) and many other complicit companies targeted, alongside the hundreds of actions at Elbit sites themselves, continuing to resist the presence of Elbit warmongers in Britain, and constantly reminding those associated with them that they have blood on their hands.

As a result of iO Associates dropping Elbit Systems, the recruiters have been removed as a target of Palestine Action’s campaign. All targets who still facilitate Israel’s weapons trade are listed on elbitsites.uk

August 25th 2014 - Holocaust survivors and their descendants accuse Israel of 'genocide' | More than 300 Holocaust survivors and their descendants have condemned what they described as Israel’s 'genocide of Palestinian people' in an advert in the New York Times by Maniak in WayOfTheBern

[–]Maniak[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Today in "history didn't begin on october 7th 2023".

[...]

“Genocide begins with the silence of the world,” the statement reads, “We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people.”

The statement also condemns the United States for its financial and diplomatic support of Israel.

The signatories express alarm at “the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever pitch.”

[...]

More than 2,100 Palestinians, including 500 children have been killed in the conflict, according to Palestinian health officials and UN figures. Israel has lost 64 soldiers and four civilians.

9 years later, things are so much better, right? Right?