Israel is desperate to keep any information or pictures of their genocide and total destruction of Gaza from leaking out to the public. I just found out this morning that Israel military is telling the roving gang thugs that are blocking and destroy aid trucks food supplies where these trucks will be. Also the Israeli military has again targeted food and medical people, including shelling the emergency room and using tanks to shell the only other semi functioning hospital in Northern Gaza. The Israeli government / military is doing everything they can to destroy every aspect of Palestinians lives, culture, buildings, all so the people if any remain will have no way to survive if they try to stay there. The goal is to force the survivors to leave, be relocated so Israel can regain the land it claims as its own. Hugs. Scottie
Updated 5:57 PM EDT, May 21, 2024The Israeli government will return a camera and broadcasting equipment it had seized from The Associated Press on Tuesday, reversing course hours after it blocked the news organization’s live video of Gaza and faced mounting criticism for interfering with independent journalism.
The AP’s live video of Gaza was back up early Wednesday in Israel.
The government seized the AP equipment positioned in southern Israel after accusing it of violating a new media law by providing images to the satellite channel Al Jazeera.
Israeli officials used the new law on May 5 to close down Qatar-based Al Jazeera within Israel, confiscating its equipment, banning its broadcasts and blocking its websites.
After Israel seized the AP equipment, the Biden administration, journalism organizations and an Israeli opposition leader condemned the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and pressured it to reverse the decision.
Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said late Tuesday on the social platform X: “I have now ordered to cancel the action and return the equipment to the AP.”
Karhi said the defense ministry will undertake a review of news outlets’ positioning of live video of Gaza. Officials hadn’t previously told AP the positioning of its live camera was an issue. Instead, they repeatedly noted that the images appeared in real-time on Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera is one of thousands of AP customers, and it receives live video from AP and other news organizations.
“While we are pleased with this development, we remain concerned about the Israeli government’s use of the foreign broadcaster law and the ability of independent journalists to operate freely in Israel,” said Lauren Easton, AP’s vice president of corporate communications.
Officials from the Communications Ministry arrived at the AP location in the southern town of Sderot on Tuesday afternoon and seized the equipment. They handed the AP a piece of paper, signed by Karhi, alleging it was violating the country’s foreign broadcaster law.
Shortly beforehand, AP was broadcasting a general view of northern Gaza. The AP complies with Israel’s military censorship rules, which prohibit broadcasts of details like troop movements that could endanger soldiers. The live video has generally shown smoke rising over the territory.
The AP had been ordered verbally last Thursday to cease the live transmission, which it refused to do.
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid called the government’s move against AP “an act of madness.”
Karhi responded to Lapid that the law passed unanimously by the government states that any device used to deliver Al Jazeera content could be seized.
Journalism organizations condemned Israel’s seizure of AP equipment, and the Biden administration also applied pressure.
“As soon as we learned about the reports, the White House and the State Department immediately engaged with the government of Israel at high levels to express our serious concern and ask them to reverse this action,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council. “The free press is an essential pillar of democracy and members of the media, including AP, do vital work that must be respected.”
When Israel closed down Al Jazeera’s offices earlier this month, media groups warned of the serious implications for press freedom in the country.
“Israel’s record on press freedom already has been dismal throughout the war,” the Foreign Press Association said in a statement on Tuesday. “It has prevented independent access to Gaza for foreign journalists.”
The AP live video shot from Sderot has provided a rare independent glimpse of the situation in Gaza.
Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of bias against the country. Netanyahu has called it a “terror channel” that spreads incitement.
Al Jazeera is one of the few international news outlets that has remained in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting scenes of airstrikes and overcrowded hospitals and accusing Israel of massacres. AP is also in Gaza.
During the previous Israel-Hamas war in 2021, the army destroyed the building housing AP’s Gaza office, claiming Hamas had used the building for military purposes. The AP denied any knowledge of a Hamas presence, and the army never provided any evidence to back up its claim.
The war in Gaza began with a Hamas attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
___
Kirka reported from London. Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani, and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
This is the result of the hate campaign driven by fundamentalist Christian bigots and their thug troops. They are calling these nonlethal rounds but they can seriously injure, cause blindness, or cause lift time serious problems. This is terrorism. They want to force gay people back in the closet, these thugs want the LGBTQ+ out of the public and out of society. They glorify what Putin has done to gay people in Russia. Hugs. Scottie
San Diego Police say Rich’s, The Rail, #1 on Fifth Avenue and PECS in the Hillcrest and North Park neighborhoods were hit by the suspect early Saturday morning.
This kind of hate has never happened to this extent in my lifetime.
Our country has become a piece of shit right before our eyes
It has been worse (lynchings, “fag bashings,” etc.), but it’s not supposed to get worse after it’s been getting better. The backsliding is terrifying.
