In America This Week (Special Tuesday Edition): How Democrats Can Take Back the House in 2024 (Live from Louisville)

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Notations On Our World (Special Weekly Edition): 🔴 Al Jazeera English | Live

Notations On Our World (Special Sunday Edition): Israel - Birth of a state

Notations On Our World (Special Edition) : In America re: the New Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): In America As @Kaltoons reflects

 

#OutsiderVibes (W-End Edition): In Harm's Way

Notations On Our World (Special Mid-Week Edition): Israel-Hamas War: Piers Morgan vs Bassem Youssef

Notations On Our World (Special Weekly Edition): Perspectives On The War In the Middle East

Our team  has decided to suspend our weekly "Virtual Route 66" as we will be presenting thoughts on our World as the war in the Middle East rages on:

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-10-08/ty-article-opinion/netanyahu-bears-responsibility/0000018b-0b9d-d8fc-adff-6bfd1c880000?mid3322=open

World Israel faces a vicious underground battle against Hamas Gaza’s tunnels are a powerful equaliser, neutralising the IDF’s superior weaponry, tactics and technology OCTOBER 15, 2023 by Daphné Richemond-Barak ISRAEL How one kibbutz defended itself from Hamas But a group of Gazan farmworkers died in the battle The red alert sounded through loudspeakers at 6.30am on Saturday October 7th. This was not an unusual event in Nir Am, a kibbutz of 700 people located two kilometres from the fence separating Israel and Gaza. But that morning the alarms kept sounding, again and again. The electricity went off and phone reception suddenly became patchy. In one of the kibbutz’s orchards, a farmworker called Nabil Barawi looked up at the sky and saw rockets arcing overhead. Barawi, 53, was from Gaza, but had worked for 40 years in the fields of Nir Am. He supervised a group of ten Gazans who grew pomelos, a large, sweet citrus fruit. The sheer quantity of rockets made Barawi think something unusual was happening. “When the mess started”, he told me later, “I said to my workers, ten other Gazans, ‘Let’s go’.” In the kibbutz Adam Peled, an army veteran who spent ten years in the Israeli special forces, heard gunfire. He grabbed his Glock pistol and jogged towards his ex-wife’s house where his children were sleeping.  Read the full article → Also from 1843 magazine GAZA People in Gaza hate the night. All they can see are explosions Palestinians hide in the darkness, waiting for a ground offensive ISRAEL “It’s an Anne Frank situation”: an Israeli professor hides from Hamas I barricaded myself in my safe room and struggled to comprehend what was going on   A week has passed since the tragic and shocking events of the 07.10.23, and the difficult feelings are far from healing. The horrifying stories from survivors and the overwhelming quantity of such stories do not allow for rest. Although each of us experiences the pain personally, each one's individual experience is also collective, and the difficult emotions are filled with existential fears and fears of what the future holds. We are in pain and broken now, mourning the loss of each and every one of the hundreds of victims and their families who are now paying the highest price. Israel experienced an unjustified and monstrous wave of terror of a magnitude we could never have imagined. The massacre committed by Hamas against the residents of Israel is one of the most terrible war crimes seen in our region. Women, babies, and elderly people are now in the hands of a ruthless terrorist organization in Gaza. The thought of the fate of children who have been taken from their parents by the hands of heartless terrorists is unbearable. Every day and every hour is critical. After all the terrible failures that have occurred, we have an obligation to save lives, and therefore, we must call for the release of the captives now. These days, we are struggling to understand what has happened and what should be in order for our place, our space, our home, to be just, normal, and safe.   As Peace Now, we have an important role, and it seems that many in the public understand that what was is not what will be.   We all know about the government's failures, the unworthy people who have been leading us, who preferred annexation, settlements, and dictatorship over the state and its citizens. We all understand the military's failure, its lack of readiness, and the intelligence that didn't warn.   And, worse still, an army that left citizens for hours exposed to ruthless terror. We all understand the state's failures, which still today do not address many citizens in their time of need. On the other hand, we also see the courage of Israeli society, coming together to help, to fill the void of a dysfunctional state.   Of all the failures, our role in peace now is to point out the massive political failure. That they preferred to pay a "protection fee" to a ruthless terrorist organization to allow for the continued annexation of the West Bank and the undermining of the Palestinian state. They thought they could completely ignore the Palestinians, treat them as "straw in the wind" that needs to be "managed," or in the best case, "reduced." They told us we could make peace with Saudi Arabia and prosper. So they said.    The questions that trouble us all right now are existential questions. We do not know what the future holds, and we fear that it will be tough and full of violence. The war has only just begun, and it seems its end is not near.   But we know that in order to truly secure our home, we need a political solution. This is not just a slogan or wishful thinking. It is the reality of our lives.   We know what the top security leaders have been saying for years: there is no military solution without a political horizon. Only through this can we ensure deep and true security, not just a false sense of security that exists in a Sparta-like state with armed residents and a permanent cycle of wars. We need a political agreement, just as we have with Egypt and Jordan.   We also know what the leaders of Zionism and the founders of the state knew: that a political solution is a guarantee for the existence of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and as a democracy. A 'Peace Now' sticker was seen on a shattered window in Be'eri, following the tragic terror attack by Hamas a week ago.  Hamas is indeed a reprehensible and murderous terrorist organization, an absolute evil group. It seems that the clear and immediate conclusion of its recent terrorist actions is that Hamas will never be a legitimate player in the political arena.   However, alongside this, we must preserve our humane image. The desire for revenge and destruction, even if understandable and human, will not lead to a solution.   In the right-wing camp, there are already calls for a second round and the reintroduction of settlements in the Gaza Strip. We, who take pride in our morality, in wise military actions, and in the knowledge that we must never take lightly harming the innocent, know that we cannot awaken in a few weeks to the clash of swords.   These actions may give rise to even more ruthless terrorist organizations.   While we mourn our loved ones and friends, and what may be in store for us in the coming weeks and months, we also know with clarity our role and purpose: to present the only alternative to the future of this place. This is possible because we have no choice, because we have no other home.   With hope that from this disaster, salvation will emerge, and in prayer for a day when peace will eventually come,   Lior Amichai, Executive Director of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now)

