First things first: You know I love to start with the weather. We are in for a real Seattle fall treat today. Get this—the morning will start off mostly cloudy with temperatures hovering in the high 50s. In the afternoon, the sun will come out in fuller force and temperatures will peak in the low 60s. Incredible stuff.
Iran strikes Israel: Iran launched what Al Jazeera described as an “unprecedented” attack on Israel yesterday, firing nearly 200 missiles in response to Israel’s near year-long, deadly assault on Gaza and the more recent attacks on Lebanon. Israel and the United States worked together to block most of Iran’s missiles. According to Israel’s emergency service, Iran only injured two people who got hit by shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area. Palestinian officials said a missile killed a Palestinian man near Jericho, but it wasn’t clear that the missile came from Iran.
What’s next: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran “made a big mistake” and “will pay for it.” Instead of tamping down the high tensions, President Joe Biden redoubled his “ironclad” commitment to support Israel in retaliation. I’m trying to think of something sharp and incisive to write here, but fuck man. I hate war and I hate Biden for cheering it on. For the sake of all the people in the region, in Iran, Israel, Lebanon, and especially Palestine, who have already suffered so much, we need a ceasefire.
Yes, Applebees in my backyard: For too long, poor urban planning put Seattleites in a chain restaurant desert. Now, with the expansion of the 1 line, carless Seattleites can finally take advantage of the deals we’ve missed. Please do not take this blurb too seriously. I know how you get when I goof around.
Thank GOD for the Lynnwood light rail https://t.co/rcDAVzY67G
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) October 2, 2024
Watch party: Last night, the Vice Presidential candidates faced off on a debate stage for the first time in the 2024 election. I’m almost certain this debate will not change how any of the slog readers will vote — I think there are probably 14 truly undecided voters in the country who actually plan to vote for the two major parties. But I would recommend you put it on sometime this week while you do dishes if you missed it last night.
Highlights: Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, sunk a few layups on Donald Trump’s running mate, Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance in the debate last night. He managed to remind the voting public that the Republicans would like to force women to give birth in many instances. He also nailed Vance on election denialism. The moderators asked if Trump won the 2020 election, Vance said he wanted to focus on the future, and Walz called that a “damning non-answer.” Zing!
Still thinking about this pic.twitter.com/ROm0RoNelE
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 2, 2024
Lowlights: But Democrats gonna Democrat. Several times, Walz agreed with Vance on reprehensible shit, showing just how far-right the Overton window has shifted. Walz disgusted the non-genocidal faction of his party when he agreed with Vance in voicing support for Israel starting a war with Iran after months of aggression in Gaza, the West Bank, and more recently, in Lebanon. Walz also failed to show much daylight between him and Vance when it comes to immigration. Not too long ago, Democrats tried to paint themselves as more welcoming to immigrants than Trump and the Republican party. Now, they seem to want to look just as unfriendly while being more effective at executing the unfriendliness. Boo.
What really matters: Let’s be real, the most important analysis for any nationally televised event comes from the menswear guy on Twitter. Looks like Vance did not impress him.
vance would have been better served by a more conservative tie. fushia raw silk is something you wear to summer garden parties, not debates. pic.twitter.com/pnzi7akJal
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) October 2, 2024
Helene: According to the latest count, at least 166 people have died after the catastrophic hurricane, Helena, tore through Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. That count will likely rise in the coming days as many remain missing across the southeastern states. President Joe Biden will visit the Carolinas today to survey the damage, the Guardian reports.
Change of plans: Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has scaled back its school closure plans after intense blowback over previous plans to close between 17 and 21 schools. Now, SPS proposes closing just five schools in the 2025-2026 school year. Superintendent Brent Jones told the Seattle Times that they don’t know which five schools will shutter, but he expects the school board to take a final vote in January.
CONFIRMED: State House candidate Andrea Suarez is a fan of The Stranger. You can read the A+P right here, or, if you want the paper in your hands or in your weird campaign videos like Suarez, you can find it in coffee shops, bars, and other places around the region.
Wait I think there’s a copy of @TheStranger A &P in this video. A rich text indeed https://t.co/xIJR86ViGi pic.twitter.com/gtaQpGPadR
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) October 1, 2024
Taking a stance: Also, with all the Chappell Roan discourse, I wanted to make clear that you could never make me hate her. Here’s a video of her at Capitol Hill Block Party singing her unreleased masterpiece, “Subway,” which would be a narratively incredible track to leave us with if y’all actually scare her into hiding.
