This is not a post a person can “like,” but it is certainly one I agree with. Bibi and his contingent in power are guilty as charged of visiting “collective” retaliation against an entire people, and of trying to erase those people from the region. That is genocide. And they are spreading it to the West Bank, as well, to clear all of Israel, claiming any Palestinian who opposes them of being Hamas. I am so sad for all the people between the river and sea in this war. I have long held hope for two states. Bibi and his cadre are heinous.
This genocide runs through Washington DC - supported (though denied) by the two major political parties and their Presidents, all of whom have blood on their hands. Then there are the roughly 50 million Christian Evangelicals who support Israel only as a means of bringing on the Rapture - they are organized to impose Christian "sharia' law on us all (and have the money to own many in Congress), and also have blood on their hands.
Then there are the rest of us - the vast majority are outraged and feel powerless. One can march in the streets; "write your Congress person" - but those have been shown to be useless exercises; those in DC are all owned by the moneyed interests.
And in retort to those who support the genocide because of "October 7th' and 'the terrorists' in Hamas', Chris Hedges made a telling point yesterday - he said it is the oppressor who chooses the form of resistance.
So, what's left?
To be a witness: to remember the Palestinians as victims of a holocaust; to remember most of humanity stood by when they were being eliminated. And to know, they will come for all of us some day - and hope there will be someone to remember us.
Hello TomR again.... I recollect reading that the Israelis consider themselves the Center-Of-The-World, and all other Peoples Enemies... Diaspora Jews are considered Weak...
Hello Tom.... And Now the Netanyahu Regime has struck Qatar taking out the HAMAS Diplomatic Team... Who will Negotiate for HAMAS Now?... Doha is Neutral Territory... Does Netanyahu truly want Peace or Endless War?... Has Israel Gone Rabid?...
Also saw Caitlin Johnstone's entry late last night. Was left gobsmacked. Derangement shows no bounds.
Curious about your seminar at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. I have negative connotations about the place, from my visit to it back in the mid-'90s, I believe it was, to checking its online content maybe three, four months ago. In brief, "Holocaust Industry" is my take. Please expound.
The seminar I attended was very useful. Basically, it provided materials and lessons on how to teach the Holocaust. It was run by Henry Friedlander, a survivor of Auschwitz who wrote "The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to Final Solution." This was about 25 years ago.
Thanks, reassuring to hear. Roughly about the time I had visited*. I haven't followed it since then until recently, when my perception now is that it has taken on the role as more of an extension of the hasbara strategy than dispassionate resource on holocausts, capital aitches or not. Example, reference to May 15th +/- as Israeli Independence Day, no acknowledgement whatsoever as it also being the onset of the Nakba. That kind of selective memory.
*I may relate my experience upon going there another time.
Its all very surreal and tragic/stupid. Absolutely stupid...If humanity could only put their collective brains to good use instead of Wars we could truly be doing great things. But.., alas we're just a higher form of talking, conscious apes. So we'll continue bombing the shit out of each other because we woke up angry, or some such other b.s. that our neighbors did. I hate to keep quoting Carl Sagan again, but humanity doesn't listen: "The Pale Blue Dot Speech" says it all...! As we ponder the fears of our own collective demise as the Doomsday Atomic Clock on the planet gets closer to Midnite-- Will we ever learn before it's too late?
However, I dispute that we're a higher form of apes. Non-human animals are vastly superior to us, by and large. Groups of non-human primates may have their differences, but you don't see them destroying the planet.
Thx. Denise I concur the Ceteans: Whales & Dolphins the Mammals not the Fish species I also feel are vastly superior to homo sapien species in Intellect. I do believe that they also have a form of consciousness in itself. And.., as Stewards of this planets Land Mammals we have a responsibility to not destroy this planets environment, destruction of forests which are my Cathedrals not the manmade ones. I also believe as Carl the Trees are our Cousins. We can't let our thriving biosphere of our planet Earth become like a barren lifeless one like Venus. I would Lobby everyone I could to save our planet for all species!! We share a kinship between all animals plant too. We all need to be Animal Rights Visionaries. I condemn Whaling. I was very happy when Carl put the Calls & Singing of Humpback Whales on his Voyager Golden Records.Launching in 1977 the yr. I got out of the USAF. They are now the most distant man made objects ever created...!
I couldn't agree more on all points, Fireman. The few charitable contributions I can afford are all directed at animal causes. Humans are the worst scourge ever to bedevil the planet, and in the current timeline, we're doing everything possible to burn it all down and take all the other creatures and plants with us.