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): How Israelis feel about Netanyahu now

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On The War Between Israel and Gaza

As the War Between Israel and Gaza rages on,  our team decided to feature this analysis from the  Coop Scoop that we hereby present throughout all our properties:

Coop Scoop: Israel --and the World-- on the Brink Israel has plenty to criticize. None of it justifies Hamas' mass slaughter October 10 By Marc Cooper Criticize and condemn Israel as you please.  Denounce its 50 year long occupation of Palestinian territory. Its institutional subjugation of Palestinian and other Arab citizens as a  second class caste.  Call it an apartheid state.  Detest the supremely corrupt and always bellicose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Condemn his ultra-right and racist administration packed with some individuals as religiously zealous, as extreme and as bent on conflict as much as any Jihadist. All of the above criticism and much much more can rightfully be placed at the feet of the Israeli regime.   But none of it serves to justify, rationalize, downplay or, God Forbid, support the action taken by Hamas which has once again proven to be nothing more than a soul-less, horrific, terrorist organization willing to deliberately massacre hundreds —perhaps thousands---of innocent civilians merely because they are Israelis or, worse, because they are Jewish. Forty years ago the ADL climbed on my back and tried to get me fired, claiming my coverage of the 1982 terror bombing of Beirut by Israel was “anti-semitic.”  This is this ADL’s favorite play and it had not effect on me as it was miles away from any truth.  I was well tuned into its cynical c=game of conflating all criticism of Israel with anti-semitism. But as someone on the Left, and as a Jew, I can easily distinguish between legitimate anti-Zionist rhetoric and anti-semitism. They are not the same.  Or, at least, they should not be. That is NOT the case with Hamas.  It is not a heroic, outnumbered underdog resistance group fighting the Leviathan state of Israel in order to liberate the Palestinians.  It is itself a corrupt, authoritarian  terrorist group who deeply and wholeheartedly believes that Israel and that all Jews must be eradicated from the Middle East.  A group that haphazardly launches thousands of rockets into civilian population centers, that butchers and kidnaps any Israeli that crosses their path, that takes 85 year old grandmothers hostages on the back of motorbikes and that invades a peaceful music concert to slaughter quite literally hundreds of it attendees should be condemned as a threat to humanity and itself should be eradicated. Terrorists. Not freedom fighters. There can be little doubt that among the scores of civilian hostages taken by Hamas this week were numerous Israeli civilians who just a week or two ago were in the streets protesting the Israeli government and demanding the resignation of Bibi Netanyahu.  That process will now be reversed.  Early reports from Israel indicate that the anti-Bibi liberal left opposition in Israel will now fold itself, at least for the moment uncritically, into the pro-Netanyahu coalition and will give full support to what will undoubtedly be IsraelÕs very violent and most likely over-reaction.  Indeed, there was a disturbing split screen moment several times on network news during the day.  While the narration spoke of the bloodshed and death, one side of the screen showed jumpy video of Hamas militants running over a fence. On the other side, long wide shots of massive urban destruction Ð collapsed and smoking buildings, piles of rubbles destroyed neighborhoods. That side, of course, was footage from Gaza which was already being laid waste to by the Israeli counter-response but the TV audience was never told it was Gaza, leaving the clear impression that the hellish destruction was on the Israeli side. And that is the dilemma the thinking part of the world is faced with. On the one hand a ruthless terror organization that has much more in common with ISIS than, say the French resistance.  And a regime led by a corrupt authoritarian who was already well on his way  to dismantling Israeli democracy.  That does not make this a symmetrical both-sides-are-wrong conflict.  The Israelis are infinitely more powerful than the Palestinians who when we last looked did not have anywhere near the army, the air force, the superpower backing and, ultimately, the nuclear weapons possessed by the Jewish state. On the other hand, the blame for what has happened this week rests firmly with Hamas who, like Bibi, have even less interest in a two state peaceful solution.  The previous half century of Israeli policy could and should absolutely be considered as contributing factors, but it is Hamas and only Hamas that triggered this onset of what will be a season of massacres.  