JOHNSTONE

In today's news, Israel's stupid fucking genocidal rapists ran over an unexploded ordnance from their own evil carpet bombing campaign, blamed Hamas for the explosion, started bombing the fuck out of Gaza again, killed scores of civilians, said they were once again cutting off aid to the enclave, and then quietly backed down on urging from Washington. Reading by Tim Foley.

Last year I banged out an angry rant about the way Israel supporters would yell "release the hostages!" at anyone who talked about the latest massacre of Palestinian civilians, saying Hamas was to blame for the killing because of their refusal to release the Israeli captives, and that it would all stop once the hostages are free. I'm remembering that essay today because the hostages are free, but the massacres are continuing. Reading by Tim Foley.

In one of the more freakish acts of genocide propaganda we've seen in the last two years, the official Twitter account of the Israel Foreign Ministry made a post smearing desperate, starving civilians as cruel savages using the false allegation that they "tore apart" a "whale" that had become "stranded" on the beach. Reading by Tim Foley.

These last two years have shown us that western civilization doesn't need protection, it needs redemption. It needs to save its soul. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel is so evil it's actually hard to wrap your mind around it. Reading by Tim Foley.

It has never been legitimate to intentionally deprive civilians of humanitarian aid that they need to survive. You have to give them aid. It has never been legitimate to shoot noncombatants because you decided they crossed some sort of line into a forbidden zone. It has never been legitimate to shoot noncombatants at all. It has never been legitimate to commit genocide. Israel just needs to stop the genocide. The onus for stopping a genocide is on the party committing the genocide. The onus is not on the victims of the genocide to end it by meeting certain conditions. This should not even need to be said. Reading by Tim Foley.

I don't know who first coined the saying that an Israeli ceasefire means "you cease and we fire," but it proves reliably accurate time after time. Reading by Tim Foley.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only thing I like about Donald Trump is his infantile tendency to say the quiet part out loud. Reading by Tim Foley.

If you saw a man beating a child into a coma, would you cheer after the beating stopped? No, your first reaction would be horror at what happened and your second would be fear that he'll attack the kid again. And then at some point you'd start wondering why the guy isn't in jail. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel's top officials are openly declaring that they intend to terminate the Gaza ceasefire after they get their hostages back. Reading by Tim Foley.

When normal people get a ceasefire agreement they think "Good, this means we can finally stop fighting and killing." Whenever Israelis get a ceasefire agreement they go, "This means we have to hurry up and kill as many people as possible before it takes effect." Reading by Tim Foley.

I’m sorry but it’s just plain hilarious that we’re still expected to hate Hamas after spending two years being shown exactly what it is that Hamas has been fighting. Reading by Tim Foley.

Look at what happened before October 7 and you'll see year after year of murder, oppression and abuse. Look at everything that's happened since October 7 and you'll understand the kind of sadistic, psychopathic regime the Palestinians have been living under this entire time. Reading by Tim Foley.

It's cute how the Zionists think they'll be able to manipulate and propagandize the world into liking Israel again. Yeah, saturate all online platforms with weird-faced influencers telling us Israel is awesome. That'll make us forget those years of genocidal atrocities. Sure, buy up the social media platforms that young people are using so you can censor criticism of Israel. That'll convince them that Zionism is cool. Go on, take control of CBS and make Bari Weiss the boss. That'll make us forget all those videos of mutilated Palestinian children. Reading by Tim Foley.

Who would have imagined five years ago when we were seeing Greta Thunberg amplified by every mainstream western liberal institution that we would one day hear reports that she has been captured and tormented by the Israeli military for trying to bring formula to starving babies? Reading by Tim Foley.

So he killed one person. The Manchester synagogue attacker killed one single person and the entire western world stopped in its tracks to mourn and grieve and weep and denounce, on the same day that Israel killed at least 57 Palestinians and it was completely ignored by western politicians and media. Reading by Tim Foley.

I wish the attack on the Manchester synagogue had never happened. I also feel weird about even talking about it while dozens of Palestinians are killed today whose individual names I’ll never know and whose individual deaths I’ll never see decried in western media headlines. Reading by Tim Foley.

The onus is on the party committing genocide to stop committing genocide. The onus is not on the victims of the genocide to sign agreements in the hope of saving themselves from the genocide. This is obvious to anyone who isn't a psychopath. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel apologists are probably going to make a much, much bigger deal about the second October 7 anniversary than they did about the first anniversary, because they kind of have to. The world is turning against Israel in unprecedented ways in 2025, and yelling about October 7 is all they've got left. Reading by Tim Foley.

The single dumbest conspiracy theory in the entire world is that every major humanitarian institution on earth is conspiring to falsely frame Israel for the crime of genocide. And yet believing this insane conspiracy theory is the only way to think it's not a genocide. Reading by Tim Foley.

