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Which ceasefire candidate should I vote for?

I know voting by itself cannot bring about change. However the right person in the right position, who is supported by the people, would have a legitimacy that revolutions often lack. The establishment candidates won't even debate, how can they be considered legitimate.

How am I suppose to choose between the three hopefuls I actually like though?

Jill Stein seems like she has the best chance to win, but I don't know if she is revolutionary enough.

Cornel West seems like he might actually be able to kick off a revolution, but I don't know if he could win.

Claudia de la Cruz seems amazing but is still very much a bit of an unknown.

Am I just suppose to roll the dice here? I think I could vote for any of these three with a clear conscience, but my favorite depends so much on the day.

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Is/Can/Should anyone suing for libel at places like NYT over the coverage of the genocide?
  • It's hard to win because malice and disregard for the truth are often hard to prove, and loosing the case can be more damaging. It has however one of the few I ways I know of to convince people that reporters got it wrong.

    The hit piece about rape from the NYT keeps getting cited, despite it's sources claiming their words were twisted.

  • Is/Can/Should anyone suing for libel at places like NYT over the coverage of the genocide?

    Libel is to publish falsehoods into print that may excite public hatred. It can be hard to prove because malice or reckless disregard for the truth is difficult to prove.

    Given the source of the horrific and false claims is one that has not been truthful or accurate in the past, repeating the statements as facts without first verifying would suggest malice or at least reckless disregard for the truth. Even more suggestive of malice those are statements from interviews where those interviewed have come forward to complain. Printing a rape fantasy as though it's fact does real harm, and must be stopped.

    Funding for UNRWA was cut because of this reckless disregard for the truth. A celebrity was able to sue another for this, and the damages are far more clear in this case. The Arab-phobia in the media is making all of this worse and has to stop. Those responsible for publishing this trash must be held to account.

    I can't afford to, but I'd like to know if anyone is. If a group was able to have a court consider charging Biden with genocide, there must a court willing to hear the case of libel against those who publish it against Palestinians.

    4
    Palestine must be free

    The destruction of Palestine is impossibly evil. Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in peace there for a long time and created great art and prosperity. I know this through Arabian nights. Zionism was pretty unpopular in Jewish culture till the holocaust, and seems to be starting to wain. In Christianity, Zionism seems to be a prayer for the end times. Zionist benefit from Jewish people moving there. You can't have a Jewish democracy if the majority of the people aren't Jewish. It was roughly equal before.

    The non-Jewish Zionists want to send all the Jews to that scrap of land. They actually consider negation of the diaspora a good thing. I am not Jewish, but Jewish people have been there for me. I need to be there for them. I can not allow this movement that wants to make my Jewish friend feel like where there live or where they were born is not their home. I stand against the existence of the Zionist Entity. To that end I will do my best to make sure all Jewish people I know are okay. I will not bring this up to them, it'd be like bring up a murderous uncle.

    Palestine must be free. I want to go back to normal life, but the bombs have to stop falling. Unrwa must be funded. What can I do to help that come back?

    What can I do now? I want to march but I'm not seeing any marches near me. I live in the belly of the beast.

    0
    Palestine is one of the reasons I've decided to stop smoking a pack a day

    There are many reasons for me to quit smoking, but the Palestinian cause is a strong addition. I cannot support Palestine effectively if I am dead. To continue smoking as such is to hurry along the end of that condition. So I will not lite up 20 times a day anymore.

    Also, smoking a pack a day had become part of my identity. In the same way, many of those who were pushed to support the US backed governing body of the land between the Jordon river and the Mediterranean sea, have let ethno-nationalism become part of their identity. Many of them are letting that part of their identity go. I will let the pack smoker in me go in solidarity with everyone who used to support oppression but now knows how wrong that was. Pack a day smokers are a class of people. I have decided to exit that class.

    My support for Palestine gives me strength. Standing with Falestine means trying to survive. That means trying to be healthy. Falestine has given me a boost to quitting smoking. I'd have some trouble supporting if I am not alive.