And it is Hamas that is guaranteeing Bibi at least another couple of years in power (until it is “discovered” down the road a few years from now that his current response will not eliminate the Palestinian issue). There is also the issue of the monumental intelligence failure that we witnessed this week and once the fighting tapers off, months from now, the Israeli political class might just get around to investigating that little snafu Ð which Bibi will take the heat for. What then leads Hamas to attack precisely at the moment when Netanyahu was at his weakest?  As far out as it sounds —and it is pretty far out—Hamas and most certainly the Palestinians of whom they represent only a portion, would have accomplished much more by trying to build bridges and peacefully ally with the anti-Bibi forces in the street rather than kidnap and butcher them. And this assumes there might be enough Israelis to make that happen…also a stretch. While the US is making a lot of political hay out of it, there can be little question that Iran has a direct hand in this conflict.  They have long been supporters and funders of Hamas as well as the Hezbollah based on the northern border of Israel.   The Mullahs are not at all comfortable with the current love affair between Netanyahu and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who recently announced a coming marriage of convenience brokered by the United States.  This alliance stands as a direct threat to Iran’s influence and power in the region and it would certainly be interested in spoiling the wedding, Of course, this will not be the case.  If anything, this attack by Hamas will hasten the Israeli-Saudi alliance (unless the Israelis kill enough Gazans to make it impossible for the Saudis).  And with Iran directly involved in the conflict, that can only mean heightened involvement of the Biden Administration which spent all day Monday denouncing and threatening Teheran.  We know very well that the US is going to defend Israel no matter what so there is little reason to expend much energy in denouncing the relationship as it is not going to change.  To date Biden has shown less interest in the  Middle East than Trump (who paid a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons). The question is not whether the US will support Israeli counter-measures.  To some degree this is incumbent upon all of us.  As I said, to a degree.  Only the most naive, most ideologically dogmatic, only the true lost minds among us, will not recognize that is a political obligation by any state to retaliate when hundreds of its civilians have been ruthlessly slaughtered. The bigger question is will Biden exert any pressure on Israel to somehow restrain its response so it does not become one more act of large scale terror as it has in the past. I’m not optimistic about that but let’s see. Just as hard to imagine, is some real pressure from the U.S. on Israel to seek some sort of viable solution beyond the immediate warfare.   Once the smoke clears, will anybody in Washington begin to seriously question the total Israeli starvation blockade of Gaza and its ongoing occupation of the West Bank?  This is just one among dozens of equally pressing issues that underlie this conflict that one day must be confronted honestly and in good faith by both sides.  And what, in fact, do we do about Iran as it seems to me, given its own obscurantist nature, should very much be roped into a nuclear deal that has faltered for the last number of years. I prefer this solution to one of bombing Teheran and thereby guaranteeing the development of Iranian nukes in the very near future. ThereÕs only a few certainties to be counted on in the days and weeks to come. Thousands more will be killed Ð mostly Palestinian civilians. The American media will be indistinguishable from Israeli State TV (though in general the Israeli media is much more critical of Israel than the US is and today the daily Ha’aretz editorialized that the person most responsible for this conflict is, in fact, Benjamin Netanyahu).  You can also bet that you will find pockets of knuckle-headed leftists from New York to Paris who will be offering up heroic narratives about the fearless resistance fighters of Hamas.  Their infantile outlook is always the The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend, My Comrade. No, thank you. I want no part of that dementia. With this weeksÕ massacres, Hamas has upended the entire Middle East chess playing board. The individual pieces have landed in a big vat of fire, blood and bone.  And many hands besides those of Palestinians and Israelis are destined to be dipped into the same pool of macabre horror in the days to come. Too bad the Trump-Kushner duo are still not in power.  I’m sure they would have solved this in 5 minutes as Trump always claims. ++