‘Iran launched what Al Jazeera described as an “unprecedented” attack on Israel yesterday,’
Which is literally untrue, as Iran launched a missile attack on Israel earlier this very year.
“Israel’s near year-long, deadly assault on Gaza and the more recent attacks on Lebanon.”
No mention of Hezbollah’s near year-long missile launches at Israeli civilians, from Lebanon.
“According to Israel’s emergency service, Iran only injured two people who got hit by shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area.”
Persons who get really angry at “indiscriminate” attacks upon civilians in that part of the world will, no doubt, arrive here very soon to condemn this, so I’ll leave that typing to them.
@1: I’m not convinced that the October ballistic missile attack was indiscriminate. The missiles appear to have been aimed at military bases. Hits to civilian areas appear to be the result of missile fragments resulting from interceptions, ejected missile boosters falling to earth, or individual errant missiles. Iran’s medium-range ballistic missile technology has come a long way since the old days of the Scud, so it’s no longer a fair criticism to argue that they are just spraying missiles at random into potential civilian areas. Hamas and Hizbollah’s artillery rockets, absolutely, but not these higher-tech Iranian ballistic missiles.
To be clear, shelling your enemy’s country with ballistic missiles is an act of war, and Israel is entitled to hammer Iran with whatever degree of force and for whatever duration Israel deems appropriate. But not every act of war is a war crime, and I think the Iranians have managed to keep the play in-bounds on this occasion.
Also, can we take a moment to celebrate the SM-3 and Arrow-2 interceptions? This is exo-atmospheric combat! The Americans and Israelis are literally fighting the Iranians in space! I know not all the ballistic missiles were intercepted (and at something like $10 million per interceptor, that’s probably a good thing), but still…freaking amazing!
Personally, I’m shocked there hasn’t been a ceasefire yet.
You’d think all those people voting uncommitted in the primary would have had more of an impact.
Let’s put Averagebob’s arguments about indiscriminate use of force to bed for good shall we.
The U.N. has not repealed Article 51, granting nations the right to self-defense, which they would have to if his reading of the 1977 Geneva Convention additional (not substitute) protocols is correct. Under his reading of the 1977 language of the Additional (not repeal) Geneva Conventions protocols, the U.N. right of self-defense in Article 51, is a war crime.
Under his reading of the indiscriminate attacks language militaries, have been wasting billions on tank armor. It would be far cheaper to chain a bunch of civilians all over a car with a cannon on it, and drive that into the enemy, since the enemy could then not fire on the tank without committing a war crime. Under his reading of the 1977 language, nations are wasting millions on missile silos, hardened in concrete, and buried in the earth, to survive all but the largest and most pinpoint nuclear device. Just put them in Central Park, or downtown Pyongyang. Such missiles can be launched offensively, and no adversary can legally fire back. Under his absurdist reading of the 1977 language, all Russia has to do to conquer Ukraine, is drive tanks and march soldiers into Kiev, surrounded by masses of civilians, chained to the weapons. Russia can fire from amongst the civilians, and Ukraine can’t fire back without committing a war crime.
In 1977 they did not repeal the language of the 1949 treaty. They were additional protocols, not substitute protocols.
The very vagueness of the language, the lack of repeal of prior language, etc. is why many human rights lawyers acknowledge that the international human rights law they use, because its all they’ve got, is insufficient to protect non-combatants. It’s why so few cases are brought under that law.
Then there is the issue of what international army, is going to enforce a human rights court’s ruling against an army that violates it. If that enemy puts their weapons and troops in apartment buildings, and surrounds them with civilians when they come out to fight, the court can’t enforce their own ruling, without violating their own law.
If everyone willingly complied with the Geneva Conventions then the U.N., and international human rights courts wouldn’t be necessary. If they are necessary, then the U.N. and the courts, will need to an army to forcibly get compliance, and the ability to inflict collateral damage when bringing violators into accountability and compliance.
‘Fushia raw silk
is something you wear
to summer garden parties, not debates.’
but it Matched so Well
Mabelline Vancelot’s
Wonderful eye-
shadow.
sometimes
ya just Gotta go
with what Feels right.