    22
    Libs: "They tried to murder our dear leader Joe Biden"
  • They responded to "ceasefire now" with "four more years"...

    I wonder if they realize how much it sounds like they want four more years of genocide. I wonder how many of them actually support the genocide.

  • Thoughts on Marching

    I'm contemplating talking to my local organizers about this next time I see them, but I wanted to know if I'm missing something first. Most of the marches I've gone to have been well organized, but I've been having trouble making sure I know about them. Also when it's time to stop I always want to stay and chat, but they end environment is rarely conductive to that. I was wondering if I'm on the right track here.

    The Purpose of Marching

    The ruling class would have us believe that marches are there only to speak truth to power. While that is part of it, it is the least important part. Marching grows the movement, are physical exercise, help test organizational strategies, and more.

    While it's important to walk through crowded areas, it's also good to go through business and residential areas. For some people it'd be easier to talk to someone in a large crowd who just happens to be walking near them than to some anonymous person on the internet. The average person is going to be curious, but afraid to ask and unmotivated to learn. This is why we need to give them every opportunity we can muster.

    Marching tests our organizational and physical ability. People who really care about the movement want to help provide for it. Things like food, water, and first aid, need to come with the march to keep people safe. They help us to prove that we are not the problem. A well run march shows we care about our community. Long large that require most people to travel, require some logistics. Smaller local marches can help us prepare for that.

    Civil disobedience often involves confrontations with the police. Police almost always follow marches because disorganized marches end in looting and or destruction of property. Frequent peaceful marches that end peacefully are hard to spin and allow people in power to get use to them. They still grow the movement though. When the time comes for civil disobedience, it might be harder for them to go after the people they've been following for an extended period of time. Those who march regularly will also be more physically fit.

    The greatest power of marching is in growing and strengthening the movement. More frequent smaller local marches are going to be more effective at doing this than large marches in important places. While the big are important, they are strengthen by the smaller ones that provide an intro to the bigger ones.

    High Frequency Marching

    I'd like to suggest a strategy of marching for a cause, like Palestine, that will be on going for many weeks, to do the following:

    • Set a weekly march schedule
    • Vary the course of the march
    • Limit pep rally
    • End march at a comfortable place Each of these points is explained below.

    Weekly Schedule

    If possible there should two of these times set per week. One on the weekend around midday, and one weekday evening. The same spot or spots should be used every week.

    This makes it easy for people who may join the march midway to figure how to get more involved should they so desire. It's typically pretty easy to remember a single time rather than a whole schedule full of different times. Having a weeknight makes it easy for the person who has commits on the weekends, having a weekend allows the person who can't come on that weekday. Regularly walking a long distance will have health benefits for us as well. The consistency would also lead to the marches becoming part of the status quo, leading to the smaller that grow the movement being ignored by the ruling class and their supporters.

    The course

    The course that is march should be varied every week. The length of the course should vary as well. Planning routes through various as segments that can be pieced together in a few ways should make that easier. It's important to make sure as much of the area with potential allies is covered.

    This will allow more people to see the marchers. It also would make it harder for unscrupulous actors to join the march. Additionally by marching through different areas, people who regularly join the marches will have a better understanding of the area they are marching through. Many people have become isolated and barely know their own neighborhood these days.

    Pep Rally

    This should be between fifteen minutes and half an hour. A short pep talk is fine, but the extended speeches should be done at the end of the march, not the beginning. The majority of this time should be spent telling people what is not acceptable, and who they should follow. It can also include practicing a few chants although it's fine to just say we're going to get ready to go in afew minutes.

    Stopping for speeches along the march is fine, but at the start it's mostly just going to be preaching to the choir. It is important that the people who care enough to show up at the starting point know what to do if things go wrong though. Also this is most vulnerable part of a high frequency march because it is consistent. It seems to wise to limit the exposure to danger here.

    End of March

    The end point of the march shouldn't necessarily be the place it started. A few places that serve food should be selected as end points for the march. The closing of the march should be the time for any extended speeches and organizational housekeeping, outside of the chosen snack vendor (coffee shop, bar, restaurant, etc.). The snack vendors should be contacted before being chosen, to ensure they are allies and ready for a potential crowd.

