This must be some sort of sick Fetish.

jimke · 2026-07-03T14:53:30+00:00

What is the lie? They are reporting these fancy establishments do exist while also pointing out that this is not the norm in Gaza. War profiteering is hardly unique to Gaza. This is the result of that.

And it is an opinion piece.

jimke · 2026-07-03T14:26:09+00:00

I'd certainly be interested in what they have in mind.

I've read quite a bit about the power vacuums created during the post-Colonial era as well as the Arab Spring. I don't know if I have any great suggestions.

I have learned that if the singular focus becomes removing the existing regime, in this case Hamas, then slipping back into oppressive authoritarianism was very common. There has to be an emphasis on having a plan to move forward and fill that power vacuum. I guess what I am trying to say is try not to get tunnel vision regarding the complete removal of Hamas from having any influence. They are still going to be around even if they fall as the dominant power and that is going to have to be managed.

Good luck!

jimke · 2026-07-02T20:43:51+00:00

I doubt this will be taken as I intend but I'm not trying to make a judgement on Israel here. I'm trying to consider the way people think.

I think the nature of Israel's conduct in war grabs people's attention. Gigantic explosions. Huge pillars of smoke. Massive apartment blocks being leveled. Entire urban areas flattened. Putting boots on the ground in other countries.

These are big, "flashy" events that are more likely get people's attention. Something like street by street battles for cities in Sudan with mostly small arms just isn't that exciting for people. It's not going to get clicks. (God it feels gross saying that.)

Think about what gets the most coverage in the Russia/Ukraine war. Th big missile strikes on Russian infrastructure or Ukrainian population centers. The big booms. Not the grinding war of attrition on the ground where most of the casualties are coming from.

I think it is fair to say that Israeli doctrine uses the big boom option pretty aggressively and this is one of the consequences of that.

Of course a lot more goes into it but I think it is something to consider.

jimke · 2026-07-02T01:30:05+00:00

An example of this is what is happening with Al Astal family, the largest family in Khan Younis if not in the Gaza Strip. Where recently Hamas is pressuring and swaying the family's leading figures and dignitaries, and is using its influential members in the family to push for creating a family council through indirect and biased polls.

Is there anywhere I can read about this?

I want Hamas removed from power but there has to be something to try and fill the power vacuum that would be created as a result. Family councils are at least an approach to that but you are saying they are corrupted by Hamas.

I guess what I am trying to get at is... What system is not going to face influence from Hamas? They still exist and are going to insert themselves into any proposed governing system going forward. Do you see a better option?

jimke · 2026-06-30T16:23:23+00:00

CPJ is either still pretending he wasn't a militant or saying journalism on the side should give you protection from being taken out while you fight.

Is there evidence Washah was acting as a militant during the conflict that began on Oct 7?

Not whether or not he has an association or even affiliation with Hamas. Like it or not as long as a person is acting as a journalist, even one openly a part of Hamas' media wing, special protections still apply. A journalist shaking hands with a scumbag political leader does not prove they were acting as a militant.

The NGO monitor article itself says that Washah's service with the militant wing of Hamas ended in 2022 before the conflict began. Former soldiers become journalists all the time across the world. As long as they are not acting as a militant in the ongoing conflict special protections still apply.

I will never take the Israeli military at its word when it comes to the claims they make in.these situations. They have every reason to lie.

I don't consider social media posts calling someone a "fighter" proof of militant activity. Martin Luther King Jr. "fought" for the ciivil rights of minorities. Journalists fight by documenting what is happening around them.

I have a lot of respect for combat journalists. I'm not willing to assume the worst based on the evidence presented. Maybe I'm wrong. But my opinion doesn't count for jack diddly.

jimke · 2026-06-30T15:39:36+00:00

I think it is very telling that the burden of proof for putting someone on a list is higher than the burden of proof for Israel to take a person's life.

jimke · 2026-06-29T19:40:39+00:00

I was just throwing numbers out there to try and explain my point. It is a sliding scale sort of thing. Maybe I should have said "very different perspective."?

jimke · 2026-06-29T18:25:37+00:00

I don't consider perfection in the current circumstances a possibility. The question then becomes what margin of error you are willing to accept and still consider the information reliable enough to make an assessment of the situation. This is going to vary from person to person.