What these states are fighting for is the right to discriminate and target kids for abuse, which in their minds somehow pushes the fundamentalist Christian superior morals. They really believe that these laws denying kids the right to live as their authentic self without being harassed and targeted makes their god happy. I got news for them, I doubt it makes their god happy but I know it makes them happy. Their god seems to hate those they hate and love the things they like. Weird how that works. These same states removed child labor protections and school food assistance programs. Makes kids more willing to sacrifice school for work if they are hungry and harassed. Hugs. Scottie
Louisiana Vows to Defy New Pro-LGBTQ Title IX Rules
Aunt Lydia Orders State To Defy New LGBTQ Protections
Four More Red State AGs Join Moms For Threeways In Suing Biden Admin Over LGBTQ Student Protections
DeSantis: No Pride Month Rainbow Lights On Bridges
And for some good news on the LGBTQ+ front.
Appeals Court Rules Maryland Parents Can’t Opt-Out Of Classroom Lessons That Involve LGBTQ-Themed Books
Read the full article. The parents were represented by the anti-LGBTQ Beckett Fund For Religious Liberty, which represented Hobby Lobby in its successful bid to deny birth control to employees. As you can see below, supporting the parents is homocon Andy Ngo.
This is what happens when you have hate preachers and right wing media constantly pushing a narrative of anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda and claiming that gay and trans people want to make everyone gay and trans. Plus the US needs better mental health treatments and the US really need to screen police officers much better. Hugs. Scottie
Ex-GA Cop Claims Voices Told To Him To Kill Lyft Driver Because He Was Being Kidnapped Into “Gay Fraternity”
MO Sec Of State Candidate Says “Don’t Be Weak And Gay” As She Jogs In St. Louis’s LGBTQ Neighborhood
Read the full article. Of note, Lupe Fiasco recently called out fellow rappers for their homophobic lyrics. As you’ll see below, Gomez brandishes assault weapons in most of her videos. Her “weak and gay” video has over two million views as of today.
I found a strong gay man for you Ms. Gomez.
Seek him out for some strong advice. I dare ya.
Corporal Andrew Charles Wilfhart is the first openly gay US soldier to die in combat since the repeal (DADT) policy in 2011. Wilfhart died in Operation Enduring Freedom. Major Alan Rogers, died in 2008 while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom as an Army intelligence officer.
Mississippi Gov Declares Confederate Heritage Month
This one is recent but it goes along with honoring the confederacy. Hugs. Scottie
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Pardons “White Power” Killer
Remember when tRump cried that the Judge wouldn’t let him attend Barron’s graduation? Hugs. Scottie
Trump To Attend Fundraiser On Day Of Son’s Graduation
Some republican red states like Florida have passed laws making Christian Preachers / Priests / Pastors legally able to be school councilors. Yes troubled kids asking for help will have to accept being preached to, told to pray more, and give their body’s to … god. Yet some of these preachers don’t accept medical science, don’t believe gay LGBTQ+ kids have rights or are born the way they are, they will try to guilt trip them into changing into cis straight kids who go to that church. Hugs. Scottie
Megachurch Pastor: No Such Thing As Mental Illness
The fundamentalist got some more control over a woman’s body with the ending of Roe, now they are going for the entire control over the woman’s rights, their bodies, and their sex organs. Hugs. Scottie
Dr. Stabby Calls For Overturning No-Fault Divorce Laws
Dr. Stabby: Communists Have Taken Over Teachers Unions And Are Indoctrinating Students “Under Cover”
This is their way of forcing their god on the public, in a public school, regardless of the parents religion or lack of. But no other religion gets to do this, just the Christians. Hugs. Scottie
Louisiana To Mandate Ten Commandments Classroom Posters In All Schools, Colleges That Get Public Money
And more of the ultra religious Christian set trying to install their religious leaders / icons in the secular public government
Mike Johnson Unveils Billy Graham Statue In US Capitol
And this is why they feel the need to do this. They are losing more than the culture war and control of society. They are losing money and possible influence because less and less people believe in their deity, far more ass are in pews putting moeny in collection plates.
Phone Data Contradicts Church Attendance Surveys
Another pair of republican Christian jerks who try to force their religious doctrine on everyone while running on family values and hating on the LGBTQ+. But they don’t follow the rules they demand you follow. They were having an affair. Hugs. Scottie
GOP Rep To Divorce After Alleged Affair With GOP Rep
And this jerk wants to make wearing a mask to protest illegal … and yet the terrorist right wing gang thugs like Proud Boys, Patriot Front, Oath keepers, and other Nazi racist bigoted groups wear them all the time to prevent being fired from their jobs. I doubt this bill will pass without some kind of exemption for them. Hugs. Scottie
NC Senate Approves Bill Criminalizing Wearing Masks
Screw the immuno-compromised, right? And don’t expect this law to be used against the Proud Boys or Patriot Front.