    Speeches outside the snack vendor would help anyone the march picked up understand exactly why we are out there marching. Those who manage to make it to the end of the march and through the speeches are likely the people who should be joining the movement. Stopping outside the snack vendor would allow the organizers to invite those interested inside. It can also help the snack vendor, as it will bring them more business. Supporting businesses that we agree with can help them stand up to monstrous ones.

    Closing Thoughts

    High frequency marching may help transform all of the spontaneous energy we have into a capable revolution. It could open the doors for many of those with no contact to us but who agree with us to join us and evolve. As it seems the main goal at this point is to grow the movement in a principled way, I would theorize that this could be a path forward. By avoiding the scrutiny of the ruling class and it's supporters, we are less likely to be destroyed by them.

    0
    TikTok Says It's Not the Algorithm, Teens Are Just Pro-Palestine
  • I know that, you know that. It was absolutely disgusting.

    However most people didn't really seem to care, and the language was a bit less genocidal.

    Fewer people took a closer look because they just don't care about Ukraine. Americans are much more interested in Israel.

  • TikTok Says It's Not the Algorithm, Teens Are Just Pro-Palestine
  • Americans also care more about it. So they do a bit more research. There's also the shear scale of it, the whole Russia/Ukraine thing also has a crazy complex history, not quite as simple as maybe don't support genocide.

  • Israel drops leaflets warning people to flee southern Gaza towns
  • Wiping out a military group is not the same as attacking civilians. Destroying military capability can bring peace, bombing civilians does not. Idf is military and its primary purpose appears to be the destruction of the Palestinians.

  • ADL, Zionism, and Antisemitism
  • Also I just wanted to say thanks for pointing out the safe spaces thing, I think I fixed it. I can't believe I came so close to suggesting ghettos, that is not something I'd ever want.

  • ADL, Zionism, and Antisemitism
  • Instead of the ADL we should promote organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace.

    I didn't mean to suggest that we should promote them, but to understand the power they wield. Obviously promoting the Jewish Voice for Peace is important as well.

    Best case scenario we would simply be replicating the Soviet idea of having a Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and while they also meant well when they implemented that, i’m not sure how effective it actually was in protecting Jewish people.

    I'm not sure about the JAO of the soviet union either, the stats I found on it made it seem like a non starter. Probably also not great to suggest they go to Siberia, given the things imperialists like to say about it.

    I would of course prefer to make sure my country remains a safe space for all religions, in all cities and regions. That would be ideal.

    Perhaps it would be better to simply have a guaranteed right that those facing hateful or classical antisemitism can receive asylum here? I'm not sure what the best answer is, I definitely see your point though.

  • ADL, Zionism, and Antisemitism

    Couple of terms that I need to define.

    The Jewish people were given a state with the Balfour Declaration, made by classical antisemitism. He wanted the Jews out of England, so he made a state so he sent them to the holy-land, they didn't want to go to Africa. Truman was another classical antisemitism and became the godfather of Israel. Even the Nazis were trying to send them to the region before they set up the concentration camps. That nation was founded in classical antisemitism. Many antisemitic want as many Jews to move as they can get, they are even willing to encourage classical antisemitism and hate antisemitism to that end. This has been proven by history.

    Zionism is a white van distributing candy to unsuspecting Jews. It is a scam. The diaspora of Jewish people enrich civilization. Israel is false safety net for many in the diaspora. In it's current form, that nation only feeds the hate antisemitism, and hurts those of us who like having Jews living among us. I adore the diaspora, but if a nation continues to commit atrocities it needs to be condemned.

    Continued support for Israel is direct attack on the Jewish diaspora. Billions have been spent in the flatting of a beautiful ancient city that has seen continued inhibition for thousands of years. No one asked the Jews here or anywhere outside of that theocratic settler colony if they wanted to send additional funds to fuel the genocidal revenge for the escape of a few thousand people who were imprisoned there.