Not nearly enough people still consider trees to be sacred. As I understand it, E.O. Wilson believed that we're hard-wired to be emotionally tied to Nature, but it certainly doesn't look like it anymore.
I've read a couple articles lately about cetecean communication, and I absolutely believe they have a society that surpasses ours in ways that count.
YES! About Carl. He was the DaVinci of our time. If only more people in leadership positions had listened to him. But he told "inconvenient truths."
I think "Holocaust" was copyrighted by the old JDL (I say "old" because I haven't kept up with them over the decades and they may have renamed/rebranded themselves). So any use of same without permission could well be considered copyright infringement. As for "genocide" well ... like blackmail, it's an ugly word with uglier connotations (see "Holocaust") ... collateral damage is less offensive and the cry will go 'round the gallery "if you want to talk numbers, what about Auschwitz, Dachau, Belsen, Oranienburg ..." the same old story, the same old litany, the same old same old ...
There have also been others, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in the Americas {and not only hundreds of years ago}. Genocide is, so everlastingly sadly and horribly, not uncommon.
Around 1962, the State of Israel hanged Adolf Eichmann for crimes against humanity. There was no evidence presented at trial that Eichmann personally did bodily harm to any Jew. His "defense" was that he was just a pencil-pusher, working on logistics for the "Final Solution of the Jewish Problem." IF there was an entity on this troubled planet that could wield the power to bring Netanyahu to trial for HIS crimes against humanity, what "defense" could he possibly offer?? "I was just a pencil-pusher"??? But alas, no such entity exists that can overcome Netanyahu and his US principal sponsor.
Given that over 12 Million people have been killed by America’s Wars since the end of World War II eighty years ago, is it any surprise Americans aren’t concerned about ~ and even oblivious to ~ a genocide that’s only killed 60-70,000 Palestinians? From the World Future Fund...:
“America has been in 19 wars since World War II, but we will list the death toll from three of the bloodiest conflicts: The Korean War, The Vietnam War and wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The total death toll of people killed by American troops in all these wars put together is over 12 million.
“Each of these three conflicts have something in common: they were wars fought in the name of making the world "safe for democracy."
“A particular horror was the largest use of chemical weapons against civilians since World War II, the massive use of Agent Orange against Indochina where it continues to poison people today. It may take Vietnam and Laos thousands of years to recover. In the case of Iraq, American spy satellites helped Saddam Hussein use poison gas against the troops of Iran.
“We are not condemning all aspects of these wars. Nor do we suggest that a lot of American enemies are wonderful people. However, we need to take a hard look at the horrors that were unleashed. WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO INVADE PLACES LIKE VIETNAM AND IRAQ AND KILL MILLIONS IN THESE WARS? WE ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT THE ANSWER IS YES.” [EMPHASIS added.]
Doing what I can from home and my PC, this was tweeted to Pope Leo Sunday and Israeli President Herzog Monday in response to their tweets. Days after October 7, Herzog said ALL Palestinians are Hamas giving the green light to the Israeli Genocide.
Isaac Herzog @Isaac_Herzog Sep 8
A painful and difficult morning. Innocent civilians, women, men, and children were brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood on a bus in Jerusalem by vile and evil terrorists.
In the face of this barbarity, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism which prevented even further loss of innocent lives.
This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us.
My heart goes out to the bereaved families, and I pray for the full and swift recovery of the injured.
My reply: Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com Sep 8
Every man is Righteous in his own eyes. Obviously you can't see it, but the majority of the World can see women, men, and children are brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood by vile and evil terrorists dropping bombs from the air killing thousands of CHILDREN! As for the Evil, you're projecting as you defy the Lord God of the Jews.
You speak of righteousness while presiding over the bombing of children. The world sees the truth: you are not fighting terrorists; you are becoming the terror you claim to oppose.
You defy the very God you invoke. Scripture commands:
“Love the stranger as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:34)
“Give the stranger an inheritance among you.” (Ezekiel 47:22-23)
Yet you subject Palestinians to occupation, apartheid, and now genocide. You have forgotten that Abraham—a stranger in the land—was promised the whole earth, not a blood-soaked strip taken by force.
Repent. Return to the way of justice before the God of Abraham holds you accountable.