Sen. Buck Newton, not incidentally, first appeared here in 2016 when as state attorney general nominee, he spoke at a hate group rally, declaring, “Go home, tell your friends and family who had to work today what this is all about and how hard we must fight to keep our state straight.”
approved masks
Not approved:
Definitely not approved:
And who do you think he works for when / if he holds office. Hint it won’t be for you, the public. Hugs. Scottie
Study: Trump’s Offer To Big Oil Could Save Them $110B
This one is new but it shows how republicans simply lie and misinform now. Reality means nothing to them. They learned from tRump that voters on their side no longer care about the truth, care about what is real. They simply make false claims and double down on it when called out. They don’t even care. They want their cake and eat it also. Hugs. Scottie
Scott Accuses Biden Of Enabling Fentanyl Smuggling After Voting Against Two Anti-Fentanyl Smuggling Bills
Latest Trump Lie: I Never Said That I’d Never Go Back To Minnesota If I Lost To Biden There, Which I Didn’t
Read the full article. In an interview today with a Minnesota station, Trump denied having said he’d never go back. And then he denied that Biden won Minnesota in 2020. Watch the LOL clip.
Yes. He was appropriately roped off by police/crime scene tape.
I posted about this situation the other day. We have an ideology driven supreme court who wants to make rules based on their religious convictions rather than law. They have an extreme religious faith and demand the right to make the rest of the country that way.
NYT: “Stop The Steal” Flag Seen At Justice Alito’s Home
Alito Says His Wife Flew “Stop The Steal” Flag Because She Was “Distraught” Over Being Called “The C-Word”
Durbin Calls On Alito To Recuse From Trump Cases
And the originator of the lie “sleepy Joe” for President Biden get cuaght being the really sleepy one.
Dem Rep Catalogs All The Times Trump Slept In Court
Some more old things I need to clear out.
For those that don’t think this is important, I worked with some Catholic doctors that were so religious high rollers that they condemn and refused to treat those they felt broke god’s laws or their church rules. Specifically the LGBTQ+. I have repeated told of an ICU doctor who was assigned a very sick and dying openly gay man in a same sex relationship. This was just before same sex marriage was legal country wide and before it was legal in Florida. The patient’s lover / boyfriend had complete power of attorney over all the patient’s medical, financial, and other life decisions, something all of us gay people in same sex relationships did so our partners could make our hospital decisions when we couldn’t. This doctor refused to listen or include the patient’s gay partner disregarding their relationship. He went so far as to call the patient’s estranged family members to try to get them to overrule the wishes of the partner. The patient’s partner got a lawyer and legal told the doctor he had to include the partner and treat him as the next of kin legally. The doctor walked on the floor, took the chart and signed himself off the case. Then loudly told all of us he was not the doctor of record for the patient and he wouldn’t treat him, so do not call him or his people for any reason for that patient. That left us and the hospital scrambling. The ICU intensives all worked for the same practice started by that doctor, so they had to find some doctor qualified to step in to be the patient’s doctor because the ICU requires a doctor to be qualified on respirators such as a pulmonologist. Yes they can have other doctors treat them in the ICU but in our ICU’s because of the possibility the patients would have to be intubated in case of a code the ICU and all patients had to be managed by the intensivist / pulmonologist. He was always a self righteous prick, he and his top doctors always bragging about their connections to the Catholic hierarchy locally and the time they spent at the Vatican. This holy super Christian was willing to let a man die rather than acknowledge his male partner and same sex relationship. Hugs. Scottie
Biden Reverses Trump-Era Rule On LGBTQ Healthcare
I thank Ten Bears for this. When I first heard of it I couldn’t find anything to post. Then when I saw Ten Bears’ post, I was too tired and stunned to post it. So I waited until I could deal with it. Just like the food workers in the WCK clearly marked trucks with the Israeli military giving the OK for their route, the rescue people here had permission to go to the girl, then they were killed. The reports from hospitals in Gaza witnesses said the IDF were targeting anyone in scrubs, the workers and medical people avoided being near a window and changed clothing before leaving the building. Israel’s goal has long been the extermination of all Palestinians and any support group for them. Any Palestinian male over 10 is considered Hamas by Israeli troops. Finally Biden is doing something, but it is far too little and long too late. Too late for all the dead Palestinian adults and all the dead Palestinian children. I watched an Israeli spokesperson angrily complaining no one seemed to care about the 100+ soldiers they lost in this war, but he had no remorse for the more than 40,000 dead civilian Palestinians, claiming that there have been very few civil casualties, that they were all Hamas or civilian combatants. Hugs. Scottie
Scottie's Playtime 