U.S. Secretary of State Blinken acting like a %$#@!

[sear]

Blinken pledges US will never falter from supporting Israel as he likens Hamas’ crimes to ISIS​

Washington CNN —
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pledged that the United States will never falter from its support for Israel as he condemned Hamas’ “litany of brutality and inhumanity” as evoking “the worst of ISIS.”
“The message that I bring to Israel is this: you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to,” Blinken said in remarks alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. “We will always be there by your side.”
The top US diplomat’s trip to Israel, days after Hamas’ deadly attacks in Israel, is another show of support as the Biden administration seeks to bolster the country’s defenses and stop the conflict from expanding or spreading.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/politics/blinken-israel-visit/index.html

Mr. Secretary:
If what you say is true then you have written Israel a metaphorical blank check in support of whatever further atrocity it wishes to inflict.
That might seem to be exceedingly badly timed, as Israel may be planning to further its massacre.
- Your formula Mr. Secretary undermines the image the U.S. wishes to promote around the world as an equitable partner.

Perhaps the following insight might help steer you in a more constructive direction.

"We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interest are eternal and perpetual, and these interest it is our duty to follow." Lord Palmerston 1848

And how does this diplomatic blunder reflect on the Biden administration?

 

[Shiftless2]

Palestinians in Gaza Brace for All-Out War: ‘There Is No Place To Go’​

While some Israelis call to flatten Gaza — and Hamas celebrates its new political standing — ordinary Palestinians are preparing for life to turn from bad to much, much worse
BY JESSE ROSENFELD

FRIDAY OCT. 6 was an average day in the chaotic, fractured, and forcibly segregated Israeli-and-Palestinian new normal. The next day, Israeli and Palestinian society transformed in hours as Hamas led a bloody and unprecedented attack from Gaza that has plunged Israel and the occupied territories into new depths of a war without end. Nothing is normal now.

Since Saturday morning, at least 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, have been killed in an assault that has caused Israel more casualties than the country experienced during the entire five years of the Second Intifada that raged nearly 20 years ago. Twenty-four hundred have been wounded, and over 100 have been taken captive in Gaza. At the same time, 950 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 5,000 wounded since Israel has responded with a punishing bombardment from air, land, and sea that is flattening neighborhoods in the long-besieged strip. More than 300 children are among the dead. Residents, who’ve endured a 16-year-long blockade, believe this is just the prelude to a mass invasion.


“There is no place to go, if I die, I will die in my home,” says Mohammad Rajoub, 40, from his home in downtown Gaza City on Tuesday.

Like many Gaza residents, Rajoub was stunned by the massive and ongoing surprise assault. Many Gazans were elated — not by the atrocities, with which they can grimly identify. They celebrated an inconceivable breaking of the siege. For Gazans, it was the bursting of the bubble that allowed Israelis to live cost-free while Israel denied them the most basic rights. Then the dread and panic of the Israeli response set in. As an unprecedented 300,000 Israeli troops now swell around Gaza in expectation of a ground invasion, it’s a response that has so far plunged Gaza into darkness; cut off food, water, and gas from entering the strip; and then there is the terrifying bombardment that residents describe as being far worse than ....

Palestinians in Gaza Brace for All-Out War: 'There Is No Place to Go'

While some Israelis call to flatten Gaza — and Hamas celebrates its new political standing — ordinary Palestinians are preparing for life to turn from bad to much, much worse

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Shiftless2]

As if Donnie wasn't already completely down the rabbit hole ....

Trump Blames Israel-Hamas War on ‘Rigged’ 2020 Election​

The former president also went after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he "let us down" and calling Hezbollah “very smart"
BY CHARISMA MADARANG

Donald Trump has used the Israel-Hamas conflict — which has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides — to push his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

While delivering a speech to his supporters at a club event Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump claimed that “if the election wasn’t rigged, there would be nobody even thinking about going into Israel.” He added, “The election was rigged, very sadly rigged.”

It’s a false claim that the former president has clung onto despite being indicted in August over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and an anti-democratic campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. He was arrested again later ....

Trump Blames Israel-Hamas War on 'Rigged' 2020 Election

The former president also went after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he “let us down” and calling Hezbollah “very smart”

www.rollingstone.com

 

[sear]

"Palestinians in Gaza Brace for All-Out War: ‘There Is No Place To Go’" JR #2 ​

I don't know for a certitude that Israel is planning a massacre, a bloodbath for those it has corralled.
But the reports from there are consistent with such preparation.

"As if Donnie wasn't already completely down the rabbit hole ...." S2 #3

This Trump era of extremes of speech and characterization has left many inured. Since Trump has mastered the news cycle, and how to sustain the steady feed of free publicity many disregard some or most of what Trump says.
ABC-TV Jimmy Kimmel Live host J.K. has maintained critical surveillance of Trump's recent public speech. It's an alarming if accurate reminder of just how far off-track Trump's perspective is.

It remains difficult to explain Trump's continued popularity. But whatever the explanation, it doesn't seem to have much to do with Trump's conservative political campaign policy platform, if any.

The U.S. has a conspicuous leadership deficit. Not merely in congress' house Republican caucus. Still no speaker, thus the resultant legislative paralysis among our representatives.
The Republican presidential primary remains a free-for-all for second place.
The Democrats aren't much better. The Dems can't find ONE candidate that hasn't yet turned 70 (70 being above retirement age)?