When you create a system where sociopathy is rewarded with wealth and where wealth equals power, you're naturally going to find yourself being ruled by sociopaths. Reading by Tim Foley.

It's so crazy that we're two years into a genocide and we're still being hammered by propagandists pretending to believe that the world has just spontaneously started hating Israel for no reason in some inexplicable explosion of Jew-hatred. Reading by Tim Foley.

I think it's worth remembering this as the empire harnesses the emotional hysteria around Charlie Kirk's death to whip up a moral panic about violent radical leftists in the United States in order to justify increased authoritarian measures to stomp out political dissent. The real violence is coming from the powerful manipulators who want you consenting to these measures. The call is coming from inside the house. Reading by Tim Foley. Reading by Tim Foley.

Former Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz has a new op-ed in The New York Times where he explicitly states that opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state is "the heart" of a national consensus among Israelis across the mainstream political spectrum, and that this isn't an obstacle that will go away once Netanyahu is out of power. Reading by Tim Foley.

The Israelis will literally launch drone strikes on activist boats for trying to bring formula to starving babies and then turn around and say the world hates them because of their religion. Reading by Tim Foley.

Westerner: I support a two-state solution. Israel: There will never be a Palestinian state. Westerner: Okay then I support a one-state solution where everyone has equal rights. Israel: You're calling for an end to the Jewish state you monster. Westerner: Alright then I support the Palestinian resistance. Israel: That's supporting terrorism. You are Hamas and we can legally murder you. Westerner: Well can I at least support a permanent ceasefire to end the genocide? Israel: [cocks pistol] What did I just tell you about supporting Hamas? Westerner: Okay then, I support Palestinians living as a permanent underclass until they can be slowly salami sliced out of existence as a people. Israel: Getting warmer. Westerner: I support removing all Palestinians from their historic homeland via ethnic cleansing or extermination before the end of Donald Trump's presidential term. Israel: [puts away gun] That's more like it. Reading by Tim Foley.

Imagine there was a violent cult that used scriptures from an ancient religion to convince its followers to do evil things. Imagine the cult was given its own state. Imagine the cult was given machine guns, tanks and war planes. Imagine the cult obtained nuclear weapons. Imagine the cult started committing genocide against the indigenous people who'd been living in the area where the cult's state was established. Reading by Tim Foley.

This is like repeatedly going out in public to yell “I did not have a sex dream about my cousin!” so that nobody thinks you had a sex dream about your cousin. Reading by Tim Foley.

Dude goes two years refusing to call a genocide a genocide, then issues a statement which begins by placing blame for the genocide on the victims of said genocide. Reading by Tim Foley.

It’s amazing how aggressively free speech in the United States is being torn apart in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing. Jimmy Kimmel was fired after President Trump’s FCC threatened ABC when the late night comic suggested that Kirk’s killer was a Trumper. I personally dislike Kimmel, but this is about as naked a government assault on free expression as you could possibly imagine. Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been ordered deported to Syria or Algeria after the Trump administration targeted him for political speech critical of Israel. Trump has brokered a deal allowing TikTok to be purchased by a consortium that includes his billionaire buddies Larry Ellison and Marc Andreesen. US officials have acknowledged that Washington’s push to grab control of TikTok was because of the opposition to the Gaza holocaust that was circulating on the platform. Reading by Tim Foley.

The list of humanitarian institutions who accuse Israel of genocide now includes: 1. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2. The International Association of Genocide Scholars 3. B'Tselem (an Israeli organization) 4. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (another Israeli organization) 5. Amnesty International 6. Doctors Without Borders 7. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights 8. Human Rights Watch 9. The International Federation for Human Rights 10. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention The list of humanitarian institutions who say Israel is NOT committing genocide in Gaza includes: 1. Nobody 2. No one 3. Zero 4. Nothing 5. Nada 6. Zilch 7. Sweet damn all 8. A complete absence 9. Diddly squat 10. Bupkis Reading by Tim Foley.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi just said on a podcast that "hate speech" directed at conservatives was responsible for Charlie Kirk's assassination, and that people responsible for such speech will be prosecuted by the Trump administration. Reading by Tim Foley.

"Hacks" costar Hannah Einbinder said "Free Palestine" during her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress at the Emmys on Sunday. Questioned by the press afterward, Einbinder said she has friends in Gaza, adding, "I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel, because our religion and our culture is such an important and longstanding institution that is really separate to this sort of ethnonationalist state." I've followed Einbinder on Instagram for a long time because she's been one of the few people in Hollywood consistently using their influential voice to oppose this genocide, and it is very good that she said these things. Hopefully we see much more of this. But right now I can't help thinking about how unforgivable it is that all the other Hollywood celebrities haven't been using their platforms at these events to call for an end to the Gaza holocaust this entire time. For two years this nightmare has been normalized in the eyes of the public with the assistance of the vast conspiracy of silence between all the people with the largest and most influential voices in our society. Reading by Tim Foley.