    The ADL shouldn't allow "from the river to the sea" to be considered antisemitic. Jews would still be allowed in Palestine if it were free. A call for the abolishment of Israel isn't a call for ethnic cleansing. The changing of a regime doesn't normally destroy a people. Anyone claiming that an attack on Israel is an attack on Jews is profoundly antisemitic, as Israel seems offended by the existence of the Palestinian people, a few of whom are even Jewish. Additionally, by claiming that a call for the dismantling of Israel is antisemitic, they are claiming that Jews are Israeli. This is even more problematic now that Biden is taking from US citizens to give Israel even more weapons to use against the Palestinian populations.

    For this reason, we must do a few things. In order of importance:

    • Show unequivocal support for local Jewish people who are not Zionist.
    • Convince the ADL to declare a denouncement of Israel is not an antisemitic. Condemn the ADL for encouraging the confusion of Judaism and Zionism.
    • Advocate for Jewish enclaves or safe spaces with in our own countries, let every country in the world have it's own Israel within it's borders. Advocate for assurances that anyone facing classical or hateful antisemitism can seek asylum in our nations.

    Slogan suggestions:

    • Free Palestine to save the Jews
    • End the genocide, from the river to the seaside
    8
    Antisemitism and Zionism

    This an attempt at a poem to explain why I think Zionism is antisemitism, I'll offer a further explanation below.

    Zionism is antisemitism

    back to Africa was racist

    back to Israel is antisemitic

    Zionism is antisemitism

    they ban interfaith love

    they made it illegal

    Zionism is antisemitism

    Nazis supported Zionism

    Zionist supported Nazis

    Frame one: back to Africa was racist, back to Israel is antisemitic.

    It is obscene to tell some black kid from Detroit, New York, LA, or Chicago to "go back to Africa". I really don't see how anyone could argue for that. Zionism by definition says Jews are Israel and should be in Israel. I don't want the Jews to leave, I get the impression most of them would prefer to stay where are.

    Frame two: they banned interfaith love, they made it illegal

    Many of the best of the best people I've known are a product of interfaith relationships. Am I really suppose to believe they support same sex marriage when a christian and jew can't marry in their country?

    Frame three: Nazi's supported Zionist, Zionist supported Nazis

    This was the hardest to find proof of. Look up what happened to Ken Livingston for mentioning it. I am not saying all Zionist supported Nazis, or that all Nazis were Zionists. They weren't and they didn't, but some did.

    Other stuff

    "New antisemitism" sees criticism of Israel as antisemitic. According to this style of thinking it is the same as denying jews were victims of the holocaust.

    The definition of antisemitism I am more familiar with is jews shouldn't be involved in non-jewish matters. Zionism fits that perfectly, it is telling jews they are all Israeli and should go back to Israel. I don't want them to go.

    Don't tell me I can't fall in love with a jew, don't make me say goodbye to the jews. I could go on about the crimes of Israel, but it's more to remember that propaganda has been telling everyone that jews are Israelis, they could be, but they aren't all. The ones in our neighborhoods should be safe. They are not the settlers out there stealing land, even if they gain a measure of security in case of pogroms against them.

    The battle for gaza is being waged in cities around the world.

    Slogan Suggestions

    Free Palestine, Save the jews

    End antisemitism, end zionism

    Let the jews stay here, we can keep them, they don't need Israel

    Jews have a home here, Israel needs to go

    Zionism is antisemitism

    1
    I used to be a reactionary and hated Jewish people because I believed antisemitic conspiracies about them. Now I've been reeducated and consider them comrades but I hate Israel for obvious reasons.
  • I can't remember a time I didn't know a Jewish person, or one treating me poorly. Jewish people gave me food when I was hungry, and friendship when I was lonely. I'm pretty sure the first person to alert me to what isn'treal was doing was Jewish person who didn't support it, that was a long time ago though and I can't remember who it was. Muslims I've meant seem decent too.

    No one wants to see loved ones hurt, so remember compassion is a super power. Many Jewish people have settlers in their family that they can't justify hating. Bloodshed no matter how justified shouldn't be celebrated. It might give rise to hope but hope is only the possibility of improvement.

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