I also had to respond to Pope Leo Sunday posting this on X:
Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex Sep 7
To the intercession of the Saints and the Virgin Mary, we entrust our unceasing prayer for peace, especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and in every other land blood-stained by war. To those in power, I repeat: listen to the voice of conscience! The apparent victories achieved with weapons, which sow death and destruction, are in reality defeats and never bring peace or security! God does not want war, he wants peace, and he strengthens those who are committed to leaving behind the spiral of hatred and taking the path of dialogue.
Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com @Pontifex Sep 7
Which "Holy Land"? The small, blood-soaked strip in the Middle East—or the entire earth, which God calls His footstool? (Isaiah 66:1)
You speak of peace, yet confine holiness to a plot of land fought over for millennia. But Scripture says:
“The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.”
If the whole earth is God’s footstool, then all of it is holy—and all of it is meant to become the Promised Land when humanity finally enters God’s rest.
But today, “truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14). We see this in Gaza, in Ukraine, in the hypocrisy of leaders who bless weapons while praying for peace.
You urge those in power to “listen to conscience.” Yet what conscience remains in empires that sell arms, bankroll genocide, and betray the poor?
Isaiah presents the choice clearly:
Either we turn toward the rest of God—a world of justice and sacred belonging—or we face the fire of divine fury:
“Behold, the Lord will come with fire… His rebuke with flames of fire.” (Isaiah 66:15)
The “apparent victories” of weapons are indeed defeats. But true peace requires more than prayer—it demands prophetic defiance of the systems of war.
Will you name the Beast?
Will you declare that no land is holy until all lands are free?
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is being renovated, though I am sure not so as to include any exhibits on Gaza or to link the ethnic cleansing of Palestine to the holocaust.
At any rate, a grand opening is to take place when the renovation is finished. I plan to be on the public sidewalk with my signs and Palestinian flag when that happens.
This is not a post a person can “like,” but it is certainly one I agree with. Bibi and his contingent in power are guilty as charged of visiting “collective” retaliation against an entire people, and of trying to erase those people from the region. That is genocide. And they are spreading it to the West Bank, as well, to clear all of Israel, claiming any Palestinian who opposes them of being Hamas. I am so sad for all the people between the river and sea in this war. I have long held hope for two states. Bibi and his cadre are heinous.
Well said, Bill. Linking today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
This genocide runs through Washington DC - supported (though denied) by the two major political parties and their Presidents, all of whom have blood on their hands. Then there are the roughly 50 million Christian Evangelicals who support Israel only as a means of bringing on the Rapture - they are organized to impose Christian "sharia' law on us all (and have the money to own many in Congress), and also have blood on their hands.
Then there are the rest of us - the vast majority are outraged and feel powerless. One can march in the streets; "write your Congress person" - but those have been shown to be useless exercises; those in DC are all owned by the moneyed interests.
And in retort to those who support the genocide because of "October 7th' and 'the terrorists' in Hamas', Chris Hedges made a telling point yesterday - he said it is the oppressor who chooses the form of resistance.
So, what's left?
To be a witness: to remember the Palestinians as victims of a holocaust; to remember most of humanity stood by when they were being eliminated. And to know, they will come for all of us some day - and hope there will be someone to remember us.
Hello TomR again.... I recollect reading that the Israelis consider themselves the Center-Of-The-World, and all other Peoples Enemies... Diaspora Jews are considered Weak...
Hello Tom.... And Now the Netanyahu Regime has struck Qatar taking out the HAMAS Diplomatic Team... Who will Negotiate for HAMAS Now?... Doha is Neutral Territory... Does Netanyahu truly want Peace or Endless War?... Has Israel Gone Rabid?...
Also saw Caitlin Johnstone's entry late last night. Was left gobsmacked. Derangement shows no bounds.
Curious about your seminar at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. I have negative connotations about the place, from my visit to it back in the mid-'90s, I believe it was, to checking its online content maybe three, four months ago. In brief, "Holocaust Industry" is my take. Please expound.
The seminar I attended was very useful. Basically, it provided materials and lessons on how to teach the Holocaust. It was run by Henry Friedlander, a survivor of Auschwitz who wrote "The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to Final Solution." This was about 25 years ago.
Thanks, reassuring to hear. Roughly about the time I had visited*. I haven't followed it since then until recently, when my perception now is that it has taken on the role as more of an extension of the hasbara strategy than dispassionate resource on holocausts, capital aitches or not. Example, reference to May 15th +/- as Israeli Independence Day, no acknowledgement whatsoever as it also being the onset of the Nakba. That kind of selective memory.
*I may relate my experience upon going there another time.
It's surreal.
