Endless War category archive
Fair and Balanced? 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Victoria Hugo-Nidal suggests that the press coverage of the student demonstrations at U. S. colleges may be slightly–er–skewed. Here’s a bit of her article:
It’s difficult to imagine getting away with doing this for any other group. Can you imagine if I pointed to Rep. Michael Lemelin – you know, the guy who said that the Lewiston mass shooting was God’s punishment on Maine for enacting “immoral laws” – and said he represented the beliefs of every single Republican in the state of Maine? I’d get torn apart. Nobody would let me get away with that.
The article is worth the two or three minutes you’ll need to read it.
Fail Columbia? 0
At the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a Jewish student from Georgia currently enrolled at Columbia University expresses his disappointment at how his college has reacted to the demonstrations there and his dismay at how some students, professors, and pundits are portraying both the demonstrations and the conflict in Gaza. It is a thoughtful piece well-worth a read.
Here’s a tiny bit:
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Victoria Hugo-Vidal looks at the conflict in Gaza and hears a rhyme.
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*Mark Twain
Gazing at Gaza 0
Der Spiegel takes a long and deep look at the situation in the Middle East and at the background. Christoph Reuter und Monika Bolliger, authors of the story, come to the disturbing conclusion that “the risk of escalation in the Middle East is growing.”
Given the often contradictory and frequently emotionally-charged reporting and commentary on events there, I think this article is well worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.
The Fifth Column 0
In a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, self-described Republican Andrew Richardson says that he is fed up with Republican’s preventing the U. S. from aiding Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.
I commend his arguments to your attentioin.
Putin’s Fifth Column 0
Thomas Geoghegan offers a theory as to why the Trump and the Trumpettes are so hostile to the U. S. aiding Ukraine in its battle to defeat the Russian invaders. Here’s a tiny bit from his article:
The whole piece is worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.
Gazing at Gaza 0
Der Spiegel takes a deep dive into the backstory of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
It is a long read and one well-worth your while if you want to try to make some sense of the senseless.
Gazing at Gaza 0
I think this post from Lawyers, Guns, and Money goes a long way to helping me understand why I have so many mixed(-up) emotions about the conflict in Gaza. I commend it to your attention.
H/T Noz for bringing it to my attention.
Freedom of Screech 0
No doubt you’ve been unable to avoid at least some coverage of the who-shot-john about the college presidents who were called to testify before the House Education Committee last week, testimony which led to the ouster of one of them.*
At Above the Law, Mark Herrmann offers a perspective on the issue raised by said who-shot-john.
I don’t know whether I agree with him, but I commend it as a worthwhile read.
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*I have paid as little attention to it as possible, primarily because I think nobody who was involved was right, everybody was wrong, and, most especialliest, nobody was thinking clearly.
And Round and Round They Go . . . . 0
Try as I might, I am having difficulty finding significant weaknesses in my old friend Noz’s observations about what’s going on in Gaza.
A Picture Is Worth 0
Take a look at it and decide whether you agree.
Extra-Special Bonus QOTD, Plus ca Change Dept. 0
John Viner, as narrator of The First World War: The War to End All Wars, at about the 16 minute mark of episode one (the paragraphing is my own, as closed captions are not, well, paragraphed):
. . . there was an ugly side to the popular zeal, a cruel xenophobia.
Hatred for Kaiser Bill the Bully was translated into outrage, as anyone with a foreign sounding name ran the gauntlet of looting mobs. The foreigner was the enemy. The role of propaganda as a weapon took on a focus and importance as never before. The development of the mass daily newspaper gave the propagandists a perfect vehicle to peddle their simplified, sensationalized, jingoistic, and rarely truthful message.
The image of the enemy as a monster was readily absorbed by a war thirsty public, while the idea of war as heroic and glorious was nurtured by economic (sic) use of the truth when it came to harsh realities.
And that was before “social” media, where lies are protected “free speech” and truth is libel.
Gazing at Gaza 0
When I look at events in Gaza, I see a situation in which the issue is not who is right, but who is more (or less) wrong. I see no right, only might.
I haven’t talked about it in these electrons because I don’t know what to think, let alone what to say.
All I have is confusion, dread, and grief.
This is in preface to recommending this article by retired University of Idaho Professor Nick Gier, who offers some historical context to these current events.
It is well worth a read.
Aside:
What I do know is that attacking random innocent persons who appear to be Jewish or Palestinian (or Muslim) in the streets or maybe just in the vicinity of mosques or synagogues in American cities is wrong.
That is nothing more than haters seizing on a pretext to unleash their hate.
Dissecting Dissimulation 0
The Associated Press offers a round-up of dis- and misinformation about the conflict in between Israel and Hamas currently being “shared” (that’s another word for “spewed”) on “social” media.
I commend it to your attention, not only for the debunking, but also for the descriptions how the lies are crafted, from misrepresenting videos to mistranslating transcripts. Here’s one example:
THE FACTS: The video is from 2022 and shows soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division arriving in Romania.
The footage shows soldiers dressed in fatigues getting off of a plane at night, carrying their belongings and walking across the tarmac.
One post with the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, had more than 9,000 likes with text that reads: “HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of U.S. Marines Just Landed in Israel WW3 HIGH ALERT”
However the video doesn’t show Marines nor Israel, and it isn’t recent.
The original can be found on the Defense Department’s media distribution website, which says it shows U.S. Army soldiers arriving in Romania in June last year. “101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldiers arrive in Mihail Kogainiceani, Romania, June 28, 2022,” reads the video’s description.
The site says the unit was there “to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank” and conduct multinational exercises with allies across Europe.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
And it especially isn’t a reliable source of factual news.
Plus ca Change 0
While on the subject, Victoria Hugo-Vidal reminds us that two wrongs don’t make a right.