It's probably worth flagging the fact that the president of the United States is promoting the establishment of a Ministry of Truth to restrict information in a suggested law called the "Charlie Kirk Act". Reading by Tim Foley.

The McDonald's flag at Guantanamo Bay was lowered to half-mast in honor of the GOP swamp creature who was assassinated by a sniper the day before 9/11, which I think we can all agree is the most American thing that has ever happened. Reading by Tim Foley.

You cannot become a high-level pundit, politician or political operative in either mainstream party without being an evil piece of shit. It's part of the job description, because the job requires you to make excuses for the abuses of a globe-spanning empire which is fueled by human blood. Reading by Tim Foley.

The assassin appears to have been able to successfully escape after the killing, so nothing is known about what their motives were. Rightists are braying for civil war and demanding sweeping new authoritarian measures to crush what passes for the political "left" in the United States these days, based on nothing but vibes and feelings. Reading by Tim Foley.

Recent hours have seen too much Israeli depravity to write about, including an assassination strike in Qatar to sabotage peace talks, a second drone attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and a Guardian article featuring an IDF sniper who discussed killing civilians like a trophy hunter talking about game animals. Reading by Tim Foley.

A drone appears to have struck a boat from the Global Sumud Flotilla while it was docked at a Tunisian port on its way to bring aid into Gaza, temporarily starting a fire. Nobody on board was harmed. The boat was reportedly crewed by the same activists who had attempted to sail to Gaza on the Madleen this past July, including Greta Thunberg. And it is here worth noting that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir recently said that Global Sumud Flotilla activists must be designated as terrorists and treated accordingly, in order to "create a clear deterrent" against foreign parties attempting to bring aid into Gaza by sea. It is no mystery who the prime suspect is in this attack. Reading by Tim Foley.

In a sense all I'm ever really pointing at here is the importance of taking responsibility. Taking responsibility as westerners for the suffering and destruction inflicted upon the world by the western power structure that we live under. Reading by Tim Foley.

In the UK a terrorist is someone with a cardboard sign saying "I support Palestine Action". In the US a terrorist is a Venezuelan suspected of drug trafficking. In Israel a terrorist is someone resisting occupation. Reading by Tim Foley.

He hung up a sign that said Secretary of War, snapped a picture for the socials, shut the door, took a swig of Jameson straight from the bottle, then sat down and fondled the revolver in his desk drawer like a little boy playing with his penis. Visions of cruise missiles danced through his head, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines and tiny middle eastern bodies blown to bits by glorious inventory. Mushroom clouds flashed in his eyes as he caressed the trigger with an index finger. "They call me the Secretary of War," he said. "They call me the Secretary of War." He did not feel the robins in his chest or hear the red-winged blackbirds trilling in his hair. The electricity of the flesh was a stranger to him. Exuberance was a deadbeat dad who never called. Outside the Pentagon walls a cicada roared unnoticed and the grass sang ancient hymns to the sun god. People bustled in and bustled out, their minds buzzing with Palantir porn, their lips casting spells of Raytheon and ruin. Under the rubble of a far away building a child reached out a hand in the darkness. Her cries were silenced by gulps of whiskey in the office of the Secretary of War. Reading by Tim Foley.

Make no mistake about where the moral authority stands here. This isn’t something we need to be on the defense about. It’s something we need to be on the attack about. Reading by Tim Foley.

You always see Israel apologists saying "If Hamas lays down its arms there'll be no more war, if Israel lays down its arms there'll be no more Israel." But really the exact opposite is true. If the Israelis lay down their arms, a genocide ends. If Hamas lays down their arms, Israel's planned ethnic cleansing of Gaza happens quickly and without resistance. Reading by Tim Foley.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN human rights experts, Israeli human rights groups like B'Tselem, and the overwhelming majority of genocide scholars all agree it's a genocide. The debate is over. The hasbarists lost. Reading by Tim Foley.

This is just what happens when bad people in your life reveal an ugly truth about themselves. If you learn that someone in your life is cool with their government supporting a genocide, you can just sort of let your feelings and natural inclinations lead the way on that. Reading by Tim Foley.

To be racist is to admit that you are a dull, vapid person. It's an admission that you are so intellectually, emotionally and spiritually shallow that you can only enjoy and connect with other human beings in the most superficial of ways. There is no depth to you. There has been no growth in you. You are stunted. You have been wasting your time on this planet instead of maturing and expanding your connectedness with the gift of human life. Reading by Tim Foley.

As if we didn't have enough ugliness in the world right now, Trump has deployed warships near Venezuela's coast, prompting Caracas to ready drone and naval patrols for conflict. Reading by Tim Foley.

Saying "I support a two-state solution" does not release you from your moral obligation to ferociously oppose a genocide backed by your own government. Reading by Tim Foley.

We don't need to rescue western civilization from outside forces, we need to rescue ourselves from western civilization. Reading by Tim Foley.