Its all very surreal and tragic/stupid. Absolutely stupid...If humanity could only put their collective brains to good use instead of Wars we could truly be doing great things. But.., alas we're just a higher form of talking, conscious apes. So we'll continue bombing the shit out of each other because we woke up angry, or some such other b.s. that our neighbors did. I hate to keep quoting Carl Sagan again, but humanity doesn't listen: "The Pale Blue Dot Speech" says it all...! As we ponder the fears of our own collective demise as the Doomsday Atomic Clock on the planet gets closer to Midnite-- Will we ever learn before it's too late?
Props for the Sagan reference.
However, I dispute that we're a higher form of apes. Non-human animals are vastly superior to us, by and large. Groups of non-human primates may have their differences, but you don't see them destroying the planet.
Thx. Denise I concur the Ceteans: Whales & Dolphins the Mammals not the Fish species I also feel are vastly superior to homo sapien species in Intellect. I do believe that they also have a form of consciousness in itself. And.., as Stewards of this planets Land Mammals we have a responsibility to not destroy this planets environment, destruction of forests which are my Cathedrals not the manmade ones. I also believe as Carl the Trees are our Cousins. We can't let our thriving biosphere of our planet Earth become like a barren lifeless one like Venus. I would Lobby everyone I could to save our planet for all species!! We share a kinship between all animals plant too. We all need to be Animal Rights Visionaries. I condemn Whaling. I was very happy when Carl put the Calls & Singing of Humpback Whales on his Voyager Golden Records.Launching in 1977 the yr. I got out of the USAF. They are now the most distant man made objects ever created...!
I couldn't agree more on all points, Fireman. The few charitable contributions I can afford are all directed at animal causes. Humans are the worst scourge ever to bedevil the planet, and in the current timeline, we're doing everything possible to burn it all down and take all the other creatures and plants with us.
Not nearly enough people still consider trees to be sacred. As I understand it, E.O. Wilson believed that we're hard-wired to be emotionally tied to Nature, but it certainly doesn't look like it anymore.
I've read a couple articles lately about cetecean communication, and I absolutely believe they have a society that surpasses ours in ways that count.
YES! About Carl. He was the DaVinci of our time. If only more people in leadership positions had listened to him. But he told "inconvenient truths."
I agree with you 100% Denise!! Yes "Burn It All Down" One of my Fave. Rock Groups "Linkin Park" Give it a listen on You Tube Denise.
I'll add it to the to-do list!
I think "Holocaust" was copyrighted by the old JDL (I say "old" because I haven't kept up with them over the decades and they may have renamed/rebranded themselves). So any use of same without permission could well be considered copyright infringement. As for "genocide" well ... like blackmail, it's an ugly word with uglier connotations (see "Holocaust") ... collateral damage is less offensive and the cry will go 'round the gallery "if you want to talk numbers, what about Auschwitz, Dachau, Belsen, Oranienburg ..." the same old story, the same old litany, the same old same old ...
Nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki were Asia Holocausts. If we can believe the Leading Indicators, there may be more Holocausts like this to come:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG2aJyIFrA
There have also been others, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in the Americas {and not only hundreds of years ago}. Genocide is, so everlastingly sadly and horribly, not uncommon.
There's a two-volume encyclopedia of genocides throughout human history-- truly a sad commentary on inhumanity.
For certain, Bill. The only decent response is to pledge — TRULY— never to be complicit or complacent ever again…
The Trump government is 100% COMPLICIT. It's up to Americans to change that before it's too late for Palestinians and Americans.
HOPING we have that chance, in Gaza and so many places, as well.
"Is there a man in the world who suffers as I do from the gross inadequacies of the human race?" - Monty Woolley
Around 1962, the State of Israel hanged Adolf Eichmann for crimes against humanity. There was no evidence presented at trial that Eichmann personally did bodily harm to any Jew. His "defense" was that he was just a pencil-pusher, working on logistics for the "Final Solution of the Jewish Problem." IF there was an entity on this troubled planet that could wield the power to bring Netanyahu to trial for HIS crimes against humanity, what "defense" could he possibly offer?? "I was just a pencil-pusher"??? But alas, no such entity exists that can overcome Netanyahu and his US principal sponsor.
The original 1977 Likud party platform included the statement "Between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty,"
When Palestinians say "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free" Zionists claim that's proof Palestinians want to kill all Jews.