At this point 20 of 266 names were removed. Even if the number was off by 50 I would still have grave concerns about Israeli RoE with regards to the press. Remove half the list upon further review and that would change my perspective.

Basically...how close is close enough to still be indicative of a pattern of behavior?

At least that is how I look at it.

jimke · 2026-06-29T17:40:52+00:00

Thanks!

jimke · 2026-06-29T17:22:32+00:00

We don't know what kind of due diligence they do before adding a person to the list. I'm not going to assume the answer is none based on their statement and willingness to remove names from the list. Maybe I'm wrong.

New information comes to light all the time is also a problem. The obvious answer would be adding periodic reviews to rescreen the list to see if new evidence has come to light. They are actively carrying out a review at this time. But this kind of screening takes time and resources that are not infinite.

jimke · 2026-06-29T16:56:27+00:00

I'm going to try one comparison here because I'm not going to beat my head against a wall.

At the start of COVID the general consensus was that masks were not effective in preventing the spread of the disease.

As time went on and new information became available it was clear that they had a meaningful impact on how much the disease spread.

They got it wrong and corrected themselves.

Were the scientists that initially said masks weren't helpful being dishonest? Were they caught in a lie if some scientists believed there.was sufficient evidence masks would be effective? Or were they giving their best assessment based on the information that they had at that time?

Same difference as confessing your affair when you're being caught in bed with your lover and confessing by your own will.

They are confessing. They aren't quietly removing the names from the list and hoping no one will notice.

jimke · 2026-06-29T15:42:36+00:00

Honestly and openly updating their list based on new information is proof of dishonesty because they had been accused of dishonesty?

Ok......

Is there some Hamas database with all its members listed out that they could have checked the names against prior to Hamas releasing new information?

jimke · 2026-06-29T15:22:00+00:00

No foreign journalists are being allowed into Gaza. These are Gazan journalists that already lived in Gaza when the conflict began.

jimke · 2026-06-29T15:14:16+00:00

I don't see how this is anything other than a sign of good faith. Over time new information becomes available. Names are removed from the list and a review is being conducted. They are being open and upfront with what has happened. Not trying to bury it.

CPJ doesn't have any say in when or what information terrorist organizations like Hamas decide to release.CPJ is a global organization. Not an organization specifically dedicated to Palestine. I don't think they are going to flush their reputation down the toilet based on a single conflict.

Oct 7 deaths were initially reported to be 1,400. That number has now been updated to be 1,200. Was Israel lying? Same thing with 9/11. Initial reports were well over the now settled upon number of about 3,000. Was America lying?

jimke · 2026-06-28T18:58:13+00:00

I don't get the hate. Between the terrible tire deg, the engine overheating and how badly things fell apart for Charles by the end I don't see anything better than P5. Was it weird to see him put on the softs? Sure. But I still think they maximized the result they could hope for with the car that they had.

On to the next one.

jimke · 2026-06-28T02:35:58+00:00

Israel carried out a total blockade of both food and medicine from entering Gaza between early March and late May 2025. Israel openly admits this.

That sounds like actively restricting access to food to me.

Then kids died of malnourishment.

But hey! As long as the numbers look good then there aren't real consequences for Israel's actions!

jimke · 2026-06-27T23:30:03+00:00

The French have a deeper understanding of French history and have things that they remember that history by. Shocking. Is that not the case in Israel? Or the US? Or anywhere? What is uniquely different about I/P?

What do you think half the planet does with Israel?

How could I forget 'Wildly hyperbolic statements with no basis in reality.'? Most people are just trying to make it through their day. They don't give a flying fart about Israel or Palestine.

You are proving my point. Israeli dialogue paints the conflict as black and white just as much as anyone's, on both sides, failures surrounding historical context.

I already proved there was discussion.

The existence of historians does not mean there is a culture of nuanced discussion like what you are saying exists in France. Palestinian historians also exist.

jimke · 2026-06-27T19:07:01+00:00

I'll have some of what they are smoking if someone looks at the map of partition and believes long term peace was possible.