@1
this “War”
on Palestinians
was Always gonna
Escalate and your insidious
Cheerleading’s been, no doubt
a Big Contribution to bibi’s Massacre
going (hopefully Not) Planet-fucking-Wide.
you & AIPAC: Two
peas inna Pod.
Anyone else ready to chip in good money to send Hannah on a one year sabbatical to live in Iran?
The vast majority of Americans are DeFacto Zionists, and there is a Jewish vote in this country the Harris campaign has no desire to alienate.
No mainstream Dem pol is going to say Israel doesn’t have the right to retaliate when attacked with 200 ballistic missiles. That doesn’t mean the J’Biden Admin isn’t recommending that Israel be very precise in attacking the Iranian Regime.
But hell yes there needs to be a ceasefire amongst all parties. Don’t hold your breath though. Hamas is intransigent.
@3 Why would “Uncommitted” have an impact? Many of us who voted that way in the primary are Democrats who knew full well we would be voting for Democrats in November. With Trump on the ballot, Harris-Walz has already picked up more support from Republicans who hate Trump than the entire Uncommited block ever represented. Loony lefties like Xina voting for Moscow Jill Stein isn’t going to motivate Biden or Harris to move their positions. American policy towards Israel will not change so long as there is a large block to Democrats in the House and Senate who are owned by AIPAC. That is what limits what any president will dare to do.
Regardless of who you do or do not blame for the recent attacks and violence, Israel has not “started a war with Iran.”
“Palestinian officials said a missile killed a Palestinian man near Jericho, but it wasn’t clear that the missile came from Iran.”
You mean “from Iran or Lebanon.”
Who else thinks Andrea Suarez is sus? I consider myself a moderate Dem and agree with a lot of her policy positions but I get bad vibes from her. A recent article from Cascade PBS “Candidates to replace Chopp in 43rd District offer big contrasts” raised some ref flags tbh. Not a huge fan of Shaun Scott’s positions but he comes across as the genuine and sane one here. Suarez has associated with MAGA Republicans as recently as this year (!) and has defended MAGA Republicans as “less corrupt” and just as extreme as Dems. I agree that Dems can be super corrupt and a few are fringey but to say that most to all Dems are worse than the most extreme Republicans is insane.
Suarez reminds me of that North Carolina state lawmaker that represented a super blue district that switched to the GOP, which helped restrict them pass restrictions on abortion. For those living in that district, vote for Scott please. I think Suarez is astroturfing or pretending to be a Dem so she can switch at the perfect opportunity.
“I hate war and I hate Biden for cheering it on.”
No, Biden is desperately trying to prevent escalations. That’s a fact.
Just a reminder that the missile defense system that prevents those Iranian missiles, as well as missiles fired by Hezbollah, from hitting their targets is part of those arms shipments from the USA that you want to embargo. In case it wasn’t clear that pleas to stop the flow of arms to Israel aren’t so much a call for peace as they are demands to disarm one side in an ongoing conflict. And pleas made for a “ceasefire” immediately after an attack are indistinguishable from calls for surrender.
Genuine peace requires all parties in a conflict agree to the terms. Asking Israel to submit to attacks without responding is a non-starter. Just as it would be if the USA were attacked, or any other country for that matter. “Stop shooting back!” is not a ceasefire proposal.
@12
Biden’s not cheering it on he’s just
Failing to make a Fucking STINK
because AIPAC’s running OUR
Foreign Policy. Citizen United
Bitches. We’ve CEDED
our Control
it’s just Sad
Smokin’ Joe
backed himself
into a Corner when
he went to Israel bear-
hugged bibi & handed him a
comically-Oversized Carte Banche check
‘just fill that in Later, friendo
we’re Behind you bibi
WhatEVER it takes.
gotchyur Back,
Brother . Sic
’em’
and like
with the Furor*
from then on he was
Unfucking-contollable
Joe’s Tryin’ like Hell
but bibi no longer
Sees Joltin’ Joe
Joe’s
become
Invisible.
and Fuch Yeah
Joe’s Regretting
the FUCK out of it
but it’s too
Little too Late.
*is bibi Hitler?
oh fuck
no.
but he’s
Left the
Reserv-
ation,
too.
@14: Do you believe the US should not have delivered to Israel the military equipment it needed to shoot down two sets of Iranian missile attacks?
@13 “Biden is desperately trying to prevent escalations. That’s a fact.”
There is no actual evidence of it so not a fact, especially when providing the armament and the diplomatic cover points the other way.