Given that over 12 Million people have been killed by America’s Wars since the end of World War II eighty years ago, is it any surprise Americans aren’t concerned about ~ and even oblivious to ~ a genocide that’s only killed 60-70,000 Palestinians? From the World Future Fund...:
“America has been in 19 wars since World War II, but we will list the death toll from three of the bloodiest conflicts: The Korean War, The Vietnam War and wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The total death toll of people killed by American troops in all these wars put together is over 12 million.
“Each of these three conflicts have something in common: they were wars fought in the name of making the world "safe for democracy."
“A particular horror was the largest use of chemical weapons against civilians since World War II, the massive use of Agent Orange against Indochina where it continues to poison people today. It may take Vietnam and Laos thousands of years to recover. In the case of Iraq, American spy satellites helped Saddam Hussein use poison gas against the troops of Iran.
“We are not condemning all aspects of these wars. Nor do we suggest that a lot of American enemies are wonderful people. However, we need to take a hard look at the horrors that were unleashed. WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO INVADE PLACES LIKE VIETNAM AND IRAQ AND KILL MILLIONS IN THESE WARS? WE ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT THE ANSWER IS YES.” [EMPHASIS added.]
Full Report at https://www.worldfuturefund.org/Reports/Imperialism/usmurder.html .
For a "freedom-loving democracy," we're very good at mass killing.
Doing what I can from home and my PC, this was tweeted to Pope Leo Sunday and Israeli President Herzog Monday in response to their tweets. Days after October 7, Herzog said ALL Palestinians are Hamas giving the green light to the Israeli Genocide.
Isaac Herzog @Isaac_Herzog Sep 8
A painful and difficult morning. Innocent civilians, women, men, and children were brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood on a bus in Jerusalem by vile and evil terrorists.
In the face of this barbarity, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism which prevented even further loss of innocent lives.
This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us.
My heart goes out to the bereaved families, and I pray for the full and swift recovery of the injured.
My reply: Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com Sep 8
Every man is Righteous in his own eyes. Obviously you can't see it, but the majority of the World can see women, men, and children are brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood by vile and evil terrorists dropping bombs from the air killing thousands of CHILDREN! As for the Evil, you're projecting as you defy the Lord God of the Jews.
You speak of righteousness while presiding over the bombing of children. The world sees the truth: you are not fighting terrorists; you are becoming the terror you claim to oppose.
You defy the very God you invoke. Scripture commands:
“Love the stranger as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:34)
“Give the stranger an inheritance among you.” (Ezekiel 47:22-23)
Yet you subject Palestinians to occupation, apartheid, and now genocide. You have forgotten that Abraham—a stranger in the land—was promised the whole earth, not a blood-soaked strip taken by force.
Repent. Return to the way of justice before the God of Abraham holds you accountable.
I also had to respond to Pope Leo Sunday posting this on X:
Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex Sep 7
To the intercession of the Saints and the Virgin Mary, we entrust our unceasing prayer for peace, especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and in every other land blood-stained by war. To those in power, I repeat: listen to the voice of conscience! The apparent victories achieved with weapons, which sow death and destruction, are in reality defeats and never bring peace or security! God does not want war, he wants peace, and he strengthens those who are committed to leaving behind the spiral of hatred and taking the path of dialogue.
Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com @Pontifex Sep 7
Which "Holy Land"? The small, blood-soaked strip in the Middle East—or the entire earth, which God calls His footstool? (Isaiah 66:1)
You speak of peace, yet confine holiness to a plot of land fought over for millennia. But Scripture says:
“The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.”
If the whole earth is God’s footstool, then all of it is holy—and all of it is meant to become the Promised Land when humanity finally enters God’s rest.
But today, “truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14). We see this in Gaza, in Ukraine, in the hypocrisy of leaders who bless weapons while praying for peace.
You urge those in power to “listen to conscience.” Yet what conscience remains in empires that sell arms, bankroll genocide, and betray the poor?
Isaiah presents the choice clearly:
Either we turn toward the rest of God—a world of justice and sacred belonging—or we face the fire of divine fury:
“Behold, the Lord will come with fire… His rebuke with flames of fire.” (Isaiah 66:15)
The “apparent victories” of weapons are indeed defeats. But true peace requires more than prayer—it demands prophetic defiance of the systems of war.
Will you name the Beast?
Will you declare that no land is holy until all lands are free?
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is being renovated, though I am sure not so as to include any exhibits on Gaza or to link the ethnic cleansing of Palestine to the holocaust.
At any rate, a grand opening is to take place when the renovation is finished. I plan to be on the public sidewalk with my signs and Palestinian flag when that happens.