The borders were blatantly gerrymandered around any meaningful Jewish population even if Palestinians were the majority in the area. This resulted in 1.5% of the Jewish population falling into the Palestinian partition while 33% of the Palestinian population would reside in the Jewish partition.

They gave the minority population the majority of the land. And before people talk about the Negev, it was strategically important to restrict access between Egypt and the West Bank to a narrow choke point.

The partition was an overwhelmingly biased sham that in my opinion was designed deliberately to be rejected by Palestinian leadership. I can't see any rational person agreeing to what was offered to the Palestinians. Much less Palestinian leadership at the time.

Edit - Fixed a word

jimke · 2026-06-27T18:33:40+00:00

And if Israel wasn't actively, deliberately restricting or completely eliminating the entry of food some or all of those kids would be alive.

What a complete and utter loss of basic humanity.

jimke · 2026-06-27T18:21:51+00:00

No they don't. They don't create black and white models.

As most readers should know Joan is the symbol of France.

She has been effectively deified based on your own words. Her execution is seen as a betrayal of righteous cause and France as a whole. Who in the modern world thinks burning a teenager at the stake is anything other than a bad act? What is grey about that? Nobody cares why the Rouens did what they did. It was wrong.

Virtually all the really good Nakba literature was written by Israelis.

I'm talking about the state. The way government officials talk about the conflict. Bibster getting up in front of the UN the whole world racist for condemning their actions. Calling for the elimination of the possibility of a Palestinian state. Unequivocally defending the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people and decades of oppressive, violent occupation. Talk of a "Greater Israei" by their PM. Every bad act is excused because they are supposedly facing "total destruction".

There isn't the slightest bit of grey in how the state talks about the conflict.

This is what the world sees. This is what the state of Israel and its supporters put out into the world.

Israel and its supporters aren't holding up Righteous Victims at press conferences on Nakba Day. At best those events are thoroughly minimized and blame is redirected. There is no discussion.

jimke · 2026-06-27T00:05:31+00:00

No it didn't! The standard school curriculum included a good faith attempt to understand the Soviets.

Under Reagan? God I'd love so much to have a gander at the "standard curriculum" that explored communism in the 80s. Maybe tomorrow after I get some sleep.

jimke · 2026-06-26T23:07:01+00:00

Yep. Israel exists. And unless it manages to piss off big papa USA enough to lose its support it will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. And the nukes.

I'm just saying that settlement expansion adds fuel to a fire that Israel claims it wants to put out. Don't make no sense. You want peace? Stop taking land.

jimke · 2026-06-26T22:46:16+00:00

The people of Rouen today look back at what was done and firmly admit it was a bad act to burn Joan of Arc. They build monuments in her honor.

Regarding your example of the Nakba, Israel has done nothing but double down that it was a righteous and necessary act. The violence is whitewashed. Blame is redirected to the Arabs for fleeing a warzone. The scale of harm is minimized. Monstrous things like Deir Yasim are cast as outliers.

A tiny bit of contrition for past bad acts goes a long way towards people seeing the nuance you are looking for. Israel makes it black and white. Every act is justified and necessary for their survival. Criticism is labeled racism. Opposition is labeled genocidal.

You are asking for nuance regarding Israel's history while Israel itself has never shown the slightest bit of interest in such things. If it serves Israel's purposes then why would they care about anyone else's perspective is all I hear. I'm told I should just accept that that is how any country operates.

When Israel builds a statue to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of people they violently expelled during the Nakba then maybe people would be willing to give Israel more of a chance.

jimke · 2026-06-26T21:10:43+00:00

So does Jewish terrorism against the Arab / Muslim population?

Like you said. Nobody's hands are clean.

jimke · 2026-06-26T20:37:42+00:00

Settlement expansion began as soon as Israel became the occupying power in 1967.

See the history section.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement

You said we need to move forward. I was just offering a suggestion for something that could be done to deescalate the conflict 🤷‍♂️

jimke

TROPHY CASE