The vast majority of Americans can’t find Israel on a map let alone know what a Zionist is, not that public opinion has any impact on policy. Our bombs are going to Israel no matter what Americans want, and Netanyahu is going to do what he wants even if they weren’t.
see
wormmy
That’s where
you and I differ
I say
Do NOT
Hand bibi a
BLANK FUCKING
CHECK and wish him
Keep-outta-Prison, Buddy!
but you wanna argue
fucking War tactics
THAT’s where YOU’ve
Taken US. thanks,
Buddy! Appreci-
Ate You! oh &
remind the Jews
Worldwide they’ll
all have you & bibi
to Thank for some UN-
Deserved retribution.* ‘NO
One couldda seen This coming!’
sometimes I just wish
Jesus’d been Born
in Scandinavia.
*Jews did NOT
Earn this NOR DO
THEY Fucking DESERVE IT
@3 You aren’t a very good observer of history since this is hardly the first time that the people’s will has been ignored (remember most Americans are for a ceasefire and an arms embargo). In fact, regarding wars, disregarding the people’s will is not a bug, it’s a standard feature.
16 – That President Biden hasn’t had success you expect doesn’t not negate the fact that he and Blinken are making phone calls.
@7 I am foolishly staying open to Harris changing tack some after the election but it’s not looking good given her taking a turn to the right on number of issues.
“But hell yes there needs to be a ceasefire amongst all parties. Don’t hold your breath though. Hamas is intransigent.”
Netanyahu has been the main obstacle to a ceasefire, by far, as shown by his willingness to consider hostages disposable (at best)
Your inability to provide evidence for your alleged facts negates them. This is how facts work.
@20: Franklin Foer had a great piece in the Atlantic last week on exactly this subject, “The War that Would Not End.” Well worth your reading time.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/09/israel-gaza-war-biden-netanyahu-peace-negotiations/679581/
Contrary to the AverageBobs and Kristofarians of the world, not everything in America is a conspiracy theory controlled by shadowy figures from “AIPAC” (wink, wink)
@20 Do you have recordings of those calls? so what are you talking about. What is a fact is that Blinken lied to congress regarding Israel blocking humanitarian aid so that the flow of weaponry could go on.
@20 — I Wish
them Good Luck
but bibi’s gone DEAF
all them
Bunker Busters!
“Blinken
lied to congress
regarding Israel blocking humanitarian aid… “
are they Trying
to Throw this
Election?
AIPAC
strikes
Again!
@23 the well known “conspiracy theory” that politicians lie when they want the public to believe something
AIPAC Cannot get
donold Back in
again Fast
Enough
more
Blank
Cheques!
and Dictators
as Far as the
Eye can see
I did Not
See this
one co-
ming.
@25 ” I Wish
them Good Luck
but bibi’s gone DEAF
all them
Bunker Busters!”
That made me laugh aloud
@15 The more relevant question is whether an arms embargo would have made Israel more amenable to seeking a political solution rather than seeking escalation
@13 The story that Israel was minding its own peaceful business when it was attacked is a lie. Israel imposes apartheid on Palestinians and steals their land in illegally occupied territories, which is the motivation for most of the attacks on Israel.
lol, Kristofarian on here melting down about the Zionist Occupied Government ha ha ha!
@31: Averagebob’s take on October 7: “The bastards had it coming.” 😄
I can only imagine what you must have been like after 9/11! But no, please don’t go there now, lol!
“Walz disgusted the non-genocidal faction of his party when he agreed with Vance in voicing support for Israel…”
No, he articulated a position that most Americans agree with.
@33 More evidence that you’ll slander anyone who points out that Israel is the constant aggressor on Palestinians’ right to a homeland
@32 is your constant signaling that you laugh a lot supposed to convince your readers of the comfortable validity of your arguments?
@32 well, it’s hard to deny that AIPAC is playing a major role in American politics, including profiting from Citizen’s United to buy elections in concert with Republican Billionaires’ money
@34 In fairness to Hannah, it seems she’s defined “the non-genocidal faction” as people who believe in (certain) magical solutions to complicated situations; which is to say you could both be… err, correct?
@36: lol, I am a cheerful and boisterous person. I have a ton of fun with life even right here on the internet! You no? 😁😁😁
By Averagebob’s representations of the Geneva Conventions, Iran committed war crimes with its missile barrage.