On Our Weekly "Virtual Route 66" This Week: On The Week That Was

 

It has been another challenging week in our World as Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, Republicans in the US House of Representatives seek to elect a new Speaker, the Ukraine War rages on with no end in sight, Europe's Far Right seems to be in the ascendancy and economic challenges loom.

Our team pulled together a snippet of the week with notations courtesy of Breaking the Silence, the Financial Times, and France 24: 

McCarthy Out as Speaker

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-20) was ousted as House speaker yesterday after the House voted 216 to 210 on a resolution from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1) to vacate the leadership role. McCarthy, who had been in the post for under nine months, becomes the first House speaker in US history to be removed from office.    Rep. Patrick McHenry (R, NC-10) is now the interim speaker, known as speaker pro tempore. McHenry was the first on a list of backup speakers McCarthy had submitted to the House clerk in January, as required by House rules. As speaker pro tempore, McHenry will oversee an election for the next speaker. House Republicans reportedly plan to hold a candidate forum next Tuesday and an election next Wednesday. McCarthy announced he won't run again.   Eight House Republicans joined 208 House Democrats in voting to oust McCarthy (see breakdown). House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D, NY-8) had urged House Democrats to support the measure as a bloc.   McCarthy became House speaker in January following 15 rounds of voting across four days, during which he agreed to a number of concessions, including lowering the threshold to force a vote to remove the speaker to one member.

Ukraine's air force expects a record number of Russian drone attacks on its soil this winter, its spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on Sunday, as Kyiv prepares itself for a second winter of mass bombardment…

Israel Declares War on Hamas Following Deadly Surprise Invasion ‘Hamas wants to murder us all,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a public ... READ MORE

Global Economy Keir Starmer prepares a pivotal speech and US Republicans seek a Speaker Plus, concerns about US banking sector as results season kicks off and D-Day in Poland’s bitterly fought election campaign OCTOBER 8, 2023 by Jonathan Moules

Hamas's attack and the events unfolding since yesterday are unspeakable. We are heartbroken to watch terrified civilians besieged in their homes, innocent people murdered in cold blood on the streets, at parties, and at home. Dozens taken hostage and dragged into the Gaza Strip. Every one of us knows someone who has been tragically affected. We could go on and on about their cruel and criminal actions, or focus on how our Jewish-supremacist government brought us to this point. But as hard as it is, our job as former Israeli soldiers is to talk about what we were sent to do. Israel's security policy, for decades now, has been to “manage the conflict”. Successive Israeli governments insist on round after round of violence as if any of it will make a difference. They talk about “security”, “deterrence”, “changing the equation”. All of these are code words for bombing the Gaza Strip to a pulp, always justified as targeting terrorists, yet always with heavy civilian casualties. In between these rounds of violence we make life impossible for Gazans, and then act surprised when it all boils over. We talk about "normalization" with the UAE and now Saudi Arabia, while hoping the world will turn a blind eye to the open-air prison we built in our backyard. Apart from the unfathomable violation of human rights, we've created a massive security liability for our own citizens. The question Israelis are all asking is - where were the soldiers yesterday? Why was the IDF seemingly absent while hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered in their homes and on the streets? The unfortunate truth is that they were “preoccupied”. In the West Bank. We send soldiers to secure settler incursions into the Palestinian city of Nablus, to chase Palestinian children in Hebron, to protect settlers as they carry out pogroms. Settlers demand that Palestinian flags are removed from the streets of Huwara; soldiers are sent to do it. Our country decided - decades ago - that it's willing to forfeit the security of its citizens in our towns and cities, in favor of maintaining control over an occupied civilian population of millions, all for the sake of a settler-messianic agenda. The idea that we can "manage the conflict" without ever having to solve it is once again collapsing before our eyes. It held up until now because only few dared to challenge it. These heartbreaking events could change that. They must. For all of us between the river and the sea. Avner Gvaryahu, Director Breaking the Silence