One missile struck a school yard and destroyed a number of classrooms, proving the tech was insufficient to differentiate and target purely military objects. Therefore it was a war crime for Iran to have fired the missile in question.
Another allegedly Iranian missile’s fragments reportedly fell on a Palestinian man in the West Bank, killing him, after the Iranian missile was intercepted by an Israeli one. Since the Iranian technology wasn’t sufficient to evade interception by the IDF, where it could then fall on civilians, it wasn’t a permissible weapon of war under the 1977 additional protocols to the Geneva Convention. War crime number 2, by Averagebob’s previous comments and reasoning.
Ain’t buying it Bob. Iran committed no war crime in firing those missiles at Israel, assuming they weren’t intentionally targeting that school, with no intelligence to suggest is was being used by the IDF.
Maybe Iran fired deliberately at that school because the IDF had the school designated as a back-up command and control facility, making it a military, not civilian target. Now that argument would hunt, if that’s true.
@40: Oh stop, AverageBob’s not going to accuse the Iranians of war crimes! They’re the ones arming the “freedom fighters!” 😛 You’re arguing with your own shadow.
@39
well-played thumpfer!
your Glee at others’
Misery’s most*
Commend-
able!
*you’d a’been a Riot!
at Auschwitz in
an SS Uni.
a regular
Hans Landa!
Strawman Thumpus stopped replying to what I actually say. He just finds it convenient to invent my replies in order to better shoot them down. What a slandering little goon he is.
moving from the
Comic to the tragic:
the Chris Hedges Report:
Where Olive Trees Weep: Pro-
cessing the Trauma of Occupation
The world has failed Palestine. The United States and European Union pay lip service to principles of human rights and democracy while providing limitless support to Israel’s genocidal project of ethnic cleansing and apartheid.
Western media outlets censor reporting of Israeli atrocities, and international humanitarian organizations require that Palestinians prove their victimhood over and over again.
Arab states, on the whole, remain silent and complicit.
In the context of so much injustice, the new documentary Where the Olive Trees Weep offers a rare view into the everyday experience and psychological ramifications of occupation.
Filmed in 2022 in the West Bank, the film follows Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, Israeli journalist Amira Haas, activist Ahed Tamimi, Dr. Gabor Maté, and others.
On this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Chris Hedges speaks with Ashira Darwish and with the film’s directors and producers, Zaya Ralitza Benazzo and Maurizio Benazzo.
Zaya & Maurizio’s intention for the project was to explore the cycles of trauma inflicted by the Zionist occupation. Since long before the present genocide, Israeli forces have been using violence with impunity to punish popular and nonviolent resistance, and to inflict terror on Palestinian men, women, and children going about everyday activities such as attending school.
Consequently, the Palestinian experience is
marked ubiquitously by violence and loss,
& by the constant fear of further violence.
–Chris Hedges; Oct 02, 2024
(This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.)
oodles:
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/where-olive-trees-weep-processing?publication_id=778851&post_id=149700153&isFreemail=false&r=k7ee3&triedRedirect=true
we’re Spoonfed
the Corporate Line
and we’re supposed to
fucking VOTE? ah, Empire!
er, Sorry, thumpfer!
‘Where Olive Trees Weep’
is Not a Comedy! tho
I’m Certain YOU’ll
Find A Way. You
Always DO!
@24: No, I don’t have recordings of such White House calls, and I doubt that would satisfy you even if I did.
@30: “The more relevant question is whether an arms embargo would have made Israel more amenable to seeking a political solution rather than seeking escalation.”
That’s speculation. I was asking whether the embargo should have been imposed. (Notice how kristo’ didn’t answer? Shocking!)
So, let’s get this straight: Iran funds the largest non-state militia in the world, which spends a year firing rockets at Israeli civilians. When Israel finally responds, as any other country would have responded sooner, it’s “seeking escalation.” Right.
@47
here’s a wee
Taste:
nyt:
Biden
Says He
Won’t Support
an Israeli Strike on
Iran’s Nuclear Sites
His comments reflected a renewed effort
by his administration to seek restraint
from Israel to try to avoid a growing
war in the Middle East.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/02/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-weapons-biden-israel.html
careful there, Joe
you Know bibi’s
got a Temper
@49: Given Iran has now twice demonstrated it likely can’t hit Israel with any type of weapon, why would Israel bother with Iran’s nuclear sites?